The Palestine Chronology

In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night patrols in Rumana nr. Jenin, arresting 2 16-yr.-old Palestinians who are out on the street; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron. In East Jerusalem, Israeli authorities issue fines of thousands of dollars and demolition orders for 9 Palestinian homes and 1 mosque in Jabal Mukabir neighborhood. Israeli security forces break up Palestinians holding a public gathering at Damascus Gate to mark the formal end of the Arab League’s designation of Jerusalem as the Arab cultural capital for 2009; at least 6 Palestinians are arrested for illegal political activity in Jerusalem, and several are beaten. (OCHA, PCHR 12/23)

Israeli naval vessels intercept a Palestinian fishing boat that approaches the boundary of the permitted fishing zone off the Bayt Lahiya coast, damaging the boat, forcing the fishermen to jump into the sea, and then detaining them, taking them to Ashdod port in Israel for several hrs. of questioning, before releasing them to Gaza. A smuggling tunnel under the Rafah border collapses, killing 3 Palestinians. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron, Nablus. In East Jerusalem, Palestinians in Silwan report that during the previous wk., Israeli workers and archeologists resumed work on 2 archeological tunnels under the city leading to the al-Aqsa Mosque (see Quarterly Update in JPS 154). A group of right-wing Jews breaks into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound to hold prayers marking Hanukkah, but Waqf officials ask Israeli police to intervene, and police remove them peacefully. Jewish settlers in East Jerusalem celebrating Hanukkah attack a number of Palestinian shops and residents in the Old City; Israeli security forces observe but do not intervene. The PASF crackdown on Hamas mbrs. in the West Bank winds down today, with the UN reporting at least 80 and as many as 300 detained. The Israeli High Court rules that a 2007-imposed ban on family visits by Gazans to Palestinians held in Israeli jails is valid. (OCHA, PCHR 12/16; PCHR 12/23; HA 12/31)

Israeli naval vessels fire on a Palestinian fishing boat off the Rafah coast, wounding 1 Palestinian. (PCHR 11/5; OCHA 11/12; OCHA Humanitarian Monitor 11/09)

In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night raids, house searches in and around Nablus, Jenin town and r.c., in alFara‘a r.c., nr. Tubas, Qalqilya, and Hebron, arresting 5 Palestinians (including 1 teenager). (PCHR 11/12)

In East Jerusalem, Israeli security forces raid a Palestinian home in the African Colony Quarter nr. Jerusalem’s Old City, arresting 1 Palestinian teenager for his alleged participation in the 10/25 al-Aqsa Mosque protests. (PCHR 11/12)

An ailing Palestinian dies while waiting to exit Gaza to receive medical treatment in Egypt. (OCHA 11/09)

In the West Bank, IDF troops raid a café in Tubas and question a number of the customers; conduct late-night raids, house searches in and around Jenin and in Qalandia r.c. s. of Ramallah, arresting 2 Palestinians. Israeli security forces arrest Jewish settler Yosef Spinoza of Shvut Rachel settlement on charges of collaborating with Yaakov Teitel (arrested on 10/7). (PCHR 11/5; JPI 11/12)

Late at night, the Israeli navy intercepts a ship nr. Cyprus carrying 600 tons of weapons allegedly en route fr. Iran to Hizballah. Israel claims the containers of rockets, guns, and other ammunition, bearing Iranian insignia and carrying Iranian export documentation, were loaded in Egypt and headed to Syria for land transport to Lebanon, but says that neither the ship’s crew nor the Egyptians who loaded the cargo knew that the containers held arms. Iran and Syria officially deny the claims. (NYT, WP, WT 11/5; JPI, WJW 11/12)

In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night raids, house searches in Nablus, nearby ‘Ayn Bayt al-Ma’ r.c., and Tulkarm, arresting 12 Palestinians (including 2 teenagers). Jewish settlers fr. Shvut Rachel nr. Nablus stone and violently beat Palestinians harvesting olives nearby, injuring 5 of them; IDF troops escorting the settlers arrest 1 Palestinian for refusing orders to leave the area. (OCHA, PCHR 10/29)

In East Jerusalem, Israeli security forces evict families fr. 3 Palestinian homes, demolishing 1 of the homes completely, destroying part of the 2d (ordering the family to complete the demolition within 2 days), and completing the destruction (begun earlier) of a 3d. (Reports differ as to the exact locations of the properties: Palestinian sources place 2 homes in Jabal Mukabir and 1 in Shu‘fat, UN reports indicate 1 each in ‘Anata, Jabal Mukabir, and Sur Bahir). (OCHA, PCHR 10/29)

