The Palestine Chronology

The IDF shoots, wounds a 15-yr.-old Palestinian attempting to sneak into Israel fr. Dayr al-Balah to find work; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron, Ramallah and in Azun nr. Qalqilya, Nablus, Qabatya, Yamun nr. Jenin; fires rubber-coated steel bullets at Palestinian stone-throwers who confront the troops, injuring 5, precipitating gunfire fr. Palestinian militants that leaves 1 IDF soldier wounded. A Palestinian detained by an IDF undercover unit on 12/19 is released at the entrance to Jenin. Palestinians fire 5 rockets fr. Gaza towards Sederot and an IDF base, causing no injuries; IDF artillery shells uninhabited areas of n. Gaza in response. Jewish settlers fr. Ma’on bulldoze 15 d. of Palestinian land abutting the settlement. Some 20 armed AMB mbrs. demanding jobs in the security services, financial aid fr. the PA for 300 local AMB mbrs. occupy Bethlehem’s municipal building overlooking Manger Square; the stand-off ends peacefully when the PA agrees to consider their demands, allows them to walk out. Some 2,000 Palestinians rally outside the PC headquarters in Gaza City to express frustration over the PA’s failure to control the security situation inside Gaza. (AFP, AP, BBC, YA 12/20; HA, IMEMC, NYT 12/21; PCHR 12/22; WT 12/24)

The Israel Lands Administration demolishes 3 Israeli Palestinian homes in Lod (Lydda) for lack of permits; another 2,000 houses are threatened. (Arab Association for Human Rights press release 12/22)

The IDF sends troops into, fires on residential areas of Bayta nr. Nablus; patrols, conducts random security checks of Palestinians in Aida r.c. Armed Jewish settlers fr. Hebron seize and fence off 160 d. of Palestinian land outside Carmiel settlement for a new unauthorized outpost. Palestinians fire a rocket toward Sederot, causing no damage or injuries; throw Molotov cocktails at a house in Pisgat Ze’ev, causing moderate damage but no injuries. Residents of Dayr al-Balah in central Gaza issue a statement calling on Hamas to halt rocket fire on Israel fr. their vicinity after a rocket damaged a Palestinian home earlier in the wk., urge the PA security forces to halt lawlessness in Gaza. (IMEMC 11/11; PCHR 11/17)

The IDF reopens Qarni crossing (closed 9/24) for transportation of goods btwn. Gaza and Israel (allowing around 40–50 trucks/day exporting goods fr. Gaza and 250 trucks/day importing goods fr. Israel, the West Bank); fatally shoots a Palestinian gunman in Nablus; fatally shoots 3 Palestinians nr. Dayr al-Balah who attempt to sneak into Israel fr. Gaza to look for work; raids, imposes a curfew on Bayta nr. Nablus, surrounds a mosque, orders worshipers to leave; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron and in al-‘Aza r.c., al-Khadir. (IDF press release, IMEMC 10/9; NYT, PCHR, WP, XIN 10/10; PCHR 10/13, 10/20)

Some 200 Egyptian border police begin deploying along the Rafah border to prevent smuggling and illegal crossings after the IDF completes its Gaza withdrawal; all 750 will be deployed within 4 days. IDF moves into Bayt Furik nr. Nablus, fires on residential areas, then fires on stone-throwing Palestinians who confront the troops, wounding 1; conducts house searches nr. Hebron, Jenin. Some 200 armed AMB mbrs. take over 2 PA buildings in central Gaza demanding jobs. Masked Palestinian gunmen kidnap an Italian journalist in Dayr al-Balah, release him unharmed several hrs. later without explanation. (HA, JAZ 9/10; HA, NYT, WP, WT 9/11; PCHR 9/15)

