The Palestine Chronology

The IDF assassinates senior AMB mbr. Iyad Qaddas, firing a missile at a house where he is staying in Jabaliya r.c.; a 2d AMB mbr., Iyad Najjar, is killed and 1 AMB mbr. and 5 bystanders are wounded. Following the assassination, the PRC (firing rockets), IDF (responding with artillery and air strikes) trade heavy fire across the n. Gaza border, leaving 4 Palestinian civilians wounded. The IDF also demolishes 3 Palestinian homes, 2 shops nr. Jenin; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Ramallah (including arresting the mayor of Bayt Laqia, who is a Hamas mbr.), nr. Tulkarm and in Bethlehem, Hebron, Jenin, Nablus, Tubas; confiscates 10 d. of Palestinian land east of Bethlehem for construction of an IDF post. At the Qalandia checkpoint outside Ramallah, an AMB mbr. fatally stabs an IDF soldier, is arrested; the IDF immediately seals the crossing until further notice. PA police raid some 40 Palestinian homes in Hebron and Tubas, arresting more than 10 Islamic Jihad mbrs. in connection with the 12/5 Netanya bombing; Islamic Jihad denounces the raids and warns the PA against becoming an “arm of Israel,” while the AMB and PRCs warn that they will not renew the unilateral truce at the end of the yr. if the arrest campaign continues. (Israeli FMin. press release, XIN, YA 12/8; AFP, BBC, HA, JAZ, NYT, PCHR, REU, WP, WT, XIN, YA 12/9; HA 12/10; PCHR 12/15)

The IDF assassinates AMB military cmdr. Hassan Madhun, Hamas military cmdr. Fawzi Abu Qara’ in air strikes on their car in Gaza’s Jabaliya r.c., wounding 10 bystanders; bans foreign journalists fr. entering Gaza; fires on stone-throwing Palestinians in Bil‘in; sends 40 tanks supported by helicopters into Jenin town and r.c. to conduct arrest raids and house searches, clashing with Palestinian gunmen, leaving 3 Palestinian bystanders, 1 IDF soldier wounded; conducts major arrest raids in Husan, arresting 10 Palestinian boys ages 16–17; severely beats a West Bank Palestinian in Jerusalem during an ID check. (AFP, Guardian, HA, IMEMC 11/1; HA, NYT, WP, WT 11/2; PCHR 11/10)

By morning, the IDF imposes a general curfew across the West Bank, sealing all Palestinian-controlled areas (including the northern villages of Alar, Qabatya, Sa‘ida, al-Til, Yabad, which are considered Islamic Jihad strongholds), cutting off the n. West Bank from the rest of the West Bank, barring all Palestinian private vehicles in the n. West Bank; recommends that Palestinians leave the n. Gaza border area nr. Bayt Hanun; reshuts the Erez, Qarni crossings (opened 10/26). Overnight IDF air strikes on suspected rocket launching sites in n. Gaza damage a bridge but cause no injuries. During the day, the IDF continues mock air raids, sonic booms over Gaza; sends 35 jeeps, Apache helicopters into Jenin to arrest local Islamic Jihad leader ‘Abd al-Halim Izzeddin (a leading moderate in the group), 3 other Islamic Jihad mbrs.; also arrests the father of the 10/26 bomber, 13 suspected Islamic Jihad mbrs. in raids across the n. West Bank in connection with the Hadera bombing; 3 Hamas mbrs. are also arrested. In addition, the IDF clashes with more than 150 radical settler youths while evacuating 5 unauthorized settlement outposts nr. Efrat, Elon Moreh, Keddumim, Kiryat Arba, Worshippers Way in Hebron, leaving 1 IDF soldier hospitalized. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba harass Palestinians in Hebron. In the evening, the IDF assassinates Islamic Jihad n. Gaza cmdr. Shadi Muhanna, Muhanna deputy Muhammad Qandil, 5 others (including at least 3 bystanders), wounding 19 in an air strike on Muhanna’s car as he drives in Jabaliya r.c. just as evening prayers let out; also conducts several F-16 air strikes on open areas in n. Gaza (in 1 instance possibly targeting Abu Rish Brigades and Hamas positions in the area, but causing no injuries); conducts patrols, arrest raids, house searches in Dura, Jenin town and r.c., and nearby Kefar Rai. (AP, HA, YA 10/27; CSM, HA, JT, NYT, PCHR, WP, WT 10/28; NYT 10/29; PCHR 11/10)

