The Palestine Chronology

Off Gaza’s coast nr. Dayr al-Balah, Israeli naval forces fire warning shots at 1 Palestinian fishing boat, then confiscate 8 nets. In the West Bank, Israeli forces destroy hundreds of trees in a nature reserve nr. Tubas; demolish the remaining grocery stands set up along bypass road Route 60 (several stands were confiscated on 6/15). IDF troops conduct 3 raids in Jenin r.c., arresting 1 Palestinian on each and destroying their property. They also conduct raids in Aida r.c. and 1 village nr. Bethlehem, and 2 villages each nr. Hebron, Qalqilya, Ramallah, and Nablus, arresting 12 Palestinians and issuing arrest summons to 3; patrol in 4 villages nr. Hebron, 2 nr. Ramallah, and 1 nr. Jericho. In East Jerusalem, Israeli police arrest 5 Palestinians as they exit Haram al-Sharif, and more than 50 right-wing Jewish activists tour the sanctuary. Israeli forces conduct a late-night raid in Issawiyya, sparking clashes with stone- and firework-throwing residents; 5 Palestinians are injured. Israeli forces arrest 1 Palestinian on a night raid in al-‘Izzariya. In n. Israel, the IDF declares a section of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights a closed military zone to nonresidents in response to recent fighting on the Syrian side of the border. (JP, MNA, WAFA, YA 6/16; PCHR 6/18)

Hamas sources say that Israel and Hamas have been holding an indirect exchange through various Arab, Turkish, and European channels about the prospect of agreeing to a 5–10-year cease-fire, and that elements under discussion relate to easing the blockade, including the possible construction of a seaport, and the entry of materials into Gaza in exchange for quiet. (AFP, HA, MNA, TOI 6/16; MNA 6/17)

At a meeting of the Fatah Revolutionary Council in Ramallah, PA pres. Abbas says that he intends to dissolve the PA consensus govt. and form an entirely new cabinet within the next few days. Hamas official Basem Naim speculates that Abbas was caught “off guard” by today’s reports of indirect talks between Hamas and Israel, and they prompted him to make this decision. However, other reports say that conversations about dissolution have been going on for mos. (HA, MNA, NYT 6/16)

Israel’s Defense Ministry announces a series of loosened restrictions on Palestinians’ movement during Ramadan this year (the holy mo. begins the evening of 6/17). The Israeli High Court of Justice rules to seal the East Jerusalem room of the man accused of shooting right-wing Jewish activist Yehuda Glick on 10/29/2014. The State’s prosecutors argued for the court to approve the punitive demolition of the whole home, as was initially ordered in the wake of the shooting. (JP, MNA, TOI, YA 6/16; HA 6/17)

As massive Israeli strikes on Gaza enter a 2d day, IDF Southern Command head Maj. Gen. Yo’av Galant says (HA 12/28) that the IDF aims to “send Gaza decades into the past” in terms of Hamas’s leadership, weaponry, and smuggling capabilities while achieving “the maximum number of enemy casualties.” Israel’s security cabinet authorizes the IDF to call up 6,500 reservists, and the IDF begins massing tanks and troops on Gaza’s border, indicating planning for a ground incursion. Israel’s Homefront Command orders 80 factories and businesses within 3 mi. of the Gaza border to close indefinitely for their safety (a move expected [WJW 1/1] to cost Israel’s economy $1 m./day), indicating concerns of increased Palestinian rocket fire once ground operations begin. Israeli Military Intelligence breaks into Palestinian radio broadcasts to warn Gazans against cooperating with Hamas. The IDF drops 300,000 leaflets across Gaza warning residents to evacuate areas where Hamas is operating or storing weapons or to remain at their own risk. The Israeli FMin. opens an international media broadcast outlet in Sederot (a main target of Palestinian rockets), begins tours of Sederot and other Gaza border communities for foreign media, diplomats, and VIPs. (Israel continues to prevent the foreign media fr. entering Gaza.)

