The Palestine Chronology

The IDF conducts arrest raids in Hebron, Kafr Ni’ma, Khan Yunis, Ramallah; imposes a curfew on Qalqilya; shells residential areas of Rafah. Late in the evening, at least 20 armed Jewish settlers accompanied by Tourism M Benny Elon attempt to serve eviction papers to 2 Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem’s Shaykh Jarrah neighborhood that settlers have tried to seize for 1 yr.; settlers beat, seriously injure 4 Palestinians; Israeli police intervene, halt the attack, say they will examine the validity of the eviction warrant, but do not arrest the settlers. The IDF “evacuates” an uninhabited unauthorized outpost set up on an deserted IDF base nr. Hebron; Jewish settlers file a petition delaying the IDF’s evacuation of a 2d, inhabited outpost nr. Hebron. (HA 4/28; LAW, PCHR 5/1; ICHAD 5/4; PR 5/7)

The IDF raids Gaza’s Massadir village, imposing a curfew, ordering all men ages 20–50 to surrender for questioning, arresting 34; Palestinians fr. neighboring villages gather outside Massadir, throw stones at troops, who fire on them, killing 2 Palestinians, wounding 14. The IDF also confiscates a Palestinian home in Hebron, expelling the family; fires on residential areas, demolishes 2 Palestinian homes in Rafah; conducts arrest raids in Balata r.c., Jenin (cutting electricity), al-Yamun. (NYT 4/7; PR 4/9; LAW, PCHR 4/10)

Palestinians report that the IDF seems to have been imposing a system of “creeping curfews” over the past few days, placing 24-hr. curfews on an increasing number of areas, including Hebron, Jenin, Qalqilya, Yabad. The IDF raids a home in Dayr al-Balah, causing a Palestinian to suffer a fatal heart attack; fires on Palestinians violating the curfew in Qalqilya to buy food, injuring 2; conducts arrest raids nr. Rafah; demolishes a cement factory in Gaza City; bulldozes 15 dunams of olive groves nr. Shuhada Junction. (PM 3/22; PCHR 3/27; LAW 3/28)

U.S.-led forces in Iraq stage the largest bombing of Baghdad since the 1991 Gulf War; launch a ground assault on Nasiriyya, pushing north, meeting heavy resistance; continue efforts to secure Basra, Umm Qasr. (NYT, WP 3/23)

The IDF sends tanks into Jenin, clashes with residents, killing 4 Palestinians, wounding 1 Palestinian journalist; 2 IDF soldiers are also wounded. The IDF demolishes 7 Palestinian homes in Rafah, 2 in Balata r.c.; bulldozes Palestinian land nr. Jabaliya r.c.; fires on stone-throwing Palestinians protesting the curfew in Nablus, killing 1 Palestinian; fires on residential areas of Tal al-Sultan. (AP, HA, PM 1/28; LAW, PCHR 1/29)

Sharon and his Likud party win a landslide election victory largely at the Labor party’s expense. Likud gets 38 seats (up fr. 19 in the 2/01 elections; higher even that top projections, which figured Likud would take 32 seats), Labor gets 19 seats (down fr. 25), Shinui comes in 3d with 15 seats (up fr. 6), and the ultra-Orthodox Shas party gets 11 seats (down fr. 17); Meretz, 1 of Israel’s clear-cut peace parties, gets 6 seats (down fr. 10); the far-right National Union party, not represented in the last Knesset, gets 7 seats. Yisra’el Ba’Aliya party head Natan Sharansky quits the Knesset, Meretz head Yossi Sarid resign fr. as party chmn. in light of their parties’ poor showing. During the day, Israeli police detain 4 Israeli Arabs for leading a 15-car caravan around the Galilee, calling for an election boycott. Voter turnout was 68.5%-- lowest in Israel’s history. Sharon has 42 days to form a majority coalition. The new Knesset will have 40 freshmen MKs. (HA, MM, WP 1/28; HA, MM, NYT, WP, WT 1/29; AYM, al-Quds 1/29 in WNC 1/30; JP, MM, WJW, WP 1/30; JPI 1/31; PR 2/5; MEI 2/7; MM 2/18)

Bush gives State of the Union address, focusing on Iraq; says Saddam Hussein has missed his “final chance” by showing “utter contempt” for the UN inspectors; claims Iraq is hiding and amassing weapons of mass destruction (WMDs; including an active nuclear weapons program), deceiving inspectors, aiding al-Qa`ida; says the U.S. seeks to work with an international coalition to remove Hussein but will go it alone if necessary, adding that “The liberty we prize is not America’s gift to the world; it is God’s gift to humanity.” Regarding the Arab-Israeli conflict, he says only that the U.S. will continue to work for a “secure Israel and a democratic Palestine.” (NYT, WP, WT 1/29; MM 1/30; MA 1/30 in WNC 1/31; MEI 2/7)

