The Palestine Chronology

In Gaza, the IDF makes an air strike on an empty car in Jabaliya r.c. owned by a member of Hamas’s Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades (IQB) in an apparent assassination attempt, destroying the car, damaging surrounding homes, causing no reported injuries; sends tanks, troops into areas southeast of Gaza City to bulldozes 200 d. of olive groves. IDF troops on the n. Gaza border shell an alleged rocket-launching site w. of Bayt Lahiya in n. Gaza, injuring 2 Palestinian children (ages 4, 17) and damaging a house. IDF troops on the s. Gaza border direct heavy machine gun fire towards residential areas of Abasan, wounding 1 Palestinian inside his home. The Israeli navy fires on Palestinian fishing boats off the n. Gaza coast, causing no reported injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF raids, searches a store in Yatta nr. Hebron, arresting the owner and confiscating a computer; chases and detains 17 Palestinian children who throw stones at an IDF post outside al-Arub r.c. nr. Hebron, questioning and releasing 12, arresting 5; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Jenin. The IDF also demolishes a Palestinian home in East Jerusalem, displacing a family of 7. Jewish settlers fr. Itamar nr. Nablus seize an area of Palestinian land and begin leveling work for construction of a new settler-only bypass road. Jewish settlers angry over the removal of an IDF roadblock nr. Hebron demonstrate, block Palestinian traffic. Israel’s Housing min. issues tenders for construction of 286 new settlement housing units in Beitar Ilit nr. Bethlehem. A Palestinian teenager injured during the IDF’s 4/11/08 raid on al-Bureij r.c. dies (see Chronology in JPS 148). (PCHR 5/22; OCHA 5/28; PCHR 5/29)

Israeli police hold a press conference to announce serious new corruption and financial impropriety allegations against Israeli PM Ehud Olmert (see Quarterly Update for details). (NYT, WP, WT 5/22; NYT 5/23; MM 6/12; NYT, OCHA, WP, WT 5/28)

Israel, Syria, Turkey announce that Israel and Syria have been holding “serious and continuous” indirect peace talks through Turkish mediators since 2/07; high-level Israeli and Syrian negotiating teams are in Istanbul taking part in a preliminary round of indirect negotiations. (IFM 5/21; NYT, WP, WT 5/22; NYT 5/23; MM 6/12)

Lebanese political figures holding national unity talks in Doha formally announce that they have reached a comprehensive agmt. ending their 18-mo. political standoff and paving the way for Gen. Michel Suleiman’s election as pres, including agmts. on redistricting Beirut, an electoral law, and allotment of cabinet seats that will give Hizballah veto power over major decisions. (MM, NYT, WP 5/21; MM, NYT, WP, WT 5/22)

Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Sulayman secures a pledge by Hamas, Islamic Jihad to suspend rocket fire fr. Gaza unilaterally while he works to obtain a more formal bilateral cease-fire agmt. with Israel. In Jerusalem, an armed Palestinian enters the library of Mercaz Harav, Israel’s leading Zionist yeshiva and the ideological home of the far-right religious settler movement, and opens fire on students with an AK-47, killing 8 Israelis and wounding 9 before an IDF soldier and 2 undercover policemen enter the building and shoot him dead; Israeli security officials identify the attacker as a bus driver for the school and an East Jerusalem resident who apparently acted alone. Israeli police later raid Jabal Mukabir neighborhood, detaining 9 Palestinians for questioning. In Gaza, Islamic Jihad, Hamas mbrs. ambush an IDF patrol that enters Gaza through the Kissufim crossing, detonating a roadside bomb and firing on the vehicle, killing 1 IDF soldier, wounding at least 1. In response, the IDF shells an Islamic Jihad site nr. al-Qarara, killing 3 Islamic Jihad mbrs.; makes an air strike on an Islamic Jihad rocketlaunching site nr. Dayr al-Balah, killing 1 Islamic Jihad mbr. A 5th Islamic Jihad mbr. is killed when a rocket he is preparing to fire into Israel explodes prematurely. The IDF also bulldozes land inside the Gaza border fence e. of al-Qarara. The Israeli navy fires on Palestinian fishermen off the Rafah coast, heavily damaging 1 boat, causing no injuries. Palestinians fire 7 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, damaging 2 houses, lightly injuring 1 Israeli. Egypt begins replacing some stretches of barbed wire along the Rafah border with a 10-ft.-high stone and concrete wall. In the West Bank, the IDF demolishes the Bethlehem home of a wanted Palestinian; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Tulkarm r.c., nr. Jenin (raiding and sealing al-Majd TV and al-Salam Press offices for allegedly aiding Islamic Jihad), Salfit. (HA, IFM 3/6; AP, HA, NYT, WP, WT 3/7; NYT, WP 3/8; OCHA 3/12; PCHR 3/13)