The Palestine Chronology

IDF troops supported by helicopters continue arrest raids, house searches in villages around Jenin. Late in the evening, the IDF launches additional raids in al-Fara‘a r.c., villages nr. Bethlehem. An IDF soldier wounded in Jenin on 11/1 dies. Hamas says that in light of the 11/1 Abu Qara assassination, it will not renew the unilateral truce with Israel when it expires at the end of 2005. (HA, JTA, REU, YA 11/2; WP 11/3; PCHR 11/10)

Islamic Jihad announces that it will halt all rocket attacks fr. n. Gaza if Israel pledges to cease targeting its mbrs. Hrs. later, the IDF raids a house in Qabatya, assassinating Islamic Jihad mbrs. Jihad Zakarna and Arshad Abu Zayd, also wounding at least 7 bystanders; Islamic Jihad retaliates by firing at least 2 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. The IDF also sets up 2 new artillery positions outside n. and s. Gaza to deter rocket fire; opens the Rafah checkpoint for several hrs. to allow Palestinians making the hajj to leave for Saudi Arabia. Shin Bet reports that it has detained 3 PRC “rocket engineers” in the Negev on their way fr. Gaza to the West Bank. In Ramallah, PA police fire in the air to disperse 60 Islamic Jihad mbrs. protesting outside Abbas’s residence against the PA’s arrest of 4 fellow mbrs. earlier in the wk. Jewish settlers fr. Elon Moreh severely beat a 73-yr.-old Palestinian man walking nr. the settlement. (AFP, HA, IMEMC, XIN, YA 10/30; HA, NYT, WP 10/31; PCHR 11/10)

Overnight, the IDF deploys an artillery battery outside the s. Gaza Strip (since Operation First Rain, artillery has been positioned in Nahal Oz, outside the n. Gaza); begins massing troops in the Gaza border in case the Israeli cabinet calls for ground operations; conducts arrest raids, house searches in the n. West Bank targeting mostly Islamic Jihad mbrs. During the day, the IDF begins erecting a massive new checkpoint (the Zaatara checkpoint) s. of Nablus at Tapuach Junction that will sever the Nablus and Jenin districts from the rest of the West Bank, creating a northern West Bank canton; the crossing, which is similar to the Qalandia checkpoint that Israel has said will be treated as an international crossing, was approved by the IDF Central Command 9 mos. ago and should begin operation in 2 mos. An IDF drone fires on a car in n. Gaza that launched rockets toward Sederot (causing no damage), killing AMB mbr. Majid Nattat. Soon after, Palestinians fire another 2 rockets and a mortar toward Sederot, and the IDF carries out 2 air strikes on 2 roads leading to Bayt Lahiya; no injuries are reported in the exchange. Later, the IDF carries out another 3 air strikes on n. Gaza, causing no reported injuries; fires stun grenades to disperse Palestinians hoping to cross the al-Ram checkpoint into Jerusalem to mark the final Friday of Ramadan at al-Aqsa mosque. Late in the evening, the IDF launches F-16 air strikes on uninhabited areas of n. Gaza; patrols, shoots out street lights in Nablus; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Hebron. Palestinians then fire an antitank rocket at the Erez crossing, causing no damage or injuries. Meanwhile, 10,000s of Palestinians attend the Gaza funerals of the 7 Palestinians killed in the 10/28 Muhanna assassination; AMB, Hamas, Islamic Jihad hold massive armed marches, firing automatic weapons in the air in violation of their agmt. with the PA not to carry or use weapons in public. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba, escorted by IDF soldiers, severely beat 2 Palestinians in Hebron. Separately, Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba vandalize several Palestinian homes in Hebron. Jewish settlers fr. Ramat Yishai violently beat 2 Palestinian teenagers in Hebron; the IDF intervenes and detains 1 Palestinian. Mofaz orders the eviction of 15 Jewish settler families living in the unauthorized enclave of Amona in Hebron. (AP, CSM, HA, IDF Radio, IMEMC, REU, YA 10/28; NYT, WP, WT 10/29; HA, IMEMC 10/30; OCHA 10/31; PCHR 11/10)

Early in the morning, Palestinians fire 2 rockets fr. Bayt Hanun into Israel, causing no damage or injuries; IDF artillery responds, shelling a road and an open field n. Gaza where Palestinians have launched rockets, causing no injuries. Despite the exchange, the IDF partially reopens the Erez and Qarni crossings. In the afternoon, an Islamic Jihad suicide bomber retaliating for the 10/24 Saadi assassination detonates a bomb in an open-air market in Hadera, killing 5 Israelis, wounding 6 seriously, 14 moderately. Palestinians also fire another rocket at the Negev (no damage or injuries), a mortar at an IDF post on the s. Gaza border (no damage or injuries). Israel immediately cancels a planned mtg. btwn. Israeli, PA cabinet mbrs.; Sharon says he will not meet with Abbas until he takes “serious action” against militants. Late in the evening, the Israeli cabinet approves Operation Starting All Over Again—a “broad and nonstop” offensive (including assassinations) against “terrorism” in the West Bank and Gaza that will continue until “terrorism” ends; says there are no plans for a ground offensive into Gaza at present, but restrictions on Palestinian movement across the West Bank will be tightened, diplomatic offensives will be raised to pressure Syria over its hosting of Islamic Jihad in Damascus. Meanwhile, right-wing Jewish settler youths occupy abandoned buildings nr. Elon Moreh, Keddumim settlements and site on Worshippers Way in Hebron, declaring new unauthorized outposts. (HA, WP, YA 10/26; HA, NYT, PCHR, WP, WT, YA 10/27; HA 10/28; IMEMC 10/31; PCHR 11/10)

