Israeli-Palestinian clashes
continue. The IDF shells a PSF office in
Gaza, residential areas of Khan Yunis; bulldozes Palestinian land in Khan Yunis;
conducts an arrest sweep in Jalazun. Jewish settlers set fire to a
Palestinian olive grove in Salfit, destroying 50 trees. (WP 4/30; LAW 5/4)
Israeli
FM Peres presents Israel's response to the Jordanian-Egyptian proposal to
Mubarak in Cairo, Jordanian FM Khatib in Amman. Egypt, Jordan say
they will study Israel's reservations and proposed changes, but they are not
willing start a new process of "talks about talks." (MENA 4/29 in WNC 4/30; HA,
NYT, WP 4/30; HA, MM 5/1; AYM 5/1 in WNC 5/3; MM 5/2; MEI, MM 5/4) (see Peace
Monitor)
A Palestinian suicide bomber detonates a car bomb nr. a
Jewish settler school bus in the West Bank, killing himself but causing no
other injuries. Palestinians also fire 2 mortars at a Kefar Darom
settlement in Gaza. Inside the Green Line, Israeli police find,
safely detonate a bomb in Netanya.
Arafat
orders the popular resistance comms. to disband and their mbrs. (most of
whom are Fatah mbrs., some of whom are PSF officers) to "return to their
original security positions," calls senior PSF officer Yasir Zanun (a Fatah
mbr. and a leader of the resistance comms.) in for questioning, has the
PSF arrest Hamas spokesman `Abd al-`Aziz Rantisi for statements
accusing Arafat of treason for resuming security talks with Israel. Fatah
tanzim leader Barghouti, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the
PFLP strongly oppose disbanding the resistance comms. (WP 4/30; AYM 5/1 in
WNC 5/3; WJW 5/3; SA 5/3 in WNC 5/4; MEI 5/4 WP 5/7; MEI 5/18)
11 Palestinians killed.
The IDF stages a major predawn incursion into Palestinian areas of
Hebron, conducting house-to-house searches, arresting 150 Palestinians, killing
10 Palestinians, including apparently assassinating wanted Hamas mbr.
Tarik al-Dufashi. The IDF threatens to raid Hebron hospital in search of 15
wanted Palestinians; destroys several buildings, including a TV station. In
Bethlehem, an IDF sniper fatally shoots a Palestinian inside the
Church of the Nativity. The IDF does not begin a withdrawal fr.
Ramallah, with Israel demanding that the PA hand over PFLP head
Saadat, Arafat aide Fuad Shubaki (wanted by Israel in connection with
the Karine A affair) in addition to the 4 PFLP mbrs. The IDF
bulldozes land in Rafah r.c., sparking clashes. (CNN, GS, WP, WT 4/29; MENA 4/29
in WNC 4/30; MM, NYT, WP, WT 4/30; AYM, al-Quds 4/30 in WNC 5/1; MEI 5/3)
5 Palestinians killed. 3 Israelis killed.
Just before the PC meets in Ramallah (see below), the IDF assassinates
PFLP leader Nidal Salama, firing rockets at his car as he drives through
Khan Yunis, also killing 1 Palestinian bystander; surrounds the home of,
fatally shoots Bethlehem AMB cmdr. Mahmud Salah in an apparent
assassination, also killing AMB mbr. Adnan Juayrish, who was with him;
demolishes the home of Salah’s 2 brothers. Commenting on the Tel Aviv attack, Israeli government spokesman
Dore Gold says, "This is really the first test for the new Palestinian
government . . . and unfortunately it has turned out to be a complete failure.”
