The Palestine Chronology

The IDF carries out at least 8 predawn air strikes on the n. Gaza no-go zone (causing no casualties) and a predawn air strike on al-Mughraqa s. of Gaza City (tearing up a main street, damaging water and phone networks, but causing no casualties). Early in the day, the IDF warns of the imminent launch of Operation Blue Skies, dropping leaflets on n. Gaza that warn residents to stay away fr. the border area and the sites of vacated n. Gaza settlements, saying that anyone in the zone after 6:00 P.M. local time risks being shot; maps on the leaflets show the no-go zone as roughly corresponding to the n. Gaza settlement areas evacuated under disengagement, though also including areas 1.5 miles into Gaza housing some 100,000 Palestinians, whom the IDF recommends evacuate for “a limited period of time”; reportedly no Palestinians leave. Shortly before the deadline, AMB mbrs. fire 4 rockets at Sederot and a nearby IDF base, causing no damage or injuries; the IDF begins several hrs. of artillery fire (at least 25 strikes), fire fr. helicopters on the n. Gaza zone (wounding 1 Palestinian militant, 1 teenage bystander) and mock air raids breaking the sound barrier over the Strip, marking the start of the operation. Late in the evening, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem, Hebron. AMB mbrs. angry over the Fatah party list submitted today for the 1/25 elections seize election offices in 5 towns in Gaza, wage shoot-outs with the PA police, leaving 1 Gaza City policeman wounded. In Rafah, Palestinian gunmen kidnap a British aid worker, her parents; immediately begin negotiating with the PA for their release. (AFP, IMEMC, Israeli FMin. press release, JAZ, NYT, XIN 12/28; DS, IMEMC, JTA, NYT, PCHR, PMC, WP, WT, YA 12/29)

The IDF conducts air strikes to destroy 2 vacant AMB buildings in n. Gaza; fires 3 shells at the eastern border of Gaza nr. alMaghazi r.c., causing no injuries; demolishes a Palestinian home in Bayt Hanina outside East Jerusalem for being constructed without permits; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem, Jenin, Nablus; completes a section of the separation wall btwn. Qalandia checkpoint s. of Ramallah and the al-Ram and Dahiyat al-Barid area nr. Jerusalem. Nr. Tulkarm, 2 Palestinian teenagers throw Molotov cocktails at an IDF patrol, causing no injuries; 1 is shot, wounded by the IDF. Some 20 AMB gunmen occupy the n. Gaza governor’s office, Education Min. offices, and a shari‘a court for several hrs., demanding jobs in the PA security forces; some 400 Palestinians, including AMB mbrs., hold a similar protest outside the Fatah headquarters in Bethlehem. The Jewish “hilltop youth” settlers set up 13 new unauthorized outposts nr. existing settlements in the Bethlehem, Hebron, Jericho, Nablus, Qalqilya, and Ramallah areas. (HA, IMEMC, JAZ, REU, YA 12/27; DS, HA, IMEMC, NYT 12/28; PCHR 12/29)

Islamic Jihad mbrs. fire 2 rockets fr. n. Gaza towards an IDF base nr. Ashkelon, injuring 5 IDF soldiers; the IDF retaliates with artillery fire on the launch site, killing 1 Palestinian bystander in adjacent Jabaliya r.c.; Israel warns that it could send ground forces back into Gaza. The IDF also raids Nablus, assassinates local PFLP cmdr. Bashar Hanani (also reported as Bashar Khalani), AMB mbrs. Ahmad Jayyusi and Anas Hamad; shells areas northwest of Bayt Lahiya, wounding a farmer working his land; sends troops into Qabatya, fires on stone-throwing youths who confront them, wounding 5 Palestinians; raids, searches a building in Qiffin nr. Tulkarm, confiscating files fr. and sealing the offices of the Loans Association, Palestinian Peoples Party, Popular Campaign against the Wall, and Union of Agricultural Relief Comms.; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Bethlehem, Nablus, Ramallah and nr. Hebron, Jenin; uproots 200 Palestinian olive trees northwest of Hebron to erect a gate cutting al-Jaba village off fr. a nearby Jewish settlement. In the evening, the Israeli security cabinet approves new measures, known as Operation Blue Skies, aimed at curbing Palestinian rocket fire fr. Gaza, including using artillery, helicopter, and gunboat fire to enforce a new n. Gaza buffer zone; more stringent monitoring of the Gaza Strip by air; “other steps we have not taken until now,” but does not immediately give orders for the IDF to implement the plan. (BBC, IMEMC, JTA, PCHR, PM, XIN, YA 12/22; BBC, HA, IMEMC, JTA, NYT, WP, WT 12/23; PCHR 12/29)

