The Palestine Chronology

International diplomacy to end OCL clicks into gear with France proposing that Israel and Hamas impose a 48-hr. humanitarian truce to try to defuse the violence and restore the Gaza cease-fire, with humanitarian groups, Egypt, the EU, the Quartet, and the U.S. opening mediation channels (see Quarterly Update). Israel’s security cabinet meets to discuss the French proposal but does not formally respond.

Israeli actions: The IDF conducts 70 air strikes on Gaza, while the Israeli navy continues shelling from the sea, killing at least 10 Palestinians and wounding 40, bringing the death toll to about 370. The IDF reports hitting 110 individual sites, with primary targets being tunnels on the Rafah border, suspected weapons factories and rocket-launching sites, civil and naval police stations, and groups of resistance mbrs. In Gaza City, at least 20 air strikes hit Haniyeh’s offices, PA Interior Min., and main PA government complex in Gaza City, all of which had been targeted previously; 1 air strike hits an ambulance, killing 1 paramedic, seriously wounding a doctor and the driver. Part of Gaza’s main power grid is also hit, cutting all power to Gaza City. A fuel depot in Rafah is destroyed. In al-Bureij r.c., a mosque and health clinic are hit. In Khan Yunis, a money exchange is destroyed. At least 7 homes across the Strip are targeted. Target locations include Abasan, Bayt Hanun, Bayt Lahiya, al-Bureij r.c., Dayr al-Balah, Gaza City, Jabaliya town and r.c., Khan Yunis, al-Maghazi (c. Gaza), al-Mughraqa, al-Qarara, Rafah. The IDF launches a YouTube channel to broadcast declassified videos of its operations in Gaza, “other footage of interest to the international community” (JPI 1/8) and begins regular briefings for Internet bloggers worldwide.

Palestinian actions: Palestinians fire 41 rockets, 10 mortars into Israel, damaging 1 home in Sederot and causing several light injuries (excluding shock); 1 rocket lands in Beersheba, 25 mi. fr. the Gaza border, marking the farthest strike to date; 2 other long-range rockets land in Ashdod. Humanitarian notes: Israel allows 93 trucks into Gaza (50 carrying medical supplies and food donated by aid groups; 43 carrying commercial goods), but Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital says it is out of 150 kinds of medicine and 230 other medical supplies, including gloves, scissors, sterilization equipment, nitrogen for anesthesia. Fuel shipments are still cut off; Gaza’s power plant shuts down for lack of fuel. (BBC, HA, Independent 12/30; IDF, IFM, NYT, REU, UNOSAT, WP, WT 12/31; JP, PCHR 1/1; ITV 1/2; IDF 1/3; WP 1/4; IFM 1/8; NYT 1/13)

In the West Bank, a Palestinian worker in Mod’in Ilit settlement, angry over Israel’s war on Gaza, stabs, wounds 4 Jewish settlers before being shot and wounded by a paramedic who arrives on the scene. The IDF fires live ammunition, rubber-coated steel bullets, percussion grenades, tear gas at Palestinians demonstrating against OCL in al-Fawar r.c. nr. Hebron, wounding 3 (including teenagers ages 13, 14); makes simultaneous afternoon incursions into Beita and Hawara villages nr. Nablus, imposing curfews through 12/31; conducts simultaneous late-night raids, house searches on 4 villages nr. Jenin, firing on residential areas in all cases, causing no injuries and arresting only 1 teenager; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Abu Dis and Jalazun r.c. nr. Ramallah, and nr. Bethlehem, Hebron, Jenin, Nablus, Tulkarm. (PCHR, WJW 1/1)

As Israel continues widespread air and naval bombardment of Gaza for a 3d day, Israeli DM Barak declares “all-out war” on Hamas. The IDF declares a 2-mi. buffer zone around the Strip a closed military zone and continues amassing tanks and troops there, indicating further preparations for a ground invasion. Israeli military officials speaking anonymously say they have expanded the IDF’s target list to include Hamas’s support network and symbols of Hamas power, stating that “there are many aspects of Hamas, and we are trying to hit the whole spectrum, because everything is connected and everything supports terrorists against Israel” and that “anything affiliated with Hamas is a legitimate target.”

Israeli actions: The IDF reports hitting 100 sites today, including more Islamic University buildings (including the engineering dept., library); homes and offices of Hamas leaders; PA government buildings (including the Interior Min., Finance Min., Foreign Min., Labor Min., Construction and Housing Min., and a PA presidential guest house); Bani Suhayla’s municipal building; the alZawiyya Mosque in Jabaliya r.c. and Omar Bin al-Khattab Mosque in al-Bureij r.c.; more civil and naval police stations; more tunnels along the Rafah border; the headquarters of Hamas’s al-Aqsa TV; Gaza’s port (for a 2d day); and 1 Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades training site. Target areas include Abasan, Bani Suhayla, Bayt Lahiya, al-Bureij r.c., Dayr al-Balah, Gaza City (city center, al-Rimal, al-Sabra, Shaykh Ajlin, Tal al-Hawa), Jabaliya town and r.c., Khan Yunis, Nussayrat r.c., al-Qarara, Rafah, Shati’ r.c., Tal al-Za‘atar. Just before strikes on Rafah, Israeli Military Intelligence makes 10,000 automated calls to Rafah residents warning of pending air strikes, breaks into Palestinian radio broadcasts to urge residents across Gaza to move to city centers. Palestinian medical officials report at least 364 Palestinians dead, 1,500 wounded since 12/27.

