The Palestine Chronology

In the West Bank, the IDF raids and searches homes nr. Jenin but makes no arrests; fires rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, international activists taking part in the weekly nonviolent demonstration against the separation wall in Bil‘in (10s suffer tear gas inhalation). Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba and a nearby unauthorized outpost in Wadi al-Nassara attack Palestinian homes for a 2d day, causing damage but no reported injuries. Jewish settlers with a bulldozer occupy and level a plot of Palestinian land s. of Bethlehem; the IDF removes the settlers. Jewish settlers fr. Yitzhar nr. Nablus throw a large rock at a passing Palestinian car, seriously injuring a Palestinian woman and lightly injuring her child; the IDF evacuates the mother to a hospital in Israel. In Gaza, Hamas-affiliated police detain several senior Fatah officials in what Hamas calls a response to Fatah’s detention of West Bank Hamas loyalists on 7/28. Egyptian border police demolish a smuggling tunnel on the Rafah border, suffocating 5 Palestinians. (NYT 8/2; OCHA 8/6; PCHR 8/7; 8/13)

An unidentified gunman shoots, wounds 2 Israeli policemen in Jerusalem’s Old City (1 policeman dies of his injuries btwn. 7/23 and 7/30); no group takes responsibility, but Israel says it assumes it was a nationalist attack by a Palestinian. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts early morning arrest raids, house searches in Jalazun r.c.; fatally shoots a 50-yr.-old Hamas mbr. in an alleged exchange of gunfire nr. Yakir settlement nr. Salfit; fires rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, international activists taking part in the weekly nonviolent demonstrations against the separation wall in Bil‘in (10s suffer tear gas inhalation) and al-Ma‘sara (wounding 2); fires rubber-coated steel bullets at Palestinians and international activists protesting IDF bulldozing operations for construction of the separation wall nr. Ni‘lin, wounding 5, arresting 4; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Jenin town and r.c., nr. Bethlehem. (WP 7/13; OCHA 7/16; PCHR 7/17)

IDF troops on the n. Gaza border fire on Palestinian farmers, preventing them fr. reaching their fields nr. the border fence but causing no injuries. In the West Bank, Ni‘lin villagers defy an IDF curfew to stage peaceful protest marches against the IDF blockade imposed on 7/5; the IDF fires tear gas, rubber-coated steel bullets at the protesters, lightly injuring around 50. The IDF also bulldozes newly paved roads in Ni‘lin while the curfew is in place, damaging part of the municipal sewage system; conducts latenight arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus, in Tulkarm, and nr. Bethlehem, Jenin, Qalqilya, Ramallah. Jewish settlers fr. Asfar settlement nr. Bethlehem beat 2 Palestinian shepherds grazing their flocks nearby. In Hebron, local Jewish settlers harass a French diplomatic delegation touring the city with Palestinian guides, arguing that settlers should lead the tour because the delegation was on “Israeli land.” A carload of Jewish settlers fires on a Palestinian taxi nr. Jenin, seriously wounding 1 Palestinian. (WT 7/7; OCHA 7/9; PCHR 7/10)

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)

Israel’s siege of Gaza, imposed after Hamas’s takeover of the Strip in 6/07, remains tight. In Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) conduct late-night arrest raids, house searches in Shuka nr. Rafah, arresting 3 Palestinians, wounding 1 with live ammunition, bulldozing 8 dunams (d.; 4 d. = 1 acre) of greenhouses and a poultry farm (killing 50,000 chickens). In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in Qaryut nr. Nablus, detaining 4 Palestinians (including 3 teenagers) for questioning; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Jenin and Hebron (partially bulldozing a Palestinian home in Bayt Umar); 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 n. of Jerusalem nr. Ramallah (10s suffer tear gas inhalation); and beats demonstrators at a similar protest al-Ma‘sara nr. Bethlehem (lightly injuring 3). Nr. Nablus, 10s of armed Jewish settlers fr. Yitzhar vandalize Palestinian homes in nearby Asira al-Qibliyya. In Gaza City, unknown assailants detonate a bomb outside a Catholic school in Gaza City, causing damage but no injuries. (OCHA 5/21; PCHR 5/22)

U.S. pres. George W. Bush ends a 4-day visit to Israel to mark Israel’s 60th anniversary (see Quarterly Update in JPS 148). (NYT, WP, WT 5/17; NYT 5/19)