Unidentified assailants fire a Katyusha rocket fr. Hula village in s. Lebanon into n. Israel nr. Kiryat Shimona. The IDF responds by firing several artillery rounds into Lebanon. No casualties are reported in either incident. (NYT, WT 10/28; JPI 11/5; JR 11/23)

In the West Bank, the IDF raids a house in Bayt Fajjar nr. Bethlehem and another in Jericho, arresting 2 Palestinians (including 1 teenager). (PCHR 10/29)

New Israeli-Palestinian clashes erupt in East Jerusalem after Israel’s Islamic Movement and extremist Jewish groups call on their followers to rally in defense of the al-Aqsa Mosque and Temple Mount respectively. Israeli security forces deploy across the city to contain and prevent clashes, entering the al-Aqsa Mosque compound twice during the day with the stated aim of removing Palestinian demonstrators hiding among the approximately 200 worshippers at the site (temporarily locking worshippers inside the Dome of the Rock and the Southern Mosque), beating many Palestinians, firing tear gas and sound bombs, and arresting 10s of Palestinians (including PLC mbr. ‘Abd al-Qadir, who is ordered on 10/26 to stay out of Jerusalem for 21 days; see 10/4); as many as 25 Palestinians (including around 4 children, 7 women) and 5 journalists are injured. In a possibly related incident, Israeli security forces at Qalandia checkpoint arrest a Palestinian woman for allegedly attempting to stab an Israeli soldier; the IDF later raids her family’s house in Saffa nr. Ramallah. (NYT, WP, WT 10/26; OCHA, PCHR, WJW 10/29; PCHR 11/5)

An Israeli military court sentences 2 IDF soldiers to 20 days in a military prison, expels them fr. their unit, and prohibits them fr. serving as combat soldiers for having demonstrated in support of West Bank settlements during their swearing-in ceremony. (WJW 10/29)

The IDF makes a brief incursion into c. Gaza to level land in the al-Shuja‘iyya neighborhood of Gaza City; IDF tanks fire 7 shells nr. a secondary school in the area, causing damage to the school but no injuries. (OCHA, PCHR 10/8)

In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night raids, house searches nr. Hebron, arresting 2 Palestinians (including 1 teenager). Also nr. Hebron, 2 Jewish settlers beat a Palestinian child after stones were thrown at their vehicle. (PCHR 10/8)

Following clashes in Jerusalem on 10/4 and 10/5, Israeli security forces patrol the city in numbers. In the Wadi al-Juz neighborhood of East Jerusalem, Israeli security forces raid a sit-in tent set up 2 yrs. ago by the Islamic Movement and arrest Islamic Movement head Shaykh Raed Salah on charges of inciting violence. An Israeli court ruling authorizes Salah to be released but bars him fr. Jerusalem’s Old City for 1 mo. Israeli police break up Palestinian protests against the court decision, arresting 2 Palestinians. (WT 10/7; PCHR 10/8)

In response to escalating tensions in East Jerusalem, 1,000s of Palestinians attend a rally in Gaza organized by Hamas calling for another intifada. (WT 10/6)

In the West Bank, the IDF arrests a Palestinian by the separation wall nr. Azun Atma; conducts late-night raids, house searches in and around Nablus and nr. Jenin, arresting 2 Palestinians. (PCHR 10/8)

Israeli-Palestinian tensions in Jerusalem remain high following the 10/4 clashes. Although Israel deploys 1,000s of additional police in and around the Old City and IDF helicopters and drones monitor fr. above, some significant clashes are reported in and around the city. At a checkpoint at the entrance of Shu‘fat r.c., Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian who stabbed an Israeli soldier in the neck; IDF troops then enter Shu‘fat r.c., fire sound bombs and tear gas, and arrest 8 more Palestinians (all under the age of 18, 2 under the age of 13). At Qalandia checkpoint, Israeli security forces fire rubbercoated steel bullets, tear gas, sound bombs at 10s of Palestinian protesters. In Ras alAmud neighborhood, Israeli security forces arrest 13 Palestinians for stone-throwing. Israeli authorities also seal off 2 Arab neighborhoods adjacent to the Old City and bar men under the age of 50 fr. entering alAqsa Mosque. At least 7 Palestinians are wounded in clashes during the day. Israel releases 2 Palestinians detained at crossings into Jerusalem on 10/4 but bars them fr. entering Jerusalem for 90 days. (WT 10/6, PCHR 10/8)

