The Palestine Chronology

An IDF helicopter fires missiles at a car driving outside Gaza City, assassinating 3 senior Hamas mbrs. Tarad Jamal (local military cmdr.), Ibrahim Dayri, Ammar Hassan; fatally shoots an AMB mbr. brandishing an assault rifle who approaches an IDF patrol in Tulkarm. The IDF also transfers a West Bank administrative detainee to Gaza; raids Hebron University, damages an exhibit on Palestinian culture; fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis (seriously wounding a 6-yr.-old Palestinian inside his home), Rafah, Tulkarm r.c.; conducts arrest raids in Husan and al-Khadir nr. Bethlehem, Nablus, Tulkarm. Palestinians toss an explosive device at a Jewish settler vehicle nr. Hebron, lightly wounding 1 Jewish settler. A Palestinian dies of injuries received during the separation wall protest at Biddu on 2/26. (HA, PR 3/3; LBC, VOP 3/3 in WNC 3/5; MM, NYT, PCHR, WP, WT 3/4; PCHR 3/11)

The IDF announces plans to “intensify our antiterror operations” in Gaza, saying the aim is to “eliminate as many terrorists as possible” before a unilateral Israeli pullout fr. the Strip. IDF troops raid Yatta, fatally shoot an unarmed Palestinian outside his home when he allegedly fails to obey orders to halt, begin to bulldozes his house, then suddenly leave, raising suspicions that the man killed was not the man the soldiers intended to target. The IDF also conducts arrest raids in Balata r.c., Hebron, Nablus, Ramallah, Tulkarm; conducts house searches in Bayt Hanun; fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis. Jewish settlers install 6 mobile homes at Einav e. of Tulkarm. (HA, WT 3/3; VOP 3/2 in WNC 3/4; PCHR 3/4)

The IDF assassinates Islamic Jihad military cmdr. Muhammad Judah, firing missiles at his car as he drives through Jabaliya r.c., also killing his 2 passengers, Islamic Jihad mbr. Amin Daduh and his brother Ayman Daduh (not a mbr. of the group), wounding 11 bystanders (including 3 children). The IDF also fires on Palestinian schoolchildren nr. Nablus, seriously injuring an 11-yr.-old boy; fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis; conducts house searches, fires on residential areas, damages vehicles in Surif nr. Hebron. In Gaza City, 20 Palestinian gunmen raid the PA Land Authority offices, demanding that property be transferred to their names. In Khan Yunis, 40 AMB mbrs. raid the Palestinian Broadcasting Company offices in what they say is a protest against economic conditions, demand jobs in the PA. (AFP, NYT, WP, WT 2/28; LBC, PSCT, VOP 2/28 in WNC 3/2; NYT, PR 3/3; PCHR 3/4)

An Islamic Jihad suicide bomber on a bicycle detonates a device nr. Gaza’s Kefar Darom settlement, killing only himself, causing no injuries. Palestinian gunmen open fire on an Israeli vehicle just inside Israel nr. Beersheba, killing 2 Israelis, escaping; the AMB, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine–General Command (PFLP–GC) claim responsibility. The IDF storms the al-Aqsa Mosque compound after Friday prayers, claiming to break up a demonstration there, firing rubber-coated steel bullets and percussion grenades, lightly injuring several Palestinians and sparking stone-throwing toward the Western Wall by Palestinian youths, which causes no injuries. The IDF also demolishes 84 Palestinian shops in Bayt Hanun, in an apparent move to expand the buffer zone around the Erez crossing; raids Husan, imposes a curfew, surrounds 3 mosques, fires tear gas inside, injuring 24 worshipers; fires on Palestinians who throw stones at soldiers at the end of peaceful demonstrations against the separation wall in Budrus, Qibya, causing no injuries; conducts arrest raids nr. Hebron, Ramallah; fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis; withdraws troops fr. the Palestinian Medical Relief offices in Ramallah, occupied on 2/26. Palestinians fire a Qassam rocket at Neve Dekalim settlement, causing damage but no injuries. (VOP 2/27 in WNC 3/2; NYT, PCHR, WT 2/28; PR 3/3; PCHR 3/4)

