The Palestine Chronology

The IDF sends armored vehicles, bulldozers into Gaza s. of Bayt Hanun to level land; local Palestinian gunmen exchange fire with the troops, leaving no injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in Tulkarm town and r.c., nr. Jenin; uproots 100 Palestinian olive trees in al-Rihiyya nr. Hebron, sparking clashes with local Palestinians, injuring 1 boy. In Hebron, IDF soldiers angry over the 12/28 death of 2 settlers raid and vandalize a Palestinian home near the site of the killings, causing damage but no injuries. Jewish settlers fr. Gush Etzion stone Palestinian vehicles on roads nr. the settlement, damaging 3. Fatah mbrs., Hamas-affiliated security forces clash in Gaza, leaving 5 Palestinians (2 bystanders, 2 Hamas mbrs., 1 Fatah mbr.) dead, at least 30 injured; clashes start in Khan Yunis and spread to Bayt Lahiya, Dayr al-Balah, Gaza City, Jabaliya r.c., al-Maghazi r.c., Nussayrat r.c., and Rafah. Hamas officials say that the fighting began when Fatah mbrs. opened fire on worshipers leaving a mosque in Khan Yunis, killing a local Hamas figure and a 10-yr.-old boy. Separately, suspected unidentified assailants kidnap, assault, release a local Fatah leader in Gaza City; the family accuses Hamas, but Hamas blames internal Fatah disputes. The 2,000 Palestinian pilgrims denied reentry into Gaza by Egypt via the Rafah crossing (see 12/30) riot at a detention camp in al-Arish where Egypt is holding them; no serious injuries are reported. In Rafah, 15,000 Palestinians protest Egypt’s actions. In Battir, nr. Bethlehem, PFLP and Fatah mbrs. clash; no injuries are reported. (NYT, WP, WT 1/1; OCHA 1/2; PCHR 1/3)

For unclear reasons, IDF soldiers at the Erez crossing fire on 700 Palestinians returning from the Hajj in coordination with Israel and the PA, killing 1 Palestinian woman, wounding at least 1. Meanwhile, Palestinian pilgrims who left Gaza under a deal brokered by Hamas (see 12/5) begin to return via Egypt, where Egypt, under pressure fr. Israel, bars their passage through the Rafah crossing, saying they must go via the Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom crossing; the pilgrims refuse, believing they would be arrested for their Hamas connections. Meanwhile, the IDF fires on Hamas mbrs. laying a roadside bomb nr. the s. Gaza border fence, killing 1 Hamas mbr., wounding a bystander. The Israeli navy fires on Palestinian fishing boats off the Rafah coast, forcing them to return to shore. Hamas mbrs. fire 3 mortars fr. Rafah toward the IDF post at Kerem Shalom; the IDF responds with heavy gunfire; no injuries are reported. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in Tulkarm; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron (including arresting a 10-yr.-old boy, heavily damaging 1 home), nr. Jenin. Jewish settlers throw stones, bottles at Palestinian cars traveling a main road linking Hebron and Bethlehem, damaging 1 car; the IDF observes but does not intervene. Hamas-affiliated police raid an area of Bayt Hanun to arrest a wanted Fatah mbr., fire in the air to disperse angry residents who confront them, wounding 2 (see 12/28). A similar confrontation takes place in Khan Yunis, with heavy fire but no injuries reported. Suspected Fatah mbrs. fire on a police patrol in Rafah, causing no injuries. (NYT 12/31; OCHA 1/2; PCHR 1/3)