The IDF raids the offices and laboratories of Hebron, Palestinian Polytechnic Universities in Hebron (see 1/8); welds shut doors, gates; declared the schools closed on the grounds that they assisted in the “recruitment, training, and instruction of hundreds of militant activists,” including allegedly teaching students how to make bombs. The IDF also raids a West Bank branch of the Arab Bank outside Jerusalem, demanding the money fr. 4 accounts allegedly used by “terrorists”; reports differ as to whether the bank turned over the $7,000 in those accounts; fatally shoots a Palestinian bystander during an arrest raid in Qabatiyya; fatally shoots a 16-yr.-old Palestinian violating a predawn curfew in Tulkarm; opens fire on stone-throwing Palestinian youths on their way to school in Tulkarm, killing a 2d 16-yr.-old Palestinian; bulldozes 4 Palestinian homes in Rafah, 3 in Bayt Hanun, 2 in Qabatiyya, 1 in Bayt Fajjar; searches, vandalizes another 9 homes in Rafah; fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis. In the 1^st anniversary of the PSF’s preventive arrest of PFLP Secy.-Gen. Ahmad Saadat, 100s of Palestinians (including mbrs. of the PLO and Fatah Exec. Comms.) attend rallies in Gaza and Nablus, demanding his immediate release. (LAW, PCHR, PR 1/15; NYT, WP 1/16; al-Quds 1/16 in WNC 1/17; Palestine Media Center 1/18; PR 1/22; LAW 1/29)

The IDF assassinates wanted Hamas mbrs. Shaman Subuh, Mustafa Baqash in Jenin; demolishes 8 Palestinian homes, 3 brick factories, a dairy farm and damages 18 other homes in Rafah; demolishes 1 home, 3 blacksmith shops in Hebron; fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis; bulldozes part of the Silwan Sports Club in East Jerusalem; makes arrest raids in Anabta, Nablus. Israel lifts the curfew on Bethlehem for Christmas, says it will provide free public transportation to any Christian Arabs in Israel or the territories who want to visit the city in the next few days. (HA 12/23; LAW, NYT 12/24; AFP 12/25 in WNC 12/26; LAW, PCHR 12/25)

The Israeli Housing Min. issues tenders to construct 232 new housing units in the ultra-Orthodox West Bank settlement of Emmanuel, even though the settlement is losing residents at the rate of 5% a year. Housing Min. figures show that 1,688 (75%) of the 2,178 tenders for public construction issued between 1/02 and 9/02 were for housing in the territories. Tenders for 28 units in Beitar Ilit, 102 units in Efrat's Givat Hazayit, 76 new units in Ariel, all in the West Bank, were also issued recently. (HA 12/24)

The IDF opens fire on a group of Palestinian youths in Rafah who refuse to disperse, killing a 15-yr.-old Palestinian; fires on stone-throwing students returning fr. school in Nablus during break in the curfew, injuring 8; bulldozes 6 Palestinian homes, 5 dunams of olive trees in Rafah . (JTA, LAW, PCHR 12/18; WP 12/19)

The IDF shells residential areas of Khan Yunis, killing a 17-yr.-old Palestinian inside his home; demolishes 6 Palestinian homes, fires on residential areas in Rafah; fires on stone-throwing students returning fr. school in Nablus during break in the curfew, injuring 9; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Burqa, Dayr al-Balah, Jenin, al-Khadir, Tubas, Tulkarm; searches dorms at Birzeit University. (LAW, NYT, PCHR 12/18)

The IDF captures 2 armed Hamas mbrs. originally fr. Gaza attempting to sneak into Israel across the Egyptian border, plotting to kidnap an IDF soldier, take him to Gaza, hold him hostage for the release of detained Hamas cmdrs.; fatally shoots a Palestinian in Khan Yunis when he leaves his home during curfew to tend to a donkey wounded by IDF shelling; bulldozes 14 Palestinian homes, 7 greenhouses in Rafah; fires on residential areas of Brazil r.c., seriously injuring 2 Palestinian girls; detains for 5 hrs. 6 Palestinian journalists working for foreign news agencies covering a clash in Nablus btwn. IDF soldiers, stone-throwing Palestinians; conducts arrest raids in Bethlehem, Jaba, Nablus. In East Jerusalem, 5 Jewish settlers attack, beat a Palestinian shop owner, threaten to occupy his store. An Israeli court convicts 4 East Jerusalem Palestinians for participation in 8 Hamas attacks, including the 7/02 Hebrew University bombing; 3 other East Jerusalem Palestinians are indicted on charges of plotting attacks on Israelis, including downing a helicopter nr. the Knesset. (HA 12/15; NYT 12/16; LAW, PCHR 12/18; HA 12/24)

The IDF fatally shoots a mentally disabled Palestinian riding a donkey nr. Tulkarm when he refuses orders to halt; the man had been detained, released by IDF soldiers in the area on numerous occasions. Asked why they fired on someone known to be mentally handicapped, the soldier says, “That’s not our problem. We told him to stop and he didn’t.” The IDF also fires on a taxi driving nr. Nablus after dark, during a curfew, killing a Palestinian woman, wounding her husband, 3d passenger; fires on a UNRWA school bus, injuring 1 Palestinian student; fires rubber-coated steel bullets at Palestinians waiting to cross the Qalandia checkpoint, the Abu Hualy roadblock; demolishes 2 Palestinian homes in Rafah r.c; conducts arrest raids, searches in Bayt Furik, Bayt Rima, Khan Yunis, al-Qarara, Tulkarm. A 3d Palestinian dies of injuries received on 9/24/02. (NYT, WP 12/10; LAW, PCHR, PR 12/11)

