The Palestine Chronology

In the Gaza Strip, IDF troopsstationed along the border arrest 2 Palestinians attempting to enter Israel overnight. In the West Bank, 4 Israeli settlers, including 1 private security officer, assault a Palestinian shepherd nr. Tubas, seriously injuring him. They bring him back to the Messicot settlement and Israeli soldiers detain him for several hours. Nr. Ramallah, Israeli settlers set a Palestinian home on fire and leave racist graffiti on the walls. Palestinian youth set fire to the checkpoint at the entrance to al-Shuhada Street, prompting the IDF to close the checkpoint intermittently for 3 weeks. The IDF conducts arrest raids and house searches overnight nr. Hebron and Ramallah. In East Jerusalem, Israeli security forces fire a sound bomb at a Palestinian in Shu‘fat r.c., moderately injuring him. (WAFA 11/22; IMEMC, MEMO 11/23; IMEMC 11/24; PCHR 11/27; B’Tselem 12/16)

Reps. of Iran and the P5+1 continue negotiations in Vienna ahead of their 11/24 deadline. U.S. Secy. of State Kerry calls Israeli PM Netanyahu to discuss the negotiations with him. (HA 11/22)

Overnight and during the day, the IDF continues to expand its presence in n. Gaza, entering populated areas for the 1st time since disengagement, meeting strong resistance fr. Palestinians, who use RPGs, rifles, roadside bombs and fire 8 rockets toward Israel (only 4 land inside Israel, causing no damage or injuries). The IDF uses air strikes, artillery, tanks, and gunfire as well as bulldozes fields, roads, and open areas to widen the n. Gaza buffer zone; the clashes, mostly concentrated in Bayt Lahiya but also in s. Gaza, leave at least 24 Palestinians (many reportedly Hamas mbrs., but also including at least 2 children), 1 IDF soldier (hit by friendly fire) dead and wound some 80 Palestinians (nearly a third of them children), 1 IDF soldier. The IDF also bulldozes areas around Khan Yunis, demolishing 3 Palestinian homes; opens Erez and Qarni crossings for several hrs. for the movement of international aid workers, humanitarian goods. Palestinian gunmen also fire on an al-Jazeera TV car in Bayt Hanun, believing it to be an IDF undercover unit, wounding the driver, 1 journalist. In the West Bank, the IDF sends undercover units into a memorial service in Jenin r.c. for an AMB mbr. killed on 7/5, attempts to assassinate the AMB’s n. West Bank cmdr. Zakariya Zubaydi and local Islamic Jihad leader Mahmud al-Sadi, fatally shooting 2 Palestinian teenagers, wounding 18; Sadi, Zubaydi escape. The IDF also raids an Islamic charity nr. Hebron; demolishes a Palestinian home nr. Jerusalem; patrols in ‘Anabta nr. Tulkarm; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Nablus, nr. Hebron and Qalqilya; issues military orders confiscating 45 d. of land along settler bypass road 60 nr. Hebron for construction of a military base nr. the separation wall. Jewish settlers fr. Suissa set fire to a Palestinian home; the IDF prevents firefighters fr. reaching the area. Israeli police arrest 5 senior Hamas mbrs. in East Jerusalem for illegally helping Change and Reform PC mbrs. conduct Hamas affairs in the city. (IMEMC, OCHA, NYT, WT, YA 7/6; NYT, PCHR, WP, WT, YA 7/7; HA, NYT, WP 7/8; PCHR 7/13)

