The Palestine Chronology

In the West Bank, a Palestinian man from East Jerusalem driving with Israeli license plates on his car is shot and killed in a drive-by shooting near the Ofra settlement north of Ramallah; it is unclear who the assailants are. Israeli settlers uproot 250 olive trees in Khallet al-Nahlah. Israeli settlers also assault several farmers and steal agricultural equipment in Maeen in the Masafer Yatta area. Elsewhere, Israeli settlers raid al-Juwaya in the Masafer Yatta area and Shuwe’er in the Jordan Valley, assaulting Palestinians. Israeli forces raid Jenin, killing 7 Palestinians in a drone strike in Jenin; 1 Israeli soldier is killed and 3 others are injured when an explosive device hits their car during the raid. Israeli forces also shoot and kill 3 Palestinians, including a 3-year-old girl, at a checkpoint near Beit Iksa; Israel claims the 2 adults had rammed and injured an Israeli soldier and says the girl was accidentally shot and killed and was in a different car not related to the alleged ramming incident. Elsewhere, Israeli forces shoot and kill a Palestinian man and injure another during a raid in Abwein. Israeli forces also assault a Palestinian near Deir Sharaf. In Gaza, Israeli forces bomb Khan Yunis, Maghazi, Faluja, Jabalia refugee camp, Nuseirat refugee camp, Dayr al-Balah, and Rafah, killing at least 85 people, including Al Jazeera Gaza bureau chief Wael Dahdouh’s son Hamza, who is also a journalist, and his colleague Mustafa Thuraya in an airstrike on their car in Khan Yunis. Israel has targeted Dahdouh and his family previously, killing his wife, 2 of his other children, and a grandchild among other relatives in October and injured Dahdouh in December. Medical Aid for Palestinians and the International Rescue Committee say their staff have been forced to evacuate al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital due to Israel declaring the area around the hospital a “red zone.” Rockets are fired at Sderot, Yakhini and Nirim, lightly injuring 1 in Yakhini. In Lebanon, Hezbollah militants fire a missile at an Israeli tank across the Blue Lin near Metula. Israeli forces attack Aita al-Shaab, Bint Jbeil, and Majdal Zoun. (AJ, AJ, AJ, AP, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, NYT, NYT, REU, REU, REU, UNOCHA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 1/7; AJ, AP, WAFA 1/8)

More than 22,835 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza, including at least 8,800 children and 6,300 women, and around 58,416 have been injured since 10/7. At least 7,000 people are missing in rubble, including 1,700 children. 330 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 10/7, including 81 children. More than 4,042 people have been injured. Israel reports that 1,139 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed and 5,400 have been injured since 10/7, including Israeli soldiers. In addition, 174 Israeli soldiers have been killed and 1,023 injured in Gaza since the ground invasion began on 10/27. Over 1.93 million Palestinians, nearly 85% of the population of Gaza, have been displaced since 10/7. There has been a complete electricity blackout in Gaza since 10/12 due to the Israeli blockade. As of 12/23, at least 65,000 housing units had been destroyed and 290,000 had been damaged in Israeli airstrikes since 10/7, constituting over 60% of all housing units. 102 trucks carrying aid enter Gaza via the Rafah and Karim Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossings. (UNOCHA, UNOCHA 1/7)

WAFA reports that the Israeli-run Jerusalem municipality has approved the Silicon Valley settlement project, to be built on the Wadi al-Juz industrial area in East Jerusalem, and approved a landfill near Isawiya. (WAFA 1/7)

Save the Children says more than 1,000 Palestinian children in Gaza have had 1 or both legs amputated after being hit by Israeli bombs, many of the amputations are done without anesthetics. Save the Children notes that on average 10 children are subject to amputations every day. The WHO says it has canceled plans to bring medical supplies to northern Gaza because “[h]eavy bombardment, movement restrictions, and interrupted communications, makes it too dangerous. UNRWA says 142 of its staff have been killed since 10/7. (HA, UNOCHA, WAFA 1/7; REU 1/8)

