The Palestine Chronology

The IDF fatally shoots a Palestinian involved in a traffic altercation with an IDF jeep nr. Jenin; occupies 2 medical clinics in Nablus, firing fr. the facilities on stone-throwing Palestinians, killing 1 Palestinian; fires on 3 Palestinians allegedly attempting to infiltrate the Israeli border fence in the Negev, killing 1 Palestinian (2 others escape); fatally beats a 17-yr.-old Palestinian for violating the curfew in Hebron; demolishes 1 Palestinian home in Dura; denies an ailing Palestinian woman passage through a checkpoint to a clinic, allowing her to die; conducts arrest raids nr. Tulkarm. Israeli courts sentence an Israeli Arab taxi driver to 15 yrs. for driving 2 suicide bombers to Tel Aviv, an East Jerusalem Palestinian to 6 yrs. for providing Palestinian militants with information used to carry out attacks on Israelis. (HA, JTA 12/30; NYT, WP, WT 12/31; LAW, PCHR, WP 1/1; NYT 1/2; PRCS press release 1/5)

The Israeli Central Elections Comm. decides to follow Atty. Gen. Rubinstein’s 2/19 advice to disqualify Israeli Arab MK Ahmad Tibi (Ta’al) fr. running in 1/03 elections on the grounds that he does not support the Jewish character of the State of Israel, supports armed attacks against it (a charge he denies); turns down a similar request to bar MK `Abd al-Malik Dahamshe and his United Arab List; rules that Herut mbr. Baruch Marzel, the fmr. head of the outlawed Kach movement who placed 2d on Herut’s slate of MK candidates, can participate in the 1/28 elections. The Knesset bans mbrs. of Kach, which advocates the deportation of Arabs fr. Israel and the occupied territories, from holding parliamentary office. (HA 12/30, 12/31; ADL, HA, MM 1/2; DUS 1/2 in WNC 1/3; MA 1/3 in WNC 1/6; WT 1/8; JPI, NYT 1/10)

The IDF assassinates wanted Hamas mbrs. Shaman Subuh, Mustafa Baqash in Jenin; demolishes 8 Palestinian homes, 3 brick factories, a dairy farm and damages 18 other homes in Rafah; demolishes 1 home, 3 blacksmith shops in Hebron; fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis; bulldozes part of the Silwan Sports Club in East Jerusalem; makes arrest raids in Anabta, Nablus. Israel lifts the curfew on Bethlehem for Christmas, says it will provide free public transportation to any Christian Arabs in Israel or the territories who want to visit the city in the next few days. (HA 12/23; LAW, NYT 12/24; AFP 12/25 in WNC 12/26; LAW, PCHR 12/25)

The Israeli Housing Min. issues tenders to construct 232 new housing units in the ultra-Orthodox West Bank settlement of Emmanuel, even though the settlement is losing residents at the rate of 5% a year. Housing Min. figures show that 1,688 (75%) of the 2,178 tenders for public construction issued between 1/02 and 9/02 were for housing in the territories. Tenders for 28 units in Beitar Ilit, 102 units in Efrat's Givat Hazayit, 76 new units in Ariel, all in the West Bank, were also issued recently. (HA 12/24)

The IDF shells residential areas of Khan Yunis, killing a 17-yr.-old Palestinian inside his home; demolishes 6 Palestinian homes, fires on residential areas in Rafah; fires on stone-throwing students returning fr. school in Nablus during break in the curfew, injuring 9; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Burqa, Dayr al-Balah, Jenin, al-Khadir, Tubas, Tulkarm; searches dorms at Birzeit University. (LAW, NYT, PCHR 12/18)

