Lebanese security forces fought militants linked to al-Qaeda in the northern city of Tripoli and at the adjacent Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared early May 20, leaving at least 10 dead, including four police. Witnesses said gunmen from the Fatah al-Islam faction seized Lebanese army positions at the entrance to the camp, then moved out to roads leading to the city and ambushed a military unit. Army reinforcement were called in and fighting spread. The attack may have been a reaction to a police raid on a Tripoli apartment that morning. Police were looking for suspects in a bank robbery a day earlier in Amyoun, a town southeast of Tripoli, in which gunmen made off with $125,000 in cash. The militants resisted arrest and a gunbattle ensued.

An Israeli airstrike targeting a minivan supposedly carrying a Hamas fighter in northern Gaza City killed three people and wounded 12 on May 18. Israeli tanks also fired five shells near a housing project in the northern Gaza town of Jebaliya, wounding five. (AP, May 19) On May 17, Israel moved tanks and troops over the Gaza border and launched eight airstrikes, killing at least seven Palestinians. Some 14 rockets fired by Hamas militants in Gaza May 17 landed in Israel, six near the border town of Sderot. The government bused some Sderot residents to hotels, calling it a "respite," not an evacuation. (NYT, May 18)

From the Zochrot (Remembering), a group of Israeli citizens working to raise awareness of the Nakba, the Palestinian catastrophe of 1948:

International Nakba Day, May 15, 2007
The Nakba is the story of the Palestinian tragedy: the destruction of communities, civilization, culture and identity, the expulsion and the killing that took place in 1948. It is a story that constitutes the past and present of the Palestinian people and shapes a large part of Palestinian identity. Yet in many respects the Nakba is also the story of Jews who live in Israel. A story that is not easy to cope with, a story that raises difficult questions about the possibilities of life together in the space that is today the state of Israel.

Israeli troops fired shots amid clashes between Hamas and Fatah forces at the Karni crossing on the Gaza-Israel border [May 15]. [BBC, May 15] At least seven Presidential Guard personnel are thought to have been killed during the Hamas attack. Both factions had announced a cease-fire late on [May 14]. [AlJazeera, May 15] Palestinian Interior Minister Hani al Qawsami resigned on Monday, accusing the government of not having taken security seriously and failing to grant him sufficient authority. Prime Minister Ismail Haniya takes command of forces in the Gaza Strip. [AlJazeera, May 14]

Via the Alternative Information Center, May 6:

Joint report of B'Tselem with HaMoked—Center for the Defence of the Individual, Summary
Utterly Forbidden: The Torture And Ill-Treatment Of Palestinian Detainees
In recent years, Israel has openly admitted that ISA (formerly the General Security Service [Shin Bet]) interrogators employ "exceptional" interrogation methods and "physical pressure" against Palestinian detainees in situations labeled "ticking bombs". B'Tselem and HaMoked—Center for the Defence of the Individual have examined these interrogation methods and the frequency with which they are used, as well as other harmful practices. The report's findings are based on the testimonies of 73 Palestinian residents of the West Bank who were arrested between July 2005 and January 2006 and interrogated by the ISA. Although it is not a representative sample, it does provide a valid indication of the frequency of the reported phenomena.

From AlJazeera, May 7:

Two Palestinian were killed and four wounded during clashes between rival factions in Lebanon's main refugee camp of Ein el-Helweh.

A thoroughly uncritical May 6 AP account of the controversial Dead Sea "recovery" program portrays the new progress on the project as a straightforward victory for diplomacy in the interests of ecology. Some excerpts:

GHOR HADITHA, Jordan — Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian Arabs are slowly pushing through the tangle of their disputes and suspicions in a race to save a biblical and ecological treasure, the Dead Sea.

Combatants of Hamas’ military wing, Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, have ended their five-month truce with Israel, firing 61 mortars and 30 rockets into Israel [April 24]. The group described the attack as in response to Israel having failed to respect the cease-fire, having killed nine Palestinians over the weekend. [AlJazeera, April 24] Palestinian interior minister Hani al-Qawasmi submitted his resignation on Monday after the failure of his administration to stem the increasing lawlessness gripping the Gaza Strip. Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh refused to accept al-Qawasmi’s decision, who has agreed to remain in his post for the time being. [The Guardian, April 23]