The Palestine Chronology

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)

Israel increases the number of Palestinian workers allowed into Israel fr. the West Bank to 37,000, while Israeli police launch a crackdown on Palestinians working in Israel without permits, arresting 250. The IDF erects a fortified observation tower on the Gaza border nr. Khan Yunis; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Jenin, al-Khadir and nr. Hebron. AMB mbrs. fire 3 rockets into Israel, causing light damage but no injuries. Late in the evening, the IDF responds with artillery strikes on rocket launch sites in n. Gaza, with fighter jets creating sonic booms over the Strip and conducting air strikes on an Islamic Jihad charity and alleged weapons-making factory; Israeli DM Shaul Mofaz approves an increase in assassinations in response to the rocket attacks. PA police shoot, seriously wound a Palestinian driver in Ramallah who refuses to stop for an ID check, precipitating a protest by some 100 bystanders, joined by AMB gunmen who force local shop owners to close their stores in protest. (HA, IMEMC, XIN 12/4; HA, VOI, WT 12/5; IMEMC 12/6; NYT 12/7; PCHR 12/8)

After Palestinians fire 2 rockets into Israel, causing no damage or injuries, an IDF helicopter fires missiles at an Islamic Jihad charity in Gaza City, damaging the building, lightly wounding 1 bystander. In response, Palestinians fire 3 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In retaliation, the IDF carries out artillery and F-16 air strikes on open areas in Gaza, firing at least 30 shells and 3 missiles, causing no damage or injuries. The IDF fires on, sinks a Palestinian fishing boat in Palestinian waters off Gaza, killing 1 Palestinian, leaving 1 missing; the IDF says that it attempted to halt the boat after the Palestinian sailor headed toward Egyptian waters alone and returned with a passenger, but the boat ignored warning shots and fired back at the naval vessel, causing no damage or injuries. (The IDF says that videotape that routinely records the naval unit’s activity ran out about three minutes before the incident.) The IDF also begins work on a new segment of the separation wall northwest of Jerusalem in al-Jib, Dahiyat al-Barid; conducts arrest raids, house searches in al-Khadir, Qabatya nr. Jenin. A Jewish settler injures a Palestinian child in a deliberate hit-and-run nr. Qalqilya. A PA policeman, 4 Palestinians are shot dead in Bayt Hanun during a clash btwn. rival Palestinian clans that erupts at the funeral for the mbr. of 1 family who was killed on 12/1. (AP, HA, IMEMC 12/3; AFP, HA 12/4; PCHR, WT 12/5; PCHR 12/8; IMEMC 12/10)

The IDF makes a predawn arrest raid on Awarta nr. Nablus targeting the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP); fires on 3 unarmed Palestinians attempting to cross the Gaza border fence into Israel to find work, killing 1 Palestinian, wounding 2; fires on, damages a Palestinian fishing boat off Rafah, arresting the fisherman; fires tear gas, rubber bullets, percussion grenades at Palestinians holding a weekly nonviolent protest against the separation wall in Bil‘in; confiscates 5 d. of Palestinian land nr. Alon settlement nr. Nablus for construction of an IDF outpost. Palestinians fire a rocket fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries; fire at an IDF patrol nr. the s. Gaza border, causing no damage or injuries. (IMEMC, YA 12/2; HA, IMEMC 12/3; HA 12/4; 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 reinforces roadblocks around Qalqilya; sends 40 armored vehicles, escorted by helicopters, into Nablus to conduct arrest raids targeting the AMB and Hamas, shelling an apartment building, firing on stone-throwers and residential areas (wounding 10 Palestinians), rounding up all males over age 16 for ID checks (arresting 4); patrols in, fires on residential areas of Tulkarm town and r.c., nearby Anabta, and Tubas nr. Jenin; demolishes a Palestinian home in Bethlehem for being built without a permit; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Aida r.c. and Balata r.c., and nr. Hebron, Jenin, Ramallah, Tulkarm. In the evening, the AMB fires several mortars fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. (HA, IMEMC 11/30; PCHR 12/1, 12/8; HA 12/9)

