The Palestine Chronology

In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late night arrest raids in and around Jenin town and r.c., Nablus, and in al-Fara‘a r.c. nr. Tubas (firing live ammunition and rubber-coated steel bullets on stone-throwing youths who confront them, wounding 6); fires rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, international peace activists taking part in a nonviolent demonstration against the separation wall in Ni‘lin (injuring 2 Palestinians, 1 international). Israel imposes new restrictions requiring Palestinian medical personnel fr. the West Bank who work in Jerusalem to enter Jerusalem only through the Qalandia checkpoint, the most crowded checkpoint, causing them significant delays. Heavy rains cause the collapse of 10 smuggling tunnels on the Rafah border, trapping and injuring at least 7 Palestinians. Egypt allows the entry of a delegation of Islamic Jihad officials fr. Gaza who are heading to Damascus for a wk. of internal discussions on Egypt’s proposed national unity plan ahead of national unity talks in Cairo on 11/9. Inside Israel, Hebrew University student Ali Baher, an Israeli Palestinian, is detained by campus security, questioned for 3 hrs., charged with “inappropriate conduct” for refusing on political grounds to shake hands with Pres. Shimon Peres, who randomly approached Baher while he was touring the campus library meeting with students; the university evicts Baher from campus housing and orders a disciplinary hearing (date not set) to decide whether he should be suspended. (MNA 11/2; OCHA 11/5; PCHR, Physicians for Human Rights–Israel press release 11/6)

Concerned by the escalating settler violence directed at Israeli security forces, the Israeli cabinet at its weekly meeting votes to suspend all direct and indirect government funding to unauthorized settlement outposts (especially citing infrastructure such as roads, garbage collection, and school buses) in the 1st de facto admission that public funds are used to advance illegal settlement. Olmert also proposes increasing arrests and administrative detention of Jewish settlers who break the law. The Jerusalem District Juvenile Court remands and indicts 3 Jewish settler girls (ages 12, 15, 17) for reckless endangerment, aggravated assault of security forces, and obstruction of a police officer for attacks against Israeli border police in Givat Harsina on 10/30. IDF district cmdr. Noam Tivon cancels plans to give a speech at a yeshiva in Efrat settlement nr. Bethlehem after Jewish settlers fr. Hebron threaten to hold a massive demonstration to block his visit, calling him an “expulsion criminal” for previously ordering the removal settlers fr. the unauthorized Federman Farm outpost. (YA 11/2; NYT, WP 11/3; WT 11/4; MM 11/4, 11/7)

In the West Bank, IDF undercover units make an early morning incursion into al-Fara’a r.c. in a truck with Palestinian license plates, apparently targeting the wrong home, next door to that of a wanted Islamic Jihad mbr., shooting and wounding an innocent Palestinian. The IDF also conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus (violently beating 2 Palestinians who were slow in opening their doors, leaving a 55-yr.-old man partially paralyzed), nr. Jenin. In Hebron, Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba attack and beat a 55-yr.-old Palestinian woman; at least 3 Palestinians rush to her defense, and the fight expands, prompting Israeli soldiers and border police to intervene, arresting 2 Palestinians (including a 9-yr.-old boy). Nr. Salfit, Palestinians set fire to a parked Jewish settler vehicle. In East Jerusalem nr. Issawiyya, Jewish settlers attempt to take over a plot of Palestinian land for a new outpost, plowing and planting it over to establish claim; Palestinian residents drive them away. (OCHA 10/8; PCHR 10/9; AIC 11/9)

The IDF makes an air strike on Bayt Lahiya in a failed attempt to assassinate Islamic Jihad mbrs. Ihab Abu Jarad, Nidal Shaqqura, and Muhammad alZa’nin as they walk in a crowded residential area, wounding the 3, as well as 6 bystanders, including 2 children and a mentally disabled person; bulldozes land on the Palestinian side of the Qarni industrial zone (for a 2d day), nr. the border fence e. of Dayr al-Balah. Late at night, the IDF sends troops into Bayt Hanun, raiding a home and arresting 7 mbrs. of a Palestinian family. An IDF special forces unit attempts an incursion into al-Bureij r.c. but is forced to retreat by Palestinian gunmen firing machine guns and mortars; no injuries are reported. Egyptian border police find separate caches of 40 landmines, 500 kg of explosives nr. the Rafah border. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus, in Bethlehem and Jenin town and r.c., and nr. Hebron, Tubas, Tulkarm. (OCHA, PCHR 3/19; PCHR 3/27)