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

In Gaza, 2,000 Palestinians hold a peaceful demonstration at a sealed breach in the Rafah border to urge Egypt to keep the border open. Outside Rafah, 2 Palestinian teenagers are injured when they accidentally trigger unexploded IDF ordnance. In the West Bank, the IDF sets up a checkpoint outside a Bayt Umar cemetery to check the IDs of mourners attending the funeral of the 2d Kefar Etzion attacker (see 1/24); later fires percussion grenades, rubber-coated steel bullets at mourners, wounding 6; fires on residential areas of al-Khadir nr. Bethlehem, causing no injuries; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Jenin, northwest of Jerusalem; 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 2). Palestinian children throw stones at Jewish settler vehicles traveling on Route 55 nr. Azun and Route 60 nr. Hawara, damaging 2 but causing no injuries. Inside Israel, 20,000 Israeli Palestinians march in Sakhnin to protest a 1/27 government decision not to try police officers who fatally shot 13 Israeli Palestinians during 10/00 antigovernment demonstrations in Um al-Fahm in solidarity with the intifada. In Gaza City, Hamas-affiliated police release Fayyad adviser Ghul, arrested on 12/14. (AFP 2/1; NYT, WP 2/2; OCHA 2/6; PCHR 2/7)

The IDF makes air strikes on a Hamas training camp nr. Khan Yunis, killing 2 Hamas mbrs. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem, Hebron (firing percussion grenades into 4 stores, starting fires that cause heavy damage), Jenin; patrols in alBireh, Asira al-Shamaliyya, Ramallah. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba rampage through Palestinian areas of Hebron, attacking buildings with iron bars, bottles, stones; the IDF intervenes when Palestinian residents confront the settlers, firing tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets at the Palestinians, wounding 11 and arresting 4. In Bayt Lahiya, Palestinian gunmen loot, burn the private American International School, leaving fliers claiming that the attack was staged by the previously unknown Army of Believers—al-Qa‘ida Branch on the Land of Palestine. (WP 1/13; OCHA 1/16; PCHR 1/17)

In Gaza, the IDF sends tanks, a bulldozer into the Gaza airport site, exchanging heavy fire (heavy machine guns, mortars) with Hamas mbrs., causing no reported injuries; occupies a strip of land in the al-Hawouz area northeast of Bayt Lahiya. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in Mas’ha nr. Salfit, firing percussion grenades and live ammunition in residential areas, causing no reported injuries; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Jenin, Nablus; begins bulldozing confiscated land nr. Salfit for the expansion of the Burkin industrial zone; 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 5, including a journalist covering the demonstration) and al-Ma‘sara nr. Bethlehem (lightly injuring 3). Hamas, Islamic Jihad mbrs. exchange fire in Khan Yunis’s al-Rihab Mosque, wounding 3 Palestinians, after Hamas allegedly attempts to seize control of the building. (OCHA 10/24; PCHR 10/25)

In Gaza, the IDF bulldozes Palestinian land 300 m. inside Gaza n. of Jabaliya r.c., occupying the area. In the West Bank, the IDF fatally shoots a Palestinian nr. Hebron who allegedly attempted to infiltrate an IDF post; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Ramallah, in Jenin town and r.c. (firing on residential areas, wounding a Palestinian woman inside her home), Nablus; fires rubber-coated steel bullets, percussion grenades, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, international activists attending the weekly nonviolent demonstration against the separation wall in Bil‘in, injuring 2 internationals. Jewish settlers fr. Rachelim settlement nr. Nablus uproot and cart away 300 Palestinian olive trees fr. nearby Qaryut (the IDF secures the return of 140 trees). Jewish settlers fr. Yitzhar nr. Nablus cut down 20 Palestinian olive, almond trees in nearby Burkin village. Jewish settlers fr. Tekoa nr. Bethlehem set fire to 300 d. of nearby Palestinian agricultural land, including 400 olive trees. Jewish settlers fr. Ramat Yishai in Hebron burn 50 nearby Palestinian olive and almond trees. Suspected Hamas mbrs. toss a homemade bomb at the Fatah offices in Qalqilya, causing damage but no injuries. (WP 6/23; OCHA 6/27; PCHR 6/28)