Overnight, the IDF raids, imposes a curfew on Nur al-Shams r.c. and Tulkarm, fatally shoots Islamic Jihad West Bank military cmdr. Luay Saadi, Islamic Jihad mbr. Majid Askar in an apparent assassination; hrs. later, Islamic Jihad fires 5 rockets fr. Gaza into s. Israel, causing no damage or injuries. The IDF responds with air and artillery strikes on open areas used for rocket launches in n. Gaza, causing no injuries; shelling fr. naval vessels at PA security forces sites in n. Gaza, causing no damage or injuries; ongoing mock air raids over Gaza, breaking the sound barrier to harass the population; closure of the Erez, Qarni crossings. During the day, the IDF also demolishes 2 stores nr. Jenin, claiming that they “could be used” to manufacture explosives; conducts arrest raids, house searches around Hebron for a 3d night, as well as nr. Jenin. A Palestinian gunman fires on an IDF post nr. Halamish settlement nr. Ramallah, causing no damage or injuries; the IDF returns heavy fire, killing a Palestinian bystander standing outside his home in neighboring Nabi Salih. (NYT, WP, WT 10/25; HA 10/25; PCHR 10/27)

Israel says it is weighing a plan to bar private Palestinian vehicles fr. using all main roads in the West Bank “to protect Israeli motorists from roadside shootings,” drastically to expand the system of settler-only bypass roads and bridges to completely separate Palestinian and Israeli transportation networks within 2 yrs., and to bar all Palestinian workers’ entry into Israel within 3 yrs. The IDF sends troops backed by tanks, armored personnel carriers into Jenin town and r.c. to conduct arrest raids, house searches; also conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron. Jewish settlers fr. Ma’on vandalizes Palestinian homes in Yatta. (AFP, HA, IMEMC, REU 10/19; HA, NYT, PCHR, WT 10/20; HA 10/24; PCHR 10/27)

The IDF reopens Qarni crossing (closed 9/24) for transportation of goods btwn. Gaza and Israel (allowing around 40–50 trucks/day exporting goods fr. Gaza and 250 trucks/day importing goods fr. Israel, the West Bank); fatally shoots a Palestinian gunman in Nablus; fatally shoots 3 Palestinians nr. Dayr al-Balah who attempt to sneak into Israel fr. Gaza to look for work; raids, imposes a curfew on Bayta nr. Nablus, surrounds a mosque, orders worshipers to leave; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron and in al-‘Aza r.c., al-Khadir. (IDF press release, IMEMC 10/9; NYT, PCHR, WP, XIN 10/10; PCHR 10/13, 10/20)

The IDF officially “suspends” Operation First Rain, which began on 9/24, to “see if the Palestinian Authority is willing and capable of taking advantage of the new situation.” PA security forces clash with Hamas mbrs. in Gaza City, with violence spreading to Shati‘ r.c., leaving 1 PA police officer, 2 Palestinian bystanders dead, at least 50 Palestinians wounded over several hrs. in the first intra-Palestinian fighting in Gaza since the Israeli withdrawal, sparked when PA security forces allegedly tried to arrest Muhammad Rantisi, Hamas activist and son of assassinated Hamas leader ‘Abd al- ‘Aziz Rantisi; during the clashes Hamas mbrs. fire RPGs at 2 PA police stations, PA police run out of ammunition. Separately, shots are fired at the Gaza City home of Hamas political leader Mahmud Zahhar, causing damage but no injuries. Late in the evening, the IDF launches arrest raids, house searches nr. Tulkarm and in and around Bethlehem, Hebron. Israeli border police report that over the previous 2 days they have arrested 1,200 Palestinians in Jerusalem for failing to have travel or work permits. (AFP, IMEMC, YA 10/2; REU, UPI, WP, WT 10/3; HA, REU, WT, XIN 10/4; PCHR 10/6; DS 10/8; MEI 10/12)

The Israeli FMin. adopts a new “national image management” strategy to improve Israel’s image abroad, “rebranding” it as “cool,” “hip,” “relevant and modern,” by downplaying religion and “avoiding any discussion of the conflict with the Palestinians.” (Forward 10/14)

Overnight, IDF helicopters fire missiles at a Fatah office and a PA security forces building in Gaza City, a PFLP office in Bureij r.c., a bridge in Bayt Hanun, several open fields and empty buildings in n. Gaza; the predawn air strikes on Gaza City cut electricity. In the West Bank, the IDF makes coordinated raids on at least 8 Islamic charitable institutions in and around Hebron and in Bethlehem, Qalqilya, Tulkarm, sealing the offices and confiscating computers, files, and office equipment. The IDF says that it is prepared to bombard civilian areas of Gaza if rocket fire does not cease. The PA denounces Israel for detaining at least 30 Hamas campaign officials and 17 candidates in upcoming municipal and legislative elections during the past wk. of arrest raids; Israel says it has detained 415 Palestinians since 9/23, including some 250 Hamas mbrs. Hamas affirms responsibility for the killing of an Israeli kidnapped on 9/21 and found nr. Ramallah on 9/26, claims that he was a Shin Bet officer. (AFP, AP, JAZ, WP 9/28; NYT, PCHR, WP, WT 9/29; WT 10/2; PCHR 10/6; MEI 10/12)

