The Palestine Chronology

The UN reports that the IDF has tightened its open-fire rules in the West Bank, no longer allowing soldiers to fire in the air or at stone-throwing Palestinians; allowing fire only when Molotov cocktails are thrown at civilian cars or when soldiers have requested and received permission from commanders. IDF troops on the Gaza border e. of al-Maghazi r.c. fire on Palestinians staging a peaceful march to the border fence to protest Israel’s imposition of a no-go zone, wounding 1 Palestinian; 3 Palestinians are wounded in a similar incident at the border fence e. of Khan Yunis. In the West Bank, the IDF fires rubber-coated steel bullets, stun grenades, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, and international activists conducting a nonviolent march to the separation wall outside Budrus village nr. Ramallah, injuring 3 Palestinians; conducts an evening arrest raid into Dayr Istya village nr. Salfit; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in al-Azza r.c. and Dahaysha r.c., both nr. Bethlehem. (WP 3/31; OCHA, PCHR 4/1; WJW 4/8; JPI 4/16)

Israel imposes a general closure on the West Bank through 4/6 for Passover. The IDF makes a brief incursion into s. Gaza e. of al-Qarara to level land along the border fence to clear lines of sight. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night house searches in ‘Aqabat Jabir r.c., summoning 2 Palestinians for interrogation. Unidentified Palestinians fire a Qassam rocket fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries; the IDF does not immediately respond. (YA 3/29; OCHA, PCHR 4/1)

The Arab League ends 2 days of talks in Libya to debate whether to re-endorse proximity talks without reaching an agreement, though members renew support for the 2002 Arab League initiative offering full normalization for full peace. (WP 3/29; WJW 4/1)

The IDF makes a brief incursion into s. Gaza e. of Abasan to level land along the border fence to clear lines of sight. In the West Bank, 10s of Palestinians, Christian clerics, and international activists take part in a nonviolent march from Bethlehem to the main IDF checkpoint to Jerusalem to protest Israeli restrictions on Christians entering Jerusalem today, Palm Sunday; IDF troops beat marchers, arrest 12 Palestinians (including Fatah Central Comm. mbr. Abbas Zaki; all are released on 4/1) and 4 internationals (releasing them later in the day), and seal the Gilo crossing to Jerusalem (including to medical cases and tourists) through 3/31. (OCHA, PCHR 4/1)

Overnight, the IDF bulldozes 31 d. of agricultural and 1 Palestinian home e. of Khan Yunis in the area where clashes occurred on 3/26; by midday, the IDF withdraws tanks and armored bulldozers sent into s. Gaza on 3/26. In the morning, unidentified Palestinians fire 2 Qassam rockets toward Israel; 1 lands inside Gaza and the other in an open area inside Israel, neither causing injuries; Israel does not immediately respond. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Nablus. (JP, YA 3/27; OCHA, PCHR 4/1)

IDF troops on the s. Gaza border fire on armed Palestinians laying a roadside bomb nr. the border fence e. of Khan Yunis. When Palestinians return fire, the troops enter the Strip in pursuit, triggering at least 1 buried device and drawing Palestinian mortar fire, which prompts the IDF to move several tanks and armed bulldozers into Gaza, shelling areas outside Khan Yunis. The exchange leaves 2 armed Palestinians, 1 Palestinian bystander, and 2 IDF soldiers dead and 3 IDF soldiers and 6 Palestinians (including at least 2 civilians, one a 13-yr.-old boy) wounded, marking the 1st deadly exchange of fire in Gaza since OCL ended on 1/18/09. The al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, Islamic Jihad, and a group calling itself Palestinian Taliban (believed to be a radical Salafist splinter group opposed to Hamas) claim their fighters were involved in the initial border incident; the Izzedin al-Qassam Brigades claims responsibility for ambushing and firing mortars at IDF troops once they entered Gaza, causing the IDF casualties. In the West Bank, the IDF fires rubber-coated steel bullets, stun grenades, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, and international activists taking part in weekly demonstrations against the separation wall and settlement expansion in Bil‘in (10s suffer tear gas inhalation; 1 Israeli is arrested), Dayr Nizam/al-Nabi Salih (2 Palestinians injured), and Ni‘lin (10s suffer tear gas inhalation). (JP 3/27; WP 3/28; OCHA, PCHR 4/1; PCHR 4/8)

