The Palestine Chronology

The last U.S. combat troops pull out of Iraq 2 wks. ahead of Obama’s 12/31/11 target date; 1,000s of U.S. diplomats and contractors remain in the country, as well as 150 U.S. soldiers tasked to train Iraqi security forces. (National Public Radio, REU 12/18; NYT 12/19)

Israel frees 550 Palestinian prisoners in the 2d stage of the swap that freed IDF Cpl. Gilad Shalit in 10/2011; 41 are released to Gaza, more than 500 to the West Bank, a few to East Jerusalem and Jordan. Under the terms of the deal, Israel picked which prisoners to free and picked mostly Fatahaffiliated West Bankers as a gesture to Abbas; none are mbrs. of Hamas or Islamic Jihad or were involved in killing or wounding anyone; Palestinians complain that “many of those being released were due to get out within months anyway. . . . If Israel had wanted to make a real good-will gesture, the list would have been totally different.” (NYT, WP 12/19)

Stone-throwing Palestinian youths clash with IDF at the Beitunia checkpoint where some of the Palestinian prisoners freed by Israel are released, leaving 10s of Palestinians and 1 IDF soldier injured. Elsewhere in the West Bank, the IDF patrols in Jenin in the morning and in 3 villages nr. Jenin, Qalqilya, and Salfit in the evening (firing tear gas at stone-throwing youths in Jenin); makes a brief incursion into Qalqilya where they set up 2 checkpoints, detain 2 PA security forces officers for several hours, and summon 1 Palestinian for questioning. Jewish settlers block a Palestinian road nr. Moshe Zouhar settlement outpost nr. Qalqilya. Israeli naval vessels fire on Palestinian fishing boats off the Gaza City shore, detaining 1 boat and questioning 4 Palestinians (3 are released, 1 is sent to Israel for an unrelated medical issue). Gaza’s Interior Min. drops requirements for Gazans to register in advance of leaving Gaza through the Rafah crossing. The Israeli Housing Min. published tenders for construction of 1,028 Jewish settlement units in East Jerusalem (500 in Har Homa, 348 in Beitar Ilit, and 180 in Givat Ze’ev). The Gaza Central Drug Store receives an urgent shipment of medicine and supplies fr. the West Bank, enough to replenish its stores for several weeks (see 12/6/12). (HA 12/18; NYT, WP 12/19; PCHR 12/22; OCHA 12/23)

IDF chief of staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz announces that in light of the dramatically increasing number of covert foreign operations Israel has undertaken in the past year, the Israeli DMin. has formed a new operational branch called the Depth Corps specifically to handle special operations “deep in enemy territory.” The new branch (separate fr. the existing Northern, Southern, and Central Commands) will be headed by former special operations commander Maj. Gen. Shai Avital and will pull and coordinate resources fr. the military’s various elite commando units on an ad hoc basis, depending on the mission. While Israel does not confirm or deny covert operations abroad, media reports over the past year have indicated that Israel has carried out operations in Sudan (targeting arms traffic to Hizballah and Hamas), Iran, Lebanon, and Syria. According to HA, since most recent covert ops have targeted Iran, IDF insiders often refer to the Depth Corps as “Iran Command.” (AFP, IHY 12/16; HA 12/18; JPI 2/10)

In light of Jewish settler violence against the IDF on 12/12, the Israeli cabinet approves several measures against right-wing Jewish extremists, including permitting their detention without trial (administrative detention) and trial in military courts, allowing soldiers in the West Bank to arrest them, and banning them fr. entering the West Bank; it does not label them “terrorists,” which would have allowed security forces even greater leeway to act against them. Hrs. later, Israeli police raid a Jerusalem apartment and arrest 6 Israelis for involvement in “recent events” targeting Palestinians and the IDF. In apparent “price-tag” attacks to protest the government moves: Jewish extremists set fire to the Nabi Ukasha mosque in West Jerusalem (Israeli authorities have barred Palestinians fr. using the mosque but have allowed Jewish settlers affiliated with the extremist Kach party to use the courtyard as a playground); Jewish settlers fr. Burkan settlement set fire to 2 Palestinian cars in nearby Salfit; and Jewish settlers fr. Yitzhar set fire to 2 Palestinian cars in nearby Douma village nr. Nablus. (NYT, PCHR, WP, WT 12/15; PCHR 12/22; OCHA 12/23)

