The Palestine Chronology

The IDF shells n. Gaza, wounding 2 Palestinians outside the Bayt Lahiya hospital; raids several shops, homes, and the General Union of Palestinian Workers and the Union of Ex-Combatants offices in Hebron; fires on residential areas of nearby Halhul; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Jenin, Nablus (exchanging gunfire with Palestinian gunmen in Askar r.c., wounding 1), in Jericho, and nr. Bethlehem, Ramallah. In a predawn incident in Abasan nr. Khan Yunis, AMB mbrs. kidnap 3 Hamas mbrs., and Hamas mbrs. kidnap 4 AMB mbrs. (it is unclear who kidnapped whom first), sparking a heavy exchange of fire, with Hamas mbrs. firing an antitank rocket killing 2 AMB mbrs. and Fatah shooting dead 1 Hamas mbr.; some 10 Palestinians, mostly bystanders, are wounded; those kidnapped are released after negotiations. (BBC, MM, NYT, WP, WT 5/8; MM 5/9; PCHR 5/11)

The IDF closes Qarni crossing for 2 days; closes the Kerem Shalom crossing for the day; shells Bayt Lahiya (wounding a Palestinian outside his home, damaging several homes); raids a PA police station in Tamun, confiscating a guard’s gun; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Madama nr. Nablus, ordering all of the village residents to gather the local school for ID checks. At the request of Jewish settlers fr. Suissa, the IDF beats and forcibly removes a Palestinian farmer and his 6-yr.-old son fr. their nearby farm land. Some 50 masked PA policemen (AMB mbrs.), firing in the air, block a main Gaza road in Khan Yunis, briefly seize a government building to protest a 2-wk. delay in their 3/06 salaries. A Palestinian bystander wounded in the 4/7 IDF assassination of PRC cmdr. Abu al-‘Aynayn dies of his injuries. (HA, IMEMC, XIN 4/15; WP, WT 4/16; PCHR 4/20; OCHA 4/23)

On the 5th day of Operation Southern Arrow, the IDF conducts an air strike on a car driving in Gaza City, killing AMB mbrs. Muhammad Abu Shari‘a and Mahmud Ajjur and seriously injuring a 3d who had just fired a rocket into Israel (causing no damage or injuries), and an air strike on a car nr. Khan Yunis, assassinating at least 6 mbrs. of the Abu Rish Brigades (ARB; a Fatah offshoot) and wounding 4 other ARB mbrs. and at least 11 bystanders; 3 Palestinian children in Jabaliya r.c. and a family of 5 in Bayt Lahiya are wounded by shrapnel in continued shelling of n. Gaza. The IDF also bars Palestinians under age 30 fr. crossing checkpoints into or out of the Jordan Valley; sends troops back into Nablus, firing on stone-throwing youths who confront them, wounding 12; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron, nr. Jenin (targeting Islamic Jihad, firing on stone-throwing youths who confront the troops); patrols in Anabta nr. Tulkarm, firing on Palestinian youths who confront the troops. Jewish settlers fr. Suissa set fire to a Palestinian home, attack Palestinian farmers, shepherds in nearby Yatta. A smugglers tunnel on the Rafah border collapses, killing 2 Palestinians. (IMEMC 4/8; Palestine Satellite Channel Television, VOI, VOP 4/8 in WNC 4/9; IMEMC, NYT, PCHR, WP, WT 4/9; PCHR 4/13)

The IDF arrests 3 Change and Reform PC mbrs. outside Jerusalem on their way to visit al-Quds University in Azariyya; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Nablus (occupying 1 Palestinian home as an observation post); patrols in Tulkarm. Late in the evening, in response to Palestinian rocket and mortar fire fr. Gaza into Israel that causes no damage or injuries, the IDF makes air strikes on a water network in Khan Yunis (cutting off water to 6,500 Palestinians), open areas nr. Abasan, a water and an electrical network n. of Rafah, 2 roads leading to the n. Gaza no-go zone nr. Bayt Lahiya. (IMEMC 3/18; VOP 3/18 in WNC 3/19; XIN 3/19; PCHR 3/23)

