The Palestine Chronology

As gestures to the PA, Israel announces a halt to deporting families of West Bank Palestinian militants to Gaza; releases 34 Palestinian prisoners, including senior Gaza PSF official Sulayman Abu Mutlak, who was arrested in early 5/03 and is freed for lack of evidence. Overnight, Palestinians fire an antitank rocket at Kefar Darom, wounding 4 Jewish settlers; the Palestinian resistance comms. (PRCs) and a Rafah-based Fatah offshoot called Abu Rish, neither of which agreed to the cease-fire, claim responsibility; meanwhile, the PSF arrests 4 PRC mbrs., an AMB mbr. in connection with the attack; the IDF shuts Gaza’s main north–south road for 6 hrs. to search for the assailants, without success. Abbas condemns the rocket attack and the 6/30 fatal shooting of a Bulgarian worker as “acts of sabotage.” The PSF also arrests 2 Palestinians in Khan Yunis on charges of firing mortars at Gush Katif on 7/1. The IDF raids Qalqilya, arresting local AMB head Ibrahim Mansur, fatally shooting his aide Mahmud Shawar (reportedly 1st wounding him in the leg, then executing him with gunshots to the head); the AMB vows to respond within 24 hrs. The IDF also imposes a curfew on, conducts arrest raids in Tulkarm; fires on Palestinians waiting to cross a Khan Yunis checkpoint, wounding 1; bulldozes 8 dunams of Palestinian land nr. Dayr al-Balah. Sharon authorizes Israeli police to crack down on crime among bedouin in s. Israel. (HA, MM 7/3; MA, VOI 7/3, AYM 7/5 in WNC 7/10; NYT, WP, WT 7/4; NYT 7/6; MM 7/8; PR 7/9; PCHR 7/10)

The IDF fires on stone-throwing Palestinians in Askar r.c., Balata r.c.; demolishes 2 Palestinian homes in Rafah, 1 in Issawiyya; bulldozes 26 dunams of land in Rafah; conducts arrest raids in Dahaysha r.c., Nablus, Qabatiyya, Qalqilya, Tulkarm; searches homes in Dayr al-Balah, occupying 1 as an IDF post; conducts arrest raids in Hebron, Ramallah. Palestinians reportedly fire an antitank missile at an IDF post in Gaza, injuring 1 soldier, a civilian worker; fire 3 mortars at Gush Katif, causing no damage or injuries. IDF F-16s break the sound barrier over the Gaza Strip throughout the day. Late in the evening, at least 1 Palestinian gunman fires on an Israeli vehicle just inside the Israeli border nr. Qalqilya, killing a 7-yr.-old Israeli girl, wounding 3; the AMB, PFLP-GC each claim responsibility. Israeli police detain Mufti of Jerusalem Ikrima Sabri for questioning as part of the investigation into whether the Islamic Movement laundered money for Hamas. The IDF says it has drawn up a list of another 19 unauthorized outposts to be dismantled; of the original list, 10 uninhabited outposts have been removed, while 5 inhabited ones are slated for removal in the next few days. (AFP, AP, HA, HP 6/17; VOI, YA 6/17 in WNC 6/19; HA, MM, NYT, PR, WP, WT 6/18; HA, LAW, NYT, PCHR 6/19; JPI 6/27)

The IDF dismantles 5 unauthorized settlement outposts (all of them uninhabited), announces plans to remove another 9 (only 4 of them inhabited); more than 100 Jewish settlers try to bar soldiers fr. removing a water tower at 1 unpopulated site. Meanwhile, the IDF demolishes 13 Palestinian homes in Bayt Hanun, 1 in the Old City of Hebron; fatally shoots 2 Palestinians allegedly attempting to infiltrate Netzarim settlement; fires on residential areas of Bayt Hanun; raids, imposes a curfew on Tulkarm; conducts arrest raids in Balata r.c., Dayr al-Balah. Jewish settlers harass Palestinians in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Shaykh Jarrah. Israeli police round up 1,370 Palestinians laborers working inside Israel without permits. (HP 6/9; XIN 6/9 in WNC 6/12; NYT, WP, WT 6/10; PR 6/11; JP 6/11 in WNC 6/13; LAW, PCHR 6/12)