The IDF fires on Palestinians waiting to cross an IDF checkpoint w. of Nablus, killing 1  Palestinian; conducts house-to-house searches, arrests in Aida r.c., Bayt Umar, Bethlehem, Jit, Tal, Tubas, Tulkarm; raids, fires on residential areas of Rafah, Nablus, Nur al-Shams r.c., Tulkarm; bulldozes 14 dunams of land s. of Dayr al-Balah; raids the al-Ihsan charitable society, Hebron University dean’s offices in Hebron, confiscating computers, files; forces at gunpoint a 24-yr.-old Palestinian to undress in the main street of Nablus, bark like a dog. Late in the evening, the IDF sends 10s of tanks, armored person-nel carriers (APCs) into Qalqilya, imposes a curfew, raids Waqf offices, conducts arrest raids targeting Popular Front for the Lib-eration of Palestine (PFLP) mbrs. The UN sends an envoy to the West Bank to investigate the 11/22 death of a UNRWA official, new charges (11/23) by Israel that Palestinian gunmen were firing from inside the UNRWA’s Jenin r.c. compound, prompting the IDF gunfire. (NYT, WT 11/25; WT 11//26; LAW, PCHR 11/27)

The IDF retakes Bethlehem, which had had only a small troop presence since the IDF turned the security of city over to the PSF on 8/19/02; imposes a curfew; surrounds the Church of the Nativity to prevent armed Palestinians fr. seeking refuge there; conducts arrest raids, detaining 20 Palestinians; blows up the house rented by the family of the 11/21 bomber; encircles nearby Dahaysha r.c.; occupies 15 buildings, including a hospital, orphanage, 2 houses, 6 police stations, the local PSF headquarters; occupies as many as 30 Palestinian homes in al-Khadir nr. Bethlehem, expelling the families; raids the home of Israeli UNRWA worker Allegra Pacheco, holding her at gunpoint for 2 hrs., arresting her husband. Senior Irish UNRWA official Iain Hook is fatally shot inside the UNRWA’s Jenin r.c. compound by an IDF soldier who mistook his cell phone for a grenade as an IDF operation unfolded nearby to capture wanted Islamic Jihad mbr. Abdallah Wahash, who is arrested; an 11-yr.-old Palestinian throwing stones at the troops is also shot dead. The IDF also raids, shells residential areas of, demolishes 2 Palestinian homes in al-Qarara; bulldozes 8 dunams of land in al-Qarara, 28 dunams s. of Dayr al-Balah; conducts house searches, arrest raids in Satar al-Sharqiyya (targeting Hamas mbrs.), Tulkarm. A Hamas sniper fatally shoots an IDF soldier on patrol nr. Gush Katif settlement. Palestinians detonate a roadside bomb nr. the Rafah-Egypt border, injuring 2 IDF soldiers. Late this evening, 2 Islamic Jihad suicide bombers detonate their explosives-packed boat next to an Israeli naval patrol boat off the coast of Gaza, injuring 4 IDF soldiers. (HA, MM, NYT, PM, WP, WT 11/22; AFP 11/22 in WNC 11/25; AP, HA, NYT, WP, WT 11/23; NYT, WP 11/24; HA 11/25; NYT, WT 11/26; HA, LAW, PCHR 11/27; CSM, JP, WJW 11/28; HA 12/2; NYT 1/4)

Christian Coalition leaders end a wk. long solidarity visit to Israel, saying they will use their “fact-finding mission” to help galvanize support for Israel in the U.S. (WT 11/27)

A Hamas suicide bomber is discovered outside a café in Ariel settlement, captured and pinned down by 3 IDF soldiers, fatally shot by 2 Jewish settlers; the gunfire triggers the bomber’s explosives, killing the 3 soldiers restraining him, wounding 18 soldiers and settlers. After hearing news of the bombing, Jewish settlers fr. Itamar attack Palestinians, international peace activists harvesting olives outside Yanun, injuring 6 activists, including 2 Americans (ages 68 and 74), 2 Israelis. IDF troops fatally shoot 2 Islamic Jihad mbrs. in an apparent assassination in Nablus, wounding a 7-yr.-old boy; fatally shoot 1 Palestinian checking the water tank on his roof in Jenin during the curfew; fatally shoots a Palestinian youth standing outside his home in Jenin r.c.; bulldozes 7 Palestinian homes in Rafah; bulldozes water wells, greenhouses in Muraj. A PA security court sentences a Palestinian to life with hard labor for collaborating with Israel. (al-Quds 10/27 in WNC 10/31; MM, NYT, WP, WT 10/28; MA 10/28 in WNC 10/28; LAW, PCHR 10/30; JPI, MEI 11/8)