Overnight, the IDF stages scores of arrest raids across the West Bank detaining 64 senior Hamas political officials, including 8 PA cabinet mbrs. and 26 PC mbrs., plus 23 senior Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades mbrs. Haniyeh, Siyam, PA FM Mahmud Zahhar remain free. (100s of Palestinians in Jenin, Ramallah, Tulkarm hold marches, sit-ins to protest the Israeli arrest of PA legislators.) Israel says the arrest campaign has been planned for wks., with the government securing Atty. Gen. Menachem Mazuz’s authorization and arrest warrants far in advance of the Kerem Shalom attack on 6/25. In Gaza, the IDF shells 2 electricity transformers and open areas of n. Gaza, cutting all electricity to n. Gaza and wounding 1 Palestinian civilian; makes air strikes on 2 electrical shops in Khan Yunis, a Hamas training camp outside Khan Yunis, a car carrying 4 Islamic Jihad mbrs. in Gaza City, wounding 3 bystanders in the Gaza City incident; fires at least 30 shells at areas around Khan Yunis, wounding 1 Palestinian farmer; conducts house searches in al-Shuka nr. Rafah; intermittently breaks the sound barrier to harass the Gaza population. In response to Israel’s military escalation, the PRC mbrs. overnight kill a Jewish settler teenager they reported they kidnapped on 6/27; the IDF finds his body buried nr. Ramallah. During the day, the IDF makes an air strikes on targets in s. Gaza and on a car driving in Gaza City in an attempt to assassinate an Islamic Jihad mbr., who escapes lightly wounded; shells n. and s. Gaza, lightly wounding at least 3 Palestinians. AMB, Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Islamic Jihad, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) mbrs. also fire at least 6 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing light damage to a farm. Palestinian militants (thought to be Hamas) blow a hole in the Gaza-Egypt border fence; cordons of PA security forces,Egyptian border guards prevent most Palestinians fr. crossing through, though the militants who set the bomb reportedly escape into Egypt. In the evening, Olmert, Peretz order the IDF to suspend plans to send the Givati Brigade into n. Gaza overnight as planned in light of requests fr. Egypt to allow its envoys in Gaza more time to secure Shalit’s release. Meanwhile in the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches (unrelated to the arrest of PA officials) in Hebron, and in and around Ramallah, Salfit; raids 6 Islamic charities and schools nr. Hebron, Jenin and in Bethlehem, Tulkarm, confiscating computers, files; issues military orders confiscating 25 d. of Palestinian land nr. Hebron for construction of the separation wall. (HA, IFM, IMEMC, JAZ, MM, NYT, WP, WT, YA 6/29; AFP, MENA, OSC, PSCT, VOI, VOP 6/29 in WNC 6/30; CSM, HA, MM, NYT, PCHR, WP, WT 6/30; OSC, PSCT, YA 6/30 in WNC 7/1; al-Ayyam 7/1 in WNC 7/2; HA, PCHR 7/6; PCHR 7/27) 

The IDF closes the Qarni crossing after a roadside bomb explodes nearby inside Gaza, causing no damage or injuries; continues operations in and around Nablus for a 3d day, clashing with local Palestinians in Balata r.c., wounding 18; demolishes a Palestinian home in Hebron; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron, in Qabatya. Armed gunmen from the Amr Abu Sitta Battalions (a Fatah offshoot) raid the Khan Yunis municipal building and a municipal garage, ransacking the offices and stealing the keys for all municipal vehicles, after municipal officials refuse to loan the group a bulldozer to level land for a barracks. (IMEMC 2/21; NYT, PCHR 2/22; PCHR 2/23; NYT 3/4)

The IDF sends troops into Balata r.c. in what it says is the beginning of an operation targeting the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade (AMB), Islamic Jihad, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) that will continue for several days, firing on stone-throwing youths who confront the troops (killing 2 Palestinians, wounding 16), occupying an UNRWA school and several homes as operational bases, demolishing a Palestinian home. The IDF also launches air strikes on 2 Popular Resistance Comm. (PRC) mbrs. attempting to lay a roadside bomb or fire rocket nr. the n. Gaza border fence, killing both; fires across the Israeli border into Gaza towards Palestinian farmers working their fields nr. Abasan, causing no injuries; erects a gate at the entrance to Kafr Haris nr. Hebron, facing Ariel settlement; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron and in Allar nr. Tulkarm, al-Azza r.c., Bethlehem, Qabatya nr. Jenin; patrols in Tulkarm. Palestinians fire 2 rockets into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. (VOI, VOP, YA 2/19, VOP 2/20 in WNC 2/20; HA, IMEMC, NYT, WP 2/20; PCHR 2/23)

The Israeli cabinet approves steps to isolate and destabilize the new Hamasled Palestinian government, including immediately halting transfers of VAT taxes collected on the PA’s behalf, a source of some $50 m./mo. in revenues for the cashstrapped PA. The UN special envoy Alvaro de Soto reprimands Israel, saying “these are monies that belong to the Palestinians and should not be withheld.” (Israeli cabinet communique 2/19; VOI 2/19, VOP 2/20 in WNC 2/20; HA, MM, NYT, WP, WT 2/20; JP 2/20 in WNC 2/21; WP 2/21; PCHR 2/23)