Netanyahu returns to Israel without an agreed draft blueprint. Though he is welcomed home by a small group of supporters with signs saying “Obama, No You Can’t” and “Netanyahu Stand Strong,” he reportedly feels “humiliated” by Obama and is “truly stunned by the Obama administration’s unprecedented willingness to criticize Israel over building in the annexed part of Jerusalem.” (NYT, WP 3/26)

IDF troops on the s. Gaza border fire on Palestinians scavenging for construction materials nr. the Sufa crossing site 150 m fr. the border, wounding 1; a 15-yr.-old Palestinian boy is wounded in a similar incident on the n. Gaza border. Israeli naval vessels fire on Palestinian fishing boats off the n. Gaza coast, seriously wounding 1 fisherman. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Jenin town and r.c. (OCHA, PCHR 4/1)

Netanyahu clears his schedule to hold additional talks with U.S. admin. officials aimed at drafting a “blueprint” covering issues (including construction in Jerusalem) that need to be resolved before proximity talks can go forward. Netanyahu would take the plan to his government, while Mitchell would take it to the Palestinians and Arab leaders. A final draft of the blueprint is not agreed to, however. (NYT, WP 3/25)

Obama sits in on a National Security Agency brainstorming session weighing the pros and cons of the U.S. offering its own peace proposal to break the Israeli-Palestinian impasse. (NYT, WP 4/8)

IDF troops on the n. Gaza border make a brief incursion 800 m across the border to disperse Palestinians scavenging for construction materials from destroyed buildings, arresting 5. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron. (PCHR 3/25; OCHA, PCHR 4/1)

In the morning, Netanyahu tours Capitol Hill, where he is greeted warmly. He then meets for 2 hrs. at the White House with Pres. Obama, who reportedly makes tough demands of Israel to put the peace process back on track. After a 90-min. sidebar with his advisors, Netanyahu makes a counterproposal that is rejected by Obama. (NYT, WP, WT 3/24; NYT, WP 3/25; JPI, NYT 3/26)

Unidentified Palestinians fire a Qassam rocket fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In retaliation, the IDF carries out an air strike on a suspected weapons depot nr. Jabaliya r.c., damaging a nearby home but causing no injuries. The IDF makes a brief incursion into the Erez industrial zone to level land and clear lines of sight. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron. Jewish settlers fr. several settlements beat Palestinian farmers working their land in Sinjil village n. of Ramallah; the IDF intervenes, declaring the area a closed military zone and forcing settlers and Palestinians to leave. (JP, YA 3/23; JP 3/24; OCHA, PCHR 3/25)

Clinton, Netanyahu both address the AIPAC conference in Washington and then hold an 80-min. meeting on the sidelines to discuss recent tensions. In the evening, Netanyahu holds a working dinner with Biden on bilateral relations. (JTA 3/22; JTA, NYT, WP, WT 3/23; WJW 3/25; JPI 4/2)

In Gaza, 1 IDF soldier is killed by friendly fire when IDF infantry and tank units on the Gaza border are mobilized to halt 3 unarmed Palestinians nr. the border fence, and the tank crew accidentally fires on the infantry unit on the Israeli side of the border; the Palestinians are not injured. After unidentified Palestinians fire a rocket fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries, the IDF makes an air strike on an alleged weapons depot in Gaza City, destroying it and lightly injuring 8 Palestinian civilians (including 1 woman and 2 children). Later in the evening, unidentified Palestinians fire another rocket toward Israel, but it lands harmlessly nr. the Erez crossing. Late in the evening, IDF troops on the central Gaza border e. of Dayr al-Balah shoot, wound an unarmed Palestinian outside his home 500 m fr. the border. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in al-Fara‘a r.c. nr. Tubas. (HA, JP, NYT, YA 3/23; OCHA, PCHR, WJW 3/25)

