The Palestine Chronology

Quartet officials open 2 days of meetings in Israel and Ramallah aimed at reviving peace talks. Palestinian advocacy groups note “a growing disconnect between the Quartet talks and the situation on the ground.” (NYT 12/14)

Jewish settlers take over several abandoned churches in a closed military zone nr. the Jordanian border to protest Jordan’s efforts to intervene with the Israeli government over its 12/12 closure of a footbridge used by nonMuslims to reach the Haram al-Sharif/ Temple Mount; IDF troops remove them and arrest 17. Other settlers block a main West Bank road and stone passing Palestinian vehicles. Later, about 50 Jewish settlers with inside information of IDF plans to remove the Mitzpe Yitzhar settlement outpost nr. Nablus that evening attempt to prevent the evacuation by breaking into an IDF base in the West Bank, setting fires, vandalizing vehicles, clashing with troops, and stoning a senior officer; troops detain 2. PM Netanyahu vows to “act aggressively against those harming Israeli soldiers and their commanders”; DM Ehud Barak condemns both incidents as “home-grown terror.” Late at night, Jewish settler youths enter Nablus to pray at Joseph’s Tomb, but they do so without the usual coordination with and escort of the IDF and deface a mosque. Meanwhile, IDF troops make a brief incursion into c. Gaza to level land and clear lines of sight along the border fence e. of Bureij r.c., firing on surrounding areas to keep Palestinians away, wounding a farmer working his field nearby. IDF troops on the n. Gaza border fire warning shots at Palestinian and international activists staging a nonviolent protest march to the border nr. Bayt Hanun to protests Israel’s imposition of a no-go zone, causing no injuries; also fire warning shots at Palestinians scavenging for construction material in the demolished Erez industrial zone, wounding a 14-yr.-old boy. In the West Bank, the IDF makes a latenight raid on the home of Change and Reform PC mbr. Ayman Daraghmeh, arresting him (making him the 24th Hamas-affiliated PC mbr. now in detention); conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Salfit. (NYT, WP, WT 12/14; PCHR 12/15; OCHA 12/16; JPI 12/23)

The PA Tourism Min. launches a campaign in Bethlehem coinciding with Christmas called “Palestine Celebrating Hope.” Tourism M Kholoud Daibes says the intention is to convey to the estimated 50,000 foreigners visiting Bethlehem for Christmas “that we have hope of having our own independent state, and we need international support for that.” The initiative includes special tours of the separation wall around Bethlehem and free postcards of the Church of the Nativity, which tourists can mail at the Manger Square post office with Palestinian stamps. (WT 12/14)

IDF troops on the n. Gaza border fire warning shots at Palestinians hunting birds nr. the no-go zone, forcing them to leave the area. Israeli naval vessels fire on Palestinian fishing boats off the n. Gaza coast, forcing them to return to shore. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in 4 villages nr. Ramallah during the day; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem. Palestinians (sometimes accompanied by Israeli and international activists) hold weekly nonviolent demonstrations against the separation wall, land confiscations, and settlement expansion in Bil’in, Kafr Qaddum, Nabi Salih, and Ni’lin; demonstrations in Bil’in also call for national reconciliation. IDF soldiers fire rubbercoated steel bullets, tear gas, and stun grenades at the protesters; 3 Palestinians and 1 Israeli in Bil’in are hit and moderately injured by tear gas canisters; 2 Palestinian journalists (for Associated Press and Palestine TV) and 3 international activists are arrested in Nabi Salih. (PCHR 12/8; OCHA 12/9)

Speaking at the Brookings Institute’s Saban Center in Washington, U.S. Defense Secy. Leon Panetta states that the “firm principles” on which U.S. Middle East policy is based are: (1) the U.S.’s “unshakable” commitment to Israel, (2) maintenance of regional stability, and (3) preventing Iran fr. obtaining nuclear weapons (by military means if necessary). However, he also says Israel bears significant blame for a peace process that “has been effectively put on hold” and must do more to revive peace talks and improve relations with Egypt, Jordan, and Turkey. (NYT, WP 12/3)