Israeli actions: The IDF reports air and naval bombardment of 100 sites across Gaza, bringing the number of targets destroyed since operations began to more than 210. The 2-day Palestinian toll rises to an estimated 300 dead (including at least 22 children, 9 women, 60 other civilians) and 1,300 injured (including at least 235 children and 200 women). Target areas include Abasan, Bayt Hanun, Bayt Lahiya, Bani Suhayla (s. Gaza), Bir al-Naja (n. Gaza), Dayr al-Balah, Gaza City (city center, al-Rimal, Shaykh Ridwan, Shati’ r.c., al-Shuja‘iyya, Tal al-Hawa, al-Zaytun), Jabaliya town and r.c., Khan Yunis, Khuza (east of Khan Yunis), Nussayrat r.c., al-Qarara (s. Gaza), Rafah, Shati’ r.c., and Tal al-Za‘atar (nr. Jabaliya).

The IDF’s primary targets are around 40 tunnels along the Rafah border, hit with GBU-39s. Other major targets include several buildings at Islamic University (including a science building Israel claims was connected to rocket manufacturing); Gaza City’s PA ministry compound, the offices of acting PM Ismail Haniyeh, and the main police station (destroying the Saraya; allowing about 50 Fatah prisoners to escape, but killing at least 4); Rafah’s main PASF, governorate, and municipal complexes; more civil and naval police stations, metal workshops believed to make rockets; the Gaza City and Rafah ports; at least 3 mosques (Imad ‘Akel Mosque in Jabaliya r.c., Izzeddin al-Qassam Mosque in Abasan, al-Rimal Mosque in Gaza City) alleged to be weapons depots; a Palestinian Energy Authority building in Khan Yunis; a private medical warehouse; and at least 8 homes and 3 apartment buildings.

Palestinian actions: Palestinians fire 17 rockets, 18 mortars into Israel, injuring at least 6 Israeli civilians (including cases of shock). The rockets include 1 manufactured Grad/Katyusha that lands in Gan Yavne 20 mi. inside Israel, outside Ashdod, the farthest to date. In the evening, 100s of Palestinians attempt to flee Gaza through small breaches in the border wall apparently caused by IDF air strikes; they are sent back by Egyptian security forces, who exchange fire with the crowd, leaving at least 1 Palestinian, 1 Egyptian border policeman dead, 4 Palestinians, 5 Egyptian border policemen, an 8-yr.-old Egyptian child wounded.

Humanitarian notes: Israel allows the entry to Gaza of 100 truckloads of food and medical aid, 10 ambulances, and fuel for hospitals, donated by Jordan, Turkey, and international aid organizations. The shipments include 4 truckloads of pharmaceuticals from the PA central pharmacy in Ramallah (the 2d PA delivery since the PA had blocked the shipments of medicine to Gaza in early 9/08; see 12/16), transferred by the PA at UNRWA request. Humanitarian groups, however, continue to warn of deteriorating medical conditions and lack of food in Gaza and urge Israel to allow unrestricted entry of aid. OCHA reports power outages of up to 16 hrs./day in Gaza City, n. Gaza, and c. Gaza; says all flour mills have shut down for lack of grain imports, threatening widespread bread shortages. (AFP, AP, BBC, HA, IDF, IFM, JAZ, OCHA, REU 12/28; IDF, JP, al-Masryun[Egypt], NYT, SFR, WP, WT 12/29; BBC, Defense Update [online], Global Research [online], WP 12/30; REU, UNOSAT 12/31; JP, PCHR, WJW, WP 1/1; IDF, NYT 1/3; WP 1/4; IFM 1/8; WP 1/10)

Across the West Bank, Palestinians protest against OCL, clashing with the IDF at numerous points (Abu Dis, Issawiyya, and al-Ram nr. Jerusalem; Bani Na‘im nr. Hebron; Ni‘lin and Silwad nr. Ramallah), leaving 3 Palestinians dead, 31 Palestinians, 1 IDF soldier, 1 Israeli child injured. In at least one instance, PASF breaks up one protest by 100s of Palestinians in Ramallah when demonstrators unfurl Hamas banners; the PASF reportedly (NYT 1/3) has been ordered to prevent any popular displays of support for Hamas. The IDF conducts daytime house searches nr. Jenin, making no arrests; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Bil‘in and nr. Hebron, Nablus. Palestinians stone a Jewish settler vehicle nr. Hebron, lightly injuring an 8-yr.-old girl. (PCHR, WJW 1/1)