Israel and the West Bank
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and his cabinet unanimously approved the construction of Emek Shilo, the first new West Bank settlement in 20 years.
A Palestinian teenager stabbed two civilians and Israeli police officer before being shot and killed in Jerusalem’s Old City on April 1. A police spokesperson said the attacker, Ahmad Jazal, came from the West Bank village of Sebastia, near Nablus.
The IDF took control of a bookstore and explosive factory during an overnight raid on April 1 in the West Bank city of Hebron. Israeli officials say that the store also helped spread materials inciting violence against Jews.
Gaza
Israeli officials at the Kerem Shalom crossing intercepted 30 diving suits in transit for Hamas terrorists in Gaza. Smugglers hid the suits amid sports clothing, according to the defense ministry. Media reports also suggest that Hamas has prepared for an amphibious assault on Israel, using undersea drones and swimmers with automatic weapons.
Hamas accused Israel of killing a senior leader of the group’s armed wing, Mazen Fuqaha on March 24. Israel declined to comment on Fuqaha’s death, but Gaza’s Hamas-run Interior Ministry announced it would undertake “increased measures” to find Palestinian collaborators working for the Jewish State.
An early morning explosion injured three Palestinians at a Hamas facility in southern Gaza on April 3. Such incidents characterized by government officials as “workplace accidents,” often happen at Hamas weapons facilities.
Sinai
The Egyptian government said it killed 18 terrorists since March 18, including a founder of Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, the precursor to Islamic State in Sinai. Salem Selmi el-Hamadeen, the militant killed last week, was part of a group that claimed responsibility for bombing Red Sea resorts in 2004 and 2006.
Egyptian soldiers in Rafah destroyed two tunnels leading to Gaza, according to a government statement released Sunday. Egyptian security forces have destroyed more than 21 tunnels so far this year.
Islamic State in Sinai appears to have beheaded two elderly men for sorcery, in a video released on March 28.
Syria
The Israeli military concluded that Mustafa Badreddine was killed by other members of Hezbollah during an internal dispute last May. Israel had been suspected of killing one of the group’s top military commanders, but intelligence officials believe Hassan Nasrallah gave the order to kill him.