Under pressure fr. PA and Jordanian officials, Israel reopens the Mughrabi footbridge to the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount (closed on 12/12/11), saying it will reinforce rather than rebuild it. Meanwhile, IDF troops on the Gaza border e. of Gaza City fire on a Palestinian who strays too nr. the border fence while hunting birds, moderately wounding him. IDF troops in the West Bank conduct late-night arrest raids, house searches in al-Fawar r.c. and Bayt Umar, both nr. Hebron. (NYT, PCHR, WP, WT 12/15; PCHR 12/22; OCHA 12/23)

Addressing 10,000s of Hamas supporters in Gaza City to mark Hamas’s 24th anniversary, Hamas acting PM Ismail Haniyeh says that “Today we say it clearly: Armed resistance and armed struggle are the strategic way to liberate the Palestinian land from the sea to the river,” but that if Israel were to turn over the occupied territories, including East Jerusalem, Hamas could take a “temporary” respite “without Israel being recognized and without any concession being made.” Of note: at the rally, the flags of the Arab states are displayed except for Syria’s. (NYT 12/15)

The New York Times runs a long special report on a 6-yr. U.S. investigation of Lebanese Canadian Bank and its suspected role providing financial support to “terrorists.” U.S. officials allege—but refuse to release their evidence—that the investigation revealed that the bank laundered hundreds of millions of dollars fr. Hizballah criminal enterprises and that Hizballah had significant ties to Latin American drug cartels. U.S. investigators say the transactions also revealed a pattern “in which entities tied to Hezbollah have been buying up militarily strategic pieces of property in largely Christian areas” of Lebanon. Hizballah calls the claims “politically motivated propaganda.” U.S. admin. sources say that when the connections first came to their attention in fall 2010, some argued that the Hizballah link should be left unstated, but the admin. changed course (1) after Hizballah forced out Saad Hariri as PM and secured appointment of an ally in his place and (2) when the UN tribunal accused Hizballah of involvement in Rafiq Hariri’s assassination. (NYT 12/14)

Overnight, Palestinians fire 11 rockets (including 1 manufactured Grad) fr. Gaza into Israel, retaliating for the 12/8 assassination, causing no damage or injuries. In the morning, Israel carries out more air strikes on 2 alleged Hamas training sites in Gaza City, killing a Palestinian bystander and his 12-yr.-old son and damaging a home, injuring 11 civilians (including 3 children, 2 women); Israel says it regrets the civilian casualties but blames Hamas for operating in densely populated areas. In retaliation, Palestinians fire another 6 rockets (including 1 Grad) fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. Late at night the IDF makes an air strike on a Hamas training camp in Rafah, causing no reported injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in Tulkarm (firing tear gas at stone-throwing Palestinian youths, causing no serious injuries) and 1 village nr. Salfit in the afternoon; conducts late-night patrols in 1 village nr. Salfit; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Dahaysha r.c. nr. Bethlehem. Palestinians (sometimes accompanied by Israeli and international activists) hold weekly nonviolent demonstrations against the separation wall, land confiscations, and settlement expansion in Bil’in, Kafr Qaddum, Ni’lin, and Nabi Salih. IDF soldiers beat and fire rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas, and stun grenades at the protesters, seriously injuring 1 Palestinian and lightly injuring 4 others in Nabi Salih. The incident, in which a man throwing a stone at an armored personnel carrier is hit in the head with a tear gas canister at close range, is caught on camera. (JP 12/9; JP, NYT 12/10; IDFS, WP 12/11; PCHR 12/15; OCHA 12/16)