Hamas nominates moderate Ismail Haniyeh, who led the Change and Reform slate in the 1/25/06 elections, as its candidate for PM to form a cabinet. (VOP 2/19 in WNC 2/20; WP 2/20)

In Gaza, 1 AMB mbr., 1 PRC mbr. are fatally shot when they jointly attack the IDF post at the Erez crossing with gunfire and grenades, causing no injuries; the IDF shuts the Erez crossing in response. The IDF also fatally shoots a Palestinian laying a roadside bomb nr. the n. Gaza border fence; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem, in Nablus, in and around Hebron. In Gaza City, unidentified Palestinian gunmen ambush, kidnap Egyptian military attache Hussam al-Musali ´ ; no group claims responsibility or issues demands; Hamas denounces the action. The PA releases 39 Islamic Jihad prisoners, 7 AMB mbrs. held in its Jericho jail since arrest sweeps following the 12/5/05 Islamic Jihad suicide bombing in Netanya. (IMEMC, XIN 2/9; NYT 2/10; PCHR 2/16; AFP 2/22)

The IDF announces that it is suspending all military operations in the Palestinian areas until after the 1/25 elections, will act only in response to immediate threats; will allow PA security forces to patrol armed in Palestinian cities during elections; will ease restrictions on Palestinian movement to facilitate voting. The IDF fires on 4 Palestinian children playing nr. Ramallah, thinking they are militants laying a roadside bomb, killing a 13-yr.-old Palestinian boy, wounding 2; arrests independent Jerusalem candidate Said Yaqin while campaigning in East Jerusalem; arrests Palestinian News Network (PNN) correspondent Mustafa Sabri in his Qalqilya home; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Bethlehem, Hebron, Qabatya, Qalqilya, Ramallah, Tulkarm town and r.c. and nr. Jenin. Palestinians fire on an IDF patrol in the n. West Bank, wounding 1 soldier; fire 3 rockets fr. Gaza towards Sederot, causing no damage or injuries. (HA, IMEMC, YA 1/23; HA, IMEMC 1/24; HA 1/25; PCHR 1/26; PNN press release 1/28)

A Tel Aviv court issues a landmark ruling that Israel cannot use the 1950 Absentee Property Law to seize West Bank lands abandoned by Palestinians during the 1967 war. Coming fr. a lower court, the ruling constitutes a directive to other district courts and is not binding, as it would be had the High Court issued the ruling. (HA 1/24)

An Islamic Jihad suicide bomber fr. Nablus detonates a device in a Tel Aviv restaurant, killing only himself, wounding 24 Israelis (1 critically). The PA accuses Islamic Jihad of trying to derail the 1/25 elections. The IDF fatally shoots a Palestinian throwing a Molotov cocktail at troops in Hebron; arrests Fatah candidate fr. Jerusalem Ahmad ‘Abd al-Rahim at a campaign rally in Shu‘fat, East Jerusalem; raids, seals an office in East Jerusalem linked to Change and Reform campaigning, confiscating computers, documents; demolishes 3 Palestinian homes nr. Jenin for construction of the separation wall; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and nr. Hebron, nr. Ramallah, and in Bethlehem, Jenin, Nablus, Tubas. Palestinians fire a rocket fr. n. Gaza towards Israel, but it lands in Bayt Lahiya, damaging a Palestinian home, lightly injuring a 7-yr.-old girl. (AP, IMEMC, JTA 1/19; HA, NYT, IMEMC, WP, WT 1/20; WT 1/21; PCHR 1/26)

An IDF undercover unit enters Jenin, fatally shooting Islamic Jihad mbr. Azmi Abu Khalil, arresting a 2d, while a 3d Islamic Jihad mbr., Ali Abu Hizma, detonates an explosive device as troops move in, killing only himself. The IDF also shells the n. Gaza no-go zone, causing no injuries; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Tulkarm and nr. Bethlehem, Ramallah. The IDF arrests 5 Jewish settlers who attack troops dismantling an unauthorized settlement outpost nr. Gush Etzion. Jewish settlers fr. Avraham Avino angry over IDF plans to evacuate settlers from the Hebron market and fr. the northern West Bank unauthorized outpost of Amona (established ca. 1997; 25 families) set fire to 2 Palestinian homes, damage 2 Palestinian cars in Hebron. AMB gunmen fire on the Ramallah home of PA Interior M Nasr Yusuf, the PC building; 1 body guard, 2 family mbrs., 1 attacker are wounded in the exchange. Separately, 3 AMB gunmen conduct a drive-by shooting on the Interior Min. headquarters in Ramallah, causing no injuries; PA police pursue their vehicle, arrest them. (AP, HA, IMEMC, JAZ 1/12; IMEMC, NYT 1/13; HA 1/15; PCHR 1/19)

