The Palestine Chronology

Mbrs. of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) claim responsibility for firing 2 manufactured Grad rockets fr. Gaza into Israel; the missiles hit nr. Netivot, causing no damage or injuries. Egypt allows a token delegation of around 85 international activists to cross into Gaza to demonstrate with Gazans for an end to Israel’s siege, while in Cairo, Egyptian authorities disperse another 1,000 international activists calling on Egypt and Israel to open the Gaza border. Inside Israel, about 1,000 Israeli Palestinian and Jewish peace activists march to the Erez crossing in solidarity with the internationals in Egypt. Israeli police arrest a Jewish settler teenager connected to the outlawed right-wing group Kahane Chai suspected in the 12/11 arson of a mosque in Yasuf. In the West Bank, the IDF demolishes 2 animal shelters on a Palestinian farm located nr. an unauthorized Israeli settlement outpost northeast of Hebron, saying they had been erected illegally; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron. Jewish settlers fr. Shavei Shomron and Einav settlements set up an outpost on a hill nr. Nablus overlooking the spot where a settler was ambushed and killed on 12/24. Jewish settlers at another settlement outpost northwest of Hebron raze 1,500 d. of surrounding Palestinian agricultural land, saying they plan to build a park and swimming pools. (JP 12/31; NYT, WP 1/1; HA 1/2; OCHA, PCHR 1/6; WJW 1/7)

Unidentified Palestinians fire a mortar fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries, marking the 1st cross-border Palestinian fire since 12/16. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in PA-controlled areas just n. of Ramallah at midday, making no arrests; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in al-Fara‘a r.c. and nr. Nablus. (JP, YA 12/30; OCHA, PCHR 1/6)

Israel announces approval of 692 new settlement housing units in East Jerusalem (Har Homa, Neve Ya’acov, Pisgat Ze’ev); the EU, U.S., and PA criticize the move. IDF troops make a brief incursion into Gaza n. of Bayt Hanun to level land along the border fence to clear lines of sight. Israeli naval vessels fire on Palestinian fishing boats approaching the boundary of the permitted fishing zone, wounding 1 Palestinian. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late night arrest raids, house searches in Bil‘in and nr. Nablus. (PLONAD 12/28; NYT, WP, WT 12/29; PCHR 12/30; WJW 12/31; OCHA 1/6)

In the West Bank, IDF undercover units raid the Nablus homes of 3 AMB mbrs. (Nadir al-Sarkaji, Ghassan Abu Sharikh, and ‘Anan Sobeh) allegedly behind the fatal shooting of a settler on 12/24, killing all 3 and wounding 1 bystander. The deaths constitute assassinations, as the men could have been detained: 2 of them are called to surrender and are fatally shot as they leave their homes unarmed; in the 3d case, soldiers enter the home, and when the wanted man refuses to exit a closet and surrender, soldiers rig the closet door with explosives and detonate the charge, killing him. IDF soldiers surrounding the buildings fire tear gas to disperse stone-throwing Palestinian youths who confront them, hitting 2 (ages 12 and 19) with tear gas canisters, injuring them. PA PM Fayyad denounces the IDF’s failure to coordinate the raids with the Dayton-trained PASF units responsible for security in Nablus, which were in the process of conducting a police investigation of the 12/24 killing. IDF troops in the West Bank also conduct late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron, Nablus. (NYT, WP, WT 12/27; JPI 12/28; PCHR 12/30; OCHA 1/6)

Hamas officials in Lebanon confirm that 2 senior Hamas bodyguards and a 3d person (possibly a Hamas mbr.) were killed and 5 people wounded late on 12/26 in a large explosion at a Hamas office in the Dahiya neighborhood of s. Beirut (Hizballah’s stronghold). (HA 12/26; Associated Press, Wall Street Journal, WT, XIN 12/27; AFP, Kuwait News Agency, Middle East News Agency, MNA, YA 12/28; MNA, al-Nahar, al-Sharq al-Awsat 1/6)

Late in the evening, IDF troops on the n. Gaza border nr. Bayt Hanun fire on a group of unarmed Palestinian laborers attempting to cross into Israel to find work, calling in a helicopter air strike 20 mins. later, killing 3 Palestinians and wounding 1. In the West Bank, the IDF fires rubbercoated steel bullets, stun grenades, tear gas at stone-throwing Palestinians and nonviolent international (and, in the case of Bil‘in, Israeli) activists taking part in protests against the separation wall in Bil‘in and Ni‘lin (10s suffer tear gas inhalation at both sites); fires stun grenades and tear gas at Palestinian and international activists taking part in a nonviolent protest against the separation wall in al-Ma‘sara, also beating several protesters (moderately injuring 2 Palestinian children, ages 10 and 13); conducts late-night house searches in al-‘Arub r.c. (occupying 1 home as an observation post) and nr. Jenin, making no arrests. The PASF in Nablus detains and interrogates some 150 Palestinians in connection with the fatal shooting of a settler on 12/24. (PCHR 12/30; OCHA 1/6)

