The Palestine Chronology

The IDF demolishes 14 Palestinian homes in Rafah, 2 in al-Mughraqa; fires on residential areas of Rafah. (PCHR 2/20)

After 6 days of mtgs. in Ramallah with the Quartet reps. of the EU, Russia, the UN (the U.S. declines to send a rep.), Arafat publicly declares his intention to appoint a PM. (HA, MM, WT 2/14; NYT, WP 2/15; MM 2/17, 2/18, 2/20; MEI 2/21)

At the UNSC, UN weapons inspectors give their 2d report on Iraq, saying that they have not found any evidence of WMDs, there is no “convincing evidence” that Iraq is evading inspections, but Iraq has not accounted for all of the weapons it was believed to have held previously. An irate Powell reiterates U.S. claims that Iraq is hiding weapons of mass destruction, duping the inspectors. (HA, MM 2/14; NYT, WP, WT 2/15; MEI 2/21)

The IDF lifts the sealing of the territories imposed on 2/10, but maintains curfews in many areas; fires on a group of Palestinians allegedly attempting to plant a roadside bomb nr. Netzarim settlement, killing 2 or 3, capturing 1; fatally shoots 1 Palestinian in a separate incident nr. Netzarim; kills 2 Palestinians during a demolition operation in Rafah; conducts massive arrest raids targeting Islamic Jihad, Hamas in Jenin, Qalqilya, Tulkarm; raids the Jenin courthouse, arresting 2 Palestinians. (HA 2/13; PCHR 2/20)

A delegation of 50 senior American Jewish leaders (including Council of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations [CPMAJO] exec. vice dir. Malcolm Hoenlein, fmr. CPMAJO chmn. Ron Lauder), accompanied by 2 reps. of Sharon, meets in Almaty with the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, as well as senior ministers fr. Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Turkey and the regional senior execs. of U.S. energy companies. Israeli diplomats serving in the region also take part. The Jewish delegation says that its aim is to “begin a dialog of civilizations” with Muslim leaders to head off a “clash of civilizations”; that it is bringing messages of support from. Bush, Powell, Sharon; that Bush has been “personally involved and supportive in preparations for this mission.” Hoenlein notes that CPMAJO made a similar trip to Uzbekistan in 1996 that led to the establishment of Israeli-Uzbek diplomatic relations in 1997, noting that “sometimes we can have access in places before the Israeli government.” (HA 2/13; see also HA 2/12)

The IDF raids a Nablus r.c. in search of wanted tanzim mbr. Kamal al-Khatib, fires rockets at his home, killing 1 Palestinian, injuring 1; Khatib surrenders. The IDF also demolishes 2 Palestinian homes in Rafah; conducts arrest raids in Khan Yunis. A 13-yr.-old Palestinian dies of injuries received earlier. (HA 2/13; PCHR 2/20)

The IDF raids Nablus, fatally shooting a wanted tanzim mbr. in what may be an assassination, arresting 6 others; raids Qalqilya, encounters a stone-throwing mob, opens fire on the protesters, killing an 8-yr.-old Palestinian boy, wounding 9; fatally shoots a armed Palestinian nr. Kissufim crossing in Gaza; demolishes a Palestinian home in Rafah; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Jenin town and r.c.; conducts arrest raids targeting Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Beitunia, Husan, Jenin, Kafr Qalil; fires on residential areas of al-Qarara, Rafah. A PFLP gunman fatally shoots an IDF officer in Manger Square in Bethlehem; the IDF sends tanks into the city, declares it a closed military zone. Late this evening, the IDF fatally shoots 2 Palestinians nr. Dugit settlement. Israeli police arrest an Israeli DMin. supervisor responsible for overseeing construction of a section of Israel’s new security fence on charges of collaborating with building contractors to uproot Palestinian olive trees, sell them for profit inside Israel. (HA 2/11; HA, NYT, PR, WP, WT 2/12; VOI 2/12 in WNC 2/13; PCHR 2/20)

