The Palestine Chronology

In Gaza, the IDF bulldozes Palestinian land nr. the Qarni industrial zone along the border n. of Bayt Hanun. Palestinians fire 7 mortars at IDF troops operating n. of Bayt Hanun, causing no injuries; fire 4 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF fatally shoots 1 Palestinian in Nablus before ending a 3-day operation there; bars an ambulance fr. transporting a Palestinian seriously injured in a car accident through a checkpoint to reach the nearest hospital in East Jerusalem because he did not have a permit to enter the city, allowing him to die; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Qabatya and nr. Bethlehem, Hebron; fires rubbercoated steel bullets, percussion grenades, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, international activists attending the weekly nonviolent protest against the separation wall in Bil‘in, injuring 1. (OCHA 7/4; PCHR 7/5)

Nr. Tripoli, Lebanese soldiers fire on Palestinian refugees who attempt to cross an army checkpoint while staging a protest march toward Nahr al-Barid, seeking to return to their homes. Local Lebanese youths also beat marchers. At least 3 Palestinians are killed, up to 50 wounded. (NYT, WP, WT 6/30)

IDF troops in the n. Gaza buffer zone fatally shoot 2 Palestinian boys (ages 12, 13), wound a 3d (age 16) who stray nr. their position. The IDF also makes an air strike on Khan Yunis, assassinating Islamic Jihad mbr. Fadi Abu Mustafa; sends troops into Gaza e. of al-Maghazi to conduct arrest raids and house searches, detaining 2 NSF mbrs. Islamic Jihad mbrs. fire 2 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in al-Fawwar r.c. nr. Hebron, Nablus (firing on residential areas and blowing up cement blocks in the Old City, injuring 1 Palestinian, damaging 86 homes, 69 stores, 1 factory, 1 mosque, 1 church, electricity and water installations; the municipality estimates $75,000 in property damage); fires rubber-coated steel bullets, percussion grenades, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, and international activists conducting their weekly nonviolent protest against the separation wall in Bil‘in, injuring 4; beats and forcibly disperses 10s of Palestinians and several international peace activists who stage a nonviolent protest in Bani Na‘im nr. Hebron against the IDF’s declaration of a closed military zone on 1,500 d. of Palestinian land adjacent to Bnei Hefer settlement. In Khan Yunis, Hamas mbrs. fire an RPG at a Fatah training base, causing no injuries. In Ramallah, unidentified gunmen fire on a PA police station, causing no injuries. The Army of Islam releases an undated video tape of BBC reporter Alan Johnston, kidnapped on 3/12, showing him in good condition. (NYT, WP, WT 6/2; PCHR 6/3; OCHA 6/6; PCHR 6/7)

A day after the Lebanese government voted to give the military carte blanche to take action against FI, the Lebanese army tightens its cordon on Nahr al-Barid r.c., directs heavy artillery barrages on FI sniper posts and 3 positions on the outskirts of the camp, seizing them, and moves into the camp for the 1st time, taking control of limited areas inside the camp. The clashes leave at least 3 Lebanese soldiers, 2 FI mbrs., 14 others inside the r.c. (FI or civilians) dead and 60 civilians, 18 soldiers wounded. At least 8,000 civilians are still inside the camp. (DS, NYT, WP, WT 6/2)

Overnight and during the day, the IDF makes air strikes on 6 Hamas and ESF targets across Gaza, killing at least 2 Hamas mbrs. and wounding 5 bystanders at a rocket launching site in n. Gaza, and hitting a guard post nr. Haniyeh’s Shati‘ r.c. residence for a 2d day (wounding 3 bystanders); other targets are located in Jabaliya r.c., Khan Yunis, and Nussayrat r.c. (leaving a total of 7 bystanders wounded). A 7th IDF air strike targets a PA presidential guard post nr. Gaza City, causing no casualties. The IDF also shoots, wounds a Palestinian woman who strays nr. the border fence nr. Bayt Lahiya. Hamas fires 6 rockets toward Israel, lightly injuring 3 Israelis, causing light damage. In the West Bank, the IDF demolishes a Palestinian home in Qabatya; raids areas of Hebron, Jericho, withdrawing without making arrests; fires rubber-coated steel bullets, percussion grenades, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, international peace activists demonstrating in Bil‘in against the separation wall, injuring 6 and also barring journalists fr. reaching the site. (NYT, WP, WT 5/26; OCHA 5/30; PCHR 5/31)