Overnight, the IDF conducts air strikes on the home of PRC mbr. ‘Amr Qarmut in Jabaliya r.c. in what may be an assassination attempt (causing damage but no injuries), a Hamas-run school in Gaza City (injuring 23 Palestinians), and a cultural center in Bayt Hanun run by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), causing damage but no injuries; arrests 207 Palestinians (mostly Hamas and Islamic Jihad mbrs., including Hamas political leaders Shaykh Hasan Yusuf and Muhammad Ghazzal) in the largest raids across the West Bank since 2/05. During the day, Sharon says that he has given the IDF “free rein” to act against Palestinians firing rockets. The IDF continues to mass troops on the n. Gaza border, breaks the sound barrier over Gaza roughly every 2 hrs., fires artillery shells fr. Nahal Oz into open areas nr. Bayt Hanun as a warning to Palestinians (marking Israel’s 1st shelling of Gaza since 1967); fires missiles fr. F-16s at a car s. of Gaza City, assassinating senior Islamic Jihad leader Muhammad Shaykh Khalil, Islamic Jihad mbr. Nassir Barhum, wounding 4 bystanders. In the evening, Hamas agrees to stop rocket attacks immediately. Later, an IDF helicopter gunship strikes 3 targets in Khan Yunis, including the homes of senior AMB mbrs. Ziyad Abu Hayya and Mahir al-Farra in what may be assassination attempts, causing heavy damage, injuring 17 Palestinians; the IDF says it is targeting AMB arms storage facilities. A 12-yr.-old Palestinian wounded in the 9/23 Jabaliya explosion dies, bringing that toll to at least 16. (AFP, AP, HA, IMEMC, JAZ, WP, WT, XIN, YA 9/25; CSM, HA, IMEMC, JP, NYT, WP, WT 9/26; HA 9/27; AFP, DS, MEI, PCHR 9/29)

Today’s Independent (9/25) reports that a new book by 2 prominent Israeli journalists, Ofer Shelah and Raviv Druker, states that “at a conference of officers as early as May 2001, Shaul Mofaz, now defense minister and then chief of staff, asked for the tape to be switched off before telling them that he wanted a ‘price’ exacted from the Palestinians of 10 killed a day on each of the army’s seven fronts.” The book also reports that after 6 IDF soldiers were killed in an ambush in 3/02, “Mofaz personally ordered a revenge operation in which for the first time [sic—see “Overview of Israeli Military Operations,” Resource File Doc. A, JPS 134] Palestinian police officers would be shot, whether they posed a threat or not.” (Independent 9/25)

Before dawn, Islamic Jihad and Hamas fire more than 30 rockets fr. Gaza at Sederot and the Negev, 3 of which lightly wound 3 Israeli security guards, 2 civilians. Early in the morning, the IDF fires missiles fr. helicopters at warehouses and an alleged weapons factory in Gaza City and Jabaliya r.c., marking Israel’s 1st military operations against Gaza since disengagement; orders the Rafah crossing shut, saying it will allow humanitarian aid only into Gaza through the Sufa crossing; fires missiles fr. naval vessels at Palestinian fishermen who attempt to go out to sea; drops leaflets on Gaza warning of harsh retaliation against further rocket fire; warns the PA that it is responsible for preventing attacks fr. Gaza. Abbas meets with Hamas officials in Gaza, secures their pledge to halt all armed demonstrations. Hrs. later, IDF aircraft fire 5 missiles at 2 cars in n. Gaza, assassinating 2 Hamas mbrs. (Nafiz Abu Hassanian, Rawad Farhat); 2 other Hamas mbrs. may have been targeted but escape. During the day, IDF fighter jets bomb open areas along the n. Gaza border used by Palestinians to launch rockets, while tanks, artillery, infantry gather along the n. Gaza border in preparation for a major operation. Meanwhile, the IDF seals the West Bank, fires on Palestinians waiting to cross a checkpoint outside Nablus, wounding 3 (1 seriously); conducts patrols in Jama‘in village nr. Nablus; raids 20 houses in Hebron, interrogating and photographing residents. In the evening, Sharon convenes his security cabinet, which approves an “all-out continuous offensive” called Operation First Rain, using artillery, air strikes, assassinations in Gaza, saying that if Palestinian violence continues after several days, the full cabinet will convene to consider sending infantry back into the Strip. (JP, REU, WP, YA 9/24; AP, HA, IMEMC, JAZ, NYT, WP, WT, XIN, YA 9/25; MEI, PCHR 9/29; IDF press release 10/9)

Overnight, the IDF assassinates 3 Islamic Jihad mbrs. (Ra’id ‘Ajaj, Said alAshqar, Jamil Ja’ara) in a raid on Tulkarm. In the afternoon, Islamic Jihad fires at least 13 rockets at Sederot, the Negev in retaliation, causing no damage or injuries. At a heavily armed Hamas rally in Jabaliya r.c., a Qassam rocket paraded on a truck accidentally explodes in a crowd of 1,000s, killing at least 15 Palestinians (and perhaps as many as 21), wounding at least 100. Hamas accuses the IDF of firing missiles at the truck fr. a drone, but Israel denies this, the PA discounts it, the Fatah Central Comm. issues a statement holding Hamas responsible, and most Palestinians see it as an accident. Israel allows the PA to reopen the Rafah crossing for 48 hrs. to allow the passage of Palestinians with special needs, marking the 1st time the PA has processed travelers crossing an international border. (REU 9/23; NYT, WP, WT 9/24; WP 9/25; CSM 9/26; MEI, PCHR 9/29; DS 10/8)