The IDF assassinates wanted PFLP mbr. Imad Mabruk in al-`Ayn r.c.; fatally shoots an armed Palestinian nr. a Jewish settlement in Gaza; arrests 3 Hamas mbrs. nr. Ramallah carrying 44 lbs. of explosives, allegedly en route to stage a suicide bombing; demolishes 1 Palestinian home in Rafah, 1 in Sawahara; conducts arrest raids in Kefar Darom, Nablus. A Palestinian wounded in Tulkarm on 2/9 dies of his injuries. A roadside bomb explodes nr. an IDF patrol in Rafah, causing no injuries. Late in the evening, the IDF seals the West Bank, Gaza for 3 days, citing concerns there will be anti-Israeli attacks during the Id al-Adha holiday. (AP, HA 2/10; VOI 2/10 in WNC 2/11; HA, NYT, WT 2/11; VOI 2/11 in WNC 2/12; PR 2/12; PCHR 2/20)

Outside Gush Katif settlement, 3 Islamic Jihad mbrs. detonate a car bomb nr. an IDF checkpoint, killing themselves, lightly injuring 4 IDF soldiers; soldiers open fire on Palestinians waiting to cross the checkpoint, wounding 2. The IDF demolishes 8 Palestinian homes in Rafah; conducts arrest raids in East Jerusalem; fires on residential areas of Abasan, Khan Yunis, Rafah, Tulkarm. (HA, REU 2/9; HA, NYT, WT 2/10; VOI 2/10 in WNC 2/11; PCHR 2/20)

Israeli pres. Moshe Katsav formally invites Sharon to form a coalition government. Sharon accepts saying that “The new government will have to complete the campaign against terror, remove the terrorist leadership, and create the conditions for the emergence of a new Palestinian leadership with which it will be possible to make real peace.” (WT 2/10)

The IDF conducts arrest raids in Nablus, Nur al-Shams r.c. (targeting the tanzim), Ramallah (targeting Hamas); demolishes 7 Palestinian homes in Khan Yunis, 6 in Rafah, 2 in Nablus; bulldozes 36 dunams of land nr. Dayr al-Balah; shells residential areas of Khan Yunis. A Palestinian dies of injuries received on 1/7/03. (HA, REU 2/8; PR 2/12; PCHR 2/20)

The IDF shells residential areas of Khan Yunis, killing 1 Palestinian; bulldozes 72 dunams of land nr. Bayt Hanun. (PCHR 2/20)

The IDF fatally shoots a “suspicious” Palestinian nr. Tulkarm; fires on residential areas of Rafah; conducts arrest raids in Bayt Furik, al-Til. In a joint AMB-PFLP operation, 2 Palestinian gunmen attack an IDF post nr. Nablus, killing 2 IDF soldiers, wounding 1 before being shot dead. An Israeli Arab stabs, lightly injures an Israeli policeman in n. Israel before being shot dead by another officer. Based on information fr. the IDF interrogation of 2 Islamic Jihad mbrs. capture in the West Bank today, Israeli police find an explosive belt in the washroom of a mosque in the Israeli-Arab town of Taibeh, which they remove and detonate. (MM, REU 2/6; VOI 2/6 in WNC 2/7; NYT, WP 2/7; HA, NYT 2/8; PR 2/12; PCHR 2/20)

Following up on the Sharon-Qurai` talks on 2/5, PA Interior M Hani al-Hassan meets secretly with Sharon chief of staff Dov Weisglass at the home of U.S. Amb. to Israel Dan Kurtzer to discuss possible resumption of Israeli-PA cease-fire talks. (HA, MM 2/10; JT, QA, al-Quds, SA 2/10 in WNC 2/11; HA, MM 2/11; PR 2/12; MEI 2/21)

The IDF demolishes a Palestinian home in Maghazi r.c., killing a 65-yr.-old Palestinian woman who refused orders to vacate; raids a PSF office in Qalqilya, fatally shooting 1 PSF officer, wounding another; fires on stone-throwing Palestinians in Nablus, killing a 17-yr.-old Palestinian, and in Tamun, seriously injuring a 13-yr.-old Palestinian; fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis, wounding 13 Palestinians; conducts arrest raids, demolishes stalls in the vegetable market in Hebron; conducts arrest raids in Bayt Awla, Bethlehem, Dayr Dibwan, Ramallah. Late in the evening, IDF helicopters open fire on a retirement home attached to a hospital in Gaza City, killing 2 Palestinian medical workers. Palestinians fire 10 mortars at Gush Katif settlement, causing no damage or injuries. (AP, HA, LAW, PCHR, REU 2/5; XIN 2/5 in WNC 2/7; LAW, NYT, WP, WT 2/6; NYT, PM, WP 2/7; DUS 2/7 in WNC 2/10)