Authorities in Gaza call on Egypt to open the Rafah crossing further to allow more wounded Palestinians into Egypt, noting that 6,000 people are awaiting approval to cross to Egypt while 10-20 wounded people are evacuated daily. Hamas official Osama Hamdan says Israel has destroyed more than 200 heritage sites in Gaza and calls on the OIC, the Arab League, and the African Union to support South Africa’s filing at the ICJ. (AJ, HA 1/7; AJ 1/8)

The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor releases a report based on testimonies from Palestinians abducted by Israeli forces in Gaza and taken to Israel, saying civilians were tortured in detention, including being beaten, subject to electric shocks, burned with cigarettes, and tied up in stress positions. Euro-Med says many of the Palestinians taken from Gaza are being held at the Sde Teiman camp between Gaza and Beersheba in what was described as a Guantanamo-like prison. (Euro-Med 1/7)

Israeli military chief of staff Herzi Halevi says Israel will be fighting in Gaza all year. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant tells the Wall Street Journal that Hezbollah leaders “know we can copy-paste [Israel’s attacks on Gaza] to Beirut,” adding Israel’s priority is not a war in Lebanon. (AJ, HA, WSJ 1/7; AJ, HA 1/8)

Israeli national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir reiterates his calls for the displacement of Palestinians in Gaza to other countries and the resettlement of Gaza. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich calls Palestinians in Gaza “Nazis,” saying Israel must resettle Gaza. (HA, HA 1/7; AJ, AP 1/8)

U.S. secretary of state Antony Blinken meets with Qatar prime minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani in Doha, discussing the situation in Gaza and the Red Sea. Blinken calls the killing of Hamza Dahdouh (see above) an “unimaginable tragedy” and says Palestinians in Gaza must be allowed to return to their homes and “must not be pressed to leave Gaza.” Al Thani says the Israeli assassination of Saleh al-Arouri in Beirut has affected Qatari mediation efforts but that the negotiations continue. Blinken also meets with Jordanian king Abdullah II and foreign minister Ayman Safadi in Amman. King Abdullah II warns Blinken of “catastrophic repercussions” if Israel’s war on Gaza continues. (AJ, AJ, AJ, AP, HA, HA, REU, REU, WAFA 1/7; AJ, HA 1/8)

Israeli MK Ofer Cassif signs the petition filed by South Africa to the ICJ, accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza. Several other members of Knesset call for his removal. Cassif says he signed the petition as part of his constitutional duty to Israeli society. (JP 1/7; AJ, HA 1/8)

Israel appoints former Supreme Court president Aharon Barak to represent Israel at the ICJ hearings on the Israeli genocide in Gaza. Bolivia endorses South Africa’s case at the ICJ. (HA, HA 1/7; AJ, AP, HA, NYT 1/8)

Israeli news website Globes reports that the fourth largest shipping company in the world, Chinese COSCO, has suspended shipments to Israel due to the attacks by Yemen’s Houthi governments on ships bound for Israel. (HA 1/7)

The Washington Post reports that U.S. president Joe Biden has tasked his staff with preventing an all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah. The Post says U.S. officials are worried that Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu sees an escalation with Hezbollah as a way to stay in power. A Defense Intelligence Agency report saying that Israel would have trouble winning a war against Hezbollah while fighting in Gaza is also leaked to the press. (HA 1/8)

In Gaza, the IDF fatally shoots 3 Islamic Jihad mbrs. laying a roadside bomb nr. the border fence e. of Khuza; makes an air strike destroying a workshop in Khan Yunis, causing no injuries; fires on Palestinian farmers who stray nr. the border fence nr. Kerem Shalom crossing, causing no injuries. Islamic Jihad mbrs. fire 2 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, hitting a cemetery in Ashqelon, lightly wounding 1 Israeli; the IDF makes an air strike on the launch site e. of Gaza City, killing 1 Islamic Jihad mbr., wounding 1. Israeli naval vessels fire on Palestinian fishing boats off the Rafah coast, forcing them to return to shore. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus, in Jenin town and r.c., and nr. Bethlehem. Jewish settlers fr. Yitzhar settlement nr. Nablus attack and drive off 3 Palestinian shepherds (ages 12, 14, 30) tending a flock nearby, then kill their 3 donkeys. Unidentified assailants detonate a roadside bomb nr. a Hamas-affiliated police patrol in Gaza City, causing no injuries. (MM 6/16; NYT 6/17; OCHA 6/18; PCHR 6/19)