A complaint filed by Israeli human rights organization Yesh Din results in the arrest of an IDF soldier on charges of beating the Bil‘in Coordinator of the Public Committee against the Wall and Settlement during a late-night raid on 9/15. (OCHA Humanitarian Monitor 10/09)

IDF troops on the n. Gaza border nr. Bayt Lahiya shoot and seriously wound 1 Palestinian teenager who says that he was throwing stones at a dog on the beach when he was shot. (OCHA, PCHR 10/8)

In the West Bank, the IDF arrests 5 Palestinian workers by the separation wall nr. Azun Atma nr. Qalqilya; conducts latenight raids, house searches in and around Qalqilya, arresting 3 Palestinians. (PCHR 10/8)

Major clashes erupt in Jerusalem sparked by rumors that Israeli authorities plan to allow Jewish settlers to enter the al-Aqsa Mosque compound to mark the Sukkoth holiday. In reaction, Muslim leaders call on Palestinians to rally to defend the mosque, prompting Jewish religious leaders to call followers to defend the Temple Mount. As some 200 Palestinians inside the mosque compound and some 150 Palestinians on the periphery hold off 100s of Jewish settlers fr. reaching the compound, Israeli security forces attempt to seal off the holy site and Jerusalem’s Old City to disperse the protesters and prevent violence fr. spreading. Minor incidents are reported in Ras al-Amud and al-Tur neighborhoods. Some Palestinians throw stones at security forces, who respond with stun grenades and a water cannon. Israeli security forces also arrest 10 Palestinians and violently beat 10s of others who attempt to force their way through IDF checkpoints around the Old City to reach the mosque. Among those arrested are 2 public figures—Shaykh Kamal al-Khatib and Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) mbr. Hatim ‘Abd al-Qadir (both quickly released on bail and forbidden fr. entering the Old City for 15 days). (WT 10/6; PCHR, WJW 10/8; OCHA Humanitarian Monitor 10/09)

As agreed on 9/30, Israel releases 19 Palestinian female prisoners in exchange for a 2-min. video fr. Hamas proving that captured IDF soldier Cpl. Shalit is still alive. A 20th prisoner is expected to be released on 10/3. After Palestinians fire 3 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel (causing no damage or injuries), the IDF carries out air strikes on smuggling tunnels along the Rafah border and on a marble factory and an iron warehouse in Gaza City suspected of being used to manufacture weapons. An Israeli drone also fires a missile nr. Bayt Lahiya. No casualties are reported in any of the air strikes. (NYT 10/3; PCHR 10/8; JR 10/26)

In the West Bank, the IDF fires rubbercoated steel bullets, sound bombs, tear gas at Palestinian and international activists taking part in a nonviolent demonstration against the separation wall in Ni‘lin (10s suffer fr. tear gas) and at Palestinian activists, some of whom throw stones at IDF troops, taking part in a demonstration against the separation wall in Bil‘in (injuring 2 international activists); conducts late-night raids, house searches nr. Tulkarm, arresting 1 Palestinian. (PCHR 10/8)

Israeli security forces prevent thousands of Palestinians fr. entering East Jerusalem for Friday prayers at the al-Aqsa Mosque. The overcrowded conditions at Qalandia checkpoint cause at least 35 Palestinians to faint. Additional checkpoints are also erected in the Old City. (PCHR 10/8)

Hamas mbr. Yusuf Abu Zuhri, the brother and bodyguard of Hamas spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri, dies in Egyptian custody. Hamas accuses Egyptian authorities of torturing him. Abu Zuhri was detained in al-Arish in 4/09 on charges of entering Egypt illegally through a smuggling tunnel on the Rafah border. (Agence France-Presse 10/13; JPI 10/22)

At Abbas’s request, the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) defers until 3/10 a vote to endorse the UN’s Goldstone report (see 9/15). The move is supported by Israel and the U.S. but is immediately denounced by Palestinians. (WP 10/2; WP 10/3; JR 10/26)

The IDF makes air strikes on smuggling tunnels along the Rafah border, killing 2 Palestinians and trapping at least 11 others (who are freed and hospitalized). IDF tanks on the s. Gaza border nr. the Dahaniyya airport site fire on and injure a Popular Resistance Comm. mbr. monitoring IDF movements along the border. Meanwhile, Israeli DM Barak authorizes the export of palm fronds fr. Gaza for use in Jewish Sukkoth celebrations because Egyptian suppliers are overcharging (JP 9/30; PCHR 10/1; OCHA 10/2; JPI, OCHA 10/8)

