The Palestine Chronology

U.S. Secy. of State Rice begins her final 4-day Middle East tour of Egypt, Jordan, Israel, and the West Bank to discuss efforts to achieve “lasting peace in the region consistent with the goal of a two-state solution.” The U.S. had announced the trip on 10/30, when optimism surrounding the Gaza ceasefire was high, hoping that the visit would end with the signing of an Israeli-Palestinian joint statement on future negotiations at a high-level Quartet meeting on 11/9. In the wake of the 11/4–5 violence, however, the White House declares today, as Rice begins her meetings, that it intends to leave IsraeliArab peacemaking to the Obama admin. and no longer thinks any Israeli-Palestinian peace deal will occur before Bush leaves office in 1/09. Rice meets with Livni today. (BBC 11/6; NYT, WP, WSJ 11/7) (WT 10/31; HA 11/8; IFM, NYT, WP, WT 11/9; WP 11/10)

IDF troops on the s. Gaza border fire on Palestinian farmers working their fields nearby, forcing them to leave. The IDF also makes an air strike on a group of Palestinians nr. Jabaliya r.c. allegedly preparing to fire a rocket, injuring 1. Palestinians fire 4 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, in the morning, the IDF sends undercover units into Qalqilya driving a car with Palestinian plates to raid a store, arrest the owner; conducts a similar undercover raid into Nablus later in the day, raiding another store and arresting the owner; sends troops into al-Khadir village at midday, forcing stores to close, patrolling streets, withdrawing early in the evening; makes an evening incursion into Azun nr. Qalqilya, imposing a curfew, beating Palestinians who do not quickly leave the streets, withdrawing before midnight. Abbas accuses Hamas forces in Gaza of detaining nearly 50 Fatah members and supporters in a political move to undermine upcoming Cairo unity talks; at least 9 of those arrested, including a Fatah PC mbr., are released by the end of the day. A Palestinian woman dies of injures receive in the 11/4 IDF attacks on Gaza. (HA 11/6; MM 11/7; OCHA 11/12; PCHR 11/13)

Overnight, the IDF demolishes the Palestinian home nr. Dayr al-Balah that it says was hiding a tunnel, arresting 4 female residents, bulldozing an additional 2.5 d. of land. Retaliating for IDF attacks on 11/4–5, Hamas and Islamic Jihad mbrs. fire about 35 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries; the IDF strikes 1 rocketlaunching site in Jabaliya r.c. in n. Gaza, killing 1 Islamic Jihad mbr. and wounding 2 others (including senior cmdr. Issam Ba‘lusha) and 2 bystanders. Hamas officials state that they are in contact with Egypt to restore calm and would observe the ceasefire if Israel halted attacks; Israel says it intends to uphold the truce, but cuts off fuel shipments to Gaza and seals all crossings into the Strip indefinitely as punishment for the rocket fire. In the West Bank, the IDF makes a daytime arrest raid, searches a shop in al-Khadir nr. Bethlehem; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Hebron and nr. Bethlehem, Ramallah. The IDF also demolishes 2 Palestinian homes in Silwan in East Jerusalem (displacing 9 Palestinians)— the 1st of 88 Palestinian homes slated for demolition to make way for a “national archeological park”—sparking clashes with local residents that leave 8 injured, 20 under arrest; also demolishes 1 Palestinian home in Shu’fat (displacing 11 Palestinians), a wedding hall in Bayt Hanina. (AFP, HA, XIN 11/5; NYT, PCHR, WP, WT 11/6; HA 11/8; OCHA 11/12; PCHR 11/13; NYT 12/7)

By this date, Palestinian factions have agreed to an Egyptian proposal to resume their national unity dialogue in Cairo on 11/9. Hamas and Fatah are considering a draft memorandum of understanding on national reconciliation proposed by Egypt that would be issued at the close of the Cairo summit (see Quarterly Update). (Electronic Intifada [online] 10/28; MNA 11/2; MNR 11/7; AFP 11/8; NYT, WT 11/9)

In the West Bank, the IDF patrols, searches houses in al-Khadir, beats 3 Palestinians (ages 28, 37, and 63), claiming that Palestinians in the area had thrown stones at Israeli vehicles on a nearby settlersonly bypass road; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus, nr. Hebron. More than 100 Jewish settlers block roads and throw stones at Palestinian cars nr. Qalqilya to prevent Palestinians, accompanied by international and Israeli peace activists, fr. reaching their groves to harvest olives. Inside Israel, Israeli police arrest 6 Israeli Jews fr. Tel Aviv for taking part in recent arson attacks against Israeli Palestinian property in Acre. (BBC 10/20; OCHA, WT 10/22; PCHR, WJW 10/23)

