The Palestine Chronology

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)

In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Tulkarm, nr. Tubas. Jewish settlers fr. Beit Shalom vandalize a nearby Palestinian home. Jewish settlers close a road nr. Ramallah to Palestinian traffic, stone Palestinian vehicles. (PCHR 11/20; OCHA 11/26; PCHR 11/27)

In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late night arrest raids in and around Jenin town and r.c., Nablus, and in al-Fara‘a r.c. nr. Tubas (firing live ammunition and rubber-coated steel bullets on stone-throwing youths who confront them, wounding 6); fires rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, international peace activists taking part in a nonviolent demonstration against the separation wall in Ni‘lin (injuring 2 Palestinians, 1 international). Israel imposes new restrictions requiring Palestinian medical personnel fr. the West Bank who work in Jerusalem to enter Jerusalem only through the Qalandia checkpoint, the most crowded checkpoint, causing them significant delays. Heavy rains cause the collapse of 10 smuggling tunnels on the Rafah border, trapping and injuring at least 7 Palestinians. Egypt allows the entry of a delegation of Islamic Jihad officials fr. Gaza who are heading to Damascus for a wk. of internal discussions on Egypt’s proposed national unity plan ahead of national unity talks in Cairo on 11/9. Inside Israel, Hebrew University student Ali Baher, an Israeli Palestinian, is detained by campus security, questioned for 3 hrs., charged with “inappropriate conduct” for refusing on political grounds to shake hands with Pres. Shimon Peres, who randomly approached Baher while he was touring the campus library meeting with students; the university evicts Baher from campus housing and orders a disciplinary hearing (date not set) to decide whether he should be suspended. (MNA 11/2; OCHA 11/5; PCHR, Physicians for Human Rights–Israel press release 11/6)

Concerned by the escalating settler violence directed at Israeli security forces, the Israeli cabinet at its weekly meeting votes to suspend all direct and indirect government funding to unauthorized settlement outposts (especially citing infrastructure such as roads, garbage collection, and school buses) in the 1st de facto admission that public funds are used to advance illegal settlement. Olmert also proposes increasing arrests and administrative detention of Jewish settlers who break the law. The Jerusalem District Juvenile Court remands and indicts 3 Jewish settler girls (ages 12, 15, 17) for reckless endangerment, aggravated assault of security forces, and obstruction of a police officer for attacks against Israeli border police in Givat Harsina on 10/30. IDF district cmdr. Noam Tivon cancels plans to give a speech at a yeshiva in Efrat settlement nr. Bethlehem after Jewish settlers fr. Hebron threaten to hold a massive demonstration to block his visit, calling him an “expulsion criminal” for previously ordering the removal settlers fr. the unauthorized Federman Farm outpost. (YA 11/2; NYT, WP 11/3; WT 11/4; MM 11/4, 11/7)

Inside Israel, Israeli Jews and Palestinians in Acre engage in their 4th straight night of rioting and sectarian violence; 2 Palestinian apartment buildings set on fire; some 12 people are arrested. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts latenight arrest raids, house searches in Tubas and nr. Bethlehem, Jenin, Nablus. Jewish settlers fr. Susia nr. Hebron raid nearby a Palestinian home, beat 3 Palestinians. Jewish settlers fr. Yitzhar and Brakha attack local Palestinians harvesting olives. (WP 10/12; NYT 10/13; OCHA 10/15; PCHR 10/16)

In the West Bank, the IDF fires rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, international peace activists taking part in a nonviolent demonstration against the separation wall in Ni‘lin, injuring 5; makes a late-night incursion into ‘Anabta nr. Tulkarm, patrolling streets, firing on houses and shops, then firing on stone-throwing youths who confront them, wounding 1; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Tubas, and nr. Bethlehem, Jenin. (OCHA 9/17; PCHR 9/18)

In the West Bank, the IDF makes an early-evening raid into Nablus, occupying several buildings in Ras al-‘Ayn neighborhood as observation posts, raiding an apartment building to capture 2 wanted AMB mbrs., wounding 1 wanted man and fatally shooting 1 Palestinian bystander in the process. The IDF also conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Tulkarm, in Ni‘lin (those arrested include 2 boys ages 11 and 14), and nr. Bethlehem, Hebron, Jenin, Tubas. Some 20 Jewish settlers fr. Yitzhar nr. Nablus throws stones at residents of ‘Asira al-Qibliyya, who throw stones back, prompting the IDF to fire in the air and at the legs of the Palestinians “to try to restore order”; no serious injuries are reported. Jewish settlers attack an IDF contingent that enters an unauthorized settlement outpost nr. Ramallah to confiscate construction equipment being used to expand the outpost; no serious injuries are reported; late in the evening, Jewish settlers from another nearby outpost enter an IDF base w. of Ramallah, damage the water supply. (PCHR 9/11; NYT 9/12; NYT 9/14; OCHA 9/17; PCHR 9/18; AIC 11/9)