IDF troops clash with armed Palestinians in, make 2 air strikes on Gaza City, killing at least 4 Hamas and Islamic Jihad mbrs., wounding at least 5. The IDF also conducts land-leveling operations inside the Gaza border e. of Gaza City. Egyptian border police find, demolish 2 smuggling tunnels on the Rafah border. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in Nablus (also raiding an Islamic charity, confiscating computers and files), nr. Jenin; fires percussion grenades, rubber-coated steel bullets at 2 groups of stone-throwing Palestinians in Hebron, injuring 4; 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). Jewish settlers fr. Ramat Yishai nr. Hebron attack and vandalize a nearby Palestinian home; the IDF intervenes to halt the attack. Palestinians stone a Jewish settler vehicle nr. Ramallah, injuring 2 settlers. (NYT 10/27; OCHA 10/31; PCHR 11/1)

The IDF closes the Zatara checkpoint linking the n. and s. West Bank (closed almost continually through the end of the quarter); patrols in, fires on residential areas of Bethlehem (seriously wounding 1 Palestinian stone-thrower), Nablus (wounding 3 Palestinians); conducts arrest raids, house searches in Jenin (targeting the AMB) and nr. Hebron, Qalqilya. Islamic Jihad claims to fire a 2d Grad rocket fr. Gaza towards Ashkelon (see 3/28), but the IDF reports no rocket fire. A Palestinian stabs, lightly wounds an Israeli border policeman at alRam checkpoint into Jerusalem, is arrested. Some 15 Jewish settlers fr. Tal Rumayda attack a group of Palestinian girls on their way to school and 5 international peace activists escorting them, causing minor injuries. (HA 4/23; PCHR 4/27)

Abbas vetoes Siyam’s 4/20 appointment of Abu Samhadana as Interior Min. inspector gen. and vows to block his plan to set up a new security force (the ESF). In Damascus, Hamas head Khalid Mishal accuses Abbas and Fatah of seeking to form a parallel government, conspiring against Haniyeh’s new government, committing treason, surrendering to Israel. Haniyeh denounces Mishal’s statements. (NYT, WP, WT 4/22; HA 4/23; MM 4/24–26; HA 4/30)

The IDF places a curfew on Jenin, sends in 70 jeeps and 25 armored personnel carriers, conducts arrest raids and house searches, exchanging gunfire with Palestinians, leaving 1 Palestinian stone-thrower dead, 9 Palestinians and 2 Israeli border police wounded; wanted Islamic Jihad Jenin cmdr. Iyad Abu al-Rub and an aide, fearing they would be assassinated, surrender in a deal brokered by local AMB head Zakariya Zubaydi. The IDF also conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Nablus. (HA, Israeli FMin. press release, PCHR 11/24, 12/1)

A Damascus-based Islamic Jihad cell claims responsibility for the 2/25 Tel Aviv bombing, noting the end of the unofficial 1-mo. truce on 2/25 and stating that Israel had to be punished for cease-fire violations it committed; Islamic Jihad’s leadership in Gaza, however, denies responsibility, saying the group would continue to abide by an unofficial cease-fire. Israel shifts blame to Syria, which denies any responsibility, saying Islamic Jihad offices in Damascus have been closed for some time. Meanwhile, the PA security forces arrest 2 suspects in Gaza in connection with bombing; Israeli security forces arrest at least 5 suspects in Israel. The IDF tightens restrictions on Palestinian movement around Hebron; fires on 3 Palestinians attempting to sneak into Israel fr. Gaza to find work, killing 1 Palestinian, detaining 2; severely beats 2 Palestinians at a checkpoint at the entrance to al-Til nr. Nablus; places a curfew on Dayr al-Ghusun, hometown of the 2/25 suicide bomber, arrests the bomber’s 2 brothers, the village imam; fires on residential areas of Tulkarm town, r.c., and neighboring villages. An IDF border policeman shoots, wounds a Palestinian woman in Hebron after she allegedly tries to stab him during a security check. Some 15 Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba, escorted by IDF soldiers, severely beat a Palestinian farmer working his land outside Hebron; soldiers arrest the Palestinian, interrogate him before releasing him. PA security forces report that they have uncovered, sealed 12 smugglers’ tunnels in Rafah since deploying along the Gaza border. A Palestinian dies of injuries received on 2/26/04. (HA, JAZ, PRCS, VOI, VOP 2/26; IDF Radio, JAZ, NYT, PRCS, WP 2/27; MM 2/28; MM, PCHR 3/3; MEI 3/4)

