The Palestine Chronology

The IDF makes an air strike on Gaza City, targeting a car carrying PRC mbrs., hitting another car instead, killing 3 Palestinian civilians (including a 5-yr.-old boy), wounding other bystanders; makes an air strike on a car nr. al-Bureij r.c., assassinating PRC mbrs. Wa’il Ahil and Muhammad Safadi, wounding 1 bystander; fires a missile across the border at PRC mbrs. nr. Jabaliya r.c., seriously wounding 2; for unknown reasons makes an air strike on a tract of agricultural land (exact location not reported), wounding a 65-yr.-old Palestinian man. Palestinians fire 50 rockets and mortars fr. Gaza toward Israel; 19 land inside Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF evicts 5 bedouin families (30 Palestinians) living nr. Jerusalem; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron, in Silwad nr. Ramallah, nr. Tulkarm; patrols in, fires on residential areas of Nablus; evacuates 2 unauthorized settlement outposts, removing 20 settlers; fires rubber-coated steel bullets at demonstrators in Hebron protesting IDF attacks on Gaza, wounding 4. Jewish settlers fr. Keddumim stone Palestinian vehicles traveling on Road 55 nr. Qalqilya, damaging 2. (PCHR, WP 1/17; PCHR 1/19; OCHA 1/23; PCHR 1/24)

In Gaza, the IDF sends tanks and bulldozers, supported by air craft, into al-Bureij r.c., clashing with local gunmen, killing 4 Palestinians (including at least 3 civilians), wounding at least 40 (including at least 3 women, 15 children, 15 gunmen), detaining 60 for questioning, demolishing 1 Palestinian home, seriously damaging 10 others, bulldozing 90 d. of olive groves and 20 beehives before withdrawing in the afternoon; 5 IDF soldiers are wounded by an antitank missile fired at their vehicle. Palestinians fire 17 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus and Jenin town and r.c., and nr. Hebron. A Palestinian shepherd is killed when he accidentally triggers an IDF landmine in the Jordan Valley. (WP, WT 1/7; OCHA 2/9; PCHR 1/10)

IDF troops on the Gaza border e. of al-Bureij r.c. fire on Hamas mbrs. along the border fence, killing 1 Hamas mbr., then fire on Palestinians who attempt to evacuate his body, wounding 2 civilians; fatally shoot an unarmed Palestinian who strays nr. the border fence nr. Bayt Hanun. The IDF also sends tanks, armored vehicles, bulldozers into the Erez industrial zone and into Gaza nr. the Kerem Shalom crossing to level land. In the West Bank, the IDF raids, searches a school in Hebron, making no arrests; conducts arrest raids, house searches in al-Arub r.c. and nr. Hebron, Tulkarm. Israel’s Internal Security Min. bans the East Jerusalem–based National Commission Against Social Problems fr. holding its annual mtg. on the grounds that it is affiliated with the PA, which is barred fr. conducting official business in the city. Jewish settlers fr. Efrat and El Azara set fire to a 700-yr.-old mosque in nearby al-Khadir. Jewish settlers place 2 mobile homes on Palestinian land in Bil‘in that the Israeli High Court ruled on 9/4/07 should be returned to the village, attack local Palestinians who attempt to stage a sit-in to block them; Israeli police remove the settlers. In Gaza, Fatah-Hamas clashes continue overnight, leaving at least another 3 Palestinians dead and 30 injured. In Nablus, unidentified gunmen fire on the car of a Hamas-affiliated municipal official, wounding his wife. (REU 1/1; NYT, OCHA, WT 1/2; PCHR 1/3)

The IDF sends tanks, bulldozers into c. Gaza to level land along the border nr. Abu al-Ajin. Islamic Jihad mbr. Ibrahim al-Louh, injured in the 12/27 IDF assassination of central Gaza cmdr. Murshud, dies. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in Nablus, nr. Bethlehem. A Jewish settler kills a Palestinian in a deliberate hit-and-run nr. Bil‘in. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba vandalize a Palestinian car. Some 500 Islamic Jihad, PRC mbrs. rally at the Rafah crossing to protest its continued closure; PRC mbrs. detonate 2 bombs nr. the border wall, causing no damage or injuries. Hamas-affiliated police fire warning shots at a busload of Islamic Jihad mbrs. who fail to stop at a checkpoint outside al-Bureij r.c., wounding 2 Islamic Jihad mbrs. Hamas-affiliated police raid an area of Rafah to arrest wanted Fatah mbrs., sparking clashes that leave 3 Fatah mbrs., 1 policeman injured. In Khan Yunis, Fatah mbrs. start a brawl with Hamas-affiliated police who remove pro-Fatah banners, leaving 3 Palestinians injured. (OCHA 1/2; PCHR 1/3)

