The Palestine Chronology

In the West Bank, Israeli settlers set up tents on land near Deir Sharaf. Israeli settlers also threw stones at Palestinian vehicles traveling near Duma, injuring 2 Palestinians and damaging a car. Elsewhere, Israeli settlers assaulted Palestinians with pepper spray near Jamma’in, injuring 1. Israeli forces uprooted 70 olive trees in Khallet al-Qutun near Tuqu’. Israeli forces also leveled land near Qaryut in preparation for settlement expansion. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces raided the home of 16 Palestinians who had previously been imprisoned by Israel, seizing cash, several vehicles, and jewelry, claiming that the Palestinians had received payments from the PA. (WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 6/26; PCHR 7/6; UNOCHA 7/8)

The Israeli military alleged that a rocket was launched from the Jenin area at Israel before exploding within the West Bank, causing neither damage nor injuries. (HA, JP, TOI 6/26)

An Israeli parole board denied an early release petition for Palestinian prisoner Walid Daqqa, who the Israeli prison service acknowledge is terminally ill with cancer. Daqqa, who has been imprisoned by Israel for 39 years, has already completed his original sentence but was sentenced to an additional 2 years for allegedly helping smuggling cellphones into prison. (WAFA 6/26; HA 6/27)

In Lebanon, 1 Israeli drone was shot down by Hezbollah militants near Zibqin. (AJ, ALM, AP, HA, REU 6/26)

The Israeli Higher Planning Council approved 5,700 settlement housing units and retroactively approved the Palegi Maim, HaYovel, and Nof Harim settlement outposts. 818 housing units received final validation including 359 in Elkana, 381 in Revava, 29 in Givat Ze’ev, 42 in Carmiel, and 7 in Hermesh. 4,915 housing units were approved for deposit, including 1,563 in Eli, 98 in Ariel, 714 in Givat Ze’ev, 340 in Ma ‘ale Adumim, 312 in Beitar Ilit, 310 in Adora, 264 in Etz Efraim, 152 in Ma ‘ale Amos, 78 in Asfar, and 754 in the 3 settlement outposts. Peace Now reported that more than 13,000 housing units had been approved in the first half of 2023. The French foreign ministry and the UN issued a statement condemning the settlement approval and the recent Israeli settler violence. The U.S. said it was “deeply troubled by Israel’s decision.” (HA 6/25; AJ, ALM, ALM, AP, BBC, HA, HA, PCN, REU, WAFA, WAFA 6/26; WAFA 6/27; UN 6/28; NYT 6/29)

The Palestinian Legislative Council in Gaza announced that it had filed a complaint against Israel with the ICC over the Israeli blockade of Gaza. (MDW 6/29)

Israeli public broadcaster Kan reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had told a Knesset committee that his government is ready to help the PA financially to prevent it from collapsing but that the Palestinian “ambitions for the establishment of a state must be eliminated.” (NA, QDS 6/26; MEMO 6/27; QDS 6/29)

The UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs counted 570 Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians and Palestinian property between 1 January and 26 June, raising the number of attacks counted by the UN from 71 in 2022 to 95 incidents in the first half of 2023. (HA 7/1)

The Taub Center for Israel Studies at New York University made available documents from the Israeli archives showing that the Israeli military poisoned Palestinian land around Aqraba in 1972 to ensure that Palestinians could not cultivate the land as Israel established the Gitit settlement on land confiscated from the town’s residents. The Israeli military estimated that they had caused property loss from the spraying of the land amounting to $25,000. (HA 6/23)