After the AMB fires 3 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries, the IDF fires at least 15 artillery shells at n. Gaza, 1 of which hits an apartment building in Bayt Lahiya, wounding a 2-yr.-old Palestinian boy. The IDF also reimposes 2 roadblocks outside Jericho that were removed under the 3/16/05 agmt. turning over security control of the city to the PA, citing the PA’s 2/9 release of wanted AMB, Islamic Jihad mbrs. fr. the Jericho jail; continues arrest raids, house searches nr. Nablus; finds an empty rocket casing in a search in Qabatya; bulldozes a USAID-funded public park and playground in Azun nr. Qalqilya, saying it was built without permission (USAID donated $80,000 of the $120,000 cost); fires on residential areas of Bani Na‘im nr. Hebron. Israeli undercover units, driving a car with Palestinian plates, raid Allar, search a home, arrest a wanted Palestinian. Some 20 armed gunmen fr. the al-Yasir Brigades (an AMB offshoot) temporarily occupy the Rafah governorate offices to protest the appointment of a Khan Yunis resident as the new Rafah governor, demanding that the governor be a Rafah resident. (AFP, PCHR, XIN, YA 2/22; PCHR 2/23, 3/2)

The IDF closes the Qarni crossing after a roadside bomb explodes nearby inside Gaza, causing no damage or injuries; continues operations in and around Nablus for a 3d day, clashing with local Palestinians in Balata r.c., wounding 18; demolishes a Palestinian home in Hebron; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron, in Qabatya. Armed gunmen from the Amr Abu Sitta Battalions (a Fatah offshoot) raid the Khan Yunis municipal building and a municipal garage, ransacking the offices and stealing the keys for all municipal vehicles, after municipal officials refuse to loan the group a bulldozer to level land for a barracks. (IMEMC 2/21; NYT, PCHR 2/22; PCHR 2/23; NYT 3/4)

Palestinians fire 3 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, 1 of which hits a mobile home, injuring 3 Israelis, including a 7 mo. old, 2 of which hit an industrial park, damaging a desalinization complex. IDF fires some 50 artillery shells the n. Gaza no-go zone in response, causing no damage or injuries. The IDF also enters Dahaysha r.c. and fires on residential areas; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem, Nablus. Jewish settlers fr. Teena nr. Hebron chase away 2 Palestinian shepherds grazing nearby, fire on their sheep, killing 3. Jewish settlers fr. Bnei Heifer nr. Hebron beat a Palestinian grazing cattle nearby. Unidentified Palestinian gunmen (suspected to be PA security officers) kidnap a Hamas mbr. in Khan Yunis (see 2/2). (WP 2/4; HA 2/5; PCHR 2/9)

The IDF issues a military order restricting Palestinians entering Israel to using 11 West Bank border crossings, citing the need for “increased security”; the order also bars Israelis fr. escorting Palestinians through other checkpoints into Israel. The IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem (firing on residential areas) and in Nablus, Qabatya. Nr. Hebron, 2 armed Jewish settlers in a car intercept and board a Palestinian school bus, threaten the driver, beat several students, injuring 5; IDF soldiers fr. a post 100 m. away observe but only intervene after 40 mins. when the settlers call them to come arrest 1 Palestinian boy for throwing a stone at their car; the soldiers comply. In Gaza City, 20 Palestinian gunmen seal an EU office, demanding an apology for derogatory cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad run in the Danish press, then republished in Norwegian, French, and other European newspapers. Also in Gaza, the AMB releases a video statement warning that it plans to kidnap more foreigners in reaction to the cartoons, prompting European diplomats, aid workers to begin leaving the West Bank, Gaza. In Nablus, Palestinian gunmen kidnap a German teacher, thinking he is Danish or French; quickly turn him over to PA police once they realize their mistake. Fatah, Hamas denounce the targeting of foreigners. A Hamas mbr. is shot, wounded in Khan Yunis, possibly in retaliation for Hamas attacks on PA security force targets on 2/1. (IMEMC 2/2; NYT 2/3; HA 2/5; PCHR 2/9; HA 2/23)

