The Palestine Chronology

Protests continue across the oPt as IDF troops violently clash with Palestinians protesting and throwing stones along Gaza’s border e. of al-Bureij r.c. and at Palestine Technical University in Tulkarm; 11 Palestinians are injured. IDF troops shoot and injure a Palestinian in Hebron after she allegedly attempts to stab them. The IDF conducts raids and house searches in 1 village each nr. Jenin, Ramallah, and Qalqilya, 3 areas nr. Hebron, as well as Tulkarm and 1 nearby village, arresting 9 Palestinians, issuing an arrest summons to 1, and confiscating personal property; patrol in 1 village each nr. Ramallah and Qalqilya, and 6 villages nr. Hebron. Off Gaza’s coast, Israeli naval forces open fire on Palestinian fishing boats nr. Jabaliya r.c., causing no damage or injuries. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces begin installing steel columns and other security infrastructure at the city’s bus stations, implementing Israeli PM Netanyahu’s 12/14 order; arrest 4 Palestinians on late-night raids in Jabal Mukabir. (MNA, TOI 12/20; MNA, TOI, YA 12/21; PCHR 12/31)

In Syria, senior Hezbollah officer Samir Kuntar and several Syrian civilians are killed in an air strike outside Damascus. Hezbollah and both Lebanese and Syrian media say that Israel is responsible. The Israeli govt. does not confirm its involvement. Later, unknown persons fire 3 rockets from s. Lebanon into open areas in the Galilee, causing no injuries or damage. The IDF launches retaliatory artillery fire toward the source of the rockets. (DS, HA, JP, MNA, NYT, TOI, YA 12/20; CNN 12/21)

Stabbing and other small-scale incidents continue, keeping tensions high in the oPt. IDF troops shoot and kill a Palestinian driver at a junction nr. Nablus after he rams a group of Israelis with his vehicle, injuring 4 (a 5th Israeli is injured by errant fire during the incident). Israeli settlers block a nearby road to protest the attack. An Israeli security guard shoots and seriously injures a Palestinian woman at the entrance to a settlement nr. Bethlehem after she stabs and lightly injures him. The IDF then raids several homes in Dahaysha r.c. nr. Bethlehem, sparking clashes with stone-throwing Palestinian youths; there are no serious injuries. Later, a Palestinian stabs and moderately injures an Israeli settler in a village nr. Qalqilya. IDF troops raid the village after the attack, searching a number of houses and detaining 15 Palestinians. (EI, MNA, 11/8; HA 11/9; PCHR 11/12)

Elsewhere in the oPt, IDF troops clash with and violently disperse Palestinians protesting w. of Tulkarm and outside a settlement nr. Ramallah; 4 Palestinians are injured. The IDF conducts late-night house searches and raids in Nablus and 2 villages each nr. Hebron and Ramallah, arresting 4 Palestinians. In Gaza, unknown persons fire a rocket into s. Israel. It lands in an open area, causing no damage or injuries. IAF jets launch a retaliatory air strike on a Hamas military base nr. Rafah late at night, causing damage. Off the coast nr. Khan Yunis, Israeli naval forces open fire on Palestinian fishing boats, causing no damage or injuries. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces arrest 6 Palestinians on raids and patrols in Silwan and nr. the Old City. (HA, MNA, TOI, YA 11/8; HA, JP, MNA, YA 11/9; PCHR 11/12)

For the 2d day in a row, Israeli police shoot and kill a Palestinian outside the Old City as he is fleeing a group of Jewish Israelis. The police claim he stabbed and injured an Israeli teen in the area, but multiple videos show the Palestinian youth weaponless and fleeing Israelis who were trying to attack him. Following the killing, clashes break out in the surrounding area and Israeli forces conduct raids throughout East Jerusalem. In total, 21 Palestinians and 1 Lebanese journalist are injured and at least 22 Palestinians are arrested. Around 100 right-wing Jewish activists tour Haram al-Sharif on the last day of Sukkoth. The holiday and corresponding restrictions on Palestinian access at Haram al-Sharif (announced 9/27) end this evening. Protesting the recent Israeli violations at Haram al-Sharif, Palestinian shop owners across the Old City and East Jerusalem shutter their businesses. Later, the Israeli police announce a 48-hour ban on Palestinian entry to the Old City: Only Israeli citizens, Palestinians with Israeli citizenship, and tourists will be allowed access. (EI, HA, MNA, TOI 10/4; MNA, WAFA 10/5; PCHR 10/8)

