31 / 15150 Results
  • May 21, 2012

    The IDF patrols in Tulkarm and 2 nearby villages, 2 villages nr. Jenin, and 1 each nr. Jericho, Hebron, and Ramallah in the morning; stages 3 groups of synchronized patrols s. of Jenin (4 villages...

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  • May 13, 2012

    The IDF conducts daytime patrols in 2 villages nr. Ramallah; conducts latenight arrest raids, house searches in Bayt Umar. Jewish settlers fr. Karmei Tzur nr. Bethlehem attack a Palestinian farmer...

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  • February 6, 2012

    Fatah PA pres. Abbas and Hamas leader Mishal end 2 days of talks in Qatar on forming by Fatah-Hamas consensus a transitional government of independent technocrats with a limited mandate to take...

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  • October 9, 2011

    In 2 separate incidents, IDF troops on the n. Gaza border fire warning shots at Palestinian farmers working fields nr. the border fence, forcing them to flee but causing no injuries. Israeli naval...

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  • October 30, 2010

    Unidentified Palestinians fire 2 mortars fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF raids an olive press in Jit nr. Qalqilya, arresting the owner and...

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  • October 17, 2010

    IDF troops make a brief incursion into s. Gaza nr. Abasan to level areas to clear lines of sight, firing at the surrounding area but causing no reported damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the...

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  • March 26, 2010

    IDF troops on the s. Gaza border fire on armed Palestinians laying a roadside bomb nr. the border fence e. of Khan Yunis. When Palestinians return fire, the troops enter the Strip in pursuit,...

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  • April 27, 2009

    In the West Bank, the IDF raids a house in al-Mukabir belonging to the family of construction worker Hussam Dweikat (shot dead on 7/2/08 when he deliberately rammed his bulldozer into a crowd in...

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  • April 7, 2009

    The IDF imposes a general closure on the West Bank through 4/18 for the Passover holiday, barring all West Bank Palestinian access to East Jerusalem and Israel. Israeli police fatally shoot East...

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  • March 5, 2009

    Overnight, the IDF makes an air strike on Islamic Jihad mbrs. operating nr. the Gaza border fence e. of al-Maghazi r.c. who fire 2 rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) at the Kissufim IDF base inside...

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  • August 1, 2008

    In the West Bank, the IDF raids and searches homes nr. Jenin but makes no arrests; fires rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, international activists taking part in the...

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  • July 22, 2008

    Copying the 7/2 attack in Jerusalem, Palestinian construction worker Ghassan Abu Teir (a resident of Jerusalem with no political affiliation) steals a bulldozer and careens down a busy Jerusalem...

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  • July 2, 2008

    Palestinian construction worker Hussam Dweikat (who has Israeli residency status in East Jerusalem) commandeers a Caterpillar bulldozer (symbolic, as the IDF uses Caterpillar D9 bulldozers to...

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  • June 5, 2008

    The Israeli High Court rejects a petition by human rights groups challenging the legality of fuel cuts to Gaza on the grounds that Israel, as occupier, is not meeting is obligations to Gazans....

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  • April 28, 2008

    In Gaza, the IDF sends tanks, armored vehicles, bulldozers, and helicopters into Bayt Hanun, exchanging fire with local armed men and making air strikes on residential areas, leaving a total of 8...

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  • January 17, 2008

    The IDF makes an air strike on a car in Bayt Lahiya, assassinating PRC cmdr. Raed Abu al-Ful, also killing a Palestinian woman traveling with him; makes an air strike on another car in Bayt Lahiya...

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  • October 19, 2007

    In Gaza, the IDF sends tanks, a bulldozer into the Gaza airport site, exchanging heavy fire (heavy machine guns, mortars) with Hamas mbrs., causing no reported injuries; occupies a strip of land...

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  • October 6, 2007

    In Gaza, the IDF sends bulldozers into the Qarni industrial zone to erect sand berms; Palestinians fire anti-tank missiles at the troops, who respond with heavy machine gun fire; no injuries are...

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  • October 3, 2007

    Israelseals its borders with the occupied territories until 10/6 to mark 3 minor Jewish holidays. The IDF makes an air strike on Rafah, assassinating Hamas mbr. Muhammad Hassan, wounding a 2d...

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  • September 20, 2007

    Overnight, the IDF escalates operations in Gaza allegedly targeting rocket-launching sites, sending tanks, bulldozers, undercover units into areas of central Gaza, demolishing 14 Palestinian homes...

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  • August 24, 2007

    In Gaza, the IDF fatally shoots 2 armed Palestinians on the border nr. Jabaliya; sends troops into al-Shuka nr. Rafah to bulldoze 6 d. of agricultural land nr. the Gaza airport; bulldozes...

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  • August 3, 2007

    The IDF ends operations nr. Bayt Lahiya begun on 7/31, withdrawing troops into an abandoned settlement site on the n. Gaza border; sends tanks and bulldozer, supported by helicopters, into the...

