The Palestine Chronology

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)

In Gaza, an ailing 8-yr.-old Palestinian boy dies when the IDF denies permission to transport him through the Erez crossing to an Israeli hospital despite his having the proper Israeli permits. The IDF fires on several al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade (AMB) mbrs. attempting to infiltrate the border nr. Bayt Lahiya, killing 2 AMB mbrs.; raids Khan Yunis, firing on residential areas and then exchanging fire with Palestinian gunmen who confront them, killing 1 Palestinian (possibly armed), seriously wounding 1 Palestinian civilian, moderately wounding 2 gunmen. Palestinians fire 8 mortars at IDF bulldozers sent into the Erez industrial zone to level land; the IDF responds with heavy machine gun fire; no injuries are reported. Palestinians fire 2 rockets fr. n. Gaza into Israel, causing damage at a cemetery but no reported injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Tubas, partially demolishing a Palestinian home, firing on stone-throwing youths who confront the troops, wounding 9. Jewish settlers fr. Yitzhar nr. Nablus ambush, stone a Palestinian taxi driving nearby, heavily damaging the car but not injuring the driver. AMB gunmen protesting the upcoming Annapolis summit fire on a Jewish settler vehicle nr. Keddumim settlement outside Qalqilya, killing 1 settler. The Israeli High Court rules that the 3/07 purchase by Israelis of a Palestinian house overlooking Kiryat Arba settlement in Hebron was illegal, stating that Israeli police may evict Jewish settlers who have since occupied the site. (IFM 11/19; PCHR 11/20; OCHA 11/21; PCHR 11/22, 11/29)

For the 1st time since 6/07, Abbas meets with 4 West Bank Hamas officials in an effort to encourage them to split fr. their Gaza counterparts. In Nablus, the PA deploys a new 308-mbr. policing unit trained by Western advisers at a multimillion dollar training facility in Jericho; they will form part of a new National Security Force unit set up to “operate in coordination with Israeli forces to fight crime and terrorism” as part of Abbas’s new security effort “to restore law and order” in the West Bank, in keeping with road map requirements; the unit will patrol during the day only, while the IDF will continue night operations. In Gaza, the IDF makes an air strike on an ESF post nr. Rafah, killing 1 ESF officer, wounding 3. Nr. Bayt Hanun, 2 Palestinians are injured when a mortar they are preparing misfires. A Palestinian is injured when a smuggling tunnel under the Rafah border collapses. In the West Bank, the IDF lifts the round-the-clock curfew on ‘Azun imposed on 10/31; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Tulkarm town, r.c. and nr. Qalqilya; 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 (injuring 1 demonstrator, 1 journalist). Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba and Harsina in Hebron attack, vandalize nearby Palestinian homes, also beating 1 Palestinian. (NYT, WT 11/3; NYT 11/6; OCHA 11/7; PCHR 11/8; NYT 11/14)

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)

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)

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)

The IDF blows up the home of a wanted Hamas mbr. in Nablus; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron, Nablus, Salfit. In and around Hebron, a Jewish settler fr. Kiryat Arba attacks, moderately injures a Palestinian; Jewish settlers fr. Havat Ma’on attack a Palestinian family, injuring 3; a Jewish settler injures a Palestinian in a deliberate hit-and-run; several Jewish settlers stone a Palestinian vehicle on the Jerusalem–Hebron road, injuring the driver. Nr. Bethlehem, several Jewish settlers ambush, beat 2 Palestinian paramedics traveling nr. Nekudim settlement nr. Bethlehem with IDF permission to collect an ailing Palestinian child; the IDF observes but does not intervene. (OCHA 9/26; PCHR 9/27)

In the wake of the 9/19 Beirut bombing, Lebanese PM Siniora postpones until 10/23 the start of the Lebanese presidential elections process, previously set for 9/25. By law, Lebanese pres. Emile Lahoud must step down on 11/24. (NYT 9/23; WP 9/24)