The IDF sends tanks, bulldozers into c. Gaza to level land along the border nr. Abu al-Ajin. Islamic Jihad mbr. Ibrahim al-Louh, injured in the 12/27 IDF assassination of central Gaza cmdr. Murshud, dies. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in Nablus, nr. Bethlehem. A Jewish settler kills a Palestinian in a deliberate hit-and-run nr. Bil‘in. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba vandalize a Palestinian car. Some 500 Islamic Jihad, PRC mbrs. rally at the Rafah crossing to protest its continued closure; PRC mbrs. detonate 2 bombs nr. the border wall, causing no damage or injuries. Hamas-affiliated police fire warning shots at a busload of Islamic Jihad mbrs. who fail to stop at a checkpoint outside al-Bureij r.c., wounding 2 Islamic Jihad mbrs. Hamas-affiliated police raid an area of Rafah to arrest wanted Fatah mbrs., sparking clashes that leave 3 Fatah mbrs., 1 policeman injured. In Khan Yunis, Fatah mbrs. start a brawl with Hamas-affiliated police who remove pro-Fatah banners, leaving 3 Palestinians injured. (OCHA 1/2; PCHR 1/3)

In the West Bank, the IDF fatally shoots the bodyguard for PA chief negotiator Ahmad Qurai‘ during an arrest raid on his Ramallah home, claiming he supplied weapons to Palestinian factions; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Hebron; 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 (lightly injuring 2). Armed Palestinians ambush, fatally shoot 2 offduty IDF soldiers (settlers fr. Kiryat Arba) hiking nr. Hebron; the soldiers manage to fire back, killing 1 Palestinian gunman, wounding 1; 2 others are believed to have escaped; responsibility is claimed jointly by the AMB and Islamic Jihad, and separately by Islamic Jihad and Hamas; the PA immediately denounces the attack. Jewish settlers fr. Gush Etzion nr. Bethlehem, angry over the attack, stone Palestinian vehicles driving nr. the settlement, damaging a taxi. In Gaza City, Hamas-affiliated security forces raid the Fatah-affiliated al-Azhar University, arresting 40 Fatah mbrs., confiscating 100s of banners they are preparing for rallies to mark Fatah’s 43d anniversary; prevent a smaller Fatah anniversary rally fr. being held in Nussayrat r.c. Hamas-affiliated police raid an area of Bayt Hanun to arrest a wanted Fatah mbr.; fire in the air to disperse angry residents who confront them with stones; no injuries are reported. Suspected Fatah mbrs. fire on a Hamas-affiliated internal security detention center in Gaza City, wounding 2 internal security officers. Some 1,000 Hamas supporters hold a rally in al-Bureij r.c. to honor Islamic Jihad’s Abu Hassanian, assassinated on 12/27. (NYT, WP, WT 12/29; WP 12/30; NYT 1/1; OCHA 1/2; PCHR 1/3)

The IDF levels land inside the Gaza border s. of Qarni crossing. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in Hebron and nr. Jenin. In Khan Yunis, unidentified assailants set fire to the offices of the Fatah-affiliated al-Majd Association. A PFLP mbr. dies of injuries he sustained 8 mos. ago while preparing an explosive device. (OCHA 12/26; PCHR 12/27)

Israel allows 487 Gazans to leave Gaza via the Erez crossing for the Hajj; makes an “exceptional” opening of Sufa crossing (closed since 10/28/07) to allow entry of livestock for the upcoming Id al-Adha holiday. Palestinians fire a rocket fr. Gaza into Israel, lightly injuring an Israeli child inside a home. In Khan Yunis, a Palestinian teenager is injured when he accidently triggers a homemade bomb. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in alFara‘a r.c., nr. Bethlehem. A bomb explodes underneath the empty car of a Hamas mbr. in Gaza City, causing no injuries. A dispute erupts btwn. a Fatah-affiliated family and Hamas mbrs. flying party flags in the family’s neighborhood; police intervene to resolve the situation peacefully. (NYT 12/17; OCHA 12/19; PCHR 12/27)