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  • July 5, 2007

    The IDF launches a major day-long incursion (including infantry, tanks, bulldozers, air support) into areas of Gaza e. of al-Bureij r.c. and al-Maghazi r.c. to “root out terrorist infrastructures...

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  • May 19, 2007

    The IDF makes 7 air strikes on Gaza, targeting 2 Hamas rocket-launching sites in n. Gaza, killing 3 Palestinian shepherds, 1 Palestinian child; hitting a car driving in Gaza City, assassinating...

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  • May 9, 2007

    The IDF fires on Palestinian farmers who stray nr. the Gaza border fence nr. Qarni crossing, wounding 2 (including a 92-yr.- old man); sends troops, dogs into Shuka village nr. Rafah to conduct...

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  • March 2, 2007

    Palestinians detonate a roadside bomb nr. an IDF bulldozer operating inside Gaza nr. Sufa crossing, causing no injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in and...

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  • February 5, 2007

    The IDF sends a bulldozer, 3 tanks 300 m. into Gaza northeast of Bayt Lahiya to level land, withdraws the troops later in the day. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches...

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  • December 10, 2006

    The IDF sends tanks, bulldozers into al-Qarara nr. Khan Yunis to bulldoze land, marking the IDF’s 1st such incident since the 11/26 Gaza cease-fire when into effect. IDF troops on the Gaza border...

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  • November 14, 2006

    In Gaza, the IDF launches an air strike on Gaza City, damaging a workshop, several houses. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searched in al-Fawar r.c. and Jenin town and r.c...

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  • June 25, 2006

    Before dawn, 8 Palestinian gunmen dressed in IDF uniforms sneak across the s. Gaza border into Israel using a tunnel, attack an IDF border post nr. Kerem Shalom with grenades, rifles, antitank...

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The IDF patrols in Tulkarm and 2 nearby villages, 2 villages nr. Jenin, and 1 each nr. Jericho, Hebron, and Ramallah in the morning; stages 3 groups of synchronized patrols s. of Jenin (4 villages), e. and n. of Jenin (3 villages), and n. of Ramallah (2 villages) in the afternoon; conducts synchronized late-night patrols in 3 villages nr. Tulkarm; and conducts other late-night patrols in Jericho and nearby ‘Aqabat Jabir r.c., and in 1 village nr. Salfit. The IDF also conducts arrest raids, house searches in East Jerusalem in the afternoon and nr. Hebron late at night; bulldozes Palestinian irrigation networks located between 2 Jewish settlements nr. Hebron; and confiscates a bulldozer and rock crusher from a Palestinian quarry n. of Jerusalem. (PCHR 5/23; OCHA 5/25)

The White House convenes a meeting with American Jewish leaders to reassure them that the Obama admin. is committed to keeping Iran free of nuclear weapons. In Israel, PM Netanyahu reiterates his position that ‘‘the objectives of Iran are clear: It wants to destroy Israel and is developing nuclear weapons to realize that goal.’’ (HA 5/21; NYT, WP, WT 5/22; WJW 5/31)

The IDF conducts daytime patrols in 2 villages nr. Ramallah; conducts latenight arrest raids, house searches in Bayt Umar. Jewish settlers fr. Karmei Tzur nr. Bethlehem attack a Palestinian farmer working his land nearby, beating him and damaging his bulldozer and car; the IDF intervenes, ordering the Palestinian to leave. Jewish settlers fr. Bat Ayin nr. Hebron uproot 14 trees on a nearby plot of Palestinian land. (PCHR 5/17; OCHA 5/18)

A day after announcing the arrest of a suspect in the 5/1 shooting that resulted in the death of Jenin governor Moussa, masked PASF officers ambush, blindfold, shackle, and detain fmr. Jenin al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade (AMB) leader Zakariya Zubeidi, accusing him of involvement in the shooting. (WP 5/14)

Fatah PA pres. Abbas and Hamas leader Mishal end 2 days of talks in Qatar on forming by Fatah-Hamas consensus a transitional government of independent technocrats with a limited mandate to take the Palestinians to new presidential and parliamentary elections and to lead reconstruction of Gaza, as agreed under the 5/2011 national unity deal. To overcome international concerns about Hamas’s participation and differences between Fatah and Hamas regarding who should serve as PM (Hamas strongly opposed current PA PM Salam al-Fayyad), the sides agree that Abbas would lead the transitional government, serving as both pres. and PM. They stress that the new government “will be a technical one more than a political one” and that diplomacy will rest with the PLO. A meeting of all Palestinian factions is set for 2/18 to endorse the plan. Israeli PM Netanyahu immediately denounces Abbas for “joining forces with the enemies of peace.” The EU and U.S. say they look forward to continuing their support of the PA, provided the new government is committed to the Quartet principles of nonviolence, recognition of Israel, and adherence to existing peace agreements. (NYT, WP 2/6; AP, NYT, WP 2/7; see also MNA 2/5)

