The Palestine Chronology

International diplomacy to end OCL clicks into gear with France proposing that Israel and Hamas impose a 48-hr. humanitarian truce to try to defuse the violence and restore the Gaza cease-fire, with humanitarian groups, Egypt, the EU, the Quartet, and the U.S. opening mediation channels (see Quarterly Update). Israel’s security cabinet meets to discuss the French proposal but does not formally respond.

Israeli actions: The IDF conducts 70 air strikes on Gaza, while the Israeli navy continues shelling from the sea, killing at least 10 Palestinians and wounding 40, bringing the death toll to about 370. The IDF reports hitting 110 individual sites, with primary targets being tunnels on the Rafah border, suspected weapons factories and rocket-launching sites, civil and naval police stations, and groups of resistance mbrs. In Gaza City, at least 20 air strikes hit Haniyeh’s offices, PA Interior Min., and main PA government complex in Gaza City, all of which had been targeted previously; 1 air strike hits an ambulance, killing 1 paramedic, seriously wounding a doctor and the driver. Part of Gaza’s main power grid is also hit, cutting all power to Gaza City. A fuel depot in Rafah is destroyed. In al-Bureij r.c., a mosque and health clinic are hit. In Khan Yunis, a money exchange is destroyed. At least 7 homes across the Strip are targeted. Target locations include Abasan, Bayt Hanun, Bayt Lahiya, al-Bureij r.c., Dayr al-Balah, Gaza City, Jabaliya town and r.c., Khan Yunis, al-Maghazi (c. Gaza), al-Mughraqa, al-Qarara, Rafah. The IDF launches a YouTube channel to broadcast declassified videos of its operations in Gaza, “other footage of interest to the international community” (JPI 1/8) and begins regular briefings for Internet bloggers worldwide.

Palestinian actions: Palestinians fire 41 rockets, 10 mortars into Israel, damaging 1 home in Sederot and causing several light injuries (excluding shock); 1 rocket lands in Beersheba, 25 mi. fr. the Gaza border, marking the farthest strike to date; 2 other long-range rockets land in Ashdod. Humanitarian notes: Israel allows 93 trucks into Gaza (50 carrying medical supplies and food donated by aid groups; 43 carrying commercial goods), but Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital says it is out of 150 kinds of medicine and 230 other medical supplies, including gloves, scissors, sterilization equipment, nitrogen for anesthesia. Fuel shipments are still cut off; Gaza’s power plant shuts down for lack of fuel. (BBC, HA, Independent 12/30; IDF, IFM, NYT, REU, UNOSAT, WP, WT 12/31; JP, PCHR 1/1; ITV 1/2; IDF 1/3; WP 1/4; IFM 1/8; NYT 1/13)

In the West Bank, a Palestinian worker in Mod’in Ilit settlement, angry over Israel’s war on Gaza, stabs, wounds 4 Jewish settlers before being shot and wounded by a paramedic who arrives on the scene. The IDF fires live ammunition, rubber-coated steel bullets, percussion grenades, tear gas at Palestinians demonstrating against OCL in al-Fawar r.c. nr. Hebron, wounding 3 (including teenagers ages 13, 14); makes simultaneous afternoon incursions into Beita and Hawara villages nr. Nablus, imposing curfews through 12/31; conducts simultaneous late-night raids, house searches on 4 villages nr. Jenin, firing on residential areas in all cases, causing no injuries and arresting only 1 teenager; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Abu Dis and Jalazun r.c. nr. Ramallah, and nr. Bethlehem, Hebron, Jenin, Nablus, Tulkarm. (PCHR, WJW 1/1)

Palestinians fire 10 rockets, 23 mortars fr. Gaza into Israel, causing light damage to 1 building but no injuries; the AMB takes responsibility for the mortar fire. In response, the IDF fires a surface-to-surface missile at a mortar-launching site n. of Bayt Lahiya (killing 1 AMB mbr., wounding 2) and makes an air strike on a rocketlaunching site e. of Gaza City (wounding 1 bystander). In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Bayt Sahur and nr. Bethlehem, Jenin; raids, searches a medical center in Hebron. (WT 12/21; Forward, MM 12/22; PCHR 12/24)