In the West Bank, the IDF stages synchronized late-night house searches in and around Jenin town and r.c., arresting 1 Palestinian; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in al-Fara‘a r.c. nr. Tubas and nr. Hebron, Ramallah. A Jewish settler is fatally shot while driving nr. Nablus; a caller to a Palestinian radio station claims the attack was carried out by the Fatah-offshoot al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades (AMB). Jewish settlers, implementing their “price-tag doctrine” of retaliation, vandalize Palestinian homes and block Palestinian traffic nr. Yitzhar settlement s. of Nablus; bar Palestinian traffic, stone and vandalize Palestinian vehicles, and uproot 100s of Palestinian trees nr. Shavei Shomron settlement, home to the deceased settler; attempt to prevent a Palestinian bus fr. passing through the Einav checkpoint nr. Tulkarm. (NYT 12/25; PCHR 12/30; OCHA 1/6)

In the West Bank, the IDF demolishes a gas station and grocery store in Qusra village nr. Nablus, saying Palestinian youths had used the buildings as cover to throw stones at passing IDF troops; conducts late-night house searches nr. Hebron and Jenin, and in Balata r.c. and Jalazun r.c. nr. Ramallah, but makes only 2 arrests. (PCHR 12/30; OCHA 1/6)

Egyptian security officials acknowledge that they are building an underground steel barrier along the Rafah border to prevent smuggling. In the West Bank, the IDF ceases permanent staffing of the major Bayt Ibia checkpoint at the w. entrance to Nablus (established in 2001), easing Palestinian access to the city; conducts latenight house searches nr. Hebron, making no arrests; makes late-night arrest raids in Qalqilya. The PASF arrests 15 Hamas mbrs. across the West Bank and fires on a car carrying Hizb al-Tahrir’s senior spokesman, arresting him; no explanation is given. (NYT 12/22; NYT, OCHA, PCHR 12/23; WT 1/6)

Israeli naval vessels intercept a Palestinian fishing boat that approaches the boundary of the permitted fishing zone off the Bayt Lahiya coast, damaging the boat, forcing the fishermen to jump into the sea, and then detaining them, taking them to Ashdod port in Israel for several hrs. of questioning, before releasing them to Gaza. A smuggling tunnel under the Rafah border collapses, killing 3 Palestinians. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron, Nablus. In East Jerusalem, Palestinians in Silwan report that during the previous wk., Israeli workers and archeologists resumed work on 2 archeological tunnels under the city leading to the al-Aqsa Mosque (see Quarterly Update in JPS 154). A group of right-wing Jews breaks into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound to hold prayers marking Hanukkah, but Waqf officials ask Israeli police to intervene, and police remove them peacefully. Jewish settlers in East Jerusalem celebrating Hanukkah attack a number of Palestinian shops and residents in the Old City; Israeli security forces observe but do not intervene. The PASF crackdown on Hamas mbrs. in the West Bank winds down today, with the UN reporting at least 80 and as many as 300 detained. The Israeli High Court rules that a 2007-imposed ban on family visits by Gazans to Palestinians held in Israeli jails is valid. (OCHA, PCHR 12/16; PCHR 12/23; HA 12/31)

In the West Bank, the IDF conducts rare daytime arrest raids, house searches nr. Jenin; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Bethlehem, Tubas, and nr. Nablus. Late in the evening, 2 IDF soldiers enter the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, violently beating and insulting a guard who asks them to remove their shoes. In Hebron, Jewish settlers brutally beat a 13- yr.-old Palestinian boy on his way home from school; the IDF observes but does not intervene. (OCHA, PCHR 12/16)

Israeli DM Barak orders government funding to be revoked from a yeshiva in Har Brakha settlement after the yeshiva’s head rabbi encourages his students to refuse orders to evacuate unauthorized settlement outposts. Meanwhile, the Israeli cabinet approves (21–5) changes to Israel’s map of national priority areas to include several isolated West Bank settlements, including several right-wing settlements (including Kiryat Arba and Keddumim) that have led protests against Netanyahu’s settlement freeze. These newly designated areas will be entitled to millions of dollars in additional government financing. (NYT, WT 12/14)

