The Palestine Chronology

In the West Bank, Israeli settlers wrote racist graffiti and slashed tires on 5 Palestinian-owned vehicles in Haris near Salfit. Israeli forces handed demolition notices for some 20 Palestinian-owned structures in Qalandia and demolished a water well in the northern Jordan Valley. Israeli forces arrested 4 Palestinians, including a 13-year old girl, at the Allenby bridge crossing, in Qalqilya and Salfit. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces demolished a building in Bayt Hanina. Israeli forces also arrested 4 Palestinians during late-night raids in Shu‘fat refugee camp. In Gaza, rockets were fired between Gaza and Israel in the evening; there were reports of damage to structures, but no injuries were reported. (HA, WAFA, WAFA 8/21; HA, WAFA, PCHR 8/22)

IDF troops shoot and kill a Palestinian suspected of shooting Israeli soldiers and settlers near Salfit on 3/17. According to Palestinian eyewitnesses, the Israeli soldiers surrounded the suspect’s home in Abwein village near Ramallah and called for him to turn himself in before opening fire at the home. The shooting sparks clashes in the village late at night; 9 Palestinians are injured. Elsewhere in the West Bank, Israeli forces deliver a stop-work order to a Palestinian equestrian facility under construction north of Jerusalem. IDF troops arrest 2 Palestinians during a raid of a Palestinian school in Hebron and 5 more during late-night raids near Hebron, Tubas, and Salfit. They also patrol near Ramallah, Hebron, and Salfit. Late at night, Israeli settlers slash the tires of 17 Palestinian vehicles and leave racist graffiti on nearby walls in Battir village near Jerusalem. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces demolish a Palestinian school building under construction in Shu‘fat refugee camp. They also deliver a stop-work order to a Palestinian building under construction in Qalandia. Along Gaza’s northern border, hundreds of Palestinians gather to continue the Great March of Return and to cheer on a number of Palestinian fishing boats sailing in a symbolic challenge to the Israeli blockade. IDF troops and Israeli naval forces violently disperse the demonstrations; at least 11 Palestinians are injured. (HA, MNA, MNA, WAFA 3/19; HA, MNA, MNA 3/20)

The Israeli authorities announce a 4-day closure of the West Bank and Gaza, starting tonight and ending at midnight on 3/23. The closure surrounds the Jewish holiday Purim. All border crossings in and out of the occupied Palestinian territories are to be suspended, with an exception for humanitarian cases. (JP, MNA, TOI 3/19)

Israeli forces stage a multi-stage “controlled detonation” of an underground tunnel leading from the Khan Yunis area of Gaza into Israel, killing 12 Hamas and PIJ fighters, and injuring at least 18 more. An IDF spokesperson says that the detonation was a preemptive move because the tunnel did not yet pose a threat to Israel, claims that the Palestinians were only killed because they rushed into the tunnel after the detonation and suffered smoke inhalation, and calls the tunnel a “gross violation of Israeli sovereignty.” A PIJ spokesperson says the group is “weighing its options” in response to the attack (PIJ reportedly built the tunnel). (EI, HA, MNA, TOI, WAFA, YA 10/30; MNA 10/31; MNA 11/3; HA 11/5)

In the West Bank, IDF troops arrest 2 Palestinians during early morning raids in Jenin refugee camp, sparking clashes with stone-throwing residents. Amid the clashes, Israeli soldiers shoot and injure a Palestinian garbage truck driver. IDF troops also arrest 11 Palestinians during late-night raids near Ramallah, Nablus, Hebron, Qalqilya, and Jenin, and patrol in and around Hebron, Salfit, and Tulkarm. Israeli settlers open fire on Palestinian farmers harvesting olives south of Hebron, causing no damage or injuries. In East Jerusalem, undercover Israeli forces open fire on 2 Palestinians at the entrance to Qalandia refugee camp, injuring 1 before arresting both. Three Palestinians are injured in the ensuing clashes. Israeli forces also arrest 3 Palestinians during late-night raids in Silwan, Shu‘fat, and Hizma, and violently disperse a sit-in and dismantle a protest tent Palestinians set up in al-Bustan in 2009. (EI, HA, MNA, TOI, WAFA, YA 10/30; MNA 10/31; PCHR 11/2)