The Palestine Chronology

In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in Tulkarm and in 5 villages nr. Qalqilya, 2 each nr. Jenin and Salfit, and 1 each nr. Jericho, Nablus, Ramallah, and Tulkarm; conducts a late-night raid on the Hebron home of Hamas-affiliated PC mbr. Muhammad al-Tal, arresting him. Palestinian, Israeli, and international activists march to the IDF’s Beit El checkpoint outside Ramallah and demand its removal; IDF soldiers fire tear gas, rubber-coated steel bullets, and stun grenades at the protesters, seriously injuring 1 Palestinian. Jewish settlers fr. Yitzhar settlement nr. Nablus burn and uproot at least 20 Palestinian olive trees nr. Madama village. (PCHR 12/30; OCHA 12/31)

In the West Bank, the IDF confiscates 50 d. of Palestinian land in Bayt Iksa, northwest of Jerusalem, for construction of a railway linking Jerusalem and Tel Aviv; closing the 50 d. area also cuts off Palestinian access to 2,000 d. of olive groves. The IDF also patrols in several villages nr. Qalqilya and Salfit; conducts house searches in Zabbuba village nr. Jenin, searching for Palestinian youths who threw stones at the separation wall nearby, making no arrests. Palestinians (accompanied by Israeli and international activists in some areas) hold weekly nonviolent demonstrations against the separation wall, land confiscations, and settlement expansion in Bil‘in, Ni‘lin, and Dayr Nizam/Nabi Salih. IDF soldiers fire rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas, and stun grenades at the protesters; 5 Palestinians are injured, 1 German and 1 Israeli are arrested. Jewish settlers beat 2 Palestinian teenagers nr. Jenin; the IDF intervenes, ordering the settlers to leave and detaining the teenagers for questioning, releasing them later in the evening. (OCHA, PCHR 12/23)

In the West Bank, the IDF conducts morning patrols in 3 villages nr. Jenin, Qalqilya, and Salfit and late-night patrols in Nabi Salih nr. Ramallah. The IDF also escorts Jewish settlers into Kifl Haris village nr. Salfit to pray at Joseph’s Tomb, withdrawing late at night; during the day the settlers, angry over vandalism at the site on 12/15, vandalize 5 Palestinian tombs and several Palestinian cars. (OCHA, PCHR 12/23)

The Arab League says it will support the 12/12 Palestinian decision to suspend direct and indirect negotiations with Israel until the U.S. offers a serious proposal to advance peace. (WP 12/16)

Norway upgrades the status of the PLO representation in Oslo from a “general delegation” to a “diplomatic mission.” The head of the office will have ambassador status but will go by the title “chief of mission” and will have no added diplomatic privileges. (YA 12/17)

IDF troops on the n. Gaza border fire warning shots at Palestinians scavenging for construction materials in the fmr. Jewish settlement sites, wounding 1. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in Dura nr. Hebron and in Tulkarm. The Jewish holy site of Joseph’s Tomb in Kifl Haris nr. Salfit is vandalized sometime during the day; local Palestinians are suspected. (PCHR 12/16; OCHA, PCHR 12/23)

IDF troops on the n. Gaza border fire warning shots at Palestinians scavenging for construction materials in the fmr. Jewish settlement sites, wounding 2. Unidentified Palestinians fire a mortar fr. Gaza into Israel, lightly injuring 1 Israeli private security guard. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts early-morning arrest raids, house searches in Nur Shams r.c. nr. Tulkarm; patrols in Salfit (late evening) and in 3 villages nr. Qalqilya (1 early morning, 2 late night) and 1 nr. Ramallah (late night). Jewish settlers fr. Sha’are Tikva settlement nr. Qalqilya dump waste water onto the playgrounds and land surrounding a secondary school in nearby ‘Azzun ‘Atma village. Jewish settlers escorted by IDF soldiers enter Kifl Haris village nr. Salfit to pray at Joshua’s Tomb, vandalizing a Palestinian car en route. (PCHR 12/16; OCHA 12/17)

