The Palestine Chronology

In the West Bank, the IDF fires rubbercoated steel bullets, tear gas, percussion grenades at Palestinians holding a nonviolent protest against settlements at the evacuated settlement site of Homesh nr. Jenin (wounding 5); 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 nonviolent demonstrations against the separation wall in Bil‘in (10s suffer tear gas inhalation), Jayyus nr. Qalqilya (10s suffer tear gas inhalation; a Palestinian Council mbr. and PLO Exec. Comm. mbr. are detained for questioning), and Ni‘lin (injuring 1). In East Jerusalem, Israeli police raid and halt a cultural event at a theater in the city organized by the Jerusalemite Youth Parliament and several local NGOs and schools, stating that it was a political event connected to the Palestinian Authority (PA), which the organizers deny. (PCHR 11/27)

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 the West Bank, the IDF conducts random ID checks of Palestinians harvesting olives nr. Nablus, arresting 1; raids, imposes a curfew on Azun nr. Qalqilya, fires on residential areas, blocks a main road with sand and rocks, then withdraws; fires rubbercoated 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 (10s suffer tear gas inhalation); fires rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, international peace activists taking part in a similar nonviolent demonstration in Ni‘lin (seriously injuring an 11-yr.-old girl); conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in al-Fara‘a r.c. (firing live ammunition at stone-throwing Palestinian youths who confront them, wounding 3, 1 of them seriously) and nr. Bethlehem (occupying 1 Palestinian home as an observation post, evicting the family), Nablus. Jewish settlers fr. Yitzhar attack Palestinians harvesting olives nearby, burn 15 olive trees, march through Bidan village in a show of force. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba demand that a Palestinian mechanic near the settlement fix their car, beat him when he refuses. Jewish settlers temporarily reoccupy the evacuated Homesh settlement site, stone passing Palestinian vehicles. The WHO arranges an emergency shipment of 4 truckloads of medical items into Gaza, noting that the PA’s Ramallah-based central pharmacy has sent no medial supplies to Gaza since it took over that function from the WHO on 9/1; as a result, 94 essential drugs have been entirely depleted in Gaza. (OCHA 10/29; PCHR 10/30; AIC 11/9)

An Israeli security official confirms that Israel allowed 900 assault weapons and ammunition to be transferred to PA security forces in late 8/08 to build the capacity of forces loyal to Abbas; the arms came via Jordan, but the source is not noted. In the West Bank, the IDF fires rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas, skunk spray at Palestinian, Israeli, international peace activists taking part in a nonviolent demonstration against the separation wall in Bil‘in, wounding 1; fires rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, international peace activists taking part in a similar nonviolent demonstration in Ni‘lin, injuring 2; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Nablus, neighboring ‘Ayn Bayt al-Ma’ r.c., and al-Til, and nr. Bethlehem and Jenin. Jewish settlers fr. Beit HaShalom attack Palestinians, vandalize nearby homes. The IDF declares the Joseph’s Tomb area nr. Nablus a closed military zone, escorts Jewish settlers to the site to pray. (NYT 9/6; OCHA 9/10; PCHR 9/11; AIC 11/9)

In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in Ramallah and neighboring al-Bireh; fires tear gas, rubber-coated steel bullets at Palestinian, Israeli, international peace activists taking part in a nonviolent demonstration in Ni‘lin (10s suffer fr. tear gas inhalation); conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Silwad nr. Ramallah, nr. Bethlehem; fires tear gas, skunk spray (see Quarterly Update in JPS 149) at Palestinian, Israeli, international peace activists taking part in a similar nonviolent demonstration against the separation wall in Bil‘in. Separately, Jewish settlers fr. Matityahu settlement nr. Ramallah fire on a Palestinian home in Bil‘in, causing no injuries. In 2 incidents in East Jerusalem, Jewish settlers vandalize 20 graves in a Muslim cemetery; attempt to seize a strip of Palestinian land, but are chased off by local Palestinians. (OCHA 8/27; PCHR 8/28)

In the West Bank, the IDF fires rubbercoated steel bullets, tear gas, “skunk” spray at Palestinian, Israeli, international activists taking part in the weekly nonviolent demonstration against the separation wall in Bil‘in (injuring 1 Palestinian, 1 German, 2 Americans); fires rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, international activists taking part in a nonviolent demonstration against the separation wall in Ni‘lin (wounding 9); conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Jenin and Nablus, in Bethlehem, nr. Hebron. (OCHA 8/20; PCHR 8/21)