In the West Bank, Israeli settlers with military escort threw stones at Palestinians protesting settlement expansion west of Salfit; Israeli forces also beat several Palestinian protesters. Israeli forces delivered demolition notices for 3 Palestinian-owned homes in Ya‘bad and demolished 1 house in al-Khadir; 1 house under construction and 1 well near Halhul; and 2 shacks in Qalqilya. 13 Palestinians were arrested during late-night raids in and around Izzariya, Anata, Bethlehem, Ramallah, Jericho, and Jenin. In East Jerusalem, 1 Palestinian family started demolishing their own home in Jabal Mukabir to avoid paying exorbitant Israeli demolition fees; 6 people were displaced. In Gaza, Israeli forces made incursions to level agricultural lands east of al-Bureij. Israeli forces also opened fire on Palestinians near the Erez crossing; no injuries were reported. (WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 11/30; WAFA 12/1; PCHR 12/3)

PA and Israeli officials met to discuss the details of transferring the $756 million to the PA in taxes owed. (WAFA 11/30)

PA president Mahmoud Abbas met with Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo. According to WAFA, President al-Sisi confirmed Egypt’s support of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. (WAFA 11/30; WAFA 12/1)

A court in Israel rejected a lawsuit brought by 1 Palestinian-Israeli on behalf of his nephew and niece who have to travel outside the city of Carmiel to go to school as there are no Arabic-speaking schools in their city. The suit asked for the city to pay their expenses for traveling to the Arabic-speaking school, but the Israeli court dismissed the suit, citing the Jewish Nation-State Law saying the city’s Jewish character had to be preserved. The judge wrote in his ruling, “Carmiel, a Jewish city, was meant to establish Jewish settlement in the Galilee . . . Establishing an Arabic-language school . . . [and] funding school rides for Arab students . . . could change the demographic balance and damage the city’s character.” (Adalah, HA, HA 11/30)

Saudi Arabia allowed Israeli airlines to fly over their airspace for commercial flights 1 day before the 1st commercial flight between Israel and the UAE was set to happen. The flight was said to be at risk of being canceled; however, according to a U.S. official, U.S. special advisor to the president Jared Kushner and Saudi officials were able to “reconcile the issue.” Special Advisor Kushner is scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Qatar this week. (AJ, HA 11/30; MEE 12/1)

The EU donated $11.15 million to the PA to help pay for medical transfers to East Jerusalem hospitals. (WAFA 11/30)

In the evening, unidentified Palestinians fire a Qassam rocket fr. Gaza into Israel, damaging 2 houses but causing no injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in 2 villages nr. Ramallah in the morning, in Tulkarm in the afternoon, and in 2 villages nr. Jenin (firing stun grenades at stone-throwing Palestinians who confront them in 1 instance) and 1 nr. Qalqilya late at night. In the afternoon, the IDF raids and searches stores nr. Qalqilya and enters al-Zira village nr. Bethlehem in search of Palestinian youths who had stoned a patrol earlier (questioning youths at random, arresting 4). Late at night, the IDF patrols in Aqabat Jabir r.c. nr. Jericho, firing live ammunition, rubbercoated steel bullets, tear gas, and stun grenades at stone-throwing Palestinians who confront them, wounding 3 Palestinians with live ammunition (2 seriously); enters Jericho and 1 nearby village to serve 3 Palestinians with papers summoning them for questioning. The IDF also makes a late-night raid on and search of the Nablus-area home of a Palestinian released in the recent prisoner swap that freed IDF Cpl. Gilad Shalit, serving him with orders to appear for questioning; during the raid, a pregnant woman in the home complains of pain and is taken to the hospital, where she miscarries. Palestinians (sometimes accompanied by Israeli and international activists) hold weekly nonviolent demonstrations against the separation wall, land confiscations, and settlement expansion in Bil’in, Kafr Qaddum, Nabi Salih, and Ni’lin; demonstrations in Bil’in, Nabi Salih, and Ni’lin also call for solidarity with hungerstriking Islamic Jihad prisoner Khader Adnan. IDF soldiers fire live ammunition (Nabi Salih only), rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas, and stun grenades at the protesters; 3 Palestinian protesters, 1 Palestinian journalist, and 1 New York Times reporter are injured. Palestinians in Kafr al-Dik village nr. Salfit hold their first nonviolent protest against recent IDF actions in the nearby Dayr Sam’an archeological area that have been interpreted as preliminary steps to annex the area; IDF troops fire tear gas and percussion grenades to disperse them, causing no injuries. Jewish settlers fr. Carmiel settlement nr. Hebron escorted by IDF troops plant trees on 40 d. of nearby Palestinian agricultural land along a new settleronly bypass road. (JP 2/11; PCHR 2/16; OCHA 2/17)