E. of Beirut, Druze politician Shaykh Sali Aridi of the pro-Syrian Lebanese Democratic Party is assassinated by a bomb placed under his car. No group claims responsibility. (WP 9/11)

In the West Bank, the IDF moves into al-Kum village nr. Hebron before dawn, sets up checkpoints, checks Palestinians’ IDs as they leave dawn prayers, arresting 3; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Jenin town and r.c., nr. Tulkarm, and in Bethlehem, Nablus (targeting al-Najah University students), Tubas. Jewish settlers in Hebron attack a Palestinian home, injuring 1 Palestinian. (PCHR 8/28; OCHA 9/3; PCHR 9/4)

In the West Bank, the IDF conducts predawn patrols in Tulkarm town and r.c.; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Ramallah, nr. Bethlehem and Jenin; conducts late-night patrols in al-Fara‘a r.c. and Tammun village nr. Tubas. Jewish settlers fr. Brakha settlement nr. Nablus burn 7 dunams (d.; 4 d. = 1 acre) of Palestinian agricultural land. Jewish settlers fr. Keddumim nr. Qalqilya stone Palestinian vehicles passing by the settlement, causing no injuries; the IDF removes them. In Hebron, a group of Jewish settlers beats 2 Palestinians. As the Palestinian school yr. begins, the Ramallah-based, Fatah-run Palestinian Teachers’ Union calls on Gaza’s 10,000 teachers and school administrators to strike to protest Hamas’s de facto rule, acknowledging that the strike is, in part, intended to disrupt life in Gaza and weaken the Hamas government; the PA pledges to continue to pay the teachers’ salaries as long as they observe the strike, which lasts through the end of the quarter; Hamas authorities quickly begin contracting 1,000s of substitute teachers to keep schools running. (OCHA 8/27; PCHR 8/28; WT 10/15)

In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in, fires on residential areas of Tammun village nr. Tubas, then fires on stone-throwing youths who confront them, wounding 2 (ages 10, 12); conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Bethlehem and Jenin, in Hebron, outside Jerusalem. (OCHA 8/20; PCHR 8/21)

In Gaza, unidentified Palestinians fire 3 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. Israeli naval vessels fire on Palestinian fishing boats off the Rafah coast, forcing them to return to shore. On the Rafah border, 3 Palestinians are killed when a smuggling tunnel collapses; Hamas blames Egyptian efforts to seal tunnels using water, gas, explosives for killing 8 Palestinian smugglers since 8/1, calling the tactics irresponsible. In the West Bank, the IDF 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 Ni‘lin, wounding 7; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus, in Qabatya and Tubas, nr. Ramallah. Jewish settlers in Hebron unsuccessfully attempt to set fire to al-Ras Mosque (see 8/7). (OCHA, WT 8/13; PCHR, WT 8/14)

Israel releases Reform and Change PC mbr.Mansur (detained without charge in Nablus on 7/20). The IDF repatriates to Gaza another 26 of the 188 Fatah mbrs. who fled on 8/2; the PA allows 88 to take asylum in Jericho; 16 who were wounded during their flight remain in Israeli hospitals; the other 24 remain in IDF custody, where they are questioned regarding possible ties to attacks on Israeli targets. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts early-morning house searches in Yatta nr. Hebron, including searching the home of PC mbr. Khalil al-Rab‘i, holding him for questioning; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Nablus and nr. Tubas, Tulkarm. Jewish settlers fr. Taffuh settlement nr. Salfit, beat a Palestinian shepherd and steal 23 sheep, open fire on residential areas nearby. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba beat an elderly Palestinian couple outside their home nr. the unauthorized settlement outpost in Wadi al-Nassara (see 8/1). A Palestinian teenager dies of injuries sustained when the IDF opened fire on a funeral in Ni‘lin on 7/30. (NYT, WP 8/5; OCHA 8/6; PCHR 8/7)

Amid investigations into his criminal wrongdoing, Olmert announces that he will not run in the Kadima party elections, now set for 9/17, and will resign as PM as soon as the party picks a new leader. (HA, REU 7/30; NYT, WP, WT 7/31)

Israeli, Palestinian negotiators arrive in Washington for talks under U.S. auspices (see 6/24). (MM 7/30; WP 7/31)