The IDF imposes a curfew on Ramallah, along with Shin Bet raids 4 banks to seize $6.7 m.–$9 m. from 400 accounts allegedly “linked to terrorist activities”; troops clash with local Palestinians, leaving 57 wounded. The IDF also imposes a curfew on Husan; begins bulldozing land nr. Netzarim settlement confiscated on 2/23; demolishes a Palestinian home in Bayt Hanina; fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Aida r.c., Balata r.c., Bayt Fajr, Bayt Jala, Bethlehem. In the n. Israel village of Be’einei, Israeli authorities demolish 3 Israeli Arab homes that were “illegally built,” bulldoze 10.5 dunams of olive groves, clash with residents (wounding 3, arresting 6). (AP, HA, IDF press release, PRCS 2/25; AFP, VOP 2/25 in WNC 2/27; HA, LAW, NYT, PCHR, REU, WP, WT 2/26; VOP 2/26 in WNC 2/28; CSM, Guardian, MM 2/27; AYM, JT 2/27 in WNC 3/2; JT 3/2 in WNC 3/4; MM, PR 3/3; MM 3/4; PCHR 3/11)

An AMB suicide bomber fr. Husan detonates a device on a bus in Jerusalem, killing 8 Israelis, wounding 50. Israel says that the attack is proof that Israel needs to build the separation wall. The IDF immediately sends troops into Husan, seals nearby Bethlehem. The IDF also bars an ambulance fr. crossing a checkpoint to reach a Hebron hospital, allowing an ailing Palestinian woman to die; fires in residential areas of Rafah; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Aida r.c., Balata r.c., Bethlehem; issues orders expropriating 27 dunams of Palestinian land until 12/05 for construction of a security fence around Gaza’s Netzarim settlement. A Hamas mbr. dies in Khan Yunis when a missile he is trying to fire prematurely explodes. Palestinians report that the IDF has recently begun barring Palestinians under age 35 fr. crossing checkpoints around Nablus. On the eve of the International Court of Justice hearings on the wall, Israel begins dismantling a 5-mi. stretch of the barrier running east of the n. West Bank village of Baqa‘ al-Sharqiyya; the wall running west of the village will remain; Israel also reportedly plans not to build a 12.5 mi. stretch of wall cutting Jenin off fr. the Jordan Valley, not to dig deep trenches around Ben-Gurion Airport, to remove 2,953 feet of wall in the Qalqilya area. Palestinians across the territories begin holding demonstrations against the wall to coincide with the hearings. Jewish settlers throw rocks, bottles at Palestinian cars in East Jerusalem. (AFP, NYT, WP, WT 2/22; VOP, XIN 2/22 in WNC 2/24; HA, MM, NYT, WP, WT 2/23; AFP, MENA 2/23 in WNC 2/25; al-Quds 2/23 in WNC 2/26; AP 2/25; PCHR 2/26; MM 3/12)

The IDF conducts arrest raids in Bayt Sahur, Bethlehem, Qalqilya, and nr. Dayr alBalah; bulldozes 8 dunams of olive groves, 4 greenhouses in Dayr al-Balah; fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis, Nablus. Palestinians fire an antitank missile at an IDF patrol in Gaza, lightly injuring 2 soldiers. Palestinians also fire a mortar at an IDF patrol outside a Jewish settlement in Gaza, causing no damage or injuries. In Hebron, 3 IDF soldiers are wounded in a friendly fire incident. Nr. Qalqilya, 100s of Jewish settlers block the IDF fr. removing a caravan fr. an unauthorized settlement outpost. (VOP 2/20 in WNC 2/24; HA 2/21; LAW, PCHR 2/26)