A Palestinian suicide bomber fr. Balata r.c. detonates a device at the Kfar Saba railway station in Israel, killing 1 Israeli security guard, injuring 13 Israelis. A statement faxed to Reuters claims the AMB carried out the act with the help of the PFLP, but AMB’s chief spokesman denies this, saying the attack was staged by Nablus breakaway faction of the AMB (see 4/10). Israel says it will not stage a massive retaliation in response. The IDF fires on stone-throwing Palestinian youths in Qarawat Bani Zayt, killing 2 Palestinians; fires on an elementary school in Qalqilya, injuring 3 students, 1 teacher; shells residential areas of Rafah; bulldozes nearly 300 dunams of land in Bayt Hanun, 34 dunams in Rafah; conducts arrest raids in Bethlehem (targeting Hamas), al-Qarara, Tulkarm. Jewish settlers fr. Mitzpeh Yeriho seize a hilltop nr. Jericho as a new outpost, called Givat Haherut (Liberty Hill), to “prevent invasion” of the area by bedouin shepherds; Israeli police urge the settlers to evacuate the site but leave when they refuse. (HA, LAW, MM 4/24; AFP, ITAR-TASS 4/24 in WNC 4/25; NYT, WP, WT 4/25; al-Quds, VOI 4/25 in WNC 4/28; PR 4/30; LAW, PCHR, WJW 5/1; MEI 5/2)

As the U.S.’s 48-hr. deadline for Hussein to leave Iraq draws near, Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, fearing Israel will step up attacks and impose stiff closures and curfews as soon as war on Iraq begins, close schools and businesses, hoard provisions, stay inside. Israel extends the closure on the territories (imposed 3/17 for Purim) until 3/30. The IDF demolishes a Palestinian home in Dayr al-Balah; conducts arrest raids in Jenin, al-Maghazi r.c., Qalqilya, Tulkarm. AMB gunmen ambush, fatally shoot a Jewish settler driving nr. Jenin. Israeli police arrest 3 Israeli Arabs fr. Acre on suspicion of joining Islamic Jihad, plotting attacks on Israelis. (AFP, JTA 3/19; HA, NYT, PCHR 3/20; PCHR 3/27; HA 4/3)

Abbas accepts Arafat’s nomination as PM, is given 3 wks. to form a government. (HA, MM 3/19; AYM, Interfax 3/19 in WNC 3/20; HA, NYT, WP 3/20; AYM 3/25, al-Quds 3/27 in WNC 3/28)

Just 90 mins. after the U.S. deadline passes for Hussein to leave Iraq, the U.S. makes a single strike on Baghdad, acting on intelligence of where Hussein, his top officials and sons could be found, assassinated. The strike marks the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom, but not the start of the “shock and awe” air campaign that the U.S. previously indicated would launch the war. Iraqi TV airs 2 videos of Hussein that suggest he was unharmed. (MM 3/19; HA, MM, NYT, WP, WT 3/20; MM 4/21)

The IDF fatally shoots a “suspicious” Palestinian nr. Tulkarm; fires on residential areas of Rafah; conducts arrest raids in Bayt Furik, al-Til. In a joint AMB-PFLP operation, 2 Palestinian gunmen attack an IDF post nr. Nablus, killing 2 IDF soldiers, wounding 1 before being shot dead. An Israeli Arab stabs, lightly injures an Israeli policeman in n. Israel before being shot dead by another officer. Based on information fr. the IDF interrogation of 2 Islamic Jihad mbrs. capture in the West Bank today, Israeli police find an explosive belt in the washroom of a mosque in the Israeli-Arab town of Taibeh, which they remove and detonate. (MM, REU 2/6; VOI 2/6 in WNC 2/7; NYT, WP 2/7; HA, NYT 2/8; PR 2/12; PCHR 2/20)

Following up on the Sharon-Qurai` talks on 2/5, PA Interior M Hani al-Hassan meets secretly with Sharon chief of staff Dov Weisglass at the home of U.S. Amb. to Israel Dan Kurtzer to discuss possible resumption of Israeli-PA cease-fire talks. (HA, MM 2/10; JT, QA, al-Quds, SA 2/10 in WNC 2/11; HA, MM 2/11; PR 2/12; MEI 2/21)