An Islamic Jihad suicide bomber fr. al-Til detonates a device at a checkpoint nr. Tulkarm, killing 1 IDF soldier, 2 Palestinians and wounding 3 IDF soldiers, 7 Palestinians. A Palestinian stabs, injures an Israeli in the Atarot industrial zone nr. Jerusalem, flees. The IDF seals Qalqilya, Tulkarm; continues to shell the n. Gaza nogo zone, targeting 6 main access roads; sends troops into Jenin town and r.c., patrolling streets, firing on residential areas, occupying several homes as observation posts, then raiding and searching the PA General Intelligence headquarters; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Balata r.c. (firing on residential areas, wounding 2 Palestinians), al-Til and nr. Hebron, Jenin, Ramallah; begins to bulldoze Palestinian land east of Shavei Shomron settlement nr. Nablus to install a fence around the settlement. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba vandalize Palestinian homes, steal chickens in Hebron. Mbrs. of a Palestinian clan angry over the arrest of a relative on drug and auto theft charges storm a PA police station in Gaza City, exchange gunfire with police, leaving 1 PA policeman, 1 gunman dead. Unidentified Palestinian gunmen fire on Abbas’s Gaza City home, causing no injuries; Abbas is not there. (HA, IMEMC, JAZ, YA 12/29; HA, IMEMC, NYT, WP, WT 12/30; PCHR 1/5)

Senior Abu Rish Brigades (ARB) leader Khalid Abu Sitta is killed, 3 bystanders are wounded when his car mysteriously explodes nr. Khan Yunis; ARB claims it is an assassination, but the IDF denies involvement. Palestinians fire 2 mortars fr. Gaza towards Israel, causing no damage or injuries. The IDF fires 3 missiles at a rocket launching site nr. Khan Yunis, causing no damage or injuries; fires a missile at the main Rafah–Khan Yunis road, creating large crater; fatally shoots a PRC mbr. laying a roadside bomb nr. Erez crossing; fatally shoots 1 Palestinian, wounds a 2d who attempts to sneak into Israel fr. Bayt Lahiya to find work; fires on, wounds a mentally handicapped Palestinian who strays close to the Israeli border nr. Khan Yunis; fires on residential areas of Kafr al-Labad nr. Tulkarm, wounding, arresting, evacuating to an Israeli hospital a member of the PA security forces; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Issawiyya, Tulkarm (shooting and wounding a wanted Islamic Jihad mbr.) and nr. Hebron, Jenin. In response to the AMB–Islamic Jihad drive-by shooting on 12/16, the IDF closes some 50 roads in Hebron with sand barriers, blocks the main northern and southern entrances to Hebron with cement barriers. Jewish settlers fr. Yitzhar cut down more than 150 Palestinian olive trees nr. Nablus. (BBC, HA, IMEMC, NYT 12/18; AFP 12/19; PLO press release 12/21; PCHR 12/22)