Israeli Interior Min. inspectors demolish a mosque in Til al-Malah, an unrecognized bedouin village in the Negev. (HA 2/5)

Under “intense pressure from the American administration,” Sharon holds secret talks with PC speaker and senior PA negotiator Ahmad Qurai`, presents him with a plan for a gradual cease-fire and resumption of security coordination. (HA 2/8; WT 2/9; MM, NYT, WT 2/10; JT, QA, al-Quds, SA 2/10 in WNC 2/11; MM 2/11; AYM 2/11 in WNC 2/13; PR 2/12; MEI 2/21)

The IDF arrests 17 Islamic Jihad mbrs. in Hebron; claims they planned, carried out anti-Israeli attacks on orders fr. their “headquarters” in Syria; says it is still searching for the cell leader Diab Suwayki, whom it has tried to assassinate twice. The IDF also demolishes 5 Palestinian homes in, fires on residential areas of Rafah; demolishes a Palestinian home in Bayt Furik; raids 2 buildings in Ramallah containing medical and law offices, destroying furniture, files; fires on stone-throwing Palestinians in Tulkarm, seriously injuring a 13-yr.-old Palestinian; shells residential areas of Khan Yunis r.c.; confiscates 76 Palestinian taxis operating on the Ramallah+nJerusalem road (see 1/20); conducts arrest raids in Balata r.c., Jenin, Nablus. A Hamas gunman ambushes, lightly wounds a Jewish settler nr. Dayr al-Balah; in response, the IDF demolishes 4 Palestinian homes, bulldozes 31 dunams of land nr. Kefar Darom. The IDF says it has noticed increased efforts by the PA to halt the firing of Qassam missiles and planting of bombs in Gaza; says the PA stepped up efforts before elections, but has continued them after elections as well. An Israeli court orders Arafat, the PA to pay more than $10 m. in damages to Israel's Egged bus company for losses caused by Palestinian suicide bombings. (AP, HA, PM, REU 2/4; LAW, PCHR, PR, WP, WT 2/5; TJT, WJW 2/6)

The IDF bulldozes 7 Palestinian homes and an electricity grid in Rafah, 3 homes in Dayr al-Balah; conducts arrest raids in Bethlehem, Hebron, Nablus; fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis. An Israeli military court sentences Gazan Hamas mbr. Palestinian Nabil Okal, arrested in 6/00, to 27 yrs. in prison for training with al-Qa`ida in Afghanistan, plotting anti-Israeli attacks; he is not accused of being a mbr. of al-Qa`ida or of taking any violent action; Okal has denied the charges. Israel transfers $58 m. to the PA in VAT taxes. YESHA settlers council reports that the West Bank, settlement population increased by 6% in 2002, reaching 226,028; has increased by 11.8% over the past 2 yrs. despite the intifada; Israel’s Interior Min. confirms the numbers. (HA 2/3; HA, NYT 2/4; LAW, PCHR 2/5; al-Quds 2/5 in WNC 2/7; TJT 2/6)

Countries begin recalling their embassy staff fr. Iraq in anticipation of a U.S. strike. The U.S. strongly urges its citizens to leave the Persian Gulf. (WT 2/4)

The IDF fires tank shells at a group Palestinian farmers tilling a field nr. Kissufim crossing, killing 2, wounding 1, saying it thought the men were planting a roadside bomb; delays passage through a checkpoint to a hospital to a Palestinian heart patient, allowing him to die; demolishes 22 Palestinian homes in Hebron; fires on residential areas of Dahaysha r.c.; conducts arrest raids in Bethlehem. An Israeli court authorizes Israel to seize $12 m. fr. the PA’s frozen funds to pay Israel’s electric company for power supplied to Gaza districts. (HA, REU 2/2; MM 2/4; LAW, PCHR, PR 2/5; TJT 2/6; MEI 2/7)