IDF troops on the n. Gaza border cross into Gaza, arrest 3 Palestinian farmers working their fields nr. the border fence n. of Bayt Lahiya; also sends bulldozers, tanks into Gaza nr. Nahal Oz to level land. In the West Bank, the IDF sends undercover units into Silat al-Harithiyya nr. Jenin, seeking Palestinian gunmen who exchanged fire with troops gunmen earlier in the day, causing no injuries; they ambush a car, killing Islamic Jihad mbrs. Mahdi Abu al-Khayr, Khalid Ashur and a civilian bystander. The IDF also conducts arrest raids, house searches in Jenin town and r.c., Nablus, and nr. Bethlehem, Hebron, Tulkarm; fires tear gas, rubber-coated steel bullets, percussion grenades at Palestinians, Israeli and international peace activists conducting their weekly nonviolent protest against the separation wall nr. Bil‘in, wounding 3. (WT 5/6; NYT 5/7; OCHA 5/9; PCHR 5/10)

Palestinians detonate a roadside bomb nr. an IDF bulldozer operating inside Gaza nr. Sufa crossing, causing no injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Jenin r.c., in Nablus, nr. Bethlehem; fires rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas, percussion grenades at 10s of Palestinians, as well as Israeli and international activists taking part in the weekly nonviolent demonstration against the separation wall in Bil‘in, injuring 15. In Nablus, 2 Palestinians are injured when they accidentally trigger unexploded IDF ordnance. (OCHA 3/7; PCHR 3/8)

As the quarter opened, Israel and the Palestinians both stated they were observing a cease-fire in Gaza that went into effect on 11/26/06, though near-daily cross-border incidents occurred. Israel’s siege of Gaza, in place since Hamas took control of the Palestinian Authority (PA) on 3/28/06, remained, as did heavy restrictions on Palestinian movement in the West Bank. Today, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) troops on the n. Gaza border fire on several Palestinians collecting scrap metal nr. the border fence n. of Bayt Lahiya, wounding a 12-yrold boy. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in ‘Aida refugee camp (r.c.) nr. Bethlehem, Azun nr. Qalqilya, Qalandia r.c. (exchanging fire with Palestinian gunmen, leaving 2 IDF soldiers wounded), Tulkarm and nr. Hebron, Jenin; fires on stone-throwing Palestinians in and nr. Hebron demonstrating against Israel’s new construction at the Haram alSharif/Temple Mount (see 2/6/06 in the Chronology in JPS 143); fires rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas, percussion grenades at 10s of Palestinians, as well as Israeli and international activists, taking part in the weekly nonviolent demonstration against the separation wall in Bil‘in, injuring 8. Jewish settlers fr. Tel Rumeida in Hebron occupy a Palestinian home next to the settlement; the IDF evicts the settlers but declares the area a closed military zone, barring the Palestinian family fr. returning. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba in Hebron vandalize Palestinian homes, shops; the IDF observes but does not intervene. A Fatah mbr. dies of injuries received in recent clashes in Jabaliya with members of the PA Interior Min.’s predominantly Hamas Executive Support Force (ESF). PA health sector employees in the West Bank begin an open-ended strike to protest the PA’s failure to pay their salaries. (OCHA 2/21; PCHR 2/22)

Overnight, the IDF raids a branch of the National Jordanian Bank, 11 money exchanges in Jenin, Nablus, Ramallah, Tulkarm, confiscating $1.34 m. in cash, plus jewelry and checks, alleging that the businesses had funneled cash used to carry out “terrorist” attacks, detaining 7 of the exchange owners (the IDF conducted similar raids against 2 banks in al-Bireh on 2/25/04, confiscating around $9 m.). Also in the West Bank, the IDF patrols in al-Fara‘a r.c. (firing rubber-coated steel bullets, percussion grenades, tear gas at stone-throwing youths who confront them, causing no injuries), Tubas (firing live ammunition at stone-throwing youths who confront them, wounding 2); conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Bethlehem, in Nablus, nr. Jenin. In Gaza, an IDF drone fires a missile, killing an unarmed Palestinian in an area of Jabaliya r.c. often used for launching rockets. A 16-yr.-old Palestinian girl dies of injuries received during a 9/2 IDF raid on Bayt Hanun. (PCHR 9/20, 9/21, 9/28)