The IDF admitsthat 3 Palestinian children killed in an 8/29 strike on Bayt Hanun were playing tag, not retrieving a rocket launcher. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron; fires on stone-throwing Palestinian youths outside al-Arub r.c. nr. Hebron, wounding a 7-yr.-old boy; 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, injuring 8 (similar demonstrations are held without incident in al-Walaja and Um Salamuna nr. Bethlehem). Jewish settlers fr. Givat Havat and Kiryat Arba in Hebron beat a Palestinian farmer working his land btwn. the 2 settlements. The IDF bars Jewish settlers fr. reaching the evacuated Homesh settlement site; settlers set fire to 2 IDF vehicles in protest. The PA closes 103 charitable associations in the West Bank (80% affiliated with Hamas) for being “improperly registered”. Responding to a call by Fatah to boycott Friday prayers in mosques and begin weekly prayer protests against Hamas’s “persecution” of Fatah mbrs. in Gaza, some 5,000 Fatah supporters hold prayers in a Gaza City park, then stage a march and rally denouncing Hamas, attacking Hamas-controlled buildings with stones, pipe bombs. Some 7,000 Fatah supporters hold a similar demonstration in Rafah, attacking the home of a prominent Hamas mbr. The ESF violently disperses both protests, firing into the air, beating demonstrators, and tossing percussion grenades, arresting scores, injuring 10–20 (including 2 journalists), wounding an Egyptian on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border. Fatah mbrs. stone an ESF patrol in al-Bureij r.c., causing no injuries. (NYT, WP 9/1; OCHA 9/5; PCHR 9/6; Conflicts Forum 10/8)

In Gaza, 2 armed Palestinians representing the Fatah-linked al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade (AMB) and the Popular Resistance Comms. (PRCs; an umbrella group including mbrs. of all factions) infiltrate the Israeli border, open fire with automatic weapons at the IDF post at Erez crossing, lightly wounding 2 soldiers before being shot dead. The IDF directs heavy machine gun fire at Palestinian homes in al-Shuka, makes several air strikes on the area during the day, wounding 1 Palestinian. Hamas mbrs. detonate a roadside bomb under an IDF vehicle patrolling the Gaza border nr. alShuka, causing no injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF sends undercover units into Jenin in cars with Palestinian license plates, ambushing and assassinating Islamic Jihad mbrs. Ala’ Sorour and Mustafa Atiq, wounding 3 other Islamic Jihad mbrs.; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Jenin town and r.c., nr. Hebron. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba in Hebron attack a Palestinian home in an area previously targeted by settlers for confiscation. The IDF forcibly removes some 100 Jewish settlers who reoccupied the vacant Homesh settlement site earlier in the day. (IFM, WT 8/26; OCHA 8/29; PCHR 8/30)

For unclear reasons, IDF troops at the Erez crossing fire on ESF troops manning the Palestinian side, killing 1 ESF officer, wounding a baggage porter. An IDF helicopter fires a missile at a suspected rocket launching site nr. Bayt Hanun, causing no injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF bars an ailing 75-yr.-old Palestinian woman living in a village btwn. the Green Line and the separation wall fr. crossing a checkpoint at the wall to reach a Jenin hospital, allowing her to die; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Tulkarm. In ongoing settler violence in Hebron (see 8/5), Jewish settlers attack and vandalize Palestinian property in the central market area, set fire to the al-Kayal Mosque, burn a business and 2 Palestinian homes; the IDF observes but does not intervene. Later in the day, Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba attack, vandalize several Palestinian homes in Hebron. A Jewish settler security guard is injured when his car hits a roadside bomb on the settlers-only road to Elon Moreh settlement nr. Nablus. (OCHA 8/8; PCHR 8/9)

In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus, nr. Hebron, and in Abu Dis nr. Jerusalem, ‘Ayn Bayt al-Ma’a (moving from house to house by breaking through walls, as it did during Operation Defensive Shield in 2002; firing on stone-throwing Palestinians who confront them, wounding 1), Jalazun r.c. nr. Ramallah. Expecting the IDF to forcibly evict 2 Jewish settler families squatting in vacant Palestinian stores in Hebron’s wholesale market (in 4/07, the Israeli High Court ordered them to vacate the site by 7/27), 100s of Jewish settlers begin arriving at the site to block the eviction, harassing local Palestinians; among the incidents: a Jewish settler fr. Beit Hadasah injures a Palestinian man in a deliberate hit and run; Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba attack, vandalize Palestinian homes, cars; Jewish settlers set fire to the Hebron Rehabilitation Comm. offices (previously declared a closed military zone by the IDF). (OCHA 8/8; PCHR 8/9)

