The Palestine Chronology

In the Gaza Strip, Palestinians fire 1 rocket into s. Israel which causes no damage or injuries. In addition, Israeli troops fire upon a demonstration that approaches the border fence, as part of protests in solidarity with Palestinians facing restricted access to al-Aqsa mosque, injuring 5. In the West Bank, hundreds of Palestinians clash with Israeli troops as part of demonstrations marking the 13th anniversary of the 2d intifada. In al-Fawar r.c. nr. Hebron, the IDF opens fire with rubber-coated metal bullets, hitting a child and blinding her in 1 eye. In c. Hebron, more than 200 Palestinians throw stones at Israeli soldiers, who injure 23 Palestinians with live ammunition and rubber-coated metal bullets. There is also a protest outside Ofer prison nr. Ramallah, and in the Nablus area at Hawara checkpoint (where 1 person is injured with a rubber-coated metal bullet to the head). The IDF also conducts house searches and arrest raids in 1 village nr. Jenin and Hebron at night; patrols in 1 village nr. Ramallah in the morning, and in 2 villages nr. Ramallah at night. Jewish settlers set fire to 2 Palestinian vehicles nr. Beit El settlement n. of Ramallah. In East Jerusalem, Palestinian youths smash a hole in the separation wall in Abu Dis before Israeli forces arrive and violently disperse them. Outside the Old City nr. Damascus Gate, Palestinians throw stones at police officers. (JP, MNA, NYT 9/28; PCHR 10/3)

Diplomats from the Quartet meet on the sidelines of the UNGA in New York and issue a statement calling on both sides to take “every possible step” to make the current negotiations a success. Envoy Tony Blair says that the meeting heard of initiatives accompanying peace talks to boost the Palestinian economy. The Quartet reps. were also joined by Tzipi Livni and Saeb Erakat in their capacities as lead negotiators for their respective sides. (AP, JP 9/28)

The UNSC votes unanimously for a res. that will see Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile secured and destroyed. Kerry says that the res. shows diplomacy is able to “peacefully defuse the worst weapons of war,” adding that destruction of the arsenal will begin in 11/2013 and run through to mid-2014. The council also backs a road map for political transition in Syria, and calls for an international conference to be convened “as soon as possible.” (AP, ToI, REU 9/27)

U.S. Pres. Obama and Iranian pres. Ruhani speak on the telephone, the highest-level contact between the 2 countries since 1979. Obama, in comments at the White House, and Ruhani, via a Twitter account, said that both are committed to solving the nuclear issue. (REU 9/27)

In the Gaza Strip, IDF troops open fire on Palestinians walking close to the border fence nr. Bayt Lahiya, wounding 2. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts house searches and arrest raids in 1 village nr. Qalqilya at night; patrols in 2 villages nr. Hebron, 1 village nr. Jericho and Jenin at night. IDF troops violently disperse Palestinian, Israeli, and international protesters at weekly demonstrations against Israel’s separation wall, settlements, and occupation in 3 villages nr. Ramallah (Bil‘in, Nabi Salih, and Ni‘lin), and 1 village nr. Qalqilya (Kafr Qaddum). There are no serious injuries, except in Kafr Qaddum, where 5 are injured (4 struck by tear gas canisters, including 1 international, and 1 hit by a live bullet). (MNA 9/20; PCHR 9/26)

An Arab-introduced res. at the IAEA’s annual conference in Vienna to censure Israel’s refusal to allow international oversight of its nuclear weapons is voted down 43–54–32 (and another 30 countries were absent during the vote). (AP 9/20)

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) says that Syria has given details of some of its arsenal but still needs to fill in the gaps by next week to satisfy the timetable proposed by the Russian-U.S. plan. (REU 9/20)

White House dep. spokesperson Josh Earnest says that the Obama administration is ready to engage in talks with Iran “on the basis of mutual respect” about the country’s nuclear program. (REU 9/20)

Egyptian police arrest some 87 wanted men in a village nr. Cairo, while separately, gunmen target 3 military vehicles in Rafah, injuring 3 soldiers. Security forces say they also arrested 15 Salafist militants in villages in the n. Sinai. (AFP, AP, MNA 9/20)

In the West Bank, the IDF conducts house searches and arrest raids in Qalqilya and 1 village nr. Hebron at night; patrols in 1 village nr. Qalqilya at night. Jewish settlers from Beit El nr. Ramallah throw stones at Palestinian vehicles, while in a separate incident, settlers uproot some 40 Palestinian olive trees in the s. Hebron hills. In East Jerusalem, Jerusalem municipality-owned bulldozers level lands to make a trench between Issawiyya village and French Hill settlement, at the request of the latter’s residents. (MNA 9/9; PCHR 9/12)

