The Palestine Chronology

The IDF continues Operation Root Canal in Rafah, reportedly demolishing some water, sewage networks. UNRWA chief Peter Hansen estimates that the IDF has demolished 114 Palestinian homes, housing some 1,240 Palestinians, damaged another 117 since the incursion began. The IDF fatally shoots a Palestinian nr. Morag settlement; fires on residential areas of Dayr al-Balah, Khan Yunis; demolishes 2 Palestinian homes and 2 bird farms, kills 15 sheep, bulldozes 7 dunams of land in Dayr al-Balah; bulldozes a cow pen, 2 dunams of land in Khan Yunis. Palestinians fire 3 Qassam rockets into the Negev, causing light damage but no injuries. In Gaza City, 3 unidentified gunmen ambush, shoot, wound Sa‘ad Sihaybar, aide to the PA atty. gen., outside his home. (HA, WP, NYT 10/13; al-Quds 10/13 in WNC 10/16; WP 10/14; PCHR 10/16)

The IDF assassinates wanted Hamas mbr. Hamdi Kalakh, firing a missile at his donkey cart as he rides through Gaza City, injuring 3 bystanders. Palestinians fire 4 Qassam rockets at Israel, none of which cause damage or injuries but 1 of which lands 8 mi. n. of Gaza in the industrial zone of Ashkelon, marking the farthest a Palestinian rocket has traveled. The PSF rushes to the scene, fires on a vehicle leaving the area, possibly wounding 1, but fails to capture the assailants. The PA also freezes the bank accounts of 12 Muslim charities, prompting protests by 1,000s of Palestinians in s. Gaza. Retaliating for the rocket fire, the IDF bulldozes 98 dunams of land in Bayt Hanun. The IDF also fires on Palestinians in Jenin (wounding 1 seriously), Khan Yunis, Nablus (injuring 7), Qalqilya (wounding 1). A Palestinian dies of injuries received in the 8/21 IDF assassination of Abu Shanab. (AFP, AP, HA, MM 8/28; NYT, WP, WT 8/29; MM 9/1; PCHR 9/4)

The IDF withdraws forces to the outskirts of Jenin, Nablus but maintains closures on the cities; fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis, wounding an 11-yr.old Palestinian girl; conducts arrest raids in Balata r.c.; bulldozes 2 dunams of land in n. Gaza. Palestinians fire 3 Qassam rockets into Israel, fire on a Jewish settler convoy nr. Netzarim, causing no damage or injuries in either incident. (AP, PM 8/25; HA, MA, VOI, YA 8/25 in WNC 8/27; PCHR 8/28)

The IDF continues operations in Nablus for the 4th day, blowing up a building in the Old City suspected of being a Qassam missile factory, the 1st found in the West Bank, and clashing with Palestinian protesters, leaving 12 injured; confiscates 360 dunams of land in Nazlat Issa, 300 dunams of land in Baqa‘ al-Sharqiyya; fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis; shells areas of Rafah. The PSF seals 5 more tunnels on the Rafah border; Israel says the PA’s actions are not serious. Palestinians fire a Qassam-2 rocket fr. Gaza toward Ashkelon, causing no damage or injuries. In response, the IDF assassinates senior Hamas mbr. Ahmad Aishtawi, firing rockets at his car in Gaza City, also killing senior Hamas mbr. Wahid Hamad, 2 aides, wounding more than 12 bystanders (HA, PM 8/24; NYT, WP, WT 8/25; WT 8/26; PCHR 8/28)