In the West Bank, the IDF fatally shoots the bodyguard for PA chief negotiator Ahmad Qurai‘ during an arrest raid on his Ramallah home, claiming he supplied weapons to Palestinian factions; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Hebron; 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 (lightly injuring 2). Armed Palestinians ambush, fatally shoot 2 offduty IDF soldiers (settlers fr. Kiryat Arba) hiking nr. Hebron; the soldiers manage to fire back, killing 1 Palestinian gunman, wounding 1; 2 others are believed to have escaped; responsibility is claimed jointly by the AMB and Islamic Jihad, and separately by Islamic Jihad and Hamas; the PA immediately denounces the attack. Jewish settlers fr. Gush Etzion nr. Bethlehem, angry over the attack, stone Palestinian vehicles driving nr. the settlement, damaging a taxi. In Gaza City, Hamas-affiliated security forces raid the Fatah-affiliated al-Azhar University, arresting 40 Fatah mbrs., confiscating 100s of banners they are preparing for rallies to mark Fatah’s 43d anniversary; prevent a smaller Fatah anniversary rally fr. being held in Nussayrat r.c. Hamas-affiliated police raid an area of Bayt Hanun to arrest a wanted Fatah mbr.; fire in the air to disperse angry residents who confront them with stones; no injuries are reported. Suspected Fatah mbrs. fire on a Hamas-affiliated internal security detention center in Gaza City, wounding 2 internal security officers. Some 1,000 Hamas supporters hold a rally in al-Bureij r.c. to honor Islamic Jihad’s Abu Hassanian, assassinated on 12/27. (NYT, WP, WT 12/29; WP 12/30; NYT 1/1; OCHA 1/2; PCHR 1/3)

The IDF makes an air strike on a car in central Gaza, assassinating Islamic Jihad’s central Gaza cmdr. Muhammad Abu Murshud, wounding 2 Islamic Jihad mbrs. and 3 bystanders; makes an air strike on a car nr. al-Bureij r.c., assassinating local Islamic Jihad cmdr. Muhammad Ahmad Abu Hassanian, a relative traveling with him, and wounding 6 bystanders (including 2 children). The IDF sends troops and bulldozers into Abasan under cover of artillery fire, clashing with local gunmen, killing 1 Hamas and 2 Islamic Jihad mbrs., wounding 4 bystanders, demolishing 1 Palestinian home, heavily damaging a 2d home, bulldozing several greenhouses, an irrigation network, 20 beehives, and 160 d. of agricultural land. In the West Bank, the IDF sends undercover units in cars with Palestinian license plates into Beitunia nr. Ramallah (where they assassinate PA presidential guard mbr. Mu‘tassim al-Sharif, whom the IDF says is a wanted AMB mbr.), into Jenin r.c. (to arrest a wanted Islamic Jihad mbr.); conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Tulkarm town and r.c. Israelis uproot 10s of Palestinian olive trees located on the western side of the separation wall in the divided village of Dayr al-Asal nr. Hebron. (REU 12/27; NYT, WP 12/28; OCHA 1/2; PCHR 1/3)

Israel rejects Hamas’s latest call (ca. 12/20) via Egypt for a cease-fire, vows to continue “counterterrorist operations” to deter rocket fire. Dep. PM Haim Ramon says Israel’s strategic goal is to overthrow Hamas in Gaza using military and economic pres sure. Islamic Jihad, declaring that it would not adhere to a truce, fires 5 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, damaging 2 commercial buildings but causing no injuries; another rocket lands inside Gaza, damaging a Palestinian home in Bayt Hanun, causing no injuries. Before the 2d post-Annapolis mtg. of the Palestinian and Israeli negotiating teams on 12/24, Olmert’s government reopens the Sufa crossing (closed since 10/28/07) for up to 30 trucks/day, but also seeks Knesset approval for $25 m. to construct 500 settlement housing units in Har Homa in Jerusalem and 240 units in Ma’ale Adumim outside of Jerusalem; it is unclear whether the money is for units already approved for construction (see 12/4) or involves new building plans. Meanwhile, in Gaza, the IDF fires on unarmed Palestinians (including a child) on their land nr. the border fence e. of Dayr al-Balah, wounding 1; shells a Hamas border patrol e. of al-Bureij r.c., killing 2 Hamas mbrs. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron. (NYT, WT 12/24; NYT 12/25; OCHA 12/26; PCHR 12/27)

Israel allows 27 Gazans to enter Egypt through the Rafah crossing for the Hajj. IDF troops on the Gaza border fatally shoot a Palestinian farmer plowing a field nr. the border fence nr. Khuza in s. Gaza. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Qalqilya. Jewish settlers accompanied by IDF soldiers set up tents, raise an Israeli flag on a plot of Palestinian land along Road 60 northeast of Hebron; Israeli police remove them. In Gaza City, unidentified assailants detonate a bomb outside the former PA National Security Forces headquarters, now controlled by Hamas, causing damage but no injuries. Armed PRC mbrs. raid, vandalize, steal equipment fr. a Fatah office in al-Bureij r.c. Armed PRC mbrs. whose salaries have been cut off by Abbas’s government raid a youth center in al-Maghazi r.c., fire in the air, demand reinstatement of their salaries; Hamas-affiliated police convince them to leave. (OCHA 12/12; PCHR 12/13)

Following a dinner in Washington on 11/26, U.S. Pres. George W. Bush opens a 1-day international summit in support of the peace process in Annapolis, MD. Israel, the PLO present a “joint understanding” pledging to resume comprehensive negotiations on 12/12, with the goal of concluding a final status agreement by the end of 2008. (NYT, WP, WT 11/28; WP 11/29)

