The Palestine Chronology

The IDF makes an incursion into Wadi al-Silqa in central Gaza, searching homes, clashing with local gunmen, wounding 2 armed Palestinians, bulldozing 20 d. of land; makes an air strike targeting a carload of Hamas mbrs. in Rafah, causing no injuries but damaging 10 nearby homes; conducts arrest raids in al-Shuka; shoots, wounds a mentally handicapped Palestinian who strays nr. the border fence e. of Dayr alBalah. In the West Bank, the IDF and Shin Bet raid 14 money exchanges in Hebron, Jenin, Nablus, Ramallah, Tulkarm that have allegedly funneled money to “terror operations,” arresting 5 owners, seizing millions of dollars, computers, documents. The IDF also demolishes a Palestinian home in Wadi al-Juz in East Jerusalem; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus and Tulkarm, in Qabatya. The Israeli High Court rules against a temporary stop-work order for IAA digging in Silwan (see 2/10). (International Justice Watch email 2/11; IDF press release 2/12; OCHA, WT 2/13; PCHR 2/14)

The Israeli High Court endorses the Israeli DMin.’s 1/27 plan to wage “economic warfare” against Gaza. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Jenin town and r.c., and nr. Nablus, Ramallah; patrols in, fires on residential areas of Nablus, causing no injuries. An Israeli nonprofit group, Yemin Yehuda, begins construction of 200 settler housing units in East Jerusalem’s Shimon Hatzaddik compound. PA civil servants begin a 2-day strike to protest new PA restrictions on obtaining government services such as ID cards, birth certificates. (HA, NYT, PCHR, WP, WT 1/31; OCHA 2/6; PCHR 2/7)