Several Israeli military vehicles entered the Gaza Strip near al-Bureij refugee camp Sept. 12, according to local Palestinian sources. Eyewitnesses reported that an Israeli military force penetrated 60 meters into the Strip and opened fire on Palestinian homes. Helicopters were seen flying overhead of the invading forces, appearing to give cover to the ground troops. The soldiers detained a farm guard, identified as Salah Tawil, who was released some hours later following an interrogation. (Maan News Agency, Sept 12)

A top UN official Sept. 3 urged Israel to ease its two-year-old blockade of the Gaza Strip to allow materials to repair damaged water and sanitation systems. To drive his point home, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the territory Maxwell Gaylard led his enterouge to the edge of a sewage-polluted reservoir in Beit Lahiya, north of Gaza City. "The deterioration and breakdown of water and sanitation facilities in Gaza is compounding an already severe and protracted denial of human dignity in the Gaza Strip," said Gaylard in a press statement.

Israeli Knesset member Dove Hannen (Democratic Front for Peace and Equality) was one of hundreds of international and Israeli peace activists who participated in the weekly anti-wall protest in the village of Bil'in on Aug. 14. Hannen was tear gassed, shot at with rubber-coated metal bullets and subjected to sound bombs by soldiers from his country's military as he marched with Palestinian villagers and internationals toward the Israeli separation wall being built on the village lands. (Ma'an News Agency, Aug. 15)

Hamas security forces in the southern Gaza border city of Rafah Aug. 14 battled armed militants of the Jund Ansar Allah ("Warriors of God"), who had earlier in the day declared the coastal strip an "Islamic emirate." Fifteen Palestinians were confirmed dead following the operation by Hamas' al-Qassam Brigades. Some 120 Palestinians, including civilians, were injured, many critically.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) again raided the West Bank village of Bil'in in the wee hours of Aug. 3, arresting seven Palestinians and one US solidarity activist. The force wearing combat paint and masks invaded several homes. Two Palestinian youths were among those arrested, as was Mohammad Khatib of the Bil'in Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements. The home of another member of the Popular Committee was raided, but soldiers could not arrest him because he was not present. The raid is the latest of several that Israeli forces have carried out in Bil'in since June.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) last week announced they are conducting criminal investigations into charges of intentional misconduct by their soldiers during December and January's fighting in the Gaza Strip. In a report seeking "to place the Gaza Operation in its proper factual and legal context," the IDF said that they are currently investigating 13 allegations against IDF personnel, including pillaging Palestinian homes, mistreating detainees, and using civilians as human shields.

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has ordered embassies to use a photo of Adolf Hitler's 1941 meeting with the Mufti of Jerusalem to counter international criticism over a Jerusalem settlement project, a senior official told AFP July 22. "The foreign minister ordered the distribution of the photo to all embassies abroad as a response to the Shepherd Hotel incident in order to prove a well-known point that the mufti collaborated with Hitler," the official said on condition of anonymity. Foreign Ministry staff apparently opposed the move.

The Israeli Supreme Court on July 1 ordered the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to refile indictments on more serious charges against a soldier and an officer accused of shooting a blindfolded prisoner with a rubber bullet. Human rights groups B'Tselem, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI), the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI) and Yesh Din filed suit against the IDF, saying that a charge of conduct unbecoming a soldier, the least serious military criminal sanction, did not reflect the severity of the crime.