Overnight, the IDF sends troops into al-Shuka nr. Rafah, firing on Palestinians who attempt to flee, killing 1 Palestinian, wounding 3, arresting 10. During the day, the IDF makes an air strike on a Hamas training camp nr. Khan Yunis, causing damage but no injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF sends undercover units in a car with Palestinian license plates into Azun to arrest a wanted Palestinian; troops fire on stone-throwing Palestinians who confront them, wounding 4. In al-Bureij r.c., unidentified assailants detonate a roadside bomb nr. a Hamas-affiliated police patrol, seriously injuring 3 policemen and destroying their vehicle. In Gaza City, an estimated 100,000 Hamas supporters hold a nonviolent protest against the Annapolis summit; around 5,000 Hamas supporters hold a similar nonviolent protest in Dayr al-Balah. In the West Bank, PA police violently disperse (using tear gas, batons, warning shots) 100s of Palestinians attending anti-Annapolis protests sponsored by Hamas and the AMB in Ramallah (causing no serious injuries) and by Hizb al-Tahrir (a small, unarmed pan-Islamic group) in Hebron (killing 1 Hizb al-Tahrir supporter, wounding 3 other Palestinians). The Popular Resistance Committees (PRCs; a Gaza-based umbrella group comprising mbrs. fr. all factions acting independently) send a bulletin to media outlets, vowing to increase rocket attacks on Israel to protest the summit. Inside Israel, some 10,000 right-wing Israelis march to Olmert’s home to protest any possible concessions to the Palestinians. (NYT, WP, OCHA 11/28; PCHR 11/29; CSM 1/22)

In Gaza, IDF bulldozers, tanks level land at al-Qarara nr. Khan Yunis. Palestinians nr. al-Bureij r.c. fire 4 mortars toward Israel, but all fall inside the Gaza border. Palestinians nr. Rafah fire 3 mortars toward Kerem Shalom crossing, causing no damage. In both cases, the IDF responds with heavy machine gun fire, causing no reported damage or injuries. Palestinians detonate a roadside bomb nr. an IDF patrol inside the Israeli border nr. Kissufim base, causing no injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in Tulkarm and nr. Hebron, Jenin, Qalqilya, Ramallah. (OCHA 11/21; PCHR 11/22)

IDF troops on the n. Gaza border fire a surface-to-surface missile at a group of Palestinians preparing to fire a rocket into Israel, killing 2 Palestinian resistance mbrs., wounding 4; exchange fire with Palestinian gunmen across the border nr. Erez crossing, causing no reported injuries; make air strikes on as many as 5 suspected rocket-launching sites in the Bayt Hanun area, causing no reported injuries; shell an open area nr. Bayt Hanun, causing no reported injuries. Hamas organizes large rallies in Gaza City (7,000), Rafah (3,000), al-Bureij r.c. (2,000), and Nussayrat r.c. (2,000) to protest ongoing Israeli excavations nr. the al-Aqsa Mosque. A Palestinian is killed when a smuggling tunnel under the Rafah border collapses. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in Bethlehem; patrols in, fires on residential areas of Balata r.c., Nablus; erects checkpoints, checks IDs in al-Bireh. Jewish settlers fr. Aley Zahav and P’duel w. of Salfit vandalize a nearby Palestinian home, light a fire near the house, damage a car and an animal pen; IDF troops observe but do not intervene. In Gaza City, unidentified assailants detonate an explosive device outside an ESF post, causing damage but no injuries. Later, unidentified assailants detonate a bomb outside Fatah al-Yasir offices nearby, causing significant damage but no injuries.ESF officers find, dismantle another explosive device in Gaza City; the target of that attack is unclear. (OCHA 11/21; PCHR 11/22)

In Gaza, the IDF makes an air strike on a concrete factory nr. Jabaliya r.c., killing 3 Palestinian employees, wounding a passerby; fires surface-to-surface missiles at the same site an hr. later as onlookers gather to view the damage, killing a Palestinian child, seriously wounding a 2d bystander; fires a missile at a group of Islamic Jihad mbrs. nr. the Bayt Hanun border, killing 1 Islamic Jihad mbr.; fires on another Islamic Jihad mbr. who approaches the border fence nr. al-Bureij r.c., wounding him; fires on Palestinian farmers working their field e. of Dayr al-Balah, wounding 1; bulldozes land inside the Gaza border n. of Bayt Lahiya; finds, demolishes 7 smuggling tunnels on the Gaza-Egypt border. Palestinians fire at least 4 rockets, 4 mortars fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries; the IDF responds with air strikes and surface-to-surface missile fire on the launch sites, causing no reported injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Tulkarm r.c., nr. Qalqilya. (IFM 11/4; OCHA 11/7; PCHR 11/8)

With Abbas and Olmert making little headway on a joint statement for the Annapolis summit, Rice returns to the region for a 3-day visit to press the parties to begin implementing their outstanding road map obligations to build mutual confidence and momentum for the upcoming summit. The U.S. has still not issued formal invitations, and the admin. is widely expected to push the meeting off until later in 11/07. (IFM 11/4; NYT, WP 11/5; NYT 11/6)