Hamas’s Haniyeh arrives in Iran. Neither side discusses the visit, hoping to keep a low profile. Arab media reports (see NYT 2/11) say Hamas is resisting pressure fr. Iran to demonstrate support for Syria’s Asad. Gulf leaders urged Haniyeh against visiting Iran, but he demurred. (NYT 2/11)

In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron, Jenin. A Jewish settler fr. Carmiel opens fire on a Palestinian woman grazing sheep nr. the settlement, missing her; IDF police detain the woman and interrogate her at Kiryat Arba settlement before releasing her. (PCHR 12/30; OCHA 1/6)

In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Azariyya and Tulkarm, nr. Bethlehem and Jenin. Palestinians report that in the previous wk., the IDF continued bulldozing land to expand a settler-only bypass road to Carmiel (see 3/15). (PCHR 4/2; OCHA 4/8; PCHR 4/9)

The IDF opens a main checkpoint at Bayt Ibia nr. Nablus for the 1st time in 8 yrs., as a 1st step toward permanently relocating it (see 3/30 below). Unidentified gunmen fatally shoot 2 Israeli border policemen driving nr. Massu’a settlement in the Jordan Valley n. of Jericho, marking the 1st Israeli death in the West Bank since 4/25/08; Israel blames Palestinians, and individuals identifying themselves as mbrs. of the Imad Mughniyah Group, after the Hizballah military cmdr. assassinated in Damascus by unknown assailants in 2/08, later (3/16) claim responsibility. Jewish settler groups in the n. West Bank say Israel’s reckless removal of Palestinian checkpoints is to blame for the policemen’s deaths; the Israeli government denies any connection. The IDF conducts rare daytime arrest raids, house searches in Jalazun r.c.; patrols in Bayt Rima nr. Ramallah in the afternoon, firing on stone-throwing youths who confront them, wounding 4; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Tulkarm, and nr. Jenin, Ramallah. Palestinians in Umm Lasfa village southeast of Hebron report that in the past few days, the IDF has leveled 500 d. of village land to build 2 km of a new settler bypass road to Carmiel settlement; once completed, the IDF is expected to confiscate 1,000 d. of Palestinian land and displace 13 Palestinian families. (IFM 3/15; AFP, HA, NYT, WP 3/16; OCHA 3/17, 3/18; PCHR, WJW 3/19)

Another FGM boat (see 8/23) carrying 27 international activists defies Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza, sails into a Gaza port delivering humanitarian supplies; Israeli naval vessels do not challenge the boat. In the West Bank, IDF troops operating in Yamun village nr. Jenin before dawn fatally shoot a 67-yr.-old Palestinian shepherd who fired a rifle at the patrol fearing they were rustlers; demolish 6 structures in the bedouin village of Umm al-Khayr nr. Carmiel settlement s. of Hebron, displacing 45 Palestinians, including a 1-wk.-old baby; conduct late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Jenin town and r.c., in Nablus, and nr. Bethlehem and Hebron. Israel’s High Court orders Jewish settlers to vacate the illegal outpost of Beit Shalom, in the al-Rajabi building in Hebron, within 24 hrs. or face eviction (at the end of the quarter, however, the settlers have not been forced to leave). Israel’s High Court also gives approval for the demolition of the historic Ma’man Allah Muslim cemetery (4,000 tombs) in West Jerusalem for construction of the Center for Human Dignity–Museum of Tolerance, designed by Frank Gehry. (NYT, PCHR, WP 10/30; OCHA 11/5; PCHR 11/6; OCHA 11/19s)