Unidentified Palestinians fire a Qassam rocket fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. The IDF responds with an air strike on a smuggling tunnel on the Rafah border, causing no injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF fatally shoots 2 Palestinian farmers in a field nr. Nablus who allegedly tried to attack soldiers with an ax and pitchforks; there are no independent witnesses to the incident. The IDF also announces plans to seize 49 d. of Palestinian land in Beitunia for construction of a new checkpoint on Route 443 as a step to reopening the road to Palestinian traffic in accordance with an Israeli High Court ruling; conducts late-night house searches in al-Bireh but makes no arrests. A Palestinian dies of head injuries sustained in clashes with the IDF in Iraq Burin on 3/20. (NYT, WP, WT 3/20; OCHA, PCHR 3/25)

Unidentified Palestinians fire 4 Qassam rockets toward Israel during the day; 3 land in open areas inside Israel (causing no injuries) and the 4th lands harmlessly inside Gaza. IDF troops enter the Erez industrial zone to chase away Palestinians scavenging for building materials amid the debris of destroyed buildings, detaining 17 (including 4 children) and confiscating 4 carts of goods (15 of the Palestinians are released on 3/21; the other 2 are arrested). In the West Bank, Jewish settlers fr. Brakha attempt to enter the nearby village of Iraq Burin nr. Nablus, sparking a clash with Palestinian villagers who attempt to fend them off; the IDF intervenes, firing rubbercoated steel bullets and tear gas, killing a 16-yr.-old Palestinian, and seriously wounding a 2d Palestinian. (YA 3/20; HA, NYT, WP 3/21; OCHA, PCHR 3/25)

Overnight, the IDF carries out 6 air strikes on smuggling tunnels on the Rafah border, 2 open areas nr. Khan Yunis, and a metal workshop in Gaza City in retaliation for the fatal 3/18 rocket strike; 2 Palestinian civilians are wounded in Rafah. After unidentified Palestinians fire another Qassam rocket into Israel during the day (causing no damage or injuries), the IDF carries out air strikes on a Hamas facility nr. Dahaniyya airport (11 Palestinians injured) and on smuggling tunnels on the Rafah border (injuring 14). In the West Bank, the IDF fires rubber-coated steel bullets, stun grenades, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, and international activists staging nonviolent demonstrations against the separation wall in Bil‘in (10s suffer tear gas inhalation), Budrus village nr. Ramallah (1 Palestinian injured; 3 Palestinians, including 2 journalists arrested), Dayr Nizam/ al-Nabi Salih (11 Palestinians injured), and Ni‘lin (10s suffer tear gas inhalation); protesters in Ni‘lin throw stones at IDF troops, but the other demonstrations are nonviolent. Palestinians also demonstrate against the separation wall at the Qalandia checkpoint, setting fire to tires and throwing stones and bottles at IDF troops, who respond with rubber-coated steel-bullets, injuring 3 and arresting 1. The IDF also carries out late-night arrest raids, house searches in Qalandia r.c. nr. Ramallah. Jewish settlers burn a wooded area of Palestinian land nr. Bet Ayn settlement nr. Hebron. (JP, NYT, YA 3/19; HA, WP 3/20; OCHA, PCHR 3/25)

At a meeting in Moscow, the Quartet issues a strong statement “condemning” Israel’s Ramat Shlomo construction plan, “recalling that the annexation of East Jerusalem is not recognized by the international community,” and reiterating that Israel was obligated irrespective of Palestinian reciprocity to “freeze all settlement activity, including natural growth, dismantle outposts erected since March 2001; and to refrain from demolitions and evictions in East Jerusalem.” (WP 3/19, 3/20; NYT 3/21)

After 3 days of talks with his 7-mbr. security cabinet, Netanyahu phones Clinton (a day later than the State Dept. had expected) to offer Israel’s own package of “mutual confidence building” gestures to be made by Israel and the Palestinians. Neither side details the offer, but the U.S. says that the offer is sufficient enough to warrant sending special envoy Mitchell back to the region on 3/21 hopefully to launch proximity talks. At the same time, however, Israel’s Jerusalem municipality approves construction of 20 new settlement housing units in East Jerusalem’s Shaykh Jarrah neighborhood. (NYT, WP, WT 3/19; WP 3/20; OCHA, PCHR 3/25)