Two IDF undercover units riding in vehicles with Palestinian plates raid Jenin, fatally shoot Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades cmdr. Zayid Musa in an apparent assassination; open fire on Palestinians who gather to protest the killing, wounding 5; the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in Alar, Qalqilya and nr. Bethlehem, Nablus, Ramallah. Israel warns that it may cut off Gaza’s electricity supply if rocket attacks continue. In Gaza, the principal and vice principal of the American International School (1 Australian, 1 Dutch) are kidnapped, held for 8 hrs., released unharmed by PFLP mbrs. seeking the release of PFLP leader Ahmad Saadat, who has been jailed by the PA at Israel’s request since 4/02. (IMEMC 12/21; JAZ, NYT, PCHR 12/22, 12/29)

The IDF shoots, wounds a 15-yr.-old Palestinian attempting to sneak into Israel fr. Dayr al-Balah to find work; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron, Ramallah and in Azun nr. Qalqilya, Nablus, Qabatya, Yamun nr. Jenin; fires rubber-coated steel bullets at Palestinian stone-throwers who confront the troops, injuring 5, precipitating gunfire fr. Palestinian militants that leaves 1 IDF soldier wounded. A Palestinian detained by an IDF undercover unit on 12/19 is released at the entrance to Jenin. Palestinians fire 5 rockets fr. Gaza towards Sederot and an IDF base, causing no injuries; IDF artillery shells uninhabited areas of n. Gaza in response. Jewish settlers fr. Ma’on bulldoze 15 d. of Palestinian land abutting the settlement. Some 20 armed AMB mbrs. demanding jobs in the security services, financial aid fr. the PA for 300 local AMB mbrs. occupy Bethlehem’s municipal building overlooking Manger Square; the stand-off ends peacefully when the PA agrees to consider their demands, allows them to walk out. Some 2,000 Palestinians rally outside the PC headquarters in Gaza City to express frustration over the PA’s failure to control the security situation inside Gaza. (AFP, AP, BBC, YA 12/20; HA, IMEMC, NYT 12/21; PCHR 12/22; WT 12/24)

The Israel Lands Administration demolishes 3 Israeli Palestinian homes in Lod (Lydda) for lack of permits; another 2,000 houses are threatened. (Arab Association for Human Rights press release 12/22)

Overnight and into the predawn hours, the IDF conducts at least 13 air strikes on n. Gaza, destroying a bridge outside Bayt Hanun, damaging roads, hitting a PA naval police building, injuring 2 officers. Israel allows the Palestinians to increase the hours of operation at the Rafah crossing fr. 4 hrs./day to 8 hrs./day. The IDF also exchanges fire with Palestinian gunmen in Nablus’s old city, wounding 2 gunmen; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem, Ramallah and in al-Khadir, Qabatya. An IDF undercover unit enters Burkin nr. Jenin, abducts, beats, detains a Palestinian. (IMEMC, PCHR 12/19; PCHR 12/22)