In the West Bank, the IDF conducts largescale arrest raids in Nablus, detaining 25 Palestinians affiliated with Hamas, including Reform and Change PC mbr. Ahmad al-Hajj Ali Mutair, 2 mbrs. of the municipal council, an al-Najah University dean and 2 professors; bars a Palestinian woman in labor fr. crossing a checkpoint to reach a Qalqilya hospital, forcing her to give birth at the checkpoint (see 12/12 for similar incident). Some 200,000 Hamas supporters rally peacefully in Gaza City to mark the movement’s 20th anniversary. Suspected Fatah mbrs. detonate a roadside bomb nr. a bus carrying Hamas supporters to the rally; no injuries are reported. The PA bans Hamas rallies in the West Bank. In Gaza City, the Hamas-affiliated security forces for unknown reasons exchange fire with mbrs. of a Fatah-affiliated family, causing no injuries. (WP 12/15; NYT 12/16, 12/17; OCHA 12/19; PCHR 12/27; NYT 12/29)

A Hamas mbr. dies nr. the Gaza border n. of Bayt Hanun when explosives he is handling detonate prematurely. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem; shoots, wounds a Palestinian farmer working his land nr. the separation wall s. of Hebron; 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 4) and Ma‘sara (injuring 2). Jewish settlers vandalize Palestinian homes, cars in Burkin nr. Salfit; the IDF disperses them. In Gaza City, the Hamas-affiliated security forces detain without charge Omar al-Ghul, a senior associate of PA PM Salam Fayyad, prominent journalist, and frequent critic of Hamas; Abbas denounces the “kidnapping.” Also in Gaza City, 3 Fatah supporters are killed, 35 are wounded by an explosion during a funeral for an AMB mbr. killed in an IDF air strike on 12/13; police say a Fatah mbr. accidentally discharged a hand grenade; Abbas accuses Hamas of causing the explosion, calling it an “assault against all our people.” In Khan Yunis, Fatah mbrs. stone a Hamas vehicle promoting a 20th anniversary rally in Gaza City, sparking a fight, gunfire by the police that leaves 17 injured. (NYT, WP, WT 12/15; OCHA 12/19; PCHR 12/27)

Israel allows a 20 mW generator into Gaza for the electricity plant, along with 13 Egyptian engineers to install it. Responding to the IDF’s major incursion into s. Gaza on 12/11, Palestinians fire 17 rockets, 4 mortars fr. Gaza into Israel, lightly injuring 1 Israeli. A Palestinian is killed when a smuggling tunnel under the Rafah border collapses. In the West Bank, the IDF bars a Palestinian woman in labor fr. crossing a checkpoint to reach a Qalqilya hospital, forcing her to give birth at the checkpoint; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron, Jenin, Qalqilya, Tulkarm. In n. Gaza, fights erupt btwn. a Fatah-affiliated family and local Hamas mbrs. painting slogans in preparation for Hamas’s 20th anniversary celebrations; no injuries are reported. (NYT, PCHR 12/13; OCHA 12/19; PCHR 12/27)

As agreed at Annapolis (see 11/27), Israeli, Palestinian negotiators meet to open final status talks, but discussions focus on ongoing Israeli settlement activity (see 12/4) and Palestinian rocket fire. No progress is made on core issues. (NYT, WT 12/13; NYT 12/24)

The IDF makes a late-night raid into Bayt Hanun, firing on residential areas, clashing with local gunmen, killing 1 Islamic Jihad mbr., wounding 3. In the West Bank, the IDF sends undercover units into al-Bireh to raid a Fatah office, arresting an AMB mbr. who was among the 178 granted amnesty in 7/07; conducts arrest raids, house searches in al-Arub r.c., al-Fara‘a r.c. nr. Tubas, and nr. Hebron, Qalqilya. Jewish settlers take over a hilltop nr. Hebron to establish a new outpost (Givat Halhul); the IDF removes them by evening. Nr. Gaza’s Nussayrat r.c., Hamas-affiliated police fire on a car that fails to stop at a checkpoint, wounding a Hamas mbr. In a similar incident in Rafah, Hamas-affiliated security forces wound a PRC mbr. Unidentified assailants detonate a bomb nr. a police jeep in Gaza City, causing damage but no injuries. (WP 12/11; OCHA 12/12; PCHR 12/13)