Unidentified Palestinians fire a Qassam rocket fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In response, Israeli warplanes make late-night air strikes on open areas nr. the Gaza border n. of Bayt Hanun, causing no reported injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in 2 villages nr. Ramallah and 1 nr. Salfit; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Tulkarm and nr. Jenin and Nablus. Just outside East Jerusalem nr. al-Tur, Israeli border police and an undercover unit bulldoze 20 d. of Palestinian land, demolishing 2 walls, 3 natural caves, and a water network supplying several Palestinian homes. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba settlement in Hebron escorted by IDF troops begin planting trees on 150 d. of nearby Palestinian agricultural land that the IDF previously declared a closed military zone. (PCHR 2/9; OCHA 2/10)

In 2 separate incidents, IDF troops on the n. Gaza border fire warning shots at Palestinian farmers working fields nr. the border fence, forcing them to flee but causing no injuries. Israeli naval vessels fire on Palestinian fishing boats off the c. Gaza coast, forcing them to return to shore. In the West Bank, the IDF bars Palestinian farmers fr. reclaiming a plot of agricultural land northwest of Hebron, confiscating a bulldozer; the Dutch government had funded the project by the Agricultural Development Association to develop the land. The IDF also conducts 2 sets of synchronized patrols in 2 villages nr. Tulkarm in the afternoon and in 3 villages e. of Qalqilya in the evening; conducts late-night patrols in w villages nr. Jenin and Qalqilya. (PCHR 10/13; OCHA 10/14)

Unidentified Palestinians fire 2 mortars fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF raids an olive press in Jit nr. Qalqilya, arresting the owner and confiscating a bulldozer. (JP 10/30; PCHR 11/4; OCHA 11/5)

IDF troops make a brief incursion into s. Gaza nr. Abasan to level areas to clear lines of sight, firing at the surrounding area but causing no reported damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts synchronized daytime patrols in 3 villages nr. Jenin, making no arrests; conducts latenight arrest raids, house searches in alFara‘a r.c. nr. Tubas, Hebron, and Tulkarm (twice). Jewish settlers fr. Etzion settlement nr. Hebron pump wastewater onto nearby Palestinian lands (polluting 50 d. of arable land) and confiscate a bulldozer from a Palestinian working on land nearby (also taking his cell phone and ID card). (PCHR 10/21; OCHA 10/22)

IDF troops on the s. Gaza border fire on armed Palestinians laying a roadside bomb nr. the border fence e. of Khan Yunis. When Palestinians return fire, the troops enter the Strip in pursuit, triggering at least 1 buried device and drawing Palestinian mortar fire, which prompts the IDF to move several tanks and armed bulldozers into Gaza, shelling areas outside Khan Yunis. The exchange leaves 2 armed Palestinians, 1 Palestinian bystander, and 2 IDF soldiers dead and 3 IDF soldiers and 6 Palestinians (including at least 2 civilians, one a 13-yr.-old boy) wounded, marking the 1st deadly exchange of fire in Gaza since OCL ended on 1/18/09. The al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, Islamic Jihad, and a group calling itself Palestinian Taliban (believed to be a radical Salafist splinter group opposed to Hamas) claim their fighters were involved in the initial border incident; the Izzedin al-Qassam Brigades claims responsibility for ambushing and firing mortars at IDF troops once they entered Gaza, causing the IDF casualties. In the West Bank, the IDF fires rubber-coated steel bullets, stun grenades, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, and international activists taking part in weekly demonstrations against the separation wall and settlement expansion in Bil‘in (10s suffer tear gas inhalation; 1 Israeli is arrested), Dayr Nizam/al-Nabi Salih (2 Palestinians injured), and Ni‘lin (10s suffer tear gas inhalation). (JP 3/27; WP 3/28; OCHA, PCHR 4/1; PCHR 4/8)

In the West Bank, the IDF raids a house in al-Mukabir belonging to the family of construction worker Hussam Dweikat (shot dead on 7/2/08 when he deliberately rammed his bulldozer into a crowd in West Jerusalem), harasses family mbrs., and threatens to arrest Dweikat’s father because the family had rebuilt part of the house demolished by the IDF in reprisal for the 7/08 attack; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Nablus. After mediation by UN agencies, the PA in Ramallah and Hamas authorities in Gaza reach an understanding regarding control of the Referrals Abroad Dept. (see 3/22) allowing normal operations to resume; the World Health Organization estimates that at least 3 patients (and as many as 8) died while waiting for referral documents authorizing their treatment abroad. A military court in Gaza sentences 4 Palestinians to death and 3 Palestinians to life with hard labor in the 7/06 death of an Islamic University prof. during interfactional fighting; only 1 of those convicted is currently held by Hamas police; the others escaped when the IDF bombed Gaza’s central prison on 12/28/08, at the opening of OCL. (OCHA, PCHR 4/29) 