The IDF occupies strategic high points inside the Gaza border nr. Bayt Lahiya, firing surface-to-air missiles at a group of armed Palestinians (missing them, causing no damage or injuries) and on a car carrying a local Islamic Jihad military cmdr., wounding him in an apparent assassination attempt; conducts bulldozing operations inside the Gaza border nr. Bayt Lahiya; continues operations in al-Shuka. Islamic Jihad mbrs. fire an RPG at an IDF patrol inside the Israeli border nr. al-Bureij r.c., missing the target and causing no injuries; the IDF responds with heavy machine gun fire, killing 1 Islamic Jihad mbr. Egyptian border police detain 3 PRC mbrs. who entered Egypt through a tunnel under the Rafah border. In the West Bank, the IDF imposes a roundthe-clock curfew on ‘Azun nr. Qalqilya after Palestinian youths throw stones at Jewish settler vehicles, causing no injuries; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Nablus and neighboring Balata r.c., nr. Ramallah. Unidentified gunmen fire on Abbas’s residence in Ramallah, causing damage but no injuries. (PCHR 11/1; OCHA 11/7; PCHR 11/8)

Israeli human rights groups petition the Israeli High Court to halt the government’s 10/24 plan to cut electricity to Gaza to pressure Hamas, arguing collective punishment, forcing the IDF to suspend implementation.Israelsays that it will continue to cut 1% of Gaza’s electricity for 15 mins. at a time as a “symbolic” response to Palestinian rocket fire until Israel’s atty. gen. rules otherwise. Overnight and into the afternoon, IDF troops conduct arrest raids, house searches in Khan Yunis, also bulldozing 30 d. of agricultural land. During the day, the IDF sends infantry units into the Bayt Lahiya area (to engage several armed Palestinians laying a roadside bomb, killing 1 Palestinian, arresting another), the border area e. of Jabaliya r.c. (where they clash with armed Palestinians, killing 1 Palestinian), and areas nr. Abasan (where they engage with armed Palestinians, killing 1 Palestinian, wounding 4). Palestinians fire an RPG at an IDF jeep patrolling the Gaza border nr. al-Bureij r.c., missing the target, causing no damage or injuries. A Palestinian is injured in Dayr al-Balah when explosives he is handling detonate prematurely. In the West Bank, the IDF fires rubber-coated steel bullets on Palestinian children holding 2 peaceful demonstrations in Hebron and nearby al-Arub r.c. in support of Palestinian prisoners, injuring 3 (ages 13, 16, 17) and arresting 1 (age 14); conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus, and in Tulkarm (also firing on residential areas, causing damage but no injuries). In Ramallah, Palestinians demonstrate for the release of Hamas mbrs. held by the PA; PA security forces disperse the protesters. An ESF officer dies of injuries received in the 10/18 clash with the Fatah-affiliated Hillis clan in Gaza City. (NYT, WT 10/29; OCHA 10/31; PCHR 11/1)

In Gaza, the IDF makes an air strike on an ESF vehicle in al-Bureij r.c., wounding 1 ESF mbr. Palestinians fire 7 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel; the IDF responds by shelling suspected launching site; no injuries or damage are reported. In the West Bank, the IDF makes a major raid on Jenin targeting Islamic Jihad, demolishing 1 building, fatally shooting 2 Islamic Jihad mbrs. in an exchange of fire that also leaves 1 IDF soldier wounded; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus. Around half of the 2,200 Palestinian prisoners in Israel’s Ketziot prison riot against searches by guards, leaving 14 prisoners, 15 guards injured. An 8-yr.-old Palestinian girl wounded by the IDF during 10/18 arrest raids in Tulkarm dies. In Gaza City, 100 Palestinians protest outside the UNSCO building against the PA’s halt to issuing passports and travel documents for Gazans. (WT 10/23; NYT, OCHA, WP 10/24; PCHR 10/25)

Lebanese PM Siniora delays elections for a 2d time until 11/12 to give the governing coalition and opposition more time to agree on a compromise candidate. (NYT, WP 10/23) (see 9/22)

Overnight in Gaza, the IDF sends troops into Dayr al-Balah and al-Maghazi r.c., conducting arrest raids and house searches, bulldozing at least 55 d. of olive and citrus groves, firing on residential areas, killing 1 Palestinian, wounding 3, withdrawing by evening. During the day, the IDF bulldozes 150 d. of citrus and olive groves, 2 greenhouses, 270 beehives e. of Bayt Hanun. In Bureij r.c., 2 Hamas mbrs. are injured when explosives they are handling detonate prematurely. In the West Bank, the IDF sends undercover units into Jenin in a vehicle with Palestinian license plates to ambush and assassinate AMB mbr. Muhammad Abu Sorour, also shooting, wounding, and arresting AMB mbr. Hilal al-Sa‘di, who is traveling with him; conducts arrest raids, house searches in al-Bireh, nr. Bethlehem and Nablus; demolishes the single shantylike structure comprising the Netzer unauthorized settlement outpost nr. Bethlehem (which has been removed by the IDF and rebuilt by settlers several times since its 1st incarnation in 2005). In ‘Azun nr. Qalqilya, the IDF deliberately fires on the main electricity transformer, cutting power to the village; bulldozes 7 d. of Palestinian crops; issues military orders confiscating 390 d. of Palestinian land for construction of the separation wall. A Jewish settler fr. Kiryat Arba injures a 2-yr.-old Palestinian girl in a deliberate hit-and-run. Some 700 Fatah mbrs. in al-Maghazi r.c. hold a rally commemorating local Palestinians killed in the 6/07 clashes with Hamas. (NYT 10/12; OCHA 10/17; PCHR 10/18)