In Gaza, the IDF makes 3 air strikes destroying a Palestinian home in al-Shuka, after warning residents and neighbors to leave; later sends troops into al-Shuka, firing on residential areas, rounding up all males over age 13 for ID checks, searching homes, holding 50 Palestinians for several hrs. of interrogation, eventually arresting 3 before withdrawing. In the West Bank, the IDF sends undercover units into Burkin nr. Jenin in a car with Palestinian license plates, arresting a wanted Islamic Jihad mbr.; patrols, searches businesses, conducts random ID checks in various areas of Hebron and nearby Halhul; patrols in, fires percussion grenades, tear gas, and rifles on residential areas of al-Zababda; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Dahaysha r.c. nr. Bethlehem, nr. Jenin. Palestinian gunmen raid WAFA press agency offices in Gaza City, beating a reporter, vandalizing equipment, accusing WAFA of biased news coverage in favor of Abbas, Fatah; no group takes responsibility. Armed, masked Jewish settlers fr. Suissa severely beat a 79-yr.-old Palestinian outside Hebron. (NYT, OCHA 9/20; PCHR 9/21)

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz acknowledges that Hizballah has fully abided by the cease-fire and that Israel had detected no significant resupplying of weapons and missiles fr. Iran, Syria. By this date, 4,950 new UNIFIL soldiers fr. France, Italy, Spain and 10,000 Lebanese troops have been deployed in s. Lebanon. Meanwhile, UN relief coordinator in Lebanon David Shearer says that Israel left behind at least 350,000 unexploded cluster bomblets in s. Lebanon, stating that “the outrageous fact is that nearly all of these munitions were fired in the last three to four days of the war.” (NYT, WP, WT 9/20)

The IDF sends undercover units into Ramallah’s central shopping district, where they arrest Islamic Jihad’s Qalqilya military leader Muhammad Shubaki; when the unit is confronted by armed militants and stone-throwing protesters, the IDF sends in uniformed reinforcements that clash with the Palestinians, leaving 1 PA General Intelligence officer, 3 bystanders dead, at least 35 Palestinians and 1 IDF soldier wounded. The IDF also sends bulldozers, tanks, jeeps 200 m inside the Gaza border nr. Bureij r.c. to level land for ongoing construction of a cement wall along the n. Gaza border; raids the municipal offices in Maithalun nr. Jenin, removes the Palestinian flag fr. the building, fires tear gas; patrols in Farkha nr. Nablus (firing on residential areas), Kafr Dan; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus, in Bethlehem, and nr. Hebron, Jenin. In central Gaza, PSF chief for central Gaza Nabil Hudud dies when a bomb rigged to his car explodes; no group claims responsibility; Fatah and Hamas gunmen, however, exchange fire outside Gaza’s Shifa Hospital after Hudud’s body is brought in. In Khan Yunis, unidentified gunmen kidnap, shoot 3 Hamas mbrs., killing 1; no group claims responsibility; Hamas accuses the PA security forces. (AFP, Guardian, HA, NYT, PCHR, Palestine Monitor [Internet], WP 5/25; OCHA, PCHR 6/1)

The IDF opens Gaza’s Sufa commercial crossing (closed since 5/17); shells Bayt Hanun, Bayt Lahiya, injuring a 12-yr.-old Palestinian; sends troops into Hebron to surround the Polytechnic University campus, firing percussion grenades, tear gas and arresting 7 students; sends undercover units into Tamun nr. Jenin in a car with Palestinian license plates to arrest 3 Palestinians; sends troops into Tubas nr. Jenin, firing on stonethrowing youths who confront them; patrols in, fires on residential areas of Nablus; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Tulkarm and nr. Hebron, Jenin, Nablus. Israeli DM Amir Peretz authorizes the expansion of the “jurisdictional area” of 4 West Bank Jewish settlements, often the prelude to construction of new settlement neighborhoods: Givat Ze’ev nr. Jerusalem (to be expanded by 60 dunum [d.; 4 d. = 1 acre].); Beitar Ilit nr. Bethlehem (to be expanded by 400 d.); Oranit, just over the Green Line nr. Kefar Saba; Maskiyot, in the Jordan Valley, where Israel plans to relocate the 40 settlers evacuated fr. Shirat Hayam settlement in Gaza. Jewish settlers fr. Ma’on nr. Hebron attack Palestinian school children being escorted to school by the IDF, injuring 2. PA security forces find, dismantle a 150-lb roadside bomb planted along the motorcade route of Internal Security Service dir. gen. Rashid Abu Shibak, who was appointed by Abbas to the new position on 4/6 in a bid to wrest control of the security forces away fr. Interior M Siyam; no group takes responsibility, but Fatah officials hint that Hamas is to blame, note that the PRCs have previously fired on his home. In reaction, 100s of Fatah mbrs. rally in Gaza City in support of the PA security forces, offering to volunteer their services to counterbalance Siyam’s new volunteer force. Overnight, a previously unknown group calling itself the al-Qa‘ida Organization of the State of Palestine claims responsibility for the 5/20 attack on Abu Rajab in a statement on the Internet. (MM, NYT 5/22; OCHA 5/24; see also MA 5/20 in WNC 5/21; PCHR, PNN 5/25)