As PA-Israeli talks on an IDF redeployment fr. n. Gaza continue, the IDF demolishes 13 Palestinian homes in Bayt Hanun, bulldozes 54 dunams of land in Bayt Hanun and Jabaliya r.c.; fires on residential areas of Balata r.c., Bayt Hanun; fires on stone-throwing Palestinians in Tubas, Palestinians waiting to cross a checkpoint nr. Khan Yunis. A Palestinian teenager fatally shoots an Israeli telephone worker in Baqa‘ al-Gharbiyya, inside Israel, and is captured; AMB takes responsibility. Later, in the same area, Israeli police fatally shoot 2 Palestinians, arrest 2 others allegedly carrying explosives. A Palestinian gunman shoots, wounds a Jewish settler driving nr. Bethlehem. Palestinians fire 2 Qassam rockets at Sederot, causing no damage or injuries. The IDF attempts to evacuate settlers fr. 2 unauthorized outposts for the 4th time in 24 hrs. (HA, MM 6/26; NYT, WP 6/27; NYT, WP 7/1; PCHR 7/3)

In a move that Israel claims will save the road map, the IDF arrests more than 130 alleged Hamas mbrs. and supporters in Hebron (including women, elderly men, and 1 pregnant woman, who collapses, is taken to the hospital), 30 Palestinian “terror suspects and their helpers” in Nablus. In its deepest incursion into PA areas in Gaza in recent wks., the IDF sends bulldozers into Khan Yunis and Rafah, firing on residential areas, demolishing 5 Palestinian homes in Rafah, 2 in Khan Yunis, also razing 13 dunams of land. The IDF also finds, disables a booby-trapped bicycle nr. a s. Gaza settlement, a bomb in a car in Ramallah; conducts arrest raids in Bethlehem, Nablus. Palestinians fire 4 mortars at Gaza settlements and 1 Qassam rocket toward the Negev, causing no damage or injuries. The IDF removes 2 tents comprising an unauthorized outpost erected in recent days; meanwhile, Jewish settlers set up 2 new unauthorized outposts elsewhere in the West Bank. A PA general intelligence unit raids, closes the Voice of al-Aqsa radio station in Gaza city. The move apparently aims to curb incitement, though the PA says the station was set up without a permit. (BBC, HA, MM 6/24; HA, NYT, WP, WT 6/25; PCHR, Palestine Information Center 6/26)

Israeli police charge 5 Islamic Movement leaders with “service to an outlawed organization, holding funds belonging to an outlawed organization, and moneylaundering,” for funneling some $10 m. to Hamas charity groups in the occupied territories fr. abroad. At least 2 of the mbrs., including Islamic Movement leader Ra‘ad Salah, are charged with membership in a terrorist organization and contact with a foreign agent (Nabil Mahzomah, an Israeli Arab who was deported to Lebanon in the mid-1980s and allegedly has worked as an agent for Iranian, Lebanese intelligence). The groups they reportedly had contact with were Charity Coalition (outlawed in 2/02), the al-Aqsa Fund (outlawed in 1992), Interpal (outlawed in 1997), the Holy Land Fund (outlawed in 1997). (HA, MM 6/24; HA, NYT, WT 6/25)

The IDF fires on a Palestinian cell phone company car in Dayr al-Balah, wounding 2 company workers; demolishes 3 Palestinian homes nr. Rafah (also bulldozing 5 dunams of land), 1 in Jenin, 1 nr. Khan Yunis (also bulldozing 3 dunams of land), 1 nr. Nablus; bulldozes a Palestinian gas station in Silwan; conducts arrest raids in Askar r.c., Bayt Lahia, Bethlehem, Hebron; searches homes in Jenin, Qalqilya, Ramallah (including ransacking the home of a Palestinian-American family); fires on residential areas of Bayt Lahia; tightens the closure on Tulkarm. In Hebron, 6 IDF soldiers reportedly severely beat a Palestinian teenager, kicking him, hitting him with their rifle butts. Palestinians fire a Qassam rocket at Native Haasara moshav inside Israel, causing damage but no injuries. A Palestinian dies of injuries received in the 6/10 attempted assassination of Rantisi, bringing that toll to 4. A Tel Aviv court sentences a 17-yr.-old Israeli Arab to 2 yrs. in jail for planning to carry out a suicide bombing; the court says the sentence is light because the boy turned himself in to authorities. (HA, HP 6/18; MENA 6/18 in WNC 6/20; LAW, PCHR, WT 6/19; PCHR 6/26)