Palestinian actions: Palestinians fire 66 rockets, 14 mortars into Israel (twice as many as in the previous 24 hrs.), killing 3 Israeli civilians (1 each in Nahal Oz, Ashdod, Ashqelon; 1 of them an Israeli Palestinian) and wounding 5 (3 of them Israeli Palestinians), with 2 rockets hitting 23 mi. north in Gan Yavne/Ashdod. A Palestinian mortar hits an IDF base in Netivot, s. and e. of the Nahal Oz crossing, killing 1 IDF soldier (a Druze), seriously wounding 1, lightly injuring 4. The Israeli toll stands at 4–5 dead, about 20 injured. Reports circulate (e.g., NYT 12/30) of Hamas gunmen executing at least 5 accused collaborators with Israel inside hospitals; the 5 had been jailed for collaboration and transferred to hospitals after being wounded in IDF air strikes on jails.

Humanitarian notes: Israel allows 40 truckloads of humanitarian aid into Gaza; Egypt allows 23 truckloads of emergency goods in, some wounded out through Rafah. International aid groups (including Amnesty International, the UN) say aid transfers are insufficient, warn that the death toll is rising in part because of lack of medicines and medical supplies, food, and fuel.

Of note: One Israeli air strike heavily damages the UN Special Coordinator’s Office (UNSCO) headquarters in Gaza City, prompting the UN to issue a formal complaint. Egyptian TV reports that captured IDF Cpl. Gilad Shalit has been wounded in an Israeli air strike in recent days; Hamas does not comment. (BBC, CNN, HA, Houston Chronicle, IFM, REU, White House press briefing, YA 12/29; BBC, IDF, Independent, NYT, WP, WT 12/30; IDF, UNOSAT 12/31; JP, PCHR, WJW 1/1; ITV 1/2; IDF 1/3; NYT, WP 1/4; WT, UNOSAT 1/5; IFM 1/8; Committee to Protect Journalists 1/9)

In the West Bank, the IDF fires rubbercoated steel bullets, percussion grenades, tear gas at Palestinians demonstrating against OCL in Issawiyya, Shu‘fat r.c., al-Tur neighborhood in East Jerusalem, causing no serious injuries; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in East Tura village nr. Jenin, Hebron. (PCHR 1/1)

As massive Israeli strikes on Gaza enter a 2d day, IDF Southern Command head Maj. Gen. Yo’av Galant says (HA 12/28) that the IDF aims to “send Gaza decades into the past” in terms of Hamas’s leadership, weaponry, and smuggling capabilities while achieving “the maximum number of enemy casualties.” Israel’s security cabinet authorizes the IDF to call up 6,500 reservists, and the IDF begins massing tanks and troops on Gaza’s border, indicating planning for a ground incursion. Israel’s Homefront Command orders 80 factories and businesses within 3 mi. of the Gaza border to close indefinitely for their safety (a move expected [WJW 1/1] to cost Israel’s economy $1 m./day), indicating concerns of increased Palestinian rocket fire once ground operations begin. Israeli Military Intelligence breaks into Palestinian radio broadcasts to warn Gazans against cooperating with Hamas. The IDF drops 300,000 leaflets across Gaza warning residents to evacuate areas where Hamas is operating or storing weapons or to remain at their own risk. The Israeli FMin. opens an international media broadcast outlet in Sederot (a main target of Palestinian rockets), begins tours of Sederot and other Gaza border communities for foreign media, diplomats, and VIPs. (Israel continues to prevent the foreign media fr. entering Gaza.)

Israeli actions: The IDF reports air and naval bombardment of 100 sites across Gaza, bringing the number of targets destroyed since operations began to more than 210. The 2-day Palestinian toll rises to an estimated 300 dead (including at least 22 children, 9 women, 60 other civilians) and 1,300 injured (including at least 235 children and 200 women). Target areas include Abasan, Bayt Hanun, Bayt Lahiya, Bani Suhayla (s. Gaza), Bir al-Naja (n. Gaza), Dayr al-Balah, Gaza City (city center, al-Rimal, Shaykh Ridwan, Shati’ r.c., al-Shuja‘iyya, Tal al-Hawa, al-Zaytun), Jabaliya town and r.c., Khan Yunis, Khuza (east of Khan Yunis), Nussayrat r.c., al-Qarara (s. Gaza), Rafah, Shati’ r.c., and Tal al-Za‘atar (nr. Jabaliya).

The IDF’s primary targets are around 40 tunnels along the Rafah border, hit with GBU-39s. Other major targets include several buildings at Islamic University (including a science building Israel claims was connected to rocket manufacturing); Gaza City’s PA ministry compound, the offices of acting PM Ismail Haniyeh, and the main police station (destroying the Saraya; allowing about 50 Fatah prisoners to escape, but killing at least 4); Rafah’s main PASF, governorate, and municipal complexes; more civil and naval police stations, metal workshops believed to make rockets; the Gaza City and Rafah ports; at least 3 mosques (Imad ‘Akel Mosque in Jabaliya r.c., Izzeddin al-Qassam Mosque in Abasan, al-Rimal Mosque in Gaza City) alleged to be weapons depots; a Palestinian Energy Authority building in Khan Yunis; a private medical warehouse; and at least 8 homes and 3 apartment buildings.