Overnight, the IDF fatally shoots an armed DFLP mbr. en route to attack an IDF post; shells residential areas of Rafah; conducts arrest raids in Hebron. During the day, the IDF demolishes 4 Palestinian homes in Rafah. At a checkpoint outside Ramallah, 2 IDF soldiers reportedly steal more than $750 fr. 4 Palestinian commuters. In East Jerusalem, 2 Palestinians get into an altercation with, stab and wound 3 ultra-Orthodox Jews, escape. Jewish settlers fr. Susia settlement nr. Yatta attack Palestinians, Israeli peace activists working farmland the settlers believed was “too near the settlement”; IDF soldiers intervene, confiscate the Palestinians farm equipment. (HA 2/1; NYT 2/2; LAW, PCHR 2/5)

IDF undercover units raid a fire station in Jenin, assassinate wanted Hamas mbr. Iyad Musa, also killing a Palestinian firefighter. IDF tanks fire 3 flechette shells at a group of Palestinian children playing soccer in a field btwn. Jabaliya and Bayt Hanun, seriously injuring 3, lightly injuring 5 children, 4 adults in nearby homes; the IDF says the children setting up goal posts were mistaken for militants preparing to launch Qassam missiles. The IDF also demolishes 2 Palestinian homes in Hebron, 2 in Rafah; conducts arrest raids in Dayr al-Balah, Hebron, Tulkarm. (HA, PM, REU 1/31; HA, NYT, WT 2/1; HA 2/2, 2/3; REU 2/4; LAW, PCHR 2/5; MEI 2/7)

IDF undercover units assassinate AMB Tulkarm cmdr. Fayiz Jabber , also killing a 2d AMB mbr., wounding 8 bystanders. In Hebron, the IDF conducts arrest raids targeting the AMB, raiding and searching 3 police stations, several homes and offices (including the Hebron governate, al-Quds university, Islamic charities), closing radio and TV stations, bulldozing stalls in the Hebron market, blocking roads with earthen barriers. The IDF also fatally shoots 3 Palestinians allegedly attempting to fire a Qassam missile into Israel; demolishes 5 Palestinian homes, a sports center, 2 wells serving 1,000s of Palestinians in Rafah, damaging 27 homes; demolishes a Palestinian home in Tamun, sparking clashes with local Palestinians, injuring 17; bulldozes 31 dunams of land in Dayr al-Balah; fires on residential areas of Jabaliya, Khan Yunis; conducts arrest raids in Dayr al-Balah. An Israeli court sentences 2 Israeli Arabs fr. Nazareth to 5 yrs. in prison for plotting to smuggle arms, stage a suicide bombing in Afula. (HA 1/30; HA 1/31; LAW, PCHR, PR 2/5)

The IDF lifts the comprehensive curfew on the occupied territories imposed on 1/26; fatally shoots 1 Palestinian shepherd who leads his flock too near IDF bulldozers leveling 400 dunams of Palestinian crops nr. Jabaliya r.c.; bulldozes land around, fires on residential areas of Tal al-Sultan, wounding 18 Palestinians; reportedly finds, disables 2 bombs planted nr. a Jewish settlements in Gaza, inside a PSF station in Hebron. A Palestinian gunman fires at a Jewish settler vehicle nr. Beit El settlement, wounding 2 Jewish settlers. A 2d Palestinian gunman shoots, lightly injures an IDF soldier outside a Jewish settlement in Gaza; soldiers fire on residential areas nearby in response, wounding 19 Palestinians. A Palestinian dies of injuries received during the IDF’s 1/25 attack on Gaza City. Jewish settlers attack 2 international peace activists who approach Itamar settlement to investigate Palestinian claims that settlers had taken over Palestinian farmland. Settlers beat the activists: steal their phone, camera; take their jackets, shoes, socks, wallets, passports; forcibly take them to Itamar. The IDF arrests the activists for trespassing on settler property. An Israeli court authorizes Israel’s seizure of over $9 m. fr. the PA’s frozen funds to pay the Ayalon insurance company to cover claims for cars stolen btwn. 1996 and 2000, allegedly with the PA’s knowledge and cooperation. (HA, International Solidarity Movement press release, LAW, PCHR 1/29; HA, NYT 1/30; PR 2/5)

Arafat calls on Sharon to immediately resume peace talks in light of his election victory, but Sharon says he will not deal with Palestinians “involved in terror.” (HA 1/29; NYT 1/30)