Palestinians in n. Gaza, the IDF in s. Israel trade mortar and tank fire throughout the day (Palestinians firing some 11 mortars, the IDF some 27 shells), causing no damage or injuries. The IDF also launches air strikes on s. Gaza targeting Palestinians firing rockets into Israel; sends troops into Anabta, fires on residential areas, then fires on Palestinian stone-throwers who emerge to confront them; conducts arrest raids, house searches around Tulkarm and in Bayt Laqia nr. Ramallah, Hebron; begins bulldozing 345 d. of Palestinian land in Bayt Jala for construction of a new segment of the separation wall nr. Bethlehem. The AMB, Islamic Jihad claim joint responsibility for a drive-by shooting nr. Hebron that kills 1 Jewish settler, wounds 2; the IDF detains 3 journalists in the area. A Palestinian dies of a beating he sustained fr. the IDF several days previously in East Jerusalem. (BBC, REU 12/16; HA, WP 12/17; HA, NYT 12/18; PLO press release 12/21; PCHR 12/22)

IDF conducts air strikes on 2 cars in Gaza City, assassinating 4 PRC mbrs. and wounding 1 bystander in one case, and wounding Islamic Jihad spokesman Khadir Habib and 3 bystanders in the other. Later, Palestinians fire 5 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries; in response, the IDF fires artillery shells at n. Gaza areas, carries out 2 air strikes on a n. Gaza access road, wounding 2 Palestinians. During the day, the IDF also conducts arrest raids in and around Jenin, in Nablus (reportedly finding a Qassam rocket, explosives in the search of a Hamas building). Late in the evening, the IDF makes air strikes on the Bayt Lahiya home of a PRC leader, injuring a relative, and on an Islamic Jihad charity in Rafah, causing damage but no injuries; conducts an air strike on an agricultural school in Bayt Hanun, injuring 1 Palestinian; launches 4 air strikes on open areas of n. Gaza, causing no damage; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Tulkarm and nr. Bethlehem, Hebron, Nablus, Ramallah. Israel approves construction of 200 new housing units in Ma’ale Adumim settlement and 40 in Ariel Brakha, Nokdim. A group of AMB mbrs.storms the Fatah headquarters in Gaza, demanding jobs; exchanges fire with another group of Fatah mbrs. who drive them away, leaving 3 wounded. (BBC, HA, IMEMC, JAZ, REU, YA 12/14; DS, JAZ, NYT, PCHR, PMC, WP, YA 12/15; PLO press release 12/21; PCHR 12/22)

The IDF makes a predawn raid on Nablus, clashes with stone-throwing Palestinian youths and gunmen, leaving 1 Palestinian bystander dead and more than 20 Palestinians and 2 IDF soldiers wounded; shells uninhabited areas of n. Gaza in response to 4 mortars fired by Palestinians into Israel (no damage or injuries on either side); raids, imposes a curfew on Bardala nr. Tubas; conducts arrest raids nr. Hebron, Jenin, Tulkarm and in Bethlehem, Birzeit, Ubidiyya nr. Bethlehem, Salfit nr. Nablus (arresting a Hamas mbr. running in the upcoming 1/25 elections). About 100 AMB gunmen occupy 3 election offices in Gaza and 1 in Nablus in ongoing Fatah primary disputes; gunmen at 2 Gaza offices eventually leave without incident; gunmen at the Gaza City office fire in the air, causing no injuries; gunmen at the Nablus office steal a computer, a television set. A Palestinian farmer in Abasan, Gaza, is killed when he accidentally triggers unexploded IDF ordnance. A Palestinian dies of injuries received earlier fr. settlers in Hebron. (AFP, AP, BBC, HA, IMEMC 12/13; AFP, NYT, WT 12/14; HA, PCHR 12/15; PLO press release 12/21)

The IDF makes a major raid on Balata r.c., sending in 40 armored vehicles, fatally shooting AMB cmdr. Iyad al-Hashash and wounding a 2d Palestinian in what may be an assassination, searching 10s of homes; exchanges fire with Palestinians nr. Jenin, causing no casualties; fires on stone-throwing Palestinian youths nr. Askar r.c., wounding 2; fires on Palestinian fishing boats nr. Khan Yunis for no apparent reason, wounding 1 Palestinian; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Bethlehem, Hebron, Jayyus, Jenin. Palestinians fire a rocket fr. Gaza into Israel, striking nr. Sederot, causing damage to a water network but no injuries; the IDF shells the suspected launch site in an open area of n. Gaza in response, causing no damage or injuries. Nr. Balata r.c., a Palestinian dies when a hand grenade he intends to throw at an IDF patrol explodes prematurely. (HA, IMEMC 12/11; PCHR 12/15)