Unidentified assailants detonate a roadside bomb nr. a UNIFIL patrol nr. Tyre in s. Lebanon, wounding 5 French UNIFIL soldiers in the 3d such attack in 2011. No group claims responsibility. (NYT 12/10; WP 12/12)

Israeli PM Netanyahu says that since the 11/24 Abbas-Mishal meeting seemed more symbolic than substantive and the PLO/PA has not made moves since the 11/1/11 UNESCO vote to gain membership in other UN organizations, he is considering releasing VAT taxes. (NYT 11/29) (see 11/23/11)

King Abdallah of Jordan hosts Israeli pres. Shimon Peres in Amman to discuss reviving Israeli-Palestinian talks. (NYT 11/29; JPI 12/9)

Israeli naval vessels fire warning shots at Palestinian fishing boats off the n. Gaza coast, detaining and confiscating the boat, arresting 1 fisherman, and returning another fisherman to Gaza through the Erez crossing. Late at night, IDF troops on the n. Gaza border responding to 2 loud explosions inside Gaza in an open area n. of Bayt Lahiya fire into Gaza for 20 mins., causing no reported damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in 3 villages each nr. Qalqilya and Ramallah and 1 nr. Salfit during the day; conducts late-night patrols in Jericho. An Israeli military court convicts a 2d Palestinian teenager fr. Awarta in the murder of 5 Jewish settlers in Itamar on 3/11/11; another Palestinian teen was convicted on 9/13/11. (PCHR 12/1; OCHA 12/2; JPI 12/9)

In the 1st Lebanese-Israeli crossborder attack since 10/2009, unidentified assailants fire 3 rockets fr. s. Lebanon into n. Israel, damaging 2 buildings in the western Galilee, but causing no injuries. Israel responds with artillery fire, causing no reported damage or injuries. UNIFIL calls for “maximum restraint.” (DS, NYT 11/29; NYT, WP, WT 11/30)

Israel allows the 1st shipment of construction material for private rebuilding projects in Gaza, to be used to reconstruct 10 factories destroyed by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) during Operation Cast Lead (OCL) in 2008– 9. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in al-Azariyya outside Jerusalem, and nr. Bethlehem and Qalqilya (arresting 4 children ages 13–17); conducts latenight patrols in 3 villages nr. Jenin. (NYT, PCHR, WP 11/17; PCHR 11/24; OCHA 11/25)

In s. Lebanon, a bomb explodes at a hotel in Tyre that is frequented by UN employees, causing damage but no injuries. Minutes later another bomb damages a liquor store in the city, causing no injuries. The UN says it does not believe its employees were targets. (NYT 11/17)

Abbas addresses the UNGA and officially submits the papers requesting full UN member-state status. UN secy.-gen. Ban Ki-Moon immediately sends the application to the UNSC. Rotating UNSC head, Lebanese amb. Nawaf Salam, says he will distribute it to UNSC mbrs. on 9/26. (NYT, WP, WT 9/24)

Netanyahu also addresses the UNGA session, calling on Abbas to resume talks immediately in New York, again without giving details on the basis or goal of talks. (WP 9/24) Within 3 hrs. of Abbas’s speech, the Quartet issues a vague statement calling on Israel and the Palestinians to return to talks within a month, with the objective of reaching a final agreement within a year. While Quartet special envoy Blair heralds this as “breakthrough,” UN and U.S. officials say the idea is to delay UNSC consideration of the Palestinian application to the UN on the assumption that if talks are “underway and making progress,” the UNSC would put off a vote in hopes that the parties could reach negotiated agreement. (State Dept. press release 9/23; NYT, WP, WT 9/24)