Overnight, Islamic Jihad mbrs. in Gaza fire more than a dozen rockets into Israel in retaliation for the IDF’s 12/15 assassination of Nawahda, causing no damage or injuries. The IDF makes 2 air strikes on Islamic Jihad mbrs. preparing to launch rockets nr. Bayt Hanun, injuring 3 Islamic Jihad mbrs., 1 bystander. OCHA reports that in recent days, Israel allowed 78 tons of chlorine and purification chemicals to be transferred to Gaza’s water authority, enough to treat Gaza’s water supply for 1 mo.; Gaza also received its 2d shipment (14 truckloads) of pharmaceutical supplies fr. the PA central pharmacy in Ramallah. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces bulldoze a tent and level land, displacing a Palestinian family whose home on the site they had bulldozed in 11/08. Inside Israel, some 200 Israeli police make an overnight raid on the Bedouin encampment of Abdallah al-Atrash in the Negev, which has existed for over 20 yrs., expelling 20 families and demolishing all structures. A Gaza court sentences Palestinian Muhammad Saidam, arrested in 2/08, to death for “treason, espionage, and collaborating” with Israel to assassinate mbrs. of the Palestinian resistance; PA pres. Abbas must approve the sentence before it can be carried out. (MM, OCHA 12/17; NYT, PCHR 12/18)

Hamas mbrs. fire 8 mortars fr. Gaza toward Israel, 6 of which land inside Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In response, the IDF makes an air strike on 1 mortar-launching site, killing 2 Palestinian teenagers nearby, wounding 2 children. OCHA reports that in addition to mortar fire, Palestinians have fired 6 rockets fr. Gaza toward Israel between 11/27 and 12/2, causing no injuries. Israeli border police arrest Israeli reporter Amira Hass as she leaves Gaza through the Erez crossing, charging her with violating the government ban on Israelis entering Gaza. Hass, who entered Gaza on 10/29 on a boat carrying solidarity activists (see Chronology in JPS 150), was then expelled by Hamas officials who disapproved of her coverage of events in the Strip; she is released pending a hearing. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts latenight arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem, Jenin. For a 6th straight day, 100s of Jewish settlers riot in Hebron to protest the orders to evacuate Beit Shalom, attacking Palestinians on the street, vandalizing Palestinian homes, damaging cars, and harassing IDF troops; the IDF fires tear gas, percussion grenades at Palestinians who attempt to stop the settlers, injuring 3. In 2 other West Bank locations, Jewish settlers protesting the planned eviction set fire to Palestinian stocks of animal feed, slash tires. (HA 12/2; NYT, WP, WT 12/3; WT, PCHR 12/4)

As the quarter opens, Israel maintains its strict siege of Gaza, imposed following Hamas’s 6/07 takeover of Gaza and tightened dramatically in 1/08 to allow no exports and only the bare minimum of humanitarian imports. A 6-mo. Gaza cease-fire, in place since 6/19, technically remains in effect, although significant cross-border exchanges resumed on 11/4. Israel has sealed Gaza borders completely since 11/5, allowing in an average of 5 containers/day of humanitarian aid, whereas the UN estimates that 500/day are needed to sustain the basic human needs of the 1.5 m. population. Today, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) makes an air strike on Gaza City targeting a group of Popular Resistance Comm. (PRC) mbrs. preparing to fire a rocket into Israel, killing 4 PRC mbrs. (The IDF reports that in the past 48 hrs., Palestinians have fired 20 rockets and mortars, including 2 Grad-type rockets, into Israel, causing no damage or injuries.) In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron and Nablus, and nr. Bethlehem, Jenin. Israel’s High Court orders Jewish settlers to evacuate the illegal outpost of Beit Shalom, in the al-Rajabi building in the Wadi al-Nassara area of Hebron, or face eviction, also declaring the State of Israel the temporary custodian of the building until ownership disputes are resolved; settlers ignored a 10/29 High Court order demanding they vacate the building within 24 hrs. (NYT 11/17; OCHA 11/19; PCHR 11/20; OCHA 11/27)

AsIsrael continues to seal Gaza’s borders completely, aid agencies (including Oxfam and UNRWA) warn of an impending humanitarian crisis. UNRWA Gaza dir. John Ging states that “it is unprecedented that the UN is unable to get its supplies in to a population under such obvious distress.” Unnamed Hamas officials say that Israel apparently is not interested in maintaining the truce and therefore would face consequences. Today, Hamas admits to firing 11 Grad-type rockets fr. Gaza toward Israel (4 of which landed inside Israel, causing no damage or injuries) in addition to 3 regular rockets and several mortars, 1 of which (unclear whether rocket or mortar) hits an Israeli home in Sederot, causing damage and lightly injuring 1 Israeli. The IDF makes air strikes on suspected launch sites in n. Gaza, wounding 2 armed Palestinians. In the West Bank, the IDF fires tear gas, percussion grenades at Palestinians holding a nonviolent protest against settlements at the evacuated settlement site of Homesh nr. Jenin (wounding 1); conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus, and nr. Bethlehem, Hebron; fires rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas, percussion grenades at Palestinian, Israeli, international peace activists taking part in a nonviolent demonstration against the separation wall in Bil’in (injuring 2); fires rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, international peace activists taking part in a similar nonviolent demonstration in Ni‘lin (injuring 1). (NYT, WP 11/15; WT 11/16; OCHA 11/19; PCHR 11/20)