Israel allows 27 Gazans to enter Egypt through the Rafah crossing for the Hajj. IDF troops on the Gaza border fatally shoot a Palestinian farmer plowing a field nr. the border fence nr. Khuza in s. Gaza. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Qalqilya. Jewish settlers accompanied by IDF soldiers set up tents, raise an Israeli flag on a plot of Palestinian land along Road 60 northeast of Hebron; Israeli police remove them. In Gaza City, unidentified assailants detonate a bomb outside the former PA National Security Forces headquarters, now controlled by Hamas, causing damage but no injuries. Armed PRC mbrs. raid, vandalize, steal equipment fr. a Fatah office in al-Bureij r.c. Armed PRC mbrs. whose salaries have been cut off by Abbas’s government raid a youth center in al-Maghazi r.c., fire in the air, demand reinstatement of their salaries; Hamas-affiliated police convince them to leave. (OCHA 12/12; PCHR 12/13)

IDF troops on the Gaza border fire on Palestinians hunting birds who stray nr. the border fence e. of Jabaliya r.c., killing 1 Palestinian. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron. Jewish settlers fr. Susia nr. Hebron uproot 32 Palestinian olive trees. In Gaza City, unidentified assailants kidnap, quickly release 3 Fatah mbrs. (OCHA 12/12; PCHR 12/13)

Israel releases 429 Palestinian prisoners (overwhelmingly Fatah, but including some mbrs. of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the PFLP; around 20 are fr. Gaza) as a gesture to Abbas. Israel also allows 150 Palestinian pilgrims to leave Gaza through the Rafah crossing for the Hajj. The IDF conducts arrest raids in Wadi al-Silqa nr. Dayr al-Balah, shooting and wounding 1 Palestinian. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in Tubas and nr. Hebron, Nablus, Ramallah. The PA orders 92 Hamas-affiliated charities in the West Bank to close. (NYT, WP 12/4; OCHA 12/5; PCHR 12/6)

Israel agrees to allow Gazans to export flowers and strawberries, now at peak harvest, via the Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom crossing. The IDF sends troops into Abasan nr. Khan Yunis, where they exchange fire with Palestinian gunmen, wounding 3. A Palestinian bystander wounded during an 11/19 IDF raid on Khan Yunis dies. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Ramallah, and in Jenin town and r.c., Nablus. Jewish settlers fire on a Palestinian bus nr. Beit Lid Junction btwn. Nablus and Tulkarm, forcing the bus off the road but causing no injuries. In Jabaliya r.c., unidentified assailants blow up a patrol car belonging to the Hamas-affiliated Gaza police (by this date, the Hamas government in Gaza has dissolved the Executive Support Force, reorganizing members into 4 units that previously existed under the PA Interior Min.: police, internal security, national security, and naval police), causing no injuries. At Ramallah’s Birzeit University, a large fight breaks out btwn. student groups affiliated with Fatah and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), leaving 1 student injured; the university suspends classes until 11/26 to contain the violence. (PCHR 11/22; OCHA 11/28; PCHR 11/29)