The IDF imposes a general closure on the West Bank through 4/18 for the Passover holiday, barring all West Bank Palestinian access to East Jerusalem and Israel. Israeli police fatally shoot East Jerusalem Palestinian Iyad Awaysat when he allegedly attempts to run over 3 officers guarding workers partially demolishing the East Jerusalem home of a Palestinian who killed 3 Israelis with a bulldozer in West Jerusalem in 7/08; the shooting (protested by Palestinian witnesses who say Awaysat was only speeding) and demolition spark stone-throwing by some 50 Palestinians against Israeli border police who fire tear gas to disperse them, causing no serious injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in ‘Askar r.c., Balata r.c., al-Fara‘a r.c., and Nablus for a 2d night, as well as nr. Tulkarm. (NYT, OCHA, WP, WT 4/8; PCHR, WJW 4/9)

Overnight, the IDF makes an air strike on Islamic Jihad mbrs. operating nr. the Gaza border fence e. of al-Maghazi r.c. who fire 2 rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) at the Kissufim IDF base inside Israel (causing no injuries), killing 3 Islamic Jihad mbrs., wounding 1. Palestinians fire several rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, damaging a synagogue in Netivot, but causing no injuries. In the afternoon and late evening, the IDF makes at least 9 air strikes on the Rafah border, causing no injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF sends troops into Bil‘in village during the day, firing toward stone-throwing youths who confront them, causing no reported injuries; conducts evening arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem; conducts similar late-night operations in ‘Aqabat Jabir r.c. nr. Jericho and nr. Jenin. In Jerusalem, a Palestinian construction worker in a bulldozer rams and flips a police car, pushing it into an empty bus, injuring 2 police officers, before police and bystanders shoot him dead; Israel considers it a terrorist attack, though the man apparently acted on his own. Jewish settlers fr. Matityahu settlement nr. Ramallah burn a Palestinian home. (NYT, WP 3/6; OCHA 3/10, 3/11; PCHR 3/12)

In the West Bank, the IDF raids and searches homes nr. Jenin but makes no arrests; fires rubber-coated steel bullets, 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). Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba and a nearby unauthorized outpost in Wadi al-Nassara attack Palestinian homes for a 2d day, causing damage but no reported injuries. Jewish settlers with a bulldozer occupy and level a plot of Palestinian land s. of Bethlehem; the IDF removes the settlers. Jewish settlers fr. Yitzhar nr. Nablus throw a large rock at a passing Palestinian car, seriously injuring a Palestinian woman and lightly injuring her child; the IDF evacuates the mother to a hospital in Israel. In Gaza, Hamas-affiliated police detain several senior Fatah officials in what Hamas calls a response to Fatah’s detention of West Bank Hamas loyalists on 7/28. Egyptian border police demolish a smuggling tunnel on the Rafah border, suffocating 5 Palestinians. (NYT 8/2; OCHA 8/6; PCHR 8/7; 8/13)

Copying the 7/2 attack in Jerusalem, Palestinian construction worker Ghassan Abu Teir (a resident of Jerusalem with no political affiliation) steals a bulldozer and careens down a busy Jerusalem street, ramming cars and a bus, injuring 16 people before being shot dead by an armed Israeli driver. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night house searches in and around Jenin town and r.c., Nablus, and nr. Tulkarm. (NYT, OCHA, WP, WT 7/23; PCHR 7/24)

Palestinian construction worker Hussam Dweikat (who has Israeli residency status in East Jerusalem) commandeers a Caterpillar bulldozer (symbolic, as the IDF uses Caterpillar D9 bulldozers to level Palestinian homes and land in the occupied territories) from the Jerusalem construction site where he works, plows through midday traffic in West Jerusalem’s business district, overturning a bus, running over at least 2 cars, killing 3 Israelis, injuring more than 40 before a police officer fatally shoots him. Israeli officials believe Dweikat acted alone. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Bethlehem, in Tubas, and nr. Jenin, Nablus (also raiding a mosque and its library, taking computers, documents, books), Ramallah. Jewish settlers fr. Massu’a in the Jordan Valley attempt to fence off and confiscate a plot of land in Jiftlik village, but the Palestinian owners drive them away. Palestinian youths stone a Jewish settler bus nr. Ramallah, causing damage but no injuries. In Gaza, 1,000s of Palestinians storm the Rafah crossing, demanding entry to Egypt and throwing stones at Egyptian security forces, who respond by pushing the crowd back with water cannons and tear gas; Hamas-affiliated police bring the situation under control. Hamas-affiliated police launch a campaign to removed small shops and huts erected along the Gaza shoreline without municipal permission. Nr. Shuka, 2 Palestinian teenagers are injured when they accidentally trigger IDF unexploded ordnance (UXO). (AP, BBC, HA, IFM, Israel Radio, MA, MM, PCHR, REU, YA 7/2; NYT, WP, WT 7/3; MM, WP 7/4; OCHA 7/9; PCHR 7/10)