The IDF fatally shoots 2 armed Hamas mbrs. attempting to cross the border fence into Israel; fatally shoots a Palestinian farmer who strays too close to Gush Katif settlement; fatally shoots a mentally ill Palestinian who approaches an IDF patrol nr. the Egypt-Gaza border; shells residential areas of Khan Yunis; sets up barricades, digs trenches around al-Naqura, occupies 1 Palestinian home as an outpost, further hindering travel btwn. Nablus and Jenin, Tulkarm; bulldozes 5 dunams of olive trees nr. Arrabe; conducts arrest raids in Arrabe, Bethlehem, Jenin, Ramallah. Israel announces that Palestinians may resume bus service btwn. West Bank towns for the first time since the start of the al-Aqsa intifada. Buses will operate fr. 6:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., will only transport passengers to the crossing point outside the next city (e.g., a Palestinian would have to take 5 buses to travel the 40 mi. fr. Jenin to Ramallah). (NYT, WP 12/17; LAW, NYT, PCHR, PR 12/18; TJT 12/19; JT 1/1)

The IDF imposes a curfew on Nablus, closes local al-Najah University, sparking clashes with local students that leave 9 Palestinians injured; demolishes 2 Palestinian homes nr. Netzarim settlement; bulldozes 41 dunams of land in al-Mughraqa; uproots 150 trees at an al-`Arub agricultural center; conducts arrest raids in al-Bireh, Birzeit, Jenin, and Qarawat Bani Zaid, targeting the tanzim, arresting at least 14 Palestinians. (HA 12/14; LAW, PCHR, PR 12/18)

The IDF fatally shoots wanted Hamas mbr. Yasin al-Agha in Khan Yunis and wanted Palestinian Usama Badra in Balata r.c. in what may be assassinations, also demolishing Agha’s house; bars a Palestinian woman in labor fr. reaching a hospital in Nablus, allowing her baby to die; conducts arrest sweeps in Jenin, Nablus, Qalqilya, al-Qarara, Ramallah; bulldozes 45 dunams of land in al-Qarara. Israel says it will not allow PA head Yasir Arafat to attend Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem this yr.; Sharon spokesman Gissin says Arafat’s presence at Christmas Eve ceremonies would be “an offence to humanity and a slap in the face to Christianity.” (AP 12/10; al-Quds 12/10 in WNC 12/12; LAW, NYT, PCHR 12/11; PM, PR 12/18)

Before dawn, the IDF raids Dayr al-Balah, demolishes 1 Palestinian home, fires on an ambulance, wounding a paramedic; sends 200 troops, heavy armor into Dahaysha r.c., conducting house-to-house searches, detain-ing at least 30 Palestinians; conducts arrest raids elsewhere in the West Bank, including Nablus, detaining at least 25 Palestinians. Israel also assassinates AMB Jenin leader Ala’ Ahmad Sabbagh and Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades Jenin cmdr. Imad Nasharti, firing a rocket into a house in Jenin r.c., where they were staying; fires on other residential areas of Jenin r.c., Khan Yunis, Rafah, Tulkarm; conducts arrest raids, bulldozes 5 dunams of land in al-Qarara; conducts arrest raids, demolishes 1 Palestinian home in Tulkarm. (WP 11/26; HA, LAW, NYT, PCHR, WP, WT 11/27; al-Quds 11/28 in WNC 11/29)

The Israel Project, a group of U.S. political consultants funded by American Jewish organizations and individual donors, sends a 6-page memo to pro-Israel leaders urging them to keep quiet while the U.S. pursues a possible war on Iraq. (WP 11/27)

The IDF fires on Palestinians waiting to cross an IDF checkpoint w. of Nablus, killing 1  Palestinian; conducts house-to-house searches, arrests in Aida r.c., Bayt Umar, Bethlehem, Jit, Tal, Tubas, Tulkarm; raids, fires on residential areas of Rafah, Nablus, Nur al-Shams r.c., Tulkarm; bulldozes 14 dunams of land s. of Dayr al-Balah; raids the al-Ihsan charitable society, Hebron University dean’s offices in Hebron, confiscating computers, files; forces at gunpoint a 24-yr.-old Palestinian to undress in the main street of Nablus, bark like a dog. Late in the evening, the IDF sends 10s of tanks, armored person-nel carriers (APCs) into Qalqilya, imposes a curfew, raids Waqf offices, conducts arrest raids targeting Popular Front for the Lib-eration of Palestine (PFLP) mbrs. The UN sends an envoy to the West Bank to investigate the 11/22 death of a UNRWA official, new charges (11/23) by Israel that Palestinian gunmen were firing from inside the UNRWA’s Jenin r.c. compound, prompting the IDF gunfire. (NYT, WT 11/25; WT 11//26; LAW, PCHR 11/27)