A day after completing disengagement fr. 25 Jewish settlements, Israel confirms plans to seize some 1,588 d. of West Bank Palestinian land to complete 10 mi. of separation wall around the southern part of Ma’ale Adumim settlement, to add 3,500 housing units there (more than twice the number of units removed under disengagement), to build a police headquarters in the E-1 area btwn. Ma’ale Adumim and Jerusalem. In Gaza, the IDF raids, searches, occupies 2 Palestinian homes in Khan Yunis as observation posts; raids, occupies a Palestinian home in Dayr al-Balah. In the West Bank, IDF undercover units raid Tulkarm r.c, fatally shooting ‘Adil Abu Khalil al-Ghawi (Islamic Jihad),Mahmud Ahadib (AMB), and Majdi Attiya (AMB), also killing 2 bystanders and wounding 3; local Hamas military cmdr. Ribhi Amara, also possibly a target, escapes unharmed. The IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron, nr. Jenin, and in Nablus, Qalqilya. In East Jerusalem, a Palestinian stabs 2 ultraOrthodox British Jews, killing 1 before escaping. (HA, JP, REU 8/24; VOP 8/24 in WNC 8/25; BBC, HA, JAZ, PCHR, WP, WT 8/25; MENA 8/25 in WNC 8/26; HA, NYT 8/26; al-Quds 8/26 in WNC 8/27; HA 8/30; PR 8/31; PCHR 9/1; MEI 9/2; HA 9/7; DS 10/10)

At midnight local time, the grace period runs out for Jewish settlers in Gaza to withdraw voluntarily in compliance with Israeli PM Ariel Sharon’s disengagement plan; at least 50% of the estimated 8,500 settlers have already left, including all settlers fr. Dugit (est. 1990, pop. 70, size 245 dunams [d.; 4 d. = 1 acre].), Nisanit (est. 1980, pop. 1,100, size 1,610 d.), Pe’at Sadeh (est. 1989, pop. 110, size 935 d.), Rafiah Yam (est. 1984, pop. 130, size 574 d.), Shalev (est. 2001, pop. 50). Gaza and the n. West Bank remain closed military zones to Israelis for the duration of disengagement (see 6/30, 8/15). Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers prepare to forcibly remove the settlers who remain and the estimated 5,000 disengagement protesters (mostly West Bank settler youth) who snuck into the Strip. Meanwhile in Gaza, the IDF searches Palestinian homes nr. Bayt Lahiya, in Wadi al-Silqa; occupies a Palestinian home in Dayr al-Balah as an observation post. Jewish settlers fr. Gaza’s Gush Katif bloc, burn animal food storage bins in al-Mawasi. In Khan Yunis, 1,000s of Hamas supporters rally to celebrate the pending disengagement. In the West Bank, the IDF detains, beats a 16-yr.-old Palestinian who throws stones at troops outside Tulkarm; conducts arrest raids, house searches in villages around Hebron and in Qabatya nr. Jenin; demolishes an animal farm outside Hebron for construction of the separation wall; occupies 1 Palestinian home nr. Hebron, 1 nr. Tulkarm as observation posts. Jewish settlers fr. the West Bank settlement of Homesh (to be evacuated under disengagement) occupy, vandalize 2 Palestinian homes nearby; the IDF removes them. (BBC, IMEMC, XIN 8/16; PR 8/17; PCHR 8/18)

Israel says it has begun construction of 2 additional fences around the Gaza Strip—1 of razor wire, 1 with electronic sensors and surveillance cameras—to ensure Israeli security after disengagement; both fences will be inside Israel. IDF undercover units make a major incursion into Tulkarm, raid the home of wanted Islamic Jihad mbr. Mu’ayyad Musa, fatally shoot him in an apparent assassination. The IDF demolishes a Palestinian home in Husan w. of Bethlehem for construction of the separation wall; fires on residential areas of Budrus nr. Ramallah, Rafah; raids the Abu Huli neighborhood of Dayr al-Balah, searches homes, rounds up residents for interrogation, arrests 2; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Bayt Khalil nr. Hebron, Burqin, Nablus, Qabatya, Yatta. Palestinians fire 3 rockets at Sederot and the Negev, a mortar at the Gaza security fence, causing no damage or injuries.Armed mbrs. of the Jenin Martyrs Brigades (a Bureij cell of the PRCs affiliated with Fatah) kidnap PA military intelligence officer Jihad ‘Abid (fmr. aide to fmr. military intelligence head Musa Arafat) as he returns to Gaza through the Rafah crossing. (AFP, HA, XIN, 7/28; NYT 7/29; PR 8/3; PCHR 8/4; HA 8/8)