In the West Bank, 1,000s of Palestinians gather in Ramallah’s Clock Tower Square after dark to watch Abbas’s UN address televised live and celebrate the application for statehood. Similar rallies are held across the West Bank, but are banned in Gaza by Hamas authorities, who are angry that Abbas did not consult with Hamas over the process. Observers note (e.g., NYT, WP 9/24) that the “festive mood was tempered with resentment at . . . Obama’s firm stance against the initiative.” One Palestinian on the street states (WP 9/24): “We are choking on the American double standard. America supported the movements for freedom in Egypt, Tunis, Libya and Yemen, but this stops when it comes to the Palestinian people. We are asking, why?” During the day, the regular weekly protest against the separation wall in Bil‘in, al-Nabi Salih, and Ni‘lin are turned into rallies in support of the UN statehood initiative; in al-Nabi Salih, Palestinian demonstrators burn Israeli flags and posters of Obama. Similar small rallies are held at Qalandia r.c. The IDF fires rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas, and percussion grenades at the demonstrators, causing no serious injuries. (NYT, WP 9/24; PCHR 9/29; OCHA 9/30)

Meanwhile, nr. Kiryat Arba settlement in Hebron, a Palestinian boy is killed in a hit-and-run by a vehicle with Israeli plates. Later in the day in the same area, a Jewish settler man and his infant son, residents of Kiryat Arba, die in a car crash; the IDF says it was an accident, but local settlers accuse the army of covering up a murder, claiming that vengeful local Palestinians stoned the vehicle causing it to crash. The IDF denies the claims and expresses concern that settlers are attempting to provoke violence on the eve of Abbas’s UN speech. Meanwhile, unarmed Palestinians patrolling the outskirts of Qusra village in the n. West Bank (subject of numerous recent attacks by Jewish settlers fr. Esh Kodesh outpost) throw stones at a group of armed Jewish settlers that try to enter the village, sparking a clash; the IDF intervenes, firing tear gas and live ammunition at the Palestinians, killing 1 Palestinian and wounding 7. The IDF also patrols in 2 villages nr. Ramallah and Salfit in the morning, in Jericho in the afternoon, and in al-Bireh, 2 villages nr. Salfit, and 1 nr. Tulkarm late at night. (NYT, WP 9/24; PCHR 9/29)

Ramadan begins. Unidentified Palestinians fire a Qassam rocket fr. Gaza into Israel, lightly injuring 1 bedouin woman. Late at night, the IDF retaliates with air strikes on a smuggling tunnel on the Rafah border and a “terrorist center” in n. Gaza, causing no reported injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF searches a home in Issawiyya in the morning; conducts synchronized raids into 3 villages e. of Qalqilya, searching several homes and summoning 4 Palestinians for interrogation; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Bayt Umar. (AFP 8/1; AFP, JP, REU, YA 8/2; PCHR 8/4; OCHA 8/5)

Israeli and Lebanese troops briefly exchange fire across their common border, causing no injuries. Lebanese troops fired first, believing the IDF patrol strayed into Lebanese territory, though the IDF denies this. (DS 8/1; NYT, WP 8/2; WJW 8/5; JPI 8/12)

The IDF makes a brief incursion into s. Gaza to level lands and clear lines of sight along the border fence e. of al-Qarara. In the West Bank, the IDF begins leveling land for construction of a new segment of the separation wall nr. al-Walaja nr. Bethlehem; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Jenin r.c. Hamas authorities in Gaza hang 2 Palestinians convicted of collaborating with Israel; the father and son were arrested in 2003 and convicted and sentenced in 2004 by the Fatah-led PA. (WP 7/27; PCHR 7/28; OCHA 7/29)

The U.S. for the first time explicitly states that it would veto a UN resolution endorsing Palestinian statehood. (JAZ, NYT 7/27)

In Lebanon, unidentified assailants detonate a roadside bomb nr. a UNIFIL convoy outside Sidon, wounding 5 French soldiers. Hizballah condemns the attack. (AFP, DPA 7/26; WT 7/27; DPA 7/28) (see 5/27)

Israel deports the 1st 36 foreign activists (fr. Belgium, Germany, and Spain) detained as participants in the Welcome to Palestine air flotilla; others will be deported as soon as flights are available. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in ‘Aqabat Jabir r.c. in the morning, Issawiyya in the afternoon (firing tear gas and stun grenades to intimidate residents), and alBireh and 5 villages nr. Ramallah and Salfit at night; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Jenin. (WP 7/11; PCHR 7/14; OCHA 7/15)