The IDF transfers a West Bank administrative detainee to Gaza for 4 yrs.; fires on 4 Palestinians, allegedly al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade (AMB) mbrs. attempting to infiltrate Gaza’s Gush Katif settlement, killing 2 Palestinians, capturing 1; fires tear gas, rubber-coated steel bullets into a school playground, wounding 3 children; bulldozes 120 dunams of land in al-Mughraqa; conducts house searches in al-Qarara nr. Khan Yunis. In Khan Yunis, unidentified gunmen open fire on the office of Palestinian Council (PC) mbr. Ibrahim Abu Naja, aclose ally of PA head Yasir Arafat, causing significant damage but no injuries. (PCHR 2/19; HA 2/20; LAW, PCHR 2/26)

The IDF fires on Palestinian farmers working their fields nr. Khan Yunis, seriously wounding 1; fires on a Khan Yunis cemetery, wounding 1 Palestinian; detains 4 Palestinian fishermen off the coast of Dayr al-Balah; bulldozes 45 dunams (4 dunams = 1 acre) of Palestinian agricultural land, irrigation works nr. Rafah; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem, in Dahaysha refugee camp (r.c.), nr. Jenin, in Qalqilya; orders confiscation of 141 dunams of land in al-Mughayar village e. of Jenin for construction of the separation wall. A Palestinian dies of injuries received earlier. (VOP 2/17 in WNC 2/19; PCHR 2/19)

The Israel Defense Force (IDF) fires on residential areas of Rafah, fatally shooting a Palestinian standing nr. his home; fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis, seriously wounding a 2d Palestinian man outside his shop; erects 2 new observation towers outside Khan Yunis; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Dura nr. Hebron. A Palestinian dies of injuries received during the 2/11 IDF raid on Gaza City. (VOP 2/16 in WNC 2/18; PCHR 2/19)

The IDF blows up a Palestinian home nr. Jenin; bulldozes a 150 m stretch of land inside a Khan Yunis cemetery, destroying the property boundary wall, several gravesites; conducts arrest raids nr. Jenin; tightens roadblocks around Ramallah, Nablus. In Bethlehem, a Palestinian child grazing animals is injured when he accidentally triggers unexploded IDF ordnance. (PCHR 2/19)

The IDF stages a major raid on Gaza City (reportedly in response to recent attacks on nearby Jewish settlements that caused no injuries), sparking an intense exchange of gunfire with Hamas, Islamic Jihad gunmen, leaving 12 Palestinians (5 Hamas mbrs., 2 Islamic Jihad mbrs., 2 PSF officers, 3 bystanders) dead and 60 (33 of them children) wounded; no IDF soldiers are injured. In an apparent assassination during the raid, the IDF surrounds the home of wanted Hamas mbr. Ashraf Abu Hassanain; orders his family to evacuate; shoots into the home, killing Abu Hassanain and 2 other Hamas mbrs.; blows up the home atop their bodies. In response, Palestinians fire 2 mortars at Karnei settlement, 2 Qassam rockets toward Sederot, causing no damage or injuries. The IDF also stages a major incursion into Rafah, fatally shooting 3 Palestinians, wounding 17 (including 10 children), demolishing 24 Palestinian homes and 3 schools; fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis, seriously wounding a 9- yr.-old Palestinian inside his home; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Bayt Sahur, in Tulkarm, nr. Nablus; demolishes a Palestinian home in Wadi al-Silqa. Later in the day, 1,000s of Palestinians attend the funeral for 1 of the Hamas mbrs. killed today, senior military cmdr. Hani Abu Shukayla, who had survived 2 previous Israeli assassination attempts. An IDF warplane malfunctions, crashes outside Hebron, causing no damage or injuries; the pilot ejects safely. (BBC, HA, MM, PR 2/11; IDF Radio, VOI, VOP, YA 2/11 in WNC 2/13; MM, NYT, PCHR, WP, WT 2/12; al-Hayat al-Jadida, al-Quds 2/12 in WNC 2/18; PR 2/18; PCHR 2/19; MEI 2/20)

