The Palestine Chronology

As Israel continues widespread air and naval bombardment of Gaza for a 3d day, Israeli DM Barak declares “all-out war” on Hamas. The IDF declares a 2-mi. buffer zone around the Strip a closed military zone and continues amassing tanks and troops there, indicating further preparations for a ground invasion. Israeli military officials speaking anonymously say they have expanded the IDF’s target list to include Hamas’s support network and symbols of Hamas power, stating that “there are many aspects of Hamas, and we are trying to hit the whole spectrum, because everything is connected and everything supports terrorists against Israel” and that “anything affiliated with Hamas is a legitimate target.”

Israeli actions: The IDF reports hitting 100 sites today, including more Islamic University buildings (including the engineering dept., library); homes and offices of Hamas leaders; PA government buildings (including the Interior Min., Finance Min., Foreign Min., Labor Min., Construction and Housing Min., and a PA presidential guest house); Bani Suhayla’s municipal building; the alZawiyya Mosque in Jabaliya r.c. and Omar Bin al-Khattab Mosque in al-Bureij r.c.; more civil and naval police stations; more tunnels along the Rafah border; the headquarters of Hamas’s al-Aqsa TV; Gaza’s port (for a 2d day); and 1 Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades training site. Target areas include Abasan, Bani Suhayla, Bayt Lahiya, al-Bureij r.c., Dayr al-Balah, Gaza City (city center, al-Rimal, al-Sabra, Shaykh Ajlin, Tal al-Hawa), Jabaliya town and r.c., Khan Yunis, Nussayrat r.c., al-Qarara, Rafah, Shati’ r.c., Tal al-Za‘atar. Just before strikes on Rafah, Israeli Military Intelligence makes 10,000 automated calls to Rafah residents warning of pending air strikes, breaks into Palestinian radio broadcasts to urge residents across Gaza to move to city centers. Palestinian medical officials report at least 364 Palestinians dead, 1,500 wounded since 12/27.

Palestinian actions: Palestinians fire 66 rockets, 14 mortars into Israel (twice as many as in the previous 24 hrs.), killing 3 Israeli civilians (1 each in Nahal Oz, Ashdod, Ashqelon; 1 of them an Israeli Palestinian) and wounding 5 (3 of them Israeli Palestinians), with 2 rockets hitting 23 mi. north in Gan Yavne/Ashdod. A Palestinian mortar hits an IDF base in Netivot, s. and e. of the Nahal Oz crossing, killing 1 IDF soldier (a Druze), seriously wounding 1, lightly injuring 4. The Israeli toll stands at 4–5 dead, about 20 injured. Reports circulate (e.g., NYT 12/30) of Hamas gunmen executing at least 5 accused collaborators with Israel inside hospitals; the 5 had been jailed for collaboration and transferred to hospitals after being wounded in IDF air strikes on jails.

Humanitarian notes: Israel allows 40 truckloads of humanitarian aid into Gaza; Egypt allows 23 truckloads of emergency goods in, some wounded out through Rafah. International aid groups (including Amnesty International, the UN) say aid transfers are insufficient, warn that the death toll is rising in part because of lack of medicines and medical supplies, food, and fuel.

Of note: One Israeli air strike heavily damages the UN Special Coordinator’s Office (UNSCO) headquarters in Gaza City, prompting the UN to issue a formal complaint. Egyptian TV reports that captured IDF Cpl. Gilad Shalit has been wounded in an Israeli air strike in recent days; Hamas does not comment. (BBC, CNN, HA, Houston Chronicle, IFM, REU, White House press briefing, YA 12/29; BBC, IDF, Independent, NYT, WP, WT 12/30; IDF, UNOSAT 12/31; JP, PCHR, WJW 1/1; ITV 1/2; IDF 1/3; NYT, WP 1/4; WT, UNOSAT 1/5; IFM 1/8; Committee to Protect Journalists 1/9)

In the West Bank, the IDF fires rubbercoated steel bullets, percussion grenades, tear gas at Palestinians demonstrating against OCL in Issawiyya, Shu‘fat r.c., al-Tur neighborhood in East Jerusalem, causing no serious injuries; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in East Tura village nr. Jenin, Hebron. (PCHR 1/1)