The IDF halts and blows up a Palestinian vehicle nr. Qalqilya, without giving a reason; conducts arrest raids in and around Hebron (occupying 1 home as an observation post), nr. Bethlehem, Jenin, and Ramallah, and in Aida r.c., Nur al-Shams r.c. (firing on residential areas), Tulkarm (firing on residential areas). Some 20,000 Fatah mbrs. angry over their election defeat stage marches, rallies across Gaza; Fatah mbrs. also temporarily take over the PC buildings in Gaza City, Ramallah calling for the Fatah leadership to resign; some 2,000 Fatah mbrs., some armed, march through Nablus, 500 march in Hebron, and 100s rally outside the Muqata in Ramallah, making the same demand. Hamas gunmen ambush, wound 2 PA policemen in Khan Yunis, apparently in retaliation for a clash that left a Hamas mbr. wounded on 1/27. Palestinian farmers in Gaza dump rotting produce at the Qarni crossing to protest Israel’s closing of the export point despite its pledge to the U.S. to keep it open on “an urgent basis.” (Israel sealed the crossing on 1/14 citing intelligence reports that a tunnel was being dug nearby; PA security forces have been looking for a tunnel without success, and Israel won’t say where intelligence indicates the tunnel may be.) Palestinians export tens of millions of dollars of produce through Qarni during this time of yr. (HA 1/28; NYT, WP, WT 1/29; PCHR 2/2)

The IDF conducts late night arrest raids, house searches in Hebron. In retaliation for the killing of a Palestinian girl on 1/26, the AMB, PRCs fire 4 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba vandalize Palestinian homes in Hebron. Across Gaza, 1,000s of Hamas supporters hold peaceful rallies after midday prayers to celebrate Hamas’s election victory. Meanwhile, some 15,000 Fatah mbrs. carry out angry marches across Gaza, burning cars, firing in the air, demanding that the party’s leadership resign over the party’s failure in the 1/25 elections; more than 1,000 armed Fatah mbrs. protest outside Abbas’s Gaza residence alone (he is in Ramallah); in Khan Yunis, Hamas mbrs. trade fire with Fatah mbrs. tearing down Hamas campaign protesters and PA security forces in 2 incidents, leaving 6 Palestinians (including 1 Hamas mbr., 2 PA security officers) wounded. (IMEMC, NYT, REU, YA 1/27; NYT, WP, WT 1/28; PCHR 2/2)

The IDF fires on a “suspicious figure” nr. the Gaza border with Israel nr. Khan Yunis, killing a 9-yr.-old Palestinian girl; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron. Jewish settlers fr. Karnei Shomron nr. Qalqilya throw stones at Palestinians, vandalize homes in nearby Kafr Laqif. Hamas, Fatah mbrs. scuffle in Ramallah over Hamas’s big election win there. (IMEMC, YA 1/26; HA, IMEMC, NYT, WP, WT 1/27; Voice of Palestine 1/27 in WNC 1/28; WP 1/29; PCHR 2/2)

The IDF tightens restrictions on Palestinian movement around Tulkarm; bars Martyr Abu Ali Mustafa candidates in the 1/25 elections fr. crossing a checkpoint outside of Tubas; tears down campaign posters for Fatah candidate and AMB mbr. Muhammad Khadir in Kafr Sur nr. Tulkarm, as well as other campaign posters on the road leading fr. Hebron to Dura; sends troops into Jenin town and r.c., fires on stone-throwing youths who confront them, seriously wounding a 12-yr.-old boy; conducts arrest raids, house searches in al-Azza r.c. nr. Bethlehem, nr. Nablus and Ramallah, in and around Hebron (occupying several homes as observation posts). Palestinians fire 4 rockets fr. n. Gaza towards Israel, 3 of which land inside Palestinian territory, causing no damage or injuries; the IDF responds with artillery fire, causing no injuries. PA police exchange gunfire with wanted Palestinians during an arrest raid in Dayr al-Balah, leaving 10 Palestinians wounded (including 8 policemen); 11 policemen are wounded in clashes with suspected drug smugglers during an arrest raid in Khan Yunis; 1 Palestinian is killed in a clash btwn. PA police and gunmen in Gaza City. The AMB–Jenin faction warns foreign election observers to leave the city immediately. (IMEMC 1/7; NYT 1/8; YA 1/9; PCHR 1/19; PLO Negotiation Affairs Dept. press release 1/23)