In the West Bank, the IDF raids and searches homes nr. Jenin but makes no arrests; fires rubber-coated steel bullets, 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). Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba and a nearby unauthorized outpost in Wadi al-Nassara attack Palestinian homes for a 2d day, causing damage but no reported injuries. Jewish settlers with a bulldozer occupy and level a plot of Palestinian land s. of Bethlehem; the IDF removes the settlers. Jewish settlers fr. Yitzhar nr. Nablus throw a large rock at a passing Palestinian car, seriously injuring a Palestinian woman and lightly injuring her child; the IDF evacuates the mother to a hospital in Israel. In Gaza, Hamas-affiliated police detain several senior Fatah officials in what Hamas calls a response to Fatah’s detention of West Bank Hamas loyalists on 7/28. Egyptian border police demolish a smuggling tunnel on the Rafah border, suffocating 5 Palestinians. (NYT 8/2; OCHA 8/6; PCHR 8/7; 8/13)

An unidentified gunman shoots, wounds 2 Israeli policemen in Jerusalem’s Old City (1 policeman dies of his injuries btwn. 7/23 and 7/30); no group takes responsibility, but Israel says it assumes it was a nationalist attack by a Palestinian. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts early morning arrest raids, house searches in Jalazun r.c.; fatally shoots a 50-yr.-old Hamas mbr. in an alleged exchange of gunfire nr. Yakir settlement nr. Salfit; fires rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, international activists taking part in the weekly nonviolent demonstrations against the separation wall in Bil‘in (10s suffer tear gas inhalation) and al-Ma‘sara (wounding 2); fires rubber-coated steel bullets at Palestinians and international activists protesting IDF bulldozing operations for construction of the separation wall nr. Ni‘lin, wounding 5, arresting 4; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Jenin town and r.c., nr. Bethlehem. (WP 7/13; OCHA 7/16; PCHR 7/17)

In Gaza, 1 Palestinian man is injured when a smuggling tunnel under the Rafah border collapses. In the West Bank, the IDF fires rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, international activists taking part in the weekly nonviolent demonstration against the separation wall in Bil‘in (wounding 2) and fires tear gas, percussion grenades at demonstrators at a similar protest al-Ma‘sara (10s suffer tear gas inhalation); conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus, in Bethlehem. Jewish settlers enter Nablus to pray at Joseph’s Tomb; the IDF evacuates them, reprimanding them for not coordinating the visit with the IDF in advance (see 6/13). Jewish settlers fr. Shilo nr. Ramallah stone a bus carrying peace activists, causing damage but no injuries. (OCHA 7/9; PCHR 7/10)

Israel’s siege of Gaza, imposed after Hamas’s takeover of the Strip in 6/07, remains tight. In Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) conduct late-night arrest raids, house searches in Shuka nr. Rafah, arresting 3 Palestinians, wounding 1 with live ammunition, bulldozing 8 dunams (d.; 4 d. = 1 acre) of greenhouses and a poultry farm (killing 50,000 chickens). In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in Qaryut nr. Nablus, detaining 4 Palestinians (including 3 teenagers) for questioning; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Jenin and Hebron (partially bulldozing a Palestinian home in Bayt Umar); 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 n. of Jerusalem nr. Ramallah (10s suffer tear gas inhalation); and beats demonstrators at a similar protest al-Ma‘sara nr. Bethlehem (lightly injuring 3). Nr. Nablus, 10s of armed Jewish settlers fr. Yitzhar vandalize Palestinian homes in nearby Asira al-Qibliyya. In Gaza City, unknown assailants detonate a bomb outside a Catholic school in Gaza City, causing damage but no injuries. (OCHA 5/21; PCHR 5/22)

U.S. pres. George W. Bush ends a 4-day visit to Israel to mark Israel’s 60th anniversary (see Quarterly Update in JPS 148). (NYT, WP, WT 5/17; NYT 5/19)