In response to an Islamic Jihad ambush of Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and settler security officers in Hebron on 11/15, the IDF sends tanks into Hebron, bulldozes 5 Palestinian homes and a 50-dunam olive grove btwn. Kiryat Arba and the Ibrahimi Mosque/Tomb of the Patriarchs, imposes a curfew, conducts arrest raids, detaining 40 Palestinians. Right-wing MK Benny Elon holds a prayer rally of Jewish settlers at the site of the ambush; afterward Jewish settlers briefly rampage through Palestinian areas (vandalizing homes with spray-painted messages such as “vengeance” and “every Arab killed —for me it’s a holiday”) until IDF soldiers stop them. The IDF also fatally shoots a Palestinian in Hebron; fires on Palestinians in Jenin, killing 1 Palestinian; shells, fires on residential areas of Nablus, killing 1 Palestinian; bulldozes 2 dunams (4 dunams = 1 acre) of Palestinian land, an electricity generator in al-Mughraqa; shells a workshop in Khan Yunis, destroying it; detains, searches a Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) ambulance for 5 hrs., holding the driver for failure to pay a parking ticket. (PM 11/16; NYT, WP, WT 11/17; MM 11/18; AN 11/18 in WNC 11/19; PCHR 11/20; MEI 11/22; PRCS press release 11/23)

The IDF assasinates Islamic Jihad military leader Iyad Sawalha in a predawn raid of his home in Jenin. In retaliation, Islamic Jihad detonates a roadside bomb nr. an IDF convoy in Gaza, killing 1 IDF soldier (a bedouin tracker), wounding a 2d. The IDF also conducts arrest raids in Dura, Nablus, al-Qarara; fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis, Nablus; bulldozes 19 dunams of land s. of Khan Yunis. (JPI, LAW 11/9; GS, NYT, WP, WT 11/10; LAW, PCHR 11/13; B’Tselem press release 11/14)

According to the IDF, soldiers foil a suicide bombing when they stop a Palestinian taxi at a checkpoint nr. Nablus to search passengers; one of the passengers emerges fr. the vehicle wearing an explosive belt, runs toward the checkpoint; soldiers fire on the man, detonating the belt, killing the bomber, another Palestinian passenger. In Khan Yunis, 4 masked Palestinian gunmen kidnap German International Comm. of the Red Cross (ICRC) rep. Nikolai Panke as he is distributing food to Palestinians; Panke is released unharmed 11 hrs. later; 1 of the kinappers reportedly is a fmr. PSF officer who was “frustrated” over the loss of his job, wanted to be rehired. The IDF bars an ambulance transporting a wounded Palestinian across a checkpoint, allowing the man to die; fires rubber-coated steel bullets at Palesthian schoolchildren on their way to classes in Jenin r.c., wounding 5; directs tank fire at a 12-yr.-old Palestinian boy playing in a field, seriously injuring him; bulldozes 15 dunams of land in Dayr al-Balah; fires on residential areas of Rafah; conducts arrest raids in Tubas. (HA 11/7; NYT, WP 11/8; PRCS press release 11/10; LAW, PHRC, PR 11/13)

The IDF fatally shoots a 16-yr-old Palestinian boy in Tulkarm r.c.; halts an ambulance outside Jenin, detains 2 Palestinian dialysis patients returning fr. treatment (1 blind; 1 paraplegic, wheelchair bound) on suspicision of being wanted men, releases them after 10 hrs.; fires on Palestinian nr. Bayt Hanun, wounding 2; demolishes 7 Palestinian homes (1 in Jenin, 3 in Jenin r.c., 3 Rafah); bulldozes greenhouses in Rafah; raids a school in Jenin, arresting a school guard for not having an ID (confiscated by IDF in 6/02); digs trenches around Jenin, Nablus to prevent Palestinians fr. leaving or entering except through 3 IDF checkpoints. Palestinians fire a rocket fr. Gaza into Israel, causing minor damage outside a school, no injuries. Jewish settlers at Havat Gilad attack and chase off nearby Palestinian olive pickers, steal what olives they have picked, harvest the grove for themselves. Late this evening, the IDF raids, shuts down Havat Gilad outpost again (see 10/25). (JTA 10/28; MA 10/28 in WNC 10/29; NYT, WP, WT 10/29; LAW, NYT, PCHR 10/30; HA 11/2; HA 11/6)