A Hamas suicide bomber, prevented fr. getting on a bus nr. Israel’s Bar Ilan Junction, detonates his device nearby, killing 1 Israeli, injuring 16. The IDF sends tanks into Rafah, fatally shoots 2 Palestinians, demolishes 9 Palestinian homes; conducts arrest raids in 20 villages around Ramallah, detaining 55 Palestinians; places a curfew on Hebron after Palestinian gunmen in the area fire on nearby Tal Rumayda settlement, causing no injuries; bulldozes 100 acres of olive groves, 5 wells nr. Jabaliya. 2 Palestinians die of injuries sustained earlier (1 in the IDF shelling of Khan Yunis on 10/7, bringing the toll of that incident to 17). The IDF evacuates 1 inhabited, 1 uninhabited settler outpost, says it plans to dismantle 24 such outposts (only 3 of them thought to be occupied) within the next 6 wks. Jewish settlers dismantle 6 unoccupied outposts themselves. The PA calls on Hamas to turn over mbrs. involved in the 10/7 Abu Lahiya murder; 20,000 attend Abu Lahiya's funeral in Gaza. (HA, MM 10/10; HA, MM, NYT, PM, WP, WT 10/11; Interfax 10/11, QA 10/12 in WNC 10/15; LAW, PCHR 10/16; MEI 10/25; JPI 1 1/8)

The IDF makes a predawn raid on Salfit, imposing a curfew, blowing up 2 Palestinian homes; fires on Palestinian protesters in Rafah, killing 2 Palestinian teenagers, wounding 25 others (including a 1-yr.-old boy); lifts the day curfew on e. Nablus (see 10/7); fires on residential areas and 2 schoolyards in Khan Yunis, injuring 8 Palestinians (at least 4 of them children). The IDF removes caravans fr. 2 unoccupied settler outposts in the West Bank; Jewish settlers dismantle 2 other unoccupied outposts. Jewish settlers block, attack a group of 5 international peace activists, 100 Palestinians attempting to reach Palestinian olive groves btwn. Elon Moreh and Itamar settlements, injuring 6 Palestinians; the IDF intervenes, orders Palestinians to leave. Israel releases Reuters journalist Jussry al-Jamal whom the IDF has held without charge since arresting him 5 mos. ago during Operation Defensive Shield; 3 other Palestinian journalists detained in 4/02, a reporter for al-Quds and 2 photographers for Agence France-Presse, are still being held. Israel also links Tubas, 21 surrounding villages to the Israeli electricity grid; the PA funded the $517,000 cost of the link-up. (HA, MM, PCHR 10/9; HA, NYT, PM, WP, WT 10/10)

The IDF fires on stone-throwing Palestinian youths in Bayt Lahia, Jenin, Rafah r.c. (killing a 12-yr.-old Palestinian girl inside her house); kills 1 Palestinian nr. Tulkarm who was allegedly en route to stage a suicide bombing; fires on a busload of university students in Jenin, wounding 8; conducts arrest raids in Hebron, Nablus, Ramallah, Tulkarm. 2 Palestinians die of injuries received in the 10/7 IDF attack on Khan Yunis, which Sharon describes as a "success" despite the fact that the IDF failed to capture or kill 2 Hamas mbrs. targeted in the attack. Palestinians fire on a settler vehicle nr. Hebron, wounding 4 Jewish settlers; Jewish settlers assault Palestinians on the street, break windows of Palestinian cars; the IDF reinforces troops in the city, reimposes a curfew, but does not intervene to stop settler attacks. (HA, NYT, PCHR, PM, WP, WT 10/9)

In Ramallah, the IDF continues demolition work at the PA compound, setting fire to storehouses, bulldozing the Ramallah governate building; says it now seeks the extradition of 50 Palestinians inside Arafat's offices; warns those inside the remaining building to evacuate or risk being harmed when the IDF blows it up, prompting 1,000s of Palestinians to take to the street in protest, despite the curfew. The IDF fires stun grenades, live ammunition at the crowds, killing 2 Palestinians (including a journalist with Voice of Palestine). (After al-Jazeera TV broadcasts news of the spontaneous Ramallah demonstrations, 1,000s of Palestinians violate the curfews Jenin, Nablus, Tulkarm and rally in Gaza to protest; the IDF kills 1 Palestinian protester in Nablus, a 2d Palestinian in Tulkarm and demolishes 2 Palestinian homes in Qabatya, Qalqilya.) None of the Palestinians in the Ramallah compound evacuates, the IDF does not blow up the building; unnamed Israeli officials suggest the threat was "psychological combat" aimed at making living conditions so unbearable for Arafat that he seeks refuge abroad. The IDF also conducts arrest raids in al-Fara' r.c., Jenin, Rafah; fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis, Rafah; fires on an ambulance in Nablus, damaging it, wounding 1 Palestinian bystander. (PM 9/21; MENA 9/21, ITAR-TASS, XIN 9/22 in WNC 9/23; NYT, PM, WP, WT 9/22; HA 9/23; al-Quds 9/23 in WNC 9/24; MM 9/24; LAW, PCHR, PR 9/25; MEI, MM 9/27; PRCS press release 9/27)