In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night raids, house searches nr. Ramallah, Qalqilya, Jenin, and in Tulkarm, arresting 8 Palestinians (including 1 teenager) and summoning 1 mbr. of the Bil‘in Public Committee Against the Wall and Settlement for interrogation; issues demolition orders for 6 Palestinian homes in Azun that allegedly provided cover for stone-throwing Palestinian youths. Unidentified Palestinians shoot at a Jewish settler vehicle outside Kida settlement n. of Jerusalem, wounding the driver, who is airlifted to a hospital in Jerusalem; stone Israeli vehicles traveling nr. Bethlehem, damaging at least 1 car. (PCHR 10/1; JPI 10/8)

In Jerusalem’s Old City, Israeli security forces arrest at least 50 Palestinians in search and arrest operations targeting those who participated in riots on 9/27. (OCHA 10/2)

In Gaza, the IDF makes an air strike on an open area nr. Bayt Hanun, causing no casualties. (PCHR 10/1)

Israel imposes a general closure on the West Bank for the 2-day Yom Kippur holiday. The IDF conducts late-night raids, house searches nr. Tulkarm, arresting 1 Palestinian. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba nr. Hebron attack Palestinians exiting the nearby al-Ras Mosque and throw stones, empty bottles at Palestinian vehicles; no serious injuries are reported. (PCHR 10/1)

Outraged by rumors that right-wing Jews plan to invade the al-Aqsa Mosque compound to mark Yom Kippur, Palestinians throw stones at French tourists visiting the mosque, mistaking them for Jewish activists. Israeli police disperse the crowd of approximately 150 Palestinians with stun grenades, leading to a number of disturbances throughout East Jerusalem. Palestinians also throw rocks, Molotov cocktails, and garbage at Israeli border police. As many as 38 Palestinians and 18 mbrs. of Israeli security forces are injured, and 11 Palestinians are arrested. (NYT 9/28; OCHA Humanitarian Monitor 9/09; WJW 10/1; OCHA 10/2; JPI, OCHA 10/8)

Israeli naval vessels fire on Palestinian fishing boats and swimmers approximately 700 m fr. the Gaza coast nr. Bayt Lahiya, killing 1 Palestinian and injuring 1 other. (OCHA, PCHR 9/3)

In the West Bank, the IDF erects an iron gate at the entrance of al-Naqura village nr. Nablus. Israeli security forces announce that 3 gates in the separation wall nr. Jerusalem closed on 8/26 will remain so indefinitely. Jewish settlers in Hebron vandalize 3 Palestinian vehicles and throw stones, bottles at Palestinian homes in Tal Rumayda neighborhood. (OCHA, PCHR 9/3)

Fmr. U.S. pres. Jimmy Carter leads a group of international public figures associated with human rights advocacy to meet with local organizers of the weekly nonviolent protests against the separation wall held in Bil‘in. (NYT 8/28)

In Gaza, Israeli naval vessels confiscate a Palestinian fishing boat off the Rafah coast, temporarily detaining 2 Palestinian fishermen (releasing them on 8/18). (OCHA 8/19; PCHR 8/20)

In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night raids, house searches nr. Salfit and Jenin, in and around Hebron, and in Ramallah, arresting 13 Palestinians (including 3 teenagers); raids the Tulkarm home of a Palestinian woman recently released fr. Israeli jail, confiscating a mobile phone and photos. (PCHR 8/20)

At least 30 Jewish settlers attack mbrs. of the Hanun and al-Ghawi families, who were evicted fr. their homes in the Shaykh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem on 8/2 (see Quarterly Update in JPS 153), injuring 2 Palestinian girls and 1 international activist; Israeli security forces intervene, arresting several Palestinians and settlers, releasing all of them within a day. In Jerusalem’s Old City, Israeli police change the lock on the al-Nazir Gate of the al-Aqsa Mosque, normally controlled by Waqf authorities. The police later claim to have replaced the locks by mistake, and Waqf officials restore the original lock. In a training exercise lasting 1 hr., Israeli security forces practice scaling the fences surrounding the al-Aqsa Mosque using ladders. (OCHR 8/19; PCHR 8/20)