The Israeli High Court rejects a petition by human rights groups challenging the legality of fuel cuts to Gaza on the grounds that Israel, as occupier, is not meeting is obligations to Gazans. Overnight in Gaza, the IDF sends troops, bulldozers into Khan Yunis to search homes and offices, demolish 3 Palestinian homes, bulldoze 7 d. of land; troops also fire on residential areas, wounding 1 Palestinian. During the day, the IDF fires a missile from a drone, hitting a Palestinian house in Khan Yunis, killing a 4-yr.-old Palestinian girl, injuring her mother. Hamas mbrs. fire 3 mortars into Israel, hitting a factory in Nir Oz, killing 1 Israeli, wounding 2. Late in the evening, the IDF makes an air strike on a Palestinian police station nr. Bayt Lahiya, destroying the building, wounding 2 police officers, 3 children nearby (ages 1, 6, 13); makes an air strike on a workshop in Gaza City, causing damage but no injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts morning arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron, firing on stone-throwing youths who confront them, wounding 4 Palestinians (including 2 women, 1 child who were bystanders); conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron. In Hebron, mbrs. of disputing Palestinian clans exchange fire in an area nr. a Jewish settlement; IDF soldiers protecting the settlement fire on the group, killing 1 Palestinian, wounding 2. Also in Hebron, Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba attack and vandalize nearby Palestinian homes, beating a Palestinian teenager. In Gaza, a bomb explodes outside the home of Hamas’s Gaza security chief Said Siyam, causing damage but no injuries. (NYT, WP, WT 6/6; OCHA 6/11; PCHR 6/12)

In Gaza, the IDF sends tanks, armored vehicles, bulldozers, and helicopters into Bayt Hanun, exchanging fire with local armed men and making air strikes on residential areas, leaving a total of 8 Palestinians dead, 17 Palestinians and 1 IDF soldier wounded; most casualties are the result of a missile that hits a home, killing a Palestinian woman, 4 of her children (ages 18 mos. to 5 yrs.), an unrelated teenager, and wounding 10 bystanders (including 2 more of the woman’s children). Palestinians fire 7 rockets, 9 mortars fr. Gaza into Israel, causing light damage but no injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF raids and searches a car repair shop in Hebron, confiscating 3 cars; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus and Tulkarm, in Qalqilya, and nr. Hebron. As Israel begins preparations to move its Jerusalem police headquarters from the predominantly Arab neighborhood of Ras al-Amud to the controversial new E-1 site in occupied East Jerusalem, police officials sign an agmt. giving a right-wing Jewish settler group the right to occupy the vacant Ras al-Amud building, which will serve as the nucleus of a new Jewish settlement; the settlers have already filed with the Jerusalem Planning Comm. to construct 110 housing units on the site. In addition, the Israeli High Court rejects a petition by Palestinians in al-‘Aqaba village nr. Tubas seeking repeal of an IDF order for the demolition of 60% of the village’s homes and confiscation of all but 100 d. of the village 3,000 d. of land, supporting the IDF’s position that the land is “strategically important” to the military. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba vandalize Palestinian homes and cars in Hebron. (HA, IFM, PCHR 4/28; NYT, WP, WT 4/29; OCHA, PCHR 4/30)

The IDF makes an air strike on a car in Bayt Lahiya, assassinating PRC cmdr. Raed Abu al-Ful, also killing a Palestinian woman traveling with him; makes an air strike on another car in Bayt Lahiya carrying suspected militants, missing the car, killing a Palestinian woman and child nearby, seriously wounding 6 bystanders (including 3 children); makes an air strike on Gaza City, killing 2 Hamas mbrs., wounding 4; fires on unarmed Palestinians who stray nr. the border fence e. of Dayr al-Balah, wounding 1; sends tanks, a bulldozer into Gaza to level land nr. al-Maghazi r.c. and nearby alMusaddar. Palestinians fire about 40 rockets fr. Gaza toward Israel, half of which land inside Israel, hitting 2 houses, damaging a road, lightly injuring 4 Israelis. Olmert vows to wage “war” on Gaza to stop rocket attacks, orders Gaza’s crossing sealed completely for several days to punish Gazans. The PA warns that escalated IDF offensives in Gaza jeopardize peace talks. In the West Bank, the IDF sends undercover units into Balata r.c. nr. Nablus, where they surround and fire on a Palestinian home (wounding a 3-yr.-old boy), sparking an exchange of gunfire that leaves 1 wanted Palestinian dead, another wounded, 4 Palestinians under arrest; sends undercover units into Tulkarm, detaining 25 Palestinians; conducts additional arrest raids, house searches in villages nr. Tulkarm, Hebron, Ramallah; sends troops into al-Bireh and Jenin to set up roadblocks and conduct ID checks, making no arrests; patrols in ‘Aqaba nr. Tubas. An AMB mbr. wounded in a 1/15 IDF missile strike dies. (NYT, WP 1/18; NYT, PCHR 1/19; OCHA 1/23; PCHR 1/24)

In Gaza, the IDF sends tanks, a bulldozer into the Gaza airport site, exchanging heavy fire (heavy machine guns, mortars) with Hamas mbrs., causing no reported injuries; occupies a strip of land in the al-Hawouz area northeast of Bayt Lahiya. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in Mas’ha nr. Salfit, firing percussion grenades and live ammunition in residential areas, causing no reported injuries; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Jenin, Nablus; begins bulldozing confiscated land nr. Salfit for the expansion of the Burkin industrial zone; fires rubber-coated steel bullets, percussion grenades, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, international activists taking part in nonviolent demonstrations against the separation wall in Bil‘in (injuring 5, including a journalist covering the demonstration) and al-Ma‘sara nr. Bethlehem (lightly injuring 3). Hamas, Islamic Jihad mbrs. exchange fire in Khan Yunis’s al-Rihab Mosque, wounding 3 Palestinians, after Hamas allegedly attempts to seize control of the building. (OCHA 10/24; PCHR 10/25)