Overnight, the IDF conducts more arrest raids across the West Bank; fires missiles fr. F-16s at the Gaza Strip, destroying a bridge in Bayt Hanun allegedly used by Palestinians firing rockets, a money changer’s office linked to Hamas, and an office building used by Fatah in Khan Yunis, causing no injuries. During the day, Palestinians fire several rockets or mortars toward Sederot, 1 of which lands inside the city, causing no damage or injuries; soon after, an IDF F-16 fires a missile nr. a housing project in Bayt Hanun, causing no damage or injuries; IDF artillery shells an open area in Bayt Hanun, causing no injuries. Mofaz warns that Hamas leaders Ismail Haniyya, Mahmud Zahhar could be targeted for assassination if there are further rocket strikes fr. Gaza; says Israel will continue striking Gaza until there is “a new reality there.” Islamic Jihad vows retaliation for the 9/25 assassination of its military cmdr. Khalil, but later, along with Hamas and the rest of the factions represented in the NIHC, reaffirms commitment to the unilateral truce agreed to by the Palestinian factions in 2/05. PA Interior M Nasr Yusuf gives orders for the PA security forces to “arrest any armed Palestinian not in uniform.” (HA, NYT, REU, WT 9/27; BBC, IMEMC, NYT, PCHR, WP 9/28; PCHR 9/29; MEI 10/12)

Israel says that Operation First Rain will continue despite Hamas’s 9/25 pledge to halt rocket fire and nearly 48 hrs. of Palestinian quiet. Overnight, the IDF continues major arrest sweeps across the West Bank. Before dawn, the IDF launches multiple missile strikes in Bayt Hanun, Gaza City, Khan Yunis against alleged weapons factories run by the AMB, Hamas, PFLP and in Rafah against the home of PFLP mbr. Hisham ‘Abid Rabbuh in what may be an assassination attempt, injuring 2 Palestinians (including his wife). Palestinians fire 1 mortar fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. Jewish settlers in Hebron attack, beat an Israeli Palestinian and Jewish film crew recording a documentary on human rights abuses by settlers. The IDF reports that it has found outside Ramallah the body of a Jewish settler reportedly kidnapped in the city on 9/21, has arrested a Hamas mbr. in connection. (AFP, IMEMC, NYT, YA 9/26; HA, NYT, WT 9/27; REU 9/28; MEI, PCHR 9/29)

Sharon narrowly survives a challenge to his party leadership by Netanyahu when the Likud Central Comm. votes down (52%–48%, with 90% of the 3,000 mbrs. voting) a measure to hold early party primaries in 11/05, 6 mos. ahead of schedule. (NYT, WP, WT 9/27)

Overnight, the IDF conducts air strikes on the home of PRC mbr. ‘Amr Qarmut in Jabaliya r.c. in what may be an assassination attempt (causing damage but no injuries), a Hamas-run school in Gaza City (injuring 23 Palestinians), and a cultural center in Bayt Hanun run by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), causing damage but no injuries; arrests 207 Palestinians (mostly Hamas and Islamic Jihad mbrs., including Hamas political leaders Shaykh Hasan Yusuf and Muhammad Ghazzal) in the largest raids across the West Bank since 2/05. During the day, Sharon says that he has given the IDF “free rein” to act against Palestinians firing rockets. The IDF continues to mass troops on the n. Gaza border, breaks the sound barrier over Gaza roughly every 2 hrs., fires artillery shells fr. Nahal Oz into open areas nr. Bayt Hanun as a warning to Palestinians (marking Israel’s 1st shelling of Gaza since 1967); fires missiles fr. F-16s at a car s. of Gaza City, assassinating senior Islamic Jihad leader Muhammad Shaykh Khalil, Islamic Jihad mbr. Nassir Barhum, wounding 4 bystanders. In the evening, Hamas agrees to stop rocket attacks immediately. Later, an IDF helicopter gunship strikes 3 targets in Khan Yunis, including the homes of senior AMB mbrs. Ziyad Abu Hayya and Mahir al-Farra in what may be assassination attempts, causing heavy damage, injuring 17 Palestinians; the IDF says it is targeting AMB arms storage facilities. A 12-yr.-old Palestinian wounded in the 9/23 Jabaliya explosion dies, bringing that toll to at least 16. (AFP, AP, HA, IMEMC, JAZ, WP, WT, XIN, YA 9/25; CSM, HA, IMEMC, JP, NYT, WP, WT 9/26; HA 9/27; AFP, DS, MEI, PCHR 9/29)