Bush phones Sharon to congratulate him on his election victory. Also calling to congratulate Sharon are Egyptian Pres. Husni Mubarak, who invites him to reopen peace talks with the Palestinians in Cairo after his new government is formed, and European Union (EU) pres. Romano Prodi who urges him to take action on the road map quickly, now that elections are over. (HA, MM 1/30, 1/31; MM 2/5; MEI 2/21)

The IDF sends tanks into Jenin, clashes with residents, killing 4 Palestinians, wounding 1 Palestinian journalist; 2 IDF soldiers are also wounded. The IDF demolishes 7 Palestinian homes in Rafah, 2 in Balata r.c.; bulldozes Palestinian land nr. Jabaliya r.c.; fires on stone-throwing Palestinians protesting the curfew in Nablus, killing 1 Palestinian; fires on residential areas of Tal al-Sultan. (AP, HA, PM 1/28; LAW, PCHR 1/29)

Sharon and his Likud party win a landslide election victory largely at the Labor party’s expense. Likud gets 38 seats (up fr. 19 in the 2/01 elections; higher even that top projections, which figured Likud would take 32 seats), Labor gets 19 seats (down fr. 25), Shinui comes in 3d with 15 seats (up fr. 6), and the ultra-Orthodox Shas party gets 11 seats (down fr. 17); Meretz, 1 of Israel’s clear-cut peace parties, gets 6 seats (down fr. 10); the far-right National Union party, not represented in the last Knesset, gets 7 seats. Yisra’el Ba’Aliya party head Natan Sharansky quits the Knesset, Meretz head Yossi Sarid resign fr. as party chmn. in light of their parties’ poor showing. During the day, Israeli police detain 4 Israeli Arabs for leading a 15-car caravan around the Galilee, calling for an election boycott. Voter turnout was 68.5%-- lowest in Israel’s history. Sharon has 42 days to form a majority coalition. The new Knesset will have 40 freshmen MKs. (HA, MM, WP 1/28; HA, MM, NYT, WP, WT 1/29; AYM, al-Quds 1/29 in WNC 1/30; JP, MM, WJW, WP 1/30; JPI 1/31; PR 2/5; MEI 2/7; MM 2/18)

Bush gives State of the Union address, focusing on Iraq; says Saddam Hussein has missed his “final chance” by showing “utter contempt” for the UN inspectors; claims Iraq is hiding and amassing weapons of mass destruction (WMDs; including an active nuclear weapons program), deceiving inspectors, aiding al-Qa`ida; says the U.S. seeks to work with an international coalition to remove Hussein but will go it alone if necessary, adding that “The liberty we prize is not America’s gift to the world; it is God’s gift to humanity.” Regarding the Arab-Israeli conflict, he says only that the U.S. will continue to work for a “secure Israel and a democratic Palestine.” (NYT, WP, WT 1/29; MM 1/30; MA 1/30 in WNC 1/31; MEI 2/7)

The IDF fatally shoots 2 Palestinians nr. Atzmona settlement; conducts arrest raids (targeting Hamas, Islamic Jihad, PFLP) in Bethlehem, al-Fahs, Hebron, Jenin, Nablus, al-Qarara, Ramallah, Tufah; demolishes a Palestinian home in Ras al-Amud, 1 in `Aqbat Tafuh. Late in the evening, IDF helicopters fire missiles at the Gaza City home of senior Hamas mbr. Muhammad Atil, killing his 2 teenage children, wounding 11. The IDF reports that it has removed fr. his post an intelligence officer who “disrupted” a planned air strike in retaliation to the 1/5 Tel Aviv bombing in order to “prevent harm to innocent Palestinians”; the officer was in possession of, refused to share intelligence information critical to the mission. The IDF begins work on a 45 km stretch of the separation fence btwn. Kafr Salim and Beit She’an, nr. Jenin. (HA, REU 1/27; HA, NYT, WT 1/28; MA 1/28 in WNC 1/29; LAW, PCHR, PR 1/29; PR 2/5)

Palestinian factions close 4-days of talks in Egypt without reaching an agmt. on a cease-fire and national unity platform. (HA, MM 1/27; MENA 1/27 in WNC 1/28; MENA, SA, XIN 1/28 in WNC 1/29; PCHR, PR 1/29; MM 1/30; MEI 2/21)

