The Palestine Chronology

As the quarter closes, Israel maintains its ban on all Gaza imports including fuel, medicine, basic foodstuffs, and currency for banks. As a result, 1.5 m. Gazans are without regular electricity, no Gazan households have daily running water (20% of households receive 6 hrs. of water/5 days, 40% receive 6 hrs. water/4 days, 40% receive 6 hrs. water/3 days), bread is being rationed due to lack of grain, and shortages of milk, red meat, and fresh produce are widespread. UNICEF reports that the Israeli government has been holding 2 shipments of vaccines for Gazan children at Ben-Gurion airport since 10/29. The WHO reports that the stock of 95 of 473 drugs it classifies as “essential” for hospitals and clinics to have on hand and 174 other medical supplies are at zero levels in the Strip. UN Secy.-Gen. Ban Ki-moon calls on Israel to open crossings into Gaza for fuel, food, and humanitarian aid, stating that measures that increase the suffering of Gaza’s civilians “are unacceptable and should cease immediately.” The UN reports that Palestinians have fired some 140 rockets and mortars toward Israel since 11/4, injuring 1 Israeli and causing property damage in 1 incident on 11/14. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Jenin town and r.c. (WT 11/15, 11/16; OCHA 11/17, 11/19; PCHR 11/20)

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 soldiers manning the Sufa crossing fire on nearby Palestinian residential areas, causing no reported injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in, fires on residential areas of Nablus, causing no injuries; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Jenin town and r.c. and Nablus, and nr. Hebron and Ramallah; 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) and beat demonstrators at a similar protest in al-Masa’ra (lightly injuring 3). In Hebron, a Jewish settler rams his car into the convoy of the U.S. envoy overseeing road map compliance, Gen. William Fraser, causing damage but no injuries, while other settlers demonstrate against his visit; Fraser’s delegation cuts its visit short. Outside Ramallah, 15 Jewish settlers fr. Yad Ta’ir attack, beat, threaten to shoot 2 Palestinian families picnicking; they flee when 1 of the Palestinians warns him that he is a UN employee, pointing to his car, which has a UN emblem. Nr. Hebron, 3 Jewish settlers attack several Palestinians; international peace activists intervene to protect the Palestinians, prompting more settlers to join the attack; the IDF intervenes, ordering the Palestinians to leave the area. In n. Gaza, Hamas-affiliated police attempt to break up a dispute btwn. rival PFLP factions, sparking an exchange of fire that leaves 1 policeman, 1 PFLP mbr. wounded. In Rafah, DFLP, Hamas mbrs. exchange fire, killing 1 Palestinian bystander, wounding a 2d. Islamic Jihad mbr. Ussama al-Houbi dies of injuries sustained in the 4/30 IDF assassination of Islamic Jihad’s Qiq. (HA 5/2; OCHA 5/7; PCHR 5/8)