Late in the evening, the IDF sends undercover units dressed in ESF uniforms into Rafah to kidnap and take to Israel Hamas military cmdr. Mihawish al-Nu‘aymat (also reported as Mohawah al-Qadi), who reportedly has information on captured IDF soldier Gilad Shalit. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in Jenin town and r.c., Qabatya and nr. Hebron; 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 1. A 13-yr.-old Palestinian boy is injured by IDF UXO nr. Nablus. Across Gaza, Fatah supporters for a 3d week hold Friday prayers outside in protest against Hamas; the ESF clashes with demonstrators in al-Bureij r.c., Gaza City, Jabaliya r.c., Khan Yunis, and Rafah, using batons and percussion grenades, leaving a total of 51 Palestinians injured, 20 Fatah mbrs. arrested, 3 journalists temporarily detained; reports differ as to whether the ESF tried to break up peaceful prayer services or only intervened afterward, when Fatah supporters began chanting anti-Hamas slogans and throwing stones at ESF officers. (NYT 9/8; OCHA 9/12; PCHR 9/13)

Overnight in Gaza, the IDF sends troops and tanks, supported by helicopters, into areas around Khan Yunis and al-Qarara, searching and occupying homes, temporarily detaining 150 Palestinians, bulldozing 66 d. of agricultural land, clashing with and shelling local gunmen, killing 4 armed AMB and Hamas mbrs.; troops withdraw in the afternoon. In central Gaza, 6 Islamic Jihad mbrs. attempt to break through the border fence to attack an IDF post inside Israel but are shot dead by IDF soldiers. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Tulkarm, in Jenin (firing on residential areas and stone-throwing youths who confront them, wounding 3 children ages 10–13). Some 30,000 Hamas supporters rally in Gaza City in support of ousted PA PM Ismail Haniyeh. ESF officers raid al-Hadath press office in al-Bureij r.c., confiscating documents, computers. (BBC 9/6; NYT, WP, WT 9/7; OCHA 9/12; PCHR 9/13)

Overnight, the IDF sends at least 5 war planes over Turkey and into n. Syria to make an air strike on an industrial building under construction in an open area nr. the Euphrates river, causing no injuries. Syria responds with antiaircraft fire, causing no damage. Syria denounces Israel’s actions and says it is measuring its response, while Israeli PM Ehud Olmert’s office imposes a news blackout. By late in the day, Israel, Syria issue statements declaring that neither side intends to be drawn into a war. (BBC, REU 9/6; NYT, WP 9/7; WT 9/8; WP 9/13; NYT 9/18; HA 11/22)

The IDF admitsthat 3 Palestinian children killed in an 8/29 strike on Bayt Hanun were playing tag, not retrieving a rocket launcher. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron; fires on stone-throwing Palestinian youths outside al-Arub r.c. nr. Hebron, wounding a 7-yr.-old boy; 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 8 (similar demonstrations are held without incident in al-Walaja and Um Salamuna nr. Bethlehem). Jewish settlers fr. Givat Havat and Kiryat Arba in Hebron beat a Palestinian farmer working his land btwn. the 2 settlements. The IDF bars Jewish settlers fr. reaching the evacuated Homesh settlement site; settlers set fire to 2 IDF vehicles in protest. The PA closes 103 charitable associations in the West Bank (80% affiliated with Hamas) for being “improperly registered”. Responding to a call by Fatah to boycott Friday prayers in mosques and begin weekly prayer protests against Hamas’s “persecution” of Fatah mbrs. in Gaza, some 5,000 Fatah supporters hold prayers in a Gaza City park, then stage a march and rally denouncing Hamas, attacking Hamas-controlled buildings with stones, pipe bombs. Some 7,000 Fatah supporters hold a similar demonstration in Rafah, attacking the home of a prominent Hamas mbr. The ESF violently disperses both protests, firing into the air, beating demonstrators, and tossing percussion grenades, arresting scores, injuring 10–20 (including 2 journalists), wounding an Egyptian on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border. Fatah mbrs. stone an ESF patrol in al-Bureij r.c., causing no injuries. (NYT, WP 9/1; OCHA 9/5; PCHR 9/6; Conflicts Forum 10/8)