The Israeli cabinet approves a map demarcating Israel’s northern maritime border with Lebanon as a move to preserve its economic rights to offshore natural gas reserves. (JPI 7/22; DS 7/27)

The IDF patrols in 2 villages nr. Qalqilya during the day; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Salfit, in Qalqilya, and nr. Bethlehem. Jewish settlers fr. Ashkalot settlement nr. Hebron raze 20 d. of Palestinian agricultural land adjacent to the settlement. (PCHR 6/16; OCHA 6/24)

After an extended delay of almost 5 months, Lebanon’s PM Najib Mikati forms a government, giving Hizballah and its allies 18 of 30 seats. (NYT, WP, WT 6/14; Carnegie Middle East Center, WT 6/15)

In Washington, U.S. Secy. of State Clinton holds separate mtgs. with Israeli and Palestinian negotiators and French FM Alain Juppé to discuss a French proposal to revive peace talks. (AFP, REU 6/6)

In Gaza, 1 Palestinian is killed when a smuggling tunnel on the Rafah border collapses. The IDF raids ‘Ayn Bayt al-Ma’ r.c. nr. Nablus to arrest Hamas-affiliated PC mbr. Ahmad al-Haj Ali; raids and searches the Hamas-affiliated Change and Reform party offices in Nablus, confiscating a computer and files; raids Anabta’s municipal electricity dept., arresting 1 employee; patrols during the day in 3 villages nr. Qalqilya and 1 nr. Jenin; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Jenin and nr. Tulkarm. Jewish settlers fr. Karme Tzur nr. Hebron set fire to 3 dunams (d.; 4 d. = 1 acre) of nearby Palestinian grape arbors and crops. A small group of Palestinian protesters attempts to approach the Golan border fence as part of the Naksa commemoration (see 6/5) but is halted by a Syrian army contingent. (NYT, WP 6/7; PCHR 6/9; OCHA 6/10)

In Syria’s Yarmuk r.c. near Damascus, 10,000s of angry Palestinian mourners at the funerals for some of those killed in the Naksa Day clashes on 6/5 attack the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine—General Command (PFLP-GC) headquarters and drive away Hamas leader Khalid Mishal and the PFLP-GC head Ahmad Jibril, who had come to express condolences, denouncing camp leaders for inciting the camp youths and putting them in harm’s way to be used as “cannon fodder” against Israel. PFLP-GC members open fire on protesters, sparking clashes that leave 14 dead and 43 injured. (MNA, WAFA 6/6; DailyKos.com, DS, Electronic Intifada, HA, Indymedia.com 6/7)

Palestinian refugees in Lebanon’s ‘Ayn al-Hilwa r.c. also demonstrate (6/6) against the killing of Naksa Day protesters on the Syrian border on 6/5, but it is unclear to what degree the protests are against Israel, Syria, or the Palestinian leadership. (WP 6/7)

On Naksa Day, commemorating the 1967 war, IDF troops open fire on 100s of unarmed Palestinian refugees and supporters inside Syria who try to cross a trench and earthen berm 150 m. on the approach to the border fence nr. the town of Majdal Shams in the occupied Golan Heights. Syrian authorities report 22 killed and more than 350 wounded, possibly marking the worst violence on the Syrian border since the 1973 war; Israel says the numbers are exaggerated, however. More protests are held inside Syria nr. the border at Qunaytra; the IDF fires tear gas and percussion grenades when protesters begin to march toward the border, but no injuries are reported. In the West Bank, the IDF clashes with up to 200 stone-throwing Palestinian protesters at the Qalandia crossing (using tear gas and percussion grenades to disperse them) and blocks Palestinian marchers fr. approaching Elon Moreh settlement nr. Nablus. In Gaza, Hamas-affiliated police block 10s (possibly 100s) of demonstrators fr. approaching the Erez crossing. Overall, protests are much smaller than the Nakba Day demonstrations on 5/13–15, with no protests reported in Egypt, Jordan, or Lebanon. Meanwhile, the IDF conducts morning patrols in 4 villages nr. Qalqilya, Salfit, and Tulkarm; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in ‘Azun and Nur Shams r.c. By this date, the IDF has also arrested Fatah PC mbr. Hussam Khader in a raid on Nablus. (AFP, AP, IsRN, KUNA, MNA, The Media Line [online] 6/5; NYT, WP, WT 6/6; PCHR 6/9; OCHA 6/10; WT 6/15; PCHR 6/16; OCHA 6/24)