Israeli naval vessels fire on Palestinian fishing boats off the Bayt Lahiya coast, forcing them to return to shore. In the West Bank, the IDF makes a late-night incursion into Rumana village nr. Jenin, patrolling streets and firing on residential areas, causing no injuries and making no arrests. After the Israeli High Court upholds a judgment that 2 East Jerusalem homes (including the one seized on 4/3) belong to Jewish settler groups, Israeli security forces evict the 2 Palestinian families who have lived in the homes for years. PA security forces in the West Bank report uncovering an explosives lab in a mosque, implying it was run by Hamas; the exact location is not reported. (WT 4/15; PCHR 4/16)

Israeli naval vessels fire on and chase 30 Palestinian fishing boats (69 fishermen) off the n. Gaza coast to force them back to shore, seizing 3 boats, demanding that the 8 crew mbrs. of 1 boat strip naked and jump into the water, then detaining them and taking them to the Ashdod port. In the West Bank, the IDF lifts the closure on Khirbat Safa imposed on 4/2 and withdraws fr. the area, but reenters the vicinity later in the day after Jewish settlers fr. Bet Ayn fire toward the village, causing no injuries; fires on stone-throwing Palestinian youths nr. Jericho, wounding 1; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in ‘Askar r.c., Balata r.c., al-Fara‘a r.c., Nablus, Tulkarm, and nr. Hebron, Jenin, Ramallah. Israeli security forces demolish a Palestinian home in East Jerusalem. (OCHA 4/8; PCHR 4/9)

In the evening, Israeli security forces in East Jerusalem surround and violently beat a group of Palestinians holding a sit-in outside a Palestinian home confiscated by Jewish settlers on 4/3. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Khirbat Safa (see 4/4) and nr. Hebron. (OCHA 4/8; PCHR 4/9)

A 200-lb. car bomb malfunctions and fails to detonate outside a shopping mall in Haifa, preventing what would have been the 1st car bombing inside Israel since 2002; the car was stolen fr. East Jerusalem; a little-known Israeli Palestinian group called the Free Men of the Galilee claims responsibility, but Israel says it is not certain the claim is valid and is still investigating. Israeli security forces break up several Palestinian events in East Jerusalem (including dispersing a children’s march and popping balloons at a school, dispersing a folklore show at a children’s center) marking the Arab League’s designation of Jerusalem as the capital of Arab culture for 2009, saying the programs violate the ban on Palestinian political activity in the city (see 2/21). The Israeli government has also banned several events planned by the Israeli Palestinian comm. inside Israel to celebrate Jerusalem, including an oud performance and soccer match, claiming they were initiated by the PA to “meddle in Jerusalem.” The IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron, Jenin. (IFM, WP 3/22; WP 3/23; OCHA 3/24, 3/25; PCHR 3/26; Jerusalem Report 4/27)

With Israeli permission, Egypt allows Gazan university students with valid travel visas and other foreign passport holders to exit Gaza through the Rafah checkpoint; at least 600 of the 1,000 persons qualified leave the Strip. In the West Bank, the IDF makes a rare morning raid on a factory in Ramallah, questioning workers but making no arrests; takes up positions in Tulkarm at midday, randomly checking Palestinian IDs; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Bethlehem. In East Jerusalem, Israeli security forces forcibly remove a solidarity tent set up on the site of a Palestinian home demolished in 11/08. (WP 2/23; OCHA 2/24, 2/25; PCHR 2/26)

Some 400 Gazans protest on the Rafah border demanding that Egypt unilaterally open the crossing into Gaza. Egypt deploys 100s of additional police and border patrol officers along the Rafah border, fearing another breach, as occurred in 1/08 (see Quarterly Update in JPS 147). On the Rafah border, 5 Palestinians are killed, 3 are injured when a smuggling tunnel collapses. In the West Bank, the IDF raids and occupies a Palestinian home nr. Bethlehem as an observation post; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Jenin, Tulkarm. Israeli security forces raid a theater in East Jerusalem to prevent a Palestinian folklore troupe fr. performing as part of a series of events billed as celebrating the Arab League designation of Jerusalem as the capital of Arab culture for 2009), saying the program violates the ban on Palestinian political activity in the city. (WT 2/22; OCHA 2/24, 2/25; PCHR 2/26)

Unknown assailants fire a Katyusha rocket fr. s. Lebanon into n. Israel, lightly injuring 3 Israelis. A 2d rocket lands inside Lebanon, causing no damage or injuries. Israel files a formal complaint with the UN, demanding stepped-up UNIFIL and Lebanese government enforcement in s. Lebanon in keeping with UN Res. 1701’s provisions to halt arms smuggling into s. Lebanon and reiterating Israel’s right to self-defense. (WJW 2/26)