IDF troops, bulldozers cross into s. Gaza to level land along the border e. of Khan Yunis, exchanging fire with Hamas mbrs., causing no reported injures. In a similar incident nr. the Erez crossing, IDF soldiers exchange fire with DFLP gunmen, causing no reported injuries. The IDF also makes an air strike on an alleged rocket-launching site in n. Gaza, causing no injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Nur al-Shams r.c. nr. Tulkarm, nr. Bethlehem. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba beat a 6-yr.-old Palestinian boy on his way to school until his grandfather halts the attack; the IDF observes but does not intervene. Hamas accuses PA security forces in the West Bank of arresting 26 Hamas mbrs. and supporters, mostly in Hebron, but also in Bethlehem, Jericho, and Salfit. (HA, JP, MNA, REU, YA 11/8; HA, JAZ, MNA 11/9; OCHA 11/12; PCHR 11/13)

After a last-minute talks in Cairo between Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Sulayman and senior Hamas official Mahmud Zahhar fr. Gaza, Hamas’s dep. leader Musa Abu Marzuq announces from Damascus that Hamas will not attend national unity talks in Cairo on 11/9. Hamas officials cite Egyptian and PA unwillingness to compromise on the wording of an Egyptian draft national unity statement or to discuss issues of importance to Hamas, and the PA’s failure to fulfill a pledge to release 100s of Hamas and Islamic Jihad prisoners held in the West Bank as a confidence-building gesture in advance of the summit. (AFP 11/8; NYT, WT 11/9; see also MNR 11/7)

Rice stops in Jenin to meet with Abbas and to inaugurate a new hospital wing funded by USAID, announcing another $14 m. in USAID funds for Jenin. (HA 11/8; IFM, NYT, WP, WT 11/9)

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)

Democratic candidate Barack Obama is elected president of the United States, to be inaugurated on 1/20/09. (MM 11/4; MM, NYT, WP, WT 11/5; MM 11/5, 11/6, 11/7)

In a major escalation and violation of the Gaza cease-fire, the IDF sends a large infantry unit into central Gaza nr. Dayr al-Balah allegedly to destroy a tunnel nr. the border, occupying 2 Palestinian homes (1 covering the tunnel), wounding 1 Palestinian woman in the process; troops then clash with Hamas gunmen who arrive on the scene, killing a senior Hamas cmdr., wounding 2 Hamas mbrs., leaving 4 IDF soldiers wounded, and marking the 1st armed clash since the cease-fire went into effect on 6/19. Israel publicly accuses Hamas of plotting to dig under the border fence to capture soldiers and abduct them to Gaza; separately, Israeli defense officials acknowledge (see WT 11/20) that they simply wanted to send a message to Hamas not to operate near the border. In response, Hamas fires 10 mortars fr. Gaza toward Israel; several land inside Israel, causing no damage or injuries. Later, the IDF makes air strikes on Khan Yunis and al-Qarara, killing 5 Hamas mbrs., wounding several. Israel calls these attacks “pinpoint operations” against specific threats, saying it still intends to adhere to the cease-fire. The IDF also sends troops into n. Gaza nr. Bayt Hanun to level land. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Hebron, nr. Bethlehem and Tulkarm. OCHA reports that in the previous wk. at least 8 IDF soldiers have been injured in clashes with Jewish settlers seeking retaliation for the 10/26 evacuation of Federman Farm. (IFM, JAZ, NYT, OCHA, PCHR, WP 11/5; MM, PCHR 11/6; WT 11/20)

Israel orders borders with Gaza sealed after an early warning system detects a rocket launch fr. Gaza into Israel, but later admits that the system malfunctioned and no rocket was fired; the seal is lifted. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus, in Bethlehem, and nr. Hebron (raiding 2 Palestinian colleges, detaining 27 students for questioning); demolishes 36 structures (approx. 23 dwellings and 13 animal pens) belonging to bedouin families in Mughayyir al-Dir, outside Ramallah and adjacent to Mitzpe Dani settlement outpost, displacing 97 individuals (including 51 children), on the grounds that the structures were built in a closed military zone. Jewish settler girls (ages 12–17) stone Israeli border police demolishing an “illegal structure” in Givat Harsina outpost in Hebron, injuring 2 officers; the girls are arrested. Hamas releases 17 Fatah mbrs. fr. detention in Gaza, saying they are the only political prisoners being held and are being freed as a gesture to Fatah before national unity talks set to open in Cairo on 11/9 (see 10/20). (OCHA, REU, YA 10/30; YA 11/2; XIN 11/5; OCHA 11/5; PCHR 11/6)