The IDF shells a car driving nr. al-Bureij r.c., assassinating 2 ESF officers (Muhammad Abu ‘Arab, Ali Baroud) and 4 Hamas mbrs. (Ismail Abu Abda, ‘Abid Abu Hilu, Ahmad al-Qrainawi, Muhammad al-Qrainawi), wounding 1 bystander; sends troops into Abasan nr. Khan Yunis, bulldozing land, firing on residential areas, wounding 1 Palestinian. An Islamic Jihad mbr. is injured when explosives he is handling detonate prematurely. Gaza’s sole power plant, which produces 25% of Gaza’s electricity, shuts down after depleting its fuel reserves (see 8/19; 70% of Gaza’s electricity is provided by Israel, 5% by Egypt). In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus and nr. Bethlehem, Hebron, Jenin, Ramallah, Tulkarm; fires on stone-throwing Palestinian youths outside ‘Ayn Bayt al-Ma’a r.c., wounding 2; later patrols in ‘Ayn Bayt al-Ma’a, exchanging fire with local gunmen, killing 1 armed Palestinian. (HA, NYT 8/21; OCHA, WP 8/22; PCHR 8/23)

In Gaza, the IDF sends tanks, bulldozers into al-Bureij r.c. to level land, sparking an exchange of gunfire that leaves 1 Palestinian bystander wounded. Israel authorizes the Nahal Oz fuel pipeline to reopen, but the European Union (EU), which underwrites PA fuel imports, suspends payments for fuel supplies until it receives assurances that the Hamas government in Gaza will not receive tax revenues fr. the sale of electricity produced with the fuel imports. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Jenin and in Bethlehem, Qalqilya, Tulkarm; patrols in al-Yamun nr. Jenin. In Gaza, unidentified gunmen raid Fatah’s Dayr al-Balah offices, confiscating computers, documents. (NYT 8/19; OCHA 8/22; PCHR 8/23)

In Gaza, the IDF makes an air strike on a Palestinian taxi in al-Maghazi r.c. in an assassination attempt against 1 AMB mbr. and 1 Islamic Jihad mbr., wounding them, the driver, 4 bystanders. Unidentified Palestinians fire a mortar at the IDF post at Erez crossing, causing no damage; an ESF unit fires on the mortar crew, sparking a heavy exchange of gunfire that leaves no reported injuries. Palestinians also fire an RPG across the Gaza border at an IDF patrol inside Israel e. of al-Bureij r.c., missing the troops, causing no injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron (bulldozing parts of a cemetery, searching a kindergarten), nr. Jenin. In n. Gaza, 3 Fatah al-Yasir mbrs. abduct, kill a PA intelligence officer in a family dispute with factional overtones; the ESF arrests the 3 Fatah al-Yasir mbrs. (HA 7/30; NYT 7/31; OCHA 8/1; PCHR 8/2)

In Gaza, Islamic Jihad mbrs. exchange fire with an IDF patrol nr. Khuza’a, causing no injuries. The IDF bulldozes Palestinian land along the border e. of al-Maghazi. In the West Bank, the IDF demolishes a Palestinian house, 2 mobile homes, a water reservoir nr. Bethlehem; demolishes 1 home, part of a 2d nr. Nablus; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Jenin, nr. Tulkarm. Jewish settlers fr. Beni Hefer nr. Hebron burn 75 d. of Palestinian olive groves (255 trees) nr. the settlement. In Gaza City, 100 Palestinian vendors stage a nonviolent march to Haniyeh’s office to protest the ESF’s removal of their stalls along a main Gaza City street to ease traffic congestion. Some 4,500 Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), Hamas, Islamic Jihad, PFLP supporters (nearly half of them children) stage a nonviolent demonstration at the Rafah crossing, calling on Israel to open the checkpoint to allow entry to Palestinians stranded on the Egyptian side. A new Hamas-affiliated mayor is appointed to the al-Bureij r.c. municipality (no details are reported). A Hamas mbr. dies of injuries received during the 6/27 IDF raid on Gaza City. (OCHA 7/25; PCHR 7/26)

In a bid to help Abbas, Israel removes 178 AMB mbrs. fr. its wanted list (75% of AMB mbrs. wanted, including AMB Jenin leader Zakariya Zubaydi) after they sign pledges to cease all actions against Israel and hand over their weapons to the PA. In Gaza, Palestinians fire 2 RPGs at an IDF unit patrolling the border fence nr. al-Bureij, missing the target, causing no damage or injuries; fire 4 mortars at IDF troops e. of Bayt Hanun, causing no damage or injuries. Around 50 Palestinian merchants hold a sit-in at the Erez crossing to protest Israel’s continued closure. In the West Bank, Israeli intelligence summons, arrests 2 Palestinians in Hebron. Jewish settlers fr. Otniel continue work to set up a new outpost on land seized on 7/14. PA employees recently cut from the PA salary rolls by Abbas begin an open-ended sitin strike in Gaza City’s Unknown Soldier’s Park. On the intra-Palestinian front, the ESF raids the Gaza City homes of at least a dozen Army of Islam mbrs., arresting 12, all connected to the powerful Daghmash clan. A Palestinian man dies in a Gaza City hospital after being interrogated by the IQB. (HA, NYT, WT 7/16; OCHA 7/18; PCHR 7/19; NYT 7/22; OCHA 7/25)