Olmert convenes his security cabinet, which declares Gaza “hostile territory” controlled by a “terrorist organization” (Hamas); imposes additional sanctions on Gaza with the stated aim of reducing Palestinian rocket fire, including cutting back fuel and electricity services to the Strip, further reducing imports to and travel from Gaza. Early in the morning, the IDF sends troops into al-Shuka to raid and search homes. The IDF also makes an air strike on a PRCtraining camp e. of Bayt Lahiya, causing no injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF continues operations in ‘Ayn Bayt al-Ma’a for a 2d day, raiding and searching homes, fatally shooting a mentally handicapped Palestinian who steps onto his balcony, firing on stone-throwing youths who confront the troops, wounding 8; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Tulkarm and in Jenin, Qalqilya, Ramallah. Jewish settlers fr. Karmiel settlement nr. Hebron vandalize a nearby, fenced-in crop area planted by local bedouin to feed their herds.Suspected Fatah mbrs. fire on an ESF patrol nr. Shati’ r.c. in Gaza, injuring 2 ESF officers. Nr. Gaza City, the ESF intervenes to prevent a group of Islamic Jihad mbrs. fr. firing rockets into Israel, sparking an exchange of gunfire that leaves no reported injuries. In Rafah, unidentified gunmen shoot, wound a Hamas mbr. (IFM 9/19; NYT, PCHR, WP, WT 9/20; NYT 9/22; IFM 9/24; OCHA 9/26; PCHR 9/27)

In Beirut, unidentified assailants detonate a car bomb assassinating Christian Phalange party MP Antoine Ghanem (the 8th anti-Syrian figure killed in the past 3 yrs.), reducing the governing coalition’s parliamentary majority to 67 of 128 seats only 6 days before parliament is to convene to elect a new pres. by simple majority. Ghanem’s bodyguard and 5 bystanders are also killed; 56 are wounded (19 seriously). (REU 9/19; NYT, WP, WT 9/20; NYT, WT 9/21)

IDF troops on the n. Gaza border nr. Bayt Hanun shoot, wound 2 Palestinians who stray nr. the border fence while trapping birds. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in Qalqilya, nr. Jenin; begins construction of a new fence around Karmi’el, Ma’on settlements nr. Hebron that will confiscate around 1,000 d. of Palestinian land to create territorial unity btwn. the 2 settlements. In Gaza City, Hamas-Fatah violence continues for a 6th day, leaving an ESF officer, 3 Hamas mbrs. dead, and 8 ESF mbrs. injured; among the incidents, a bomb explodes outside the home of a Dahlan bodyguard (causing no injuries), Hamas mbrs. fire mortars and antitank rounds at the Fatah-controlled PA police headquarters. Other clashes are reported in and around Khan Yunis, nr. Jabaliya, and in Bayt Hanun. Several Palestinians are also kidnapped during the day in Hamas-Fatah rivalries: Fatah’s Brig. Gen. Sayyid Shaban, head of the PA National Security Forces in central Gaza (quickly released); senior Hamas cmdr. Ashraf Firwana; 2 teenage children of a Fatah col.; a senior Fatah official; a Fatah municipal official. A Fatah mbr. dies of injuries received in the latest round of intra-Palestinian fighting. Fighting also spreads to Nablus, where Fatah mbrs. kidnap, quickly release several Hamas mbrs. In Jabaliya r.c., PFLP mbrs., Islamist parties hold a sit-in to protest the ongoing Palestinian violence. In Ramallah, AMB mbrs. kidnap, kill an alleged Palestinian collaborator with Israel. (MM, NYT, WP, WT 1/29; OCHA 1/31; PCHR 2/1; AIC 2/13)