The IDF demolishes 9 Palestinian homes nr. Ramallah; bulldozes 11 dunams of land nr. Khan Yunis; fires on residential areas of Rafah. (PCHR 2/8, 2/12)

The IDF raids Nabi Salih village nr. Ramallah, rounding up and detaining the 500 residents outside in the rain for 2 hrs., searching homes, photographing and fingerprinting all men before releasing all residents, withdrawing; conducts a similar but smaller operation in Burqa village nr. Nablus, rounding up residents, firing on homes, arresting 1 man. The IDF also erects signs around Qalqilya warning that “any Israeli who enters” the city will be fined $780; imposes a curfew on, conducts arrest raids in al-‘Arub r.c., Nablus; bulldozes 2 dunams of land in Khan Yunis. Jewish settlers attack Palestinians in Hebron, injuring 5. (LAW 1/25; LAW, PCHR 1/29)

Hamas leader ‘Abd al-Aziz Rantisi proposes a 10 yr. truce with Israel in exchange for Israel’s withdrawal to 1967 borders, stressing that the deal would not include Hamas’s recognition of Israel or an end of the conflict. (REU 1/25; VOP 1/25 in WNC 1/27; HA, WP 1/26) (see 1/7)

The IDF fatally shoots 2 alleged AMB mbrs., both unarmed, who enter a closed military zone in Gaza; sets up 4 new checkpoints on the main road to Qalqilya; fires on residential areas of Rafah; conducts arrest raids in ‘Azun, Khan Yunis. In Hebron, Jewish settlers, Palestinians clash, leaving 3 settlers, 2 Palestinians wounded. Palestinians fire 2 antitank missiles at an IDF patrol nr. Rafah, causing no damage or injuries. (VOI, VOP, YA 1/24 in WNC 1/27; HA, NYT 1/25; PR 1/28; PCHR 1/29)

After 3 yrs. of negotiations via a German mediator, Israel, Hizballah conclude a prisoner swap deal under which Israel will release 401 Palestinian security prisoners, 29 Arab prisoners (including Lebanon’s Shaykh ‘Abd al-Karim Obeid and Mustafa Dirani), the bodies of 59 Lebanese fighters in exchange for captured IDF Col. Elhanan Tennenbaum (res.), the bodies of 3 IDF soldiers. After this 1st phase is completed, Israel, Hizballah will reopen negotiations toward Israel releasing Lebanese prisoner Samir Kantar in exchange for information on downed Israeli pilot Ron Arad. (HA, Israel Television Network 1/24, AFP, MA, MNR, VIRI, VOP, YA 1/25 in WNC 1/27; HA, NYT, WP, WT 1/25; CSM, HA, MM, NYT 1/26; JP 1/27 in WNC 1/29; MM 1/28)

The IDF pulls out of Rafah after 2 days, having found no smugglers’ tunnels; conducts arrest raids, fires on stone-throwing Palestinians, blows up a 5-story apartment building in Nablus; demolishes 2 buildings under construction nr. Tulkarm; conducts arrest raids nr. Khan Yunis. The IDF also fires on a group of Palestinian boys that strays too close to the Gaza border fence while hunting for birds, killing an 11-yr.-old Palestinian, wounding 2 (ages 12, 16); IDF officials say they cannot confirm the death, but state that soldiers do not issue a warning call or fire warning shots at Palestinians approaching the fence and that “terrorists sometimes [have] dispatched children to test Israeli defenses.” (HA 1/22; VOP 1/22 in WNC 1/24; HA, NYT 1/23; PR 1/28; LAW, PCHR 1/29)

Sharon’s chief of staff Weisglass meets with NSA Rice in Washington for further discussions on Sharon’s unilateral disengagement plan. (HA, MM 1/22; WP 1/23; JTA 1/26; HA 1/29)