Today 10s of international activists predominantly from Europe begin flying into Ben-Gurion Airport, taking part in a nonviolent protest action called for by around 40 Palestinian civil society groups and termed the “Welcome to Palestine air flotilla”; Israel fears that as many as 700 pro-Palestinian activists may try to flood the airport in hopes of being deported and creating an international media spectacle to embarrass Israel. Israeli naval vessels fire on Palestinian fishing boats off the n. Gaza coast, forcing them to return to shore. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in ‘Ayn al-Sultan r.c. nr. Jericho and 2 villages nr. Ramallah without incident and in Bayt Liqya (firing rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas, and stun grenades at stonethrowing Palestinians who confront them, causing no serious injuries). Palestinians (sometimes accompanied by Israeli and international activists) hold weekly nonviolent demonstrations against the separation wall, land confiscations, and settlement expansion in al-Ma‘sara nr. Bethlehem, Ni‘lin, and Nabi Salih. IDF soldiers beat the protesters and fire rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas, and stun grenades at them, lightly injuring several. (AP 7/8; WP 7/9; PCHR 7/14; JPI, OCHA 7/15)

Guyana recognizes a “sovereign Palestine,” but says borders must be agreed with Israel. (JTA 1/14)

In the West Bank, the IDF conducts afternoon patrols in numerous villages around Jenin and Qalqilya; conducts latenight patrols nr. Ramallah; and conducts late-night arrest raids and house searches in Hebron. Palestinians (accompanied by Israeli and international activists in some areas) hold weekly nonviolent demonstrations against the separation wall, land confiscations, and settlement expansion in Bil‘in, Ni‘lin, and Dayr Nizam/Nabi Salih. IDF soldiers fire rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas, and stun grenades at the protesters; 2 Palestinians (including 1 child), 1 Dutch activist, and 1 Israeli are injured. (PCHR 1/20; OCHA 1/21)

Fearing massive protests later in the day, Tunisia’s Ben Ali declares a state of emergency in the morning, dissolves his government, and pledges early elections within 6 mos. Within hours, he and his family flee Tunisia for Saudi Arabia, where they are granted asylum. Ben Ali’s close ally, PM Muhammad Ghannouchi, assumes temporary control, saying he will move the government quickly toward elections. Protesters denounce his attempt to take control and demand his ouster for attempting to perpetuate Ben Ali’s corrupt regime, noting that constitutionally power should transfer to the head of parliament. In Cairo, a small group of Egyptian protesters gathers outside the Tunisian emb. in solidarity with Tunisian demonstrators, but also calling Mubarak a “fraud” and calling for his ouster. Police surround and outnumber them, but there is no violence. (NYT, WP 1/15; NYT 2/24)

Chile recognizes “a sovereign Palestine,” but says the borders must be agreed with Israel. (JP 2/5)

In the West Bank, the PASF releases fr. a Hebron jail 6 Hamas mbrs. who had been on hunger strike for 43 days, protesting their detention without charge. Hrs. later, late at night, IDF undercover units raid Hebron to detain 5 of the 6 men. Storming 1 apartment, undercover units fatally shoot a 66-yr.-old Palestinian man asleep in his bed, mistaking him for the most wanted of the 5 Hamas mbrs. they sought, who lived in another apartment in the same building. The IDF initially says the man ran at soldiers when they entered and soldiers shot in self-defense, but the blood-stained pillow and mattress confirm his wife’s story that he was asleep when soldiers entered firing, raising questions about the IDF’s rules of engagement. Hamas accuses the PA of colluding with Israel to rearrest the men. IDF troops also patrol in villages nr. Ramallah and Tulkarm. Meanwhile, IDF troops on the Gaza border shell armed Palestinians laying a roadside bomb nr. the border fence, causing no Palestinian injuries; at least 1 mortar goes astray hitting an IDF unit, killing 1 Israeli soldier and wounding 4. Unidentified Palestinians fire 1 mortar fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. Israeli naval vessels fire on Palestinian fishing boats off the n. Gaza coast, forcing them to return to shore. West Bank Palestinians (accompanied by Israeli and international activists in some areas) hold weekly nonviolent demonstrations against the separation wall, land confiscations, and settlement expansion in Bil‘in, Ni‘lin, and Dayr Nizam/ Nabi Salih. Fmr. EU official Luisa Morgantini and 5 observers from the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights take part in the Bil‘in demonstration. IDF soldiers fire rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas, and stun grenades at the protesters; 4 Palestinians are lightly injured and 1 is arrested. (AFP 1/7; NYT, WP 1/8; PCHR 1/13; OCHA 1/14)