Israel’s security cabinet agrees in principle to allow more exports out of Gaza and expects details to be fleshed out within the next few days, but there is no serious change before the end of the quarter. In the afternoon and early evening, unidentified Palestinians fire 6 mortars fr. Gaza into Israel, causing light damage in 1 instance and moderately injuring 1 Israeli in another. The IDF makes 4 air strikes on al-Mughraqa in c. Gaza, destroying a building used by Hamas’s Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades (IQB), a partially constructed home, and a well, causing no reported injuries; makes another air strike destroying an IQB building in Gaza City’s al-Zaytun neighborhood, damaging several surrounding buildings but causing no serious injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night patrols in Kifl Haris nr. Salfit. Israeli authorities deport detained Hamas-affiliated PC mbr. Muhammad Abu Tir, whose Jerusalem residency status was revoked in 5/2010, to Ramallah. (JP, UPI 12/8; JP, NYT, PCHR, WP, WT, YA 12/9; OCHA 12/10; PCHR 12/16; OCHA 12/17)

The White House abandons efforts to persuade Israel to impose a 90-day settlement construction freeze and takes its generous package of diplomatic and security incentives off the table. The message comes days before senior Israeli and Palestinian negotiators plan to meet in Washington for further talks on the peace process and before U.S. Secy. of State Hillary Clinton is scheduled to make a major Middle East policy statement on 12/10. (NYT, WP, WT 12/8)

The IDF makes a brief incursion e. of al-Bureij r.c. in c. Gaza to level lands along the border fence, firing on surrounding areas, causing no reported injuries. Unidentified Palestinians fire 2 mortars fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. Late in the evening, the IDF responds with air strikes on a poultry farm nr. Khan Yunis (an alleged arms cache) and at a smuggling tunnel on the Rafah border, causing no injuries. In the West Bank, IDF escorts plain-clothed individuals into Rafat village nr. Salfit in the morning; the group pauses outside the local mosque, pointing at it and taking notes. The IDF also conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Hebron and nr. Nablus, and patrols in Anabta village nr. Tulkarm. In Israel, 47 state-employed Israeli rabbis issue an open letter distributed in synagogues and religious journals saying that it is prohibited by the Torah to sell or rent a house or a field in the land of Israel to non-Jews. Netanyahu denounces the letter. (JP 12/7; WT, YA 12/8; PCHR 12/9; OCHA 12/10; JPI 12/17)

Twice during the day, IDF troops on the n. Gaza border fire warning shots at Palestinians scavenging for construction materials in the fmr. settlement sites nr. the border fence, wounding 3 Palestinians. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in Jinsafut village nr. Qalqilya during the day and in 4 other villages nr. Qalqilya, 1 nr. Hebron, and 1 nr. Salfit late at night. (PCHR 12/9; OCHA 12/10)

Israel allows Gazans to export 2.4 tons of strawberries and 25,000 cut flowers, marking Gaza’s first exports since 4/2010; exports of these commodities are permitted through the end of the quarter. In 3 separate incidents, IDF troops on the n. Gaza border fire warning shots at Palestinians scavenging for construction materials in fmr. settlement sites and the demolished Erez industrial zone, wounding 3. Unidentified Palestinians fire a Qassam rocket fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in and around Salfit and in 4 villages nr. Jenin, 3 nr. Qalqilya, and 2 nr. Tulkarm during the day; conducts late-night patrols in Qalqilya; and conducts late-night arrest raids and house searches nr. Bethlehem and Salfit. (AFP, JP 11/28; WP 11/29; PCHR 12/2; OCHA 12/3; NYT 12/17)

In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in al-‘Araqa village nr. Jenin in the morning, questioning Palestinians on the street and summoning 4 for interrogation; conducts patrols without incident in 3 villages nr. Ramallah and Salfit during the day and in Qabatya nr. Jenin late at night; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron. IDF soldiers also make a late-night incursion into Tulkarm where they raid a home and business, confiscating money, personal property, and business assets, saying they are implementing an Israeli court order to confiscate $650,000 that the father of the family (currently jailed in Israel) confessed to receiving from Hamas as compensation for his company, which was destroyed by arson in 6/2007 during rioting over Hamas’s takeover of Gaza. A Jewish settler fr. Einav settlement deliberately runs down a Palestinian roadside vendor nr. Tulkarm, moderately injuring him; the IDF detains the settler at a nearby checkpoint for questioning. (WP 11/15; OCHA 11/24; PCHR 11/25)