The IDF fires 3 shells at s. Gaza, causing no damage or injuries; conducts arrest raids in Hebron, Jenin, Nablus and nr. Bethlehem, Tulkarm. AMB mbr. Khadir Rayan dies of wounds sustained in the 12/8 Qaddas assassination. (HA, IMEMC 12/10; HA 12/11; PCHR 12/15)

The IDF assassinates senior AMB mbr. Iyad Qaddas, firing a missile at a house where he is staying in Jabaliya r.c.; a 2d AMB mbr., Iyad Najjar, is killed and 1 AMB mbr. and 5 bystanders are wounded. Following the assassination, the PRC (firing rockets), IDF (responding with artillery and air strikes) trade heavy fire across the n. Gaza border, leaving 4 Palestinian civilians wounded. The IDF also demolishes 3 Palestinian homes, 2 shops nr. Jenin; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Ramallah (including arresting the mayor of Bayt Laqia, who is a Hamas mbr.), nr. Tulkarm and in Bethlehem, Hebron, Jenin, Nablus, Tubas; confiscates 10 d. of Palestinian land east of Bethlehem for construction of an IDF post. At the Qalandia checkpoint outside Ramallah, an AMB mbr. fatally stabs an IDF soldier, is arrested; the IDF immediately seals the crossing until further notice. PA police raid some 40 Palestinian homes in Hebron and Tubas, arresting more than 10 Islamic Jihad mbrs. in connection with the 12/5 Netanya bombing; Islamic Jihad denounces the raids and warns the PA against becoming an “arm of Israel,” while the AMB and PRCs warn that they will not renew the unilateral truce at the end of the yr. if the arrest campaign continues. (Israeli FMin. press release, XIN, YA 12/8; AFP, BBC, HA, JAZ, NYT, PCHR, REU, WP, WT, XIN, YA 12/9; HA 12/10; PCHR 12/15)

IDF air strikes target the head of the Popular Resistance Comm.’s (PRC) Salah al-Din Brigades Mahmud Arqan, assassinating him as he drives through a residential area of Rafah, wounding at least 5 bystanders. In retaliation, Palestinians fire several rockets and 1 mortar fr. n. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries; IDF artillery fires 10s of shells on roads and uninhabited areas in n. Gaza, causing no reported casualties. The IDF also conducts arrest raids nr. Ramallah and in Balata r.c., Hebron, Tulkarm; raids Waqf offices, 2 charitable societies in Jenin, confiscating computers and files, sealing the buildings; conducts arrest raids in Bani Na‘im nr. Hebron, Bayt Laqia, Bethlehem, Kafr Dan nr. Jenin, al-Khadi, Tulkarm r.c. Late in the evening, the IDF raids the Muslim Youth Association in Hebron, confiscates computers, copiers, documents and vandalizes and seals the building. A Palestinian woman (a bystander) is killed, several Palestinians are wounded in a clash btwn. rival clans in Bayt Hanun in continuation of the fatal violence of 12/3. (Israeli FMin. press release, JAZ, JP, YA 12/7; HA, NYT, PCHR, WP, WT, XIN 12/8; HA 12/9; PCHR 12/15)