The IDF fires missiles at a car in Jabaliya r.c., assassinating Islamic Jihad cmdr. Said Abu Jidayn, as well asIslamic Jihad mbrs. Akram Qaddas, Omar Obayid, wounding 3 bystanders; fires missiles fr. F-16s at an educational center in Khan Yunis (causing serious damage but no injuries), 7 access roads to the n. Gaza no-go zone; conducts mock air raids, breaking the sound barrier over Gaza City; extends closure on the Tulkarm and Jenin areas (in place in Tulkarm since 12/15, in Jenin since shortly thereafter) to Nablus, effectively prohibiting any Palestinian travel southward towards Ramallah and sealing 800,000 Palestinians in the northern canton; detains 23 Palestinian election officials on their way to a training session in Ramallah at a checkpoint nr. Tulkarm for 6 hrs.; arrests a Palestinian candidate for the 1/25 elections campaigning in Jerusalem; patrols in Bethlehem, Ramallah; conducts arrest raids, house searches in al-Arub r.c. (arresting the campaign coordinator for the Alternative list in the 1/25 elections), Balata r.c., Jenin town and r.c. and nr. Bethlehem, Hebron; uproots 400 Palestinian olive trees southwest of Hebron for construction of the separation wall. Dozens of armed Jewish settlers attempt to reoccupy the vacated West Bank settlement of Sanur; the IDF removes them. Some 200 PA policemen rampage through PA offices, courthouses, an election office, and a municipal building in Rafah, firing in the air to protest the PA’s failure to fight lawlessness in Gaza after the death of a PA policeman in clashes on 12/29. AMB mbrs., PA police clash in Gaza; no injuries are reported. In Brazil r.c., 2 Japanese aid workers escape a kidnapping attempt by unknown Palestinians. (HA, IMEMC, JAZ, XIN 1/2; NYT, PCHR, WP 1/3; NYT, PCHR 1/5; HA 1/13)

The IDF launches an air strike on a PA municipal building nr. Khan Yunis, causing heavy damage; conducts mock air raids over Gaza; patrols in al-Khadir, firing on stonethrowing youths who confront the troops; conducts arrest raids, house searches in al-Arub r.c., nr. Bethlehem and Jenin; dismantles an unauthorized settlement outpost nr. Hebron. The AMB, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the PRCs confirm that their unilateral truce is over. Palestinians fire 3 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. The IDF also announces that around 3 wks. ago, the AMB fired a crude rocket fr. the n. West Bank towards, but not into, Israel, causing no damage or injuries, marking the 1st confirmed rocket fire fr. the West Bank. Jewish settlers attempt to bar Palestinian farmers fr. working their land nr. Qalqilya, but the IDF intervenes. In Khan Yunis, armed AMB mbrs. ambush a minibus of EU diplomats, kidnap 1 Italian official; PA security forces quickly identify and raid the kidnappers’ hideout, free the diplomat in an exchange of fire; no injuries are reported. Armed Palestinians storm a UN social club in Gaza (the last public bar in Gaza, open only to foreigners) after closing, throwing 2 explosives, injuring a security guard. (HA, XIN, YA 1/1; HA, IMEMC, NYT, WP, WT 1/2; PCHR 1/5; NYT 1/31)