Palestinian actions: Palestinians fire 17 rockets, 18 mortars into Israel, injuring at least 6 Israeli civilians (including cases of shock). The rockets include 1 manufactured Grad/Katyusha that lands in Gan Yavne 20 mi. inside Israel, outside Ashdod, the farthest to date. In the evening, 100s of Palestinians attempt to flee Gaza through small breaches in the border wall apparently caused by IDF air strikes; they are sent back by Egyptian security forces, who exchange fire with the crowd, leaving at least 1 Palestinian, 1 Egyptian border policeman dead, 4 Palestinians, 5 Egyptian border policemen, an 8-yr.-old Egyptian child wounded.

Humanitarian notes: Israel allows the entry to Gaza of 100 truckloads of food and medical aid, 10 ambulances, and fuel for hospitals, donated by Jordan, Turkey, and international aid organizations. The shipments include 4 truckloads of pharmaceuticals from the PA central pharmacy in Ramallah (the 2d PA delivery since the PA had blocked the shipments of medicine to Gaza in early 9/08; see 12/16), transferred by the PA at UNRWA request. Humanitarian groups, however, continue to warn of deteriorating medical conditions and lack of food in Gaza and urge Israel to allow unrestricted entry of aid. OCHA reports power outages of up to 16 hrs./day in Gaza City, n. Gaza, and c. Gaza; says all flour mills have shut down for lack of grain imports, threatening widespread bread shortages. (AFP, AP, BBC, HA, IDF, IFM, JAZ, OCHA, REU 12/28; IDF, JP, al-Masryun[Egypt], NYT, SFR, WP, WT 12/29; BBC, Defense Update [online], Global Research [online], WP 12/30; REU, UNOSAT 12/31; JP, PCHR, WJW, WP 1/1; IDF, NYT 1/3; WP 1/4; IFM 1/8; WP 1/10)

Across the West Bank, Palestinians protest against OCL, clashing with the IDF at numerous points (Abu Dis, Issawiyya, and al-Ram nr. Jerusalem; Bani Na‘im nr. Hebron; Ni‘lin and Silwad nr. Ramallah), leaving 3 Palestinians dead, 31 Palestinians, 1 IDF soldier, 1 Israeli child injured. In at least one instance, PASF breaks up one protest by 100s of Palestinians in Ramallah when demonstrators unfurl Hamas banners; the PASF reportedly (NYT 1/3) has been ordered to prevent any popular displays of support for Hamas. The IDF conducts daytime house searches nr. Jenin, making no arrests; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Bil‘in and nr. Hebron, Nablus. Palestinians stone a Jewish settler vehicle nr. Hebron, lightly injuring an 8-yr.-old girl. (PCHR, WJW 1/1)

After early morning consultations with senior cabinet mbrs., the IDF launches its major offensive on Gaza, Operation Cast Lead (OCL), at 11:25 A.M. local time (4:25 A.M. EST). Israeli DM Barak acknowledges (WP 12/28) that OCL has been planned for several months, stating that the aim is “to strike Hamas severely so as to change the situation from its base,” cautioning that “it won’t be short.”

Israeli actions: After an initial “shock and awe campaign” lasting 3 min. and 40 sec., with 64 warplanes hitting more than 50 targets across the Strip, the IDF conducts periodic air strikes throughout the day, recording a total of 170 sorties against 150 targets, killing at least 228 Palestinians, wounding more than 700 (140 seriously), marking the highest single-day death toll and Israel’s largest offensive in the territories since 1967. The midday timing of the initial onslaught, just as schools let out for lunch, increases the number of civilian casualties, including an estimated 25 women and children. Israeli Military Intelligence sends automated calls to 20,000 Palestinians across the Strip warning of further air strikes targeting anyone with weapons or guns.

Targets struck are primarily civil police stations, military training bases, Hamas-related command-and-control centers, suspected weapons depots, and sites believed to manufacture rockets. Target areas include Bayt Hanun, Bayt Lahiya, al-Bureij r.c., Dayr al-Balah, Gaza City (the city center and al-Daraj, al-Shuja‘iyya, Tal al-Hawa, alTuffah, al-Zaytun neighborhoods), Jabaliya r.c., Khan Yunis, al-Mughraqa (s. of Gaza City), Rafah, Shati’ r.c., and al-Zahra’ (c. Gaza nr. Jabaliya).

Palestinian actions: Palestinians fire 59 rockets (including some that reach the farthest north to date), 19 mortars into Israel during the day, killing 1 Israeli civilian in Netivot, wounding 4. (The fatality may have occurred before the official launch of OCL.)

Humanitarian notes: Gaza’s hospitals report (BBC 12/27) overflowing wards and not enough surgeons or supplies to cope. Egypt temporarily opens the Rafah crossing to allow transportation of some wounded to Egyptian hospitals.