In the West Bank, the IDF sends undercover units into Azun in a car with Palestinian license plates, surrounds a home, arrests 1 PSF mbr. who surrenders; conducts random ID checks in, fires on residential areas of Kafr Dan nr. Jenin; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Jenin and Nablus, in Dahaysha r.c., nr. Bethlehem, Hebron; burns 70 d. of agricultural land btwn. the separation wall and the Green Line nr. Tulkarm (see 8/5). In Ramallah, 7 Palestinians working in the PC building are taken to the hospital with breathing difficulties after opening a suspicious letter addressed to PM Haniyeh; the building is evacuated. The PA head of military intelligence for n. Gaza dies of injuries received in an ambush in Jabaliya r.c. on 8/6; no group claims responsibility. (AP 8/7; WP 8/8; OCHA 8/9; PCHR 8/10)

Overnight, the IDF destroys the last remaining bridge over the Litani River linking n. and s. Lebanon; this cuts off access to Tyre. The IDF announces a 10:00 P.M. curfew on Tyre, saying that any movement there after dark and any vehicular traffic s. of the Litani River at any time will henceforth be considered Hizballah activity and a legitimate target. As UN mbrs. narrow differences on a cease-fire res., Olmert’s security cabinet discusses speeding up the IDF’s advance to the Litani River, escalating attacks on Lebanon’s civilian infrastructure. During the day, the IDF continues heavy air, artillery strikes on some 150 targets across Lebanon, hitting s. Beirut (including 47 killed, 70 wounded in the Christian-Shi‘i suburb of al-Shiyah, where Shi‘a are pro-Amal), the Biqa‘ Valley (including Baalbek, Masnaa), in and around Nabatiyya (including 7 civilians killed in air strikes on cars traveling in Qasmiyya; 15 killed, 20 wounded in an air strike on an apartment building in Ghaziyya), and across s. Lebanon (including demolishing a 4-building apartment complex in Tyre), killing at least 69 Lebanese civilians; continues ground operations across s. Lebanon that leave 3 IDF soldiers dead, 7 wounded in Bint Jubayl and include heavy fighting in Hula (the IDF claims to kill at least 15 Hizballah mbrs.); downs an unmanned Hizballah drone off the s. Lebanon coast. Hizballah fires 130 rockets into n. Israel, injuring 10 Israelis, hitting targets in Acre, Carmiel, Kiryat Shimona (70 rockets), Ma’alot, Nahariya, Safad. The ICRC says that the IDF has barred humanitarian aid missions to the south for 3 days. (BBC, NYT, WP 8/7; BBC, NYT, WP, WT 8/8; WP, WT 8/9; WP 8/10)

In Gaza, the IDF closes the Nahal Oz pipeline; shells areas nr. Gaza City, killing at least 1 Palestinian militant, 1 Palestinian farmer working in her field; shells areas nr. Bayt Hanun (killing 1 Palestinian child outside his home, wounding 5 Palestinians), in al-Shuka; makes air strikes destroying 3 houses nr. Bayt Lahiya (killing 1 Palestinian bystander), in Bayt Hanun, Khan Yunis (also destroying 2 adjacent homes). In Jerusalem, a Palestinian gunman fires on Israeli police, wounding 2 before being shot dead. In the West Bank, the IDF sends undercover units into Jenin r.c. in cars with Palestinian license plates, surrounds a home, opens fire (wounding a Palestinian bystander in an apartment building nearby), occupying several surrounding houses as sniper positions, evacuates and checks IDs of residents, arrests 1 Palestinian, fires on stone-throwing Palestinians who confront the troops, wounding 8 Palestinians (including 2 journalists covering the incident for al-Jazeera, Reuters); patrols in al-Bireh; begins construction of a new segment of the separation wall in Bayt Jala that will cut Palestinians off fr. 5,000 d. of agricultural land and cut off the access of Battir and Husan Nahalin villages to Bethlehem. The body of a Jewish settler fr. Yakir missing since early in the morning is found in a burnt-out vehicle nr. a West Bank Palestinian village; the AMB takes responsibility for kidnapping, killing him. In Israel, Israeli police free dual Israeli-Canadian citizen Falah after a Haifa District Court orders the police and/or Shin Bet to file formal charges against him or let him go (see 7/26). A Palestinian wounded during the 7/26 IDF raid on Kafr Qadim dies. A 2d Palestinian dies of injuries received during IDF operations in Nablus on 7/19. (OCHA 7/27; NYT 7/28; NYT 7/29; PCHR 8/3)