IDF troops on the Israeli side of the Erez crossing fire warning shots at Palestinians scavenging for construction materials inside the demolished industrial zone, wounding 1. In the West Bank, the IDF enters Burin village nr. Salfit at midday, searching 2 homes and summoning 2 Palestinians for interrogation; fires tear gas and stun grenades to disperse Palestinians and international activists demonstrating against Israeli land seizures nr. Bayt Umar nr. Hebron and Iraq Burin village nr. Nablus, causing only light injuries; conducts late-night patrols without incident in a village nr. Qalqilya; conducts late-night house searches in Dahaysha r.c. nr. Bethlehem and a village nr. Qalqilya, summoning 1 Palestinian for interrogation and arresting another. (OCHA 11/24; PCHR 11/25)

IDF troops on the Israeli side of the Erez crossing fire warning shots at Palestinians scavenging for construction material inside the demolished industrial zone, wounding 1. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts synchronized late-night incursions into Salfit and 2 nearby villages, searching several homes and summoning 4 Palestinians for interrogation. Palestinians (accompanied by Israeli and international activists in some locations) hold weekly nonviolent demonstrations against the separation wall, land confiscations, and settlement expansion in Bil‘in, Ni‘lin, Nabi Salih/Dayr Nizam. IDF soldiers fire rubbercoated steel bullets, tear gas, and stun grenades at the protesters; 2 Palestinians are lightly injured by tear gas canisters and 10s suffer tear gas inhalation. (OCHA 11/24; PCHR 11/25)

Israeli naval vessels fire on Palestinian fishing boats off the Gaza coast, forcing them to return to shore. IDF troops on the n. Gaza border fire warning shots at Palestinians scavenging for construction materials in the fmr. settlement sites, causing no injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF sets up a temporary checkpoint inside Tulkarm, stopping Palestinians to check their IDs, withdrawing without incident; makes a daytime raid on a carpentry shop nr. Salfit, arresting 1 Palestinian; enters Madama village nr. Nablus in the evening, imposing a curfew, ordering shops to close, searching several homes, but making no arrests; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron. Jewish settlers fr. Karme Tzur nr. Hebron, escorted by IDF troops, level Palestinian agricultural land (grape vines, almond trees); 70 d. have been leveled in the past 3 wks. (PCHR 11/4; OCHA 11/5)

IDF troops on the n. Gaza border fire warning shots at Palestinians scavenging for construction material in the fmr. settlement sites, wounding 1. Hamas’s acting FM Mahmud Zahhar warns that Gazans who fire rockets at Israel violate an agreement among Palestinian factions not to initiate strikes on Israeli targets and face possible arrest. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in 2 villages nr. Jericho and Jenin in the morning, making no arrests; makes a late-night raid into Mazra‘a village nr. Ramallah, patrolling streets and firing rubbercoated steel bullets, tear gas, stun grenades at stone-throwing youths who confront them, causing no serious injuries; makes a late-night raid on a Palestinian apartment building in Ya‘bad village nr. Jenin, photographing it and questioning the owner; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in al-Askar r.c. and nearby Nablus, in Hebron, and nr. Salfit. Jewish settlers fr. Shilo settlement throw stones at Palestinians driving on the nearby Nablus– Ramallah road, causing no injuries. In East Jerusalem, Israeli security forces raid and search a Palestinian home in the alBustan area of Silwan early in the morning, arresting 2 Palestinians. (al-Hayat 10/31; PCHR 11/4; OCHA 11/5)

Unidentified Palestinians fire 5 mortars fr. Gaza toward Israel, 2 landing in Israel and 3 inside Gaza, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols without incident in 2 villages nr. Tulkarm in the morning; conducts latenight arrest raids, searches nr. Hebron, Salfit. Jewish settlers fr. Taffuh nr. Salfit attempt to steal a horse fr. a Palestinian harvesting olives but leave when other Palestinians arrive. The PA says that foreign journalists who visit the West Bank through Israeli media facilitators are “unwelcome”—a move seen as an attempt by the PA to control its media image abroad. (JP 10/25; PCHR 10/28; OCHA 10/29; JPI 11/5)