Today’s Independent (9/25) reports that a new book by 2 prominent Israeli journalists, Ofer Shelah and Raviv Druker, states that “at a conference of officers as early as May 2001, Shaul Mofaz, now defense minister and then chief of staff, asked for the tape to be switched off before telling them that he wanted a ‘price’ exacted from the Palestinians of 10 killed a day on each of the army’s seven fronts.” The book also reports that after 6 IDF soldiers were killed in an ambush in 3/02, “Mofaz personally ordered a revenge operation in which for the first time [sic—see “Overview of Israeli Military Operations,” Resource File Doc. A, JPS 134] Palestinian police officers would be shot, whether they posed a threat or not.” (Independent 9/25)

Before dawn, Islamic Jihad and Hamas fire more than 30 rockets fr. Gaza at Sederot and the Negev, 3 of which lightly wound 3 Israeli security guards, 2 civilians. Early in the morning, the IDF fires missiles fr. helicopters at warehouses and an alleged weapons factory in Gaza City and Jabaliya r.c., marking Israel’s 1st military operations against Gaza since disengagement; orders the Rafah crossing shut, saying it will allow humanitarian aid only into Gaza through the Sufa crossing; fires missiles fr. naval vessels at Palestinian fishermen who attempt to go out to sea; drops leaflets on Gaza warning of harsh retaliation against further rocket fire; warns the PA that it is responsible for preventing attacks fr. Gaza. Abbas meets with Hamas officials in Gaza, secures their pledge to halt all armed demonstrations. Hrs. later, IDF aircraft fire 5 missiles at 2 cars in n. Gaza, assassinating 2 Hamas mbrs. (Nafiz Abu Hassanian, Rawad Farhat); 2 other Hamas mbrs. may have been targeted but escape. During the day, IDF fighter jets bomb open areas along the n. Gaza border used by Palestinians to launch rockets, while tanks, artillery, infantry gather along the n. Gaza border in preparation for a major operation. Meanwhile, the IDF seals the West Bank, fires on Palestinians waiting to cross a checkpoint outside Nablus, wounding 3 (1 seriously); conducts patrols in Jama‘in village nr. Nablus; raids 20 houses in Hebron, interrogating and photographing residents. In the evening, Sharon convenes his security cabinet, which approves an “all-out continuous offensive” called Operation First Rain, using artillery, air strikes, assassinations in Gaza, saying that if Palestinian violence continues after several days, the full cabinet will convene to consider sending infantry back into the Strip. (JP, REU, WP, YA 9/24; AP, HA, IMEMC, JAZ, NYT, WP, WT, XIN, YA 9/25; MEI, PCHR 9/29; IDF press release 10/9)

Overnight, the IDF assassinates 3 Islamic Jihad mbrs. (Ra’id ‘Ajaj, Said alAshqar, Jamil Ja’ara) in a raid on Tulkarm. In the afternoon, Islamic Jihad fires at least 13 rockets at Sederot, the Negev in retaliation, causing no damage or injuries. At a heavily armed Hamas rally in Jabaliya r.c., a Qassam rocket paraded on a truck accidentally explodes in a crowd of 1,000s, killing at least 15 Palestinians (and perhaps as many as 21), wounding at least 100. Hamas accuses the IDF of firing missiles at the truck fr. a drone, but Israel denies this, the PA discounts it, the Fatah Central Comm. issues a statement holding Hamas responsible, and most Palestinians see it as an accident. Israel allows the PA to reopen the Rafah crossing for 48 hrs. to allow the passage of Palestinians with special needs, marking the 1st time the PA has processed travelers crossing an international border. (REU 9/23; NYT, WP, WT 9/24; WP 9/25; CSM 9/26; MEI, PCHR 9/29; DS 10/8)

Israel’s Interior M Ophir Pines-Paz signs an order declaring Gaza foreign territory and the 4 Israeli checkpoints leading into the Strip international crossings; Israelis and foreign nationals will henceforth have to use passports to cross. The IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in Aida r.c., nr. Hebron. A Jewish settler fr. Pisgat Ze’ev in Jerusalem is reportedly kidnapped in Ramallah, where he has business dealings. (HA, JT, REU 9/23; YA 9/26; NYT 9/27; PCHR 9/29)

The IDF bulldozes Palestinian land n. of Bayt Hanun, some 200 m. inside Gaza, as part of a plan (drafted before disengagement) to create a buffer zone controlled by the IDF along the n. Gaza border. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in, fires on residential areas of Nablus; imposes a curfew on Budrus nr. Ramallah, patrolling streets, searching homes. Jewish settlers fr. Ramat Yishai throw stones, bottles, rotten vegetables at Palestinian homes in Hebron. In Gaza City, 10,000 Hamas supporters attend a military-style victory parade celebrating disengagement, displaying RPGs, rockets, assault rifles. Also in Gaza City, PA security forces and Hamas mbr. intervene to stop the kidnapping of 1 American, 1 Palestinian journalist by unknown militants. (JP, REU 9/18; AP, XIN 9/19; PCHR 9/22; HA 9/25)