The IDF raids Yamun nr. Jenin, surrounds the house of wanted Islamic Jihad mbrs. Zahir and Warad Abahra (uncle and nephew), begins to bulldoze the house when they do not surrender, sparking an exchange of gunfire that leaves both men dead; also conducts arrest raids, bulldozes part of a 2d Palestinian home, uproots 10s of olive trees elsewhere in Yamun; razes the remains of a Byzantine church nr. Dayr al-Balah, known for its mosaic floors dating to 586 A.D.; fires on residential areas of Dura nr. Hebron; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Tulkarm, around Hebron; sends undercover units to arrest a wanted Palestinian in Bethlehem; bulldozes Palestinian agricultural land in Shufa nr. Tulkarm to widen the buffer zone around Avni Hefetz and Einav settlements; issues military orders confiscating 15 d. of land nr. Qalqilya for the construction of new settler bypass roads. 1,000s of Israeli disengagement protesters demonstrate in s. Israel for a 2d day. A Palestinian teenager stabs, lightly injures an Israeli in Jerusalem. Hamas fires 7 Qassam rockets, 19 mortars at Gush Katif and Neve Dekalim, injuring a foreign worker, damaging a house. Jewish settlers fr. Karnei Shomron throw stones at Palestinian cars on the Nablus–Qalqilya road, damaging 1 bus. PA security forces make a predawn raid on a Hamas educational center in Jabaliya r.c., seize computers and documents, while armed AMB mbrs. working with them torch 2 of the offices and 2 cars. (Senior Fatah, AMB officials say that in recent days, Abbas asked the AMB to help fight Hamas and ensure calm in Gaza in advance of disengagement, but that this is not official PA policy.) Hamas mbrs. attack the security forces and AMB mbrs., resulting in heavy clashes that leave 13 people wounded. In reaction, 100s of Palestinians demonstrate outside the PC offices in Ramallah to call for national unity and an end to the security chaos. Late in the evening, the Egyptian delegation secures agmt. of Fatah, Hamas to withdraw all armed forces fr. the streets of n. Gaza. 5 PA intelligence officers raid the al-Quds University forensics lab, the only forensics lab in the West Bank, rummage through and tamper with evidence in several murder, malpractice investigations; 100s of students mass to protect the lab, scuffle with plainclothes intelligence officers; the PA Justice Min. opens an investigation. (AFP, AP, IMEMC, XIN 7/19; MENA, VOI, VOP, YA 7/19 in WNC 7/20; HA, NYT, OCHA, PR, PRCS, REU, WAFA, WP, WT, XIN 7/20; VOP 7/20 in WNC 7/21; PCHR 7/21)

The IDF fires on 3 Palestinians attempting to sneak into Israel fr. Jabaliya to find work, seriously wounding 1, lightly injuring 1, while 1 escapes; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Baqa‘ al-Sharqiyya. The IDF also imposes new restrictions on Palestinian movement nr. the Ibrahimi Mosque/Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron, erecting an iron gate 30 m away fr. the site, closing the main road leading to the site to Palestinians, checking all Palestinians before allowing them through the gate to the site. Jewish settlers fr. Ma’on attack 5 Palestinian shepherds grazing their animals nearby; the IDF intervenes, arrests the Palestinians, takes them to Kiryat Arba for interrogation, releases them later. Israel authorizes the construction of a “temporary wall” btwn. Jerusalem, the West Bank in areas where the legal disputes to the route of the separation wall are still underway; approves a new route for the separation wall around Jerusalem that would annex Ma’ale Adumim settlement, surround Shu‘fat r.c. with fences, isolate Palestinian neighborhoods and villages n. of the city, incorporate Bilal Bin Rabah mosque n. of Bethlehem into Jerusalem. At Hebron University, 100s of students supporting Fatah disrupt a Hamas student rally in advance of campus elections, leaving 9 Palestinians injured. (AP, IMEMC 3/13; WT 3/14; OCHA 3/16; PCHR 3/17)

The IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Balata r.c., causing a 65-yr.-old Palestinian woman to suffer a fatal heart attack; fires on a taxi nr. Erez crossing carrying 2 international aid workers, seriously injuring the driver; shoots, wounds a Palestinian working in a field nr. Jabaliya. The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), Islamic Jihad claim joint responsibility for firing a rocket-propelled grenade at an IDF jeep nr. Netzarim, causing no damage or injuries. Hamas fires 3 mortars at Jewish settlements in Gaza, causing no damage or injuries. (PCHR 1/13)

After the Knesset approves (58–56, with 6 abstentions) the formation of a Likud– Labor–United Torah Judaism coalition, the new Israeli government is sworn in. 13 Likud mbrs. vote against the coalition or abstain. (HA 1/10; NYT, WP 1/11; PR 1/12; MEI 1/21)