The West Bank and Gaza remain effectively severed from each other following Hamas’s takeover of Gaza in 6/07, with Hamas controlling Gaza and Fatah the West Bank (see Quarterly Update in JPS 145). Tight Israeli restrictions on Gaza’s borders dating from 8/07 remain in place, including reduced fuel imports, a near-total ban on exports, and limited imports of basic goods. Israel Defense Forces (IDF) roadblocks in the West Bank divide the territory into 3 cantons, and Palestinian access to the Jordan Valley is limited. In Gaza, 30,000 Palestinians attend a Hamas-organized rally in Gaza City to protest ongoing Israeli archaeological excavations nr. al-Aqsa Mosque. Some 1,500 Palestinians attend a similar Hamas rally in al-Maghazi refugee camp (r.c.), also denouncing the upcoming U.S.-sponsored Annapolis peace summit, tentatively set for 11/26–27. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Jenin, and in ‘Ayn Bayt al-Ma’ r.c. nr. Nablus, Salfit; 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 nr. Ramallah (injuring 5). Jewish settlers fr. Elon Moreh nr. Nablus set fire to 50 nearby Palestinian olive trees. Hamas releases almost all of the approximately 450 Fatah mbrs. detained during demonstrations in Gaza City on 11/12. (NYT 11/16; OCHA 11/21; PCHR 11/22)

The IDF withdraws fr. the fmr. Nisanit settlement site in n. Gaza, reoccupied on 11/11. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Bethlehem, nr. Ramallah; patrols in Nablus and neighboring ‘Ayn Bayt al-Ma’a, Balata camps. A Palestinian dies of injuries sustained in previous Fatah-Hamas clashes. (OCHA 11/21; PCHR 11/22)

IDF troops on the Gaza border e. of Dayr al-Balah fire on Palestinian farmers working their fields, wounding 1. In the West Bank, the IDF demolishes a Palestinian shop nr. Salfit; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem, Hebron, Nablus, Tulkarm. Palestinians stone a Jewish settler vehicle nr. Ramallah, lightly injuring the driver. In Gaza, Hamas continues an arrest campaign targeting Fatah a day after a huge Fatah rally in Gaza City ended in violence, detaining up to 450 Fatah supporters for “incitement.” (NYT, WP 11/14; PCHR 11/15; OCHA 11/21)

In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in Nablus, nr. Qalqilya. In Gaza City, Hamas and ESF mbrs. violently disperse a massive rally (estimates range fr. 150,000 to 250,000) organized by Fatah to mark the 3d anniversary of Arafat’s death, firing live ammunition and beating demonstrators, killing 7 Palestinians, wounding around 85; the AMB accuses Hamas of arresting 250 Fatah supporters. (NYT, WP, WT 11/13; WP 11/14; PCHR 11/15; NYT 11/16)

The IDF sends 2 tanks, 2 armored personnel carriers to take up positions in the fmr. Nisanit settlement site nr. the n. Gaza border. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Tulkarm town and r.c. and in Bethlehem (arresting Change and Reform PC mbr. Khalid Tafish), Ramallah (arresting Change and Reform PC mbr. Salih). On the 3d anniversary of Yasir Arafat’s death, 1,000s of Fatah supporters hold a memorial rally in Ramallah. (NYT, WP 11/13; PCHR 11/15)

In Gaza, the IDF sends troops into Wadi al-Silqa, raiding and searching homes, detaining 50 Palestinians for questioning, demolishing 3 Palestinian homes, damaging 4 others, bulldozing 80 d. of agricultural land, before withdrawing late in the evening. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron and Jenin (firing on stone-throwing Palestinian youths who confront them, wounding 1), in Balata r.c. (demolishing the home of a wanted Palestinian), Qalqilya. In central Gaza, unidentified gunmen ambush, attempt to kidnap the al-Maghazi r.c. municipal dir., who escapes. Also in al-Maghazi, local leaders of Fatah al-Yasir, Hamas, the PRCs hold a demonstration to protest the upcoming Annapolis peace talks. In Hebron, the PSF orders classes at the Palestine Polytechnic University suspended, surrounds the campus to prevent recent tensions btwn. the Hamas-dominated student council and a Fatah-affiliated student group fr. erupting into violence. (OCHA 11/7; PCHR 11/8)

The IDF sends troops into Wadi al-Silqa in central Gaza, raiding and searching homes, occupying several as observation posts, imposing a curfew, firing on anyone on the streets (wounding 2 unarmed Palestinians), bulldozing a greenhouse and 1 d. of land. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Qalqilya, Tulkarm. In Khan Yunis, suspected Fatah mbrs. detonate a bomb under an ESF vehicle outside an ESF post, causing no injuries. (OCHA 10/31; PCHR 11/1)