Overnight, the IDF raids Kefar Rai, arrests 15 Palestinians in connection with the 12/5 Netanya bombing, including the bomber’s father, 3 brothers; also conducts arrest raids in villages around Hebron and Tulkarm, in Bethlehem. PA security forces detain 13 Islamic Jihad mbrs. in Balata r.c and Nablus, exchanging fire with AMB and Islamic Jihad gunmen opposed to the arrests, causing no reported injuries; also arrest 4 Islamic Jihad mbrs. in the n. West Bank. During the day, the IDF suspends Palestinian VIP passage through checkpoints; further tightens restrictions on Palestinian movement in the West Bank; conducts an air strike on Gaza City, targeting and destroying a 1950s statue of the unknown soldier; confiscates 85 d. of Palestinian land outside Bethlehem for construction of a permanent checkpoint to separate the western rural areas of Bethlehem fr. the rest of the governorate; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Balata r.c., Hebron; raids, closes 2 Islamic charities in Jenin. A Palestinian dies of injuries received earlier. (AP, HA, IMEMC, JAZ, XIN, YA 12/6; NYT, WP 12/7; PCHR, YA 12/8)

Israel suspends further implementation of the 11/15 Rafah arrangements brokered by U.S. Secy. of State Condoleezza Rice, aimed at easing Palestinian movement in and out of Gaza, between Gaza and the West Bank, and within the West Bank; tells the U.S. that it will not resume discussion of the issue until PA Pres. Mahmud Abbas acts against Palestinian militant groups. (NYT, WP, WT 12/9; HA 12/9, 12/10; HA 12/13; WP 12/15, HA 12/16)

An Islamic Jihad suicide bomber fr. Kefar Rai (btwn. Jenin and Tulkarm) detonates a device outside a shopping mall in Netanya, killing 5 Israelis, wounding 31 (4 seriously). Islamic Jihad says the attack is retaliation for the IDF’s 10/24 assassination of 2 of its leaders. The IDF immediately imposes closures on the West Bank and shuts pedestrian crossings in Gaza (keeping the Qarni crossing open for goods); announces that it is preparing for a wide-scale retaliation operation in northern Gaza and will step up assassinations and arrest campaigns in the West Bank, with DM Mofaz stating that the IDF had “decided to operate in a much broader, much deeper and more intensive manner against the Islamic Jihad infrastructure” and would make an effort to keep fr. drawing Hamas into the fighting. Later in the evening, the Israeli security cabinet authorizes the IDF to “adopt a harsher response” to rocket fire fr. Gaza, targeting built-up areas of Gaza as well as launch sites in uninhabited areas. During the day, the IDF also shells uninhabited areas in n. Gaza and in s. Gaza nr. Khan Yunis, causing no damage or injuries; makes 5 mock air raids over Gaza, breaking the sound barrier; fires on residential areas of Aida r.c., wounding 2 Palestinians; conducts arrest raids in and around Hebron and in Bethlehem, Jenin (targeting Hamas, including detaining 2 candidates in the 12/15 municipal elections, 1 candidate in the 1/25 parliamentary elections), Ramallah; bulldozes 5 d. of Palestinian land in Silwan for construction of a parking lot for Jewish settlers. Palestinians throw 2 pipe bombs at an IDF patrol nr. Bethlehem and fire on an IDF checkpoint nr. Nablus, causing no damage or injuries. PA police fire at Palestinians in Jenin rallying in support of the Netanya bombing. Israeli police round up another 500 Palestinians working in Israel without permits (see 12/4). (BBC, HA, IDF Radio, IMEMC, XIN, YA 12/5; CSM, DS, HA, IMEMC, JAZ, NYT, REU, WP, WT, YA 12/6; AFP, PCHR 12/8)

The IDF raids a Tulkarm school where Fatah primaries are being held, searches voters, leaves; arrests al-Jazeera West Bank bureau chief Awad Rajub at his home in Hebron “for security reasons.” Palestinians detonate a roadside bomb nr. an IDF patrol outside Efrat settlement nr. Bethlehem, causing no damage or injuries. A Palestinian gunman fatally shoots another Palestinian in Bayt Hanun, sparking armed clashes btwn. the 2 families that leave 9 wounded. (HA, IMEMC 12/1; WP 12/2; PCHR 12/5; PCHR 12/8)