Overnight, the IDF stages scores of arrest raids across the West Bank detaining 64 senior Hamas political officials, including 8 PA cabinet mbrs. and 26 PC mbrs., plus 23 senior Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades mbrs. Haniyeh, Siyam, PA FM Mahmud Zahhar remain free. (100s of Palestinians in Jenin, Ramallah, Tulkarm hold marches, sit-ins to protest the Israeli arrest of PA legislators.) Israel says the arrest campaign has been planned for wks., with the government securing Atty. Gen. Menachem Mazuz’s authorization and arrest warrants far in advance of the Kerem Shalom attack on 6/25. In Gaza, the IDF shells 2 electricity transformers and open areas of n. Gaza, cutting all electricity to n. Gaza and wounding 1 Palestinian civilian; makes air strikes on 2 electrical shops in Khan Yunis, a Hamas training camp outside Khan Yunis, a car carrying 4 Islamic Jihad mbrs. in Gaza City, wounding 3 bystanders in the Gaza City incident; fires at least 30 shells at areas around Khan Yunis, wounding 1 Palestinian farmer; conducts house searches in al-Shuka nr. Rafah; intermittently breaks the sound barrier to harass the Gaza population. In response to Israel’s military escalation, the PRC mbrs. overnight kill a Jewish settler teenager they reported they kidnapped on 6/27; the IDF finds his body buried nr. Ramallah. During the day, the IDF makes an air strikes on targets in s. Gaza and on a car driving in Gaza City in an attempt to assassinate an Islamic Jihad mbr., who escapes lightly wounded; shells n. and s. Gaza, lightly wounding at least 3 Palestinians. AMB, Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Islamic Jihad, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) mbrs. also fire at least 6 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing light damage to a farm. Palestinian militants (thought to be Hamas) blow a hole in the Gaza-Egypt border fence; cordons of PA security forces,Egyptian border guards prevent most Palestinians fr. crossing through, though the militants who set the bomb reportedly escape into Egypt. In the evening, Olmert, Peretz order the IDF to suspend plans to send the Givati Brigade into n. Gaza overnight as planned in light of requests fr. Egypt to allow its envoys in Gaza more time to secure Shalit’s release. Meanwhile in the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches (unrelated to the arrest of PA officials) in Hebron, and in and around Ramallah, Salfit; raids 6 Islamic charities and schools nr. Hebron, Jenin and in Bethlehem, Tulkarm, confiscating computers, files; issues military orders confiscating 25 d. of Palestinian land nr. Hebron for construction of the separation wall. (HA, IFM, IMEMC, JAZ, MM, NYT, WP, WT, YA 6/29; AFP, MENA, OSC, PSCT, VOI, VOP 6/29 in WNC 6/30; CSM, HA, MM, NYT, PCHR, WP, WT 6/30; OSC, PSCT, YA 6/30 in WNC 7/1; al-Ayyam 7/1 in WNC 7/2; HA, PCHR 7/6; PCHR 7/27) 

The IDF continues operations in Bayt Hanun and Jabaliya r.c. launched on 9/28, expands into Bayt Lahiya; occupies buildings as sniper posts; shells, fires on residential areas, killing 1 stone-throwing Palestinian youth, 4 armed Palestinian (including 1 Hamas mbr., wanted PRC mbr. Mosad Baradi), and 1 Palestinian bystander, wounding around 60. Palestinians target military vehicles with roadside bombs, antitank rockets, causing no injuries. Despite the maneuvers, Hamas fires a Qassam rocket at Sederot, killing 2 Israeli children, wounding 5; Sharon says that operations in n. Gaza will be expanded as a result. Late in the evening, the IDF carries out 2 missile strikes at Jabaliya r.c., killing 3 Palestinians and destroying an Islamic charitable organization. The IDF also continues operations begun 9/28 in Shaykh Ajlin, bulldozing 8 Palestinian homes, 8 d.; fires on stone-throwing youths outside Gaza City, killing 1 Palestinian; fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis, seriously injuring a 4-yr.-old Palestinian inside her home. In the West Bank, the IDF sends troops into Jenin town and r.c., fires on a taxi wrongly thought to be carrying wanted Palestinians, killing the Palestinian driver, a Palestinian man, wounding his wife. In Hebron, 5 Jewish settlers armed with heavy metal chains, rocks, sticks severely beat, rob 2 American women working with Christian Peacemaker Teams escorting Palestinian children to their school; 1 woman suffers a punctured lung, the other a broken arm and knee. Jewish settlers set fire to 400 d. of olive trees nr. Bayt Furik, damaging 100s of trees. (HA, MM 9/29; VOI, VOP, YA 9/29 in WNC 10/1; HA, MM, NYT, PCHR, WP, WT 9/30; AFP 9/30 in WNC 10/2; PCHR, PR 10/6, 10/13; JPI 10/15)