The IDF continues operations in Rafah, firing on stone-throwing youths, shelling residential areas of Rafah, killing 1 Palestinian woman in her garden, wounding her 13-yr.- old nephew; opens fire on farmers working their fields nr. Khan Yunis, wounding 2; seals a Palestinian home in East Jerusalem; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Nablus, Rafah, Tulkarm r.c.; begins construction of the separation wall around Kiryat Arba settlement in Hebron, bulldozing a grove of 100 trees. (PM 1/21; HA, LAW, PCHR 1/22; PR 1/28)

The WZO urges every Jewish family in the diaspora to buy $50 worth of Israeli products/mo. to help stimulate the Israeli economy, create 20,000 Israeli jobs. (JP 1/21)

The IDF completely demolishes 3 Palestinian homes, bulldozes 9 dunams of land outside Rafah, along the settler bypass road linking Gush Katif and Morag settlements; completely demolishes 6 Palestinian homes in Rafah (seriously damaging 2 others), 1 in Khan Yunis; fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis, Nablus. (PM 1/16; VOP 1/61 in WNC 1/21; LAW, PCHR 1/22)

In Haifa, an Israeli Arab finds a bomb placed nr. his car, disarms it. This is the 5th such incident in Haifa in 30 mos.; earlier explosions left 2 Israeli Arabs injured. The Israeli government issues an order banning the press fr. discussing a letter sent to the Israeli daily Ma’ariv, claiming responsibility for some of the incidents. MK Issam Makhoul alleges that a Jewish extremist group wrote the letter. (HA 1/27)

The IDF sends troops back into Rafah, demolishing 2 Palestinian homes, heavily damaging a 3d; conducts arrest raids, surrounding a hospital, in Salfit nr. Nablus; fires on residential areas of Bayt Dajan nr. Nablus, Khan Yunis. An AMB gunman fires on a Jewish settler vehicle driving nr. Talmon settlement n. of Ramallah, killing 1 Jewish settler, wounding 2. The IDF bars 386 Palestinians fr. leaving fr. Rafah for Saudi Arabia to perform the Hajj, citing security concerns. ISM volunteer Tom Hurndall, shot by the IDF in Rafah on 4/11/03 and left in a coma, dies in London. (PCHR 1/13; AFP, BBC, HA, MM, PR, WP 1/14; PCHR 1/15; JP 1/17)

The IDF continues patrols in Nablus, fires on stone-throwing youths, killing 1 Palestinian; demolishes 2 smugglers’ tunnels, 2 Palestinian homes in Rafah; bulldozes 6 Palestinian homes, 46 dunams of land in al-Qarara; demolishes a Palestinian home in Hebron, 1 Khan Yunis; seals 2 Palestinian homes in Wadi al-Silqa. A Jewish settler driving nr. Qalandia checkpoint hits 2 Palestinians, killing 1. The IDF issues confiscation orders for 1,559 dunams of land in Beitunia w. of Ramallah for construction of the separation wall. Palestinians fire an antitank rocket at an IDF patrol in Rafah, causing no damage or injuries. (YA 1/5 in WNC 1/7; NYT 1/6; PR 1/7; PCHR, PM 1/9)

The IDF expels a West Bank Palestinian administrative detainee to Gaza (see 12/4); fires on stone-throwing youths outside Nablus, killing 1 Palestinian; fires on a group of Israeli, Palestinian, foreign peace activists staging a nonviolent protest along the separation wall nr. Budrus, wounding 1 Israeli, 10 Palestinians, and arresting, deporting 4 foreigners; demolishes 5 Palestinian homes in Khan Yunis, 2 fences in Hebron; conducts arrest raids in al-Qarara. The IDF also orders 1 Palestinian family isolated btwn. the separation wall and Green Line nr. Qalqilya to evacuate their home because it “is now located in Israel”; a human rights group secures permission for the family to stay while the case is appealed. (HA 12/31; NYT, PCHR, WP, WT 1/1; LAW 1/8; PCHR 1/9)