Under intense pressure from human and legal rights groups, Abbas temporarily suspends a 7/6 presidential decree expanding the mandate of the PA security forces at the expense of the judiciary. Overnight, the IDF sends tanks and bulldozers supported by helicopters, drones, warplanes into central Gaza nr. al-Bureij r.c., searching residential areas for weapons and wanted Palestinians, detaining 10s of Palestinians, bulldozing 118 d. of land, clashing with Hamas mbrs. who detonate a roadside bomb nr. an IDF vehicle, killing 1 IDF soldier (the 1st killed by Palestinians since 11/1/06), lightly wounding 2. The IDF also makes an air strike on a rocket launching site nr. al-Bureij r.c., injuring 2 Islamic Jihad mbrs. In the West Bank, the IDF fatally shoots an Islamic Jihad gunman who opened fire on an IDF checkpoint nr. Tulkarm without causing injuries; demolishes 3 Palestinian homes, an agricultural warehouse nr. Qalqilya; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Jenin town and r.c., Nablus. In Khan Yunis, 5,000 Fatah mbrs. stage a march in support of Abbas; when they stone an ESF post, ESF mbrs. fire in the air to disperse the crowd, wounding 1 Fatah mbr. In Gaza City, Hamas supporters hold a sit-in to protest Abbas’s recent decision to halt salary payments to employees hired after 12/05. In al-Bureij r.c., Islamic Jihad mbrs. kidnap, kill an alleged Palestinian collaborator. (AYM 7/12; NYT, WP, WT 7/13; OCHA 7/18; PCHR 7/19)

The Lebanese army shells FI targets in Nahr al-Barid r.c. fr. land and sea, sparking the heaviest clashes in wks. Additional troops sent into the camp reportedly encounter sniper fire and booby-trapped buildings as they advance deeper into areas controlled by FI. At least 4 soldiers and 1 civilian are killed, 20 soldiers injured during the day. (NYT, WP, WT 7/13)

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)

Heavy Fatah-Hamas fighting continues in Gaza, leaving at least 21 Palestinians dead, 64 wounded. The dead include 2 local UNRWA workers caught in the crossfire, prompting the agency to suspend all but emergency food, medical provision. Hamas continues concentrated attacks on Fatah security posts, consolidating its hold over n. Gaza, Gaza City (except for the presidential compound and major security compounds), several refugee camps (Bureij, al-Maghazi, Nussayrat), and Khan Yunis and villages to the east; taking control of Gaza’s main north–south road. Many Fatah and PA forces loyal to Abbas reportedly abandon their positions during the day, some surrendering to Hamas gunmen, others destroying their posts so they would not fall into Hamas hands; at least 1 NSF battalion runs out of ammunition (other PA units reports shortages); 40 PA presidential guardsmen working the Gaza crossing flee across the border to Egypt. Both factions have set up an estimated 200 checkpoints across the Strip, searching vehicles and detaining or shooting mbrs. of rival factions. Major incidents of the day include Hamas’s forced evacuation and demolition of the PSF headquarters in Khan Yunis (killing 5 PSF officers, wounding 10) and the main police station in Gaza City; attack on, occupation of an apartment complex home to Fatah’s Gaza spokesman Mahir Mikdad and many Fatah officials, killing 8 of Mikdad bodyguards. After dark, Hamas fires mortars at several Fatah posts in Gaza City. Meanwhile, 10s of Gaza City residents demonstrate for the factions to end fighting; unidentified gunmen fire on the crowd, killing 1 Palestinian. In the West Bank, AMB mbrs. raid an Islamic film production company in Nablus, kidnap 10 employees, and take them to Balata r.c., exchanging fire with Hamas gunmen, causing no reported injuries. Meanwhile, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem, Nablus, and in Hebron, Qalqilya (where undercover units exchange fire with armed Palestinians, killing 1 Palestinian gunmen; troops return hrs. later, fire on stone-throwing youths who confront them, wounding 13 Palestinians). (AP, BBC, OCHA 6/13; NYT, PCHR, WP, WT 6/14; PCHR 6/21)

In Beirut, a car bomb kills anti-Syrian lawmaker Walid Eido in an apparent assassination, also killing his son, 2 bodyguards, 6 bystanders and injuring 11; no group claims responsibility. Eido was a close ally of assassinated Lebanese PM Rafiq Hariri and strongly supported creation of an international tribunal to try suspects in the Hariri assassination. Meanwhile, heavy fighting btwn. the Lebanese army, FI continues at Nahr al-Barid r.c., leaving at least 2 Lebanese soldiers dead. Israel steps up overflights of Lebanese territory, further raising tensions. (BBC, NYT, WP, WT 6/14; DS 6/14 in WNC 6/15)

The IDF makes air strikes on a car in Bayt Lahiya, assassinating 4 Islamic Jihad mbrs. (Muhammad Abu Nima, Mahmud Awad, Majid al-Batash, ‘Abd al-‘Aziz al-Hilu); on an alleged weapons factory in Gaza City, damaging several neighboring houses but causing no injuries; on a group of armed Palestinians in al-Bureij r.c., missing them, hitting a building, damaging 7 homes, injuring 4 bystanders (including a 1-yr.-old child). The IDF also conducts an arrest raid in Bayt Lahiya. Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Resistance Comms. (PRCs) fire 15 rockets fr. Gaza toward Israel (3 land in Gaza), hitting a car in Sederot, killing 1 Israeli woman (the 11th killed by Palestinian rocket fire since rockets came into use in 1/02; the previous deadly strike occurred on 11/21/06), wounding 2 men. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Bethlehem, Hebron, Nablus, and in Balata r.c. (targeting the AMB), Qalqilya, Tulkarm. Jewish settler teenagers fr. Karmi’el nr. Hebron throw stones at a bedouin woman nr. Yatta, injuring her. Fatah mbrs. shoot, wound 2 Hamas mbrs. in Khan Yunis and set fire to a library on the campus of the predominantly Hamas College of Science and Technology. An NSF mbr. dies of injuries received in clashes with Hamas on 5/16. (NYT, WP, WT 5/22; OCHA, WP 5/23; PCHR 5/24)