An Islamic Jihad suicide bomber fr. Kefar Rai (btwn. Jenin and Tulkarm) detonates a device outside a shopping mall in Netanya, killing 5 Israelis, wounding 31 (4 seriously). Islamic Jihad says the attack is retaliation for the IDF’s 10/24 assassination of 2 of its leaders. The IDF immediately imposes closures on the West Bank and shuts pedestrian crossings in Gaza (keeping the Qarni crossing open for goods); announces that it is preparing for a wide-scale retaliation operation in northern Gaza and will step up assassinations and arrest campaigns in the West Bank, with DM Mofaz stating that the IDF had “decided to operate in a much broader, much deeper and more intensive manner against the Islamic Jihad infrastructure” and would make an effort to keep fr. drawing Hamas into the fighting. Later in the evening, the Israeli security cabinet authorizes the IDF to “adopt a harsher response” to rocket fire fr. Gaza, targeting built-up areas of Gaza as well as launch sites in uninhabited areas. During the day, the IDF also shells uninhabited areas in n. Gaza and in s. Gaza nr. Khan Yunis, causing no damage or injuries; makes 5 mock air raids over Gaza, breaking the sound barrier; fires on residential areas of Aida r.c., wounding 2 Palestinians; conducts arrest raids in and around Hebron and in Bethlehem, Jenin (targeting Hamas, including detaining 2 candidates in the 12/15 municipal elections, 1 candidate in the 1/25 parliamentary elections), Ramallah; bulldozes 5 d. of Palestinian land in Silwan for construction of a parking lot for Jewish settlers. Palestinians throw 2 pipe bombs at an IDF patrol nr. Bethlehem and fire on an IDF checkpoint nr. Nablus, causing no damage or injuries. PA police fire at Palestinians in Jenin rallying in support of the Netanya bombing. Israeli police round up another 500 Palestinians working in Israel without permits (see 12/4). (BBC, HA, IDF Radio, IMEMC, XIN, YA 12/5; CSM, DS, HA, IMEMC, JAZ, NYT, REU, WP, WT, YA 12/6; AFP, PCHR 12/8)

The IDF raids a Tulkarm school where Fatah primaries are being held, searches voters, leaves; arrests al-Jazeera West Bank bureau chief Awad Rajub at his home in Hebron “for security reasons.” Palestinians detonate a roadside bomb nr. an IDF patrol outside Efrat settlement nr. Bethlehem, causing no damage or injuries. A Palestinian gunman fatally shoots another Palestinian in Bayt Hanun, sparking armed clashes btwn. the 2 families that leave 9 wounded. (HA, IMEMC 12/1; WP 12/2; PCHR 12/5; PCHR 12/8)

The IDF fires on 2 Palestinians nr. the Gaza border fence, killing 1 Palestinian, while the other flees (the IDF says they were laying a roadside bomb, Palestinian sources say they were attempting to enter Israel to find work); fires on a Palestinian fishing boat that strays out of Palestinian waters off Gaza, seriously wounding 1 Palestinian; raids, seals Waqf offices in Bethlehem, interrogates the employees; conducts arrest raids in Bil`in, Dayr Ishtiyya nr. Nablus, Zabbuba nr. Jenin. Jewish settlers fr. Beit Hadasah attack an Israeli peace group on a solidarity visit to Palestinians in Hebron. Jewish settlers raid Palestinian olive groves nr. Qalqilya, pick and steal the olives. (IMEMC 11/12; HA 11/13; PCHR 11/17)

The IDF fatally shoots a Palestinian, wounds a 2d inside Gaza, alleging they were planting a roadside bomb nr. the Qarni crossing; fatally shoots a Palestinian in ‘Issawiyya who allegedly attempts to run down a solider with his car. Late in the evening, the IDF launches arrest raids, house searches in Aida r.c. and nr. Bethlehem, Nablus, Qalqilya, Tulkarm; fires on residential areas of Jenin r.c. Israeli border police arrest 76 Palestinians, 3 Jordanians in a crackdown on illegal workers entering Jerusalem. Jewish settlers throw stones at Palestinian vehicles outside Qalqilya. (IMEMC 11/9; IMEMC, PCHR 11/10; PCHR 11/17)

The IDF fatally shoots an unarmed Palestinian, arrests a 2d; both were thought to be planting a roadside bomb nr. Ramallah; acknowledges the error. Citing retaliation for the death of an AMB mbr. on 10/21, AMB gunmen fire on an IDF patrol in Jenin, injuring 2 soldiers. The IDF reinforces roadblocks around Nablus, Qalqilya; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and nr. Tulkarm and nr. Hebron, Ramallah. Jewish settlers fr. Beit Hadasah attack 10s of Palestinian girls on their way to school; the IDF observes but does not intervene (see 10/20). (IMEMC 10/22; HA 10/23; PCHR 10/27)