The IDF makes an air strike on a car in Gaza City suspected to be carrying wanted Palestinians, missing the target and hitting a nearby home, causing heavy damage but no injuries. Islamic Jihad fires 10 mortars at the IDF base at Kissufim crossing, causing no injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus, nr. Hebron, and in Bethlehem, Qalqilya, nr. Hebron and Nablus; raids the offices of a children’s charity in Jenin, confiscating documents. For a 2d day in Jerusalem, Israeli police escort a group of Jewish settlers into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound to mark the Tisha B’Av holiday. A Jewish settler fr. Kiryat Arba seriously injures a 10-yr.-old Palestinian boy in a deliberate hit-and-run in Hebron. Jewish settlers severely beat a Palestinian teenager nr. Nablus. In Ramallah, PA presidential guardsmen halt a car carrying the son and daughter of jailed Fatah tanzim leader Marwan Barghouti (seen as a potential challenger to Abbas), harass them both, detain and beat the son at the PA headquarters. Pro-Fatah students at al-Najah University in Nablus attack, beat pro-Hamas students protesting Abbas’s ouster of the Haniyeh government, leading to police intervention and an exchange of fire that leaves 3 students wounded, 1 critically. In Gaza City, 10,000 Hamas supporters stage a nonviolent march to PC headquarters to protest PA attacks on Hamas activists and institutions in the West Bank. (OCHA, WP 7/25; PCHR 7/26)

As daily clashes continue at Nahr al-Barid r.c., FI kills 3 Lebanese soldiers—2 by a mortar, 1 by a booby-trapped device. The estimated death toll to date is 120 soldiers, 81 FI members, 41 civilians. (WT 7/25)

In Gaza, the IDF makes an air strike on a suspected rocket launching site nr. Bayt Hanun, causing no injuries. In Dayr al-Balah, 4 Palestinian children are injured by IDF UXO. In the West Bank, the IDF demolishes a Palestinian home in al-Tur nr. Jerusalem; orders the closure of a Palestinian barbershop in Hebron, stating it is too close to Beit Romano settlement; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Jenin. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba beat a 12-yr.-old Palestinian boy. Jewish settlers fr. Otniel uproot another 100 Palestinian olive trees nr. the settlement as part of the expansion begun on 7/14. Jewish settlers beat a Palestinian farmer tending his land nr. Qalqilya. (OCHA 7/18; PCHR 7/19; OCHA 7/25)

Unidentified assailants detonate a roadside bomb targeting a UNIFIL convoy driving through Tyre, causing no injuries. Hizballah condemns the attack. (NYT 7/17) (see 6/24)

The IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba in Hebron raze Palestinian agricultural land nr. the settlement, attack and beat several Palestinians and international peace activists who attempt to stop them; the IDF intervenes to detain a Palestinian journalist who arrives on the scene. The Israeli Housing Min. issues tenders for 20 new housing units in Karnei Shomron settlement. (OCHA 6/6; PCHR 6/7)