For the 2d time in a wk. (see 11/22), an IDF undercover unit driving a vehicle with Palestinian plates enters Bethlehem, attempts to stop a Palestinian taxi to arrest a passenger, but PA security forces observe and intervene, exchanging gunfire with the IDF unit, leaving 1 PA officer, 1 bystander wounded; the undercover unit calls in reinforcements to extract it. The IDF also fires rubber bullets at Palestinian stone-throwers in Hebron; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Dahaysha r.c. and Jenin town and r.c. (during which an IDF dog attacks and seriously injures a 12-yr.-old boy), in and around Hebron (severely beating 4 Palestinians), and nr. Bethlehem. Jewish settlers fr. Emanuel settlement nr. Qalqilya uproot and burn a grove of Palestinian olive trees nearby. Jewish settlers fr. Ma’ale Adumim severely beat a Palestinian walking nr. the settlement. (IMEMC, REU 11/29; PCHR 12/1)

The IDF requests that all Israelis and journalists leave Gaza until further notice; reopens the Sufa commercial crossing in Gaza (closed on 11/22); conducts arrest raids, house searches in al-Arub r.c., ‘Ayn Bayt al-Ma’, Hebron, Nablus. The PA security forces launch a large-scale campaign to crackdown on criminal activity and to restore order to the West Bank and Gaza, focusing initially on Gaza, Jenin, Nablus, and Ramallah, searching for stolen property (primarily vehicles), unlicensed weapons, drugs; security forces exchange gunfire with local gunmen in Balata r.c. (IMEMC, JAZ 11/27; IMEMC 11/29; IMEMC, PCHR 12/1)

The IDF conducts arrest raids in Hebron. Also in Hebron, 100s of Jewish settlers rampage through Palestinian areas of the city, forcing stores to close, vandalizing homes and shops, injuring 2 Palestinians. Jewish settlers fr. Harsina, under IDF protection, uproot 130 Palestinian olive trees in Hebron. Jewish settlers fr. Gilo nr. Bethlehem beat unconscious a 60-yr.-old Palestinian passing nr. the settlement. Jewish settlers fr. Elon Moreh nr. Nablus cut down more than 200 Palestinian olive trees in nearby Salim. (IMEMC 11/26; HA 11/27, 11/30; PCHR 12/1)

In keeping with the agmt. brokered by Rice on 11/15, Israel allows the PA to open the Rafah crossing under EU monitoring for 4 hrs./day; only foot traffic will be allowed until vehicle scanners are installed; Egypt will require men age 18–40 to obtain an entry visa. The IDF also tightens restrictions on Palestinian movement in Hebron; fires teargas at stone-throwing Palestinians outside a polling station in Aida r.c. nr. Bethlehem being used for the Fatah primaries in advance of the 1/25 elections; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Bethlehem, Hebron. Palestinians report that a private contractor for a Jewish settlement nr. Bil‘in recently uprooted 100s of the village’s olive trees located on the western side of the separation wall despite IDF pledges that villagers would be given access to the trees to harvest them. (JTA, REU, YA 11/25; IMEMC, NYT, WP, WT 11/26; PCHR 12/1)

Extremist Jews attack a busload of Israeli Palestinians in Shafa ‘Amr nr. Jerusalem, injuring 8 Palestinians. (IMEMC 11/26)

The IDF closes the Sufa commercial crossing in Gaza; demolishes 1 Palestinian home in Wadi al-Juz in East Jerusalem, 1 in Silwan nr. Jerusalem; conducts arrest raids, house searches, random ID checks in al-Khadir, nr. Hebron, in and around Tulkarm; sends troops into Ramallah to surround 2 mosques during dawn prayers, thoroughly checking IDs and searching Palestinians as they leave but making no arrests. PA security forces on a campaign to confiscate unlicensed Palestinian vehicles inadvertently foil an IDF undercover unit raid into Bethlehem when they stop the unit’s car, bearing Palestinian plates; the undercover unit calls in IDF backup, which surrounds the PA officers and orders them to lay down their arms until they retreat. (IMEMC 11/22; PCHR 11/24; YA 11/30)

The IDF bulldozes 2 Palestinian homes in Anata nr. Jerusalem, conducts arrest raids, house searches in Dahaysha r.c. The Israeli Housing Min. approves plans for 350 new housing units in Ma’ale Adumim settlement. (IMEMC, PM 11/22)