A Hamas suicide bomber detonates a device on a bus in Tel Aviv, killing 5 Israelis, injuring more than 50. Sharon convenes his cabinet, which unanimously decides to launch Operation Matter of Time to "isolate” Arafat, calls for the immediate extradition of around 20 wanted Palestinians (including Force 17 head Mahmud Damara, PA General Intelligence chief Tawfiq Tirawi) allegedly among the 200 Palestinians hiding in Arafat's offices (8 surrender in the evening). The IDF immediately reimposes 24-hr. curfews on all West Bank areas except Hebron; sends tanks into Ramallah to surround Arafat's offices (1 tank fatally shoots a 10-yr.-old Palestinian boy 6 times; troops shoot, wound 2 Arafat bodyguards in the PA headquarters compound); fires on "Palestinian schoolchildren challenging the army's attempt to impose a curfew" in Amari r.c., killing a 11-yr.-old Palestinian; shells residential areas of Rafah; conducts arrest raids in Bayt Hanun (where an IDF tank runs over a roadside bomb, injuring 2 soldiers), Jenin r.c. (blowing up 1 Palestinian home), Nablus, Qalqilya, the Tulkarm area; bulldozes 19 dunams of agricultural land nr. Kefar Darom settlement. Jewish settlers open fire on a Palestinian taxi nr. Tulkarm, seriously injuring the driver. (AP, HA, JTA, LAW, MM, PM 9/19; ATL, ITAR-TASS 9/19 in WNC 9/20; MM, NYT, WP, WT 9/20; Interfax, MA, Radio Monte Carlo 9/20 in WNC 9/23; MEZ, NYT 9/21; AYM 9/23 in WNC 9/25; LAW, PCHR, PR 9/25; MA 9/25 in WNC 9/26; WJW 9/26; MEI 9/27)

In Nablus, 9 schools hold classes in violation of the ongoing curfew; the IDF blocks 3 other schools fr. opening. In Yatta, a nail bomb explodes in the courtyard of an elementary school while classes are in session, lightly injuring 8 Palestinian children; a 2d bomb is found, defused by the IDF; the IDF believes Jewish settlers staged the attack. In Tulkarm, a 14-yr.-old Palestinian is killed in a mysterious explosion; the IDF claims he was making a bomb. The IDF demolishes 9 Palestinian foundries in Khan Yunis allegedly used to manufacture mortars; demolishes 1 Palestinian home in Rafah; conducts arrest raids in Khan Yunis, Nablus; fires on a group of Palestinian children in Askar r.c., wounding 3 teenagers. (HA, REU 9/17; AP, JP, LAW, NYT, PCHR, PM, PR, WP, WT 9/18; AYM 9/20 in WNC 9/23)

The Quartet (the European Union [EU], Russia, UN, U.S.), reps. of Israel and the PA meet in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly opening session. The EU presents the Quartet with a draft “road map” for creation of a Palestinian state with provisional borders in 2003 and full Palestinian statehood by 6/05, the plausible target date mentioned by Bush in his 6/24/02 speech. (REU 9/17; MM, PR, WT 9/18; WJW 9/19; AYM, al-Quds 9/19 in WNC 9/20; AYM 9/20 in WNC 9/23; JT 9/24 in WNC 9/24; MEI 9/27)

Before dawn, the IDF sends up to 40 armored personnel carriers (APCs) into Dayr al-Balah, taking over the PSF headquarters; conducting house searches; arresting 4 Palestinians (including local Islamic Jihad leader Mahir Bashir); demolishing 1 Palestinian home, 1 workshop and damaging 9 adjacent houses; bulldozing 46 dunams of olive, date palm groves. The IDF fires live ammunition at some 200 Palestinian students in Jenin who defy the curfew to throw stones at soldiers, wounding 4; fires rubber-coated steel bullets at Palestinian stone throwers at the entrance to Amari r.c., injuring 3; fires tear gas, rubber bullets at stone-throwing Palestinian youths violating the curfew in Ramallah; searches homes in al-Wafa nr. Dugit settlement; shells residential areas of Rafah. (NYT, WT 9/7; WP, WT 9/8; LAW, PCHR 9/11)

The IDF shells and raids Rafah, fatally shooting a 7-yr.-old Palestinian boy, demolishing 21 stores, firing at a Reuters camera crew (damaging a video camera but causing no injuries); conducts house searches, arrests in al-Safaya nr. Bayt Lahia; fires rubber-coated steel bullets at a Palestinian stone thrower in Amari r.c., seriously wounding him; fires on residential areas of Jenin, Khan Yunis. In Nablus, the IDF announces a temporary lifting of the curfew, immediately opens fire on Palestinians in the streets, forcing them to go back into their homes; occupies, searches, blows up part of the local PA headquarters; surrounds the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) center, barring ambulances fr. moving. The IDF admits that the 8/28 Shaykh Ajlin attack was an error. Ben-Eliezer agrees to meet with Yahya, but Yahya cancels to protest the Shaykh Ajlin deaths. (HA, MM, PM 8/29; MM, WP, WT 8/30; LAW, PCHR 9/4)

The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington announces that its annual fundraising campaign brought in $20.5 m., up 8% from last year. Of that amount $11.8 m. will be used for projects in the greater Washington area, such as Jewish day schools and community centers, and $7.8 m. will go to Israel and diaspora Jewish communities in Argentina and Ethiopia. The $20.5 m. does not include an additional $18.3 . the federation has raised for its Israel Emergency Campaign since fall 2001. (WJW 8/29)