Israeli pres. Shimon Peres authorizes Livni to form a new government. Israeli law gives her 42 days to complete the task or step aside for the pres. either to authorize another party to form a coalition or to call early elections. Israeli and Palestinian negotiating teams will continue to hold their regular mtgs., and Olmert and Abbas will continue to meet biweekly to discuss the teams’ progress, but no major agreements are expected until a new government is formed. (IFM 9/22; WT 9/23)

A 19-yr.-old Palestinian resident of Jabal Mukabir in East Jerusalem drives his car into a group of IDF soldiers in the Old City, injuring 19 before being shot dead; Israeli police believe the man acted intentionally and alone, though the family believes the incident was an accident. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in, fires on residential areas of Jenin town and r.c., causing no injuries; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Nablus and Tulkarm, nr. Bethlehem and Jenin. A Palestinian woman (apparently the same who staged a similar attack on 9/8) sprays an acid-like substance on an IDF soldier checking IDs at Hawara checkpoint, blinding him and injuring 3 Palestinians nearby; she is captured, arrested. (JP, YA 9/22; NYT, WP 9/23; OCHA 9/24; PCHR 9/25)

The donors’ Ad Hoc Liaison Comm. (AHLC) meets in New York to discuss the PA’s financial crisis and how to better target aid to PA security reform efforts. (IMF, “Macroeconomic and Fiscal Framework for the West Bank and Gaza: Second Review of Progress,” 9/22; UNOSC, “UN Report to the Ad Hoc Liaison Committees,” 9/22; World Bank, “Palestinian Economic Prospects: Aid, Access and Reform,” 9/22; IFM 9/22, 9/23)

Overnight in Gaza City, Hamasaffiliated police raid a family compound belonging to the Daghmash clan in an attempt to break up the Daghmash-controlled Army of Islam. A heavy exchange of gunfire lasting for several hrs. leaves 1 policeman and 11 Daghmash dead (including a 1-yr.-old, 2 other children, 8 gunmen), and 45 wounded (including Army of Islam head Mumtaz Daghmash; at least 15 other Daghmash members, including 2 women; and 10 police); police confiscate 32 truckloads of weapons from the compound. During the day, 6 Palestinian fishing boats carrying FGM activists who sailed into Gaza on 8/22 attempt to outrun the Israeli naval blockade to get the activists back to Cyprus but are fired upon and forced back to shore by the navy, leaving 1 activist injured and 1 boat damaged (see 8/28). The IDF also sends tanks, bulldozers into c. Gaza to level land along the border fence, withdrawing by evening, marking the 1st cross-border incursion since 7/23. In the West Bank, the IDF makes an afternoon raid into Bayt Umar nr. Hebron, firing on stone-throwing Palestinians who confront them, wounding an 11-year-old Palestinian boy; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Hebron, nr. Bethlehem and Jenin.Jewish settlers fr. Maskiyot in the Jordan Valley drive Palestinian shepherds off nearby land. (NYT, OCHA 9/17; PCHR 9/18; AIC 11/9)

In Gaza, Palestinians fire 1 rocket into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In response, Israel closes all Gaza crossing through 9/16. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in al-Til, al-Bireh, several villages around Jenin, and nr. Bethlehem, Hebron. (OCHA 9/17; PCHR 9/18)

At a regular top-level Israeli-PA security coordination meeting near Ramallah, the PA reportedly asks Israel “to join them in preparing a field plan and train their forces and supply them with weapons” to confront Hamas, anticipating clashes in 1/09, when Abbas’s term as president officially expires. The PA team also asks for IDF permission to deploy a new PA security contingent in Hebron district to confront Hamas forces there. (YA 9/19)

In the West Bank, the IDF makes a morning incursion into Ni‘lin, surrounding and firing tear gas into a girls school for no apparent reason while classes are in session (10s of students suffer tear gas inhalation), then fires on 10s of stone-throwing Palestinian youths who confront them, wounding 7; destroys an unlicensed fruit and vegetable stand nr. the Qalandia checkpoint that provides the only source income for 6 Palestinian families; demolishes 32 bedouin structures in Mu’arrajat nr. Ramallah, displacing 60 bedouin (including 36 children); seizes Palestinian land in Hebron to erect a new electricity network to serve local Jewish settlements; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Jenin town and r.c., in Dahaysha r.c. and Nablus, and in al-‘Askra village nr. Bethlehem. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba stone Palestinian elementary school students on their way home fr. school, occupy the yards of 2 Palestinian homes and hold prayers (the IDF removes them). (OCHA 9/10; PCHR 9/11; AIC 11/9)