Israel’s security cabinet approves call-ups for up to 3 divisions of reservists (15,000–30,000 reserves) for the war on Lebanon. The IDF makes some 180 air and artillery strikes on targets across Lebanon, including hitting radio and TV relays in Amshit n. of Beirut, 3 trucks in the Biqa‘ Valley carrying emergency food supplies to Beirut. Ground clashes continue in Bint Jubayl, 2 residential apartment buildings nr. an Amal headquarters in Tyre; a Lebanese army base in n. Lebanon; roads, buildings in s. Lebanon and the Biqa‘ Valley, including al-Khiyam, Kafr, Nabatiyya, Sidon, Tuffah, Riyaq, Zahleh. The IDF broadcasts radio warnings to s. Lebanon residents that their villages would be “totally destroyed” if rockets are fired fr. them. Hizballah fires some 110 rockets into n. Israel, wounding 7 Israelis and hitting an empty factory in Haifa, also hitting sites in Carmiel, Nahariya Safad, Tiberias. (IFM 7/27; NYT, WP, WT 7/28)

The IDF expands Operation Summer Rains overnight, sending 50 tanks, troops back into n. Gaza in and around Gaza City, engaging in intense clashes with and conducting air strikes on Palestinian gunmen, leaving at least 7 Hamas mbrs., 5 Islamic Jihad mbrs., 9 civilians dead, at least 57 Palestinians wounded, bulldozing wide tracts of land. In at least 3 incidents in Jabaliya r.c., the IDF phones Hamas mbrs. warning them to evacuate their houses, then conducts air strikes destroying the homes. The IDF also closes the Qarni crossing. Palestinians fire 13 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, lightly injuring 1 Israeli in Sederot. In the West Bank, the IDF sends undercover units in a car with Palestinian license plates into Kafr Qadim nr. Qalqilya, surrounds a home, evacuates and checks residents, demolishes the home, arrests 1 Palestinian, injures 1; bars a Palestinian heart attack victim fr. crossing a checkpoint to reach a Qalqilya hospital, allowing him to die; patrols, searches cars in Yatta nr. Hebron; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron, and in al-Fara‘a r.c. nr. Jenin, Nablus. In Rafah, a Palestinian is killed in an exchange of fire btwn. PA security forces, armed Palestinians. Israeli security sources reveal that Israeli-Canadian citizen Falah, arrested on 7/8 and held without access to a lawyer, was detained for photographing a military antenna nr. Ras al-Naqura, alleging that he was sent “to photograph and report where rockets have landed in Israel,” noting that he visited Beirut, Tehran within the last 2 yrs.; Falah, who was arrested before Hizballah’s 7/12 cross-border raid and the firing of rockets into Israel, said the photos were for academic purposes, he did not know the antenna was military, and his trips to Lebanon, Iran were public knowledge. (REU, NYT, WP 7/26; NYT, WP, WT 7/26; PCHR 7/27; OCHA 8/2; PCHR 8/3)

The IDF faces intense fighting in s. Lebanon, where some 100 Hizballah mbrs. ambush an elite IDF Golani Brigade unit in Bint Jubayl, pinning them down for 1 hr. under a heavy barrage of mortars, antitank rounds, RPGs, and small-arms fire before they could return fire, killing 8 IDF soldiers, wounding at least 22; the IDF estimates that it killed around 20 Hizballah mbrs. A 9th IDF soldier is killed, 5 are wounded by antitank fire in clashes nr. Maroun al-Ras. Meanwhile, the IDF continues air strikes nr. Beirut and in s. Lebanon, including hitting an Amal command center and the Hizballah headquarters in Tyre. In Anjar nr. the Syrian border, a truck carrying emergency food, medical supplies donated by the UAE (see 7/18) is hit, killing the Syrian driver. Hizballah fires around 150 rockets into Israel, striking Carmiel, Haifa, Jish, Safad, Tiberias. Israel allows 2 Jordanian military transports carrying humanitarian aid to land at Beirut airport, though it still will not provide safety guarantees for trucks transporting the supplies southward on the coastal highway or across the border fr. Syria, where relief goods for 20,000 people have been stockpiled. The UN moves 5 convoys of supplies (containing wheat, soap, diapers, water purification tablets, medical kits) to the south on 5 routes approved for one-time use by the IDF. (NYT, WP, WT 7/27)