Hamas mbrs. fire 8 mortars fr. Gaza toward Israel, 6 of which land inside Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In response, the IDF makes an air strike on 1 mortar-launching site, killing 2 Palestinian teenagers nearby, wounding 2 children. OCHA reports that in addition to mortar fire, Palestinians have fired 6 rockets fr. Gaza toward Israel between 11/27 and 12/2, causing no injuries. Israeli border police arrest Israeli reporter Amira Hass as she leaves Gaza through the Erez crossing, charging her with violating the government ban on Israelis entering Gaza. Hass, who entered Gaza on 10/29 on a boat carrying solidarity activists (see Chronology in JPS 150), was then expelled by Hamas officials who disapproved of her coverage of events in the Strip; she is released pending a hearing. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts latenight arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem, Jenin. For a 6th straight day, 100s of Jewish settlers riot in Hebron to protest the orders to evacuate Beit Shalom, attacking Palestinians on the street, vandalizing Palestinian homes, damaging cars, and harassing IDF troops; the IDF fires tear gas, percussion grenades at Palestinians who attempt to stop the settlers, injuring 3. In 2 other West Bank locations, Jewish settlers protesting the planned eviction set fire to Palestinian stocks of animal feed, slash tires. (HA 12/2; NYT, WP, WT 12/3; WT, PCHR 12/4)

AsIsrael continues to seal Gaza’s borders completely, aid agencies (including Oxfam and UNRWA) warn of an impending humanitarian crisis. UNRWA Gaza dir. John Ging states that “it is unprecedented that the UN is unable to get its supplies in to a population under such obvious distress.” Unnamed Hamas officials say that Israel apparently is not interested in maintaining the truce and therefore would face consequences. Today, Hamas admits to firing 11 Grad-type rockets fr. Gaza toward Israel (4 of which landed inside Israel, causing no damage or injuries) in addition to 3 regular rockets and several mortars, 1 of which (unclear whether rocket or mortar) hits an Israeli home in Sederot, causing damage and lightly injuring 1 Israeli. The IDF makes air strikes on suspected launch sites in n. Gaza, wounding 2 armed Palestinians. In the West Bank, the IDF fires tear gas, percussion grenades at Palestinians holding a nonviolent protest against settlements at the evacuated settlement site of Homesh nr. Jenin (wounding 1); conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus, and nr. Bethlehem, Hebron; fires rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas, percussion grenades at Palestinian, Israeli, international peace activists taking part in a nonviolent demonstration against the separation wall in Bil’in (injuring 2); fires rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, international peace activists taking part in a similar nonviolent demonstration in Ni‘lin (injuring 1). (NYT, WP 11/15; WT 11/16; OCHA 11/19; PCHR 11/20)

In Gaza, the IDF makes an air strike on an agricultural storehouse in al-Qarara, missing the target, damaging a house, causing no injuries. The IDF also sends tanks, bulldozers into s. Gaza to level land nr. Khuza. Several 1,000 Hamas supporters take part in a nonviolent march fr. Rafah to the Sufa crossing to protest the ongoing siege; IDF troops at the crossing fire on them, wounding 6. Israeli naval vessels fire at Palestinian fishing boats off the Rafah and Bayt Lahiya coasts, forcing them to return to shore. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus, 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 3); fires tear gas, percussion grenades at a similar protest al-Ma‘sara (no injuries reported). Jewish settlers fr. several settlements around Hebron attempt to occupy a disused IDF base e. of Bayt Sahur, but are removed by the IDF. In Dayr al-Balah, Islamic Jihad mbrs. kidnap, severely beat a mbr. of a rival Islamic Jihad faction. (OCHA 6/4; PCHR 6/5)

Overnight in Gaza, the IDF sends troops into Khan Yunis to raid and search homes, ordering all Palestinian men over 15 to surrender for questioning, bulldozing 97 d. of agricultural land and damaging 2 homes. During the operation, the IDF makes an air strike on armed Palestinians who approach the border fence nearby, killing 3 Hamas mbrs., wounding 1; troops withdraw to Israel by midday. The IDF also exchanges fire with Islamic Jihad mbrs. on the c. Gaza border, killing 2 Islamic Jihad mbrs.; fires on Palestinian farmers nr. the Erez crossing in n. Gaza, wounding 1. Palestinians fire 2 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing damage to several greenhouses but no injuries. Late at night, IDF troops enter al-Qarara n. of Khan Yunis to level 60 d. of land; fire on armed Palestinians who approach them, wounding 2. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in, fires on residential areas of Nablus and neighboring Balata r.c., causing damage but no injuries; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Jenin town and r.c. (firing on residential areas, seriously wounding a 16-yr.-old Palestinian boy), and nr. Hebron, Ramallah; 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 (10s suffer tear gas inhalation) and fires percussion grenades and tear gas at demonstrators at a similar protest in al-Ma‘sara. (NYT 5/24; OCHA 5/28; PCHR 5/29)