The Pentagon announces a $77-m. deal to sell Israel 1,000 GBU-39 bunker-buster munitions. Israeli military experts say the bombs would not be suitable for an attack on Iran but “could provide a powerful new weapon” against Gaza. (AP 9/15)

IDF troops on the n. Gaza border shoot, wound a Palestinian collecting scrap metal who strays nr. the border fence. In the West Bank, the IDF detain without charge the father of a young girl who filmed IDF troops in Ni‘lin shooting and wounding a bound Palestinian prisoner on 7/7; fire on residential areas of Bayt Umar nr. Hebron, then fire on stone-throwing youths who confront them, wounding 1; also patrols in, fires on residential areas of Baytin and al-Bireh nr. Ramallah, causing no injuries; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem, Hebron, Jenin, Qalqilya. (PCHR 7/24; OCHA, PCHR 7/30)

The IDF fatally shoots a Palestinian nr. the Gaza border fence e. of Dayr al-Balah, saying it mistakenly thought he was armed. In retaliation, the AMB fires 2 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. Later, Hamas-affiliated police arrest 7 AMB mbrs. for firing the rockets, marking the 1st such arrests by the Hamas leadership in Gaza. Israel does not reseal Gaza border crossings or take any military action against the rocket fire. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts daytime arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem; patrols in Tulkarm, conducting random ID checks; makes another late-night raid into Nablus, breaking into the municipal headquarters (confiscating computers and documents fr. the accounting department), searching 4 mosques, confiscating 4 school buses; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Jenin, Jerusalem. (WP, WT 7/11; OCHA 7/16; PCHR 7/17)

Israel allows imports of humanitarian goods to Gaza, suspended on 6/24, to resume at a rate about 30% higher than before the truce was agreed, noting Hamas’s positive reaction to the 6/26 rocket fire by the AMB; imports include diesel fuel, animal feed, frozen meat, fresh produce. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Jenin and Ramallah, nr. Bethlehem. (AYM, MM, NYT 6/30; OCHA 7/2; PCHR 7/3)

Gaza’s border crossings remained sealed for a 3d day. The IDF fires warning shots at Palestinian farmers who stray nr. the Gaza border fence e. of Khan Yunis, seriously injuring 2 elderly Palestinians. The Israeli navy fires warning shots at fishermen to keep them close to shore. AMB mbrs. fire 2 rockets into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. Hamas’s Gaza security chiefSiyam meets with heads of the various Gaza factions to discuss ways of reacting to IDF actions in the West Bank while respecting the Gaza cease-fire. Islamic Jihad pledges to coordinate its responses with Hamas. In the West Bank, the IDF makes an unusual daytime raid into Bayt Umar village nr. Hebron, setting up road blocks, checking IDs, raiding and searching homes, firing on stone-throwing youths who confront troops, killing a 16-yr.-old Palestinian boy, arresting 1 Palestinian; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus and Ramallah, nr. Bethlehem and Jenin, and outside East Jerusalem. Jewish settlers fr. Halamish nr. Ramallah burn a Palestinian olive tree. Nr. Jabaliya r.c., unidentified assailants detonate a bomb outside a fmr. PA Preventive Security officer’s home, causing damage but no injuries. (NYT, WT 6/27; MM 6/30; OCHA 7/2; PCHR 7/3)

Just before a Gaza cease-fire goes into effect, the IDF makes a series of air strikes on Gaza (killing 1 armed Palestinian, wounding 1), and Palestinians (mostly Islamic Jihad mbrs. seeking revenge for IDF killings of its mbrs. in previous days) fire 33 rockets and 10 mortars into Israel (causing light damage but no injuries); 5 rockets land inside Gaza, wounding 1 armed Palestinian, 2 civilians. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus, nr. Bethlehem; also makes a major arrest raid in Qalqilya, searching, firing on, and heavily damaging a 3-story apartment building and 2 homes, demolishing 2 uninhabited Palestinian homes.(PCHR, WT 6/19; NYT 6/20; OCHA 6/25; PCHR 6/26)

Israel publicly calls for opening “direct, bilateral” peace talks with Lebanon, which says it is not interested (NYT, WP 6/19)