Overnight, the IDF makes an incursion into Bethlehem, surrounding and firing on the home of a wanted Palestinian, raiding and several nearby homes, occupying 1 as an observation post; over the next 12 hrs., troops evacuate, partially bulldoze, then storm the surrounded, vacant home, incorrectly believing the wanted man to be inside, rendering the house uninhabitable. The IDF also enters al-Khadir village nr. Bethlehem and al-Masayaf neighborhood in Ramallah in the morning, randomly checking Palestinians’ IDs, arresting 2 in al-Khadir and summoning 2 in Ramallah for questioning; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron. In East Jerusalem, Israeli authorities formally open a synagogue built on confiscated and demolished Palestinian property; the ceremony is attended by several senior Israeli officials, rabbis, and right-wing Israeli MKs. (NYT 10/13; OCHA 10/15; PCHR 10/16)

After mtgs. with Egyptian officials in Cairo, Hamas announces that the Rafah border will close on 2/3. Some 2,500 Palestinian women rally at the Rafah crossing to urge Egypt to keep it open; 10,000 Palestinians take part in similar nonviolent rally in Gaza City. Egypt reports that it has arrested at least 14 armed Palestinians in the Sinai not far fr. the Rafah border. Palestinians fire 6 rockets fr. Gaza toward Israel; 1 lands inside Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF distributes fliers in Azun warning that unless local youths stopped throwing stones at Jewish settler vehicles traveling on Route 55 (see 2/1), the army would launch arrest raids, shoot stone-throwers, seal the village’s main entrance, and close shops nr. the road; fires on stone-throwing youths in al-Khadir, wounding 3; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron, nr. Jenin. (NYT, WP, WT 2/3; OCHA 2/6; PCHR 2/7)

In Gaza, 2,000 Palestinians hold a peaceful demonstration at a sealed breach in the Rafah border to urge Egypt to keep the border open. Outside Rafah, 2 Palestinian teenagers are injured when they accidentally trigger unexploded IDF ordnance. In the West Bank, the IDF sets up a checkpoint outside a Bayt Umar cemetery to check the IDs of mourners attending the funeral of the 2d Kefar Etzion attacker (see 1/24); later fires percussion grenades, rubber-coated steel bullets at mourners, wounding 6; fires on residential areas of al-Khadir nr. Bethlehem, causing no injuries; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Jenin, northwest of Jerusalem; fires rubber-coated steel bullets, percussion grenades, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, international activists taking part in nonviolent demonstrations against the separation wall in Bil‘in (injuring 2). Palestinian children throw stones at Jewish settler vehicles traveling on Route 55 nr. Azun and Route 60 nr. Hawara, damaging 2 but causing no injuries. Inside Israel, 20,000 Israeli Palestinians march in Sakhnin to protest a 1/27 government decision not to try police officers who fatally shot 13 Israeli Palestinians during 10/00 antigovernment demonstrations in Um al-Fahm in solidarity with the intifada. In Gaza City, Hamas-affiliated police release Fayyad adviser Ghul, arrested on 12/14. (AFP 2/1; NYT, WP 2/2; OCHA 2/6; PCHR 2/7)

IDF troops on the Gaza border e. of al-Bureij r.c. fire on Hamas mbrs. along the border fence, killing 1 Hamas mbr., then fire on Palestinians who attempt to evacuate his body, wounding 2 civilians; fatally shoot an unarmed Palestinian who strays nr. the border fence nr. Bayt Hanun. The IDF also sends tanks, armored vehicles, bulldozers into the Erez industrial zone and into Gaza nr. the Kerem Shalom crossing to level land. In the West Bank, the IDF raids, searches a school in Hebron, making no arrests; conducts arrest raids, house searches in al-Arub r.c. and nr. Hebron, Tulkarm. Israel’s Internal Security Min. bans the East Jerusalem–based National Commission Against Social Problems fr. holding its annual mtg. on the grounds that it is affiliated with the PA, which is barred fr. conducting official business in the city. Jewish settlers fr. Efrat and El Azara set fire to a 700-yr.-old mosque in nearby al-Khadir. Jewish settlers place 2 mobile homes on Palestinian land in Bil‘in that the Israeli High Court ruled on 9/4/07 should be returned to the village, attack local Palestinians who attempt to stage a sit-in to block them; Israeli police remove the settlers. In Gaza, Fatah-Hamas clashes continue overnight, leaving at least another 3 Palestinians dead and 30 injured. In Nablus, unidentified gunmen fire on the car of a Hamas-affiliated municipal official, wounding his wife. (REU 1/1; NYT, OCHA, WT 1/2; PCHR 1/3)