Israeli human rights groups petition the Israeli High Court to halt the government’s 10/24 plan to cut electricity to Gaza to pressure Hamas, arguing collective punishment, forcing the IDF to suspend implementation.Israelsays that it will continue to cut 1% of Gaza’s electricity for 15 mins. at a time as a “symbolic” response to Palestinian rocket fire until Israel’s atty. gen. rules otherwise. Overnight and into the afternoon, IDF troops conduct arrest raids, house searches in Khan Yunis, also bulldozing 30 d. of agricultural land. During the day, the IDF sends infantry units into the Bayt Lahiya area (to engage several armed Palestinians laying a roadside bomb, killing 1 Palestinian, arresting another), the border area e. of Jabaliya r.c. (where they clash with armed Palestinians, killing 1 Palestinian), and areas nr. Abasan (where they engage with armed Palestinians, killing 1 Palestinian, wounding 4). Palestinians fire an RPG at an IDF jeep patrolling the Gaza border nr. al-Bureij r.c., missing the target, causing no damage or injuries. A Palestinian is injured in Dayr al-Balah when explosives he is handling detonate prematurely. In the West Bank, the IDF fires rubber-coated steel bullets on Palestinian children holding 2 peaceful demonstrations in Hebron and nearby al-Arub r.c. in support of Palestinian prisoners, injuring 3 (ages 13, 16, 17) and arresting 1 (age 14); conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus, and in Tulkarm (also firing on residential areas, causing damage but no injuries). In Ramallah, Palestinians demonstrate for the release of Hamas mbrs. held by the PA; PA security forces disperse the protesters. An ESF officer dies of injuries received in the 10/18 clash with the Fatah-affiliated Hillis clan in Gaza City. (NYT, WT 10/29; OCHA 10/31; PCHR 11/1)

After PRC members fire more than 20 rockets into Israel (causing no damage or injuries) to protest the 10/23 assassination of PRC head Hasanat, Israeli DM Barak authorizes the IDF to cut electricity for several hrs. to parts of Gaza fr. which rockets were fired.; Dep. DM Matan Vilnai says that targeted power cuts will increasingly be used to punish the Palestinians as long as rocket fire continues and that he expects electricity to be cut by two-thirds in the coming weeks. In the evening, IDF fires a surface-to-surface missile at a suspected rocket-launching site e. of Gaza City, killing 2 Palestinian boys (ages 14, 17), wounding 2 other Palestinians; sends troops into Abasan, where they clash with armed Palestinians, wounding 2. A Hamas mbr. is killed when a smuggling tunnel on the Rafah border collapses. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Bethlehem and Hebron, and in Jenin r.c. Jewish settlers fr. Yitzhar nr. Nablus prevent local Palestinians fr. harvesting their olive groves. Armed Palestinians fire on a bus stop outside Ariel settlement, wounding 3 Jewish settlers. ESF officers storm and occupy a Fatah office in central Gaza; no injuries or arrests are reported. Some 5,000 Hamas supporters stage marches in n. Gaza camps in support of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. (PCHR, WT 10/25; OCHA 10/31; PCHR 11/1)