The IDF temporarily lifts the curfew on Hebron; shells residential areas of Khan Yunis, destroying 1 Palestinian home; bulldozes 3 Palestinian homes s. of Nablus; conducts arrest raids in Khan Yunis, Karabatha Bani Harith, Rafah (taking 8 Palestinians to Morag settlement for interrogation); temporarily detains, beats, confiscates the camera of Palestinian journalist for Reuters. Israel's National Religious Party (NRP) reports that 4 new settler bypass roads are under construction in the West Bank. (Hatzofe 8/18 in WNC 8/20; LAW, PCHR 8/21; PCHR 8/26)

In Tel Aviv, Israeli DM Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, PA Interior M `Abd al-Razzaq Yahya agree on implementation of Ben-Eliezer's Gaza First plan: the IDF is to withdraw fr. parts of Gaza and fr. Bethlehem within 48 hrs.; the PA is to take control of security in areas evacuated; if calm is maintained, Israel would extend the arrangement to Hebron. Israel makes no promises to halt assassinations, arrest raids, home demolitions; the PA makes no promises to make preventive arrests of mbrs. of opposition groups. National unity talks among the 12 Palestinian factions making up the National and Islamic Higher Coordinating Comm. of the Intifada (NIHC) reportedly continue in Gaza. (XIN 8/18 in WNC 8/20; MM, NYT, WP, WT 8/19; AFP 8/19, AYM 8/20 in WNC 8/21; MM 8/21; al-Quds 8/21 in WNC 8/22, 8/23; MM 8/22; MA 8/25 in WNC 8/26; JPI, MEI 8/30)

A package bomb explodes in a crowded Hebrew University cafeteria in Jerusalem, killing 4 Americans (including 1 U.S.-French dual national), 1 U.S.-Israeli dual national, 2 Israelis, injuring around 80; Hamas claims responsibility. Residents of Nablus continue to defy the IDF curfew. The IDF temporarily lifts the curfew in Bethlehem, Hebron, Ramallah, Tulkarm; directs heavy machine gun fire at residential areas of Khan Yunis, Nablus; blows up the home of relatives of a suicide bomber in Bayt Jala; bulldozes a Palestinian home in Jenin, arrests the owner; partially demolishes 6 Palestinian homes in Rafah; conducts arrest raids in Qalqilya, Tulkarm. (AP, HA, LAW, MM, PCHR 7/31; MM, NYT, WP, WT 8/1; ATL, JT, al-Quds 8/1 in WNC 8/2; WP 8/2; PCHR 8/7; JPI 8/9)

Israel's inner cabinet orders the expulsion to Gaza of a relative of Palestinian involved in the 7/16 Emmanuel bus ambush, giving him 12 hrs. to appeal. Regarding whether the man was directly involved in supporting the attack (per Atty. Gen. Rubinstein's conditions; see 7/21), Internal Security M Uzi Landau says, "it's enough for a relative of a relative of a suicide bomber to set up a mourning tent or visit a mourning tent" to qualify for expulsion. The inner cabinet also formalizes a policy of demolishing the homes of Palestinian attackers. (HA 7/31; WP, WT 8/1; MA 8/4 in WNC 8/5; PCHR 8/7)

The IDF directs shells, heavy machine gun fire at residential areas of Bayt Lahia (injuring a 14-yr.-old boy), Khan Yunis (injuring 2 9-yr.-old boys), Rafah (injuring a 4-yr.-old girl). 100s of Nablus residents defy the IDF curfew for a 2d day; the IDF does not intervene. Late this evening, a Palestinian infiltrates Itamar settlement, stabs and lightly wounds 2 Jewish settlers before being shot dead by IDF troops. A Palestinian run over by a Jewish settler on 7/21 dies of his injuries. (NYT, WT 7/30; LAW, PCHR, WP 7/31)

The IDF directs tank fire at Palestinian youths violating the curfew in Nablus and throwing stones at soldiers, killing a 17-yr.-old Palestinian, injuring an 11- and a 13-yr.-old; directs heavy machine gun fire at residential areas of Khan Yunis; bulldozes 86 dunams of crop land nr. Qarni crossing, Shuhada Junction. In Gaza, AMB gunmen fire on an IDF patrol nr. the Rafah border, killing 1 IDF soldier. A Palestinian heart attack victim dies in an ambulance detained at an IDF checkpoint for over an hr. (LAW, PCHR 7/10; NYT, UPMRC, WP 7/11)

Fmr. Christian Coalition leader Gary Bauer and Rabbi Daniel Lapin, head of the ultraconservative Jewish-Christian group Toward Tradition, announce the formation of the American Alliance of Jews and Christians (AAJC), which they will co-chair. AAJC aims to "unite Christians in support of Israel and work with American Jews and Christians on behalf of traditional values." Among the mbrs. of the AAJC board are Rev. Jerry Falwell, Rev. Pat Robertson. A similar Christian right lobbying group, Stand for Israel, cofounded by fmr. Christian Coalition exec. dir. Ralph Reed and IFCJ head Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, is doing a $400,000 media campaign targeting major newspapers, conservative radio talk shows. (Toward Tradition press release 7/10; MEI 7/26) (see 7/9)