The IDF also fatally shoots a Palestinian in Rafah; fires on,
wounds 2 Palestinian farmers working land in Khuza; conducts arrest raids
in Jenin. (HA 4/29; BBC, HA, MM, NYT, PR, WP, WT 4/30; Interfax 4/30 in WNC 5/1;
LAW, PCHR 5/1; NYT 5/2; JTA 5/6; PR 5/7; JPI 5/9; WP 5/10)
Just 2 hrs. after Abbas’s new
government is confirmed, a suicide bomber detonates a device outside a
Tel Aviv nightclub, next to the U.S. emb., killing 2 Israelis, 1
French woman, wounding 34 (including at least 1 American); a 2d bomber
escapes when his bomb fails to detonate; AMB, Hamas say they
jointly planned the operation; both bombers are British Muslims (1 of
Kashmiri, 1 of Pakistani descent) who apparently entered Israel fr. Gaza on
British passports.
The PC approves (69-12, with 3 abstentions) Abbas’s new
government, presented after wks. of debate within Fatah. In his inaugural speech Abbas states that there is no military
solution to the conflict with Israel, rejects “terrorism,” pledges to crack down
on militant groups and confiscate illegal weapons, demands an independent
Palestinian state within 1967 borders, with Jerusalem as its capital, and
without Jewish settlements. Israeli FM Silvan Shalom cautiously welcomes
Abbas’s words on violence but says his statements on final status are
“problematic” and “raise serious questions regarding a readiness to arrive at an
agreed-upon resolution.” (HA, MM 4/29; MM, NYT, PR, WP, WT 4/30; AYM, Interfax,
ITAR-TASS 4/30 in WNC 5/1; SA 4/30, al-Quds 5/1 in WNC 5/2; WJW 5/1; AYM
5/1 in WNC 5/5; HA, MM, WJW 5/2; HA 5/5; MEI 5/16) (see Docs. B1, B2)
2 Palestinians killed.
The IDF conducts a major raid on al-Fara` r.c. nr. Jenin, occupying a
cultural center as an observation post, firing on stone-throwing Palestinians
(injuring 12, including a Palestinian cameraman covering the scene for
al-Jazeera), hitting a 65-yr.-old Palestinian woman in the head with a
tear gas canister, killing her. The IDF also apologizes for the 4/23
killing of college professor Abu Laymun, whom it initially claimed was an
armed Hamas activist, admits it erred; fatally shoots a stone-throwing
Palestinian in Haris nr. Ariel settlement; tightens freedom of movement in
Hebron; demolishes 16 Palestinian homes in Hebron (built by a British aid
organization), 12 in Khan Yunis (damaging another 8); fires on residential areas
of Rafah; conducts arrest raids in Husan. Jewish settlers seize 6 dunams
of Palestinian land s. of Bethlehem and w. of al-Khadir. (HA, MA 4/29; VOP, YA 4/29 in WNC 5/1; NYT 4/30; PCHR 5/6)
Palestinians
fire an antitank rocket at an IDF position in Gaza, causing no damage or
injuries.
PA police arrest 2 AMB mbrs. in Gaza for firing rockets at
Jewish settlements, marking the PA's 1st arrests for truce violations. Jewish
settlers fr. Ramat Yishai severely beat a 13-yr.-old and a 20-yr.-old
Palestinian in separate incidents in Hebron. Jewish settlers fr. Suissa
launch a series of attacks on Palestinians farming nearby, beating a 60-yr.-old
Palestinian woman. Jewish settlers fr. Efrat s. of Jerusalem attack
several Palestinian farmers tending their fields nr. al-Khadir. (HA, IMEMC 4/29;
HA, WT 4/30; OCHA, PCHR 5/5)
1 Palestinian killed.
Overnight and throughout the day, the IDF shells n. Gaza, hitting a house and
a populated street in Bayt Hanun (injuring 7 Palestinians), hitting a house in
Bayt Hanun (wounding 3 Palestinians), wounding 3 farmers in fields nr. Bayt
Hanun and Bayt Lahiya. Meanwhile, the IDF notes a sharp decline in Palestinian
rocket fire over the previous wk. The IDF also unintentionally kills a 3-yr.-old
Palestinian girl nr. Ramallah by shutting a crossing gate on her head; conducts
arrest raids, house searches in Bethlehem, nr. Qalqilya. Jewish settlers fr.