In Gaza, the IDF sends bulldozers into the Qarni industrial zone to erect sand berms; Palestinians fire anti-tank missiles at the troops, who respond with heavy machine gun fire; no injuries are reported. The IDF also sends troops into al-Qarara nr. Khan Yunis, where they exchange fire with local Palestinians, causing no reported injuries. The IDF, armed Palestinians trade machine gun and mortar fire across the border e. of al-Maghazi, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF ambushes, arrests 3 Palestinians driving in Birzeit nr. Ramallah (their political affiliation is not reported); conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron and in Qalqilya, Qabatya nr. Jenin. (OCHA 10/10; PCHR 10/11)

Israelseals its borders with the occupied territories until 10/6 to mark 3 minor Jewish holidays. The IDF makes an air strike on Rafah, assassinating Hamas mbr. Muhammad Hassan, wounding a 2d Hamas mbr.; sends tanks, bulldozers in to al-Fakhari nr. Khan Yunis, leveling agricultural land, firing on residential areas, killing 1 unarmed Palestinian; sends tanks, a bulldozer into Gaza e. of Rafah to level land, clashing with local gunmen, causing no reported injuries; fires a surface-to-surface missile into Gaza at a group of armed men nr. Bayt Hanun, missing them, causing no reported damage; sends troops into s. Gaza to arrest 2 Palestinian farmers nr. al-Maghazi r.c. On the Rafah border, 2 Hamas mbrs. are killed when a smuggling tunnel collapses. In the West Bank, the IDF shoots, wounds 2 Palestinian children in Hebron with live ammunition, mistaking a toy for a gun; fires on residential areas of ‘Azun nr. Qalqilya, wounding a 14-yr.-old Palestinian boy; fires on stone-throwing youths in Bil‘in, wounding a 9-yr.-old Palestinian boy, detaining 2 teens. In Rafah, unidentified assailants detonate an explosive device outside the Rafah municipal headquarters, causing no serious damage or injuries. (NYT, PCHR 10/4; OCHA 10/10; PCHR 10/11)

Overnight, the IDF escalates operations in Gaza allegedly targeting rocket-launching sites, sending tanks, bulldozers, undercover units into areas of central Gaza, demolishing 14 Palestinian homes, leveling 90 d. of olive groves, killing 4 Palestinians (1 armed man and 2 civilians, including 1 teenager who is hit by shrapnel from a tank, then run over by an IDF bulldozer), arresting 20. The IDF continues operations in al-Shuka, arresting 20 Palestinians, partially demolishing 3 Palestinian homes, and bulldozing 11 d. of agricultural land before withdrawing in the evening. The Israeli navy fires on Palestinian fishing boats off the Rafah coast, forcing them back to shore. In Nussayrat r.c., IDF UXO explodes, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF continues operations in ‘Ayn Bayt al-Ma’a r.c., demolishing 2 Palestinian homes and 1 other building, firing on stone-throwing Palestinians who confront them, wounding 12; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Qalqilya, nr. Nablus. Meanwhile, in Gaza, Haniyeh meets again (see 9/18) with Islamic Jihad and other faction leaders to urge a halt to rocket fire on Israel; no agmt. is reached. (NYT, WP 9/21; OCHA 9/26; PCHR 9/27)

In Gaza, the IDF fatally shoots 2 armed Palestinians on the border nr. Jabaliya; sends troops into al-Shuka nr. Rafah to bulldoze 6 d. of agricultural land nr. the Gaza airport; bulldozes Palestinian land along the border fence n. of Bayt Lahiya. In the West Bank, the IDF sends undercover units into Sa‘ida nr. Tulkarm to raid 2 Palestinian homes, mortally shooting Islamic Jihad cmdr. Tariq Milhem in an exchange of fire, allowing him to bleed to death over 2 hrs., also fatally shooting his 11-yr.-old brother, wounding 2 other family mbrs. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in, fires on residential areas of Balata r.c. nr. Nablus, wounding 1 Palestinian woman; conducts house searches in ‘Ayn Bayt al-Ma’a; 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, injuring 2. Jewish settlers fire on a Palestinian wedding party nr. Nablus, wounding 2 Palestinians. Jewish settlers in Hebron assault an 11-yr.-old Palestinian boy riding his bike, breaking his arm. Meanwhile, 500 Fatah mbrs. hold an unauthorized protest against the Hamas-led government outside the main security headquarters in Gaza City, throwing stones at ESF officers guarding the building, who fire into the air and beat back the demonstrators, injuring 15. Separately in Gaza City, ESF officers raid a wedding to halt celebratory gunfire, scuffling with guests, beating and injuring 1 Palestinian. (WT 8/25; OCHA 8/29; PCHR 8/30)