The IDF reinforces roadblocks around Qalqilya; sends 40 armored vehicles, escorted by helicopters, into Nablus to conduct arrest raids targeting the AMB and Hamas, shelling an apartment building, firing on stone-throwers and residential areas (wounding 10 Palestinians), rounding up all males over age 16 for ID checks (arresting 4); patrols in, fires on residential areas of Tulkarm town and r.c., nearby Anabta, and Tubas nr. Jenin; demolishes a Palestinian home in Bethlehem for being built without a permit; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Aida r.c. and Balata r.c., and nr. Hebron, Jenin, Ramallah, Tulkarm. In the evening, the AMB fires several mortars fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. (HA, IMEMC 11/30; PCHR 12/1, 12/8; HA 12/9)

For the 2d time in a wk. (see 11/22), an IDF undercover unit driving a vehicle with Palestinian plates enters Bethlehem, attempts to stop a Palestinian taxi to arrest a passenger, but PA security forces observe and intervene, exchanging gunfire with the IDF unit, leaving 1 PA officer, 1 bystander wounded; the undercover unit calls in reinforcements to extract it. The IDF also fires rubber bullets at Palestinian stone-throwers in Hebron; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Dahaysha r.c. and Jenin town and r.c. (during which an IDF dog attacks and seriously injures a 12-yr.-old boy), in and around Hebron (severely beating 4 Palestinians), and nr. Bethlehem. Jewish settlers fr. Emanuel settlement nr. Qalqilya uproot and burn a grove of Palestinian olive trees nearby. Jewish settlers fr. Ma’ale Adumim severely beat a Palestinian walking nr. the settlement. (IMEMC, REU 11/29; PCHR 12/1)

The IDF conducts arrest raids in Hebron. Also in Hebron, 100s of Jewish settlers rampage through Palestinian areas of the city, forcing stores to close, vandalizing homes and shops, injuring 2 Palestinians. Jewish settlers fr. Harsina, under IDF protection, uproot 130 Palestinian olive trees in Hebron. Jewish settlers fr. Gilo nr. Bethlehem beat unconscious a 60-yr.-old Palestinian passing nr. the settlement. Jewish settlers fr. Elon Moreh nr. Nablus cut down more than 200 Palestinian olive trees in nearby Salim. (IMEMC 11/26; HA 11/27, 11/30; PCHR 12/1)

In keeping with the agmt. brokered by Rice on 11/15, Israel allows the PA to open the Rafah crossing under EU monitoring for 4 hrs./day; only foot traffic will be allowed until vehicle scanners are installed; Egypt will require men age 18–40 to obtain an entry visa. The IDF also tightens restrictions on Palestinian movement in Hebron; fires teargas at stone-throwing Palestinians outside a polling station in Aida r.c. nr. Bethlehem being used for the Fatah primaries in advance of the 1/25 elections; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Bethlehem, Hebron. Palestinians report that a private contractor for a Jewish settlement nr. Bil‘in recently uprooted 100s of the village’s olive trees located on the western side of the separation wall despite IDF pledges that villagers would be given access to the trees to harvest them. (JTA, REU, YA 11/25; IMEMC, NYT, WP, WT 11/26; PCHR 12/1)

Extremist Jews attack a busload of Israeli Palestinians in Shafa ‘Amr nr. Jerusalem, injuring 8 Palestinians. (IMEMC 11/26)

The IDF sends troops back into Jenin (see 11/23) to blow up a Palestinian home that allegedly was a bomb-making factory, also damaging 3 stores, firing rubber bullets at stone-throwing youths who confront them, injuring 1 Palestinian; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Bethlehem; for the first time since 1967, orders Hebron’s Waqf authorities to close the Ibrahimi Mosque for 3 days so that Jewish settlers can celebrate a holy day; orders 50 Palestinian shops nr. Kiryat Arba settlement to be closed for 6 mos. “to keep public order and protect the security” of the IDF. (PCHR 12/1)