Senior Abu Rish Brigades (ARB) leader Khalid Abu Sitta is killed, 3 bystanders are wounded when his car mysteriously explodes nr. Khan Yunis; ARB claims it is an assassination, but the IDF denies involvement. Palestinians fire 2 mortars fr. Gaza towards Israel, causing no damage or injuries. The IDF fires 3 missiles at a rocket launching site nr. Khan Yunis, causing no damage or injuries; fires a missile at the main Rafah–Khan Yunis road, creating large crater; fatally shoots a PRC mbr. laying a roadside bomb nr. Erez crossing; fatally shoots 1 Palestinian, wounds a 2d who attempts to sneak into Israel fr. Bayt Lahiya to find work; fires on, wounds a mentally handicapped Palestinian who strays close to the Israeli border nr. Khan Yunis; fires on residential areas of Kafr al-Labad nr. Tulkarm, wounding, arresting, evacuating to an Israeli hospital a member of the PA security forces; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Issawiyya, Tulkarm (shooting and wounding a wanted Islamic Jihad mbr.) and nr. Hebron, Jenin. In response to the AMB–Islamic Jihad drive-by shooting on 12/16, the IDF closes some 50 roads in Hebron with sand barriers, blocks the main northern and southern entrances to Hebron with cement barriers. Jewish settlers fr. Yitzhar cut down more than 150 Palestinian olive trees nr. Nablus. (BBC, HA, IMEMC, NYT 12/18; AFP 12/19; PLO press release 12/21; PCHR 12/22)

The IDF makes a major raid on Balata r.c., sending in 40 armored vehicles, fatally shooting AMB cmdr. Iyad al-Hashash and wounding a 2d Palestinian in what may be an assassination, searching 10s of homes; exchanges fire with Palestinians nr. Jenin, causing no casualties; fires on stone-throwing Palestinian youths nr. Askar r.c., wounding 2; fires on Palestinian fishing boats nr. Khan Yunis for no apparent reason, wounding 1 Palestinian; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Bethlehem, Hebron, Jayyus, Jenin. Palestinians fire a rocket fr. Gaza into Israel, striking nr. Sederot, causing damage to a water network but no injuries; the IDF shells the suspected launch site in an open area of n. Gaza in response, causing no damage or injuries. Nr. Balata r.c., a Palestinian dies when a hand grenade he intends to throw at an IDF patrol explodes prematurely. (HA, IMEMC 12/11; PCHR 12/15)

An Islamic Jihad suicide bomber fr. Kefar Rai (btwn. Jenin and Tulkarm) detonates a device outside a shopping mall in Netanya, killing 5 Israelis, wounding 31 (4 seriously). Islamic Jihad says the attack is retaliation for the IDF’s 10/24 assassination of 2 of its leaders. The IDF immediately imposes closures on the West Bank and shuts pedestrian crossings in Gaza (keeping the Qarni crossing open for goods); announces that it is preparing for a wide-scale retaliation operation in northern Gaza and will step up assassinations and arrest campaigns in the West Bank, with DM Mofaz stating that the IDF had “decided to operate in a much broader, much deeper and more intensive manner against the Islamic Jihad infrastructure” and would make an effort to keep fr. drawing Hamas into the fighting. Later in the evening, the Israeli security cabinet authorizes the IDF to “adopt a harsher response” to rocket fire fr. Gaza, targeting built-up areas of Gaza as well as launch sites in uninhabited areas. During the day, the IDF also shells uninhabited areas in n. Gaza and in s. Gaza nr. Khan Yunis, causing no damage or injuries; makes 5 mock air raids over Gaza, breaking the sound barrier; fires on residential areas of Aida r.c., wounding 2 Palestinians; conducts arrest raids in and around Hebron and in Bethlehem, Jenin (targeting Hamas, including detaining 2 candidates in the 12/15 municipal elections, 1 candidate in the 1/25 parliamentary elections), Ramallah; bulldozes 5 d. of Palestinian land in Silwan for construction of a parking lot for Jewish settlers. Palestinians throw 2 pipe bombs at an IDF patrol nr. Bethlehem and fire on an IDF checkpoint nr. Nablus, causing no damage or injuries. PA police fire at Palestinians in Jenin rallying in support of the Netanya bombing. Israeli police round up another 500 Palestinians working in Israel without permits (see 12/4). (BBC, HA, IDF Radio, IMEMC, XIN, YA 12/5; CSM, DS, HA, IMEMC, JAZ, NYT, REU, WP, WT, YA 12/6; AFP, PCHR 12/8)