A 5-day summit on Israeli-Palestinian issues opens in Israel attended by 17 mainline Protestant and Jewish officials. The summit, organized by American Jewish groups, is aimed at convincing Americans to halt steps toward divestment following a move a yr. ago by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to consider divesting church funds fr. 6 corporations undertaking activities that support the Israeli occupation. The World Council of Churches issued similar recommendations to its mbrs. in 2/05, followed by the United Church of Christ in 7/05, raising serious concerns in Israel and among U.S. Jewish groups. Evangelical Christian groups were not invited to these mtgs., as they are already considered solidly supportive of Israel. (WT 9/17)

750 Egyptian border guards, some 2,500 PA security forces shut the Rafah crossing, patch breeches in the border walls, ending 5 days of cross-border celebrations; 8 Palestinians, including 3 PA policemen are injured when PA forces open fire to enforce the closure; Israel demands the border be sealed for at least 6 mos.; meanwhile, all people, goods to or fr. Egypt will pass through an Israeli-monitored crossing at Kerem Shalom, where Gaza, Egypt, Israel meet. Meanwhile, the IDF occupies 2 Palestinian homes in Hebron as military posts; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron, Ramallah. Some 50 Jewish settlers fr. Efrat burn Palestinian grape vines, poison a cow nr. Bethlehem. (AFP, IMEMC 9/17; NYT, WP, WT 9/18; AP 9/19; PCHR 9/22)

The IDF deploys troops on roads btwn. Nur al-Shams r.c. and Tulkarm, fires on residential areas; during the operation, an IDF jeep hits a Palestinian car, killing 1 Palestinian, injuring 1. The IDF also conducts house searches, patrols streets in Kafr Qaddum; sets up numerous checkpoints, conducts arrest raids in and around Hebron. Hamas mbrs. blast more openings in the Gaza border wall to facilitate crossing into Egypt, overwhelming the 750 Egyptian border guards. Palestinians across the West Bank demonstrate in front of UN offices, calling on the UN to intervene to halt Israel’s construction of the separation wall. (IMEMC, WP 9/16; PCHR 9/22)

A day after the IDF completes withdrawal fr. Gaza, Sharon, DM Mofaz separately vow that Israel will “make every effort to direct resources to the development” of West Bank settlement blocs. Meanwhile, Palestinians continue looting fmr. Gaza settlement sites for a 2d day, overwhelming PA security forces to strip some greenhouses. Egypt, daunted by the number of Palestinians seeking to cross the Rafah checkpoint, declares the border open for several days as a good-will gesture, allowing 1,000s on either side of the border to cross; many Palestinians rush to buy Egyptian goods (including food, medicine, sheep for the upcoming Ramadan holidays) that are dramatically cheaper than those in Gaza, and visit family and friends they have not seen in yrs. before the border is resealed. Israel criticizes the lax Egyptian, PA security; Egypt, the PA blame Israel for failing adequately to coordinate disengagement. Egyptian border guards patrolling the border find a smugglers tunnel containing 38 fire arms, 3 rocket propelled grenades (RPGs); the PA security forces seize the weapons. Palestinian militant groups hold larger rallies than on 9/12 (including 10,000s of Palestinians at a Hamas rally in Gaza City), celebrating the disengagement as a victory of the resistance; at Islamic Jihad rallies, mbrs. display their arms, but at Hamas rallies, mbrs. do not; Abbas warns that he will no longer tolerate the “chaos of weapons.” In the West Bank, the IDF occupies the top floor of a 4-story residential building nr. Hebron as an observation post, fires on stone-throwing youths who challenge the troops, killing 1 Palestinian, wounding 4; demolishes a Palestinian home in ‘Issawiyya, East Jerusalem, nr. French Hill settlement. (HA, NYT, YA 9/13; AFP, IMEMC, Independent, NYT 9/14; PCHR 9/15)

As the IDF completes the demolition of settler and IDF structures in Gaza, Israeli DM Mofaz announces that he, as a religious person, cannot order the demolition of synagogues in the Gaza settlements as Israel agreed with the PA. In Gaza, the IDF fatally shoots 1 Palestinian, wounds a 2d who cut through a perimeter fence of an evacuated settlement; blows up an underground military installation in the evacuated Ganei Tal settlement; dismantles a settler-only bridge linking 2 roads nr. the evacuated Gush Katif bloc; bulldozes land nr. Abasan and al-Qarara for construction of 2 roads, firing on nearby residential areas to keep Palestinians away; also fires on residential areas of Rafah. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches, interrogations in Hebron. The PA negotiates the release of Manhal Arafat (kidnapped by the PRCs on 9/7). Meanwhile, the PRCs’ Salah al-Din Brigades issues a statement denying responsibility for the Musa Arafat assassination. (HA, IMEMC, Kuwait News Agency [KUNA] 9/8; NYT, WP 9/9; NYT 9/10; HA 9/13, 9/14; HA, PCHR 9/15)

Israel approves construction of 117 new housing units in Ariel settlement in contravention of the road map. The IDF patrols in, fires on residential areas of Tulkarm r.c.; fires on stone-throwing Palestinians youths at a flying checkpoint outside Jenin, wounding 1, arresting 1; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron and in villages around Nablus, Tulkarm. An explosion destroys the Gaza City home of a Hamas mbr., killing 4 Palestinians, wounding more than 12; neighbors say the blast was apparently caused by explosives kept in the home that detonated accidentally. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba throw stones, bottles at Palestinian homes, injuring a 3-yr.- old and a 12-yr.-old Palestinian child. For a 2d day, 10s of unemployed Palestinians demonstrate outside a Khan Yunis municipal building demanding jobs and better living conditions, scuffling with and pelting PA riot police with stones, leaving 7 officers, 3 demonstrators injured. (AP 9/5; NYT, REU 9/6; WP 9/7; PCHR 9/8)