The IDF fires a surface-to-surface missile at central Bayt Lahiya in an attempt to assassinate 3 Hamas mbrs., missing them but injuring 3 bystanders, damaging 2 homes and a car. The Israeli navy fires on 2 Islamic Jihad mbrs. in a boat off the Gaza coast, killing them. The IDF also withdraws troops from a strip of land northeast of Bayt Lahiya occupied on 10/19. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron, Nablus, Ramallah; raids and searches homes, checks IDs of residents in Bayt Jala nr. Bethlehem. Jewish settlers fr. Shavei Shomron nr. Nablus, escorted by IDF troops, attack Palestinians harvesting olives nearby. Jewish settlers fr. Beitar Ilit nr. Bethlehem beat a Palestinian passing by the settlement. Jewish settlers fr. Karnei Shomron steal a harvest of olives fr. a Palestinian farmer nr. Qalqilya. In Gaza City, mbrs. of a Fatah-affiliated clan fire on a car of Hamas mbrs., sparking clashes that leave 3 Palestinians dead (1 clan member, 2 bystanders), 35 wounded. In Rafah, ESF officers attempt to confiscate a vehicle fr. armed Islamic Jihad mbrs., sparking an exchange of fire that leaves 1 Palestinian bystander dead and 16 Palestinians (including bystanders) injured. (WP, WT 10/21; OCHA 10/24; PCHR 10/25)

In Gaza, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in al-Shuka, exchanging fire with local gunmen, wounding 1 armed Palestinian, 1 bystander. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in Sarra nr. Nablus, firing percussion grenades in residential areas, then firing rubber-coated steel bullets at Palestinians who confront them, causing no reported casualties; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus, in Dahaysha r.c. nr. Bethlehem (confiscating 1 car, destroying 2) and Tulkarm (firing on residential areas, seriously wounding an 8-yr.-old girl), and nr. Hebron, Jenin. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba barricade a road used by Palestinians nr. the settlement. An ESF officer, 3 mbrs. of the Fatah-affiliated Hillis clan are killed, 30 Palestinians are wounded in an armed clash in Gaza City that erupts when ESF officers came to a house looking for clan members believed to have opened fire on a traffic police checkpoint on 10/16, wounding 3 bystanders. (NYT 10/19; OCHA 10/24; PCHR 10/25)

IDF troops on the Gaza border fire a shell into Gaza City, wounding a Palestinian teenager. The IDF also sends troops into Gaza Valley village to conduct arrest raids, house searches. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron. Suspected Hamas mbrs. kidnap and beat a Fatah activist in Khan Yunis. In Gaza City, some 200 Palestinians stage a sit-in outside the PC headquarters to protest the PA’s refusal to issue passports and travel documents for Gazans (see Quarterly Update in JPS 145). (OCHA 10/17; PCHR 10/18)

Rice opens 4 days of shuttle diplomacy in the region in an effort to encourage Israel and the PA to bridge gaps on a joint statement to be released at the proposed 11/15 Annapolis summit and to build regional support for the conference. (IFM 10/14; NYT, WP, WT 10/15)

Overnight in Gaza, the IDF sends troops into Dayr al-Balah and al-Maghazi r.c., conducting arrest raids and house searches, bulldozing at least 55 d. of olive and citrus groves, firing on residential areas, killing 1 Palestinian, wounding 3, withdrawing by evening. During the day, the IDF bulldozes 150 d. of citrus and olive groves, 2 greenhouses, 270 beehives e. of Bayt Hanun. In Bureij r.c., 2 Hamas mbrs. are injured when explosives they are handling detonate prematurely. In the West Bank, the IDF sends undercover units into Jenin in a vehicle with Palestinian license plates to ambush and assassinate AMB mbr. Muhammad Abu Sorour, also shooting, wounding, and arresting AMB mbr. Hilal al-Sa‘di, who is traveling with him; conducts arrest raids, house searches in al-Bireh, nr. Bethlehem and Nablus; demolishes the single shantylike structure comprising the Netzer unauthorized settlement outpost nr. Bethlehem (which has been removed by the IDF and rebuilt by settlers several times since its 1st incarnation in 2005). In ‘Azun nr. Qalqilya, the IDF deliberately fires on the main electricity transformer, cutting power to the village; bulldozes 7 d. of Palestinian crops; issues military orders confiscating 390 d. of Palestinian land for construction of the separation wall. A Jewish settler fr. Kiryat Arba injures a 2-yr.-old Palestinian girl in a deliberate hit-and-run. Some 700 Fatah mbrs. in al-Maghazi r.c. hold a rally commemorating local Palestinians killed in the 6/07 clashes with Hamas. (NYT 10/12; OCHA 10/17; PCHR 10/18)