Israeli border police open fire on an Israeli Arab vehicle nr. the Green Line that they mistakenly believe to be a carload of “terrorists” infiltrating fr. the West Bank, killing 1 Israeli Arab, wounding 1. The IDF conducts arrest raids in Jenin (targeting Islamic Jihad). Israel’s Jerusalem police arrest 200 Palestinians fr. Hebron, Nablus for being in Shu‘fat r.c., in East Jerusalem, without permits. A group of religious Jews on an Israeli police-escorted tour of the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif attempt to perform rituals there; Israeli police remove the group when Waqf guards attempt to intervene; Arafat calls the tours “provocative,” warns serious consequences may be unavoidable if Israel continues to permit such visits. (HA 7/22; HA, NYT, WP 7/23; PCHR 7/24)

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)

In retlatiation for the IDF assasination of its military head Sawalha on 11/9, Islamic Jihad gunmen ambush a detail of IDF soldiers, border police, Jewish settler security officials nr. the Ibrahimi Mosque/Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron, killing 4 IDF soldiers, 5 border police, 3 settler guards, injuring 15 soldiers, police, guards in what the IDF terms a “well planned ambush” that included positioning snipers on nearby hilltops; during the 3 hr. exchange of gunfire at least 3 Islamic Jihad mbrs. are also killed. The IDF, Israeli government initially claim that all of those killed and injured were civilian worshipers en route fr. Sabbath prayers at the holy site; later admit that the group targetted was all military or paramilitary, that Islamic Jihad mbrs. allowed the group of Jewish worshipers to pass without incident mins. before the ambush. The attack comes barely 5 wks. after the Shin Bet warned (10/7) that tensions were high around the Ibrahimi Mosque/Tomb of the Patriarchs, that a cell of 15+n20 Jewish settlers might be preparing an attack on Palestinians similar to the 1994 Baruch Goldstein shooting at the site; among those warning of a new Goldstein was IDF Hebron cmdr. Col. Dror Weinberg, killed in today’s attack. IDF undercover units assassinate senior Hamas mbr. Mahmud Obeid, arrest a 2d Hamas mbr. in Tulkarm; fire rockets at a workshop in Gaza City, destroying it; demolishes 3 Palestinian homes in Bayt Lahia; conduct arrest raids in Dayr al-Balah. During the 3d day of sweeps in Nablus, the IDF arrests another 14 suspected Hamas mbrs., fires on a group of stone-throwing youths, killing 1 Palestinian. (HA 11/15; HA, NYT, WP, WT 11/16; JP, NYT, WP 11/17; HA, PCHR 11/20; MEI 11/22; see also HA 10/7)

Israeli border police manning a West Bank crossing intercept a car carrying a 1,300 lbs. fertilizer-gasoline bomb, with a cell phone rigged as a detonator; 2 Palestinians escape. No group claims responsibility, but the IDF suspects Islamic Jihad. The IDF conducts arrest raids in Balata r.c., Nablus, Surif; raids a clinic in Bayt Lahia, halts an ambulance, detains and beats 1 paramedic; fires on residential areas of Rafah, on Palestinians waiting to cross a Dayr al-Balah + n. Khan Yunis checkpoint. Late in the evening, Palestinians fire a Qassam rocket in Gaza, luring a Merkava tank to the scene, then detonating a large roadside bomb under the tank, killing 2 IDF soldiers, wounding 2 (marking the 2d fatal roadside bombing of a tank; see 3/14/02); the popular resistance comms. (PRCs) take responsibility. Nr. Bayt Lahia, a Palestinian gunman ambushes an IDF patrol, killing 1 IDF soldier, wounding 1 before being shot dead. The IDF issues evacuation orders to 4 Palestinian families in Ras al-Amud, Silwan. (AP, MM 9/5; NYT, WP, WT 9/6; NYT 9/7; LAW, PCHR 9/11)

In response to the 2 Gaza attacks, Ben-Eliezer formally calls off implementation of Gaza First agmt. (WP 9/6)