Hundreds of Palestinians continue nonviolent protests throughout the West Bank. In response, Israeli forces violently disperse protesters, conduct raids, and patrol throughout the area, injuring a total of 25 (1 succumbs to his injuries later in the evening) and arresting 2 Palestinians. Nr. Ramallah, IDF troops search the home of the Palestinian man who attacked a group of Israelis with a knife on 10/3, detaining 18 mbrs. of his family and threatening punitive demolition. The worst violence of the day is concentrated in the Hebron area, where Palestinian youths throw an improvised explosive device toward Israeli troops, and the soldiers respond with live ammunition. Nearby, Israeli settlers assault an elderly Palestinian; smash solar panels; assault a Palestinian family; break the windows of a Palestinian car. Elsewhere, Israeli settlers set fire to agricultural areas nr. Nablus, sparking clashes with Palesinian stone-throwers. Israeli soldiers intervene to protect the settlers, injuring at least 7 Palestinians. Meanwhile, hundreds of settlers block off 2 roads in the Jordan Valley and n. of Ramallah in protest of recent Palestinian attacks. For the 8th time this quarter, rockets are fired from Gaza toward Israel. Although Sarayat al-Shaykh Umar Hadid fighters claim responsibility for the 2 rockets, IAF jets target a retaliatory air strike at a Hamas military site s. of Gaza City, causing severe damage. Off the coast nr. Gaza City, Israeli naval forces arrest 2 Palestinian fishermen. (HA, JP, MNA, WAFA, YA 10/4; HA, JP, MNA, WAFA, NYT 10/5; PCHR 10/8)

In a televised statement, Israeli PM Netanyahu pledges to expedite the punitive demolitions of Palestinian attackers’ family homes, extend the terms of administrative detentions, and increase troop deployments in the oPt. (HA, JP, MNA, NYT, TOI, WAFA 10/4; MNA, YA 10/5)

In response to cross-border gunfire on 9/2, the IAF launches 2 air strikes at a Hamas military site in n. Gaza, causing damage. IDF troops stationed along the n. border fence shoot and injure a Palestinian man allegedly attempting to cross into Israel from the sea, according to the IDF. Israeli forces level land during a limited incursion e. of Khan Yunis. Believing they are Israeli settlers, Palestinians torch a car belonging to 5 U.S. Jewish tourists nr. Hebron, lightly injuring 2 of them with stones. Another Palestinian shelters the tourists in his home until Israeli troops collect them. Israeli forces then raid the area, sparking clashes with the stone-throwing youths. Separately, IDF troops escort around 400 Israeli settlers to Joseph’s Tomb on the outskirts of Nablus. Clashes erupt with Palestinian youths, but there are no serious injuries. Meanwhile, the IDF patrols nr. Tulkarm and Hebron. Israeli forces demolish 7 homes and agricultural structures in a village nr. Ramallah. In East Jerusalem, Israeli authorities ban 40 Palestinian women from entering Haram al-Sharif for periods between 10 and 60 days. They arrest 1 Palestinian at an entrance to the sanctuary and issue an arrest summons to another during a raid in nearby Silwan. (HA, JP, MNA, WAFA 9/3; YA 9/4; PCHR 9/10)

In Gaza, fighters from the Salafi group Sarayat al-Shaykh Umar Hadid fire a rocket into Israel late at night, causing no damage or injuries. IAF jets launch a retaliatory air strike on a Hamas weapons facility in c. Gaza, causing damage but no injuries. Following 2 days of increased tension in East Jerusalem, a Palestinian attacks a group of Israeli border police nr. the Damascus Gate to the Old City, stabbing and injuring 1. The Israeli police assault and arrest the man. Israeli forces demolish 2 Palestinian homes and 7 stores in al-‘Izzariya to clear space for the expansion of the separation wall. They also detain 4 Palestinians at Haram al-Sharif. Late at night, Palestinian youths throw a firebomb at an Israeli police jeep in al-Tur, sparking clashes with Israeli forces; 2 Palestinians are detained. In the West Bank, IDF troops conduct house searches and raids nr. Tulkarm, Hebron, Jenin, and Qalqilya, arresting 11 Palestinians. (AP, HA, JP, MNA, WAFA, YA 8/26; HA, JP, MNA, PCHR, YA 8/27; TOI 8/28; PCHR 9/3)