The IDF conducts mock air raids over the Gaza Strip, breaking the sound barrier; imposes a curfew on, sends troops into al-Shayukh and Sa’ir nr. Hebron based on false reports that an Israeli pilot had landed a glider in the area, fires percussion grenades, tear gas, and live ammunition at residents to keep them in their homes during the search, causing no injuries; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron, nr. Jenin and Tulkarm, and in Aida r.c., alAzza r.c., Bethlehem, Dahaysha r.c. Jewish settlers write slogans in Hebrew defaming the Prophet on the walls of a mosque in Nabi Elias nr. Qalqilya. (PCHR 2/16)

The IDF raids Yatta, detains several candidates in the 1/25 elections after they conclude a rally; bars Fatah candidates fr. crossing a checkpoint nr. Qalqilya to attend a campaign rally in Azun Itma village; raids a Fatah campaign rally in East Jerusalem, detaining Fatah candidate Uthman Abu Gharbiyya; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Dura (occupying 3 Palestinian homes as observation posts), Jenin and in Bethlehem, Hebron, Yatta. IDF troops stationed on the central Gaza border detain 7 Palestinian teenagers (ages 13–15) fr. Nussayrat r.c. attempting to sneak into Israel to find work. Some 3,000 Palestinian, Israeli, and international protesters led by several Palestinian candidates to the 1/25 elections take part in the weekly nonviolent march against the separation wall in Bil‘in; the IDF fires tear gas to disperse the crowd. A Jewish settler moderately injures a Palestinian in a hit-and-run nr. Nablus. (IMEMC 1/20; Gush Shalom press release, JAZ 1/21; PLO Negotiation Affairs Dept. press release 1/23; PCHR 1/26)

Overnight, Hamas, the PRCs reportedly fire another 45 mortars, 30 rockets at Jewish settlements in Gaza (lightly damaging 1 house) and the Negev in retaliation for the deaths of 3 Palestinians on 4/9. The IDF arrests Fatah mbr. Firas Tanbur in Nablus on charges of planning a terrorist attack on behalf of Hizballah; Palestinians confront soldiers with stones during the raid; soldiers respond with rubber-coated steel bullets and tear gas, injuring 10. The IDF also raids, searches an elementary school in, imposes a curfew on al-‘Asa’sa nr. Jenin; fires on stonethrowing Palestinians nr. Nablus; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem, Hebron, Jenin; occupies a Palestinian home in Ramallah as an observation post; sends troops into Aida r.c. to break up a nonviolent protest against threats by Revava to attack al-Aqsa mosque. Some 3,000 Israeli police bar a rally at the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif by Revava attended by only 50 rightwing Israelis. Israel reports that Egypt recently arrested a Fatah Hawks mbr. on charges of smuggling Strela surface-to-air missiles into Gaza. (HA, MM, NYT 4/11; XIN 4/12; OCHA, PR 4/13; MM, PCHR 4/14)