Israel increases the number of Palestinian workers allowed into Israel fr. the West Bank to 37,000, while Israeli police launch a crackdown on Palestinians working in Israel without permits, arresting 250. The IDF erects a fortified observation tower on the Gaza border nr. Khan Yunis; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Jenin, al-Khadir and nr. Hebron. AMB mbrs. fire 3 rockets into Israel, causing light damage but no injuries. Late in the evening, the IDF responds with artillery strikes on rocket launch sites in n. Gaza, with fighter jets creating sonic booms over the Strip and conducting air strikes on an Islamic Jihad charity and alleged weapons-making factory; Israeli DM Shaul Mofaz approves an increase in assassinations in response to the rocket attacks. PA police shoot, seriously wound a Palestinian driver in Ramallah who refuses to stop for an ID check, precipitating a protest by some 100 bystanders, joined by AMB gunmen who force local shop owners to close their stores in protest. (HA, IMEMC, XIN 12/4; HA, VOI, WT 12/5; IMEMC 12/6; NYT 12/7; PCHR 12/8)

The IDF closes the Erez crossing into Gaza, citing threats of an attack; fatally shoots an unarmed Palestinian “in a suspicious position” nr. a settler bypass road outside Hebron; makes a predawn raid and fires on residential areas of Jenin town and refugee camp (r.c.), orders all male Palestinians ages 16–35 to gather for an ID check, arresting 1; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Nablus; confiscates 94 d. in Bayt Jala, 115 d. in al-Khadir, 119 d. in al-Walaja for construction of the separation wall outside Bethlehem; confiscates 10 d. of Palestinian land nr. Jenin for “military purposes.” In Khan Yunis, PA police fatally shoot a Palestinian in an exchange of gunfire with mbrs. of 2 Palestinian families in a dispute over land on the vacated Neve Dekalim settlement site that also leaves 10 other Palestinians (including 2 policemen) wounded; in response, 10s of Palestinians vandalize a police station in nearby Khan Yunis, set 2 police vehicles on fire. (HA 11/18; AP, HA, NYT, WP 11/19; WP, XIN 11/20; PCHR 11/24)

The IDF allows the PA to open the Rafah crossing for 4 hrs. to allow humanitarian cases to cross; demolishes a Palestinian home in Anata, East Jerusalem for having been built without a permit. Late in the evening, the IDF launches major arrest raids, house searches in Qabatya, occupying 13 Palestinian homes as observation posts; also conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Tulkarm and in Balata r.c., Dura, Hebron, al-Til, Jenin town and camp, neighboring Marka. Jewish settlers fr. Harsina nr. Hebron uproot 40 Palestinian olive trees. A mentally handicapped Palestinian wounded by IDF gunfire nr. al-Mahatin checkpoint nr. Khan Yunis on 9/9 dies. (PCHR 11/10; al-Awda news 11/12)

The IDF continues arrest raids, house searches in villages around Jenin into the predawn hours; for no apparent reason fires 5 artillery shells at Palestinian homes and fields e. of Khan Yunis, causing damage but no injuries; detains, beats, releases after 6 hrs. an al-Jazeera cameraman filming a nonviolent Palestinian demonstration against the separation wall in Bil‘in. An Israeli comm. responsible for preserving historic sites approves the demolition of the Shepherd Hotel in East Jerusalem (owned by Mufti of Jerusalem Hajj Amin al-Husayni before being converted into a hotel in 1945) to make way for construction of 70 Jewish settlement housing units that would link up different Jewish districts of Jerusalem; the hotel was acquired by Jewish-American millionaire Irving Moscowitz in 1985. (AFP, Committee to Protect Journalists press release, IMEMC, Middle East Times, Reporters Without Borers press release 11/4; PCHR 11/10)