In the West Bank, the IDF patrols without incident in villages nr. Jenin and Tulkarm during the day, Nablus and Qalqilya late at night; prevents Palestinians fr. reaching their land nr. Salfit to cultivate olives; conducts arrest raids, house searches in villages nr. Jenin during the day, nr. Jenin and Nablus late at night. Jewish settlers fr. Karme Tzur, escorted by IDF troops, level at least 10 d. of adjacent Palestinian land to expand the settlement. (PCHR 10/14; OCHA 10/15)

Israeli naval vessels fire on Palestinian fishing boats off the n. Gaza coast, forcing them to return to shore. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Ramallah, Salfit. Jewish settlers level 7 d. of land nr. Hebron. Jewish settlers fr. Havat Gilad settlement nr. Qalqilya harvest and steal the olives fr. a nearby Palestinian grove. (PCHR 10/14; OCHA 10/15)

The Israeli cabinet approves (22-8) submission of a bill to the Knesset that would require a loyalty oath as Netanyahu proposed on 10/6, but clarifying that Israeli Palestinians would not be required to make the pledge to maintain citizenship. (NYT, WP 10/11; NYT 10/19; JPI 10/22)

In a bid to secure the backing of rightwing coalition partners for a package of U.S. guarantees for a short extension of the settlement freeze, Netanyahu proposes legislation that would require those becoming Israeli citizens to pledge a loyalty oath to “the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state,” as opposed to simply “the State of Israel” as it is now worded. (NYT 10/7, 10/8; WP 10/11)

Unidentified Palestinians fire 2 Qassam rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. The IDF retaliates with a late-night air strike on an IQB training site in the Shaykh Ridwan area of Gaza City, destroying a building, damaging 30 surrounding buildings and 3 cars, and injuring 6 Palestinian civilians. In the West Bank, the IDF makes a brief incursion into Tulkarm early in the morning to photograph the entrances of a police station, the local PASF and PA General Intelligence headquarters, and a PASF medical services building, withdrawing without incident; blocks Palestinians from joining a solidarity rally with Jewish settlers outside Bayt Fajjar village (site of a mosque arson on 10/4), sparking clashes between stonethrowing Palestinian youths and soldiers (no serious injuries reported); patrols late at night, without incident in 2 villages n. of Jenin; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in ‘Ayn Bayt al-Ma’a r.c. and Zawata village, both nr. Nablus. The Israeli daily Ha’Aretz reports that nearly 350 housing units are currently under construction in West Bank settlements, including 56 in Keddumim nr. Qalqilya, 54 in Ariel n. of Salfit, 56 in Karme Tzur; 24 within Ma’ate Binyamin regional council area (nr. Jerusalem and Ramallah), 34 in Kiryat Arba, and 1 each in Barqan, Dolev, Kefar Adumim, Kochav HaShachar, Oranit, Revava, Sha’are Tikva, Tekoa, and Yakir. (HA, JP 10/6; NYT, PCHR, REU, YA 10/7; PCHR 10/14; OCHA 10/15)

U.S. officials spend the day trying to broker a compromise with Israel that will guarantee that direct talks will continue. Despite U.S. appeals, Netanyahu allows the freeze to expire at midnight local time (6:00 p.m. EDT). Abbas agrees not to follow through on threats to halt direct talks immediately to give U.S. diplomacy more time to work, but says he plans to consult with Fatah and PLO leaders, as well as the Arab League regarding how to move forward. (At his request, an Arab League session is set for 10/4, essentially leaving a week to resolve the freeze issue; the date is later changed to 10/6.) Even before the freeze ends, Israel’s Dep. PM Silvan Shalom lays the cornerstone for construction of a new yeshiva at a ceremony in Beit Romano settlement in Hebron attended by settlement leaders and right-wing Knesset members. Likud party mbrs. and 1,000s of settlers bussed in from around the West Bank attend a rally in neighboring Revava settlement to count down the end of the moratorium. In nearby Kiryat Netafim settlement, Jewish settlers hold a groundbreaking ceremony for construction of a new day-care center. Dozens of armed Jewish settlers from Ma’on settlement nr. Hebron guarded by IDF soldiers escort bulldozers to a nearby site where they begin laying the foundations for new homes at nearby Havat Maon outpost. After midnight, construction begins at several settlements across the West Bank. (NYT, WP, WT 9/27; NYT, WP 9/28; PCHR 9/30)