The IDF attempts to assassinate, wounds Hamas political leader and chief spokesman ‘Abd al-‘Aziz Rantisi, firing missiles at his car as he drives through Shati‘ r.c., killing a bodyguard and a Palestinian woman walking nearby, wounding 27. In a rare acknowledgment, Israel confirms it targeted Rantisi, saying it took the decision after Rantisi called off Hamas cease-fire talks with the PA. Later in the day, IDF helicopters fire missiles at a 2d car in Jabaliya, allegedly targeting 2 Palestinians who fired 5 Qassam rockets at Sederot earlier, causing no damage or injuries; 3 Palestinian bystanders are killed, 30 (including the 2 targets) are wounded. Abbas condemns the Rantisi attack as a “terrorist attack in the full meaning of the word,” saying it was aimed at sabotaging the road map; Hamas says it is a “declaration of war,” vows to “commit operations that will shake Israel.” The IDF also fatally shoots wanted Palestinian Issam Ibrahim in Jenin in what may be an assassination; fatally shoots 2 Palestinians in s. Gaza; fires on, wounds a Palestinian nr. Morag settlement; fires on residential areas of Hebron, Khan Yunis; bulldozes 5 dunams of land in Jabaliya; conducts arrest raids in Battir, Bayt Iba, Dura, Haris, Hebron, Jericho, Nablus (targeting Hamas), Qatanna, Tulkarm, al-Walaja, Yatta; dismantles another 5 unauthorized settlement outposts, all of them uninhabited. The Israeli High Court blocks the removal of 1 occupied outpost, Havat Gilad, which Israel attempted to dismantle in fall 2002. Jewish settlers rebuild 1 outpost taken down on 6/9. (BBC, HA, LAW, MM 6/10; ITAR-TASS, VOI, MENA 6/10 in WNC 6/12; MM, NYT, PR, WP, WT 6/11; AFP, AKH, DUS, HA, IDF Radio, JP, JT, MA, MENA, NHR, QA, al-Quds, VOI, YA, XIN 6/11 in WNC 6/13; JPI, LAW, PCHR, WP 6/12; AYM, JP 6/12 in WNC 6/14; PR 6/18, 6/25; MEI 6/27; MEI 7/11)

The IDF bulldozes 14 dunams of land nr. Khan Yunis, 2 dunams nr. a PA Preventive Security Force (PSF) post in Hebron, some citrus groves outside Gaza City; conducts arrest raids in Beitunia, Bethlehem, Hebron, Jenin, al-Khadir, Nablus, Qalqilya, Ramallah, Tulkarm; fires on residential areas of Beitunia, Ramallah, Tulkarm town and r.c.; demolishes 4 Palestinian homes s. of Rafah, 1 in Bayt Furik, 1 in Tal. Palestinians fire Qassam rocket at Sederot, causing no damage or injuries. While driving in Ramallah, Force 17 officer Mahmud Zayid is fatally shot, possibly in an internal Palestinian dispute; the PA says it has no proof he was deliberately shot by the IDF, though he may have been hit by crossfire. Late in the evening, Palestinian gunmen fire on a Jewish settler bus in Hebron, lightly injuring 1 Jewish settler. A Palestinian dies of injuries received on 5/27. (HA, HP 5/28; YA 5/28 in WNC 5/29; HA, LAW, PCHR 5/29)

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 demolishes 10 Palestinian homes, bulldozes 4 dunams of land and large trees in Dayr al-Balah, nr. the Kefar Darom site of the 5/8 suicide attack on an IDF tank; bulldozes 49 dunams of land e. of Bayt Hanun, 15 dunams s. of Khan Yunis; conducts arrest raids in Bethlehem, Hebron, Yanun. The IDF also raids the ISM offices in Bayt Sahur, surrounding the building with 22 vehicles, detaining 3 ISM mbrs. (2 foreign, 1 Palestinian), confiscating computers and other equipment. Israel says that information that 2 British suicide bombers attended a memorial service for ISM mbr. Corrie before staging their 4/29 attack raises concerns that “terrorists” could enter Israel posing as ISM volunteers. Israel announces that henceforth all foreign nationals entering Gaza must sign a waiver exempting Israel from any responsibility should they be killed or injured, promising that they will not disrupt military activities. Hamas fires 6 Qassam rockets at Sederot, lightly injuring 2 Israelis. Palestinians also fire 2 mortars at Gush Katif settlement, causing no damage or injuries. (AFP, HA 5/9; VOI 5/9 in WNC 5/12; HA, NYT, WT 5/10; PCHR 5/15) (see 5/3)