10s of PA security forces deploy in Taybeh after 100s of armed men tied to 1 Muslim family fr. Dayr Jarir burn 13 homes of an extended Christian family there. The disputes stemmed fr. an affair btwn. a Muslim woman and a Christian man and the honor killing of the woman involved. Christians in Taybeh, however, fear an undercurrent of anti-Christian sentiment is to blame and could result in wider clashes. (AP 9/5; BBC 9/14)

The IDF fires percussion grenades at Palestinian homes nr. Tulkarm. Jewish settlers fr. Ma’on in Hebron knock down tents, kill 6 sheep, injure 10, vandalize Palestinian farms nearby; the IDF observes but does not intervene. In Khan Yunis, 10s of unemployed Palestinians demonstrate outside a municipal building demanding jobs and better living conditions, scuffle with PA riot police. As part of a plea agmt., PC mbr. Hussam Khadir (Ind.-Nablus), arrested by Israel on 3/17/03, pleads guilty in Israeli court to helping finance AMB attacks on Israelis. Some 200 PA police block the Gaza coastal road, fire in the air in a protest demanding higher wages. (REU 9/4; AP, IMEMC, NYT, WT 9/5; PCHR 9/8)

The IDF shoots, wounds 2 Palestinians nr. the evacuated Gush Katif settlement bloc; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and nr. Hebron. Israel deports 2 Palestinian prisoners who hold Jordanian passports to Jordan (see Quarterly Update in JPS 137). Inside Israel, some 70 ultra-Orthodox Jews attack, severely beat a Druze man harvesting his vineyard in Bayt Jan in the upper Galilee; 100s of Druze come to the scene and clash with the Jews, leaving 4 injured; Israeli police intervene, separate the groups. (IMEMC 9/1; HA 9/2; PCHR 9/8)

The IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron and in ‘Aida r.c., al-‘Aza r.c., Tulkarm. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba surround, heckle, scuffle with a group of European diplomats, Israeli activists making a solidarity visit to Hebron. (YA 8/31; PCHR 9/8)

A day after formally announcing that he will challenge Sharon for Likud party leadership in advance of Israeli elections, which must be held by 11/06, fmr. PM Benjamin Netanyahu goes to Ma’ale Adumim, where he vows that as PM, he would press for a rapid increase in construction of West Bank settlements, particularly around Jerusalem, including building 5,000 units in Ma’ale Adumim immediately. (NYT, WP, WT 8/31; NYT, WT 9/1; NYT 9/3)

The Jewish Agency, Israeli DMin. unveil a program to recruit 100s of young IDF soldiers who have just completed their mandatory service to travel abroad as “emissaries to Jewish communities in the Diaspora” to persuade Jewish youth abroad to come to Israel for a semester or yr. of academic study. The newly discharged soldiers would receive travel expenses and a stipend to travel for 6–12 mos. The project is estimated to cost $200 m./yr., with $50 m. paid by the Jewish Agency, $50 m. by the government, and the rest by donations to the agency, most of which come from North American Jews, who donate around $150 m./yr. to the Jewish Agency. (HA 8/31)

Citing retaliation for the 8/24 assassination of an Islamic Jihad mbr., an Islamic Jihad suicide bomber detonates a device outside a bus depot in Beersheba, Israel, killing only himself, seriously injuring 2 Israeli security guards, lightly injuring at least 8 other Israelis; Abbas quickly denounces the bombing as a “terrorist attack” that undermines Palestinian national interests. The IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem, Hebron, Qalqilya. Jewish settlers fr. Karnei Shomron (btwn. Nablus and Qalqilya) throw stones at local Palestinians, lightly injuring 1. Jewish settlers fr. Ramat Yishai burn Palestinian olive trees, grape vines in Hebron. (IMEMC 8/28; NYT, WP, WT 8/29; IMEMC 8/30; PR 8/31; PCHR 9/1; MEI 9/2)

A day after completing disengagement fr. 25 Jewish settlements, Israel confirms plans to seize some 1,588 d. of West Bank Palestinian land to complete 10 mi. of separation wall around the southern part of Ma’ale Adumim settlement, to add 3,500 housing units there (more than twice the number of units removed under disengagement), to build a police headquarters in the E-1 area btwn. Ma’ale Adumim and Jerusalem. In Gaza, the IDF raids, searches, occupies 2 Palestinian homes in Khan Yunis as observation posts; raids, occupies a Palestinian home in Dayr al-Balah. In the West Bank, IDF undercover units raid Tulkarm r.c, fatally shooting ‘Adil Abu Khalil al-Ghawi (Islamic Jihad),Mahmud Ahadib (AMB), and Majdi Attiya (AMB), also killing 2 bystanders and wounding 3; local Hamas military cmdr. Ribhi Amara, also possibly a target, escapes unharmed. The IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron, nr. Jenin, and in Nablus, Qalqilya. In East Jerusalem, a Palestinian stabs 2 ultraOrthodox British Jews, killing 1 before escaping. (HA, JP, REU 8/24; VOP 8/24 in WNC 8/25; BBC, HA, JAZ, PCHR, WP, WT 8/25; MENA 8/25 in WNC 8/26; HA, NYT 8/26; al-Quds 8/26 in WNC 8/27; HA 8/30; PR 8/31; PCHR 9/1; MEI 9/2; HA 9/7; DS 10/10)