Kiryat Arba vandalize Palestinian homes in Hebron. Jewish settlers ambush,
attack several Palestinian cars in the Jordan Valley. (IMEMC 4/29; HA 4/30; PCHR
5/4)
For a 2d day,the Israeli navy fires on Palestinian fishing boats off the Rafah
coast, forcing them to return to shore. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts
arrest raids, house searches in ‘Askar r.c., Nablus, Tulkarm r.c. (OCHA 5/2; PCHR 5/3)
In Hebron, AMB
mbrs. force the closure of a club for fmr. prisoners and an office of the PA
Prisoners Affairs Min. to protest the PA’s failure to pay pensions to the
prisoners and their families.
UNRWA
resumes food aid in Gaza after Israel allows a special delivery to UNRWA
of a 5-day supply of fuel. Egyptian border guards
discover, demolish 5 smuggling tunnels along the Rafah border. In the West
Bank, the IDF raids and seals for 3 yrs. a sewing factory in Hebron
owned by the ICA (see 4/26); conducts late-night arrest raids, house
searches in and around Jenin town and r.c. and Nablus, in Abu Dis and Azariyya
nr. Jerusalem, and nr. Hebron. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba vandalize
11 Palestinian cars nr. the settlement. (IFM 4/29; AP, OCHA, PCHR 4/30; PCHR
5/8)
Palestinians fire several rockets fr.
Gaza into Israel, causing damage but no injuries.
Israeli forces said they had seized three Palestinians from the Ramallah area. (Ma’an News Agency)
A number of Israeli tanks and bulldozers destroyed farm lands and uprooted trees in the northern Gaza Strip near the border with Israel. (IMEMC)
Fatah said in a statement that settlers, backed by Israeli soldiers, had been bulldozing land and uprooting olive trees near Salfit to turn agricultural lands into a dump. (WAFA)
Israeli authorities released a Palestinian prisoner from East Jerusalem, Tariq Al-Eisawi, after he had completed an eight-year sentence. (Ma’an News Agency)
The Jerusalem municipality announced that it had finalized all preparations needed to demolish 50 Palestinian homes in the Al-Bustan neighbourhood of East Jerusalem. (IMEMC)
Hatem Abdul Qader, Adviser for Jerusalem Affairs to PA Prime Minister Fayyad, said that the Israeli municipality of Jerusalem had given orders for the demolition of a two-floor addition to the Armenian Catholic Church and monastery in the Old City. The 150-year-old structure had been built on land owned by Belgium's monarchy. (Ma’an News Agency)
Brigadier-General Britt Brestrup of Norway is replacing Brigadier-General Roy Grřttheim as head of mission for the Temporary International Presence in Hebron (TIPH). (www.tiph.org )
King Abdullah II of Jordan flew to Riyadh for talks with the Saudi leadership at the start of a new round of regional diplomacy to spur the peace process. He was due to brief Saudi King Abdullah later in the day on the outcome of his talks with US President Obama. (DPA)
EU Special Representative for the Middle East Peace Process Marc Otte said Russia’s proposal to host a Middle East peace conference had international backing and such a meeting should take place by the year’s end. “This is not only the wish of the Russian Government, but something that has been agreed on within the Quartet,” Mr. Otte told journalists in Moscow, where he met with his Russian counterpart on plans for the conference. (AFP)
Hamas and Fatah ended a fourth round of talks in Cairo without an agreement, but were to meet again on 16 May, negotiators said. (AP, Ma’an News Agency)
PA President Abbas was expected to form a new Government in the ten days preceding his trip to Washington, high ranking sources said. Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said that any Government not endorsed by the Palestinian Legislative Council would be illegitimate. (Ma’an News Agency)
"Around 5,000 teachers at 174 UNRWA schools held a strike today demanding a seven per cent salary increase," Matar Saqr, UNRWA spokesman in Jordan, told AFP. "They plan to take further action on Thursday and next month if the agency fails to meet their demands." (AFP)