Before dawn, unidentified Palestinians fire several mortars or antitank missiles toward IDF troops on the central Gaza border inside Israel, causing no damage or injuries; the IDF returns fire, fatally shooting 1 Palestinian civilian outside his home in al-Bureij r.c., some 700 m from the border. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts latenight arrest raids, house searches in Hebron, Nablus. (OCHA, PCHR 12/16)

In the West Bank, the IDF fires rubbercoated steel bullets, stun grenades, tear gas at stone-throwing Palestinians and nonviolent international (and, in the case of Bil‘in, Israeli) activists taking part in protests against the separation wall in Bil‘in (10s suffer tear gas inhalation) and Ni‘lin (moderately injuring 3 Palestinians); fires stun grenades and tear gas at Palestinian and international activists taking part in a nonviolent protest against the separation wall in al-Ma‘sara, also beating several protesters (moderately injuring 2 Palestinians); makes a late-night incursion into Jenin r.c., patrolling streets for several hrs. and firing stun grenades, causing no injuries. Jewish settlers vandalize a mosque in Yasuf village nr. Nablus, burning prayer rugs and Qur’ans, leaving behind Hebrew graffiti protesting Netanyahu’s 10-mo. settlement freeze. (WP 12/12; WT 12/13; NYT 12/14; OCHA, PCHR 12/16)

The IDF conducts military exercises in the Golan Heights. Meanwhile, IDF troops on the n. Gaza border make a brief incursion to detain 2 Palestinian teenagers scavenging for scrap metal from destroyed buildings nr. the border fence n. of Bayt Hanun, holding them for 12 hrs. of interrogation before releasing them. Israel allows Gazans to export 1 truckload of carnations (30,000 flowers), marking the first exports permitted since 4/27/09. In the West Bank, the IDF raids Khirbat Tana village, located in area C northeast of Nablus and w. of Mehola settlement, early in the morning, searching several homes and confiscating 4 tractors, stating the area is a closed military zone (see Quarterly Update for details). The IDF also shuts the Shavei Shomron checkpoint on the Jenin–Nablus route for road repair work that is expected to take 9 mos.; the closure creates long delays for Palestinians traveling between Jenin and the s. West Bank. Jewish settlers fr. Revava northwest of Salfit brutally beat a 13-yr.-old Palestinian child; the IDF evacuates the child to an Israeli hospital. (NYT 12/11; OCHA, PCHR 12/16)

Some 10,000 Jewish settlers protest the 10-mo. settlement freeze outside Netanyahu’s Jerusalem residence. Also in Jerusalem, Palestinians in Shaykh Jarrah report that in the previous wk., Jewish settlers have slashed the tires of 19 Palestinian vehicles in the neighborhood. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Balata r.c. nr. Nablus and Ramallah. The Israeli High Court rejects a petition by a Palestinian student at Bethlehem University that challenged her deportation from the West Bank to Gaza in 10/09 because her legal address was in Gaza and she did not have an Israeli permit to live in the West Bank. (NYT, PCHR, WP 12/10; OCHA, PCHR 12/16)

In the West Bank, the IDF conducts latenight arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus and neighboring ‘Ayn Bayt al-Ma’ r.c. The PA declares a boycott against Israeli goods made in Jewish settlements, with National Economy M Hassan AbuLibdeh saying the government has already confiscated $1 m. worth of settlement-made products. The UN reports that since 11/25, 1 Palestinian has been killed in a smuggling tunnel collapse on the Rafah border and 1 Palestinian has been killed and 4 injured (including a 14-yr.-old boy) mishandling explosives. (OCHA, WT 12/9; PCHR 12/10)

Jewish settlers launch an organized campaign of civil disobedience to protest Netanyahu’s settlement freeze, blocking traffic at major intersections leading into Jerusalem. Israeli police quickly disperse them without violence, but settlers say they plan to keep up such actions randomly over the coming days to frustrate the government. Meanwhile, IDF undercover units stage a major late-night raid on a Nablus apartment building, arresting Palestinian Salah al-Bukhari, wanted since 2001. The IDF also stages late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron and nr. Bethlehem, Nablus, Salfit, Tulkarm. Hamas-affiliated police manning the Gaza side of the Erez crossing block the exit of 37 Palestinian medical patients granted permission by Israel to leave the Strip, stating they have not obtained the proper exit visa from Gaza’s Interior Min. (see 12/6). (OCHA 12/9; WJW, PCHR 12/10)