The IDF raids Yamun nr. Jenin, surrounds the house of wanted Islamic Jihad mbrs. Zahir and Warad Abahra (uncle and nephew), begins to bulldoze the house when they do not surrender, sparking an exchange of gunfire that leaves both men dead; also conducts arrest raids, bulldozes part of a 2d Palestinian home, uproots 10s of olive trees elsewhere in Yamun; razes the remains of a Byzantine church nr. Dayr al-Balah, known for its mosaic floors dating to 586 A.D.; fires on residential areas of Dura nr. Hebron; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Tulkarm, around Hebron; sends undercover units to arrest a wanted Palestinian in Bethlehem; bulldozes Palestinian agricultural land in Shufa nr. Tulkarm to widen the buffer zone around Avni Hefetz and Einav settlements; issues military orders confiscating 15 d. of land nr. Qalqilya for the construction of new settler bypass roads. 1,000s of Israeli disengagement protesters demonstrate in s. Israel for a 2d day. A Palestinian teenager stabs, lightly injures an Israeli in Jerusalem. Hamas fires 7 Qassam rockets, 19 mortars at Gush Katif and Neve Dekalim, injuring a foreign worker, damaging a house. Jewish settlers fr. Karnei Shomron throw stones at Palestinian cars on the Nablus–Qalqilya road, damaging 1 bus. PA security forces make a predawn raid on a Hamas educational center in Jabaliya r.c., seize computers and documents, while armed AMB mbrs. working with them torch 2 of the offices and 2 cars. (Senior Fatah, AMB officials say that in recent days, Abbas asked the AMB to help fight Hamas and ensure calm in Gaza in advance of disengagement, but that this is not official PA policy.) Hamas mbrs. attack the security forces and AMB mbrs., resulting in heavy clashes that leave 13 people wounded. In reaction, 100s of Palestinians demonstrate outside the PC offices in Ramallah to call for national unity and an end to the security chaos. Late in the evening, the Egyptian delegation secures agmt. of Fatah, Hamas to withdraw all armed forces fr. the streets of n. Gaza. 5 PA intelligence officers raid the al-Quds University forensics lab, the only forensics lab in the West Bank, rummage through and tamper with evidence in several murder, malpractice investigations; 100s of students mass to protect the lab, scuffle with plainclothes intelligence officers; the PA Justice Min. opens an investigation. (AFP, AP, IMEMC, XIN 7/19; MENA, VOI, VOP, YA 7/19 in WNC 7/20; HA, NYT, OCHA, PR, PRCS, REU, WAFA, WP, WT, XIN 7/20; VOP 7/20 in WNC 7/21; PCHR 7/21)

The IDF fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis, wounding an 8-yr.-old Palestinian; demolishes 5 Palestinian homes outside Nablus that were built without permits; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron. IDF soldiers escorting Jewish settlers to Joseph’s Tomb nr. Balata r.c. exchange gunfire with local Palestinians, leaving 1 AMB mbr. dead, 1 AMB mbr. and 1 bystander wounded. In Gaza, 2 Islamic Jihad mbrs. attempt to infiltrate Morag settlement, 1 is fatally shot by the IDF, 1 is wounded. In Gaza, a Jewish settler injures 3 Palestinians in a hit-and-run incident outside of Kefar Darom, local Palestinians race to the scene and IDF soldiers, other Kefar Darom settlers race to the driver’s defense, sparking clashes that leave 9 Palestinians injured, 2 seriously. In a separate incident in Gaza, a Jewish settler fr. Gadid injures a 57-yr.-old Palestinian farmer in a hit-and-run incident outside Khan Yunis. (XIN 7/6; VOP 7/6 in WNC 7/7; AFP, IMEMC, PCHR, PRCS 7/7; VOI 7/7 in WNC 7/8; ISM 7/12; OCHA 7/13; PCHR 7/14)