Palestinians fire some 7 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, hitting a gas station in Sederot, lightly injuring 2 Israelis. An Islamic Jihad mbr. is injured when explosives he is handling detonate prematurely. In the West Bank, the IDF sends troops into Jenin town and r.c., firing on residential areas and stonethrowing youths who confront the troops, wounding 5 Palestinians; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron and in al-Khadir. Jewish settlers fr. Karme Tzur and Kiryat Arba set up a tent on a hill northeast of Halhul, later leave but vow to establish a new settlement on the site; the IDF observes but does not intervene. Jewish settlers fr. Einav nr. Tulkarm set fire to 80 d. of Palestinian olive, almond trees nearby. Nr. Ramallah, Palestinian gunmen fire on a convoy delivering gas to a Jewish settlement, wounding an Israeli security guard. Some 70 Palestinian protesters thought to be aligned with the Army of Islam throw stones, possibly fire at Fatah lawmaker Majid Abu Shamalah as he leaves an end-of-the-school-year celebration at a Rafah UNRWA school, prompting his bodyguards to open fire, killing 1 of their own and leaving 2 teachers, 2 protesters, and 2 schoolchildren (ages 9, 14) wounded; the attack on the school comes days after the Army of Islam warned the school against holding the celebration, which they condemned for involving “the mixing of adolescent boys and girls, which is forbidden in Islam.” Unidentified gunmen fire on a Fatah base in Bureij r.c., causing no injuries. A Palestinian possibly affiliated with the Army of Islam orders UNRWA employees off an agency minibus in Rafah before tossing a hand grenade inside, damaging it. (Jerusalem Post 5/6; NYT 5/7; OCHA 5/9; PCHR 5/10; AHR 5/15)

Israel allows the Rafah crossing to open for the 1st time since 4/19. Gunfire breaks out among the 5,000 Palestinians waiting to enter Egypt, leaving a PA presidential guardsman dead; UN monitors overseeing the passage say Israel’s closures have left the crossing too crowded to operate. IDF troops on the s. Gaza border fire tank shells, heavy machine guns at DFLP mbrs. planning a roadside bomb nr. the border fence, killing 1 DFLP mbr. The IDF also sends tanks, bulldozers into Gaza to level land along the border fence e. of al-Maghazi r.c. In Bayt Hanun, a PRC mbr. is killed when explosives he is handling detonate prematurely. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in Hebron; fires rubbercoated steel bullets, percussion grenades, tear gas at Palestinians and international and Israeli peace activists holding a nonviolent demonstration against the separation wall in Bil‘in, wounding 6 Palestinians, 1 French activist. Some 200 Palestinians fr. villages nr. Bethlehem hold a nonviolent protest in the area against the separation wall. A Jewish settler fr. Kiryat Arba beats a Palestinian child working in his family’s garden; when his father and brother come to his aid, the settler fires at them, causing no injuries; the IDF intervenes, beating and arresting the father and older brother for “threatening” the settler. Jewish settlers fr. Hebron beat 3 Palestinian shepherds grazing their sheep nearby and 3 peace activists (including an Israeli rabbi) accompanying them for protection. In Israel, 100s of Palestinian Israeli residents of Jaffa protest actions by the Israel Land Administration (ILA) in the past yr. to evict some 500 Arab families from the al-Ajami and Givat Aliya neighborhoods so as to develop the seafront properties; the ILA calls the Palestinian families “invaders” who built on the sites illegally. A Palestinian dies of injuries received during an IDF raid on Gaza City on 10/16/06. (HA 4/27; NYT 4/28; OCHA 5/2; PCHR 5/3)

IDF troops on the Gaza border fire on, send a drone to fire missiles at a group of armed Palestinians attempting to cross into Israel e. of Jabaliya, killing 1 armed Palestinian, wounding 4. For the 3d day, the IDF sends bulldozers and tanks into Gaza nr. Bayt Hanun to level land; this time, Palestinian gunmen fire an RPG at a tank, sparking an exchange of gunfire, causing no reported injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF sends troops into Jenin town and r.c. late in the evening, exchanging fire with Palestinian gunmen who confront the troops, wounding local AMB leader Zacharia Zubeidi; conducts arrest raids, house searches in alBireh, Nablus, Qalqilya; fires rubber-coated steel bullets on stone-throwing Palestinians nr. the Qalandia checkpoint, injuring 2; fires rubber-coated steel bullets at 10s of Palestinians and Israeli and international peace activists protest the separation wall nr. Bil‘in, injuring 14; similarly fires rubber-coated steel bullets on Palestinians, international peace activists protesting the construction of the separation wall nr. Um Salamuna nr. Bethlehem, injuring 8. Jewish settlers fr. Ramat Yishai set fire to a Palestinian car in Hebron; the IDF bars fire engines fr. reaching the scene. For a 2d day, Jewish settlers occupying a Palestinian building nr. Kiryat Arba throw bottles and stones at local Palestinians, use trained dogs to scare Palestinian children; the IDF observes but does not intervene. In ‘Abasan, Fatah-Hamas clashes leave 11 Palestinians wounded. A Palestinian wounded in an IDF artillery strike on ‘Abasan on 9/6/06 dies. (OCHA 4/11; PCHR 4/12)

