The Palestine Chronology

IDF troops on the c. Gaza border e. of al-Bureij r.c. open fire across the border for 15 mins., causing no reported damage or injuries. Israeli naval vessels fire on Palestinian fishing boats off the n. Gaza coast, forcing them to return to shore; they detain and confiscate 2 boats and arrest 2 fishermen. In the West Bank, the IDF bulldozes 8 tents (housing 83 Bedouin, including 48 children) and 8 sheep pens and fodder storehouses in Khirbet al-Rahwa s. of Hebron, nr. Tene Oranim settlement; demolishes 7 tents (housing 33 Bedouin, including 10 children) and 6 animal pens in Khirbet Tana and Khirbat Tuwayil in the Jordan Valley; conducts synchronized evening patrols in 2 villages nr. Qalqilya; conducts late-night arrest raids and house searches in Qalqilya, including rearresting 2 Palestinians released in the recent prisoner swap that freed IDF Cpl. Gilad Shalit. Palestinians (including families of prisoners held in Israel) organized by Birzeit students stage a 2d nonviolent march to Ofer prison (see 2/11/12) to show solidarity with hunger-striking Islamic Jihad prisoner Khader Adnan, where the IDF again fires rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas, and stun grenades to disperse them; 2 Palestinians are lightly injured. In East Jerusalem, Israeli municipal workers escorted by police and border police bulldoze a Palestinian playground, recreational center, and 2 other structures in Silwan; demolish a Palestinian home in al-Siwana. (PCHR 2/16)

Israel accuses Iran of staging 2 bombing attempts today against Israeli diplomatic targets in New Delhi, India, and Tbilisi, Georgia. In New Delhi, an unidentified motorist slaps a magnetic bomb on an Israeli emb. car in traffic; the bomb detonates, wounding the wife of an Israeli diplomat, her driver, and 2 bystanders. In Tbilisi, an unidentified assailant straps a grenade to a parked Israeli emb. vehicle, but it is discovered and disarmed. The attacks come a month after the assassination of an Iranian nuclear scientist and on the 4th anniversary of the assassination of Hizballah military commander Imad Mughniyah, both thought to have been carried out by Israel’s Mossad. No group claims responsibility; Iran denies responsibility. Indian authorities allow Israeli experts to join their investigation. (NYT, WP, WT 2/14; WP 2/15)