Under a temporary cease-fire brokered by the Palestinian Clerics Association btwn. the Lebanese army and Fatah alIslam (FI) militants who have been fighting in and around the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Barid nr. Tripoli since 5/07, army soldiers escort the remaining families of FI mbrs. (22 women, 41 children) out of the r.c. in anticipation of a final assault. The army estimates that 70 FI mbrs. are left in the camp and are refusing to surrender. (NYT, WT 8/25)

The IDF ends operations nr. Bayt Lahiya begun on 7/31, withdrawing troops into an abandoned settlement site on the n. Gaza border; sends tanks and bulldozer, supported by helicopters, into the Rafah airport area to level land (Islamic Jihad mbrs. fire a mortar at troops, causing no injuries). In the West Bank, the IDF patrols, searches houses in Nablus. A Jewish settler fr. Gilad nr. Nablus beats a Palestinian man. (OCHA 8/8; PCHR 8/9)

The IDF launches a major day-long incursion (including infantry, tanks, bulldozers, air support) into areas of Gaza e. of al-Bureij r.c. and al-Maghazi r.c. to “root out terrorist infrastructures,” sparking heavy clashes with local Palestinians and calling in air strikes in support; 11 Palestinian gunmen are killed (including at least 7 Hamas mbrs., 1 Islamic Jihad mbr.), 2 IDF soldiers and 25 Palestinians are wounded, 1 home is demolished, 80 d. of olive trees and agricultural land are bulldozed, 1 Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance is confiscated by the IDF, and at least 9 of about 70 Palestinians interrogated by troops are sent to Israel for further questioning. (Among the Palestinians wounded is an al-Aqsa TV cameraman, who is repeatedly shot at close range as he lies prone after initially being wounded, leaving him a double amputee; an IDF official speaking anonymously states that al-Aqsa TV employees should not be considered bona fide journalists but “Hamas operatives in every respect,” alleging that they gather intelligence and document attacks on Israeli forces for Hamas.) Islamic Jihad fires 2 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel during the clashes, causing no damage or injuries. The PRC also fires 2 rockets fr. Rafah toward Kerem Shalom crossing; 1 explodes on the launcher, injuring 1 PRC mbr., while the other lands inside Gaza, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Tulkarm town and r.c., nr. Qalqilya, and in Jenin town and r.c., Nablus, Tubas. In keeping with a decree issued by PA PM Fayyad earlier in the wk. changing the official weekend from Thursday/Friday to Friday/Saturday, Fatah-affiliated PA employees in Gaza attempt to go their workplaces today (Thursday) but are blocked by ESF officers who force the ministries to stay closed; Fatah civil servants pledge not to work on Saturday, in keeping with the decree and as a protest against Haniyeh’s provisional government. In Gaza City, 2,000 Palestinians hold a peaceful demonstration calling on Fatah, Hamas to work together. A PSF officer dies of injuries received in interfactional clashes in Jabaliya on 6/11. (NYT, WP, WT 7/6; NYT 7/7; WP 7/8; OCHA 7/11; PCHR 7/12)

The IDF makes 7 air strikes on Gaza, targeting 2 Hamas rocket-launching sites in n. Gaza, killing 3 Palestinian shepherds, 1 Palestinian child; hitting a car driving in Gaza City, assassinating Hamas’s Muhiy al-Din al-Sirhi, also killing 2 civilians traveling with him; destroying the Gaza City home of Hamas mbr. Imad Dallul in an apparent assassination attempt, wounding him and 3 other Hamas mbrs.; destroying 4 alleged weapons factories in Bayt Hanun, Bayt Lahiya, and Nussayrat r.c., damaging nearby homes. The IDF also shells residential areas in Bayt Hanun, injuring a Palestinian woman, 4 children. In Gaza City, 3 Palestinians are injured by IDF UXO; 3 Hamas mbrs. are injured when explosives they are handling detonate prematurely. Hamas fires an RPG at an IDF bulldozer leveling land along the Gaza border fence, injuring 2 IDF soldiers; fires 5 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, starting a brush fire but causing no injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in, fires on residential areas of Nablus. Jewish settlers fr. Tel Rumeida in Hebron beat 2 international peace activists escorting Palestinian children nr. Beit Hadasah settlement. Jewish settlers fr. Itamar nr. Nablus burn Palestinian olive trees in nearby Bayt Furik. Meanwhile, at least 6 Palestinians are wounded in factional fighting in Gaza that includes a gun fight btwn. ESF and NSF mbrs. in Gaza City, a Hamas attack on a PSF base in Rafah, and Fatah’s kidnapping and malicious wounding of 2 Hamas mbrs. in Gaza City. NSF officers manning several checkpoints reportedly harass observant Muslims, ordering women to remove their head coverings and arresting bearded men on suspicion of being Hamas mbrs., raising public outrage against Fatah. Another Egyptian-brokered cease-fire (involving 3 phone conversations btwn. Abbas, Damascus-based Hamas leader Khalid Mishal) that was to go into effect at 3:00 P.M. local time is ignored by Hamas and Fatah. (NYT, WP 5/20; PCHR 5/21; OCHA 5/23; PCHR 5/24)