Meanwhile, timed with the lifting of the settlement freeze, 9 Jewish activists depart Cyprus on a catamaran, hoping to break the blockade of Gaza to deliver a token shipment of medicine and water purification equipment. In the West Bank, unidentified Palestinian gunmen fire on 2 Jewish settler vehicles driving nr. Hebron, moderately wounding 1 Jewish settler; no group takes responsibility. The IDF sends troops into Azun village nr. Qalqilya to patrol streets, set up checkpoints, and check Palestinian IDs, arresting 1 Palestinian; seals an entrance to Marda village nr. Salfit; conducts late-night patrols in Jenin town and r.c., making no arrests; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Jenin and Nablus. In Gaza, IDF troops on the s. Gaza border e. of Khan Yunis fire warning shots at Palestinians conducting a nonviolent protest march to the border fence to protest Israel’s imposition of a buffer zone, seriously wounding 1. (NYT 9/27; WT 9/28; PCHR 9/30; OCHA 10/1)

Secy. of State Clinton races to broker a deal with Israeli officials to extend the settlement freeze 1 day before it is scheduled to expire, while Mitchell meets with Abbas in New York to urge him not to walk away from peace talks immediately if Netanyahu allows the freeze to expire. On the ground Jewish settlers begin positioning construction equipment in some settlements. In addition, Jewish settlers in Revava settlement nr. Salfit seize 30 d. of Palestinian agricultural land, raze crops, and install 2 mobile homes as a “new quarter” of the settlement. Jewish settlers fr. Nokdim settlement nr. Bethlehem place 3 mobile homes on nearby Palestinian land. Jewish settlers fr. Barqan settlement nr. Salfit raze adjacent Palestinian land to expand the settlement’s industrial zone. Jewish settlers fr. Givat Ze’ev settlement enter Beitunia town nr. Ramallah and make preparations to celebrate the Sukkoth holiday; the IDF removes them. (NYT, WP 9/26)

Meanwhile, Israeli-Palestinian clashes in Issawiyya, which began on 9/22, taper off by the end of the day, leaving a total of 99 Palestinians (including 17 children) and 9 Israelis injured (7 lightly, 2 moderately), and 70 Palestinians under arrest; during the rioting, Palestinians set fire to or damage 8 Israeli cars and vandalize an Israeli tourist information center. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in Iraq Burin village nr. Nablus in the afternoon, firing tear gas and stun grenades at stone-throwing Palestinian youths who confront them, causing no serious injuries; fires rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas, and stun grenades at Palestinian, Israeli, and international activists conducting a nonviolent march from Bayt Umar village to Karme Tzur settlement outside Hebron to protest land confiscations and settlement expansion; 10s suffer tear gas inhalation and 2 Palestinians and 3 Americans are injured. An Egyptian hospital reports that an armed Palestinian transported to Egypt for treatment has died of injures sustained in the 9/14 IDF shelling nr. Gaza Valley village. (NYT, WP 9/26; PCHR 9/30; OCHA 10/1)

Delegations headed by Hamas Political Bureau chief Khalid Mishal and senior Fatah official Azzam al-Ahmad meet for 3 hours in Damascus, afterward issuing a statement confirming a restart of national unity talks. (AP 9/24; AP, REU 9/25; JP 9/27; MNA 11/1) 

In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night patrols in Tulkarm town and r.c. and in 3 villages nr. Qalqilya, 2 nr. Ramallah, 2 nr. Salfit, facing stone-throwing youths in 1 instance (firing rubber-coated steel bullets at them, causing no injuries) and making no arrests; conducts synchronized late-night arrest raids, house searches in Jenin town and r.c. and 3 neighboring villages; conducts additional late-night arrest raids, house searches in Hebron. Jewish settlers fr. Harsina settlement nr. Hebron uproot 70 grapevines from nearby Palestinian land. In Gaza, 25 unidentified gunmen (suspected Salafists) set fire to a popular water park, completely destroying it, and beat the 2 night watchmen. (PCHR 9/23; OCHA 9/24; JPI 10/1)