Israel announces that it has arrested 3 PFLP mbrs. for allegedly plotting to assassinate Shas party leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef. The IDF orders 27 bedouin to evacuate 3 sites nr. Tubas. Israel also opens bidding on 50 plots of land in Elkana settlement nr. Nablus for construction of new homes. The IDF issues military orders for the demolition of 3 Palestinian homes, 10 wells, 6 sewage systems outside Yatta for expansion of Carmiel settlement; resumes construction on a segment of the separation wall n. of Jerusalem; starts construction of a settler bypass road linking Neve Yaqub settlement to others around Jerusalem; raids Dayr al-Balah for a 2d day, arrests 3 Palestinians who allegedly attempted to sneak into Israel to find work; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Askar r.c. nr. Nablus, Silwad nr. Ramallah. Jewish settlers set up 2 new unauthorized outposts nr. Elon Moreh settlement nr. Nablus, nr. Hebron. A Jewish settler injures a 12-yr.-old Palestinian child in a hit-and-run nr. Bethlehem. Palestinians fire on IDF soldiers outside Neve Dekalim settlement, lightly wounding 1. In Jenin, 10s of AMB mbrs. take over a main intersection, close down a government building, demanding that the PA provide jobs to unemployed militants, fmr. prisoners, relatives of Palestinians killed by the IDF. Palestinian teachers open a 2-day strike to protest PC inactivity in amending the civil service law to increase teacher salaries (see 4/6). (NYT 4/18; MM 4/19; OCHA, PR 4/20; PCHR 4/21)

Overnight, the IDF destroys the educational studies campus of Gaza City’s al-Aqsa University, blowing up 2 buildings and bulldozing the 5.5 dunam campus, 30 dunams of surrounding agricultural land. During the day, IDF helicopters fire missiles at the home ofIslamic Jihad leader Muhammad al-Hindi in Gaza City, missing him but assassinating Islamic Jihad mbrs. Nassir Yasin and Husni Sarafiti, wounding at least 7 bystanders. IDF helicopters also fire missiles at the Rafah home of PRC leader Faraj Abu Jarrar, assassinating him, killing fellow PRC mbr. Mahmud Abu Nahal, wounding at least 6. The IDF also demolishes a Palestinian home nr. Nablus, 1 nr. Ramallah, 1 in Tulkarm r.c.; conducts arrest raids, house searches in al-Bireh, Hebron, Jenin, al-Maghazi, Ramallah. Jewish settlers fr. Carmiel nr. Hebron, accompanied by IDF soldiers, bulldoze more than 10 dunams of nearby Yatta agricultural land. Jewish settlers fr. Mafdal Oz nr. Hebron seize, raze 13 dunams of nearby Palestinian agricultural land; Jewish settlers fr. Itamar nr. Nablus beat, threaten to kill a Palestinian fr. nearby Awarta village. Late in the evening, large formations of IDF armored vehicles gather outside the main entry points to the Gaza Strip in apparent preparation for a major incursion; Israeli security officials say that Sharon has authorized the IDF and Shin Bet to “act without limitations against top figures from all terror organizations.” (HA, MM, PCHR 3/16; PSCT, VOP 3/16 in WNC 3/18; HA, NYT, PR, REU, WP 3/17; NYT, PCHR, WP 3/18; PR 3/24)