Of note: During the initial “shock and awe,” the IDF hits a police academy graduation ceremony in Gaza City, killing at least 60 new civil police recruits and the chief of Palestinian police Maj. Gen. Tawfiq Jabber. Other targets include Gaza City’s main jail (the Saraya, holding Hamas opponents, hitting only the gates), the PA Preventive Security headquarters in Gaza City, the PA security compound in Rafah (southern headquarters of the PASF, PA Internal Security Service, and PA civil police), PA naval police facilities in n. Gaza and Khan Yunis, Palestinian Telecommunication Company offices in n. Gaza, a Gaza City mosque identified by the IDF as “a base for terrorist activities,” Hamas’s al-Aqsa TV station, the agriculture control dept. in Khan Yunis, numerous police stations and training sites, at least 9 homes, several workshops (considered rocket-manufacturing sites), and Hamas’s Asda’ media center outside Khan Yunis. One IDF airstrike on a PA ministry building kills 8 Palestinian students at an adjacent UNRWA training center, wounding 19 others (8 seriously). Hamas and Palestinian human rights groups in Gaza estimate that the dead include around 165 civil police officers (including those at the graduation ceremony) and Hamas’s central district governor, Abu Ahmad Ashur. Some targets are hit with U.S.-supplied GBU-39 bunkerbusting munitions received as recently as 9/08 (see Quarterly Update in JPS 150 and the “Israeli Arsenal” document in this issue’s Special Focus section). (al-Arabiyya TV, BBC, HA, IDF, JAZ, Middle East News Agency [Cairo], Palestine News Agency, YA 12/27; AFP, AP, BBC, HA, IFM, JAZ, NYT, Radikal, REU, WP, WT, XIN 12/28; JP, NYT, Zaman [Ankara] 12/29; PCHR 1/1; BBC 12/30; UNOSAT 12/31; JP, WJW 1/1; WP 1/4; Eurasia Daily Monitor [online], NYT, UNOSAT 1/5; IFM, JPI 1/8; NYT 1/11)

In other Israeli-Palestinian violence, the IDF fires tear gas, percussion grenades, rubber-coated steel bullets to disperse Palestinians demonstrating against OCL in the East Jerusalem suburbs of Anata, Issawiyya, Shu‘fat r.c. An E. Jerusalem Palestinian, reportedly angry over events in Gaza, injures an Israeli border police officer in a deliberate hit and run in the city. The IDF also conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem, Jenin. (HA 12/28; PCHR, WJW 1/1)

Israeli DM Barak gives Israeli military and intelligence chiefs the final go-ahead to launch an offensive against Gaza. Olmert and his senior staff begin quietly briefing opposition leaders and prominent political figures on the impending operation. Israeli defense officials speaking to the press off the record say that a Gaza operation will begin when weather clears to allow precision-targeted air strikes. Meanwhile, the IDF allows 100 truckloads of humanitarian aid and fuel for Gaza’s power plant into Gaza. Palestinians fire about 12 rockets and mortars fr. Gaza toward Israel; 1 rocket falls inside the n. Gaza border, hitting a home, killing 2 Palestinian girls. In the West Bank, the IDF for a 2d night conducts coordinated late-night house searches in villages nr. Jenin, making no arrests; fires rubber-coated steel bullets, percussion grenades, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, and international activists taking part in the weekly demonstration against the separation wall in Bil‘in, wounding 2. (HA, NYT, WP 12/27; HA 12/28; WP 12/31; PCHR 1/1; JPI 1/8)

In Cairo, Livni rejects Mubarak’s call to renew the Gaza cease-fire. Palestinians in Gaza fire 3 rockets, 15 mortars into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts simultaneous late-night house searches in 2 villages nr Jenin, making no arrests. An Israeli court sentences jailed Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) leader Ahmad Saadat, detained in 2001 for involvement in the assassination of Israeli cabinet minister Rehavam Ze’evi, to 30 yrs. in jail; Saadat is acquitted of planning the assassination but found guilty of plotting other anti-Israel attacks. (IFM 12/25; NYT, WP, WT 12/26; PCHR 1/1; NYT 1/3)

Hamas’s Gaza leadership calls on factions to halt their fire for 24 hrs. in an effort to restore the truce. Senior Hamas official Mahmud Zahhar appears on Israeli TV to state that Hamas seeks a new cease-fire in exchange for regular food and electricity in Gaza and a halt to IDF operations in the West Bank. On the ground, Palestinians (suspected to be Islamic Jihad, which says it had not agreed to suspend attacks) fire 3 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. An unnamed senior Israeli security official states (YA 12/23) that “all of the IDF’s preparations for a military operation are continuing as planned. As far as we are concerned the clock is ticking down on a military operation.” Israel, which maintains a full seal on Gaza, dispatches diplomats to lobby for international support and sympathy for Israel in the face of rocket attacks. Egyptian pres. Husni Mubarak asks Israeli FM Livni to come to Cairo on 12/25 for talks on renewing the truce. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron, Jenin, Nablus. (IFM 12/22; HA, JP, MA, MM, WP, YA 12/23; PCHR 12/24)

Palestinians fire 10 rockets, 23 mortars fr. Gaza into Israel, causing light damage to 1 building but no injuries; the AMB takes responsibility for the mortar fire. In response, the IDF fires a surface-to-surface missile at a mortar-launching site n. of Bayt Lahiya (killing 1 AMB mbr., wounding 2) and makes an air strike on a rocketlaunching site e. of Gaza City (wounding 1 bystander). In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Bayt Sahur and nr. Bethlehem, Jenin; raids, searches a medical center in Hebron. (WT 12/21; Forward, MM 12/22; PCHR 12/24)

The 6-mo. Hamas-Israel truce in Gaza officially expires. Palestinians fire 4 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel and direct sniper fire across the border at IDF troops, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts nearly simultaneous house searches in 7 villages around Jenin but makes no arrests; fires rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas, percussion grenades at Palestinian, Israeli, international peace activists taking part in nonviolent demonstrations against the separation wall in Bil‘in (injuring 6 Palestinians and 1 Israeli, including a Palestinian and an Israeli journalist); fires tear gas at 2 Palestinian Red Crescent ambulances treating injuries at a wall protest in Ni‘lin, damaging 1. A Palestinian bystander seriously injured in the 10/20/08 IDF assassination of 2 Hamas mbrs. in Khan Yunis dies of his injuries. (NYT 12/19; NYT, WP 12/20; PCHR 12/24)