Ansar al-Sunna fires a rocket fr. Gaza into Israel, killing a Thai laborer working at a kibbutz near the Gaza border, marking the 1st fatal rocket strike since OCL. Another rocket fired by unidentified Palestinians earlier in the day caused no damage or injuries. Israel vows strong retaliation. Meanwhile, IDF troops on the s. Gaza border e. of Khan Yunis fire on Palestinians staging a nonviolent march to the border fence to protest Israel’s imposition of a 300-m no-go zone, causing no injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF carries out late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron (searching a number of homes of Palestinians involved in organizing protests against the separation wall, without making arrests). Jewish settlers fr. Eli nr. Nablus uproot 25 nearby Palestinian olive trees. (JP, NYT, WP, WT 3/19; HA, YA 3/20; OCHA, PCHR 3/25)

Late in the evening, unidentified Palestinians fire a Qassam rocket fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. Meanwhile, Israel lifts the seal on the West Bank imposed on 3/12 and eases restrictions on Palestinians accessing al-Aqsa Mosque; Palestinian demonstrations in the city fall off. IDF troops manning a checkpoint at the entrance to Bayt Umar village nr. Hebron chase stone-throwing youths into the village and fire on them with rubber-coated steel bullets, moderately injuring a 14-yr.-old Palestinian boy. The IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Nablus. (YA 3/17; NYT, PCHR 3/18; OCHA, PCHR 3/25)

Facing increasing bipartisan pressure to tone down criticism of Israel, Secy. Clinton reiterates the U.S. call for Israel to demonstrate its “full commitment” to the peace process but assures that the U.S.- Israel relationship is not threatened, emphasizing the administration’s “absolute commitment to Israel’s security” and the U.S.’s “close, unshakable bond” with Israel. Netanyahu immediately welcomes Clinton’s “warm words” but says nothing about the U.S. demands. Meanwhile, Israel issues bids for construction of 309 settlement housing units in Neve Ya’acov in East Jerusalem (NYT, WP, WT 3/17)

In Gaza, unidentified Palestinians fire 2 mortars toward Israel, which land harmlessly in Gaza. IDF troops on the n. Gaza border nr. Bayt Lahiya fire in the air to disperse Gazans staging a nonviolent march to the border fence to protest Israel’s no-go zone. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in Madama village nr. Nablus late in the evening, firing stun grenades, arresting 3 Palestinians; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem, Hebron. In East Jerusalem, 100s of Palestinians protest Israel’s efforts to Judaize East Jerusalem in light of the 3/15 synagogue opening in the Old City and the 3/9 Ramat Shlomo announcement, throwing stones at Israeli forces, who respond with rubbercoated steel bullets, stun grenades, tear gas; 166 Palestinians are injured (at least 10 seriously), 60 arrested; 15 Israeli police are also injured. Separately, Israeli police storm a small section of Jerusalem’s Old City known as the African quarter, raiding and searching homes, firing tear gas, detaining 5 Palestinians (including 1 child and 1 journalist). Protests spread to the rest of the West Bank, with clashes between Palestinians and the IDF reported in Bethlehem, Hebron, and Ramallah, leaving another 23 Palestinians, 2 IDF soldiers, and 2 Jewish settlers injured. (JP 3/16; NYT, WP, WT 3/17; OCHA, PCHR 3/18)

Israel officially inaugurates a rebuilt synagogue in Jerusalem’s Old City, raising tensions with Palestinians and the U.S., which see the timing as politically incorrect; no violence occurs, however. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Ramallah. (NYT 3/16; OCHA, PCHR 3/18)

Unidentified Palestinians fire a Qassam rocket fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF fires stun grenades, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, and international activists protesting the separation wall and settlement construction in Bayt Umar nr. Hebron (injuring 2 Palestinian journalists, arresting 2 other Palestinian journalists and 2 Israelis); closes the Qalandia checkpoint and fires on stone-throwing Palestinians attempting to march to Jerusalem to mark International Women’s Day (injuring 5 women); conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in al-Bireh, Dahaysha r.c. nr. Bethlehem. (YA 3/17; OCHA, PCHR 3/18)