The IDF launches a predawn air strike on the home of wanted Hamas mbr. Ahmad Jabari in Gaza City, assassinating 2 Hamas mbrs. and 1 Islamic Jihad mbr. (all relatives of Jabari), killing 2 bystanders, wounding 7; Jabari is moderately wounded. The IDF lifts the curfew on all of Nablus, except the Old City and al-‘Ayn r.c.; seals al-Fara’ r.c. nr. Nablus, patrolling streets, firing on stone-throwing youths who confront the troops; fires missiles at 2 workshops in Gaza City (alleged to be weapons factories), destroying both but causing no injuries; demolishes 2 Palestinian homes, 4 shops in Rafah; fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis, Rafah; raids, confiscates equipment and files fr. a charitable association nr. Bethlehem; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Dahaysha r.c., Nablus, Qalqilya; begins bulldozing a 350 dunams (d.; 4 d. = 1 acre) nr. Qalqilya for construction of the separation wall. Palestinians fire 2 Qassam rockets at Gaza’s Neve Dekalim settlement, lightly injuring 2 Jewish settlers; detonate a roadside bomb by an IDF tank in Gaza, causing some damage but no injuries. Jewish settlers fr. Pdu’el raze olive trees, place barbed wire around a plot of Palestinian land outside Salfit. Some 60 internationals, 20 Palestinians who began a Freedom March along the separation wall route to protest the wall’s construction in Zababda nr. Jenin on 7/30 arrive at their destination, Jerusalem, a day ahead of schedule. (NYT, PCHR, WP 8/18; PCHR 8/19, 8/25)

The IDF fires on a funeral procession for ARB head Abu Sitta in Khan Yunis, killing a 12-yr.-old Palestinian boy, wounding 7; fatally shoots 4 Palestinians laying a roadside bomb nr. a Israeli border fence e. of al-Bureij r.c; sends troops into Nablus, sparking stone-throwing, then firing on demonstrators, wounding 1 stone-thrower, 1 bystander; fires missiles at a 3-story building in Gaza City owned by the family of a female suicide bomber, demolishing the structure, injuring 2 Palestinians; raids a wedding party in Bayt Jala, arrests 2 guests; fires on residential areas of Rafah; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Bayta, the central Gaza Strip. Palestinians fire 4 Qassam rockets at Sederot, bringing the total number of rockets fired at the town in the past 3 days to 14; none caused damage or injuries. Palestinian, Israeli, international peace activists begin a 3-wk. Freedom March to protest the separation wall; the march begins in Zababda nr. Jenin and plans to end in Jerusalem on 8/19. (VOI, VOP 7/30 in WNC 8/3; NYT, WT 7/31; WT 8/1; PR 8/4; PCHR 8/5)

The IDF assassinates ARB Rafah cmdr. ‘Amr Abu Sitta and his dep. Zaki Abu Zarqa, firing a missile at their car as they drive in Rafah; fatally shoots Islamic Jihad Tulkarm cmdr. Zahir Ashqar in an exchange of gunfire during an arrest raid in Tulkarm. The IDF also tightens access to Bayt Hanun; steps up bulldozing in Jabaliya r.c.; demolishes 18 Palestinian homes in Rafah; shells residential areas of Khan Yunis; fires on residential areas of Dayr al-Balah, Rafah; conducts arrest raids, house searches in ‘Azun and al-Zawiyya nr. Qalqilya, Bayta, Dahaysha r.c., Tubas, Tulkarm r.c. An AMB mbr., an Islamic Jihad mbr. are killed in an explosion outside Gaza’s Netzer Hazani settlement, reportedly when laying a roadside bomb. Palestinians fire 2 Qassam rockets at Sederot, causing no damage or injuries. (MM 7/29; MENA, VOI 7/29 in WNC 7/31; NYT, WP 7/30; PR 8/4; PCHR 8/5)