In the West Bank, the IDF conducts daytime arrest raids, house searches nr. Nablus and similar late-night operations nr. Nablus and Salfit, and in and around Hebron, Jenin town and r.c., Tubas; sends undercover units in a car with Palestinian license plates into Burqin to abduct a wanted Islamic Jihad mbr.; fires on the funeral for the 11-yr.-old Palestinian boy killed in Ni‘lin on 7/29, leaving 1 Palestinian teenager brain dead, wounding 7 others; takes up positions in Anabta nr. Tulkarm, fires on residential areas, then fires on stone-throwing Palestinians who confront them, wounding 1 Palestinian. (WP 7/31; OCHA 8/6; PCHR 8/7)

Palestinian construction worker Hussam Dweikat (who has Israeli residency status in East Jerusalem) commandeers a Caterpillar bulldozer (symbolic, as the IDF uses Caterpillar D9 bulldozers to level Palestinian homes and land in the occupied territories) from the Jerusalem construction site where he works, plows through midday traffic in West Jerusalem’s business district, overturning a bus, running over at least 2 cars, killing 3 Israelis, injuring more than 40 before a police officer fatally shoots him. Israeli officials believe Dweikat acted alone. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Bethlehem, in Tubas, and nr. Jenin, Nablus (also raiding a mosque and its library, taking computers, documents, books), Ramallah. Jewish settlers fr. Massu’a in the Jordan Valley attempt to fence off and confiscate a plot of land in Jiftlik village, but the Palestinian owners drive them away. Palestinian youths stone a Jewish settler bus nr. Ramallah, causing damage but no injuries. In Gaza, 1,000s of Palestinians storm the Rafah crossing, demanding entry to Egypt and throwing stones at Egyptian security forces, who respond by pushing the crowd back with water cannons and tear gas; Hamas-affiliated police bring the situation under control. Hamas-affiliated police launch a campaign to removed small shops and huts erected along the Gaza shoreline without municipal permission. Nr. Shuka, 2 Palestinian teenagers are injured when they accidentally trigger IDF unexploded ordnance (UXO). (AP, BBC, HA, IFM, Israel Radio, MA, MM, PCHR, REU, YA 7/2; NYT, WP, WT 7/3; MM, WP 7/4; OCHA 7/9; PCHR 7/10)

Israeli naval vessels fire on Palestinian fishing boats off the c. Gaza coast, forcing them to return to shore. In the West Bank, the IDF fires tear gas, rubber-coated steel bullets at a funeral procession in Bayt Umar for a teenager killed on 6/26, wounding 2 Palestinians; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Tubas (firing on stonethrowing teenagers who confront them, killing a 16-yr.-old Palestinian boy), nr. Ramallah. Jewish settlers ambush and attack a Palestinian taxi driver nr. Keddumim settlement nr. Qalqilya; the IDF rescues him. In the 2d such incident (see 6/22), unidentified assailants burn 2,000 d. of Palestinian olive groves and crop land w. of the separation wall nr. Tulkarm. Hamas-affiliated police find and demolish 2 smuggling tunnels in Rafah. In Gaza City, a bomb explodes in a market area located behind a Gaza municipal police station, causing damage but no injuries. (OCHA 7/2; PCHR 7/3)

IDF troops on the s. Gaza border fire on a Palestinian farmer fixing a water pipeline nr. the border, wounding him. IDF troops on the c. Gaza border e. of Gaza City fire a tank shell at a group of armed Palestinians, killing 1 armed Palestinian, wounding 1. An IDF drone fires a missile at a group of armed Palestinians in Abasan nr. Khan Yunis, missing the target, causing no injuries. IDF troops level land along the border fence inside Gaza e. of Gaza City. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols, fires percussion grenades in al-Far‘a r.c. nr. Tubas, then opens fire on stone-throwing Palestinian youths who confront them, wounding 2; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron, including in al-Far‘a r.c. Jewish settlers fr. Susia settlement nr. Hebron harass Palestinian farmers, shepherds in nearby Yatta. In Khan Yunis, a bomb explodes outside the home of a fmr. Fatah mbr. who is now working for the Hamas-affiliated police, causing damage but no injuries. (OCHA 6/11; PCHR 6/12)

