The Palestine Chronology

Overnight in Gaza, the IDF sends troops, bulldozers into Bani Suhayla nr. Khan Yunis, bulldozing 125 d. of agricultural land, several greenhouses, 1 Palestinian home before withdrawing in the morning; during the operation, troops fire a tank shell at armed Palestinians approaching the area (wounding 3) and detain 11 Palestinians (including 1 child) for questioning. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in Bethlehem, Qabatya, and nr. Hebron. In East Jerusalem, Israeli police and intelligence officers break up a memorial service for the late Palestinian political figure Faisal Husseini, declaring it an illegal political gathering, arresting 4 Palestinians. A Jewish settler deliberately drives into a flock of Palestinian sheep nr. Hebron, killing 3 sheep, injuring 2. The Israeli Housing Min. says it is moving ahead with previously announced plans to build 884 new Jewish settler housing units in East Jerusalem’s Pisgat Ze’ev (763 units) and Har Homa (121 units) settlements. Meanwhile, in Bayt Furik, angry Palestinians demonstrate, throw stones at a Palestinian Authority (PA) police station in Nablus, denouncing the PA’s recent confiscation of 86 unlicensed and stolen vehicles, injuring 3 policemen; the PA police fire live ammunition and percussion grenades at the protesters and beat several, injuring 8 Palestinians and causing an elderly Palestinian woman to have a fatal heart attack. In Gaza’s al-Maghazi r.c., unidentified gunmen fire on a group of Hamas mbrs., who return heavy fire; no injuries are reported. In Gaza’s Shati’ r.c., a bomb explodes outside a store, causing damage but no injuries; no group takes responsibility. (NYT 6/2; OCHA 6/4; PCHR 6/5; REU 7/14)

Overnight in Gaza, the IDF sends troops into al-Fukhari nr. Khan Yunis and nearby Shuka to raid and search homes, firing on armed Palestinians who confront them, wounding 2 civilians, 1 armed Palestinian. Troops withdraw to Israel early in the morning. The Israeli navy detains 6 Palestinian fishing off the Rafah coast, questions and releases 16 fishermen. Palestinians fire a rocket toward Israel, but it lands inside Gaza, hitting a home e. of Gaza City, injuring a mother, 2 children. Egyptian border police find a cache of more than 1,000 lbs of explosives, including mortars and rockets, on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border. Overnight in the West Bank, the IDF sends troops into Qabatya to raid and search homes, 2 schools, a mosque, confiscating money and computers, arresting 10 Palestinians; before withdrawing in late morning, troops fire tear gas at children heading to school, injuring 10. The IDF also conducts daytime arrest raids nr. Qalqilya; fires tear gas at Palestinians demonstrating against the separation wall in Ni‘lin (pop. 5,000) nr. Ramallah, causing no injuries; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus, in Qalqilya, and nr. Bethlehem, Hebron. (NYT, OCHA 5/28; PCHR 5/29)

In Gaza, the IDF makes a late-night air strike on a group of Hamas mbrs. in Khan Yunis, missing them, hitting an apartment building, causing no injuries; makes a latenight incursion into Bayt Hanun, under cover of aircraft that fire on several groups of Palestinians and buildings, killing a 55-yr.-old Palestinian in his home, seriously wounding another Palestinian, demolishing several greenhouses, damaging 5 homes. A Palestinian shepherd is injured when he accidentally triggers a landmine e. of Jabaliya r.c. In the West Bank, the IDF shoots, wounds an unarmed Palestinian who strays nr. the separation wall northwest of Jerusalem; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Jenin, Nablus, Ramallah, in Anata e. of Jerusalem and Qabatya, and nr. Bethlehem, Hebron, Qalqilya. Jewish settlers fr. Karnei Shomron nr. Tulkarm stone Palestinian cars passing by the settlement, damaging 1. (PCHR 4/24; OCHA, PCHR 4/30)