On the anniversary of the Nakba, 1,000s of Palestinians fr. the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria stage marches (mostly nonviolent, though some stone throwing) toward the Israeli border. In Lebanon, though troops, riot police, and UNIFIL soldiers deploy to prevent marchers fr. reaching the border, a large group succeeds in reaching the border fence nr. Hizballah-controlled Maroun al-Ras village, where they throw stones at IDF troops. IDF troops open fire into Lebanon, leaving 10 Palestinians dead and at least 112 wounded. Palestinians refugees marching fr. Syria knock down the border fence into the Golan Heights, enter the Druze village of Majdal Shams, and rally in the village square, erecting Palestinian flags. IDF troops open fire to drive them back across the border, killing 4 Palestinians and wounding around 200. On the border with Jordan, Jordanian troops fired tear gas and scuffle with some 800 Palestinians, preventing them fr. reaching the border, leaving 14 demonstrators and 3 police officers lightly injured. In Egypt, govt. forces reinforce their border, preventing some 250 Palestinians fr. marching to the Rafah crossing. In Cairo, riot police fire tear gas, disperse protesters converging on the Israeli embassy, injuring around 120. On the Gaza border, IDF troops fire live ammunition and artillery at Gazans marching toward the border, wounding at least 125. In the West Bank, IDF troops fire tear gas, rubber-coated steel bullets to disperse around 1,000 stone-throwing Palestinians marching toward the Qalandia crossing (injuring 10s) and violently beat scores of Palestinians marching fr. Palestinian-controlled area A toward Israeli security-controlled area B in Hebron (injuring 10s). A large peaceful rally commemorating the Nakba is held in Ramallah. Numerous smaller and protests clashes are also reported in the West Bank and East Jerusalem; rights groups say some 185 Palestinians have been injured in these clashes over the past 3 days, 153 of them in Jerusalem. Netanyahu accuses the demonstrators of “incitement” and challenging “the very existence of Israel.” Other Israeli officials accuse Iran and Syria of instigating the Palestinians, noting that Syrian security did nothing to prevent Palestinians fr. approaching the border. (DS, IFM, IsRN, JAZ, JP, MA, YA 5/15; Christian Science Monitor, NYT, PCHR, WP, WT 5/16)

Unrelated to the “March to Palestine,” IDF troops fired across the border into Gaza, killing a Palestinian who allegedly was planting an explosive device. Inside Israel, an Israeli Palestinian drives his truck into several cars, a bus, and pedestrians in Tel Aviv, killing 1 Israeli and injuring 17 in what Israeli police say was a deliberate terrorist attack; the driver, who is arrested, strongly denies deliberately harming anyone, saying he lost control of his vehicle when a tire blew. The IDF also patrols in 2 village nr. Qalqilya (arresting 1 Palestinian teenager for throwing stones) and 2 nr. Tulkarm; sends undercover units into Nur al-Shams r.c. nr. Tulkarm late at night, surrounding and raiding a house and arresting 1 Palestinian; conducts other late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around al-‘Arub r.c. and Hebron, and nr. Salfit. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba settlement in Hebron throw 4 Molotov cocktails at a nearby Palestinian home, causing minor damage. Israel resumes transferring VAT taxes to the PA (see 5/1), having received PA assurances that none of the money would be accessible to Hamas under the new Fatah-Hamas unity deal, but warning that it would reconsider suspending transfers if Hamas was allowed to join a PA govt. (NYT 5/16; PCHR 5/19; OCHA 5/20)