The IDF raids Khan Yunis, bulldozes a Palestinian home that the IDF claims is a “militant gun post,” killing 1 wheelchairbound Palestinian trapped inside, despite pleas fr. his family to halt the demolition; the IDF demolishes another 30 Palestinian homes completely, 3 partially during the day. The IDF also demolishes a factory, bulldozes land, searches homes in Bayt Hanun; demolishes 1 Palestinian home in Dahaysha r.c., 1 in Jenin, 1 nr. Ramallah; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem, Hebron, Qalqilya, Ramallah. Palestinians fire a Qassam rocket at the Negev, detonate a roadside bomb nr. an IDF patrol in Rafah, in neither case causing damage or injuries. (NYT 7/12; VOI, VOP 7/12 in WNC 7/14; NYT 7/13; VOI 7/13 in WNC 7/15; PR 7/14; PCHR 7/15)

Despite continuing IDF operations in Bayt Hanun, Palestinians fire 5 Qassam rockets fr. the area at Sederot, lightly injuring 1 Israeli. In Bayt Hanun, the IDF fatally shoots a 15-yr.-old Palestinian standing on a roof; bulldozes a main road through the town; a Hamas mbr. is killed when a roadside bomb he is planting detonates prematurely. The IDF also expands Bayt Hanun operations to include Jabaliya r.c.; fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis, Rafah; conducts house searches, arrest raids nr. Bethlehem, Hebron, Nablus, Qalqilya. Jewish settlers uproot Palestinian trees along the road leading to their unauthorized settlement outpost of Ma’ale Shomron nr. Qalqilya. A Palestinian teenager dies of injuries received on 6/20. (VOI, VOP 6/29 in WNC 7/1; MM, NYT, PR, WP, WT 6/30; PCHR 7/1)

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 conducts a predawn raid on Jenin, placing the town under curfew, prompting an exchange of gunfire in which 1 IDF soldier is wounded; fires on a Swiss envoy’s diplomatic vehicle at Erez crossing for no apparent reason, causing damage but no injuries (Switzerland files a formal protest.); fires on stone-throwing youths in Tulkarm, killing 1 Palestinian; demolishes 1 Palestinian home in Bayt Furik, 1 outside Hebron, 1 in al-Til; confiscates 7 dunams of land in Habla, nr. Qalqilya; fires on residential areas of Bayt Furik, Khan Yunis, Tulkarm r.c.; conducts arrest raids in Abu Dis, Balata r.c., Bethlehem, Kafr Dan, Qalqilya, Tubas, Yamun; tightens roadblocks around Ramallah. In Hebron, 5 Palestinian children are injured when they trigger unexploded munitions while playing. Palestinians fire 2 Qassam rockets at Sederot, causing no damage or injuries; detonate a roadside bomb underneath an IDF vehicle in Gaza, causing damage but no injuries. Extremist rightwing Jewish settlers affiliated with the “hilltop youth” and the outlawed Kach movement announce plans to launch a “personal incitement campaign” against Sharon in light of his approval of the road map. (HA 5/27; AFP 5/27 in WNC 5/28; NYT, WT 5/28; MA 5/28 in WNC 5/29; LAW, PCHR 5/29)