An Israeli bus driver coming fr. Ma'ale Adumim stops at an Israeli checkpoint into Jerusalem, warns border police of a suspicious passenger on board. Israeli border police scuffle with and detain a Palestinian passenger wearing an explosive device, which is defused by bomb experts. Later, a Hamas gunman dressed as an IDF soldier infiltrates a home in the West Bank settlement of Hamra, fatally shoots 2 Jewish settlers, 1 IDF soldier, wounds 4 settlers before being shot dead by soldiers. In response, IDF F-16s bomb 2 prisons in Nablus, injuring 11 Palestinians. During the strikes, wardens release 25 Hamas, Islamic Jihad prisoners (including 2 of Israel's most wanted, Islamic Jihad mbrs. Mahmud Tawalba, Ali Safuri) for their safety but keep 103 suspected collaborators in custody. The IDF also captures a vegetable truck on Jenin-Nablus road loaded with 8 Qassam-2 missiles and a launcher; fatally shoots 1 Palestinian who threw a hand grenade at an IDF post on the Rafah border; demolishes 3 Palestinian homes in Bayt Hanina and Shu`fat; arrests 3 Palestinian fishermen off the Gaza coast, confiscates their boats. The IDF also raids, confiscates the files of, and closes the East Jerusalem offices of 2 NGOs that represent Palestinian interests: the Arab Studies Society's Land Research Center, the Welfare Association's Multisectoral and Technical Offices. (AP, LAW 2/6; MM, NYT, WP, WT 2/7; NYT, WP, WT 2/8; NYT 2/9; MA 2/10 in WNC 2/11; MA 2/11 in WNC 2/12; PCHR 2/13; HA 2/17)

In a report to Congress, CIA Dir. George Tenet identifies several "terrorist groups"--including Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the PFLP--that have no ties to al-Qa`ida but could be future U.S. targets because they have "displayed anti-U.S. sentiments" and have threatened U.S. interests overseas. (WP 2/10)

Overnight, IDF helicopters rocket a residential area of Khan Yunis, killing 4 Palestinians, wounding 21, destroying 2 Force 17 buildings. This evening, AMB, Hamas gunmen jointly detonate a roadside bomb nr. a Jewish settler bus outside Emmanuel settlement nr. Nablus, then open fire on the bus, 2 cars traveling with it, the medical workers who come to the scene, killing 9 Jewish settlers, 1 Israeli border police officer, wounding 30; 1 Hamas mbr. is run over, shot dead by the IDF. In Gaza, 2 Hamas suicide bombers detonate devices outside a Jewish settlement, wounding 4. Sharon severs all contacts with the PA, declares Arafat "irrelevant," says Israel will no longer wait for the PA to "wipe out terror networks" but will do the job itself. The IDF immediately begins F-16 air strikes on targets in al-Bireh, Gaza City, Jinin, Nablus, Qalqilya, Ramallah, and Tulkarm, killing 1 Palestinian; tightens its encirclement of major Palestinian population centers; enters Jinin's area A with tanks, injuring 19 Palestinians before withdrawing; fires on a funeral procession in Khan Yunis, injuring 3. The Israeli inner cabinet agrees to "rapidly deploy" the IDF for "massive and continuous" operations "in cities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip." Arafat orders the closure of all Hamas, Islamic Jihad offices, schools, clinics. (AP, LAW, MEZ, PMC 12/12; AFP, AP, HA, HP, JP [Internet], MM, NYT, WJW, WP, WT 12/13; AFP, MENA, XIN 12/13 in WNC 12/14; ATL 12/13 in WNC 12/17; JP, JT [Internet], MM 12/14, 12/17, 12/18; JP, MEI 12/21)

2 bombs, the 4th and 5th since Sharon's 2/6 election, explode outside the Jewish settlements of Talpiot, French Hill in East Jerusalem, killing an apparent Palestinian suicide bomber, injuring 35 Israelis. Islamic Jihad takes responsibility for both attacks. Right-wing opposition MKs, Jewish settlers accuse Sharon of not taking Israeli security seriously and demand retaliation, with Likud Education M Limor Livnat saying Arafat should be targeted. Sharon's office says Israel will respond "at the time and place we choose." (AFP [Internet], MM 3/27; ITAR-TASS 3/27 in WNC 3/28; MM, NYT, WP 3/28; WJW 3/29; AFP 3/29 in WNC 3/30; JP, MEI 4/6)