Labor leader Ben-Eliezer says he would vote against Sharon’s proposed 2003 budget unless $150 m. in funds for Jewish settlements are shifted to social services. Sharon accuses Ben-Eliezer of cynically maneuvering to win reelection as Labor party head in party voting on 11/19; threatens to dismiss Labor party MKs fr. the coalition government, force early elections if they vote against. (NYT 10/29; NYT, WT 10/30)

A Hamas suicide bomber is discovered outside a café in Ariel settlement, captured and pinned down by 3 IDF soldiers, fatally shot by 2 Jewish settlers; the gunfire triggers the bomber’s explosives, killing the 3 soldiers restraining him, wounding 18 soldiers and settlers. After hearing news of the bombing, Jewish settlers fr. Itamar attack Palestinians, international peace activists harvesting olives outside Yanun, injuring 6 activists, including 2 Americans (ages 68 and 74), 2 Israelis. IDF troops fatally shoot 2 Islamic Jihad mbrs. in an apparent assassination in Nablus, wounding a 7-yr.-old boy; fatally shoot 1 Palestinian checking the water tank on his roof in Jenin during the curfew; fatally shoots a Palestinian youth standing outside his home in Jenin r.c.; bulldozes 7 Palestinian homes in Rafah; bulldozes water wells, greenhouses in Muraj. A PA security court sentences a Palestinian to life with hard labor for collaborating with Israel. (al-Quds 10/27 in WNC 10/31; MM, NYT, WP, WT 10/28; MA 10/28 in WNC 10/28; LAW, PCHR 10/30; JPI, MEI 11/8)

The IDF continues operations in Jenin, arresting 10s of Palestinians; fires live ammunition at stone-throwing Palestinians in Brazil r.c., killing a 13-yr.-old Palestinian boy; directs tank, heavy machine gun fire at residential areas of Rafah late in the evening, seriously injuring 3 Palestinians, demolishing 1 Palestinian home; occupies an apartment block in Hebron as an IDF post. AMB mbrs. kidnap, shoot 2 Palestinian women fr. Nablus thought to be collaborators with Israel; 1 woman dies, the other is injured. (WP, WT 10/27; LAW, PCHR 10/30)

The IDF launches Operation Vanguard in response to the 10/21 Hadera bombing, sending 100s of troops (including 90 snipers), heavy vehicles into Jenin town and r.c., where the bombers lived. Troops occupy 50 buildings; conduct house-to-house searches, arrest raids; meet some resistance in the r.c., exchanging gunfire with residents, leaving 6 Fatah mbrs. seriously wounded. The IDF says the incursion is expected to last several days, troops are prepared to stay indefinitely. The IDF also shells residential areas nr. Erez crossing; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Hebron; bulldozes 2 Palestinian homes in Rafah, 23 dunams of olive groves in Dayr al-Balah; begins construction of a new IDF post nr. Netzarim; makes a limited pullout fr. Palestinian areas of Hebron; eases curfews in Nablus, Qalqilya, Tulkarm. Palestinian residents of Yanun harvesting their olive groves are chased off by Jewish settlers just 2 days after the IDF promised them protection. Jewish settlers complete rebuilding Havat Gilad. (HA, MM, NYT, WP 10/25; NYT, WP, WT 10/26; MENA 10/27 in WNC 10/28; WP 10/28; LAW, PCHR 10/30)

The IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in Jenin, Nablus; bulldozes 35 dunams of land in Bayt Hanun. As IDF troops enter Jenin, Palestinians detonate roadside bombs, causing no injuries. At Havat Gilad, IDF soldiers continue dismantlement work, scuffle with Jewish settlers, leaving 30 settlers, 12 soldiers lightly injured; after dark, settlers begin re-erecting trailers on the site. Jewish settlers fire in the air in an attempt to scare off Palestinians, Israeli peace activists harvesting olives nr. Aqraba; the IDF intervenes, forcing the olive pickers to move to another grove to "reduce tensions." A PA security court sentences a 2d Palestinian, also a fmr. Hamas mbr., to death for collaborating with Israel (see 10/17). (GS 10/19; NYT, WP 10/20; al-Quds 10/20 in WNC 10/21; MM, WP 10/21; AYM 10/21 in WNC 10/23; LAW, PCHR 10/23; WJW 10/24; JPI 11/8)

The IDF fatally shoots 2 Islamic Jihad mbrs., Wassim Saba'na and Muhammad Musa, in Nablus in what is likely an assassination; shoots at a "suspicious figure" nr. a Jewish settlement nr. Nablus, wounding 1 Palestinian; demolishes 1 Palestinian home in Jenin; fires on a Birzeit University dormitory; shells residential areas of Bayt Hanun, Khan Yunis; conducts arrest raids in Jenin, Rantis; lifts curfews on Nablus, Tulkarm, Ramallah for several hrs. Late in the evening, the IDF raids Dayr al-Balah, bulldozes 2.5 dunams of agricultural land. Palestinians detonate a roadside bomb nr. an IDF APC in Nablus, another device nr. Qalqilya, neither causing damage. In Hebron, Jewish settlers assault Israeli police investigating complaints of settler violence on 10/12. Following the funeral in Bethlehem for Muhammad Ubayyat, assassinated by the IDF on 10/13, several mourners seriously beat Fatah prisoner's club head Issa Qaraqa', toss a grenade into the home of Bethlehem mayor and new elections comm. head Hanna Nassir; Fatah says it considers the attacks an assault on Fatah itself. (HA 10/14; NYT, PM, WT 10/15; LAW, PCHR, PR 10/16)

The IDF fires on stone-throwing Palestinian youths in Bayt Lahia, Jenin, Rafah r.c. (killing a 12-yr.-old Palestinian girl inside her house); kills 1 Palestinian nr. Tulkarm who was allegedly en route to stage a suicide bombing; fires on a busload of university students in Jenin, wounding 8; conducts arrest raids in Hebron, Nablus, Ramallah, Tulkarm. 2 Palestinians die of injuries received in the 10/7 IDF attack on Khan Yunis, which Sharon describes as a "success" despite the fact that the IDF failed to capture or kill 2 Hamas mbrs. targeted in the attack. Palestinians fire on a settler vehicle nr. Hebron, wounding 4 Jewish settlers; Jewish settlers assault Palestinians on the street, break windows of Palestinian cars; the IDF reinforces troops in the city, reimposes a curfew, but does not intervene to stop settler attacks. (HA, NYT, PCHR, PM, WP, WT 10/9)

Before dawn, the IDF sends 40 tanks and helicopters into Khan Yunis, occupying and blowing up buildings, firing on residential areas, killing a total of 14 Palestinians; in one incident a missile fired by an IDF helicopter at a Palestinian crowd kills 10 Palestinians, wounds more than 100; in a 2d incident, troops fire on a hospital where 100s of Palestinians are gathered to check on the status of relatives, leaving a hospital worker clinically dead, seriously injuring 3 (including a child shot in the neck), and firing grenades at the admin. office, equipment and supplies dept., training dept., and other facilities. The IDF the raid is part of its new strategy to put pressure on Hamas (see 9/24), calling Khan Yunis a "nest of terror." The IDF lifts the day curfew on w. Nablus; shoots at, mortally wounds a Palestinian motorist on the Nablus + n. Qalqilya road, blocks an ambulance fr. reaching him, allowing him to bleed to death; shells around an elementary school in Jenin while class is in session, causing damage to the school but no injuries; raids a school in the al-Mawasi area of Gaza, arresting 1 staff mbr.; bulldozes 78 dunams of olive groves nr. Jabaliya r.c. In Gaza City, masked Palestinian gunmen kidnap, murder PSF riot police chief Raghib Abu Lahiya. An attempt by PSF officers to arrest the assailants sparks a clash that leaves 5 Hamas mbrs. dead, 30 other Palestinians injured; Hamas denies involvement, says one of its mbrs. whose brother was killed by Abu Lahiya on 10/1/01 arranged the murder as a personal vendetta. (AP, HA, JTA, MM, PM, WP, WT 10/7; AFP 10/7 in WNC 10/8; MM, NYT, WP, WT 10/8; AFP, MENA, al-Quds, XIN 10/8 in WNC 10/9; AP, MM, NYT, PCHR, PR, WP, WT 10/9; AKH, SA 10/9 in WNC 10/15; NYT, PM, WP 10/10; MEI 10/11; JPI 10/18; MEI 10/25; JPI 11/8)