At quarter’s end, fierce fighting is ongoing in Libya and NATO intervention continues. Rebel-held areas increasingly report shortages of food and medical supplies. No reliable figures on casualties are available since independent media access and communications are extremely difficult. Deaths are thought to be well into the 1,000s and perhaps as high as 10,000. (WP 5/16; REU 6/9)

A Palestinian teenager shot in Silwan on 5/13 dies of his wounds. Clashes erupt after the boy’s funeral later in the day, with Israeli police firing rubber-coated steel bullets at angry mourners, injuring 2. For a 2d day, numerous clashes are reported, particularly around East Jerusalem, as Palestinians demonstrate in commemoration of the Nakba, but no serious injuries are reported. Jewish settlers fr. Gilad settlement nr. Qalqilya beat and stone 3 Palestinian farmers working their land nearby. (WP 5/15; PCHR 5/19; OCHA 5/20)

In Syria, troops raid Tal Kalakh village nr. the border with Lebanon before dawn, sending 100s of Syrians fleeing into Lebanon for safety. Clashes continue through 5/15. Lebanese officials estimate that some 5,000 Syrian families have sought refuge in Lebanon since the clashes began. As the quarter comes to a close, Syrian forces continue to violently suppress protests scattered nationwide. Human rights groups say as many as 900 protesters have been killed since the beginning of the uprising, while the govt. says that 98 soldiers and 22 police officers have been killed; around 9,000 Syrians are still in custody or unaccounted for. (NYT, WP 5/15; WP 5/16, 5/19)

A GCC envoy arrives in Yemen to try to resurrect a deal with Saleh to step down, but no agreement is immediately reached. Rights groups estimate that more than 154 Yemenis have been killed since protests began. (NYT, WP 5/15)

The donor’s Ad Hoc Liaison Comm. meets in Brussels to receive the PA’s 3-yr. policy and economic agenda for 2011–13. (World Bank press release 4/7; JTA 4/3)

Israel reopens the Kerem Shalom commercial crossing into Gaza (closed since 4/6). In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in Dayr Istya nr. Salfit. (PCHR 4/14, 4/21; OCHA 4/29)

An Israeli tank briefly enters a disputed border area with Lebanon nr. Adayssa village after Lebanese picking herbs and flowers in the zone triggered an alert. (AFP 4/14)

Israel makes 2 air strikes on Gaza targeting the launch site of 4 mortars fired into Israel minutes earlier (causing no damage or injuries), hitting a nearby residential area, killing 4 Palestinian civilians (including 3 children) and wounding 11 (4 critically); Netanyahu expresses regret for accidentally harming civilians but accuses Palestinian militants of using civilians as human shields to carry out rocket and mortar attacks (even while there was no rocket fire at the time of the strikes). In the evening, Palestinians fire a manufactured Grad rocket and several mortars fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. Later, the IDF carries out a 3d air strike, killing 4 Islamic Jihad mbrs. preparing to launch a rocket into Israel. The IDF also makes a brief incursion into Gaza northeast of Gaza City to level lands and clear lines of sight. Israeli naval vessels fire on Palestinian fishermen off the n. Gaza coast, forcing them to return to shore. In the West Bank, the IDF makes a predawn raid on Awarta, imposing a curfew and arresting 9 Palestinians, possibly in connection to the 3/11 Itamar murders; patrols in 2 villages nr. Ramallah and Salfit. (IRM 3/22; NYT, REU, WP, WT 3/23; NYT, PCHR 3/24; OCHA 4/1)

The Knesset passes (37-25, with 58 abstaining or not voting) the “Nakba Law,” which allows state funding to be reduced to communities or groups that commemorate the Nakba, deny Israel is a Jewish state, question whether Israel is a democracy, or harm Israeli national symbols. It also passes (35-20, with 65 abstaining or not voting) the “Admissions Committee Law” allowing Negev and Galilee Jewish communities with fewer than 400 families to reject potential residents (i.e., Palestinians) who are “socially unacceptable.” (IsRN 3/23; JTA 3/24)