Israel vows to step up attacks on Hamas, saying “no terrorist chief, with the emphasis on Hamas, will be immune.” Hamas fires another 4 Qassam rockets at Sederot, causing no damage or injuries. A Palestinian sniper fires on an IDF post outside Gush Katif settlement, wounding 1 IDF solider; the IDF demolishes 8 Palestinian buildings that could have provided the sniper cover. The IDF also fires on, shells residential areas of Dayr al-Balah, Khan Yunis, Rafah; bulldozes 2.5 dunams of land, 1 Palestinian home in Khan Yunis. A Palestinian shepherd dies when he triggers an explosive device in a field nr. Tulkarm. (HA, WT 3/10; LAW, PCHR 3/13)

Overnight, the IDF launches a raid on Bayt Hanun that it expects to last for several days, demolishing 5 Palestinian homes, bulldozing 6 dunams of land, clashing with local Palestinians, killing 7 Palestinians (1 crushed in his home when it is demolished), wounding 28, detaining a Palestinian Reuters cameraman for involvement in “terrorist activity”; during the day, troops commandeer houses as outposts, fortify their positions, patrol streets, destroy bridges and roads, dig trenches, erect barricades. The IDF also fatally shoots 3 Palestinians elsewhere— an armed Palestinian attempting to infiltrate Netzarim settlement, a 15-yr.-old Palestinian on a playground in Khan Yunis, a Palestinian who fails to heed orders to halt; arrests DFLP Ramallah head Ibrahim Abu Hijla; bulldozes 24 dunams of land, 2 Palestinian homes in Rafah; shells residential areas of Khan Yunis; conducts arrest raids in Jenin, Khan Yunis. An 11th Palestinian dies of injuries received in Nablus on 2/22. A PFLP sniper fatally shoots 1 IDF soldier in Khan Yunis. Palestinians fire 3 Qassam rockets at Sederot, causing no damage. (AP, HA, LAW 2/23; HA, NYT, WP, WT 2/24; NYT, PMC 2/25; PR 2/26; LAW, PCHR 2/27)

The IDF arrests 17 Islamic Jihad mbrs. in Hebron; claims they planned, carried out anti-Israeli attacks on orders fr. their “headquarters” in Syria; says it is still searching for the cell leader Diab Suwayki, whom it has tried to assassinate twice. The IDF also demolishes 5 Palestinian homes in, fires on residential areas of Rafah; demolishes a Palestinian home in Bayt Furik; raids 2 buildings in Ramallah containing medical and law offices, destroying furniture, files; fires on stone-throwing Palestinians in Tulkarm, seriously injuring a 13-yr.-old Palestinian; shells residential areas of Khan Yunis r.c.; confiscates 76 Palestinian taxis operating on the Ramallah+nJerusalem road (see 1/20); conducts arrest raids in Balata r.c., Jenin, Nablus. A Hamas gunman ambushes, lightly wounds a Jewish settler nr. Dayr al-Balah; in response, the IDF demolishes 4 Palestinian homes, bulldozes 31 dunams of land nr. Kefar Darom. The IDF says it has noticed increased efforts by the PA to halt the firing of Qassam missiles and planting of bombs in Gaza; says the PA stepped up efforts before elections, but has continued them after elections as well. An Israeli court orders Arafat, the PA to pay more than $10 m. in damages to Israel's Egged bus company for losses caused by Palestinian suicide bombings. (AP, HA, PM, REU 2/4; LAW, PCHR, PR, WP, WT 2/5; TJT, WJW 2/6)