Thirty-three senior Hamas officials have been arrested by the Israel Defence Force (IDF). Among those detained were legislators, mayors and even the Education Minister, Nasser Shaer. [Haaretz, May 24]. Overnight, Israeli Air Force fighter jets targeted Palestinian money exchanges accused of passing monies from Iran, Lebanon and Syria into the arming and training of Hamas militants, the IDF has said. In an earlier incident, IDF fire is reported to have killed a local farmer in the Gaza Strip. [Haaretz, May 24] Palestinian militants have rejected calls for a ceasefire with both Israel and between the rival factions in the Gaza Strip. [BBC, May 24]

At least 27 people were killed and dozens wounded after a suicide car bomber drove into a crowd of mourners at a funeral in Falluja, in the Iraqi province of Anbar, May 24. The funeral was for Allawi al-Isawi, a local businessman opposed to "al-Qaeda in Iraq," and the attack appears to be the latest in a campaign of bombings and shootings against Sunni tribal leaders who have formed an alliance against them. The bomber drove into the funeral procession and blew himself up.

After raiding Democratic Republic of Congo's Virunga National Park and killing a wildlife officer, the Mayi-Mayi militia are threatening to slaughter rare mountain gorillas, officials said. The attackers looted the three sites—research stations and tourism camps—seizing arms and communications equipment. Thirteen park workers were also briefly held hostage. According to WildlifeDirect, an organization involved in conservation at Virunga, the area attacked is only two hours walk from a unique and isolated population of gorillas. The park is home to half of the 700 mountain gorillas that remain in the world. "This was an unprovoked attack on our Rangers and other wildlife officers who protect Virunga’s wildlife," Virunga’s park director Norbert Mushenzi said in a statement distributed by WildlifeDirect. "And the Mayi-Mayi said that if we retaliate, they will kill all the gorillas in this area." (Reuters, May 23)

Even as UN-mediated negotations are set to begin, Morocco has unleashed a new wave of repression against advocates of independence for Western Sahara. The new crackdown began May 7, when Saharawi students at the university of Agadir, Morocco, were brutally beaten and arrested. On May 17, police clashed with student protesters demanding independence for the occupied territory at Rabat University, with 15 arrested and some students injured. The clash came after protesters defied a police order to end a week-long sit-in at the entrance to the university. Brahim Elansari, a member of the Saharawi Association for Human Rights Victims (ASVDH), was arrested Sunday afternoon after police stopped his car in Laayoune, Western Sahara's main city, said the organization's president, Brahim Dahane. Fellow activist Hassana Douihi, who was riding with Elansari, was also arrested. Shortly afterward, police arrested Naama Asfari, president of the Paris-based Committee for the Respect of Human Freedoms and Rights in Western Sahara. (Infoshop News, May 22)

From Newsday, May 22:

18 Hours, Three Fatals
It was a treacherous 18-hour span in which three people died in separate crashes on Long Island's highways — and one family survived an ordeal on the LIE.

Declaring fires set at a police station, an SUV dealer and a tree farm were acts of "terrorism," US District Judge Ann Aiken May 23 sentenced former Earth Liberation Front militant Stanislas Meyerhoff to 13 years in prison. Judge Aiken commended for informing on his fellow arsonists after his arrest, saying he had the courage to "do the right thing." But he said: "It was your intent to scare and frighten other people through a very dangerous and psychological act – arson. Your actions included elements of terrorism to achieve your goal."

A rampage by the Mungiki gang, which climaxed May 20 with the beheadings of three men, has prompted scores of residents to flee Kianjogu village in Kenya's Muranga North District. One of the Mungiki leaders, Stephen Kiunjuri, was gunned down by police that night, to the cheers of villagers. The gang has imposed illegal fees, forced youths to sniff tobacco, and repeatedly invaded homes and slaughtered livestock as owners watch. "They would just come into your place and slaughter goats," one resident said. The group established checkpoints, including at the entrance to a shopping center, charging fees for men who were circumcised to pass. In nearby Githemba village, police found Mungiki suspects with parts of male reproductive organs. Local police commander Stanley Lamai said the scene was littered with blood and religious paraphernalia. More organs were found in a house nearby during the May 22 night raid in village. "This is weird. We suspect they were conducting a ritual," said Lamai. (The Standard, Kenya, May 23; The Standard, May 24)

From the Center for Justice and Accountability via Haiti Action, May 22:

Brooklyn, NY — Today, the judge in the mortgage fraud case of former Haitian death-squad leader Emmanuel "Toto" Constant dropped Constant's plea bargain and ordered him to stand trial. If convicted, Constant could now face five to fifteen years in New York state prison.