The IDF pulls troops out of Nablus, lifts the 24-hr. curfew after a wk. of operations, during which 10s of Palestinians were detained; fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis, hitting an 8-yr.-old Palestinian in the chest with live ammunition; conducts arrest raids in and around Hebron, in Rafah. Israeli authorities demolish 7 Israeli Arab homes, a mosque in unrecognized villages in the Negev. Young Fatah mbrs. in Rafah waylay, essentially kidnap Arafat aide Ramzi Khoury, Gaza governor Muhammad al-Kidwa at the border crossing as they return fr. Cairo; take them on a forced 4 hr. tour of the recent IDF destruction in Rafah, protesting the PA’s failure to provide for 1,000s of homeless Palestinians. Jewish settlers attack Palestinians, Palestinian houses in Hebron. (WT 12/30; PCHR 1/1; MEI 1/9; HA 1/13)

The IDF sends additional tanks, troops into Nablus, making the incursion begun on 12/18 (now dubbed Operation Still Water) the largest into the city in over a yr., firing on stone-throwing youths, killing 1 Palestinian, wounding 17; closes all roads leading to Tulkarm; erects a number of new roadblocks at entrances to villages around Tulkarm; tightens existing checkpoints, erects 3 new ones around Jenin; demolishes a Palestinian home in Balata r.c.; bulldozes 85 dunams of olive groves east of al-Bureij r.c.; fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis, wounding a Palestinian toddler in her home; conducts arrest raids in Dayr al-Balah. The IDF also bars 2 bus-loads of international peace activists fr. reaching a 2d day of separation wall protests (see 12/26) in Qalqilya, where 1,000s of Palestinians demonstrate, throw stones at IDF troops. Jewish settlers place mobile homes on the 2 sites of unauthorized settlement outposts previously removed by the IDF nr. Hebron. (NYT, WP, WT 12/28; PM 12/29; PCHR 1/1)

Israel says it will retaliate for the 12/25 PFLP suicide bombing but will not hit Hamas targets, since Hamas has refrained fr. attacks inside Israel for several mos. The IDF demolishes the bomber’s family home in Bayt Furik within hrs. The IDF also fires live ammunition at some 200 Israeli, Palestinian, international peace activists staging a nonviolent protest along the separation wall nr. Qalqilya, wounding 1 Israeli (who had just finished 3 yrs. IDF service), 1 American; fires tear gas at another group of protesters at the separation wall west of Ramallah; fires on a funeral process in nr. Khan Yunis (wounding 5 boys, ages 11–18), residential areas of Rafah; conducts arrest raids nr. Khan Yunis; bulldozes 8 dunams of land in al-Qarara. In Gaza, 10,000s of Palestinians attend the funeral for Islamic Jihad’s Humayid, assassinated by the IDF on 12/25. A Palestinian dies of injuries received on 12/25. (WT 12/27; JTA, NYT, PRCS, WP, WT 12/28; CSM 12/29; PCHR, WJW 1/1; MM 1/5; BBC 1/6; JPI 1/8; MEI 1/9)

The IDF assassinates a senior Islamic Jihad military leader, Muklid Humayid, firing a missile at his car as he drives in Gaza City, also killing another Islamic Jihad mbr. traveling with him, 3 Palestinian bystanders, wounding 15. Soon after, a PFLP suicide bomber detonates a device at a bus stop in Tel Aviv, killing 4 IDF soldiers, 1 Israeli civilian, wounding 15 Israelis; the PFLP says the attack is in retaliation for the IDF assassination of 2 PFLP mbrs. on 12/18. The IDF also sends troops back into Nablus, imposing a 24-hr. curfew; bars all vehicular traffic btwn. the occupied territories and Israel; conducts arrest raids in Jenin, Wadi al-Silqa; fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis; bulldozes 1 Palestinian home and 3 dunams of land in Dayr al-Balah, 4 dunams of land in Khan Yunis. (NYT, WP, WT 12/26; HA 12/28; PCHR 1/1; MEI, PCHR 1/9)