The IDF detains 2 Lebanese shepherds who accidentally crossed the Blue Line into Israeli territory and turns them over to the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). (DS 3/23)

IDF troops make a brief incursion into c. Gaza northeast of al-Bureij r.c. to level land and clear lines of sight. In the West Bank, an IDF undercover unit enters Nabi Salih in the morning, arresting a 10- yr.-old Palestinian boy for throwing stones. The IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Tulkarm and nr. Jenin. (PCHR 1/27; OCHA 1/28)

With the support of the majority of parliament, Lebanese pres. Suleiman taps Hizballah’s candidate, billionaire Sunni businessman Najib Mikati, as PM designate to form the next Lebanese government. (NYT, WP 1/25)

IDF troops on the n. Gaza border fire warning shots at Palestinians scavenging for construction materials, wounding 1. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Nablus and nr Jenin; conducts late-night patrols in 2 villages nr. Ramallah. (PCHR 1/20, 1/27; OCHA 1/28)

Lebanon introduces a draft of a major United Nations Security Council res. for debate that urges the international community to denounce Israeli settlement activity, using wording that artfully pieces together official U.S. statements on settlements to make it harder for the U.S. to object or veto. The U.S. ultimately urges Abbas to suspend discussion of the draft until a Quartet meeting on 2/5, suggesting the Quartet might issue a statement confirming 1967 borders as the basis of final status negotiations and condemning Israeli settlement construction. (NYT 1/20)

At an Arab economic summit in Sharm al-Shaykh, Arab leaders pledge $2 b. to shore up regional economies and generate jobs in hopes of preventing the spread of antigovernment riots like those in Tunisia. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait each pledges $500 m., with 11 other states pledging the other $1 b. Observers say however (see NYT 1/20) that leaders are acting more out of a desire to secure their leaderships than to reform and develop their economies, noting that none of the similar initiatives agreed at the last economic summit in 2009 have been implemented. By this date, numerous self-immolations (some fatal) and antigovernment protests have taken place in Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Mauritania, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen since the fall of Ben-Ali on 1/14, citing Tunisia as inspiration. In response to the Yemeni riots, the most severe to date, Pres. Ali Abdullah Saleh has cut income taxes in half, imposed price controls on basic goods, raised salaries for the army, and vowed his son will not succeed him, while the EU has announced an additional $19.5 m. in support to Sana’a for poverty programs. Today, an Egyptian Facebook group begins calling for massive street protests in Cairo on 1/25 to mark a “day of revolution against torture, poverty, corruption, and unemployment.” (WT 1/19; NYT 1/20; NYT, WT 1/25; see also al-Bawaba 1/17; NYT, WP 1/18)

In the West Bank, the IDF demolishes 11 Palestinian homes (housing 50 individuals, including 30 children), 3 classrooms, 3 barnyards, and 2 tents deemed too close to the separation wall in Yatta village nr. Hebron; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Tulkarm r.c. In East Jerusalem, Israeli authorities arrest 3 Palestinian teenagers taking part in a sit-in protest against Israeli Judaization efforts in the al-Bustan quarter of Silwan; demolish a Palestinian vendor’s semipermanent stand (in place for 11 yrs.) on Sultan Suleiman Street nr. Damascus Gate, confiscating his goods. (PCHR 1/13; OCHA 1/14; PCHR 1/20; OCHA 1/21)

While Lebanese PM Sa‘ad Hariri is in Washington meeting with U.S. Pres. Barack Obama, 11 cabinet ministers representing Hizballah and its allies (the March 8 coalition) resign in protest over Hariri’s refusal to convene an emergency cabinet session to discuss pending indictments by the UN special tribunal investigating the 2005 assassination of Hariri’s father, fmr. PM Rafiq Hariri, which are expected to be issued before the end of the month. They call on Pres. Michel Suleiman to form a new government headed by the March 8 alliance. The move plunges Lebanon into its worst political crisis since 5/2008 (when Qatar brokered an agreement to end sectarian clashes that killed 81 Lebanese). (NYT, WP, WT 1/13)