International Atomic Energy Agency, UN inspectors report that Iraq has generally cooperated with inspections but has not been proactive; they have found no evidence of biological, chemical, or nuclear weapons but say some questions remain. (MM 1/27; MM, NYT, WP, WT 1/28; MM 1/31)

The IDF completes demolition of 4 bridges linking Bayt Hanun, Gaza City; pulls forces out of Bayt Hanun. Late in the evening, the IDF sends tanks, helicopter gunships into central Gaza City in its deepest incursion into Gaza since the al-Aqsa intifada began, marking a major military escalation just 3 days before Israeli elections. IDF soldiers clash with Palestinians fr. around the area who race to block the incursion, killing 12 Palestinians (3 of them armed, 2 of them children), injuring at least 40, demolishing 3 Palestinian homes and 2 workshops, raiding 10s of buildings and shops. IDF troops guarding Gan Or, Neve Dekalim settlements fire on residential areas of Khan Yunis. Jewish settlers fire at 2 Palestinians grazing sheep nr. Mod’in settlement, killing 1. (HA 1/25; AFP 1/25 in WNC 1/31; HA, LAW, NYT, WP, WT 1/26; WP 1/27; ATL 1/27 in WNC 1/28; LAW, PCHR, PR 1/29; MEI 2/7; WP 2/10; MEI 2/21)

Ha’Aretz reports that “several wks. ago” Sharon met secretly with YESHA rabbis, promised that he would open the Temple Mount to Jewish worshipers soon. One rabbi warned Sharon that he came to power in part because of his 9/00 visit to Temple Mount, that he risks losing power if he does not follow through and reopen the holy site to Jews soon. Sharon says he will “work behind the scenes” to achieve that goal, that he would be interested in joining a growing number of Jewish protesters who circle the Temple Mount once a mo. to protest the ban on Jewish worship at the site. (HA 1/25)

IDF helicopters fire 11 missiles a metal workshop in Gaza City, destroying it; 2 of the missiles are duds that go astray hitting, damaging an Anglican church, a hospital. The IDF also demolishes 1 Palestinian home in the city. In response, Hamas fires 3 Qassam rockets fr. n. Gaza into the Israeli border town of Sederot, lightly injuring 1 Israeli. Late in the evening, the IDF begins demolish 4 bridges on the main roads linking Bayt Hanun to Gaza City; says the demolitions will facilitate its “control over main transportation axes,” ability to prevent Palestinians fr. firing rockets, mortars into Israel; the IDF clashes with local Palestinians protesting the demolitions, killing 1 Palestinian, wounding 14. The IDF fires on a group of Palestinians traveling close to a settler bypass road nr. Bayt Iba checkpoint nr. Nablus, killing 2 Palestinians; fires on residential areas of Beitunia, Ithna, Jenin; demolishes at least 14 Palestinian homes in Rafah. The IDF also fatally shoots 2 AMB mbrs. involved in the fatal shooting of 3 IDF soldiers nr. Hebron on 1/23, wounds and captures a 3d, while the 4^th escapes. A Haifa district court convict senior Islamic Jihad mbr. Tabith Mardawi of responsibility for the deaths of 21 Israelis in several attacks. (AP, HA, MM 1/24; AFP 1/24 in WNC 1/25; AP, HA, NYT, WT 1/25; LAW, NYT, WT 1/26; LAW, PCHR 1/29)

Outside Beit Haggai settlement s. of Hebron, 4 AMB gunmen fatally shoot 3 IDF soldiers.. The IDF fatally shoots a mentally disabled Palestinian in al-Maghazi r.c.; fires on residential areas n. of Ramallah; destroys a 5-story apartment building in Gaza City; bulldozes 5 Palestinian homes in Brazil r.c., 2 homes and 5 shacks in al-Sayafa, “a number of homes” in Bethlehem, 1 home in Rafah, a PSF outpost nr. Netzarim settlement; uproots 500 olive trees nr. Qalqilya; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Jenin, Khan Yunis, Qalqilya, Tulkarm. (REU 1/23; NYT, WP, WT 1/24; LAW, PCHR, PR 1/29)