The IDF fires missiles at a metal workshop (alleged weapons factory) in Khan Yunis, wounding an 11-yr.-old Palestinian; raids ‘Ayn Bayt al-Ma’ r.c., fires on stone-throwing youths who confront the troops; fires rubber bullets, tear gas at Palestinian, international peace activists staging a nonviolent protest against the separation wall; conducts arrest raids in Bethlehem, Jenin; lifts the 9/24 ban on Palestinians entering the Ibrahimi Mosque/Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron. Senior AMB mbr. Nimr Hassan is killed in Salfit when his M-16 explodes; the AMB claims that he was assassinated, his new gun was booby trapped by a collaborator. Palestinians fire 3 Qassam rockets at Sederot and 3 mortars at Gush Katif, causing no damage or injuries. Late at night, the IDF makes a major incursion into Jenin, raiding and searching a hospital (arresting 2 employees; wounding 7, including 2 children, with gunfire; damaging equipment), occupying buildings as sniper posts, conducting house searches. Outside Hebron, some 140 Jewish settlers attempt to reestablish 2 unauthorized settlement outposts previously evacuated by the IDF, scuffle with police, throw stones at Palestinian homes. (HA 9/26; IDF Radio, VOI, VOP, YA 9/26 in WNC 9/28; PCHR 9/30)

In Damascus, Hamas spokesman Izzeddin Khalil is killed when his car explodes in an apparent assassination. Anonymous Israeli security officials acknowledge Israel’s involvement; Sharon criticizes the “unnecessary babble.” (HA 9/26; JAZ, MA, VOP, YA 9/26 in WNC 9/28; VOI, YA 9/26, MA, VOP 9/27 in WNC 9/29; LBC, PSCT, SANA 9/26, AYM, HA, JP, SANA, Syrian Arab Republic Radio 9/27, JP, MA, Tishrin 9/28 in WNC 9/30; SANA, Syrian Arab Television Network 9/26 in WNC 10/29; MM, NYT, WP, WT, United Press International 9/27; MM 9/28; PR 9/29; MNR 9/29 in WNC 10/5; JPI 10/8)

The IDF assassinates senior Hamas cmdr. Khalid Abu Silmiyya by firing a missile at his car as he drives in Gaza City, wounding 8 bystanders; fatally shoots a Palestinian who crosses fr. Gaza into Israel nr. Kissufim crossing; fatally shoots a mentally handicapped Palestinian who strays too nr. Gush Katif; fires live ammunition, rubber bullets, tear gas at Palestinian, international peace activists demonstrating against the separation wall nr. Hebron; fires tear gas, stun grenades outside 2 girls’ schools in Beitunia while classes are in session, seriously wounding 1 student in her classroom; fires on stone-throwing youths in Aida r.c. nr. Bethlehem; fires on residential areas of Rafah; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Bir Basha nr. Jenin, Dahaysha r.c., Duha, Qalqilya; tightens access to Tulkarm and places a curfew on nearby Bayt Awa. (VOI, VOP 9/19 in WNC 9/21; AP, PCHR, WP, WT 9/20; JAZ, VOI, VOP, YA 9/20 in WNC 9/22; PCHR 9/23)

The IDF makes a predawn missile strike on a group of Hamas mbrs. practicing maneuvers on an old soccer field in Gaza City, killing 14 Hamas mbrs., wounding around 25. Palestinians fire a Qassam rocket at Neve Dekalim, causing no damage or injuries; the IDF retaliates by firing on residential areas of Khan Yunis, hitting a 9-yr.-old Palestinian girl in the head as she sits inside an UNRWA school, seriously wounding her. The IDF also bars an ailing Palestinian fr. crossing a Bayt Furik checkpoint to reach a hospital in Nablus, allowing him to die; fires live ammunition, tear gas at Palestinians waiting to cross the Abu Huli checkpoint; bulldozes 15 d. and 150 olive trees nr. Ma’on settlement nr. Hebron; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Araba nr. Jenin, Hebron and neighboring Dura, al-Khadir nr. Bethlehem, Nablus, Salfit, Tulkarm r.c.; fires on residential areas of Rafah; searches homes, levels land, partially demolishes a Palestinian home in Khan Yunis. Palestinians fire 2 mortars at Gush Katif, a Qassam rocket at Sederot, causing no damage or injuries. Israel releases 137 Palestinian prisoners “to relieve overcrowding” in Israeli jails. A Palestinian dies of injuries received during the IDF raids on Rafah in 5/04. (AFP, BBC, JAZ, MM, UNRWA press release, WP, WT 9/7; IDF Radio, JAZ, MENA, VOI, VOP, YA 9/7 in WNC 9/9; MM, NYT, PR, WP, WT 9/8; JT, al-Quds, VOP 9/8 in WNC 9/10; NYT, PCHR 9/9; XIN 9/9 in WNC 9/14)