The IDF closes the Sufa commercial crossing in Gaza; demolishes 1 Palestinian home in Wadi al-Juz in East Jerusalem, 1 in Silwan nr. Jerusalem; conducts arrest raids, house searches, random ID checks in al-Khadir, nr. Hebron, in and around Tulkarm; sends troops into Ramallah to surround 2 mosques during dawn prayers, thoroughly checking IDs and searching Palestinians as they leave but making no arrests. PA security forces on a campaign to confiscate unlicensed Palestinian vehicles inadvertently foil an IDF undercover unit raid into Bethlehem when they stop the unit’s car, bearing Palestinian plates; the undercover unit calls in IDF backup, which surrounds the PA officers and orders them to lay down their arms until they retreat. (IMEMC 11/22; PCHR 11/24; YA 11/30)

The IDF reinforces troops in Hebron; shoots, wounds a Palestinian teenager playing with a toy gun nr. Ramallah; shoots, wounds 5 Palestinians allegedly carrying weapons at checkpoints across the West Bank; conducts predawn arrest raids, house searches in Hebron, al-Jalazun r.c. nr. Ramallah, al-Khadir (arresting 10 Palestinian boys ages 14–18); confiscates 110 d. of agricultural land in al-Jaba‘a southwest of Bethlehem for construction of a settler bypass road linking Gush Etzion settlement to Bethlehem. (NYT 11/20; PCHR 11/24)

The IDF closes the Erez crossing into Gaza, citing threats of an attack; fatally shoots an unarmed Palestinian “in a suspicious position” nr. a settler bypass road outside Hebron; makes a predawn raid and fires on residential areas of Jenin town and refugee camp (r.c.), orders all male Palestinians ages 16–35 to gather for an ID check, arresting 1; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Nablus; confiscates 94 d. in Bayt Jala, 115 d. in al-Khadir, 119 d. in al-Walaja for construction of the separation wall outside Bethlehem; confiscates 10 d. of Palestinian land nr. Jenin for “military purposes.” In Khan Yunis, PA police fatally shoot a Palestinian in an exchange of gunfire with mbrs. of 2 Palestinian families in a dispute over land on the vacated Neve Dekalim settlement site that also leaves 10 other Palestinians (including 2 policemen) wounded; in response, 10s of Palestinians vandalize a police station in nearby Khan Yunis, set 2 police vehicles on fire. (HA 11/18; AP, HA, NYT, WP 11/19; WP, XIN 11/20; PCHR 11/24)

IDF plainclothesmen fatally shoot wanted al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades (AMB) mbrs. Ahmad Abahra and Muhammad Zayid as their car crosses a checkpoint in Jenin in an apparent assassination. The IDF also erects a new observation tower nr. Kiryat Arba settlement in Hebron; sends troops into Silwad nr. Ramallah, fires on stone-throwing youths who confront the troops, wounding and arresting 2; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Hebron, nr. Tulkarm; begins work on a new segment of the separation wall northwest of Ramallah that is expected to seize at least 5,330 dunams (d.; 4 d. = 1 acre) of land in Abud village; bulldozes 26 d. of land outside Bethlehem for construction of a permanent IDF post. Palestinians in Bethlehem report that for the past few days, the IDF has imposed new arrangements at the entrances to the city, requiring tourists entering and exiting to leave their busses, enter a transit hall for passport and baggage checks and customs processing that last up to 2 hrs. The Israel Lands Admin. issues tenders for construction of 13 new housing units in Ma’ale Adumim settlement nr. Jerusalem; the Israeli Housing Min. issues tenders for construction of infrastructure projects in Adam, Ariel, Ma’ale Adumim settlements. Jewish settlers beat a Palestinian harvesting his olive trees in Awarta. In Gaza, 100s of AMB mbrs. fire rifles in the air, defying the ban on carrying weapons in public, calling for reform within Fatah, demanding jobs and an international investigation into the 11/04 death of Yasir Arafat based on rumors (thus far unsubstantiated) that he was poisoned. In Nablus, AMB mbrs. protesting a recent PA crackdown on illegal weapons and criminal activity fire on PA police, leaving 1 PA policeman wounded. (Arab Hotel Association press release, PCHR, REU, XIN, YA 11/17; HA, NYT, WP, WT 11/18; PCHR 11/24)