The IDF demolishes 2 Palestinian homes, 2 shacks nr. Ramallah and 2 homes, 1 shack nr. Hebron; blows up a dovecote containing a rifle, homemade pipe bombs, perhaps mortars in Dahaysha r.c.; blows up a storehouse containing chemicals, steel bearings that could possibly be used in manufacturing bombs; conducts arrest raids in the Bethlehem area (targeting Hamas mbrs.), Khan Yunis, Ramallah, Tulkarm; fires on residential areas of Rafah. Palestinians fire a rocket at a Jewish settlement in Gaza, damaging 1 home. A Palestinian dies of injuries received on 1/11. (HA, JTA, LAW, PCHR 1/22)

The IDF bulldozes 63 shops, market stalls in Nazlat Issa, 1 of the only thriving Palestinian commercial centers, located very close to the West Bank border with Israel; maps of Israel’s planned security fence show the fence running e. of Nazlat Issa, which would cut off the village fr. the rest of the West Bank. The IDF also beats 2 Palestinian photographers for international agencies as they try to photograph an IDF jeep driving through Nablus with 2 Palestinian youths clinging to the hood, threaten to kill the journalists if they see the photo published; fires on residential areas of Bayt Lahia; conducts arrest raids (targeting Hamas, Islamic Jihad) in Hebron, Jenin r.c., Jericho, Nablus, Ramallah; demolishes a Palestinian home in Yatta, nr. Hebron. Islamic Jihad says that 2 of its low-ranking mbrs. have escaped fr. the IDF’s Ofer detention center in the West Bank. Israeli border police halt a suspicious van nr. Umm al-Fahm, just inside the Green Line; the 4 occupants of the car flee (2 into Israel, 2 into the West Bank); police find 300 kg. of explosives inside. Shin Bet arrests the wife of jailed PFLP leader Saadat at the Allenby border crossing, on her way to Jordan to fly to Brazil for a conference; gives no reason for her detention. A Palestinian dies of injuries received on 3/4/02. (BBC, HA 1/21; HA, LAW, NYT, PCHR, PM, PR, WT 1/22; PM 1/23)

Reversing an 8/18/02 decision, the Israeli High Court rules that the IDF’s "neighborhood procedure" (i.e., sending a Palestinian to warn a wanted individual to surrender to IDF troops waiting nearby) is legal, saying the IDF may not force Palestinians to act as human shields, but it may use them if they “volunteer.” (HA, WT 1/22)

The IDF raids al-Quds University in Ramallah, searches computers and files; demolishes 2 Palestinian homes in Hebron, 1 in Bayt Lahia; fires on residential areas of Canada r.c.; conducts arrest raids in al-Bireh, Jenin, Nablus (targeting the AMB), Ramallah; bulldozes 80 dunams of land in al-Qarara. IDF soldiers at Ma’ale Ephraim checkpoint halt a PRCS ambulance, search it, confiscate the paramedics IDs, order 1 paramedic at gunpoint to strip and stand in a garbage pile; when the medic refuses to remove his underwear, a soldier threatens to shoot him in the head, but the medic again refuses and is not harmed; the ambulance is held for another 3 hrs. before being ordered back to Nablus. In a 2d incident nr. Nablus, an IDF tank rams its gun barrel into an ambulance transporting a patient, lifts it off the ground, eventually allows it to proceed to the hospital. Israeli border police begin confiscating Palestinian taxis with Israeli license plates operating in East Jerusalem that are suspected of transporting illegal workers; order taxi drivers to begin checking the work permits of their passengers. (HA, PRCS press release 1/20; MM, PRCS press release 1/21; LAW, PCHR 1/22)

The IDF fires on, shells residential areas of Hebron, Khan Yunis, Nablus; demolishes a Palestinian home in Bayt Lahia; conducts arrest raids in Jenin. 100s of Jewish settlers rampage through Hebron for a 3d day, setting fire to Palestinian cars, smashing windows of homes, attacking journalists, smashing their cameras; at least 10 cars, 25 homes have been damages since 1/17. A Palestinian dies of injuries received on 1/11. (HA, JP 1/19; NYT, WP 1/20; NYT 1/21; LAW, PCHR 1/22; HA 1/27)