IDF fatally shoots Islamic Jihad mbr. Mu`ammar Daraghma, as he drives nr. Jenin in what is likely an assassination. The IDF raids, shuts the admin. offices of al-Quds University in Jerusalem, confiscating files, computers; seals the office of university pres. Sari Nusseibeh, who is also the PLO official in charge of Jerusalem affairs. In Jerusalem's old city, an exchange of gunfire btwn. an Israeli police officer, a Palestinian motorist stopped for an ID check leaves 1 Palestinian bystander dead, the police officer wounded. The IDF also demolishes 6 Palestinian homes in Rafah, severely damages 2 others; reoccupies Bayt Rima, ordering all men to surrender for questioning; imposes a curfew on Husan; conducts arrest raids in Bayt Awa, Bethlehem, Nur al-Shams r.c., Qalqilya, Tafuh, al-Til, Tulkarm r.c. Jewish settlers under IDF protection take control of 1,400 dunams of Palestinian land nr. Jaba', outside Jerusalem.(HP 7/9; LAW, MM, NYT, PCHR, WP 7/10; MA 7/10 in WNC 7/11; WJW 7/11; AFP 7/11 in WNC 7/15; MA 7/11 in WNC 7/16; MA 7/15 in WNC 7/17; MM 7/17, 7/19)

A group of 400 Jewish immigrants fr. the U.S. and Canada arrive in Israel; 75% of them will live in Beit Shemesh, Jerusalem. They arrive as part of a new Jewish Agency program to encourage entire established Jewish communities in N. America to immigrate to Israel with their rabbis. American Evangelical Christians representing the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ) donated $5,000 to each of the 400 to help finance the move. Another group of 130 is expected to arrive in the next few mos. (JP 7/9; Trenton Times 7/10; WJW 7/11; MEI 7/26) (see 6/22)

The IDF continues to shell the PA headquarters in Hebron, threatens to raid the complex if those still inside do not emerge; the IDF claims that 1 of those inside the complex is a senior Hizballah mbr. who slipped in fr. Lebanon to train Palestinians. (Israeli prosecutors also charge a Lebanese-born Israeli, son of a Jewish mother and Shi'i Muslim father, of being a spy for Hizballah.) The IDF fatally shoots 2 Palestinians, wounds 10 during clashes in Balata r.c.; fatally shoots a 9-yr.-old Palestinian child, wounds 3 others in Qalqilya during a temporary lifting of the curfew, later admitting the soldiers fired in error; fatally shoots an 8-yr.-old Palestinian boy in Jenin; raids a PSF jail in Nablus, taking 20 Palestinians, including several naval police officers, into custody; demolishes 10 Palestinian homes in Rafah r.c.; imposes 24-hr. curfews on Anin, Azariyya, al-Bireh, Halhul. (MM, NYT, WP, WT 6/28)

MK Benny Elon (Moledet), on a lobbying trip to the U.S., says he has received "quiet support" fr. several mbrs. of Congress for his 7-part "Elon peace initiative," based on the idea of the "voluntary transfer" of Palestinians to Jordan, which would become a "Jordanian-Palestinian state." Palestinian refugees would be resettled in their host countries. West Bank and Gaza Palestinians would be given Jordanian-Palestinian citizenship and could remain in their homes, but those who "violate the terms of the plan" would be expelled to Jordan. (JPI 6/27)

Before dawn, the IDF sends troops into Palestinian areas in and around Hebron, storming the local PA headquarters, demolishing 1 building in the compound, killing 4 PSF officers, wounding 7, arresting around 200. With the reoccupation of Hebron, 700,000 West Bank Palestinians are under 24-hr. curfew. Curfews are lifted for several hrs. in Bethlehem, Jenin, Qalqilya, Ramallah, Tulkarm. The IDF also makes an incursion into Araba, shooting and seriously wounding an 8-yr.-old Palestinian girl; conducts arrest raids in Rafah, demolishing 2 Palestinian homes completely, 3 partially; fatally shoots a Palestinian who allegedly threw a grenade at an IDF post nr. Qarni crossing, causing no damage or injuries; halts an ambulance transporting 2 wounded Palestinians to a Ramallah hospital, forcing the driver, 1 patient to exit the ambulance for a search. (LAW, UPMRC, WP, WT 6/25; LAW, NYT, PRCS press release, WP, WT 6/26; MM, PCHR 6/27)

Israel begins broadcasting an Arabic language satellite channel. (MEI 6/28; MM 7/10)