In the West Bank and Gaza, Israeli-Palestinian clashes continue, leaving 1 Palestinian dead. In Hebron, Jewish settlers attempt to storm Abu Sunayna for a 2d day, are push back by the IDF (which continues to urge Palestinian residents to evacuate the area). After dark, the settlers set fire to 5 Palestinian-owned stores, 7 cars, Waqf offices in the PA-controlled section of Hebron. Jewish settlers place caravans on confiscated Palestinian land on Mount Jarzim in Nablus. Israel arrests 2 Israeli border policemen for beating, torturing a Palestinian at a checkpoint into Israel earlier today. (MM 3/27; HA, HP, NYT, WP 3/28; AFP [Internet], NYT 3/29; MEI 4/6)

The 1st full Arab League summit in 12 yrs. opens in Amman. The agenda covers the peace process, aid to the Palestinians, Arab solidarity, inter-Arab economic ties, sanctions on Iraq. (MM 3/27; AN, DUS, JT, SA 3/27 in WNC 3/28; AYM 3/27, HJ, JT, SA 3/28 in WNC 3/29; MM, WP, USIS Washington File 3/28; JP, MEI 4/6)

On the sidelines of the Arab summit, Syrian pres. Asad meets with Arafat, marking the 1st senior-level Palestinian-Syrian mtg. since 1993. (JT 3/28 in WNC 3/29; MM, WP, USIS Washington File 3/28; JT, al-Quds 3/29 in WNC 3/30; DUS 3/30 in WNC 4/2; al-Majd 4/2 in WNC 4/3; AYM 4/2, HJ 4/3 in WNC 4/5; JP, MEI 4/6; MM 4/20)

After a week of negotiations on 2 compromise proposals fail, the U.S. vetoes a UNSC resolution backing a UN observer force to help protect the Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza. (AP 3/27; XIN 3/27 in WNC 3/28; WP 3/28; MM, NYT, WJW, WT 3/29; al-Quds 3/29 in WNC 3/30; MM 3/30; al-Quds 4/3 in WNC 4/5)

After several more hrs. of talks among Arafat, Barak, Clinton, Mubarak, King Abdallah, Annan, and Solana, Clinton announces that Arafat, Barak have agreed on steps toward halting the clashes. No details are released. The agmts. are oral and reportedly are vague, not giving an order of who is to take what step 1st. The sides agree that Clinton will appoint an international inquiry comm. to investigate the recent clashes. The U.S. for the 1st time acknowledges that Arafat "may not have control of everything" but still says it expects a cessation of violence "within hours." (AFP [Internet], MM, REU 10/17; ATL, Interfax, MENA, RL 10/17 in WNC 10/18; LAW, NYT, WP, WT, YA 10/18; JT, al-Quds, SA 10/18, Le Monde 10/19 in WNC 10/19; WJW 10/19; JP 10/20; MEI 10/27; MA 11/6 in WNC 11/9)

Meanwhile, Israeli-Palestinian clashes escalate. Nr. Itamar settlement, Jewish settlers open fire on a Palestinian family harvesting their olive crop, killing 1, wounding 3. A PA policeman is killed by IDF fire in Gaza. A 3d Palestinian dies of injuries received earlier. Palestinian gunmen fire at Gilo settlement, critically wounding an Israeli border policeman. IDF tanks fire on the neighboring Palestinian village of Bayt Jala in retaliation. Settlers fr. Itamar fire on Palestinian homes in neighboring Hawara village, attack a Palestinian ambulance driver. (ADM, LAW, MM, PCHR, REU 10/17; MENA 10/17, al-Quds 10/18, MA 10/19 in WNC 10/19; ADM, Bahrain Tribune [Internet], CSM, HA [Internet], LAW, NYT, WP, WT 10/18; WJW 10/19; HJ 10/24, MENA 10/25 in WNC 10/30)

Hamas's Shaykh Ahmad Yasin, West Bank Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti say their supporters will continue the uprising despite the Sharm agmts. The DFLP, Islamic Jihad, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine issue similar statements. Palestinians in Bethlehem, Gaza City, Nablus, Qalqilya, Ramallah demonstrate against the Sharm mtg. 1,000s of Egyptian students in Cairo, 7,000 Palestinian refugees in Tripoli, Lebanon, hold similar demonstrations. A rally in solidarity with the Palestinian people is held in New York. (ADM, LAW, MM, PCHR, REU 10/17; RMC 10/17 in WNC 10/18; MENA 10/17, al-Quds 10/18, MA 10/19 in WNC 10/19; ADM, Bahrain Tribune [Internet], CSM, HA [Internet], LAW, NYT, WP, WT 10/18; WJW 10/19; HJ 10/24, MENA 10/25 in WNC 10/30)