UNRWA is forced to suspend its food distribution to Gazan refugees for the 2d time in 60 yrs. (the first was on 11/13/08; see Quarterly Update in JPS 150) because of Israel’s near-total restriction on the import of food and wheat flour to Gaza (allowing only 15 trucks/day; UNRWA needs 70–80 trucks/day to keep operations going). In light of the ongoing siege and Israeli military actions, Hamas officials in Gaza declare that they will not renew the 6-mo. ceasefire when it expires on 12/19. Palestinians (some if not all mbrs. of Islamic Jihad) fire 11 rockets, 6 mortars fr. Gaza into Israel, causing light damage but no injuries. The IDF responds with air strikes on 2 rocket-launching sites, seriously wounding 1 Islamic Jihad mbr. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Jenin town and r.c. (MM, OCHA 12/18; NYT, WT 12/19; WP 12/20; PCHR 12/24; London Review of Books 1/1)

Israel releases 224 Palestinian prisoners; at least 9,000 Palestinians remain in Israeli jails. Gaza’s power plant shuts down after 4 days of operation for lack of fuel (see 12/11). In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Bayt Umar nr. Hebron; hours later conducts synchronized house searches in 4 villages and al-Fawar r.c. nr. Hebron. The IDF also sends undercover units in a vehicle with Palestinian license plates into al-Yamun village nr. Jenin, where they ambush and assassinate Islamic Jihad mbr. Jihad Nawahda. Israel’s High Court orders a 2d revision of the planned separation wall around Bil‘in, ruling that the new IDF route (submitted in compliance with a 9/07 High Court decision) still directs the wall unnecessarily through private Palestinian land. (NYT, WT 12/16; OCHA 12/17; PCHR 12/18)

The IDF conducts evening patrols in Anabta village nr. Tulkarm, firing rubbercoated steel bullets at stone-throwing Palestinian youths who confront them, causing no reported injuries; conducts synchronized, late-night house searches in 3 villages nr. Jenin, making no arrests; conducts additional late-night arrest raids, house searches in Bethlehem, nr. Ramallah. (PCHR 12/18)

The IDF conducts midday patrols inside Salfit, firing rubber-coated steel bullets at stone-throwing Palestinian youths who confront them, causing no reported injuries; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Jenin; fires rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas, percussion grenades at Palestinian, Israeli, international peace activists taking part in nonviolent demonstrations against the separation wall in Bil‘in (injuring 2 Palestinians, including an 8-yr.-old child) and Ni‘lin (injuring 5 Palestinians). Overnight and into the morning, Jewish settlers in Hebron vandalize Palestinian homes, attempt to occupy 1. (PCHR 12/18)

Israel agrees to transfer $25 m. in shekels to Gaza, an amount less than what the PA needs to pay its Gaza salaries, meaning banks are unlikely to reopen, still fearing a run on cash. In the West Bank, the IDF sends troops into Marda village nr. Nablus in the afternoon, arresting 2 Palestinians; returns to Marda late in the evening to search several homes, arresting 5 Palestinians; conducts additional late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Jenin town and r.c. Jewish settlers fr. Shavei Shomron settlement nr. Nablus enter nearby Sebastia village, fire on residential areas (causing damage but no injuries), leave when the IDF arrives. (WP 12/11; PCHR 12/18)

Late in the evening, the IDF makes an air strike on a group of Palestinian resistance mbrs. nr. Gaza’s Jabaliya r.c., wounding 1. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts latenight arrest raids, house searches in Jenin town and r.c.; fires rubber-coated steel bullets, percussion grenades at Palestinian, Israeli, international peace activists taking part in nonviolent demonstrations against the separation wall in Bil‘in (injuring 2 Palestinians, including a 10-yr.-old child). In Hebron, Jewish settlers rampage through Palestinian areas for a 9th day, burning 1 home and several gardens, shooting and wounding 1 Palestinian; the IDF occupies 9 Palestinian homes as operational bases, but apparently does not intervene. Jewish settlers fr. Avnei Hefetz nr. Tulkarm uproot 80 Palestinian olive trees, damage an irrigation network, fortify an existing unmanned IDF barrier outside Shu‘fat village. Jewish settlers fr. Yitzhar block nearby Palestinian roads, stone Palestinian cars. Jewish settlers fr. Ma’ale Levona nr. Ramallah close a secondary Ramallah–Nablus road to Palestinian traffic, stoning Palestinian cars, causing one to flip over, injuring 2 Palestinians. (PCHR 12/18)

Hamas mbrs. fire 8 mortars fr. Gaza toward Israel, 6 of which land inside Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In response, the IDF makes an air strike on 1 mortar-launching site, killing 2 Palestinian teenagers nearby, wounding 2 children. OCHA reports that in addition to mortar fire, Palestinians have fired 6 rockets fr. Gaza toward Israel between 11/27 and 12/2, causing no injuries. Israeli border police arrest Israeli reporter Amira Hass as she leaves Gaza through the Erez crossing, charging her with violating the government ban on Israelis entering Gaza. Hass, who entered Gaza on 10/29 on a boat carrying solidarity activists (see Chronology in JPS 150), was then expelled by Hamas officials who disapproved of her coverage of events in the Strip; she is released pending a hearing. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts latenight arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem, Jenin. For a 6th straight day, 100s of Jewish settlers riot in Hebron to protest the orders to evacuate Beit Shalom, attacking Palestinians on the street, vandalizing Palestinian homes, damaging cars, and harassing IDF troops; the IDF fires tear gas, percussion grenades at Palestinians who attempt to stop the settlers, injuring 3. In 2 other West Bank locations, Jewish settlers protesting the planned eviction set fire to Palestinian stocks of animal feed, slash tires. (HA 12/2; NYT, WP, WT 12/3; WT, PCHR 12/4)

