The Palestine Chronology

The IDF raids Yamun nr. Jenin, surrounds the house of wanted Islamic Jihad mbrs. Zahir and Warad Abahra (uncle and nephew), begins to bulldoze the house when they do not surrender, sparking an exchange of gunfire that leaves both men dead; also conducts arrest raids, bulldozes part of a 2d Palestinian home, uproots 10s of olive trees elsewhere in Yamun; razes the remains of a Byzantine church nr. Dayr al-Balah, known for its mosaic floors dating to 586 A.D.; fires on residential areas of Dura nr. Hebron; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Tulkarm, around Hebron; sends undercover units to arrest a wanted Palestinian in Bethlehem; bulldozes Palestinian agricultural land in Shufa nr. Tulkarm to widen the buffer zone around Avni Hefetz and Einav settlements; issues military orders confiscating 15 d. of land nr. Qalqilya for the construction of new settler bypass roads. 1,000s of Israeli disengagement protesters demonstrate in s. Israel for a 2d day. A Palestinian teenager stabs, lightly injures an Israeli in Jerusalem. Hamas fires 7 Qassam rockets, 19 mortars at Gush Katif and Neve Dekalim, injuring a foreign worker, damaging a house. Jewish settlers fr. Karnei Shomron throw stones at Palestinian cars on the Nablus–Qalqilya road, damaging 1 bus. PA security forces make a predawn raid on a Hamas educational center in Jabaliya r.c., seize computers and documents, while armed AMB mbrs. working with them torch 2 of the offices and 2 cars. (Senior Fatah, AMB officials say that in recent days, Abbas asked the AMB to help fight Hamas and ensure calm in Gaza in advance of disengagement, but that this is not official PA policy.) Hamas mbrs. attack the security forces and AMB mbrs., resulting in heavy clashes that leave 13 people wounded. In reaction, 100s of Palestinians demonstrate outside the PC offices in Ramallah to call for national unity and an end to the security chaos. Late in the evening, the Egyptian delegation secures agmt. of Fatah, Hamas to withdraw all armed forces fr. the streets of n. Gaza. 5 PA intelligence officers raid the al-Quds University forensics lab, the only forensics lab in the West Bank, rummage through and tamper with evidence in several murder, malpractice investigations; 100s of students mass to protect the lab, scuffle with plainclothes intelligence officers; the PA Justice Min. opens an investigation. (AFP, AP, IMEMC, XIN 7/19; MENA, VOI, VOP, YA 7/19 in WNC 7/20; HA, NYT, OCHA, PR, PRCS, REU, WAFA, WP, WT, XIN 7/20; VOP 7/20 in WNC 7/21; PCHR 7/21)

The IDF bulldozes 8 Palestinian homes, a gas station constructed without permits in areas of East Jerusalem slated for a new park; demolishes 22 structures (including a school) in Khirbet Tana nr. Nablus (pop. 450) built without permits, leaving only 2 buildings in the village and the 200-yr.-old mosque standing; imposes a curfew on ‘Ayn al-Bayda nr. Jenin, searches homes, arrests around 30 Palestinian farmers, shepherds who are not residents of the village; raids a municipal building in n. Ramallah, arresting 1 Palestinian; fires live ammunition at Palestinians protesting separation wall construction in Qutna nr. Jerusalem, wounding 2; fires on residential areas of Aida r.c.; raids, occupies 3 Palestinian homes in Yatta as observation posts. Hamas holds a prayer rally in Nablus calling on Palestinians to boycott the evening’s Palestine International Festival (an annual wk.-long festival, not held since 2000, that opened in cities across the West Bank on 6/30) performance in the city by pop singer Ammar Hassan, citing the impropriety of men and women dancing to “risqu´e” music as well as of holding such a celebration when families are still mourning the losses of the intifada; the AMB assures that it sanctioned the event after Hassan agreed to sing only “conservative songs”; the performance ultimately is disrupted by some masked AMB mbrs. fr. Nablus and Balata r.c., who fire guns in the air, destroy some sets, force Hassan to cut short his performance. (HA, REU 7/5; IMEMC, OCHA, PR, XIN 7/6; PCHR 7/7; PR 7/13; HA 7/28; PR 8/3)

The United Church of Christ passes a resolution calling for the use of “economic leverage” to promote Middle East peace, but rejects resolutions calling for divestment in companies that supply Israel with bulldozers, military equipment. Two additional resolutions also denounce all forms of violence in the Middle East, “including suicide bombing by Palestinians and the use of force by Israelis in perpetuating occupation of Palestinian lands,” and call on Israel to dismantle the separation wall. (JTA, WP 7/6; AP 7/7; CSM 7/8)