Before dawn, the IDF reoccupies Amari r.c., al-Bireh, Qadura r.c., and Ramallah, surrounding Arafat's offices (placing Arafat under de facto house arrest), arresting 13 PSF officers, meeting no resistance; imposes 24-hr. curfews on Aqaba, Dura, Iktaba, Tamun, Taysir, Tubas, Yatta; fires shells at residential areas of Khan Yunis; continues operations in Bethlehem, Jenin, Nablus (fatally shooting 1 Palestinian), Qalqilya, Tulkarm areas; lifts curfews in Jenin, Nablus, Qalqilya for 3 hrs. The IDF assassinates 2 Izzeddine al-Qassam Brigades leaders, Yasir Raziq and `Amr Kufa, in Rafah, firing missiles at their taxis, also killing 2 passengers, 2 drivers, injuring 13 bystanders. Jewish settlers stone an ambulance nr. Tulkarm. In Gaza, Hamas supporters clash with PSF officers enforcing Shaykh Yasin's house arrest, leaving 1 Hamas supporter dead. (BBC, MM, NYT, PRCS press release, WP, WT 6/24; XIN 6/24 in WNC 6/25; MM, NYT, WP, WT 6/25; LAW 6/26; PCHR, WJW 6/27; MEI 6/28)

After a wk.'s delay, Bush gives a major speech outlining the new U.S. policy toward the peace process. Without mentioning Israel's military escalations, Bush says in effect that the Palestinians must remove Arafat and create a Western-style democracy before the peace process can move forward. The U.S. halts direct dealings with Arafat. Bush's decision to call for Arafat's ouster was reportedly influenced heavily by an Israeli intelligence report he received last wk. (uncorroborated by the CIA) claiming that Arafat authorized a $20,000 payment to the AMB, which carried out the 6/19 suicide bombing. (AP, MM, NYT, WP 6/24; MA 6/24 in WNC 6/25; GS, MM, NYT, WP, WT, YA 6/25; AFP, ATL, Interfax, ITAR-TASS, MENA 6/25 in WNC 6/26; MM, NYT, WP, WT 6/26; AFP, JT, Le Monde 6/26 in WNC 6/27; NYT, WJW, WP 6/27; JT, al-Nahar 6/27 in WNC 6/28; MEI, MM 6/28; NYT, USIS Washington File 6/30; WP, WT 7/1; AN 7/1 in WNC 7/2; JPI 7/5)

Arafat sends the U.S., Arab states a 6-page memorandum outlining an ambitious 100-day reform plan, including plans for presidential and legislative elections in 1/03 and municipal elections in 3/03. (MM 6/24; NYT 6/25; MM 6/26; El Pais 6/26 in WNC 6/27;NYT, WP, WT 6/27; XIN 6/27 in WNC 6/28; AYM 7/1 in WNC 7/3; AYM 7/10, 7/17, 7/21 in WNC 7/23)

Israeli atty. gen. Elyakim Rubinstein says he will not take legal action against those calling for the "voluntary transfer" of Arabs fr. Israel, saying "voluntary transfer" is "immoral" not illegal. (The 13 Palestinians deported to Cyprus in 5/02 were "voluntarily exiled" as part of a deal brokered by Israel and the PA; see 5/22) (HA 6/24; MM 6/27)

In response to Israeli appeals to local satellite channels to drop coverage of BBC World and CNN International because of their "pro-Palestinian bias" (1 channel replaced CNN with Fox News coverage on 6/20), CNN chief news exec. Eason Jordan arrives in Israel to apologize publicly on behalf of the network, to unveil a special 5-part series on Israeli victims of violence (aired 6/24-28) and a Web "memorial" to Israeli victims of Palestinian violence. (WT 6/24; NYT 6/25; WJW 6/27; MEI 6/2; see also JTA 6/20, MSNBC 6/21)

The IDF continues operations in Ramallah, Tulkarm; conducts arrest raids in Bayt Furik, Rafah, Tubas (demolishing 2 PSF posts, 2 Palestinian homes, a kindergarten); sets fire to 300 dunams of olive groves nr. Shavei Shomron settlement, bulldozes 50 dunams of land nr. Khan Yunis. In Gaza, 8 Palestinians are killed by the IDF; a 9th Palestinian dies of injuries received earlier. In the evening, the IDF withdraws fr. most of Ramallah, including removing a cordon around Arafat's offices, lifts curfew for 3 hrs. but reimposes it; more than 80 Palestinian have been arrested in Ramallah since 6/9. (HP, PR, PRCS press release, UPMRC 6/12; NYT, PCHR, WP 6/13; LAW 6/19)

Nr. Beersheba, Israeli authorities bulldoze 17 bedouin homes, bulldozes bedouin land to expand the Omer municipal district. (WAFA 6/13)

MK Uriel Ariel (National Union and Yisrael Beitainu) proposes that the Knesset establish a committee of inquiry into how the secret Oslo talks came about in 1993. Israeli FM Shimon Peres in protest suspends the Labor party's membership in the governing coalition, but the motion fails to pass by a vote of 34-26. (INN 6/13; HA 6/17)

State Dept. senior adviser on the Arab-Israeli negotiations Aaron Miller gives a private briefing to a Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) group, during which some ZOA mbrs. yell "Wrong!" when he says there can be no "military solution" to the conflict, groan audibly when he mentions Seeds of Peace camps for Israeli and Palestinian children, walk out, slamming the door, when he says that Palestinians seek a "democratic, pluralistic, humanistic" government. ZOA head Morton Klein says the group found Miller "frustrating" after just having come from a Congressional reception that made an "incredible show of support" for Israel. (Forward 6/21)