An IDF helicopter fires on a group of Hamas mbrs. in Bayt Hanun, causing no injuries. Later, Hamas mbrs. fire 4 rocketpropelled grenades at an IDF patrol along the Gaza border e. of al-Maghazi r.c.; the IDF later sends bulldozers into the area to level land, clear lines of sight. Hamas mbrs. fire 3 mortars fr. Gaza toward Israel, causing no damage or injuries; IDF troops inside Israel direct heavy machine gunfire at the launch site, causing no reported injuries. The IDF also conducts a 2d day of land-leveling operations inside the Gaza border e. of al-Maghazi. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in, fires on residential areas of Dahaysha r.c. and al-Duha village nr. Bethlehem, then fires on stone-throwing Palestinians who confront them, wounding 4; conducts latenight arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus, and in Jenin town and r.c. (raiding a local lawyer’s home, confiscating computers and files). (PCHR 6/19)

As Israeli PM Olmert begins a 3-day visit to Washington, Israel announces that, in keeping with its Annapolis pledges to ease Palestinian movement, the IDF has removed 4 manned checkpoints (improving access to the Jordan Valley, Dead Sea, areas n. of Nablus, s. of Hebron) and 70 unmanned checkpoints (of around 600) across the West Bank, and plans further steps to ease the movement of agricultural goods btwn. the Jordan Valley and the northern West Bank. Israel also pledges to issue new permits to allow 5,000 Palestinian workers to remain overnight in Israel, 500 West Bank Palestinian businessmen to enter Israel, and 130 NGO employees and Palestinian VIPs to travel in and out of Israel more easily; authorizes the PA to set up 20 new police stations for new units undergoing training in Jordan. (IFM 6/3)

In Gaza, the IDF sends bulldozers into al-Qarara to level 100 d. of agricultural land; support troops fire on surrounding residential areas, wounding 1 Palestinian outside his home. Palestinian gunmen fire on an IDF unit patrolling the Israeli side of Gaza’s Kissufim crossing (nr. Khan Yunis; closed since Israel’s 9/05 disengagement fr. Gaza), wounding 1 soldier. Palestinians fire 3 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF uproots 47 olive trees nr. Ni‘lin for construction of the separation wall; conducts daytime house searches in Dahaysha r.c. nr. Bethlehem; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Jenin town and r.c. and nr. Nablus, Ramallah, Tulkarm. Jewish settlers protesting the lifting of an IDF roadblock in Hebron block Palestinian traffic in parts of the city. Palestinians throw stones at Jewish settler vehicles nr. Ramallah, causing no injuries. (OCHA 6/4; PCHR 6/5)

Overnight in Gaza, the IDF sends troops, bulldozers into Bani Suhayla nr. Khan Yunis, bulldozing 125 d. of agricultural land, several greenhouses, 1 Palestinian home before withdrawing in the morning; during the operation, troops fire a tank shell at armed Palestinians approaching the area (wounding 3) and detain 11 Palestinians (including 1 child) for questioning. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in Bethlehem, Qabatya, and nr. Hebron. In East Jerusalem, Israeli police and intelligence officers break up a memorial service for the late Palestinian political figure Faisal Husseini, declaring it an illegal political gathering, arresting 4 Palestinians. A Jewish settler deliberately drives into a flock of Palestinian sheep nr. Hebron, killing 3 sheep, injuring 2. The Israeli Housing Min. says it is moving ahead with previously announced plans to build 884 new Jewish settler housing units in East Jerusalem’s Pisgat Ze’ev (763 units) and Har Homa (121 units) settlements. Meanwhile, in Bayt Furik, angry Palestinians demonstrate, throw stones at a Palestinian Authority (PA) police station in Nablus, denouncing the PA’s recent confiscation of 86 unlicensed and stolen vehicles, injuring 3 policemen; the PA police fire live ammunition and percussion grenades at the protesters and beat several, injuring 8 Palestinians and causing an elderly Palestinian woman to have a fatal heart attack. In Gaza’s al-Maghazi r.c., unidentified gunmen fire on a group of Hamas mbrs., who return heavy fire; no injuries are reported. In Gaza’s Shati’ r.c., a bomb explodes outside a store, causing damage but no injuries; no group takes responsibility. (NYT 6/2; OCHA 6/4; PCHR 6/5; REU 7/14)