The IDF fires on stone-throwing Palestinian youths violating the curfew in Nablus, killing 1 Palestinian teenager; sends an APC into the demolished areas of Arafat's Ramallah compound for the 1st time since the IDF pullback on 9/29 (pulls it out by the end of the day); arbitrarily reimposes a curfew on Jenin, immediately firing on a taxi, seriously wounding the driver. Jewish settler attack Palestinians picking olives in Aqraba, pistol whipping several, stealing the day's harvest. (PM 10/5; XIN 10/5 in WNC 10/7; NYT, WP, WT 10/6; NYT 10/8; PCHR 10/9)

After Friday prayers 30 Palestinians inside the al-Aqsa Mosque compound pelt officers outside the complex with stones in protest of Bush's decision to sign legislation requiring U.S. recognition of united Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Some 50 Israeli police storm the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount, fire tear gas and stun grenades at Palestinian worshipers leaving al-Aqsa Mosque. The IDF fatally shoots 1 Palestinian at a checkpoint in Barata nr. Hebron; fires on residential areas of Jenin, wounding at least 3, including a 15-yr.-old Palestinian hit inside his home, barred evacuation to a hospital, bleeds to death (the IDF admits that soldiers violated open-fire regulations); fires on a Palestinian taxi breaking curfew in Nablus, seriously injuring the driver, a 12-yr.-old Palestinian bystander; conducts arrest raids in Dura, Hebron; bulldozes a PSF post, more than 23 dunams of Palestinian land nr. Khan Yunis. An IDF soldier is shot, wounded in Nablus. Palestinians fire 4 mortars at Gush Katif settlement block in Gaza, an antitank missile at an IDF outpost, causing no damage. (HA, REU 10/4; LAW, NYT, WT 10/5; PCHR 10/9)

The IDF demolishes 3 Palestinian homes in Dura; bulldozes 3 homes and farm land nr. Netzarim settlement in Gaza; fires on stone-throwing Palestinian youths nr. Bayt Hanun and Kefar Darom, wounding 13; fatally shoots 1 Palestinian in his Jenin home; raids a UNRWA hospital in Qalqilya, assaulting several staff mbrs. Palestinians fire 3 Qassam rockets into the Negev, lightly injuring 4 Israelis, damaging 1 house; fire on a settler vehicle nr. Ramallah, injuring 2 Jewish settlers. Jewish settlers announce the completion of 14 permanent housing units in Rehalim nr. Nablus. The PA says it has arrested 11 Palestinian collaborators who aided Israel in various assassinations. (HA, LAW, PCHR 9/25; al-Quds 9/25 in WNC 9/26; CNN, HA, LAW, NYT 9/26; UN press release 10/1; LAW, PCHR 10/2)