The IDF clashes with 4 mbrs. of the AMB, Islamic Jihad at an IDF outpost outside Gaza’s Kefar Darom settlement, killing 1 Islamic Jihad mbr., wounding an AMB mbr., while the 2 other gunmen flee. The IDF also opens the Rafah crossing, with severe restrictions on who may cross, but otherwise continues to seal the Gaza Strip; raids a suspected Islamic Jihad weapons factory in Jenin, arrests 1 Islamic Jihad mbr.; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron, in Mughraqa, nr. Tulkarm; bulldozes 1 d. of Palestinian agricultural land bordering Kefar Darom. Around 30 armed Jewish settlers (young disengagement protesters who moved to Neve Dekalim in recent days) attack a group of Palestinians in al-Mawasi, beating 3, shooting and wounding 1; Israeli soldiers observe but do not intervene, delay the checkpoint crossing of an ambulance transporting the wounded man to the hospital. Soon after, Palestinians fire 4 mortars at Neve Dekalim, 1 rocket at Sederot, causing no damage or injuries. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba occupy 3 Palestinian stores in the Palestinian section of Hebron for use as a synagogue, uproot 33 olive trees, destroy a harvest of plums. (HA, XIN 6/18; VOI, VOP 6/18 in WNC 6/19; WP 6/20; OCHA, PR 6/22; PCHR 6/23; IMEMC 6/24)

The IDF lifts the seal on the West Bank, Gaza (imposed on 5/10); fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis, wounding a 12-yr.-old Palestinian boy; shoots, wounds 2 Palestinians who toss Molotov cocktails at an IDF patrol nr. Ramallah, causing no damage or injuries; conducts arrest raids, house searches in al-‘Arub r.c. nr Hebron; arrests 3 Palestinians attempting to sneak into Israel fr. Dayr al-Balah to find work. Palestinians fire an anti-tank rocket at Israeli civilian workers installing a fence along the Philadelphi Route in Rafah, lightly injuring 4; fire 2 mortars at Gush Katif, causing no damage or injuries. Jewish settlers fr. Ma’on attack, attempt to force 4 Palestinian farmers off their land. (PM 5/15; HA, WP 5/16; OCHA 5/18; PCHR 5/19)

Israel announces that it has arrested 3 PFLP mbrs. for allegedly plotting to assassinate Shas party leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef. The IDF orders 27 bedouin to evacuate 3 sites nr. Tubas. Israel also opens bidding on 50 plots of land in Elkana settlement nr. Nablus for construction of new homes. The IDF issues military orders for the demolition of 3 Palestinian homes, 10 wells, 6 sewage systems outside Yatta for expansion of Carmiel settlement; resumes construction on a segment of the separation wall n. of Jerusalem; starts construction of a settler bypass road linking Neve Yaqub settlement to others around Jerusalem; raids Dayr al-Balah for a 2d day, arrests 3 Palestinians who allegedly attempted to sneak into Israel to find work; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Askar r.c. nr. Nablus, Silwad nr. Ramallah. Jewish settlers set up 2 new unauthorized outposts nr. Elon Moreh settlement nr. Nablus, nr. Hebron. A Jewish settler injures a 12-yr.-old Palestinian child in a hit-and-run nr. Bethlehem. Palestinians fire on IDF soldiers outside Neve Dekalim settlement, lightly wounding 1. In Jenin, 10s of AMB mbrs. take over a main intersection, close down a government building, demanding that the PA provide jobs to unemployed militants, fmr. prisoners, relatives of Palestinians killed by the IDF. Palestinian teachers open a 2-day strike to protest PC inactivity in amending the civil service law to increase teacher salaries (see 4/6). (NYT 4/18; MM 4/19; OCHA, PR 4/20; PCHR 4/21)