In Gaza, the IDF sends tanks, armored vehicles, bulldozers, and helicopters into Bayt Hanun, exchanging fire with local armed men and making air strikes on residential areas, leaving a total of 8 Palestinians dead, 17 Palestinians and 1 IDF soldier wounded; most casualties are the result of a missile that hits a home, killing a Palestinian woman, 4 of her children (ages 18 mos. to 5 yrs.), an unrelated teenager, and wounding 10 bystanders (including 2 more of the woman’s children). Palestinians fire 7 rockets, 9 mortars fr. Gaza into Israel, causing light damage but no injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF raids and searches a car repair shop in Hebron, confiscating 3 cars; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus and Tulkarm, in Qalqilya, and nr. Hebron. As Israel begins preparations to move its Jerusalem police headquarters from the predominantly Arab neighborhood of Ras al-Amud to the controversial new E-1 site in occupied East Jerusalem, police officials sign an agmt. giving a right-wing Jewish settler group the right to occupy the vacant Ras al-Amud building, which will serve as the nucleus of a new Jewish settlement; the settlers have already filed with the Jerusalem Planning Comm. to construct 110 housing units on the site. In addition, the Israeli High Court rejects a petition by Palestinians in al-‘Aqaba village nr. Tubas seeking repeal of an IDF order for the demolition of 60% of the village’s homes and confiscation of all but 100 d. of the village 3,000 d. of land, supporting the IDF’s position that the land is “strategically important” to the military. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba vandalize Palestinian homes and cars in Hebron. (HA, IFM, PCHR 4/28; NYT, WP, WT 4/29; OCHA, PCHR 4/30)

Four Palestinian gunmen representing Islamic Jihad, the PRCs, and the Mujahiddin Brigades (an AMB offshoot) raid the Nahal Oz fuel depot on the Gaza-Israel border under cover of mortar fire, killing 2 Israeli civilian workers; IDF soldiers on site return fire, killing 2 gunmen; 2 escape back into Gaza. The IDF retaliates with air strikes and artillery fire, killing a 3d Palestinian gunman, 4 Palestinian civilians, wounding 2 armed Palestinians, 6 civilians (including 2 children), demolishing a Palestinian home. Israel also closes Nahal Oz until it reviews security procedures (Gaza’s electricity plant has enough fuel to last until 4/13). In the West Bank, the IDF demolishes a Palestinian home in Bayt Hanina in East Jerusalem, displacing 7 Palestinians (including 5 children); patrols in Bayt Rima nr. Ramallah, firing on stone-throwing youths who confront them, wounding 1; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron and Nablus, in Qalqilya and Tubas, and nr. Ramallah and Tulkarm, nr. Salfit. Jewish settlers stone a Palestinian family nr. Ramallah, injuring 2 women. Jewish settlers fr. Brakha nr. Nablus uproot Palestinian olive trees, vandalize a Palestinian home nearby. (AP, BBC, HA, IFM, Ma’ariv [Tel Aviv], REU, YA 4/9; NYT, WP, WT 4/10; WP 4/11; OCHA 3/16; PCHR 4/17)

In the West Bank, the IDF conducts daytime arrest raids, house searches nr. Jenin and late-night raids, searches in and around Tubas, in ‘Aqbat Jabir r.c. and ‘Ayn al-Sultan r.c. nr. Jericho. For a 3d day, Jewish settlers in Hebron vandalize Palestinian property and attack local Palestinians; the IDF observes but does not intervene; 3 Palestinians have been injured since 3/21. Jewish settlers fr. Eli nr. Nablus kidnap 2 Palestinian boys herding sheep nr. the settlement, release them hrs. later after PA security forces request IDF intervention. Jewish settlers in Efrat nr. Bethlehem begin construction of 3 apartment buildings (54 units). In Khan Yunis, Hamas officials dismiss the Fatah-affiliated admin. officer at the College of Science and Technology and name a pro-Hamas officer to replace him, sparking a fight with local Fatah supporters; police intervene to disperse the crowd, with no injuries reported; classes are suspended until the issue can be resolved btwn. Hamas and Fatah. Islamic Jihad mbr. Nidal Shaqqura, wounded in an IDF assassination attempt on 3/18, dies of his injuries. (OCHA 3/26; PCHR 3/27)

The IDF makes an air strike on Bayt Lahiya in a failed attempt to assassinate Islamic Jihad mbrs. Ihab Abu Jarad, Nidal Shaqqura, and Muhammad alZa’nin as they walk in a crowded residential area, wounding the 3, as well as 6 bystanders, including 2 children and a mentally disabled person; bulldozes land on the Palestinian side of the Qarni industrial zone (for a 2d day), nr. the border fence e. of Dayr al-Balah. Late at night, the IDF sends troops into Bayt Hanun, raiding a home and arresting 7 mbrs. of a Palestinian family. An IDF special forces unit attempts an incursion into al-Bureij r.c. but is forced to retreat by Palestinian gunmen firing machine guns and mortars; no injuries are reported. Egyptian border police find separate caches of 40 landmines, 500 kg of explosives nr. the Rafah border. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus, in Bethlehem and Jenin town and r.c., and nr. Hebron, Tubas, Tulkarm. (OCHA, PCHR 3/19; PCHR 3/27)