The IDF sends bulldozers into Gaza nr. Bayt Hanun, al-Maghazi r.c. to level land. For a 2d day, the Israeli navy fires on Palestinian fishing boats off the Rafah coast, forcing them to return to port. In the West Bank, the IDF fires on 3 Palestinians nr. Jericho who fail to heed orders to stop, killing 1 Palestinian; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron, Tulkarm. Jewish settlers who have been occupying a Palestinian building nr. Kiryat Arba since 3/19 throw bottles and stones at local Palestinians, use trained dogs to scare Palestinian children; the IDF observes but does not intervene. A 17-yr.- old Palestinian girl shot in the head by IDF forces during a raid on Jabaliya r.c. on 10/4/04 dies of her injuries. (NYT 4/6; OCHA 4/11; PCHR 4/12)

IDF troops on the n. Gaza border fire on a group of Palestinians collecting scrap metal nr. the border fence nr. the Erez industrial zone, wounding 1 Palestinian. In the West Bank, IDF troops patrol in, fire on residential areas of ‘Askar r.c. and Nablus, causing no injuries. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba severely beat a 12-yr.-old Palestinian boy; the IDF observes but does not intervene. Jewish settlers fr. Negohot nr. Hebron, attack and injure 2 Palestinians (including a 10-yr.-old boy) in a village nearby. FatahHamas clashes leave 6 Palestinians injured in ‘Abasan in s. Gaza. In Gaza’s Nussayrat r.c., unidentified gunmen shoot, wound a PA presidential guard mbr. (OCHA 3/28; PCHR 3/29)

Overnight, the Israeli navy rounds up 14 Palestinian fishing boats, detains 56 fishermen, releases 50 later in the day. A Hamas sniper fires across the Gaza border into Israel, wounding an Israeli electrical worker in the 1st armed attack by Hamas since the Gaza cease-fire went into effect 11/26/06. Hamas mbrs. also fire 2 mortars at the IDF post at Qarni crossing, causing no damage or injuries. Hamas spokesman Ghazi Hamad reiterates Hamas’s call for mutual calm; Israel says that it will continue to abide by the truce but that its patience is wearing thin. In Shati’ r.c., an Islamic Jihad mbr. is killed, 9 Palestinians are injured when explosives he is handling detonate prematurely. Egyptian security forces announce that they have captured a Hamas mbr. in the n. Sinai, who allegedly intended to sneak into Israel to stage a suicide bombing. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron, firing on stone-throwing Palestinians, wounding 4. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba bar Palestinian worshipers fr. entering al-Ras Mosque in Hebron; the IDF observes but does not intervene. Separately, 50 Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba, under IDF protection, occupy a 4-story Palestinian residential building in Hebron, claiming to have legally purchased it; the owner denies this; officers fr. the Temporary International Presence in Hebron (TIPH) ask the settlers to see the purchase documents, but they refuse. A Jewish settler fr. Hebron seriously injures a Palestinian man in a deliberate hit and run. In Gaza City, 200 family mbrs. of Palestinians detained by Israel hold a sit-in to demand greater PA and international efforts to secure a prisoner release. (al-Mezan, NYT, OCHA, WP, WT 3/20; PCHR 3/22)

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)

IDF troops on the central Gaza border nr. Dayr al-Balah fire on Palestinian shepherds who stray nr. the border fence, wounding 1. In the West Bank, the IDF releases 15 Palestinian schoolchildren detained outside Bethlehem on 2/10; fire on Palestinians holding a peaceful march nr. Hebron to protest Israel’s construction at the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount, wounding 2. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba under IDF escort plant on nearby Palestinian land, apparently with the intention of eventually annex the area to the settlement. A Jewish settler fires on Palestinian children throwing stones at his car nr. Hebron, wounding 1 Palestinian bystander. (OCHA 2/14; PCHR 2/15)