In a 45-min. phone conversation, U.S. secy. of state Hillary Clinton sharply rebukes Netanyahu for the 3/9 Ramat Shlomo construction approval, demanding that Israel prove its desire to seek peace by revoking the plans, stating that the U.S. viewed his apology for the timing of the announcement alone as inadequate. She lists several additional steps the U.S. expects Israel to take to support the peace process and warns of consequences if Israel does not comply; no details are made public (State Dept. press release 3/12; WP 3/13; HA 3/15)

The IDF makes a day-long incursion 200 m into Gaza e. of Jabaliya, later moving s. toward Gaza City, to level land along the border fence to clear lines of sight. IDF troops on the n. Gaza border nr. Bayt Hanun fire on Palestinians scavenging construction materials from destroyed buildings, forcing them to flee, causing no injuries. Late in the evening, the IDF makes air strikes on a suspected weapons lab in Khan Yunis in retaliation for Palestinian rocket fire on 3/11, causing no reported injuries; Israeli naval vessels fire on a Palestinian fishing boat off the Bayt Lahiya coast, forcing it to return to shore. Israel, fearing serious Palestinian protests after Friday prayers over the 3/9 Ramat Shlomo construction approval, imposes a general closure on the West Bank through 3/16 and deploys extra units of riot police around Jerusalem; no violence is reported. In an effort to halt weekly Palestinian protests against the separation wall, the IDF issues a military order declaring Bil‘in and Ni‘lin closed military zones on Fridays until 8/17. Today the order is ignored: Palestinian, Israeli, and international activists stage a nonviolent march to the separation wall in Bil‘in and a protest against the wall in Ni‘lin, where some of them throw stones at IDF troops. In both cases, IDF troops fire rubber-coated steel bullets, stun grenades, tear gas (injuring 2 Palestinians in Bil‘in; arresting 1 Palestinian, 1 Israeli in Ni‘lin). The IDF also fires rubber-coated steel bullets, stun grenades, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, and international activists staging a nonviolent protest against settlement expansion nr. Dayr Nizam/al-Nabi Salih (injuring 18); fires stun grenades and beats Palestinian and international activists demonstrating against the separation wall in al-Ma‘sara village s. of Bethlehem (injuring 2 Palestinians). Jewish settlers fr. Eli nr. Nablus uproot 40 Palestinian olive trees in nearby Qaryut village. (YA 3/12; OCHA, PCHR 3/18)

Biden spends the day in the West Bank, meeting with Abbas and Fayyad. After receiving assurances that the U.S. will press Israel to reverse the 3/9 Ramat Shlomo decision, the PA indicates that it will move forward with plans for indirect talks with Israel. Meanwhile, Israeli officials stress that Israel will never cede Jerusalem and will build unimpeded within Jerusalem’s municipal borders. The Arab League reconvenes to discuss the situation and withdraws support for proximity talks, phoning Abbas to urge against negotiations. Abbas consequently informs the U.S. that the Palestinians cannot restart talks with Israel until the approval of the 1,600 housing units is rescinded. (IFM, JTA 3/10; NYT, WP, WT 3/11; NYT 3/29)

In the West Bank, the IDF sets up a checkpoint at the entrance to Rumana in the morning, checking Palestinian vehicles and arresting 1 Palestinian. Israel also authorizes the UN to send bomb disposal units into Gaza to identify and disarm unexploded IDF ordnance fr. OCL; the UN says the operation may take several months. (JTA 3/10; NYT, PCHR 3/11; OCHA, PCHR 3/18)