In the West Bank, the IDF conducts latenight arrest raids, house searches in Jericho; in and around Jenin, Nablus, Qalqilya; nr. Bethlehem, Hebron, Tulkarm. The IDF also raids a clinic and 2 community centers in alFara‘a r.c. nr. Tubas, confiscating computers. Jewish settlers fr. Shilo nr. Ramallah uproot, burn 200 Palestinian olive trees. (OCHA, PCHR 3/19)

In n. Gaza, Palestinian machine-gun fire hits an IDF helicopter, causing damage but no injuries, marking the 1st time an Israeli aircraft has been hit by Palestinian fire. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in, fires on residential areas of Tubas, wounding 1 Palestinian; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus, in Qabatya, nr. 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 (injuring 2). (ITV, YA 3/14; NYT 3/15; OCHA, PCHR 3/19)

The PFLP fires a rocket (the IDF alleges a Grad) fr. Gaza into Israel, hitting nr. Ashqelon, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF bulldozes 4 Palestinian homes (displacing 31 Palestinians) nr. Tubas, another 4 homes in Bayt Dajan in the Jordan Valley (also displacing 31 Palestinians), 2 bedouin tents nr. Hebron, and 2 shops in Qalqilya; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Abu Dis and Jabal Mukabir nr. Jerusalem, Jalazun r.c. nr. Ramallah, Qalqilya (firing on residential areas, wounding 7 Palestinians, including a woman and 5 children), and Qabatya, as well as nr. Bethlehem, Hebron, Jenin, Nablus. (IFM, NYT, OCHA 3/12; PCHR 3/13)

The IDF sends troops into Gaza City, clashing with local gunmen and calling in an air strike, killing 1 armed Palestinian, wounding a 2d. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in Tubas. A Palestinian resistance mbr. wounded by IDF fire in Jabaliya on 2/7 dies. Palestinian residents of Silwan in East Jerusalem appeal to the Israeli High Court for a temporary stop-work order to halt tunneling under their homes by the Israeli Antiquities Authority (IAA) and to block workers from entering their private property. Israeli police later arrest 4 Palestinians, including 3 landowners who had filed the appeal, placing them under house arrest for 5 days and charging them with sabotaging the IAA project. Digging at the site resumes under police protection. (International Justice Watch email 2/11; OCHA 2/13; PCHR 2/14)

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 patrols in Aqaba e. of Tubas; raids, searches a home in ‘Aqraba nr. Nablus; fires rubber-coated steel bullets, percussion grenades, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, international activists taking part in nonviolent demonstrations against the separation wall in Bil‘in (injuring 1). Unidentified assailants detonate a bomb nr. a police patrol in al-Bureij r.c., wounding 2 Hamas-affiliated policemen. (OCHA 1/16; PCHR 1/17)

Pres. Bush begins a 4-day visit to Israel and the West Bank as part of a greater regional tour focused on improving stability in Iraq and confronting the perceived threat from Iran. Advancing the Annapolis peace process is billed as a secondary goal (see Quarterly Update for details). Today, Bush meets with Olmert. (NYT, WP, WT 1/10)

Israel imposes a curfew on Palestinian areas surrounding Jerusalem through the end of Bush’s visit on 1/12. The IDF makes an air strike on Gaza targeting a rocket-launching site s. of Gaza City, killing 1 PRC mbr., wounding 5; fires a surface-to-surface missile at a rocket-launching site nr. Bayt Lahiya, striking near a farm, killing a Palestinian woman and child, wounding 4 other civilians (including 2 children); shoots, wounds an unarmed Palestinian teenager who strays nr. the border fence nr. Bayt Lahiya; makes several ground incursions into Gaza. Palestinians fire 20 rockets, mortars fr. Gaza into Israel, causing damage but no injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF bulldozes 80 d. of land and 3,200 trees outside Hebron for construction of the separation wall; sends undercover units into Qalqilya to arrest a wanted Palestinian; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron, Tubas. In Gaza, 10,000 Palestinians attend a protest rally against Bush’s visit organized by Hamas. (PCHR, WP, WT 1/10; OCHA 1/16; PCHR 1/17)