The IDF erects 2 observation towers, a military post on the Gaza border east of Khan Yunis nr. Khuza’ (cf. 9/8, 10/4); allows the PA to open the Rafah crossing for 48 hrs. to allow Palestinians making the hajj to leave for Saudi Arabia; conducts wide-scale arrest raids and house searches in Bayt Furik, Hebron, Ramallah, Tulkarm (also imposing a curfew). The IDF reportedly has recently started using a nonlethal crowd dispersal method, firing tightly packed mini bean bags at protesters demonstrating against the separation wall in Bil‘in. (AFP 10/23; HA, PCHR 10/27; OCHA 10/31)

The IDF closes the Qarni crossing (reopened on 10/9); begins construction of a 6-m.-high concrete wall 15 m inside the n. Gaza border (see 9/18); conducts arrest raids in and around Hebron (targeting Hamas), Nablus, Yatta. Jewish settlers fr. Elkana beat, chase off a Palestinian family harvesting their olive trees nr. Salfit. AMB mbrs. briefly kidnap an American journalists, British photographer in Khan Yunis, giving no reason; Fatah secures their quick release unharmed. (AFP, IMEMC 10/12; IMEMC, NYT, WP, WT 10/13; PCHR 10/20; OCHA 10/31)

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)

1,000s of Palestinians continue to cross the Rafah border, while Egyptian border guards attempt to assert some control; PA security forces do not attempt to block movement; Hamas mbrs. blow an opening in the concrete wall on the Palestinian side to facilitate passage. Hamas mbrs. disrupt a disengagement celebration at an abandoned settlement site nr. Khan Yunis, attack a Palestinian rap group in protest over their “Western” music. Abbas cancels plans to attend another national unity celebration at Neve Dekalim out of concern about gunmen. Meanwhile, the IDF raids an Internet caf´e in East Jerusalem, confiscating computers and disks, searches staff and customers; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Hebron; imposes a curfew on Zabbuba nr. Jenin. Jewish settlers in Hebron attack Palestinian homes, vehicles in and around the city. (JAZ 9/14; BBC, HA, IMEMC, PCHR, WT 9/15; PCHR 9/22)

The Israeli cabinet votes (14–2) to complete disengagement without demolishing 19 Gaza synagogues and to declare officially the end of military rule in Gaza. In the evening, the IDF holds a flag-lowering ceremony in Gaza, begins pullout of its 6 remaining battalions (5,000–6,000 troops), which should be completed by dawn on 9/12. In the afternoon, the IDF fires on Palestinians gathering nr. Khan Yunis to watch the final pullout, wounding 5. A Jewish settler fr. Kiryat Arba injures a 24-yr.-old Palestinian woman, a 10-yr.-old Palestinian girl in a hitand-run in Hebron. (BBC 9/11; NYT, WP, WT 9/12; PCHR 9/15)

The IDF blows up its last posts and observation towers in Gaza, completes removal of its equipment in preparation for a handover to the PA; the only settler or IDF structures left standing are the IDF division headquarters nr. Neve Dekalim, which will be turned over to the PA, and the synagogues (see 9/8). In Gaza, the IDF shoots, wounds a mentally handicapped Palestinian who strays close to a checkpoint outside Khan Yunis. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in Aqaba nr. Jenin; patrols in, fires on residential areas of Qabatya. In Gaza City, 1,000s of Palestinians attend Musa Arafat’s funeral; Abbas was expected to address the ceremony but does not attend because of the high number of gunmen present. The PRCs issue a further statement on the assassination, restating that the PRCs as an organization are not responsible but that some PRC mbrs. as individuals carried out the plot, which the PRCs claim was orchestrated by PA Civil Affairs M Muhammad Dahlan. (HA 9/9; NYT, WP, WT 9/10; 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)