Citing retaliation for the 8/24 assassination of an Islamic Jihad mbr., an Islamic Jihad suicide bomber detonates a device outside a bus depot in Beersheba, Israel, killing only himself, seriously injuring 2 Israeli security guards, lightly injuring at least 8 other Israelis; Abbas quickly denounces the bombing as a “terrorist attack” that undermines Palestinian national interests. The IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem, Hebron, Qalqilya. Jewish settlers fr. Karnei Shomron (btwn. Nablus and Qalqilya) throw stones at local Palestinians, lightly injuring 1. Jewish settlers fr. Ramat Yishai burn Palestinian olive trees, grape vines in Hebron. (IMEMC 8/28; NYT, WP, WT 8/29; IMEMC 8/30; PR 8/31; PCHR 9/1; MEI 9/2)

Israel lifts the seal on Gaza imposed after the 7/12 bombing (the seal on the West Bank remains in place), but cancels 7,000 work permits for Gazans, renewing permits of only 2,000 workers and 200 merchants. The IDF reinforces troops in Gaza, sending tanks and armored vehicles, expanding construction of roads in central Gaza in preparation for disengagement; announces that it will replace its rubber-coated steel bullets that have killed scores of Palestinians with compressed sand bullets originally developed for close-quarter hostage rescues; says sand bullets have already been used against Palestinians protesting the separation wall. Gaza settler leaders begin collecting settlers’ weapons ahead of disengagement; some settlers say they will not give up their arms. The IDF demolishes a Palestinian home in East Jerusalem; conducts arrest raids in al-Bireh (targeting Islamic Jihad), Halhul nr. Hebron. Jewish settlers fr. Ma’on attack, beat 3 Palestinian farmers working their land nearby; the IDF intervenes, declares the area a closed military zone, orders farmers to leave, arresting 1 farmer and 1 international peace activist. Late in the evening, AMB n. Gaza cmdr. Ahmad Abu Zayid is fatally shot by an unidentified gunman; initial reports indicate his death is a result of intra-Palestinian fighting, but the AMB later accuses Israel of assassinating him, saying that earlier in the evening, Israeli security personnel (suspected Shin Bet) questioned his family regarding the car he drives, whether he has a bodyguard, whether he travels armed. A grenade explodes outside the Gaza City home of PA Atty. Gen. Hussein Abu Assi causing serious damage but no injuries; no group takes responsibility (see 6/28). In Gaza City, unidentified gunmen driving in a car open fire on 2 PA military intelligence officers, injuring them. Nr. Khan Yunis, 2 Palestinians are killed when explosives they are handling detonate. (IMEMC, WAFA, YA 8/1; AP, Deutsche Presse Agentur, PCHR, YA 8/2; JP, PR, WT 8/3; PCHR 8/4; FT 8/8)

The IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in Jenin and Qalqilya targeting Islamic Jihad. A Palestinian is injured when he apparently triggers a roadside bomb nr. Morag. Palestinians fire an antitank rocket at IDF soldiers patrolling the Philadelphi route, wounding an Israeli civilian contractor, 2 soldiers. A 14-yr.-old Palestinian girl wounded by IDF fire in Balata r.c. on 7/6 dies. (IMEMC, XIN 7/11; VOP 7/11 in WNC 7/12; VOI, YA 7/12 in WNC 7/13; OCHA 7/13; PCHR 7/14)

A senior Islamic Jihad military cmdr. escapes assassination when a remote controlled bomb destroys his car moments after he parks and enters his Gaza City home. The IDF imposes a curfew on al-Mughayyir nr. Ramallah; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron, in Qalqilya, nr. Tulkarm; occupies a Palestinian home nr. Tulkarm as an observation post; fires on, arrests 2 Palestinians attempting to sneak into Israel fr. s. Gaza to find work. Palestinians throw an explosive device at an IDF patrol nr. Ramallah, lightly wounding 1 IDF soldier; fire a mortar at a settlement in n. Gaza, causing no damage or injuries. Heeding appeals by the IDF, Jewish settlers voluntarily evacuate an unauthorized settlement outpost built east of Ofra settlement in 1995. (HA, IMEMC, XIN 7/10; YA, IDF Radio 7/10 in WNC 7/12; PCHR 7/14)