In the morning, the IDF says that 70% of Gaza settlers have been evacuated, most Gaza residents have not resisted the evacuation, most protests and resistance are by West Bank settler youth (and some American Jewish youth) who have come to Gaza in recent wks. to block the withdrawal. During the day, the evacuations of Gan Or (est. 1983, pop. 350, size 1,692 d., hrs. to evac. 5), Kefar Darom (est. 1989, pop. 490, size 276 d., hrs. to evac. 12), Kefar Yam (est. 1983, pop. 15, hrs. to evac. 3), Netzer Hazani (est. 1973, pop. 460, size 250 d., hrs. to evac. 5), Neve Dekalim (est. 1983, pop. 2,700, size 1,443 d., hrs. to evac. 35), Shirat Hayam (est. 2001, pop. 40, hrs. to evac. 5) settlements are completed. An increasing number of settlers set fire to their homes and to greenhouses as they leave to prevent them fr. being turned over to Palestinians. For the 1st time, 1 armed resident in Kefar Yam, 4 armed disengagement protesters in Shirat Hayam threaten to shoot IDF soldiers if they follow orders to remove settlers, but only if soldiers fire first; the incidents defuse without violence. Some Shirat Hayam residents also throw rocks at Palestinians in Mawasi as they evacuate. In Kefar Darom, 65 resident families agree to leave, but as many as 2,000 outside protesters refuse, many of them barricading themselves inside and on the roof of a synagogue; for the 1st time during the disengagement, the IDF uses water cannons against protesters and 2 IDF soldiers refuse to obey their orders, are removed by fellow soldiers; 58 Israelis are injured in clearing the synagogue, including at least 3 IDF soldiers, 27 border police (1 seriously when he falls accidentally); protesters throw paint thinner at IDF Southern Command chief Maj. Gen. Dan Harel, several soldiers. In Neve Dekalim, some 1,500 disengagement protesters hole up in 2 synagogues, refusing to leave even after residents have voluntarily evacuated, but are eventually extracted. Jewish settlers in s. Gaza spread nails along the coastal road in alMawasi to prevent movement of Palestinian vehicles. Meanwhile, Palestinians fire a rocket at Netzarim (still inhabited), lightly injuring an IDF soldier; 2 mortars at Gadid settlement (still inhabited), 3 mortars at Morag (evacuated) causing no damage or injuries. Palestinian gunmen fire on IDF troops nr. Kefar Darom, lightly injuring 1. The IDF conducts arrest raids in al-Mawasi; fires on residential areas of Bayt Lahiya, seriously injuring 1 Palestinian. In the West Bank, Jewish settlers fr. Homesh and Sanur attempt to break into a Palestinian home in nearby Asa’sa village; the IDF intervenes to stop them. Jewish settlers fr. Keddumim throw stones at Palestinian shops, cars nr. Qalqilya. The IDF also conducts arrest raids, house searches in Dura, nr. Tulkarm; confiscates 500 d. of agricultural land nr. Eli settlement nr. Nablus. In Israel, disengagement protesters block roads nationwide. (AP, BBC, HA, Israeli Radio, ITV 8/18; NYT, WP, WT 8/19; PCHR 8/25)