At the Rafah and Erez crossings, 1,000s of Palestinians take part in nonviolent rallies calling on Israel to lift the siege. Late at night, the IDF makes an incursion into Bayt Hanun, surrounding and then making an air strike on the home of a wanted Hamas mbr., causing a fire and then shooting at occupants as they flee, seriously wounding a mother and teenage daughter, barring ambulances fr. reaching the area for 4 hrs. (during which time the girl dies); the IDF trades fire with Palestinian resistance mbrs. during the incursion, wounding 2 gunmen, 3 bystanders; the wanted Palestinian is not captured. In the West Bank, a Palestinian sniper fatally shoots 2 Israeli security guards at a factory in the Nitzani Shalom industrial zone nr. the separation wall, escapes; several groups including Hamas claim responsibility. The IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Bethlehem, al-Bireh; fires rubbercoated 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 beat demonstrators at a similar protest al-Masa’ra (lightly injuring 3). Jewish settlers fr. Taffuh settlement nr. Salfit enter the nearby village of Yasuf and fire on Palestinians, wounding 1. (WP 4/26; NYT 4/27; OCHA, PCHR 4/30)

IDF troops make a late-night incursion into Gaza City, clashing with local armed Palestinians, killing 1, wounding 3. Palestinians fire 4 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing damage but no injuries; 1 rocket fired toward Israel lands nr. a home outside Bayt Lahiya, injuring 2 Palestinians, including a 5-yr.-old girl. In the West Bank, the IDF raids Balata r.c., surrounds a home where AMB mbr. Hani al-Kabi is staying, fatally shoots him when he resists arrest; until recently, Kabi voluntarily stayed in a PA jail overnight as part of the 7/07 AMB amnesty deal with Israel. The IDF also conducts latenight arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem, Hebron, Nablus; fires rubber-coated steel bullets, percussion grenades, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, international activists taking part in weekly nonviolent demonstrations against the separation wall in Bil‘in (wounding a journalist covering the protest) and al-Masa’ra (injuring 3, including a 9-yr.- old girl). (CSM 4/18; AP, NYT 4/19; NYT 4/20; OCHA 4/23; PCHR 4/24)

Overnight, the IDF sends troops and tanks into Gaza’s al-Bureij r.c. for a daylong operation, firing on residential areas, searching homes (reportedly using Palestinians as human shields), and clashing with local resistance mbrs. (making at least 1 air strike), killing 7 Palestinians (6 of them civilians, including boys ages 12, 15), wounding 27 (including at least 18 civilians, 2 gunmen), detaining 20, and bulldozing 3 Palestinian homes, 30 d. of agricultural land. The IDF also conducts air strikes on Khan Yunis, killing 3 Hamas mbrs. In refugee camps across Gaza, 1,000s of Palestinians take part in peaceful rallies organized by Hamas, calling on Israel to end the siege. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Qabatya and nr. Hebron, Jenin; 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 beat Palestinian demonstrators at a similar demonstration in al-Masa’ra nr. Bethlehem (injuring 3). (NYT, WT 3/12; OCHA 3/16; PCHR 4/17)

Palestinian gunmen in n. Gaza shoot across the border at an Israeli government delegation leading a Canadian group on a tour of Sederot, seriously wounding an aide to Israel’s Public Security M Avi Dichter; the IDF returns fire, causing no reported injuries; several Palestinian groups claim responsibility including the AMB, Hamas, and 2 little-known Islamist groups: the Army of the Nation, and Protectors of the Homeland (which claims to be inspired by al-Qa‘ida). Separately, the IDF sends troops into al-Bureij r.c., where they clash with local gunmen (wounding a Palestinian girl inside her home), shell a Palestinian home (causing extensive damage but no injuries), arrest 1 Palestinian, temporarily detain 2 children (ages 12, 17); bulldozes 40 d. of citrus trees inside the Gaza border e. of Bayt Hanun. In al-Qarara, 2 Palestinians are injured when explosives they are handling detonate prematurely. In the West Bank, the IDF 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), beat Palestinian demonstrators at a similar demonstration in al-Masa’ra nr. Bethlehem (injuring 2 children, ages 6 and 7). In Nablus, 12 AMB mbrs. who had agreed to remain in PA custody overnight as part of a 7/07 amnesty deal with Israel flee Jnaid prison, claiming they were severely beaten by PA security forces; they refuse to return to the jail but pledge to respect the cease-fire. (HA 4/4; NYT, WP, WT 4/5; OCHA, PCHR 4/9)