An Israeli civilian security guard responsible for separation wall construction area outside Bayt Laqia fires on stonethrowing youths, fatally shoots a 15-yr.-old Palestinian working in his family’s vineyard nearby; the IDF bars an ambulance fr. reaching the area for 2 hrs. The IDF conducts arrest raids in Hebron and Jenin, targeting Islamic Jihad; fires on Palestinians holding a daily nonviolent protest against the separation wall nr. Bil‘in, critically wounding 1 Palestinian with a bullet to the head; fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis; arrests 2 Palestinian farmers working their land nr. Hebron for being too close to the separation wall; raids, occupies 2 Palestinian homes nr. Tulkarm as observation posts. The AMB detonates a roadside bomb nr. an IDF patrol in Rafah, injuring 4 IDF soldiers. Palestinians fire an antitank rocket at an IDF patrol nr. Neve Dekalim, causing no damage or injuries. (AFP, IMEMC 7/8; VOI, YA 7/8 in WNC 7/9; AFP, HA, NYT, WP, WT, XIN 7/9; HA 7/10; AYM 7/10 in WNC 7/11; OCHA 7/13; PCHR 7/14)

The IDF directs tank fire at Palestinian militants laying a roadside bomb nr. Morag, critically wounding 1 Palestinian; fires on residential areas of Dura, Rafah; occupies 3 Palestinian homes in Hebron, 1 in Yatta as observation posts; patrols in Palestinian areas of Hebron; conducts house searches nr. Tulkarm. Some 40 armed AMB mbrs. raid, temporarily occupy a PA building in Gaza City, demanding Abbas make good on promises to recruit them into the security forces. Jewish settlers fr. Elkana attack, damage a Palestinian home in nearby Masha nr. Salfit. Jewish settlers fr. Keddumim close a nearby road used by Palestinians, stone passing Palestinian cars. (HA, IMEMC 7/2; VOP 7/2 in WNC 7/3; OCHA 7/6; PCHR 7/7)

The IDF fatally shoots a Palestinian allegedly attempting to plant a roadside bomb outside Morag; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Hebron and nr. Bethlehem, Tulkarm. In al-Mawasi, Jewish settlers attack several Palestinian homes, seize 1, clash with Palestinians, leaving 1 Jewish settler injured; the IDF intervenes, removes the settlers; later the settlers return, throw stones at Palestinians, attempt to run them down, causing no injuries. Also in Gaza, Jewish settlers attack a car carrying 3 Palestinian journalists, lightly injuring them. Islamic Jihad fires 2 rockets at Sederot, causing no damage or injuries. PA Atty. Gen. Hussein Abu Assi says that he has instructed police to detain more than 5 fmr. PA officials on charges of misuse of public funds. Some fmr. officials may have to be extradited fr. Arab countries. (IMEMC, JAZ, REU 6/28; HA, IMEMC, XIN 6/29; PHRC 6/30)

The IDF demolishes 11 long-abandoned bungalows along the s. Gaza shore outside Shirat Hayam settlement being used by some 100 West Bank Jewish settlers who recently came to Gaza to block disengagement; the settlers scuffle with soldiers, break into a nearby Palestinian clinic, damage 12 d. of Palestinian crops and an irrigation network nearby; 1 IDF soldier is arrested, ordered jailed for 56 days for refusing to follow orders to carry out the demolition. The IDF also conducts arrest raids in, fires on residential areas of ‘Azun nr. Qalqilya; fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis; imposes a curfew on Saffa nr. Ramallah; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron, Bethlehem, Tulkarm; begins construction of a new separation wall segment northeast of Jerusalem nr. ‘Anata. In Rafah, 4 Palestinian children are injured when they trigger either a roadside bomb or unexploded IDF ordnance. A Palestinian stabs, wounds an IDF soldier in East Jerusalem, is arrested. A Jewish settler beats, injures a Palestinian man in Hebron; the IDF intervenes, arrests the settler. Another group of Jewish settlers fr. Beit Haggai beat 2 Palestinian employees of the Hebron Reconstruction Comm. doing work on local Palestinian homes. Jewish settlers fr. Avraham Avino in Hebron burn down a Palestinian shop, vandalize several others. A Jewish settler wounded in the 6/24 shooting outside Hebron dies. (HA, IMEMC, XIN 6/26; VOI 6/26 in WNC 6/27; NYT, WP, WT 6/27; PCHR 6/28; OCHA, PR, WP, WT, XIN 6/29; PHRC 6/30)

