The Palestine Chronology

The IDF blows up a Palestinian home in Dahaysha r.c.; bulldozes 1 Palestinian home, 5 d., 2 wells, a bird farm in Umm al-Qurrais nr. Rafah; fires on residential areas of Bayta, Jenin; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Tulkarm and nr. Bethlehem, Hebron, Jenin, Qalqilya. (VOI 9/6 in WNC 9/8; PCHR 9/9)

The IDF tightens checkpoints around Jenin; fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis (damaging a hospital), Rafah; sends troops into Bayta and Salfit, firing on stone-throwing youths who confront the troops; bulldozes a Palestinian home, 1.5 d., a well in al-Mughraqa; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Jayyus nr. Qalqilya, Nablus, Taysir nr. Jenin, Yatta. A Palestinian dies of injuries received on 8/30. (PCHR 9/9)

The IDF fires on a funeral procession for ARB head Abu Sitta in Khan Yunis, killing a 12-yr.-old Palestinian boy, wounding 7; fatally shoots 4 Palestinians laying a roadside bomb nr. a Israeli border fence e. of al-Bureij r.c; sends troops into Nablus, sparking stone-throwing, then firing on demonstrators, wounding 1 stone-thrower, 1 bystander; fires missiles at a 3-story building in Gaza City owned by the family of a female suicide bomber, demolishing the structure, injuring 2 Palestinians; raids a wedding party in Bayt Jala, arrests 2 guests; fires on residential areas of Rafah; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Bayta, the central Gaza Strip. Palestinians fire 4 Qassam rockets at Sederot, bringing the total number of rockets fired at the town in the past 3 days to 14; none caused damage or injuries. Palestinian, Israeli, international peace activists begin a 3-wk. Freedom March to protest the separation wall; the march begins in Zababda nr. Jenin and plans to end in Jerusalem on 8/19. (VOI, VOP 7/30 in WNC 8/3; NYT, WT 7/31; WT 8/1; PR 8/4; PCHR 8/5)

The IDF assassinates ARB Rafah cmdr. ‘Amr Abu Sitta and his dep. Zaki Abu Zarqa, firing a missile at their car as they drive in Rafah; fatally shoots Islamic Jihad Tulkarm cmdr. Zahir Ashqar in an exchange of gunfire during an arrest raid in Tulkarm. The IDF also tightens access to Bayt Hanun; steps up bulldozing in Jabaliya r.c.; demolishes 18 Palestinian homes in Rafah; shells residential areas of Khan Yunis; fires on residential areas of Dayr al-Balah, Rafah; conducts arrest raids, house searches in ‘Azun and al-Zawiyya nr. Qalqilya, Bayta, Dahaysha r.c., Tubas, Tulkarm r.c. An AMB mbr., an Islamic Jihad mbr. are killed in an explosion outside Gaza’s Netzer Hazani settlement, reportedly when laying a roadside bomb. Palestinians fire 2 Qassam rockets at Sederot, causing no damage or injuries. (MM 7/29; MENA, VOI 7/29 in WNC 7/31; NYT, WP 7/30; PR 8/4; PCHR 8/5)

The IDF sends troops into Bayta nr. Nablus, sparking stone-throwing, then firing on protesters, wounding 1; fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis (fatally shooting an 11-yr.-old Palestinian girl in the courtyard of her home and wounding 3 others, including a farmer in a field 300 m away), Rafah; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Hebron, Nablus, Ramallah. The IDF also beats, detains an off-duty but uniformed Palestinian paramedic attempting to aid an ailing Palestinian in a broken-down taxi outside Nablus; the International Comm. of the Red Cross intervenes to secure his release. Elsewhere in the West Bank, an IDF soldier severely beats in the head with his rifle butt a Palestinian student who steps out of line at a checkpoint; Israeli women volunteering with Checkpoint Watch peace group intervene, saving his life. (VOI 7/26 in WNC 7/28; PM 7/27; VOI 7/27 in WNC 7/29; PR 7/28; MM, PCHR 7/29) 

Overnight, the IDF raids Nur al-Shams r.c. outside Tulkarm to arrest wanted Islamic Jihad mbrs.; Islamic Jihad mbrs. Sa‘id Musay’i, Wa’il ‘Khadir are fatally shot when they open fire on the troops, a 3d mbr. surrenders. The IDF also fatally shoots a Palestinian on a Nablus rooftop who allegedly is armed; fires on stone-throwing Palestinians in Beita; blows up a car in Nablus allegedly rigged as a car bomb; blocks the entrances to Kafr Dik village nr. Qalqilya; demolishes 2 Palestinian homes nr. Rafah, 1 nr. Khan Yunis; bulldozes 17 dunams of land nr. Khan Yunis; erects a new IDF post in Khan Yunis; conducts arrest raids nr. Jenin. The PSF fortifies Arafat’s headquarters in Ramallah, placing wrecked cars and concrete-filled barrels around the entrance to impede the IDF in the event of a raid. (AFP 5/7; MA, VOI, VOP, YA 5/7 in WNC 5/11; NYT 5/8; PCHR 5/13)

The IDF intercepts a Palestinian suicide bomber (the 16-yr.-old brother of a 15-yr.-old killed by the IDF on 1/3) nr. Nablus; to avoid capture, the bomber detonates his device, killing only himself; no group claims responsibility. The IDF fires on stone-throwing Palestinian youths in Beita nr. Nablus, killing 1 Palestinian bystander. In Tel Aviv, 100,000 right-wing Israeli protesters (many affiliated with the settler movement) protest against rumored plans by Sharon to uproot Jewish settlements as part of a unilateral disengagement fr. the occupied territories. (AFP, HA, MM 1/11; NYT 1/12; VOP 1/11 in WNC 1/13; MM 1/13; NYT, PR 1/14; YA 1/14 in WNC 1/16; PCHR 1/15; JPI 1/23)

Right-wing settler activist Baruch Marzel announces a new Israeli political party, the Jewish National Front, which advocates the “transfer” of Arab communities to “new locations east of the Jordan River” and pledges “to ensure the immigration of 2 million Jews and the emigration of 2 million Arabs” in the coming yrs. Marzel says that the only group to submit a formal objection to the new party was the National Religious Party, which argued that the goals of the 2 parties were too similar. (Itim News Service 1/11)