The IDF tracks, fatally shoots the 2d Hamas gunman involved in the 1/17 Hebron attack; fatally shoots a Palestinian repairing a satellite dish on his roof in Rafah; shells residential areas of Rafah r.c.; bulldozes some 25 dunams of Palestinian land nr. Kefar Darom settlement. 100s of Jewish settlers attack Palestinians, vandalize property in Hebron for a 2d day, including raiding a Palestinian home, setting fire to the kitchen and a car, assaulting a woman; at least 1 Palestinian requires hospitalization. Armed Jewish settlers attack, beat Palestinian farmers, Israeli and foreign peace activists attempting to plow Palestinian land outside Hebron, fire in the air, damage and steal farming equipment (including a tractor). (HA 1/18; HA, WT 1/19; LAW, PCHR 1/22; HA 1/27)

Off the Gaza coast, a Hamas mbr. in a booby-trapped raft attempts to ram an Israeli naval patrol boat, but soldiers fire on the raft, causing it to explode, killing the Hamas mbr., causing no damage. Nr. Hebron 2 Hamas gunmen attack a lone trailer marking an illegal hilltop outpost, occupied by a single Jewish settler family; 1 Palestinian, 1 Jewish settler (a prominent mbr. of the outlawed Kach movement) die in an exchange of gunfire, 3 settlers are wounded, the other Palestinian escapes. Soon after Jewish settlers attack, vandalize Palestinian homes in Hebron. The IDF erects a sand barrier around the al-Sayafa area in the n. of the Gaza Strip, closing it off fr. its surroundings; bulldozes 1,500 m² of land, a main road in al-Qarara; conducts arrest raids in Tulkarm; erects a new checkpoint e. of Dayr al Balah. Some 3,500 Palestinians attend a Hamas-led rally in Gaza City protesting U.S. plans to attack Iraq. The IDF says that it is concerned over the increase in weapons thefts fr. IDF bases during 2002; claims Jewish underworld figures, Israeli Arabs, Palestinians involved. The IDF reports that its undercover units have been rounding up 20 + n30 Palestinians/night in raids around the West Bank since 1/14. (HA 1/17; HA, NYT 1/18; NYT, WP, WT 1/20; LAW, PCHR 1/22)

The IDF halts a PRCS ambulance outside Ramallah, orders medics to unload the vehicle and change the tires, seriously beats 1 paramedic, who requires hospitalization; demolishes 2 storage sheds in Jenin; occupies 1 Palestinian home in Iktaba as an outpost; bulldozes 9 dunams of land, a secondary road in Dayr al-Balah; conducts arrest raids in Qalqilya. An Israeli court sentences 2 Hamas mbrs. to 15 consecutive life sentences for participation in an 8/9/01 suicide bombing in Jerusalem. (PRCS press release 1/16; WT 1/17; LAW, PCHR 1/22)

The IDF raids the offices and laboratories of Hebron, Palestinian Polytechnic Universities in Hebron (see 1/8); welds shut doors, gates; declared the schools closed on the grounds that they assisted in the “recruitment, training, and instruction of hundreds of militant activists,” including allegedly teaching students how to make bombs. The IDF also raids a West Bank branch of the Arab Bank outside Jerusalem, demanding the money fr. 4 accounts allegedly used by “terrorists”; reports differ as to whether the bank turned over the $7,000 in those accounts; fatally shoots a Palestinian bystander during an arrest raid in Qabatiyya; fatally shoots a 16-yr.-old Palestinian violating a predawn curfew in Tulkarm; opens fire on stone-throwing Palestinian youths on their way to school in Tulkarm, killing a 2d 16-yr.-old Palestinian; bulldozes 4 Palestinian homes in Rafah, 3 in Bayt Hanun, 2 in Qabatiyya, 1 in Bayt Fajjar; searches, vandalizes another 9 homes in Rafah; fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis. In the 1^st anniversary of the PSF’s preventive arrest of PFLP Secy.-Gen. Ahmad Saadat, 100s of Palestinians (including mbrs. of the PLO and Fatah Exec. Comms.) attend rallies in Gaza and Nablus, demanding his immediate release. (LAW, PCHR, PR 1/15; NYT, WP 1/16; al-Quds 1/16 in WNC 1/17; Palestine Media Center 1/18; PR 1/22; LAW 1/29)