Israeli Air Force (IAF) jets conduct an air strike targeting a vehicle in the Syrian Golan Heights between 10 and 15 km from the Israeli border, killing at least 4 of the PIJ mbrs. allegedly responsible for the 8/20 rocket attack on Israel. In Gaza, 2 Palestinian children are injured when an unexploded piece of Israeli ordnance detonates in n. Rafah. In the West Bank, IDF troops violently disperse Palestinian, Israeli, and international protesters at Friday demonstrations against the Israeli occupation in 6 areas nr. Ramallah (Bil‘in, Ni‘lin, Nabi Salih, Silwad, Jalazun r.c., and outside Ofer Prison) and Kafr Qaddum; 5 Palestinians are injured and 3 are arrested. Israeli forces also conduct house searches and raids in 1 village nr. Hebron; patrol nr. Hebron, Ramallah, and Jericho. In East Jerusalem, Israeli officials deliver demolition notices to a mosque, house, and apartment in Silwan, where there has been a recent increase in Palestinian home demolitions and evictions in order for Israel to increase the neighborhood’s Jewish settler population. Israeli forces violently disperse Palestinians protesting against the Israeli occupation in Abu Dis, causing no serious injuries. (MNA, NYT, TOI, YA 8/21; JTA, MNA 8/22; PCHR 8/27)

In the West Bank, Israeli forces demolish 2 residential buildings in the Beit El settlement, despite the govt.-backed petition from the developer. Around 200 Israeli settlers gather in Beit El to protest the demolition, throwing stones at the Israeli troops and setting small fires. For the 2d day in a row, settlers also gather in the Sa-Nur settlement outpost that was evacuated in 2005, and they verbally assault Palestinians in the area. Late at night, IDF troops evacuate the outpost and the surrounding area; no violence is reported. Meanwhile, IDF troops conduct late-night raids in Aida r.c. nr. Bethlehem, arresting 3 Palestinians. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces demolish a wedding hall and several other Palestinian buildings in Bayt Hanina. They also patrol in Issawiyya, sparking minor clashes with stone-throwing Palestinian youths; 3 Palestinians are arrested. (HA, JP, MNA, TOI, WAFA 7/29; HA, JP, PCHR, YA 7/30; PCHR 8/6)

Israeli PM Netanyahu approves the “immediate” construction of 296 settler residences in Beit El, and 500 in East Jerusalem. Israel’s COGAT Mordechai signs a permit to immediately sell land for the construction, and the municipality will be allowed to issue construction permits within 15 days. The UN, EU, U.S. State Dept., Egyptian Foreign Ministry, and PLO all criticize the settlement announcement. (HA, MNA, TOI, WAFA, YA 7/29; MNA, WAFA, YA 7/30)

In Syria, an IAF drone launches an air strike nr. the border with Israel, killing 2 Hizballah fighters and 3 Syrian soldiers. The IDF does not comment on the incident, and reports differ on the nature of the attack. Separately, according to the PFLP-Gen. Command, an ally of the Syrian govt., Israeli jets strike an arms depot used by the group in Lebanon nr. the border with Syria, injuring 6. (HA, JP, YA 7/29; HA 7/30)

Sarayat al-Shaykh Umar Hadid, a small armed group in Gaza, fires 2 rockets into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In a Twitter post, the group claims that the attack was revenge for Hamas’s killing of the leader of a small Islamist group on 6/2. Hours later, IAF jets launch air strikes on 3 or 4 vacant Hamas military sites nr. Gaza City and Khan Yunis. Earlier, IDF troops stationed on the border e. of Khan Yunis fire warning shots at a group of Palestinian farmers, moderately injuring 1. Off the coast nr. Gaza City, Israeli naval forces open fire on 2 Palestinian fishing boats, arrest 5 fishermen, and confiscate 1 boat. In the West Bank, IDF troops arrest 2 leaders of the PFLP and confiscate several computers from a govt. office during raids in Tulkarm and a nearby village. Late at night, the IDF conducts house searches and raids in Hebron and 1 nearby village, Tulkarm, 2 villages nr. Nablus, and 1 nr. Ramallah, arresting 10 Palestinians; patrols during the day in Tulkarm, 1 village and al-‘Arub r.c. nr. Hebron, and 1 village each nr. Jericho and Qalqilya. Israeli forces bulldoze 30 dunams (around 7.5 acres) of land nr. Hebron and uproot 400 almond and olive trees. An Israeli settler rams a Palestinian with a car nr. Salfit, causing minor bruising. In East Jerusalem, Israeli police violently disperse hundreds of Palestinians protesting at the annual Israeli Lights Festival in the Old City; 4 Palestinians are arrested and there are no serious injuries. (MNA, NYT, TOI, WAFA 6/3; HA, MEE, MNA, PCHR, REU, WAFA, YA 6/4; JP 6/5; PCHR 6/11)