The IDF fires on Palestinian farmers who stray nr. the Gaza border fence nr. Qarni crossing, wounding 2 (including a 92-yr.- old man); sends troops, dogs into Shuka village nr. Rafah to conduct late-night arrest raids, house searches; sends a bulldozer, tank into Gaza to level land along the border fence nr. Bayt Lahiya. In the West Bank, the IDF demolishes the home of a wanted Palestinian nr. Bethlehem; conducts latenight arrest raids, house searches in Qabatya, Tulkarm and nr. Hebron, Jenin; issues a military order confiscating 369 d. of land nr. Qalqilya, 338 d. of Palestinian land nr. Tubas for “security purposes.” (NYT, PCHR, PLONAD, WP, WT 5/10; AHR 5/14; OCHA 5/16; PCHR 5/17)

Palestinians detonate a roadside bomb nr. an IDF bulldozer operating inside Gaza nr. Sufa crossing, causing no injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Jenin r.c., in Nablus, nr. Bethlehem; fires rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas, percussion grenades at 10s of Palestinians, as well as Israeli and international activists taking part in the weekly nonviolent demonstration against the separation wall in Bil‘in, injuring 15. In Nablus, 2 Palestinians are injured when they accidentally trigger unexploded IDF ordnance. (OCHA 3/7; PCHR 3/8)

The IDF sends a bulldozer, 3 tanks 300 m. into Gaza northeast of Bayt Lahiya to level land, withdraws the troops later in the day. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus, nr. Hebron and Tulkarm, and in Beitunia (arresting a PA Military Intelligence officer), Bethlehem, Kafr Qalil. A PA General Intelligence officer, a Hamas mbr. die of injuries received earlier in intra-Palestinian clashes in Jabaliya r.c. (OCHA 2/7; PCHR 2/8)

The IDF sends tanks, bulldozers into al-Qarara nr. Khan Yunis to bulldoze land, marking the IDF’s 1st such incident since the 11/26 Gaza cease-fire when into effect. IDF troops on the Gaza border shoot, wound a Palestinian farmer working his land nr. the border fence outside Bayt Lahiya. In the West Bank, the IDF sends undercover units into Bethlehem to arrest PA intelligence officer Muhammad Salahat, no explanation is given; patrols in Jenin, Tulkarm town and r.c. (firing on residential areas, causing no injuries); conducts arrest raids, house searches in Balata r.c., in and around Hebron. In Gaza, suspected Fatah gunmen open fire on Hamas-affiliated Interior M Said Siyam’s convoy in an apparent assassination attempt, causing no injuries. (NYT, WP 12/12; OCHA 12/13; PCHR 12/14)

In Gaza, the IDF launches an air strike on Gaza City, damaging a workshop, several houses. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searched in al-Fawar r.c. and Jenin town and r.c., and nr. Bethlehem, Nablus. Jewish settlers fr. Suissa bulldoze 5 d. of Palestinian land nearby the settlement. (OCHA 11/15; PCHR 11/16)

Before dawn, 8 Palestinian gunmen dressed in IDF uniforms sneak across the s. Gaza border into Israel using a tunnel, attack an IDF border post nr. Kerem Shalom with grenades, rifles, antitank rockets, killing 2 IDF soldiers, wounding 4, capturing 1 (IDF soldier Cpl. Gilad Shalit, apparently wounded in the exchange) in what they call Operation Dispel Illusion; 2 Palestinian gunmen are killed by retaliatory fire; the IDF sends tanks, bulldozers a half-mile inside Gaza to search for the captured soldier, the tunnel; several groups including Hamas’s Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades, the PRCs, and a previously unknown group, the Army of Islam, jointly claim the attack as retaliation for the IDF’s 6/8 Abu Samhadana assassination; Abbas, some Hamas political leaders call for the captured IDF soldier’s immediate release. In response, Israel shuts all crossings into Gaza (including forcing the closing of the Rafah crossing by barring EU monitors fr. entering Gaza through Kerem Shalom, leaving as many as 3,000 Palestinians stranded on the border inside Egypt, and some 400 medical patients awaiting treatment abroad stranded on the Gaza side); shuts off fuel supplies to Gaza; bars Palestinian fishermen fr. going out to sea; tightens restrictions on Palestinian movement at checkpoints and roadblocks across the West Bank. During the day, the IDF also conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus (firing on a clearly marked al-Jazeera TV vehicle, causing damage but no injuries), and nr. Hebron, Jenin (firing on stone-throwing youths who confront the troops, wounding 2), Qalqilya. (AFP, HA, IFM, YA 6/25; MENA, OSC, VOI 6/25 in WNC 6/26; AFP, AP, CSM, JP, MM, NYT, WP, WT, YA 6/26; WT 6/27; NYT, OCHA 6/28; PCHR 6/29; NYT 7/8)