The IDF begins installing 12-m-high concrete barriers along a new segment of the separation wall northeast of Jerusalem that will separate Shu‘fat r.c., Anata village, and the neighborhoods of Ras alKhamis, Ras Shihada, and al-Salam from c. Jerusalem. In the West Bank, the IDF seals off the entrance of Issawiyya village leading to Jerusalem for the Yom Kippur holiday, sparking clashes with stone-throwing youths, injuring 7 Palestinians; conducts late-night patrols without incident in Dayr Ghassana village nr. Ramallah; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Ramallah, Salfit. The IDF also fires rubbercoated steel bullets, tear gas, and stun grenades at Palestinian, Israeli, and international activists conducting a nonviolent march from Bayt Umar village to Karme Tzur settlement outside Hebron to protest land confiscations and settlement expansion; 10s suffer tear gas inhalation; 2 Palestinians, 1 American, and 1 British activist are arrested; and 1 Palestinian activist, 1 Israeli activist, 1 Japanese activist, and a Swedish journalist are moderately injured. (PCHR 9/23; OCHA 9/24)

Clinton meets with Abbas in Ramallah, then stops in Amman to brief King Abdullah on the Sharm al-Shaykh talks. Clinton and Mubarak issue statements saying that they have jointly recommended a short 3 or 4 mo. extension to the settlement freeze during which Israel and the PA would focus on border issues in hopes of solving which settlements would stay and go under final status. Abbas states: “We all know there is no alternative to peace other than negotiating peace, so we have no alternative but to continue peace efforts.” (NYT, WP 9/17)

Mitchell goes to Damascus to brief Syrian pres. Bashar al-Asad on the peace talks, saying for the first time that the U.S. intends to push for renewed Israeli-Syrian peace talks parallel to Israeli-Palestinian talks. (Asia Times 9/16)

In the West Bank, the IDF conducts synchronized late-night patrols in 2 villages e. of Qalqilya, making no arrests; similar late-night patrols without incident in villages nr. Salfit; late-night arrest raids, house searches in Hebron, Tulkarm. (PCHR 9/23; OCHA 9/24)

Unidentified Palestinians fire 2 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. IDF troops on the Israeli side of the Erez crossing fire on Palestinians inside the Strip conducting a nonviolent protest march to the border to denounce Israel’s imposition of a no-go zone. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Tulkarm and neighboring Nur Shams r.c.; conducts late-night patrols in 7 villages e. of Qalqilya, making no arrests; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Jenin town and r.c.; conducts synchronized late-night incursions into 4 villages northwest of Salfit, searching a home and summoning 1 Palestinian for questioning in 1 case, patrolling without incident in 3 cases. Jewish settlers fr. Shvut Rachel nr. Ramallah seize and raze 15 d. of Palestinian agricultural land for expansion of the settlement. (JP, UPI, YA 9/13; JP, NYT 9/14; PCHR 9/16; OCHA 9/17)

IDF troops on the n. Gaza border fire 5 tank shells at Palestinian shepherds tending a flock 600 m. fr. the border fence, killing 3 Palestinian civilians (a 91-yr.-old man, his teenage grandson, and another teenager) and their 30 sheep. In response, the PRCs fire 2 Qassam rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in Marda nr. Salfit late at night, without incident; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Bethlehem and nr. Qalqilya. (YA 9/12; AFP, WP, YA 9/13; PCHR 9/16; OCHA 9/17; JPI 9/24)