The IDF demolishes 5 Palestinian homes, bulldozes 45 d. in al-Mughraqa nr. Gaza City; blows up 1 Palestinian home nr. Nablus; fires tear gas at Palestinians waiting to cross the al-Mawasi checkpoint; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Abu Dis, Askar r.c., Bayt Laqia nr. Ramallah, Bayt Jala and neighboring Bethlehem, al-Fara’ r.c., Ramallah, Tubas nr. Jenin, Yatta nr. Hebron. The IDF also captures 6 Egyptian students armed with a toy gun, knives, binoculars, radios in the Negev, 6 mi inside Israel. Unidentified gunmen fire on the car of PA General Intelligence Service dep. chief Tariq Abu Rajab as he drives along the coastal road in Gaza, seriously wounding him, killing 2 bodyguards, wounding 2 others; no group claims responsibility. (BBC, HA, PR 8/25; NYT, PCHR, WP, WT 8/26; AYM 8/26 in WNC 8/31; JAZ 8/30 in WNC 9/1; QA 8/31 in WNC 9/3; PR 9/1; PCHR 9/2; PR 9/15; MA 9/15 in WNC 9/21)

The IDF fires on residential areas of Rafah, wounding a 9-mo.-old baby; razes a Palestinian home, 65 dunams of agricultural land in al-Qarara; bulldozes 1.5 dunams of citrus trees, a telephone network in Dayr al-Balah; fires tear gas, live ammunition at Palestinian, Israeli, international peace activists protesting against the separation wall nr. Qalqilya, injuring a Palestinian cameraman working for Agence France-Presse and a South African protester, arresting an American; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Askar r.c., Bethlehem, Husan, Jenin town and r.c., al-Mughraqa, Qalqilya, Ramallah, Yatta. The IDF also begins removing 40 earthen mounds, gates blocking Palestinian roads in the West Bank, easing Palestinian movement slightly; flying roadblocks, checkpoints at the entrances to towns and villages—the main barriers to Palestinians’ free movement—will remain. (XIN 6/13; PCHR 6/17)

The IDF fatally shoots a 14-yr.-old Palestinian in Nablus, an 18-yr.-old Palestinian in Bethlehem; occupies a Palestinian home, fires on stone-throwing Palestinians in Bayt Fajjar nr. Bethlehem, mortally wounding 1 Palestinian bystander, barring others fr. removing him to an ambulance, allowing him to bleed to death; bulldozes 5 Palestinian homes, 200 dunams of citrus groves in Bayt Hanun; demolishes a Palestinian home in Bayt Surik in n. Jerusalem; bulldozes 16 dunams of land in al-Qarara, 13 dunams and an irrigation network in Wadi al-Silqa; conducts arrest raids in Hebron, Jenin (where Palestinian gunmen fire on troops, injuring 1 IDF soldier) and nr. Ramallah; fires tear gas, rubber bullets at Palestinian, Israeli, international peace activists staging a nonviolent demonstration against the separation wall nr. Salfit, injuring 50. IDF undercover units raid a wedding in Ramallah, arrest 3 wanted Hamas mbrs., 1 of whom is the groom. Hamas distributes $100,000 in aid to 87 families fr. the Zaytun section of Gaza City whose homes were damaged or demolished during the 5/11–13 IDF raids there. (VOI, YA 6/10 in WNC 6/12; NYT, WP 6/11; VOI, VOP 6/11 in WNC 6/15; PCHR 6/17)

The IDF fires rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas at Palestinians demonstrating against the separation wall nr. Biddu, wounding 12; blows up 2 Palestinian homes in Bethlehem, 1 in Nablus; conducts arrest raids in and around Bethlehem and in a-lArub r.c., East Jerusalem, Hebron, Jenin, Nablus; demolishes a PSF post, bulldozes 1.5 dunams of agricultural land nr. Dayr al-Balah. In Gaza City, 3,000 Palestinians demonstrate for the release of jailed Fatah tanzim leader Marwan Barghouti, other Palestinian prisoners. Jewish settlers attempting to rebuild the illegal outpost in Hebron removed on 4/13 scuffle with IDF troops; 2 settlers are injured. Late in the evening, the IDF begins sending troops into Rafah allegedly to search for smugglers’ tunnels, firing on residential areas. (HA 4/14; VOP 4 /14 in WNC 4/16; PCHR 4/15, 4/22)