In Gaza, the IDF makes an air strike on a car carrying 2 Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades mbrs. nr. Khan Yunis, missing it, wounding 6 bystanders. Gazan PC mbrs. erect a tent in front of the PC headquarters in Gaza City, begin a hunger strike to protest Israel’s ongoing siege. In the West Bank, the IDF fires on stone-throwing Palestinian youths outside Dahaysha r.c. nr. Bethlehem, wounding 5 with live ammunition; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus, in Qabatya, and nr. Hebron, Jenin, Qalqilya, Tulkarm. Israel bars access to the Jordan River to 15,000 Christians making a pilgrimage to Jesus’s baptismal cite to mark Orthodox Christian Holy Week, keeping them behind a fence 30 ft. fr. the river. Birzeit University student council elections allot 25 seats to Fatah, 19 to Hamas, 5 each to the PFLP and a joint Islamic Jihad/People’s Party list. Students clash over the results, prompting the university to close the campus until tensions cool. (OCHA, WT 4/23; PCHR 4/24)

Overnight, the IDF sends troops and tanks into Gaza’s al-Bureij r.c. for a daylong operation, firing on residential areas, searching homes (reportedly using Palestinians as human shields), and clashing with local resistance mbrs. (making at least 1 air strike), killing 7 Palestinians (6 of them civilians, including boys ages 12, 15), wounding 27 (including at least 18 civilians, 2 gunmen), detaining 20, and bulldozing 3 Palestinian homes, 30 d. of agricultural land. The IDF also conducts air strikes on Khan Yunis, killing 3 Hamas mbrs. In refugee camps across Gaza, 1,000s of Palestinians take part in peaceful rallies organized by Hamas, calling on Israel to end the siege. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Qabatya and nr. Hebron, Jenin; fires rubber-coated steel bullets, percussion grenades, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, international activists taking part in the weekly nonviolent demonstration against the separation wall in Bil‘in (10s suffer tear gas inhalation) and beat Palestinian demonstrators at a similar demonstration in al-Masa’ra nr. Bethlehem (injuring 3). (NYT, WT 3/12; OCHA 3/16; PCHR 4/17)

In response to IDF attacks on 2/5, Palestinians fire at least 20 rockets and mortars fr. Gaza into Israel, injuring 2 Israeli girls (ages 1, 12) playing outside in Kibbutz Beeri. The IDF then steps up air strikes and shelling of Hamas targets around Bayt Hanun, Gaza City, Jabaliya r.c., and Khan Yunis, wounding at least 3 Hamas mbrs. and an 80-yr.-old woman. In the West Bank, the IDF demolishes 2 Palestinian homes, bedouin tents, and 2 merchandise stalls in Jiftlik in the Jordan Valley, displacing 29 Palestinians; demolishes 4 tents, 9 animal pens, 2 other structures belonging to bedouin families nr. Tubas, displacing 30 Palestinians; bulldozes a room of a home nr. the separation wall in Qalqilya; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Nablus and in Hebron (again targeting the homes of the alleged 2/4 bombers), Qabatya, Ramallah, Tulkarm. Israeli authorities demolish 1 Palestinian home in the Old City of Jerusalem (leaving 30 Palestinians homeless). (PCHR, WP 2/7; OCHA 2/13; PCHR 2/14)

The IDF makes an air strike on a police post in Khan Yunis, killing 7 Hamas-affiliated policemen, wounding 1; makes an incursion into al-Shuka, searching homes, exchanging fire with local gunmen, killing 2 armed Palestinians, arresting 40 Palestinians; fires across the border toward Palestinian homes and agricultural areas in al-Qarara, damaging several homes but causing no injuries; sends armored vehicles, bulldozers into the Erez industrial zone to level land. Palestinians fire 8 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, hitting a factory and a home, injuring 4 Israelis. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts major arrest raids, house searches in Hebron (detaining 30 Palestinians, including 3 journalists) in connection with the 2/4 bombing; also conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around East Jerusalem, nr. Ramallah, and in Nablus, Nur al-Shams r.c. nr. Tulkarm, Qabatya, Silwad. PA teachers and health workers begin a 2-day strike to protest new PA restrictions on obtaining government services such as ID cards, birth certificates. In Gaza City, unidentified assailants blow up the jeep of a mbr. of the Hamas-affiliated internal security service, damaging 2 other vehicles but causing no injuries. (HA, MA, NYT, OCHA, WP, WT, YA 2/6; PCHR 2/7)