In Ramallah, the IDF continues demolition work at the PA compound, setting fire to storehouses, bulldozing the Ramallah governate building; says it now seeks the extradition of 50 Palestinians inside Arafat's offices; warns those inside the remaining building to evacuate or risk being harmed when the IDF blows it up, prompting 1,000s of Palestinians to take to the street in protest, despite the curfew. The IDF fires stun grenades, live ammunition at the crowds, killing 2 Palestinians (including a journalist with Voice of Palestine). (After al-Jazeera TV broadcasts news of the spontaneous Ramallah demonstrations, 1,000s of Palestinians violate the curfews Jenin, Nablus, Tulkarm and rally in Gaza to protest; the IDF kills 1 Palestinian protester in Nablus, a 2d Palestinian in Tulkarm and demolishes 2 Palestinian homes in Qabatya, Qalqilya.) None of the Palestinians in the Ramallah compound evacuates, the IDF does not blow up the building; unnamed Israeli officials suggest the threat was "psychological combat" aimed at making living conditions so unbearable for Arafat that he seeks refuge abroad. The IDF also conducts arrest raids in al-Fara' r.c., Jenin, Rafah; fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis, Rafah; fires on an ambulance in Nablus, damaging it, wounding 1 Palestinian bystander. (PM 9/21; MENA 9/21, ITAR-TASS, XIN 9/22 in WNC 9/23; NYT, PM, WP, WT 9/22; HA 9/23; al-Quds 9/23 in WNC 9/24; MM 9/24; LAW, PCHR, PR 9/25; MEI, MM 9/27; PRCS press release 9/27)

A Hamas suicide bomber detonates a device on a bus in Tel Aviv, killing 5 Israelis, injuring more than 50. Sharon convenes his cabinet, which unanimously decides to launch Operation Matter of Time to "isolate” Arafat, calls for the immediate extradition of around 20 wanted Palestinians (including Force 17 head Mahmud Damara, PA General Intelligence chief Tawfiq Tirawi) allegedly among the 200 Palestinians hiding in Arafat's offices (8 surrender in the evening). The IDF immediately reimposes 24-hr. curfews on all West Bank areas except Hebron; sends tanks into Ramallah to surround Arafat's offices (1 tank fatally shoots a 10-yr.-old Palestinian boy 6 times; troops shoot, wound 2 Arafat bodyguards in the PA headquarters compound); fires on "Palestinian schoolchildren challenging the army's attempt to impose a curfew" in Amari r.c., killing a 11-yr.-old Palestinian; shells residential areas of Rafah; conducts arrest raids in Bayt Hanun (where an IDF tank runs over a roadside bomb, injuring 2 soldiers), Jenin r.c. (blowing up 1 Palestinian home), Nablus, Qalqilya, the Tulkarm area; bulldozes 19 dunams of agricultural land nr. Kefar Darom settlement. Jewish settlers open fire on a Palestinian taxi nr. Tulkarm, seriously injuring the driver. (AP, HA, JTA, LAW, MM, PM 9/19; ATL, ITAR-TASS 9/19 in WNC 9/20; MM, NYT, WP, WT 9/20; Interfax, MA, Radio Monte Carlo 9/20 in WNC 9/23; MEZ, NYT 9/21; AYM 9/23 in WNC 9/25; LAW, PCHR, PR 9/25; MA 9/25 in WNC 9/26; WJW 9/26; MEI 9/27)

The IDF raids Beitunia, imposes a curfew, fires on and raids the local PA General Intelligence office, killing wanted Palestinian Mahmud Harfush, wounding 2 General Intelligence officers; conducts arrest raids in Dahariyya, Nablus; fires on Palestinian stone throwers in Yatta nr. Hebron, injuring 11; demolishes 2 Palestinian homes in Jenin. (LAW, PCHR 9/11; PCHR 9/18)

The PC opens debate on approving the new Executive Authority (EA or cabinet) appointed by Arafat in 6/02; the vote confidence is not held for lack of time. Many PC mbrs. argue that they should reject the EA to underline the need for substantive change of PA policy and style and because several of EA mbrs. have been cited for corruption. (HA, MM, WT 9/10; NYT, WT 9/11)

The IDF shells and raids Rafah, fatally shooting a 7-yr.-old Palestinian boy, demolishing 21 stores, firing at a Reuters camera crew (damaging a video camera but causing no injuries); conducts house searches, arrests in al-Safaya nr. Bayt Lahia; fires rubber-coated steel bullets at a Palestinian stone thrower in Amari r.c., seriously wounding him; fires on residential areas of Jenin, Khan Yunis. In Nablus, the IDF announces a temporary lifting of the curfew, immediately opens fire on Palestinians in the streets, forcing them to go back into their homes; occupies, searches, blows up part of the local PA headquarters; surrounds the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) center, barring ambulances fr. moving. The IDF admits that the 8/28 Shaykh Ajlin attack was an error. Ben-Eliezer agrees to meet with Yahya, but Yahya cancels to protest the Shaykh Ajlin deaths. (HA, MM, PM 8/29; MM, WP, WT 8/30; LAW, PCHR 9/4)