Expedited U.S. military aid (including munitions, night-vision gear, body armor) begins reaching Lebanon, with 5 U.S. military transport planes landing in Beirut. The Lebanese army occasionally shells, fires on FI positions inside Nahr al-Barid r.c., but the undeclared cease-fire generally holds. (At least 70% of residents have vacated the camp, with the Lebanese government and army encouraging the remainder to leave.) (BBC 5/25; WP, WT 5/26)

During the day in Gaza, the IDF fires on Jabaliya r.c., seriously wounding a Palestinian woman inside her home. In the evening, Olmert convenes his security cabinet, which authorized the IDF to step up attacks on Hamas, Islamic Jihad. Soon after, the IDF makes an air strike targeting IQB cmdr. Samih Farwanah in Gaza City, who is at the home of Hamas-affiliated Change and Reform Palestinian Council (PC) mbr. Khalil al-Haya, assassinating Farwanah, killing 7 of Haya’s relatives, wounding more than 12; fires a missile at Hamas mbr. Nasser Hammuda, biking through Gaza City, wounding him in an apparent assassination attempt; makes an air strike on an alleged Hamas weapons factory in Gaza City, killing 1 Palestinian security guard, wounding 3 bystanders; makes an air strike on the home of an Islamic Jihad mbr., destroying it and a neighboring meeting hall, causing no injuries; shells residential areas of Bayt Lahiya, heavily damaging 2 homes, wounding 6 Palestinians. Palestinians fire at least 12 rockets, 2 mortars fr. Gaza into Israel, damaging 2 trucks on the Israeli side of the Qarni crossing but causing no injuries. In Rafah, an al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade (AMB) mbr. is injured when explosives he is handling detonate prematurely. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in al-Arub r.c nr. Hebron and in and around Bethlehem, Jenin town and r.c.; raids 4 TV and radio stations in Nablus seizing computers and broadcasting equipment; begins bulldozing 130 dunams (d.; 4 d. = 1 acre) of apricot and date orchards nr. Artas nr. Bethlehem to make way for the separation wall. Under IDF escort, Jewish settlers fr. Efrat nr. Bethlehem uproot Palestinian trees nr. the settlement. Jewish settlers fr. Karme Tzur nr. Hebron unleash an attack dog on a Palestinian farmer working his land nr. the settlement, injuring him. Meanwhile, Hamas, Fatah observe a ceasefire during the day; stores begin to reopen and residents venture out for the 1st time in a wk. (HA, IFM, NYT, PCHR, WP 5/20; HA, NYT, OCHA, PCHR, WP, WT 5/21; OCHA 5/23; PCHR 5/24)

Overnight, Lebanese police and soldiers raid several homes in Tripoli in an attempt to capture a group connected to the tiny militant group, Fatah al-Islam (FI), that was suspected of carrying out a bank robbery on 5/19. The raids spark gun battles that quickly spread throughout the city and to the outskirts of Nahr al-Barid r.c. (pop. 40,000), where FI is based. When FI forces leave the camp to ambush and capture nearby army positions, the Lebanese army fires tank shells, mortars into the camp, quickly precipitating massive clashes (including RPG, heavy weapons fire by FI) that continue throughout the day. In total, at least 27 Lebanese soldiers, 20 FI mbrs., and 9 Palestinian civilians inside the camp are killed and scores are wounded during the day. By nightfall, the army regains control of areas surrounding the camp, seals the camp to prevent militants fr. escaping; cuts water and electricity to the camp to urge a surrender. Syria closes several border crossings n. and w. of Tripoli in reaction. Separately, a car bomb explodes nr. a shopping mall in the Christian neighborhood of Achrifiyya in Beirut, killing 1 Lebanese woman, wounding 12; no group claims responsibility. (AP, NYT, REU, WP, WT 5/21; WT 5/24; NYT 6/20, 7/7)