The IDF undercover units conduct arrest raids in Jenin, shooting and wounding 5 Palestinians, detaining 4; conduct additional arrest raids in Aida r.c., Balata r.c., Bayt Jalah, Nahalin, Ramallah. The IDF also fires rubber bullets at several Palestinian children (ages 9–14) allegedly violating a curfew in Hebron, wounding 1; fires live ammunition at a checkpoint nr. Gaza City for no apparent reason, injuring 1 Palestinian child, damaging several vehicles; shells residential areas of Khan Yunis; demolishes 2 Palestinian homes in Bayt Furik, threatens to demolish a 3d house if the son of the family does not turn himself in for questioning; bulldozes 10s of dunams of olive groves in East Jerusalem to make way for a settler bypass road. A roadside bomb explodes nr. an IDF vehicle in Hebron, causing no damage or injuries. Hamas fires 2 Qassam rockets at Sederot, lightly injuring 1 Israeli. (HA 4/21; HA 4/23; LAW, PCHR 4/24)

U.S. dir. of the reconstruction of Iraq U.S. Lt. Gen. Jay Garner (ret.) arrives in Baghdad to begin work. Garner visited Israel in 1998 at the expense of the pro-Israel lobbying group the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA), has signed a statement blaming the Palestinians for Israeli-Palestinian violence, has said that the U.S. needs Israel to project U.S. force in the Middle East. (MM, NYT, WP, WT 4/22)

Israeli border police manning a West Bank crossing intercept a car carrying a 1,300 lbs. fertilizer-gasoline bomb, with a cell phone rigged as a detonator; 2 Palestinians escape. No group claims responsibility, but the IDF suspects Islamic Jihad. The IDF conducts arrest raids in Balata r.c., Nablus, Surif; raids a clinic in Bayt Lahia, halts an ambulance, detains and beats 1 paramedic; fires on residential areas of Rafah, on Palestinians waiting to cross a Dayr al-Balah + n. Khan Yunis checkpoint. Late in the evening, Palestinians fire a Qassam rocket in Gaza, luring a Merkava tank to the scene, then detonating a large roadside bomb under the tank, killing 2 IDF soldiers, wounding 2 (marking the 2d fatal roadside bombing of a tank; see 3/14/02); the popular resistance comms. (PRCs) take responsibility. Nr. Bayt Lahia, a Palestinian gunman ambushes an IDF patrol, killing 1 IDF soldier, wounding 1 before being shot dead. The IDF issues evacuation orders to 4 Palestinian families in Ras al-Amud, Silwan. (AP, MM 9/5; NYT, WP, WT 9/6; NYT 9/7; LAW, PCHR 9/11)

In response to the 2 Gaza attacks, Ben-Eliezer formally calls off implementation of Gaza First agmt. (WP 9/6)

An Islamic Jihad suicide bomber detonates a device on a street in Tel Aviv, wounding at least 18 Israelis, 3 of them critically. 1 Palestinian dies of injuries received earlier. In Gaza, the IDF reports that Hamas fired locally made Qassam-1 rockets at Erez crossing, causing no injuries. In retaliation, the IDF launches F-16 air strikes on PA security targets in Gaza City and Tulkarm, injuring at least 7 Palestinians. The IDF also shells residential areas of Khan Yunis; bulldozes 600 m² of Palestinian land in Khan Yunis; conducts arrest raids in Nablus. In Ramallah, 1,000s of Palestinians rally in support of Arafat. The IDF pulls out of Tira neighborhood in Ramallah, which it reoccupied on 1/17. (AP 1/25; NYT, WP, WT 1/26; JT [Internet] 1/27; PCHR 1/30)

56 officers, soldiers in the IDF combat reserves publish a petition in Ha'Aretz publicly refusing to "fight beyond the Green Line for the purpose of occupying, deporting, destroying, blockading, killing, starving, and humiliating an entire people." (HA 1/25; HA 1/28; WP 1/29; WT 1/30; BBC, MM, WJW 1/31; MA 2/1 in WNC 2/4; NYT 2/2; MM 2/4; MM, NYT 2/5; MEI 2/8)

Senior White House, State Dept., CIA, Pentagon officials meet again to discuss the possibility of severing ties with Arafat, the PA/PLO. Bush, his advisers decide to increase public criticism of Arafat and to "redouble" efforts to get Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia to put pressure on Arafat. (AP, HA, MM, WP 1/25; WP, WT 1/26; al-Quds 1/26, DUS 1/27 in WNC 1/28; MM 1/28; AKH 1/28 in WNC 1/29; HA 1/29; MA, al-Quds 2/1 in WNC 2/4)