For a 3d day, Israeli naval vessels off the n. Gaza coast fire on Palestinian fishing boats that approach the boundary of the permitted fishing zone, causing no reported injuries. IDF troops on the n. Gaza border also make a brief incursion e. of Jabaliya r.c. to level land along the border fence to clear lines of sight. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts rare daytime arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron. Some 50 Jewish settlers fr. Yitzhar nr. Nablus, escorted by IDF troops attack a group of Palestinians gathering olive trees that had been uprooted by settlers 3 wks. before, vandalize a nearby Palestinian home. (PCHR 12/3; OCHA 12/9)

Israeli DM Ehud Barak issues the necessary military order freezing all new settlement building in line with Netanyahu’s 11/25 statement and simultaneously approves construction of 28 public and educational buildings in West Bank settlements, to be completed by 9/2010. In the West Bank, a Palestinian stabs 2 Jewish settler women outside Kiryat Arba settlement in Hebron; IDF soldiers shoot and wound the Palestinian, and another Jewish settler deliberately drives over him repeatedly with his car as soldiers look on without intervening; the Palestinian is seriously injured but not killed. Jewish settlers fr. Keddumim nr. Nablus till a 70- dunam (d.; 4 d. = 1 acre) plot of Palestinian land 1,500 meters fr. the settlement as a first step toward annexing it to the settlement. (NYT 11/28; PCHR 12/3; OCHA 12/9)

In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Qalqilya and nr. Nablus, Salfit. (PCHR 12/3; OCHA 12/9)

Netanyahu declares a 10-mo. halt to all new residential housing approvals and construction in West Bank settlements, though building in East Jerusalem and work on 2,900 West Bank housing units currently under construction and any “public buildings essential for normal life” (e.g., schools, synagogues) in West Bank settlements would proceed. The U.S. welcomes this move as “significant.” PA PM Salam Fayyad says that the offer is not enough, the PA insists on a total settlement freeze. (IFM 11/25; NYT, WP, WT 11/26)

Unidentified Palestinians fire a rocket fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. Late in the evening, the IDF carries out air strikes on smuggling tunnels on the Rafah border in retaliation, causing no reported injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Qalqilya; conducts late-night patrols inside Jenin town. Jewish settlers stone Palestinian vehicles traveling on the Nablus–Qalqilya road nr. Havat Gilad settlement. The UN reports that in the previous wk., 2 Palestinian militants were killed mishandling explosives, and 1 Palestinian was killed and 1 injured in a smuggling tunnel collapse on the Rafah border. (Jewish Telegraphic Agency 11/23; OCHA, PCHR 11/25)

In the West Bank, the IDF stages synchronized late-night raids on the homes of 5 PA intelligence officers in villages nr. Nablus and Salfit, detaining the men (including the PA’s Salfit regional intelligence cmdr. Lt. Col. Muhammad ‘Abd al-Hamid Bani Fadil), marking Israel’s first arrest of senior PA security officials in 3 yrs.; the IDF also relays to the PA a request to turn over a 6th intelligence officer, but the PA does not comply; the Israeli DMin. confirms the arrests but refuses to comment, with Palestinian security sources speculating (YA 11/20) that Israel was pressuring the PA to back off investigation of a suspected collaborator; all 5 are released on 11/20 after talks between Israel and the PA. The IDF also stages synchronized late-night house searches in 3 villages w. of Jenin, making no arrests. IDF undercover units traveling in a car with Palestinian license plates enter Bil‘in village, arrest a Palestinian on an Israeli wanted list. (YA 11/20; OCHA, PCHR 11/25)

The Israeli Interior Min. approves construction of 900 new housing units in Gilo settlement in East Jerusalem, precipitating sharp criticism from the White House not only for the Gilo project but for “the continued pattern of evictions and demolitions of Palestinian homes” in Jerusalem; UN Secy.-Gen. Ban Ki-moon “deplores” the decision. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem, Hebron (evicting 1 Palestinian family from their home, occupying it as an observation post), Jericho, Nablus. In the Jerusalem environs, Israeli forces demolish 2 Palestinian homes (1 in Wadi Qaddum, housing 30 Palestinians; 1 in Bayt Hanina, displacing 11 Palestinians). (IFM, NYT, OCHA, PLONAD, WP, WT 11/18; PCHR 11/19)

In the West Bank, the IDF demolishes 12 partially built Palestinian homes and 1 poultry farm in Rujib nr. Nablus; issues demolition orders for 17 other Palestinian civilian structures (including 9 homes housing 57 people, of whom 39 are children) in Umm al-Khayr nr. Hebron’s Carmiel settlement; and conducts latenight raids, house searches in Tulkarm, summoning 4 Palestinians for interrogation. Jewish settlers fr. Yitzhar uproot nearly 100 olive trees fr. nearby Palestinian land. (OCHA 11/12; PCHR 11/19)