Late this evening, in response to assassinations in recent days, the AMB, Hamas, the PRCs stage a joint attack on the Qarni crossing, killing 4 Israeli civilian workers at the crossing and 2 Israeli Palestinian truck drivers waiting to cross, wounding 10 people (4 of them Israelis, others not identified)—in the attack, 3 armed men, 1 fr. each group, detonate a truck bomb on the Palestinian side of the crossing, blowing open a gate to the Israeli side, then open fire with automatic weapons and toss grenades, while other mbrs. at a distance reportedly fire mortars and automatic weapons at the crossing; the 3 Palestinians initiating the attack are shot dead by the IDF. In response, IDF helicopter gunships fire rockets at Dayr al-Balah, the suspected home of the bombers, destroying a medical center run by a charity with links to Hamas and Islamic Jihad, wounding 1 Palestinian; IDF tanks also fire on targets in s. Gaza. During the day, the IDF makes a major raid into Bureij r.c., conducts arrest raids and house searches, bulldozes 41 d. of land, fires on residential areas (killing a 10-yr.-old Palestinian boy), fires on stone-throwing youths who confront the troops (wounding 2), sparking clashes with Palestinian militants (killing a wanted PRC mbr.). The IDF also fatally shoots a 2d Palestinian driving his pregnant neighbor to the Bayt Lahiya hospital when the car inadvertently enters an area where IDF arrest raids are under way, also injuring the woman’s husband; fires on residential areas of Tarqumiyya, Yatta; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Hebron (arresting local Islamic Jihad leader Khalil Mahsin), Ithna, Qalqilya, Taqu‘a, Tarqumiyya, Tulkarm, Yatta; issues military orders confiscating 363 d. of agricultural land in 5 villages northwest of Jerusalem, begins bulldozing 400 d. in Ithna w. of Hebron for construction of the separation wall. Unknown gunmen fire shots at the Gaza City offices of the Islamic Salvation Party’s al-Risala newspaper; editors believe the paper was targeted for its critical reporting on the 1/9 PA elections, which stressed the PA’s decision to extend polling hours, the PA’s skewed reporting of voter turnout figures. (AFP 1/13; JAZ, JP, VOI, VOP 1/13 in WNC 1/15; BBC, HA, MM, NYT, REU, WP, WT 1/14; MM 1/17; OCHA 1/19; PR 1/20; MEI 1/21; AYM 1/23 in WNC 1/24; PCHR 1/27; MEI 2/4)

2 Islamic Jihad mbrs. ambush a Jewish settler vehicle outside Gaza’s Morag settlement, detonate 2 bombs killing 1 Jewish settler, fire on IDF soldiers who arrive on the scene, wounding 3, before being shot dead by the IDF. The IDF fatally shoots 2 Hamas mbrs. in an exchange of fire during an arrest raid in Qarawat Bani Zayd, later demolishing the Palestinian home in which they hid; fires on residential areas of Rafah, Tarqumiyya nr. Hebron; occupies the property of a Palestinian company in Dayr al-Balah, converting the corporate campus into a military camp; conducts arrest raids in al-Mawasi in s. Gaza, Qalqilya, Tubas. (VOI, VOP 1/12 in WNC 1/14; NYT, PCHR, WP 1/13; OCHA 1/19; PR 1/20; MEI 1/21)

An Israeli court imposes light sentences on 5 Israeli Palestinian leaders of the Islamic Movement, including movement founder Shaykh Raed Salah, who were arrested on 5/13/03 and accused of funneling $10 m. to Hamas, having contacts with Iranian agents. The 5 admitted to “security offenses”; the other charges were dropped. (NYT 1/13)

The IDF pulls out of Khan Yunis, suspending Operation Violet Iron, leaving a total of 14 Palestinian homes demolished, 21 severely damaged. Overnight, the IDF launches a 1-day incursion, Operation Autumn Wind, into n. Gaza to surround Bayt Hanun, Bayt Lahiya, Jabaliya r.c. in response to Palestinian rocket (7 total over the past 3 days) and mortar fire that wounded 1 Israeli civilian in the Erez industrial zone, lightly wounded 1 Israeli in Sederot; exchanges fire with armed Palestinians; shoots and seriously wounds a Palestinian cameraman covering clashes in Bayt Hanun, evacuates him to Israel. The IDF also bulldozes 15 d. of land in Dayr al-Balah; fires on residential areas of Rafah; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Bani Na‘im, Dura, Nablus and nearby Burqa, Tulkarm r.c., Tura al-Gharbiyya nr. Jenin. In Hebron, AMB mbrs. ambush, fatally shoot an Israeli security guard fr. Kiryat Arba settlement. (PCHR, PM 1/2; VOI 1/2 in WNC 1/4; NYT 1/3; PR 1/5; PCHR 1/6)