The IDF makes an air strike on a car in Rafah carrying Islamic Jihad’s al-Quds Brigade leader ‘Awad ‘Abd al-Fattah alQiq, missing the car, hitting a store, wounding 3 bystanders in an apparent assassination attempt. Armed Palestinians fire 5 mortars, machine guns at an IDF undercover unit attempting to infiltrate the Gaza border e. of al-Maghazi r.c., forcing the unit to retreat into Israel. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in Balata r.c. (where armed Palestinians detonate an explosive device nr. an IDF jeep, wounding a soldier), Nablus; fires rubber-coated steel bullets, percussion grenades, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, international activists taking part in the weekly nonviolent demonstrations against the separation wall in Bil‘in, injuring 3. In Jabaliya r.c., 7,000 Islamic Jihad supporters hold a peaceful rally to mark Jerusalem Day. In Dayr al-Balah, 300 PRC supporters hold a peaceful rally to mark the 2d anniversary of the IDF assassination of PRC leader Jamal Abu Samhadana. Suspected Fatah mbrs. detonate a bomb outside the home of a local Hamas leader in Khan Yunis, causing no injuries. In Gaza City, unidentified assailants detonate an explosive device outside the home of a local AMB leader, causing damage but no injuries. An unidentified Palestinian throws a bomb at the house of a Hamas activist in Abasan, causing no serious damage or injuries; flees to a nearby IDF border post, where he surrenders to the IDF. (OCHA 10/10; PCHR 10/11)

Israel allows a technical team fr. Siemens to enter Gaza with a shipment of spare parts and tools to perform maintenance on Gaza’s power plant, expected to take about 3 wks. to complete. IDF troops on the Gaza border inside Israel fatally shoot a Palestinian who strays nr. the border fence nr. Nussayrat r.c.; sends tanks into Gaza nr. the Rafah crossing to bulldoze an ESF post. Palestinians fire a rocket fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in Bil‘in. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba steal at least 2 tons of grapes fr. a Palestinian farmer, attack and vandalize his home. Suspected Fatah mbrs. detonate a roadside bomb nr. an ESF patrol in Gaza, wounding 3 ESF mbrs. Unidentified assailants toss an explosive device at the Fatah al-Yasir offices in Khan Yunis, injuring 2 bystanders. Gaza municipal employees begin an openended strike to protest nonpayment of their salaries. (NYT 10/5; OCHA 10/9, 10/10; PCHR 10/11)

As a gesture to Abbas, Israel frees 57 Palestinian prisoners from the West Bank (mostly Fatah mbrs. but also mbrs. of the DFLP, PFLP, and PA security forces) to mark Ramadan; the release of 29 prisoners fr. Gaza to “encourage the moderates” there is delayed until 10/2 after Israeli pres. Shimon Peres initially refuses to sign the releases, citing captured IDF soldier Gilad Shalit’s continued detention in Gaza, finally signing them late in the evening. Meanwhile, the IDF on the Israeli side of the Erez crossing fires at a crowd on the Palestinians side gathered to welcome home the prisoners, wounding a 14-yr.-old Palestinian boy. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus, in Hebron, nr. Ramallah; removes Jewish settlers fr. 2 unauthorized settlement outposts occupied on 9/30 as well as fr. 2 new sites occupied today nr. Elon Moreh settlement nr. Nablus and Keddumim settlement nr. Qalqilya. In Gaza, some 300 PFLP mbrs. stage a solidarity sit-in outside the home of a UNRWA staff mbr. who was temporarily kidnapped, beaten by unknown assailants earlier in the day. (NYT 10/2; OCHA 10/3; PCHR 10/4)