In Dimona in s. Israel, a Palestinian suicide bomber detonates a device in a mall, killing 1 Israeli, wounding 11; an off-duty Israeli policeman identifies, fatally shoots a 2d bomber who allegedly planned to set off a 2d device as rescue workers gathered. (For discussion of the dispute over the bombers’ identities, see Quarterly Update.) At the Rafah crossing, Egyptian border police try to block about 700 Egyptians and Palestinians attempting to cross the border in both directions; travelers throw stones at policemen who respond with tear gas and by firing in the air; as the riot escalates, Hamas mbrs. inside Gaza apparently fire on the Egyptian troops to force a retreat, wounding around 20. In Gaza, the IDF makes an air strike on Bayt Lahiya, assassinating PRC mbr. ‘Amr Qarmout, wounding 1 bystander. Jewish settlers fr. Ramat Yishai in Hebron throw stones, empty bottles at a Palestinian father and his 12-yr.-old son, moderately injuring them. Jewish settlers fr. Havat Gilad outpost nr. Qalqilya uproot 200 Palestinian olive trees in nearby Jit. (HA, IFM, JAZ, REU 2/4; OCHA 2/6; PCHR 2/7)

Egyptian border and riot police in armored vehicles make a brief attempt to herd Palestinians back across the Rafah border into Gaza, firing into the air and using batons, water cannon, tear gas, dogs. They are overwhelmed by the estimated 120,000 Palestinians (many of whom throw stones, injuring 38 policemen), eventually retreating, allowing the crossings to continue. Hamas mbrs. use bulldozers to make at least 1 new opening in the Rafah border fence. Meanwhile, the IDF makes an air strike on a car in Rafah, assassinating Hamas’s local cmdr. Muhammad Harb (reportedly in charge of breaching the Rafah border) and Hamas mbr. Sami al-Hamada, seriously wounding a 3d Hamas mbr. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in Bayt Umar, clashing with armed Palestinians, killing 1 Palestinian gunman; 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 7; arresting 4, including an American). A Jewish settler injures 2 Palestinian men in a deliberate hit-and-run nr. Hebron. Unidentified assailants detonate a bomb outside police headquarters in Gaza City, causing no injuries. (NYT, WP, WT 1/26; OCHA 1/30; PCHR 1/31)

The IDF bars all imports into Gaza, including fuel, food, medicine; makes an air strike destroying the empty PA Interior Min. building in Gaza City (heavily damaged in a 7/06 air strike), killing 1 Palestinian bystander, wounding 46 (including 3 women, 19 children playing soccer nearby); makes a 2d air strike targeting an alleged rocketlaunching squad in Jabaliya r.c., killing 2 Hamas mbrs., wounding 3 bystanders; makes a 3d air strike destroying a Hamasaffiliated security facility in central Gaza; sends troops, bulldozers into Khuza to level lands, firing on residential areas, wounding a 9-yr.-old Palestinian boy; makes a late-night incursion into areas nr. Jabaliya r.c., raiding 2 Palestinian homes, making 2 air strikes on armed Palestinians who confront them, killing 2 Hamas mbrs., wounding 2 bystanders, arresting 8 Palestinians, demolishing 1 Palestinian home, damaging 3 others, bulldozing 4 d. of olive trees. Palestinian factions, including Hamas, fire 31 rockets fr. Gaza toward Israel; 16 land inside Israel, causing damage but no injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Tulkarm; 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 3). A Hamas mbr. wounded in an 1/17 IDF air strike on Gaza City dies. (NYT, PCHR, WP, WT 1/19; NYT 1/20; OCHA 1/23; PCHR 1/24)

The IDF makes air strikes on a Hamas training camp nr. Khan Yunis, killing 2 Hamas mbrs. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem, Hebron (firing percussion grenades into 4 stores, starting fires that cause heavy damage), Jenin; patrols in alBireh, Asira al-Shamaliyya, Ramallah. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba rampage through Palestinian areas of Hebron, attacking buildings with iron bars, bottles, stones; the IDF intervenes when Palestinian residents confront the settlers, firing tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets at the Palestinians, wounding 11 and arresting 4. In Bayt Lahiya, Palestinian gunmen loot, burn the private American International School, leaving fliers claiming that the attack was staged by the previously unknown Army of Believers—al-Qa‘ida Branch on the Land of Palestine. (WP 1/13; OCHA 1/16; PCHR 1/17)