Palestinians in Israel and the occupied territories commemorate the Nakba by visiting the sites of Palestinian villages destroyed in 1948, holding somber rallies and moments of silence, and, in Qalandia r.c., releasing 1,000s of black balloons (1 for each day since the State of Israel was declared). In Gaza, the IDF begins digging a trench (around 300 ft. long, 10 ft. wide, 15 ft. deep) fr. an IDF post e. of Abasan to Khuza, firing on nearby residential areas, causing no reported injuries. IDF troops at the Erez crossing fire bullets, tear gas at 100s of Palestinians staging a nonviolent protest against the Israeli siege. IDF troops on the c. Gaza border e. of Juhur al-Dik fire on 3 Palestinian girls who stray nr. the border fence, wounding 1. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in Taqou’ nr. Bethlehem; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Nablus. A Palestinian civilian wounded during the 5/4 IDF incursion into Khuza dies. (CNN 5/15; PCHR 5/22)

Under a deal brokered by the Arab League, the Hizballah-led opposition and Lebanon’s ruling coalition agree to open talks in Qatar on 5/16 to negotiate an agmt. on a cabinet and new electoral law, to be followed by election of consensus pres. candidate Gen. Michel Suleiman. Hizballah removes roadblocks leading to Beirut airport, allowing some flights to resume in the evening. (BBC 5/15; NYT, WP, WT 5/16; WP 5/18)

In Gaza, the IDF makes an air strike on a car carrying 2 Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades mbrs. nr. Khan Yunis, missing it, wounding 6 bystanders. Gazan PC mbrs. erect a tent in front of the PC headquarters in Gaza City, begin a hunger strike to protest Israel’s ongoing siege. In the West Bank, the IDF fires on stone-throwing Palestinian youths outside Dahaysha r.c. nr. Bethlehem, wounding 5 with live ammunition; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus, in Qabatya, and nr. Hebron, Jenin, Qalqilya, Tulkarm. Israel bars access to the Jordan River to 15,000 Christians making a pilgrimage to Jesus’s baptismal cite to mark Orthodox Christian Holy Week, keeping them behind a fence 30 ft. fr. the river. Birzeit University student council elections allot 25 seats to Fatah, 19 to Hamas, 5 each to the PFLP and a joint Islamic Jihad/People’s Party list. Students clash over the results, prompting the university to close the campus until tensions cool. (OCHA, WT 4/23; PCHR 4/24)

Overnight, the IDF sends troops into Gaza City, arresting 3 Palestinians; expands the incursion in the morning, firing artillery shells at a car carrying resistance mbrs. (killing 1 armed Palestinian, wounding 1), and bulldozing a mosque, 3 stores, a transmission tower, 10 d. of olive groves, a bird farm (killing 1,500 birds), several smaller animal pens, 85 beehives before withdrawing in the evening. The IDF also fires on, arrests a Palestinian farmer working his land nr. the border fence e. of Khan Yunis; makes a late-night incursion into Khan Yunis, where troops clash with local gunmen, leaving 1 IDF soldier, 1 Hamas mbr. dead and arresting 5 Palestinians (including a child). Palestinians fire 3 rockets, 32 mortars fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus, in Jenin town and r.c. and Qalqilya (also raiding, sealing an Islamic charity, library, supermarket, and press; searching al-Quds Open University), and nr. Bethlehem, Hebron, Tulkarm. (IFM 4/8; OCHA, PCHR 4/9; NYT, WP 4/10)

Palestinian gunmen in n. Gaza shoot across the border at an Israeli government delegation leading a Canadian group on a tour of Sederot, seriously wounding an aide to Israel’s Public Security M Avi Dichter; the IDF returns fire, causing no reported injuries; several Palestinian groups claim responsibility including the AMB, Hamas, and 2 little-known Islamist groups: the Army of the Nation, and Protectors of the Homeland (which claims to be inspired by al-Qa‘ida). Separately, the IDF sends troops into al-Bureij r.c., where they clash with local gunmen (wounding a Palestinian girl inside her home), shell a Palestinian home (causing extensive damage but no injuries), arrest 1 Palestinian, temporarily detain 2 children (ages 12, 17); bulldozes 40 d. of citrus trees inside the Gaza border e. of Bayt Hanun. In al-Qarara, 2 Palestinians are injured when explosives they are handling detonate prematurely. In the West Bank, the IDF fires rubber-coated steel bullets, percussion grenades, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, international activists taking part in the weekly nonviolent demonstration against the separation wall in Bil‘in (10s suffer tear gas inhalation), beat Palestinian demonstrators at a similar demonstration in al-Masa’ra nr. Bethlehem (injuring 2 children, ages 6 and 7). In Nablus, 12 AMB mbrs. who had agreed to remain in PA custody overnight as part of a 7/07 amnesty deal with Israel flee Jnaid prison, claiming they were severely beaten by PA security forces; they refuse to return to the jail but pledge to respect the cease-fire. (HA 4/4; NYT, WP, WT 4/5; OCHA, PCHR 4/9)