Before dawn the IDF moves troops into Gaza en masse to begin the forcible evacuation of Jewish settlers and disengagement protesters who have not yet left, begins demolishing settler homes in n. Gaza. By the end of the day, evacuations of Bedolah (est. 1986, pop. 220, size 1,456 d., hrs. to evac. 6), Ganei Tal (est. 1979, pop. 350, size 2,050 d., hrs. to evac. 11), Kerem Atzmona (est. 2001, pop. 24, hrs. to evac. 6), Morag (est. 1972, pop. 220, size 1,300 d., hrs. to evac. 7), Tal Katifa (est. 1992, pop. 60, size 183 d., hrs. to evac. 5) are completed; most residents of Gadid leave voluntarily. Settlers in Atzmona agree to evacuate voluntarily by 8/21, those in Netzarim by 8/22. Settlers who have not arranged their evacuation with the government will be housed temporarily in hotels, mobile homes: e.g., more than half of Morag’s settlers take up temporary residence in the West Bank settlement of Ofra; Israel’s Jerusalem municipality temporarily houses 1,000 Neve Dekalim settlers who have left voluntarily in a Jerusalem hotel. Generally there is little strong resistance; the IDF optimistically says it hopes that the evacuations could be completed within days instead of wks., as earlier estimated. During the day, some scuffles btwn. soldiers, settlers are reported; in some areas settlers set fire to tires and in garbage bins to prevent soldiers fr. entering settlements; at least 2 settlers set fire to their homes before leaving. In Morag, a female IDF soldier is stabbed with a syringe, lightly injured by a disengagement protester. (In total, 13 Israeli soldiers and police are lightly injured during the day.) Gaza settlers and protesters also attack Palestinians: some 200 Kefar Darom settlers rampage through nearby Palestinian areas, set fire to a Palestinian house; 20 Neve Dekalim settlers march through al-Mawasi, spread nails on roads to damage Palestinian cars, try to provoke Palestinian residents (the IDF intervenes, removes the settlers); other Jewish settlers fire on Palestinian homes, vandalize Palestinian greenhouses in the same area. The IDF also demolishes a Palestinian home, conducts arrest raids in al-Mawasi. Meanwhile, Palestinians in Khan Yunis begin returning to their homes on the edge of town facing the settlements, which they had fled since the start of the intifada in 9/00 because of IDF gunfire. Islamic Jihad mbrs. in some 50 boats, carrying banners and weapons, hold a seaborne victory parade off Gaza to celebrate disengagement. Some disengagement protests in Israel turn violent: a disengagement protester tosses a grenade at an IDF checkpoint in s. Israel, wounding 5 IDF soldiers; a female settler fr. Keddumim in the West Bank sets fire to herself during a demonstration in Netivot, is seriously injured. In the West Bank, a Jewish settler fr. Shvut Rachel steals a gun fr. an Israeli security guard at the industrial area of Shilo settlement, fires on Palestinian workers, killing 4 Palestinians, wounding 1. Sharon denounces the attack as “Jewish terror”; Palestinian Authority (PA) PM Mahmud Abbas calls on Palestinian factions to maintain calm, refrain fr. retaliation. At Sanur (to be evacuated under disengagement), 600 Jewish settlers hold an antidisengagement rally. The IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron and in Nur al-Shams refugee camp (r.c.), Tulkarm. Also in Hebron, 4 bedouin children herding goats are injured when they accidentally trigger an unexploded IDF phosphorus shell; the IDF says it uses the shells only in training. A 9-yr.-old Palestinian dies of injuries received when she accidentally triggered unexploded IDF ordnance nr. Karmil. (Arutz 7, BBC, HA, IMEMC, NYT, REU, USA Today, WP, WT, YA 8/17; Voice of Israel, VOP 8/17 in WNC 8/18; BBC, HA, NYT, PCHR, WP, WT 8/18; MENA 8/18 in WNC 8/19; NYT 8/20; PCHR, PR 8/25; IMEMC 9/22; HA 11/10) 

As of midnight local time, the IDF seals the Gaza Strip in preparation for disengagement implementation beginning on 8/17, making it illegal for Israelis to enter Gaza. During the day, some 7,500 PA security forces, overseen byEgyptian security officers, begin deploying nr. Gaza settlements to prevent Palestinians fr. approaching them. Before dawn, Palestinian gunmen fire on Kefar Darom, causing no damage or injuries; an IDF tank returns fire, accidentally targeting an IDF personnel carrier, wounding 5 IDF soldiers. In the West Bank, the IDF sends troops into Tulkarm, closes the main street, interrogates residents; conducts arrest raids, house searches in villages around Tulkarm; occupies a house nr. Nablus as an observation post. Nr. Qalqilya, a Palestinian dies of heat stroke after being handcuffed by IDF troops, left in the sun for hrs. In light of threats by Jewish extremists to storm the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount and destroy the al-Aqsa mosque, 100s of Israeli police, troops deploy in and around the Old City of Jerusalem to prevent possible Israeli-Palestinian clashes; 1,000s of Muslims fr. Jerusalem and Israel attempt to converge to defend the site, but West Bank Palestinians are barred fr. entering Jerusalem, Israeli Palestinians under age 45 are banned fr. accessing the mosque compound. Jewish settlers gather outside Homesh settlement to protest the disengagement, throw stones at passing Palestinian vehicles. In Gaza, Jewish settlers block Palestinian access to roads btwn. Kefar Yam and Shirat Hayam. A French sound technician covering the disengagement in Gaza is kidnapped by unknown Palestinians; Hamas accuses the PA of not doing enough to protect internationals working in Gaza, says targeting foreigners should be a red line. In light of recent kidnappings, the UN moves all nonessential foreign staff in Gaza to Jerusalem until further notice. (AFP, XIN 8/14; IMEMC, WT 8/15; PR 8/17; PCHR, REU 8/18; IMEMC 8/19)

The IDF fires live ammunition at Palestinian protesters marching to their lands outside Qalqilya that have been cut off by the separation wall, seriously wounding 1; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron and in al-Mawasi, Nablus, Tamun. In separate incidents in Karmil and Yatta, 5 Palestinians are injured when they accidentally trigger unexploded IDF ordnance. Jewish settlers protesting Israel’s planned evacuation of Homesh settlement in the West Bank march fr. nr. Tulkarm toward Nablus, throwing stones, bottles at Palestinian homes along the way; when Palestinian youths respond by throwing stones at the settlers, the IDF intervenes, fires percussion grenades and rubber bullets, injuring 2 Palestinian teenagers, 1 journalist covering the incident. (IMEMC 8/12; PCHR 8/18; PR 8/25)