Meanwhile in Washington, Bush meets with Sharon, formally endorses Sharon’s unilateral disengagement plan, marking a dramatic shift in U.S. policy toward the peace process (HA, MM, REU 4/14; JP, VOP 4/14 in WNC 4/16; al-Ra’i 4/14, AFP, DUS, THWR, TSHR, VOP, XIN 4 /15 in WNC 4/17; HA, JP, MM, NYT, REU, WP, WT 4/15; CSM, HA, FT, JT, MEI, MM 4/16; AFP, DUS, ITARTASS, MENA, NHR, al-Ra’i 4/16 in WNC 4/20; NHR 4/16 in WNC 4/27; WP 4/17; JTA 4/19; PR 4/21; MEI 4/30)

Israel’s security cabinet approves an aggressive new campaign (dubbed Operation Continuous Story) against Palestinian militants in Gaza following the 3/14 Ashdod bombings. The IDF closes Gaza’s Erez crossing “indefinitely”; raids a mtg. of PA officials and local administrators in Jenin, arresting several participants, including the mayors of 2 local communities, 1 local council mbr.; fires on a PSF post at Netzarim junction in Gaza, seriously injuring 1 PSF officer, severely damaging the building; places a curfew on, fires on residential areas of Husan; shells residential areas of Rafah, demolishing 1 Palestinian home, heavily damaging 1, occupying a 3d as an observation post; seizes 4 Palestinian homes in Tulkarm, 2 in Balata r.c. as observation posts; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Bethlehem, nr. Hebron; fires on stone-throwing youths in Balata r.c., wounding 1 teenager, 3 bystanders; fires live ammunition, rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas at a group of Palestinian, Israeli, international protesters demonstrating against the separation wall nr. Ramallah, wounding 15. The IDF also allows 1 West Bank administrative detainee deported to Gaza in 9/02 to return to her West Bank home. Jewish settlers fr. Beitar Ilit nr. Bethlehem, accompanied by IDF soldiers, bulldoze 5 dunams of adjacent Palestinian olive groves. (VOP 3/15 in WNC 3/17; AFP, HA 3/16; MM, PR, REU, WP 3/17; MM, PCHR 3/18; MEI 3/19; PCHR 3/25)

The IDF fires live ammunition at Palestinian youths who throw stones at troops at the end of an otherwise peaceful demonstration in Hebron against the separation wall, wounding 8 Palestinians, including 1 medic; fires live ammunition, tear gas, rubber-coated steel bullets to break up peaceful demonstrations against the wall in Bethlehem, Jenin, Qalqilya, Ramallah, Tulkarm; conducts arrest raids, blows up the home of the 2/22 Palestinian suicide bomber in Husan; demolishes a 2d Palestinian home in Salfit; conducts arrest raids in Balata r.c., Bayt Jala, Bethlehem, Dahaysha r.c., Tarqumiyya nr. Hebron, Wadi al-Silqa nr. Dayr al-Balah; fires on Palestinian fisherman off Dayr al-Balah, halts 1 boat, arrests 6 fishermen. Jewish settlers fr. Ofra attack Palestinians in Silwad nr. Ramallah. (PM 2/23; LAW, PCHR 2/26; Guardian 2/27)

IDF undercover units driving a car with Palestinian license plates raid Balata r.c., open fire on wanted PFLP mbr. Samir Khudaysh without warning, seriously wounding, then arresting him. The IDF also fires on a group of armed Palestinians nr. Jenin, killing 1 Palestinian, wounding 2; surrounds, fires tear gas into a secondary school nr. Hebron; occupies a Palestinian apartment building nr. Jenin as a military post, expelling the 32 residents; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Bethlehem, Nablus, Tulkarm r.c. and nr. Hebron, Ramallah; raids, searches dorms at al-Najah University in Nablus, arresting 3 students; arrests 6 Palestinian fishermen off the coast of Gaza for fishing in a prohibited area. The IDF, accompanied by Hebron Jewish settlers, raid Khirbat Janba, outside Hebron; search the caves and mud houses of 36 Palestinian families (around 350 people), order them to leave the area (see 1/29). (PCHR 2/12)