The Israeli navy turns back a Libyan freighter carrying 3,000 tons of humanitarian aid attempting to breach Israel’s blockade of Gaza. In the West Bank, the IDF sends an undercover unit into Nablus to ambush and assassinate al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade (AMB) mbr. Muhammad Abu Thira’ while he is in PA security force (PASF) custody in a PASF vehicle being transported fr. his home to a PASF facility where he would stay overnight, as part of the process to be granted amnesty by Israel. IDF also conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Jenin town and r.c., nr. Bethlehem; conducts separate, synchronized late-night house searches in 4 villages nr. Jenin, without making any arrests. The IDF guards buses bringing 100s of Jewish settlers to Hebron to “defend” Beit Shalom. After dark, settlers rampage through Palestinian neighborhoods, attempt to seize a Palestinian home, heavily damage others. Jewish settlers fr. Shilo nr. Ramallah protesting the government order to evacuate Beit Shalom rampage through the villages of Turmusayya and Sinjil, slashing tires, vandalizing homes and a mosque, spraying graffitti saying “Death to Arabs” and “Muhammad is a Pig.” (NYT, WT 12/2; WJW, PCHR 12/4)

Egypt opens its side of the Rafah crossing to allow select Palestinian pilgrims to exit Gaza to perform the Hajj, but Hamas officials bar their exit because they were chosen by the PA in the West Bank without consultation with Hamas authorities in Gaza; Hamas has provided Saudi Arabia with its own proposed list of pilgrims fr. Gaza, but Saudi Arabia, supporting PA PM Mahmud Abbas, refuses to grant them entry permits, so Egypt has barred their transit. For the 1st time since 1973, no Gazans will be able to perform the Hajj. The IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Jenin; conducts synchronized, late-night house searches in village nr. Nablus, with no arrests reported. Throughtout the day, Jewish settlers continue (see 11/27, 11/28) to attack Palestinians and their property in Hebron; 1 Palestinian teenager is shot in the shoulder by an IDF soldier, 12 other Palestinians (including 2 children) and a B’Tselem field worker documenting the violence are beaten and injured by settlers wielding iron bars; 20 Palestinian homes are damaged. (WT 12/3; NYT, PCHR 12/4)

IDF troops along the s. Gaza border e. of Khan Yunis fire on a group of armed Palestinians inside Gaza, causing no injuries; troops then cross into Gaza, exchange fire with armed Palestinians, wounding 4. PRC mbrs. then fire 11 mortars fr. Gaza toward the IDF military post at Nahal Oz crossing; 3 mortars hit the base, wounding 6 IDF soldiers, 1 critically. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts an evening raid on an Internet cafe nr. Jenin, checking IDs and searching ´ the premises but making no arrests; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron, Jerusalem, Qalqilya, Tulkarm; conducts synchronized, late-night house searches in Tubas and neighboring al-Fara‘ r.c., and in 8 villages s. of Jenin, making no arrests; fires rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas, percussion grenades at Palestinian, Israeli, international peace activists taking part in nonviolent demonstrations against the separation wall in Bil‘in (injuring 1 Japanese activist), Jayyus nr. Qalqilya (injuring 2 Palestinians), and Ni‘lin (injuring 2 Danish activists, 1 Palestinian teenager). Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba and Beit Shalom attack Palestinians, vandalize property in nearby Palestinian areas, seriously injuring 4 Palestinians, including a 6-yr.-old boy. Later, IDF troops close the area, take up positions on surrounding rooftops, escort 5 busloads of settlers from other parts of the West Bank into the area to “defend” the illegal Beit Shalom outpost. In the evening, the settlers rampage through Palestinian areas, burning cars, slashing tires, breaking windows of cars and homes, destroying water tanks; the IDF does not intervene. (NYT 11/29; OCHA 12/3; PCHR 12/4)

Israel allows entry to Gaza of 18 tons of chlorine to disinfect drinking water, an amount sufficient to purify Gaza’s water supply for 8 days; Gaza’s water authority had requested 220 tons. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts synchronized, late-night house searches on several villages nr. Jenin (no arrests are reported). As rumors spread that the IDF is preparing to evict settlers fr. Beit Shalom, Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba and Beit Shalom carry out a series of attacks on nearby Palestinian neighborhoods, vandalizing homes, attacking 2 funeral processions, moderately injuring 2 Palestinians; the IDF observes but does not intervene. (OCHA 11/27; OCHA 12/3; PCHR 12/4)

Israel allows 32 truckloads of humanitarian aid, limited fuel imports, and some currency imports into Gaza but maintains a ban on foreign journalists (ban now in place for more than 2 wks.). The Foreign Press Association appeals to Israel’s High Court to overturn the ban. Despite receiving fuel, Gaza’s power plant cannot resume operation, because its turbine batteries have died from prolonged lack of use and Israel continues to bar the import of maintenance equipment. Palestinians fire 1 rocket fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF demolishes a Palestinian home in Azariyya; patrols in, fires on residential areas of Jenin town and r.c., causing no injuries; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches, ID checks in Qalandia r.c. nr. Ramallah. Jewish settlers fr. Beit Shalom vandalize, heavily damage at least 5 Palestinian cars. The Israeli government reaches a deal with the 45 Jewish settler families in the unauthorized outpost of Migron (among the largest unauthorized outposts) near Hebron to relocate closer to the existing authorized Jewish settlement of Adam; the families will be permitted to stay in Migron until new housing is constructed, a process expected to take years. (WP 11/25; OCHA 11/26; PCHR 11/27)

The IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem, Jenin. Jewish settlers dress in Magen David Adom (Israeli Red Cross) uniforms and, guarded by Israeli security forces, raid, seize a Palestinian home in the Aqabat al-Saraya quarter of the Old Town of East Jerusalem; the Palestinian family has lived in the home since 1931. A Palestinian who suffered a severe heart attack during an 11/9 IDF raid on his East Jerusalem home dies. (PCHR 11/27)

In the West Bank, the IDF fires rubbercoated steel bullets, tear gas, percussion grenades at Palestinians holding a nonviolent protest against settlements at the evacuated settlement site of Homesh nr. Jenin (wounding 5); conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus, and nr. Bethlehem, Hebron; fires rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas, percussion grenades at Palestinian, Israeli, international peace activists taking part in nonviolent demonstrations against the separation wall in Bil‘in (10s suffer tear gas inhalation), Jayyus nr. Qalqilya (10s suffer tear gas inhalation; a Palestinian Council mbr. and PLO Exec. Comm. mbr. are detained for questioning), and Ni‘lin (injuring 1). In East Jerusalem, Israeli police raid and halt a cultural event at a theater in the city organized by the Jerusalemite Youth Parliament and several local NGOs and schools, stating that it was a political event connected to the Palestinian Authority (PA), which the organizers deny. (PCHR 11/27)

As the quarter opens, Israel maintains its strict siege of Gaza, imposed following Hamas’s 6/07 takeover of Gaza and tightened dramatically in 1/08 to allow no exports and only the bare minimum of humanitarian imports. A 6-mo. Gaza cease-fire, in place since 6/19, technically remains in effect, although significant cross-border exchanges resumed on 11/4. Israel has sealed Gaza borders completely since 11/5, allowing in an average of 5 containers/day of humanitarian aid, whereas the UN estimates that 500/day are needed to sustain the basic human needs of the 1.5 m. population. Today, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) makes an air strike on Gaza City targeting a group of Popular Resistance Comm. (PRC) mbrs. preparing to fire a rocket into Israel, killing 4 PRC mbrs. (The IDF reports that in the past 48 hrs., Palestinians have fired 20 rockets and mortars, including 2 Grad-type rockets, into Israel, causing no damage or injuries.) In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron and Nablus, and nr. Bethlehem, Jenin. Israel’s High Court orders Jewish settlers to evacuate the illegal outpost of Beit Shalom, in the al-Rajabi building in the Wadi al-Nassara area of Hebron, or face eviction, also declaring the State of Israel the temporary custodian of the building until ownership disputes are resolved; settlers ignored a 10/29 High Court order demanding they vacate the building within 24 hrs. (NYT 11/17; OCHA 11/19; PCHR 11/20; OCHA 11/27)

As the quarter closes, Israel maintains its ban on all Gaza imports including fuel, medicine, basic foodstuffs, and currency for banks. As a result, 1.5 m. Gazans are without regular electricity, no Gazan households have daily running water (20% of households receive 6 hrs. of water/5 days, 40% receive 6 hrs. water/4 days, 40% receive 6 hrs. water/3 days), bread is being rationed due to lack of grain, and shortages of milk, red meat, and fresh produce are widespread. UNICEF reports that the Israeli government has been holding 2 shipments of vaccines for Gazan children at Ben-Gurion airport since 10/29. The WHO reports that the stock of 95 of 473 drugs it classifies as “essential” for hospitals and clinics to have on hand and 174 other medical supplies are at zero levels in the Strip. UN Secy.-Gen. Ban Ki-moon calls on Israel to open crossings into Gaza for fuel, food, and humanitarian aid, stating that measures that increase the suffering of Gaza’s civilians “are unacceptable and should cease immediately.” The UN reports that Palestinians have fired some 140 rockets and mortars toward Israel since 11/4, injuring 1 Israeli and causing property damage in 1 incident on 11/14. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Jenin town and r.c. (WT 11/15, 11/16; OCHA 11/17, 11/19; PCHR 11/20)

AsIsrael continues to seal Gaza’s borders completely, aid agencies (including Oxfam and UNRWA) warn of an impending humanitarian crisis. UNRWA Gaza dir. John Ging states that “it is unprecedented that the UN is unable to get its supplies in to a population under such obvious distress.” Unnamed Hamas officials say that Israel apparently is not interested in maintaining the truce and therefore would face consequences. Today, Hamas admits to firing 11 Grad-type rockets fr. Gaza toward Israel (4 of which landed inside Israel, causing no damage or injuries) in addition to 3 regular rockets and several mortars, 1 of which (unclear whether rocket or mortar) hits an Israeli home in Sederot, causing damage and lightly injuring 1 Israeli. The IDF makes air strikes on suspected launch sites in n. Gaza, wounding 2 armed Palestinians. In the West Bank, the IDF fires tear gas, percussion grenades at Palestinians holding a nonviolent protest against settlements at the evacuated settlement site of Homesh nr. Jenin (wounding 1); conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus, and nr. Bethlehem, Hebron; fires rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas, percussion grenades at Palestinian, Israeli, international peace activists taking part in a nonviolent demonstration against the separation wall in Bil’in (injuring 2); fires rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, international peace activists taking part in a similar nonviolent demonstration in Ni‘lin (injuring 1). (NYT, WP 11/15; WT 11/16; OCHA 11/19; PCHR 11/20)