U.S. VP Joe Biden begins a 4-day trip aimed at boosting the peace process and reassuring Israel on Iran, marking the highest level visit to the region to date by an Obama admin. official. Timed with his arrival, special envoy Mitchell formally announces that Israel and the Palestinians have agreed to hold indirect talks, while stating that the structure and scope of the talks has not been agreed. (To date, Israel has insisted that proximity talks deal only with procedural issues, while Palestinians want all issues, especially borders, discussed.) He also calls on both sides “to refrain from any statements or actions which may inflame tensions or prejudice the outcome of these talks.” While Mitchell is meeting with Abbas in Ramallah, however, Israel announces construction of 112 new settlement housing units in the West Bank settlement of Beitar Ilit w. of Bethlehem, part of a planned 300-unit project (the foundations for the other units had already been poured when the 10-mo. construction freeze went into effect, automatically exempting them). Israel says that the empty site poses a safety hazard and that construction to address “safety problems for . . . projects started before the freeze” is not a violation of the freeze. (NYT, WP, WT 3/9)

In the West Bank, IDF troops raid a school in Azun village nr. Qalqilya, claiming students had thrown stones at their unit, attempting to arrest 1 boy; the headmaster bars the boy’s removal from the school and asks the Israeli-Palestinian liaison department to intervene; the soldiers leave the school after 2 hrs. of mediation, without making any arrests. The IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Hebron, nr. Bethlehem. In Hebron, a 15-yr.-old Jewish settler assaults 2 Palestinian boys (ages 11, 12) on their way home from school; the IDF observes but only intervenes when the settler boy cuts his hand when he tried to take a birdcage away from the Palestinian boys, arresting the Palestinians but releasing them on bail hrs. later. (JP 3/8; OCHA, PCHR 3/11)

In light of the 3/3 Arab League endorsement, the PLO Exec. Comm. gives its blessing for Abbas to open indirect talks with Israel mediated by the U.S., but warns that it would not endorse continuing the talks past 4 mos. unless at least the outlines of a border agreement were achieved and would not agree to a start to direct talks until Israel imposed a comprehensive settlement freeze, including East Jerusalem. Israel accepted indirect talks last wk. (NYT, WP, WT 3/8)

In the West Bank, the IDF fires rubbercoated steel bullets, stun grenades, tear gas at Palestinian and international activists who stage a nonviolent march outside Bayt Jala and attempt to plant trees on land slated for confiscation for the separation wall, injuring 5 Palestinians (including 3 journalists); conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Anata r.c. nr. Jerusalem, Hebron. (OCHA, PCHR 3/11)

In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in ‘Aqabat Jabir r.c., nr. Jericho and Nablus. Jewish settlers fr. Brakha nr. Nablus, escorted by IDF troops, attempt to enter nearby Iraq Burin village; IDF troops fire rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas at stone-throwing Palestinians who attempt to block them, injuring 4. (OCHA, PCHR 3/11)

IDF troops on the n. Gaza border nr. Bayt Hanun fire on Palestinian residential areas 800 m inside the Strip, causing no injuries. Late at night, Israeli naval vessels intercept a Palestinian fishing boat off the Rafah coast, detaining 3 fishermen (they are released on 3/5 after questioning). In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Jenin. Gaza’s Hamas-run government bans male hairstylists fr. working in women’s beauty salons; analysts (e.g., WT 3/5) view it as evidence that Hamas is coming under increasing pressure from radical Islamist groups to prove its Muslim credentials. (WP, WT 3/5; OCHA, PCHR 3/11)

After the Arab League endorses the idea of indirect Israeli-Palestinian peace talks for a 4-mo. preliminary period, U.S. special envoy George Mitchell announces that he will head back to the region in several days to secure the formal agreement of Israel and the Palestinians to relaunch peace talks, suspended since Israel launched Operation Cast Lead (OCL) against Gaza in 12/08. (NYT, WP, WT 3/4)

IDF troops make a brief incursion 500 m into n. Gaza nr. Bayt Lahiya to level land to clear lines of sight. In the West Bank, the IDF makes a late-night incursion into Beitunia w. of Ramallah, patrolling streets and firing rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas at stone-throwing youths who confront them, causing no reported injuries; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Jenin town and r.c., nr. Bethlehem and Ramallah. The IDF reports that it called off a raid on a West Bank village after a soldier posted the time and place of the planned operation on Facebook; the soldier was court-martialed and sentenced to 10 days in prison. (PCHR, WT 3/4; OCHA, PCHR 3/11)