The IDF shells a rocket-launching site in Gaza City and makes an air strike on a 2d rocket-launching site nr. Bayt Lahiya, killing 3 Islamic Jihad mbrs., wounding at least 2 Islamic Jihad mbrs. and 2 civilians; bulldozes land along the border fence e. of al-Maghazi r.c. Palestinians fire 3 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Bethlehem, nr. Qalqilya. Overnight, in Jerusalem, Israeli authorities hand the body of the 3/6 Mercaz Harav attacker over to his family in Jabal Mukabir for a predawn burial, hoping to prevent clashes surrounding his burial. When news breaks, however, 10s of right-wing Jewish settlers storm Jabal Mukabir, evading police barricades, clashing with riot police, throwing stones at Palestinian homes on the rim of the neighborhood. Nearby, 100s of right-wing Jewish settlers hold a protest rally demanding the expulsion of Palestinian citizens of Israel, scuffle with police. In total, 20 protesters are arrested; 1 protester, 1 policeman are injured. (WT 3/16; OCHA, PCHR 3/19)

Overnight, the IDF makes several air strikes on Gaza, killing 5 Hamas mbrs. before withdrawing ground troops fr. Gaza in the morning, stating that it is suspending Operation Hot Winter during U.S. Secy. of State Condoleezza Rice’s upcoming 3/4–5 visit. The toll for the 5-day operation is at least 110 Palestinians (half of them civilians, including at least 24 children; Hamas says it lost 37 mbrs.; Islamic Jihad and the PRCs say they lost 15) and 3 Israelis dead (1 civilian inside Israel, 2 IDF soldiers in Gaza), and nearly 400 Palestinians injured (most of them civilians). In addition, 21 Palestinian homes were destroyed (leaving 147 Gazans homeless) and 88 heavily damaged (affecting 616 Gazans), 90 dunams (d.; 4 d. = 1 acre) of agricultural land was bulldozed, and 80 Palestinians were detained for questioning (at least 5 were remanded to Israel). Palestinians fired more than 200 rockets (allegedly including 21 Grads). The IDF, however, makes more air strikes during the day, killing another 3 Palestinians (at least 2 of them civilians, including a child), destroying the Palestinian Council (PC) headquarters in Gaza City. Palestinians fire 18 rockets (allegedly including 1 Grad) into Israel, causing damage but no injuries; 1 rocket lands inside Gaza, hitting a home, wounding 2 Palestinians. In the West Bank, 1,000s of Palestinians demonstrate against Operation Hot Winter; a Jewish settler fr. Talmon B settlement nr. Ramallah fires on demonstrators in nearby al-Mazra‘a, killing a Palestinian teenager; IDF soldiers fire on another protest nr. Hebron, wounding 2 Palestinians. The IDF also exchanges fire with Palestinian gunmen nr. Bethlehem, wounding 3; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Bethlehem, and nr. Hebron, Jenin, Nablus. (BBC, NYT, PCHR, REU, WP 3/3; MM, NYT, WP, WT 3/4; PCHR 3/6; OCHA 4/18)

The IDF launches Operation Hot Winter (also called Operation Warm Winter) targeting Gaza’s “terrorist infrastructure,” making more than 20 air strikes, mostly on n. and c. Gaza, killing 20 Palestinians (including at least 2 unarmed adults and 5 children, including 4 boys ages 8–14 playing soccer in Jabaliya town), wounding more than 50 (including at least 14 children, 5 women). One of the air strikes targets a Hamas-affiliated police post nr. the home of Hamas’s Ismail Haniyeh in Shati’ r.c., killing 2 police officers. Another levels the labor syndicate headquarters in Gaza City. The IDF and Gaza militants also continue to trade heavy fire across the border, with Palestinians firing at least 31 rockets and 15 mortars, injuring 2 Israelis. Israel alleges that the rockets include 8 Grads fired by Hamas, 2 of which hit a house and cemetery in Ashqelon; none causes injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF fires on Palestinians in Salfit holding a nonviolent protest against the IDF attacks on Gaza, wounding 2; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem, Hebron. (BBC, al-Dustur [Amman], REU 2/28; NYT, WP, WT 2/29; PCHR 3/6)

The IDF makes an incursion into al-Shuka in s. Gaza, raiding and searching homes, clashing with local gunmen, killing 1 armed Palestinian, detaining 50 Palestinians for questioning, arresting 3 and transporting them to Israel. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Bethlehem, Nablus, and nr. Jenin, Tulkarm. In Dayr al-Balah, Hamas-affiliated police raid the Prisoners’ Association building, confiscate documents and furniture. (NYT 2/25; OCHA 2/27; PCHR 2/28)