Likud PM Ariel Sharon agrees to the demand of his coalition partner, newly elected Labor leader Amir Peretz, to hold early elections in 2/06 or 3/06. (BBC, WT 11/17; NYT, WP 11/18)

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) shuts the Hebron–Bethlehem road to Palestinian traffic; demolishes 3 Palestinian homes northwest of Jerusalem for construction of the separation wall; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Ramallah, in Tulkarm, nr. Bethlehem, Hebron. 10 Jewish settler girls fr. Binyamina settlement cut open sacks of olives harvested by Palestinians in nearby Sinjil; more than 10 IDF soldiers observe but do not intervene until after the damage is done, detaining 6 of the girls. (YA 11/16; PCHR 11/17, 11/24)

Overnight, the IDF launches a major raid on Nablus, surrounding and searching houses, assassinating senior Hamas military cmdr. for the n. West Bank, Amjad Hinnawi, and arresting several other Palestinians. The IDF also partially demolishes an apartment building in alZababda nr. Jenin; imposes a curfew on parts of Hebron, conducts arrest raids and house searches, occupying 1 Palestinian home as an observation post; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Yatta (arresting local Islamic Jihad leader Mahmud al-Haddar), nr. Bethlehem. A Palestinian gunman fires on a Jewish settler vehicle nr. Halhul, causing damage but no injuries. Jewish settlers fr. Itamar burn 30 Palestinian olive trees in Nablus. In Rafah, gunmen of a previously unknown group called the Islamic Army raids and orders closed a PA Central Election Commission (CEC) office, saying that the upcoming parliamentary elections are un-Islamic and a plot by the U.S. and Israel; CEC officials refuse to leave, PA security forces arrive, the gunmen leave. (HA 11/14; IMEMC, REU, WP 11/15; PCHR 11/17)

The IDF fires on 2 Palestinians nr. the Gaza border fence, killing 1 Palestinian, while the other flees (the IDF says they were laying a roadside bomb, Palestinian sources say they were attempting to enter Israel to find work); fires on a Palestinian fishing boat that strays out of Palestinian waters off Gaza, seriously wounding 1 Palestinian; raids, seals Waqf offices in Bethlehem, interrogates the employees; conducts arrest raids in Bil`in, Dayr Ishtiyya nr. Nablus, Zabbuba nr. Jenin. Jewish settlers fr. Beit Hadasah attack an Israeli peace group on a solidarity visit to Palestinians in Hebron. Jewish settlers raid Palestinian olive groves nr. Qalqilya, pick and steal the olives. (IMEMC 11/12; HA 11/13; PCHR 11/17)

The IDF fatally shoots a Palestinian, wounds a 2d inside Gaza, alleging they were planting a roadside bomb nr. the Qarni crossing; fatally shoots a Palestinian in ‘Issawiyya who allegedly attempts to run down a solider with his car. Late in the evening, the IDF launches arrest raids, house searches in Aida r.c. and nr. Bethlehem, Nablus, Qalqilya, Tulkarm; fires on residential areas of Jenin r.c. Israeli border police arrest 76 Palestinians, 3 Jordanians in a crackdown on illegal workers entering Jerusalem. Jewish settlers throw stones at Palestinian vehicles outside Qalqilya. (IMEMC 11/9; IMEMC, PCHR 11/10; PCHR 11/17)

IDF troops supported by helicopters continue arrest raids, house searches in villages around Jenin. Late in the evening, the IDF launches additional raids in al-Fara‘a r.c., villages nr. Bethlehem. An IDF soldier wounded in Jenin on 11/1 dies. Hamas says that in light of the 11/1 Abu Qara assassination, it will not renew the unilateral truce with Israel when it expires at the end of 2005. (HA, JTA, REU, YA 11/2; WP 11/3; PCHR 11/10)