Palestinian official Nabil Shaath tells the media that U.S. Secy. of State Kerry had “guaranteed us in writing” that talks would start from the 1967 lines, with State Dept. spokesperson Marie Harf subsequently denying such a document. (NYT 9/9)

The EU announces a €52 million assistance package to help PA development schemes, such as municipal infrastructure projects and private sector-led economic initiatives. The aid is the final part of the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument assistance, with the total contributed to the Palestinians in 2013 now standing at €300 million. (MNA 9/9)

Russian FM Sergey Lavrov makes a statement calling for military action against Syria to be averted through a plan for the internationally coordinated destruction of Damascus’s chemical weapons’ arsenal. The dramatic intervention is welcomed as a possible breakthrough by Pres. Obama, who faces opposition in Congress and among the public to any U.S. military intervention. Democratic Senate leader Harry Reid postpones a scheduled test vote for lawmakers to assess the Russian plan. Syrian FM Walid Muallem welcomes the Russian proposal as a way of preventing “an American aggression.” (AFP, AP, REU 9/9)

The Egyptian military’s offensive in the Sinai continues, with security forces killing a further 9 militants and arresting 10 nr. Rafah. In 2 separate incidents in c. Sinai, gunmen open fire and wound 3 soldiers. In addition, Egyptian forces destroy 6 smuggling tunnels under the Egypt-Gaza border located n. of Rafah, with an Egyptian official claiming that more than 90% of the smuggling tunnels have now been destroyed. As part of the operation, Egypt’s military claims to have seized caches of weapons including a mortar belonging to Palestinian Islamic Jihad. (AFP, AP, MNA, REU 9/9)

In Gaza, the IDF continues operations in al-Maghazi r.c., engaging in heavy clashes with local gunmen, killing 4 armed Palestinians and 1 bystander, wounding at least 32 (in addition, 1 Palestinian child wounded in al-Maghazi on 7/19 dies of her injuries); drops leaflets across Gaza warning that “anyone who has . . . an arsenal, ammunition, or weapons in their house must destroy them or will face dangerous consequences.” The IDF also continues to shell n. and s. Gaza to prevent rocket fire; makes air strikes on 2 groups of Palestinians allegedly laying roadside bombs (no injuries are reported); fires warning shots fr. gunboats to keep Palestinian fishermen fr. going out to sea. Palestinians fire at least 1 rocket fr. Gaza into Israel, lightly wounding 1 Israeli. In the West Bank, the IDF continues major operations in Nablus, surrounding the local PA headquarters where a number of wanted Palestinians have taken refuge since fighting began on 7/19; 15 give themselves up during the day, but 10 remain inside, as IDF tanks shell the building and bulldozers begin to demolish the structure, troops fire on stone-throwing Palestinians who confront them (wounding 5). Also in Nablus, some 4,000 Palestinians demonstrate in support of Hizballah. The IDF also conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron; clears Palestinian trees nr. Har Homa settlement. (NYT, WP 7/21; IFM 7/22; PCHR 7/27)

Israel warns Lebanese s. of the Litani River that they have 24 hrs. to evacuate to the north. The IDF increases pinpoint ground operations in s. Lebanon, engaging in fierce clashes with Hizballah, leaving at least 2 IDF soldiers, 2 Hizballah mbrs. dead and 6 IDF soldiers injured; sends tanks, bulldozers across the n. border to destroy tunnels, bunkers, posts used by Hizballah (Hizballah claims to destroy 2 tanks; the IDF does not comment); continues air and artillery strikes on 150 targets across Lebanon, including Baalbek, Hermel, and al-Khiyam (destroying the infamous jail there, formerly run by Israel’s proxy, the South Lebanon Army). Late in the evening, 2 IDF helicopters collide over n. Israel nr. the Lebanese border, killing at least 4 IDF soldiers. Hizballah fires some 40 rockets at n. Israel, hitting Carmiel, Kiryat Shimona, Safad, Tiberias; there are no reported injuries. Syria reports that more than 140,000 people have crossed over fr. Lebanon since the violence began. Some 10,000 foreigners are evacuated by sea fr. Beirut and Tyre (including some 2,250 Americans and many Southeast Asian laborers evacuated by the Indian navy); UNIFIL evacuates its post at Naqura. Lebanese report that the cost of basic goods has risen 500% in some areas. (BBC, UNIS, WP 7/20; AP, NYT, WP, WT 7/21; WP 7/22)