In the West Bank, the IDF patrols Kafr Haris village nr. Salfit and imposes a curfew, disrupting all daily activities in the village; conducts late-night raids, house searches in Qalandia r.c. s. of Ramallah, ‘Aqabat r.c. s. of Jericho, Hebron, Qalqilya, and nr. Nablus, arresting 7 Palestinians (including 2 teenagers). (PCHR 11/12, 11/19)

In the West Bank, the IDF opens the Jalama crossing connecting Israel’s Gilboa region with Jenin in the West Bank to Palestinian vehicular traffic for the first time in 8 yrs. (the crossing remains closed to Israeli Jews); Quartet envoy Tony Blair attends the opening ceremony. The IDF also conducts late-night raids, house searches nr. Nablus and Jerusalem, arresting 11 Palestinians (including 5 teenagers). Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba throw stones, empty bottles at Palestinians and their homes in the Wadi al-Nasara neighborhood of Hebron; the IDF observes but does not intervene. Also in Hebron, 3 Jewish settlers fr. the unauthorized settlement outpost of Ramat Yishai beat 2 Palestinian teenagers. (NYT 11/11; OCHA, PCHR 11/12; JPI 11/19)

In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem and Nablus, in and around Jenin town and r.c., and in al-Fawar r.c. nr. Hebron, arresting 10 Palestinians (including 3 teenagers). (PCHR 11/12)

Israeli naval vessels fire on a Palestinian fishing boat off the Rafah coast, wounding 1 Palestinian. (PCHR 11/5; OCHA 11/12; OCHA Humanitarian Monitor 11/09)

In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night raids, house searches in and around Nablus, Jenin town and r.c., in alFara‘a r.c., nr. Tubas, Qalqilya, and Hebron, arresting 5 Palestinians (including 1 teenager). (PCHR 11/12)

In East Jerusalem, Israeli security forces raid a Palestinian home in the African Colony Quarter nr. Jerusalem’s Old City, arresting 1 Palestinian teenager for his alleged participation in the 10/25 al-Aqsa Mosque protests. (PCHR 11/12)

IDF troops on the n. Gaza border nr. Bayt Lahiya shoot and wound a mentally ill Palestinian nr. the border fence; the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Palestinian Liaison Office secure his release fr. Israeli custody. (PCHR 11/5)

In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night raids, house searches in and around Tulkarm town and r.c., but makes no arrests. Nr. Nablus, 8 Jewish settlers fr. Brakha raid Burin village, where they are confronted by 10s of stone-throwing Palestinians; IDF troops in the area (possibly escorting the settlers) fire rubbercoated steel bullets, tear gas at the Palestinians, injuring 1 and arresting 1 other. (PCHR 11/5)

U.S. secretary of state Hillary Clinton arrives in the Middle East and meets with Netanyahu and Abbas, hoping to help them reach an agreement on settlements that would allow resumption of peace talks. (NYT 10/31; NYT, WP 11/1; JR 11/23)

In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night raids, house searches in Nablus, nearby ‘Ayn Bayt al-Ma’ r.c., and Tulkarm, arresting 12 Palestinians (including 2 teenagers). Jewish settlers fr. Shvut Rachel nr. Nablus stone and violently beat Palestinians harvesting olives nearby, injuring 5 of them; IDF troops escorting the settlers arrest 1 Palestinian for refusing orders to leave the area. (OCHA, PCHR 10/29)

In East Jerusalem, Israeli security forces evict families fr. 3 Palestinian homes, demolishing 1 of the homes completely, destroying part of the 2d (ordering the family to complete the demolition within 2 days), and completing the destruction (begun earlier) of a 3d. (Reports differ as to the exact locations of the properties: Palestinian sources place 2 homes in Jabal Mukabir and 1 in Shu‘fat, UN reports indicate 1 each in ‘Anata, Jabal Mukabir, and Sur Bahir). (OCHA, PCHR 10/29)

Unidentified assailants fire a Katyusha rocket fr. Hula village in s. Lebanon into n. Israel nr. Kiryat Shimona. The IDF responds by firing several artillery rounds into Lebanon. No casualties are reported in either incident. (NYT, WT 10/28; JPI 11/5; JR 11/23)

After unidentified Palestinians fire 1 rocket fr. Gaza into Israel (causing no damage or injuries), the IDF carries out air strikes on smuggling tunnels along the Rafah border and on a warehouse in Gaza City; no casualties are reported. (OCHA, PCHR 10/29)

In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night raids, house searches in and around Nablus and nearby ‘Askar r.c., in and around Tubas, nr. Jenin and Ramallah, arresting 8 Palestinians (including 4 teenagers). (PCHR 10/29)