Israeli mayor of Jerusalem Nir Barkat unveils a plan to demolish 10s of Palestinian homes built without permits in al-Bustan in the Silwan area of East Jerusalem to make way for a tourist center (offering the Palestinians new apartments over retail space to be constructed, which they reject) but delays the plan at the last minute at the request of PM Netanyahu, who tells Barkat to continue efforts to negotiate an amicable deal with Palestinian residents. In the West Bank, the IDF sends troops covered by helicopters into several villages w. of Jenin in search of 2 Islamic Jihad mbrs., surrounding and searching relatives’ homes, making no arrests; resumes work on a segment of the separation wall in Bayt Jala nr. Bethlehem (suspended for 3 yrs.) where 300 d. of agricultural land and 2,000 olive trees are slated to be razed; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Tulkarm, nr. Ramallah. (WT 3/3; OCHA, PCHR 3/4; JPI 3/19)

IDF troops on the n. Gaza border fire 2 artillery shells at open areas nr. al-Nada housing project, causing no damage or injuries. Later, IDF troops on the n. Gaza border nr. Bayt Lahiya fire 4 flechette rounds at armed Palestinians operating 700 m fr. the border, killing 1 armed Palestinian, wounding 1. IDF troops at the Erez crossing fire into Gaza at Palestinians demonstrating against Israel’s imposition of a 300-m no-go zone along the length of the Gaza border, causing no injuries. Hamas authorities in Gaza extend for 15 days the detention of British journalist Paul Martin, detained (2/14) on suspicion of security offenses based on his testimony in a trial in Gaza on behalf of a Palestinian accused of collaboration with Israel. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron, Jericho. PA Pres. Mahmud Abbas holds his weekly cabinet session in Hebron instead of Ramallah to protest Israel’s decision to include the Tomb of the Patriarchs/ al-Ibrahimi Mosque (located in Hebron) and Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem as Israeli national heritage sites, calling the move contrary to international law. (NYT 3/2; OCHA, PCHR 3/4)

IDF troops on the n. Gaza border nr. Bayt Lahiya shoot, wound, detain 1 unarmed Palestinian man attempting to sneak into Israel to find work; they return him to Gaza in an ambulance through the Erez crossing later in the day. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Jenin. (OCHA, PCHR 3/4)

The IDF imposes a general closure on the West Bank through 3/1 for the Purim holiday. In the West Bank, the IDF fires rubber-coated steel bullets, stun grenades, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, and international activists, some of whom throw stones at IDF troops, taking part in a nonviolent march to the separation wall in Bil‘in (10s suffer tear gas inhalation); fires rubber-coated steel bullets, stun grenades, tear gas at Palestinian and international activists, some of whom throw stones at IDF troops, taking part in protests against the separation wall in Ni‘lin (10s suffer tear gas inhalation); fires rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas, stun grenades at Palestinians fr. al-Nabi Salih staging a nonviolent march to protest land confiscations (injuring 3); fires rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas, stun grenades at Palestinians attempting to plant on s. Asira village land s. of Nablus slated for confiscation by the IDF for settlement expansion (10s suffer tear gas inhalation). (OCHA, PCHR 3/4)

IDF troops on the Gaza border n. of Bayt Lahiya fire on Palestinians scavenging bricks, iron bars from demolished buildings nearby, forcing them to flee; no injuries are reported. Late at night, the IDF moves 200 m in to s. Gaza nr. the destroyed Dahaniyya airport site, exchanging fire with armed Palestinians, severely wounding 1. In the West Bank, low-level clashes between Palestinian protesters and the IDF continue in Hebron for a 4th day, with no serious injuries reported. (NYT 2/26; OCHA, PCHR 3/4)

The IDF makes a brief incursion 700 m into the al-Fukhari area of s. Gaza to level 60 d. of agricultural land. In the West Bank, low-level clashes between Palestinian protesters and the IDF continue in Hebron for a 3d day, with no serious injuries reported. The IDF demolishes 6 wells w. of Jenin that provide water to 47 greenhouses and 456 d. of agricultural land; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron, Ramallah. (NYT 2/26; OCHA, PCHR 3/4)