The IDF continues Operation Hot Winter with air strikes on n. and c. Gaza (targeting alleged weapons stores and factories) and gunfire across the border into n. Gaza. Senior Hamas cmdr. Eyad al-Ashram (assassinated in Jabaliya) and 2 Palestinian civilians (including 1 child) are killed and around 45 Palestinians (including 10 children, 5 women) are wounded. Palestinians fire 13 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, hitting a house, lightly injuring 1 Israeli; 1 rocket lands inside Gaza, hitting a home, killing a 3-yr.-old Palestinian boy and wounding 2 other children. Five Palestinians are wounded when a rocket they are preparing to launch into Israel explodes prematurely. A Palestinian wounded in Israeli attacks on 2/28 dies. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem; fires rubbercoated 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 from tear gas inhalation). Hamas-affiliated police break into a Fatah-affiliated youth club in Nussayrat r.c., confiscating documents and furniture. (BBC, WP, YA 2/29; NYT, WP 3/1; PCHR 3/6)

IDF troops on the Gaza border e. of Gaza City fire a missile at a group of armed Palestinians nr. the border, wounding 1 armed Palestinian, 1 Palestinian teenager outside his home nearby. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in ‘Ayn Bayt al-Ma’ r.c. nr. Nablus (arresting senior Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine [PFLP] mbr. Majdi Mabruk) and nr. Bethlehem, Hebron, Tulkarm; breaks the windows of several Palestinian cars parked nr. a Hebron building occupied by Jewish settlers for the past yr., stating the vehicles posed a threat to the settlers; 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 nr. Ramallah (injuring 6). Hamas-affiliated imam Majid Barghouti (age 44), who was among 8 Palestinians arrested by the PA in a raid nr. Ramallah on 2/14, dies in PA General Intelligence custody in Ramallah of apparent torture; PA Pres. Mahmud Abbas puts West Bank security forces on high alert, orders an investigation. (JP 2/23; WP 2/24; al-Akhbar [Cairo] 2/26; OCHA 2/27; PCHR 2/28)

In Gaza, 2,000 Palestinians hold a peaceful demonstration at a sealed breach in the Rafah border to urge Egypt to keep the border open. Outside Rafah, 2 Palestinian teenagers are injured when they accidentally trigger unexploded IDF ordnance. In the West Bank, the IDF sets up a checkpoint outside a Bayt Umar cemetery to check the IDs of mourners attending the funeral of the 2d Kefar Etzion attacker (see 1/24); later fires percussion grenades, rubber-coated steel bullets at mourners, wounding 6; fires on residential areas of al-Khadir nr. Bethlehem, causing no injuries; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Jenin, northwest of Jerusalem; 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 2). Palestinian children throw stones at Jewish settler vehicles traveling on Route 55 nr. Azun and Route 60 nr. Hawara, damaging 2 but causing no injuries. Inside Israel, 20,000 Israeli Palestinians march in Sakhnin to protest a 1/27 government decision not to try police officers who fatally shot 13 Israeli Palestinians during 10/00 antigovernment demonstrations in Um al-Fahm in solidarity with the intifada. In Gaza City, Hamas-affiliated police release Fayyad adviser Ghul, arrested on 12/14. (AFP 2/1; NYT, WP 2/2; OCHA 2/6; PCHR 2/7)

Overnight, the IDF sends troops into Gaza City, clashing with local gunmen and calling in air strikes in support, killing 7 Palestinian gunmen (including 4 Hamas, 2 PRC mbrs.), wounding 4 bystanders. In an apparent assassination attempt, the IDF fires a missile at a car nr. Nussayrat r.c. driven by a senior PRC mbr., leaving him unharmed but injuring 3 PRC mbrs. traveling with him. Citing humanitarian concerns, Egypt allows 2,152 Palestinian pilgrims, including at least 1 senior Hamas official, to return to Gaza via the Rafah crossing, angering Israel; 1,000s of Hamas supporters rally at the crossing to welcome the pilgrims home. In the West Bank, the IDF bulldozes 7 bedouin tents nr. Mikhmas outside Ramallah, displacing 60 Palestinians; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron and nr. Bethlehem, Ramallah; patrols in, fires on residential areas of Jenin town and r.c.; occupies a vacant Palestinian home in Kafr Dan nr. Jenin as an observation post; patrols in Tulkarm, firing live ammunition at stone-throwing youths who confront them, wounding 1 teenager. Jewish settlers fr. Matityahu settlement attempt to set up 2 trailers on Palestinian land in Bil‘in; the IDF removes the settlers. (NYT, PCHR, WP, WT 1/3; OCHA 2/9; PCHR 1/10)