The Lebanese army’s siege of Nahr al-Barid r.c. continues overnight. During the day, fighting is heavy: Army snipers atop buildings surrounding the camp firing on anyone moving in the streets inside, soldiers open machine gun fire on anyone trying to leave the camp; FI responds with automatic weapons, mortar fire, anti-aircraft guns; the army responds with artillery, tank fire. (The army also surrounds the volatile ‘Ayn al-Hilwa r.c. as a precaution, prompting armed Palestinian factions there to go on alert.) The UN secures a brief cease-fire in the afternoon, allowing the evacuation of 16 wounded Palestinian civilians fr. the camp before FI breaks the truce. Lebanese PM Fuad Siniora asks the U.S. to expedite $280 m. in previously pledged military aid to more effectively combat FI. After dark, army shelling of Nahr al-Barid increases significantly. In Beirut, another car bomb explodes in the predominantly Sunni Verdun area, wounding 6 Lebanese, setting 2 buildings on fire. (AP, NYT, REU 5/21; NYT, WP, WT 5/22; NYT, WP 5/23)

IDF troops on the Gaza border fire on Palestinian agricultural areas e. of Khan Yunis, sparking a fire that destroys a wheat field; discover, disarm a roadside bomb nr. the former Kissufim crossing e. of Khan Yunis. The Israeli navy fires on Palestinian fishing boats off the Bayt Lahiya coast, forcing them to return to shore. In the West Bank, the IDF makes a predawn raid on Nablus, firing on residential areas and exchanging fire with Palestinian gunmen who confront them, shooting and wounding a pregnant Palestinian woman inside her home, causing her to lose her baby; 2 armed Palestinians, 1 IDF soldier are also wounded. The IDF also conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem (targeting the AMB) and in Balata r.c., Tulkarm; issues stop-work orders for 10 Palestinian homes, a mosque in villages nr. Negohot settlement w. of Hebron that would constrain eventual expansion of the settlement. Israel’s Jerusalem Construction and Planning Comm. approves plans to build 3 new ultra-Orthodox settlements on the outskirts of occupied East Jerusalem to create territorial unity btwn. Jerusalem and Gush Etzion s. of Bethlehem and btwn. Jerusalem and Beit El n. of Ramallah; the plans call for 20,000 housing units in the new settlements, plus 500 new units for settlers in Abu Dis. Abbas deploys 3,000 PA security forces under his control in Gaza City and n. Gaza as part of a new, high-profile “law and order” campaign meant to undermine Hamas. In Bureij r.c, unidentified gunmen fatally shoot a Fatah mbr. in a drive-by attack on a Fatah base. Unidentified assailants ambush, kidnap a PA colonel driving in Nussayrat r.c.; no group claims responsibility. (PLONAD 5/10; MM, NYT 5/11; OCHA 5/16; PCHR 5/17)

Palestinians fire some 7 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, hitting a gas station in Sederot, lightly injuring 2 Israelis. An Islamic Jihad mbr. is injured when explosives he is handling detonate prematurely. In the West Bank, the IDF sends troops into Jenin town and r.c., firing on residential areas and stonethrowing youths who confront the troops, wounding 5 Palestinians; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron and in al-Khadir. Jewish settlers fr. Karme Tzur and Kiryat Arba set up a tent on a hill northeast of Halhul, later leave but vow to establish a new settlement on the site; the IDF observes but does not intervene. Jewish settlers fr. Einav nr. Tulkarm set fire to 80 d. of Palestinian olive, almond trees nearby. Nr. Ramallah, Palestinian gunmen fire on a convoy delivering gas to a Jewish settlement, wounding an Israeli security guard. Some 70 Palestinian protesters thought to be aligned with the Army of Islam throw stones, possibly fire at Fatah lawmaker Majid Abu Shamalah as he leaves an end-of-the-school-year celebration at a Rafah UNRWA school, prompting his bodyguards to open fire, killing 1 of their own and leaving 2 teachers, 2 protesters, and 2 schoolchildren (ages 9, 14) wounded; the attack on the school comes days after the Army of Islam warned the school against holding the celebration, which they condemned for involving “the mixing of adolescent boys and girls, which is forbidden in Islam.” Unidentified gunmen fire on a Fatah base in Bureij r.c., causing no injuries. A Palestinian possibly affiliated with the Army of Islam orders UNRWA employees off an agency minibus in Rafah before tossing a hand grenade inside, damaging it. (Jerusalem Post 5/6; NYT 5/7; OCHA 5/9; PCHR 5/10; AHR 5/15)