Overnight, the IDF carries out 7 air strikes on Gaza (3 on Rafah tunnels and 4 on Hamas targets: 2 in Gaza City, 1 each on Bayt Hanun and Dayr al-Balah) and fires 6 tank shells across the border at Bayt Hanun in retaliation for recent Palestinian rocket and mortar fire, injuring 2 Hamas mbrs. In response, unidentified Palestinians fire another Qassam rocket fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night patrols in villages nr. Qalqilya, Salfit, and Tulkarm, checking Palestinian IDs but making no arrests. Palestinians (accompanied by Israeli and international activists in some locations) hold weekly nonviolent demonstrations against the separation wall, land confiscations, and settlement expansion in Bil‘in and Ni‘lin. IDF soldiers fire rubbercoated steel bullets, tear gas, and stun grenades at the protesters; 10s suffer tear gas inhalation, 1 Palestinian is moderately injured. (JP, YA 9/10; AFP 9/12; PCHR 9/16; OCHA 9/17)

Unidentified Palestinians fire a mortar fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF sends undercover units into Sourif village nr. Hebron in 2 cars with Palestinian license plates, raiding a home and arresting 5 Palestinians; conducts evening and late-night patrols in villages nr. Hebron, Qalqilya, and Tulkarm, making no arrests; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in al‘Arub r.c. and nr. Hebron and Salfit. (JP 9/6; PCHR 9/8; OCHA 9/17)

IDF troops on the n. Gaza border fire warning shots at Palestinians scavenging for construction materials in the evacuated settlement sites nr. the n. border, wounding 1. In the West Bank, the IDF patrol in and around Qalqilya and in villages nr. Salfit late at night, making no arrests. (PCHR 9/8; OCHA 9/17)

In the West Bank, the IDF occupies 2 Palestinian homes nr. a settler-only bypass road in Hebron as observation posts; conducts evening and late-night patrols in villages nr. Nablus, Qalqilya, Salfit, and Tulkarm, making no arrests; conducts latenight arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron. Palestinians (accompanied by Israeli and international activists in some locations) hold weekly nonviolent demonstrations against the separation wall, land confiscations, and settlement expansion in Bil‘in, Ni‘lin, and Dayr Nizam/ Nabi Salih. IDF soldiers fire rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas, and stun grenades at the protesters; 10s suffer tear gas inhalation and 1 Palestinian and 9 internationals are arrested. Jewish settlers gather at the evacuated Homesh settlement site nr. Nablus, stone passing Palestinian vehicles. (PCHR 9/8; OCHA 9/17)

Direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations are formally relaunched at a ceremony at the State Dept. in Washington, with Abbas and Netanyahu pledging to meet again on 9/13–14 in Egypt and then every 2 weeks thereafter to “keep momentum going.” Clinton, Abbas, Netanyahu, and U.S. special envoy George Mitchell meet, after which Abbas and Netanyahu meet privately for 90 mins. Mitchell then announces that the leaders have decided to work toward a “framework agreement” within a year that would outline “the compromises each side must be ready to make” to achieve peace as a 1st step before attempting to iron out a comprehensive peace treaty. (NYT, WP, WT 9/3)

For a 3d day in a row, IQB gunmen fire on a Jewish settler vehicle driving in West Bank area C, causing no injuries. Asked if Hamas’s political leadership approved the recent string of shootings, West Bank IQB spokesman Abu Ubaidah says the operations are “in harmony with the attitude of the political wing.” The PASF says that since the 1st shooting on 8/31, they have detained 300 Hamas mbrs. Late in the evening, the IDF patrol in villages nr. Jericho, Nablus, Qalqilya, and Salfit, making no arrests; conducts arrest raids in Hebron (shooting and wounding 1 Palestinian, releasing him to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society) and neighboring al-‘Arub r.c. Jewish settlers fr. Halamish settlement nr. Ramallah stone Palestinian vehicles driving by the settlement. Jewish settlers fr. Shilo settlement nr. Ramallah stone Palestinian cars on the Ramallah–Nablus road. Unidentified Jewish settlers stone Palestinian vehicles driving nr. Nablus. PCHR reports that Israel’s Gihon Water Company recently sent letters to churches and nunneries in the Old City of Jerusalem warning that their water service will be cut off if they do not immediately pay water consumption fees accumulated since 1967; historically, religious establishments in Jerusalem have been exempt from such fees. (PCHR 9/2; WP 9/4; PCHR 9/8; OCHA 9/17)