The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington announces that its annual fundraising campaign brought in $20.5 m., up 8% from last year. Of that amount $11.8 m. will be used for projects in the greater Washington area, such as Jewish day schools and community centers, and $7.8 m. will go to Israel and diaspora Jewish communities in Argentina and Ethiopia. The $20.5 m. does not include an additional $18.3 . the federation has raised for its Israel Emergency Campaign since fall 2001. (WJW 8/29)

The IDF fatally shoots AMB Jenin cmdr. Muhammad al-Ott, wounds 5 in a shoot out in Jenin; fires tank shells at stone throwers in Nablus, injuring 9 Palestinians; reimposes the curfew on Hebron; shells residential areas of, razes 69 dunams of agricultural land in Abasan, Khuza; demolishes 3 Palestinian homes in Gaza, allegedly used as cover by AMB mbrs. who attempted to infiltrate Kefar Darom on 8/23; confiscates an apartment building in Hebron as an IDF post; raids a Hebron police station, detaining 1 PSF officer. In Tulkarm, AMB gunmen fatally shoot a Palestinian woman who allegedly collaborated with Israel in the 8/7/02 assassination of local AMB cmdr. Ziad Da'as. (WP, WT 8/25; al-Quds 8/24, XIN 8/25 in WNC 8/26; NYT, WT 8/26; LAW, PCHR 8/28; NYT 9/2)

The IDF turns over control of Bethlehem, the main n.+ns. road in Gaza to the PA Preventive Security Force (PSF), lifts the curfew on Bethlehem, keeps troops on the outskirts of the city, poised to reinvade if the PA fails to maintain security control; 400 PA Preventive Security Force (PSF) officers take up posts around the city. The IDF fatally shoots a 14-yr.-old boy in Jenin for no apparent reason; blows up a building in Nablus that it claims to be a bomb-making factory; raids a PSF post nr. Ramallah, detaining 6 PSF officers; bulldozes 9 dunams (4 dunams = 1 acre) of agricultural land, 1 Palestinian home in Satar al-Gharbiyya; conducts arrest raids in Jenin r.c. (MM 8/19; MM, NYT, WP, WT 8/20; LAW, PCHR, WP 8/21; AKH 8/22 in WNC 8/23; PCHR 8/26)

Fatah Revolutionary Council (FRC) head Sabri al-Banna (Abu Nidal), who broke with the Fatah organization in the 1970s, is found dead in his Baghdad apartment. Iraqi officials say he committed suicide, but do not explain how he suffered multiple gunshot wounds. (HA 8/19; MM, NYT, WP, WT 8/20; NYT, WP, WT 8/21; DUS 8/21 in WNC 8/22; MA 8/29 in WNC 8/30; MM 9/20)

The Israel Defense Force (IDF) continues to reoccupy 7 Palestinian towns (Bethlehem, Hebron, Jenin, Nablus, Qalqilya, Ramallah, Tulkarm) and impose 24-hr. curfews on most population centers, tight restrictions on movement through out the West Bank, Gaza. The IDF demolishes 5 Palestinian homes (2 Anabta, 1 Bayt Hanun, 2 Jenin); conducts arrest raids nr. Hebron. (NYT, WT 8/17; LAW, PCHR 8/21; PCHR 8/26)

In Nablus, the IDF conducts arrest raids, searches homes; bulldozers block entrances to Nablus's old city with dirt; tanks, APCs patrol, tightly enforcing curfew. The IDF fatally shoots a Palestinian driving a truck in Hebron just after a curfew had been reimposed without warning; demolishes 8 Palestinian homes (1 Hebron, 5 Jenin, and 2 Nablus) belonging to relatives of Palestinian militants; shells residential areas of Khan Yunis. (NYT, WP, WT 8/4; LAW, PCHR 8/7)