The IDF pulls troops out of Nablus but continues operations in Balata r.c.; demolishes a 3-story apartment building in Rafah; fires on Palestinians attempting to circumvent roadblocks around Bayt Furik nr. Nablus, wounding 1; fires on Palestinian teenagers on their way to school in Hebron, wounding 2; searches buildings in Khan Yunis; bulldozes 50 dunams of land nr. Abu Huli checkpoint in central Gaza. A Palestinian is killed in Nablus when his car mysteriously explodes; the IDF alleges he was transporting a car bomb. A Palestiniandies of injuries received in Rafah on 12/23. (PM 12/24; NYT, PCHR 12/25)

Overnight, the IDF conducts arrest raids in Hebron; raids Jenin, searching homes, firing on residential areas. During the day, the IDF delays a Palestinian woman in labor at a Nablus checkpoint for over 1 hr., causing the death of her twins; imposes a curfew on parts of Hebron; fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis, Nablus; fires on Palestinians waiting to cross the Abu Huli checkpoint nr. Dayr al-Balah, wounding 5; fires on UNRWA workers repairing waterlines nr. Khan Yunis, wounding 3; conducts arrest raids nr. Ramallah, bringing to 22 the number of alleged Hamas mbrs. arrested in the area over the past wk. In the evening, 2 AMB gunmen ambush, fatally shoot 2 IDF soldiers nr. Dayr al-Balah before being shot dead; 5 Palestinian bystanders are wounded by the IDF return fire. Shortly afterward, the IDF demolishes 7 Palestinian homes, bulldozes 37 dunams of land in nearby Wadi al-Silqa; sends tanks, troops into Rafah to search for smugglers’ tunnels, clashing with residents, leaving 2 Palestinians dead. Palestinian gunmen also ambush 2 Jewish settler vehicles traveling fr. Kiryat Arba settlement to Cave of the Patriarchs/Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron, wounding an Israel border patrol officer escorting the settlers, escape unharmed. A Palestinian dies of injuries received last wk. (PM 12/22; HA, VOI, VOP 12/22 in WNC 12/24; BBC, HA, NYT, WP, WT 12/23; VOP 12/23 in WNC 12/25; WP 12/24; PCHR 12/25; HA 1/8)

The IDF continues operations in Balata r.c. for the 5th day, firing on residential areas and stone-throwing youths (wounding 5), demolishing 1 Palestinian home; conducts arrest raids nr. Bethlehem; fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis. Palestinians fire a mortar at Gush Katif settlement in Gaza, causing no damage or injuries. (PM 12/20; YA 12/21 in WNC 12/23; PR 1/7; PCHR 12/25)

Overnight and early this morning, the IDF demolishes 22 Palestinian homes in Khan Yunis that allegedly provided cover for mortar attacks, leaving 178 Palestinians (25 families) homeless; another 6 Palestinian homes housing 40 Palestinians (6 families) are heavily damaged. The IDF also erects several new roadblocks in the Jenin area; fires on residential areas of Brazil r.c., Hebron, Nablus. The IDF also removes 1 uninhabited unauthorized settlement outpost nr. Nablus, scuffling with Jewish settlers who attempt to block the move. (BBC, PCHR 12/15; NYT 12/16; PR 12/17; PCHR 12/18; MEI 12/19)

The IDF places a closure on al-Khadir village nr. Bethlehem; erects a new checkpoint outside Jenin; conducts arrest raids nr. Ramallah, fatally shooting wanted Islamic Jihad mbr. Riyadh Fakhri Khalifa, wounding and arresting 2 other wanted men; fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis. Late in the evening, the IDF fires on 6 Palestinian laborers attempting to sneak across the Gaza border into Israel, killing 2, arresting 1. (PRCS 12/14; VOP 12/14 in WNC 12/16; PCHR 12/16; PR 12/17; PCHR 12/18)