The IDF fatally shoots a Palestinian with a hearing problem who fails orders to halt nr. Hebron’s Ibrahimi Mosque/Tomb of the Patriarchs; fires on a Palestinian vehicle that passes an IDF post nr. Jenin, killing 1 Palestinian; tightens restrictions on Palestinian movement around Bayt Jala nr. Bethlehem; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron, Nablus. A Palestinian is killed in Khan Yunis when the rocket-propelled grenade he launches toward a Jewish settlement misfires. Nr. Gaza City, 2 AMB mbrs. are killed, 3 (including at least 1 Hamas mbr.) are injured allegedly when a roadside bomb they are planting explodes prematurely. In Ramallah, an unidentified masked gunman fatally shoots Palestinian journalist Samir Rantisi, an aide to fmr. PA Information M Yasir ‘Abid Rabbuh; the PA suspects a criminal motive, while the Rantisi family believes he was killed because he was involved in an investigation into certain corrupt PA officials. A Palestinian wounded during an attack on an IDF post nr. Mevo Dotan on 5/28 dies. (IMEMC, PRCS 5/29; XIN, YA 5/29 in WNC 5/30; IMEMC, JAZ, JP, NYT 5/30; OCHA 6/1; PCHR 6/2)

The IDF bulldozes 5 Palestinian homes in Yatta nr. Hebron; fires on a Palestinian car nr. Bayt Furik checkpoint nr. Nablus, hitting the driver 7 times, wounding him; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Qalqilya; conducts patrols in Jinata nr. Bethlehem. Israeli border police raid a Central Elections Commission (CEC) registration center in Nabi Samuel outside Jerusalem, check IDs of the staff; raid another center in Harmala nr. Bethlehem, holding staff for 3 hrs. In Bayt Lahiya, 2 Palestinian boys are injured when they accidentally trigger a roadside bomb; 2 Palestinian boys are injured in a similar incident nr. the Rafah border fence. (IMEMC 5/23; OCHA 5/25; PCHR 5/26)

IDF troops in Hebron beat, temporarily detain 7 unarmed PA traffic policemen in the Bab al-Zawiyya district in the Palestinian sector of the city, claiming they were in a prohibited area (see 3/29), beat 3 of the policemen; fire live ammunition, tear gas at Palestinians who attempt to intervene, causing no injuries; fire on residential areas. The IDF also raids, searches a house in East Jerusalem, arresting 1 Palestinian; patrols inside Tamun nr. Jenin, randomly checking Palestinian IDs; uproots 100 olive trees in Bil‘in for construction of the separation wall. For the 2d day, a Jewish settler fr. Kiryat Arba shoots, wounds a Palestinian farmer working his nearby field. A Palestinian Resistance Comm. (PRC) gunman shoots, seriously wounds a Jewish settler working in a greenhouse in Morag settlement, claiming the act is in retaliation for recent Israeli violations of the unofficial truce. Palestinians detonate a roadside bomb nr. an IDF patrol in Rafah, causing no damage or injuries. Hamas complains that the PA has recently fired a number of teachers working in PA schools who are Hamas supporters. (AFP, IMEMC, YA 4/5; HA, NYT, OCHA, WT 4/6; PCHR 4/7)

The IDF demolishes a Palestinian home in n. Jerusalem to make way for the separation wall; fires on Palestinians who halt their car and emerge to survey their agricultural land nr. Tulkarm (lightly injuring 1), takes them to the hospital only after 3 hrs. of questioning; shoots, wounds a Palestinian who strays nr. the separation wall nr. Qalqilya; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Hazma nr. Jerusalem, Tulkarm; conducts arrest raids Hebron, al-Qarara nr. Khan Yunis, Salim nr. Nablus, Sawahara nr. Jerusalem. Palestinians detonate a roadside bomb nr. an IDF patrol on the Rafah border, causing no injuries. For a 2d day, Jewish settlers fr. Ma’on shoot at, attack Palestinian shepherds grazing their animals nr. the settlement. Jewish settlers fr. Almatan nr. Qalqilya uproot 10s of olive trees, bulldoze Palestinian agricultural land in neighboring Kafr Thuluth. A Jewish settler injures an 8-yr.-old Palestinian girl in a hit-and-run in Hebron. A Palestinian dies of injuries received earlier. (IMEMC 3/14; OCHA 3/16; PCHR 3/17)