In Gaza, UNRWA suspends food deliveries to 750,000 Gazans for lack of stocks and Gaza municipal officials are forced to shut down Gaza’s power plant once again for lack of fuel (see 11/11) after Israel suspends food and humanitarian aid shipments to Gaza in response to Palestinians firing 8 rockets and some mortars into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. The UN’s World Food Program, which feeds an additional 130,000 nonrefugee Palestinians, says it is delving into its emergency stock of food, which will last only 4 more weeks. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem, Jenin. Israeli police raid an event being held at the Jerusalemite Association for Community Development in Wadi al-Juz in East Jerusalem (attended by, among others, the Egyptian amb. to Israel and a Spanish embassy official), halting the event on the grounds that it constituted illegal Palestinian political activity in Jerusalem. (WP, WT 11/14; OCHA 11/19; PCHR 11/20)

Israel agrees to a request by Quartet special envoy Tony Blair to resume fuel shipments to Gaza but allows industrial fuel for Gaza power plant to flow for only 4 hrs. before cutting off the supply once again. Meanwhile, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) warns that it will be forced to halt food distribution to 750,000 refugees on 11/14 for lack of stocks unless Israel unseals Gaza’s borders. IDF troops on the s. Gaza border fire on Palestinian farmers working their fields nr. the border fence, forcing them to flee. In the West Bank, the IDF sends troops into al-Araqa nr. Jenin overnight, setting up checkpoints and conducting ID checks; fires on Palestinians in Hebron holding a rally to commemorate the 4th anniversary of PLO head Yasir Arafat’s death, wounding 4 Palestinians; sends undercover units into Jenin r.c. in a car with Palestinian license plates to arrest a wanted Palestinian; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Jenin town and r.c., in Nablus, nr. Bethlehem. (JAZ, JP, WP 11/11; WT 11/12; OCHA 11/12; PCHR 11/13)

The Israeli cabinet discusses a proposal by Justice M Daniel Friedmann and Vice PM Haim Ramon to use heavy artillery to retaliate against Palestinian rocket fire fr. Gaza, recommending that the IDF notify civilians to evacuate villages that have become “launching pads for . . . terror groups” and then “raze the villages with artillery”; no decision is taken. (JP 11/11)

In Sharm al-Shaykh, Egypt, Rice attends a high-level Quartet mtg. to discuss ways of keeping the process alive during the Israeli and U.S. government transitions. Abbas, Livni brief the Quartet on their talks since the 11/07 Annapolis summit, pledge to continue negotiations despite the political uncertainty in Israel, and reaffirm that “nothing would be considered agreed until everything is agreed.” The Quartet reiterates its support for continued negotations, praises the PA’s security reforms, and urges the international community to fulfill aid pledges to the PA to ease the economic crisis in the territories. (HA 11/8; IFM, NYT, WP, WT 11/9; WP 11/10)

In the West Bank, the IDF makes an evening incursion into Anabta nr. Tulkarm, firing on residential areas and then on stone-throwing youths who confront them, wounding 1 teenager; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron, in Jenin town and r.c., and nr. Bethlehem. Israeli police evict a Palestinian family (14 mbrs., including 7 children) fr. their home in Shaykh Jarrah, East Jerusalem, turning the property over to Jewish settlers who claim to have purchased the land fr. relatives of the Ottoman-era owners even though an Israeli court ruled in 2006 that their claim was based on forged documents. (AFP, XIN 11/9; OCHA 11/12; PCHR 11/13; NYT 12/7)

IDF troops, bulldozers cross into s. Gaza to level land along the border e. of Khan Yunis, exchanging fire with Hamas mbrs., causing no reported injures. In a similar incident nr. the Erez crossing, IDF soldiers exchange fire with DFLP gunmen, causing no reported injuries. The IDF also makes an air strike on an alleged rocket-launching site in n. Gaza, causing no injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Nur al-Shams r.c. nr. Tulkarm, nr. Bethlehem. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba beat a 6-yr.-old Palestinian boy on his way to school until his grandfather halts the attack; the IDF observes but does not intervene. Hamas accuses PA security forces in the West Bank of arresting 26 Hamas mbrs. and supporters, mostly in Hebron, but also in Bethlehem, Jericho, and Salfit. (HA, JP, MNA, REU, YA 11/8; HA, JAZ, MNA 11/9; OCHA 11/12; PCHR 11/13)

After a last-minute talks in Cairo between Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Sulayman and senior Hamas official Mahmud Zahhar fr. Gaza, Hamas’s dep. leader Musa Abu Marzuq announces from Damascus that Hamas will not attend national unity talks in Cairo on 11/9. Hamas officials cite Egyptian and PA unwillingness to compromise on the wording of an Egyptian draft national unity statement or to discuss issues of importance to Hamas, and the PA’s failure to fulfill a pledge to release 100s of Hamas and Islamic Jihad prisoners held in the West Bank as a confidence-building gesture in advance of the summit. (AFP 11/8; NYT, WT 11/9; see also MNR 11/7)

Rice stops in Jenin to meet with Abbas and to inaugurate a new hospital wing funded by USAID, announcing another $14 m. in USAID funds for Jenin. (HA 11/8; IFM, NYT, WP, WT 11/9)