After several days of mtgs. with advisers and Likud colleagues, Sharon asks Israeli pres. Moshe Katsav to dissolve parliament, announces his departure fr. Likud and plans to form a more moderate centrist Forward party (Kadima) to run in 2006 elections; 15 of Likud’s 40 MKs pledge to follow Sharon. (AP, BBC, JTA, NYT, REU, WP, WT 11/21; CSM, HA, WP 11/22; WP 11/25)

Overnight, the IDF launches a major raid on Nablus, surrounding and searching houses, assassinating senior Hamas military cmdr. for the n. West Bank, Amjad Hinnawi, and arresting several other Palestinians. The IDF also partially demolishes an apartment building in alZababda nr. Jenin; imposes a curfew on parts of Hebron, conducts arrest raids and house searches, occupying 1 Palestinian home as an observation post; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Yatta (arresting local Islamic Jihad leader Mahmud al-Haddar), nr. Bethlehem. A Palestinian gunman fires on a Jewish settler vehicle nr. Halhul, causing damage but no injuries. Jewish settlers fr. Itamar burn 30 Palestinian olive trees in Nablus. In Rafah, gunmen of a previously unknown group called the Islamic Army raids and orders closed a PA Central Election Commission (CEC) office, saying that the upcoming parliamentary elections are un-Islamic and a plot by the U.S. and Israel; CEC officials refuse to leave, PA security forces arrive, the gunmen leave. (HA 11/14; IMEMC, REU, WP 11/15; PCHR 11/17)

The IDF fires on 3 Palestinians nr. Jenin who were allegedly armed, approaching an IDF post; the 3 flee and are chased by IDF soldiers, who track down and fatally shoot 1 of the men, AMB mbr. Shuju‘a Balawi, and wound the other, finding them unarmed. The IDF also eases restrictions on West Bank Palestinian workers’ entry to Israel, issuing 8,000 entry permits, and allowing 1,700 West Bank employees of international organizations to enter Israel and Gaza; sends troops supported by helicopters into Jenin to raid a Hamas office, arresting 2 Palestinians, including a local Hamas spokesman; tightens restrictions on Palestinian movement around Jerusalem. Late in the evening, the IDF sends troops back into Jenin town and r.c., Qabatya (to patrol streets); conducts arrest raids, house searches in Tulkarm town and r.c. Palestinians fire a mortar at an IDF post at Gaza’s Qarni crossing, causing no damage or injuries; IDF artillery shells open areas of n. Gaza in response, causing no injuries. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba vandalize 2 Palestinian homes in Hebron, lightly injuring a 3-yr.-old Palestinian boy. (AFP, HA, IMEMC 11/13; HA, NYT, YA 11/14; PCHR 11/17)

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 sends troops into, fires on residential areas of Bayta nr. Nablus; patrols, conducts random security checks of Palestinians in Aida r.c. Armed Jewish settlers fr. Hebron seize and fence off 160 d. of Palestinian land outside Carmiel settlement for a new unauthorized outpost. Palestinians fire a rocket toward Sederot, causing no damage or injuries; throw Molotov cocktails at a house in Pisgat Ze’ev, causing moderate damage but no injuries. Residents of Dayr al-Balah in central Gaza issue a statement calling on Hamas to halt rocket fire on Israel fr. their vicinity after a rocket damaged a Palestinian home earlier in the wk., urge the PA security forces to halt lawlessness in Gaza. (IMEMC 11/11; PCHR 11/17)

The IDF conducts arrest raids in villages around Hebron; patrols in Qabatya, temporarily occupying a Palestinian home as an observation post; begins construction of a new segment of the separation wall in East Jerusalem nr. Azariyya; bulldozes land in Kafr Haris nr. Nablus for an observation tower. (IMEMC 11/10; PCHR 11/17)

Vice PM Peres loses the Labor party primaries to Histadrut labor union leader Amir Peretz, who ran on the promise to end Labor’s participation in a coalition government with Likud (to protest Likud’s cuts to economic spending and increased privatization) and to push for early elections if he won. (BBC, NYT, WP, WT 11/10; HA, WP, WT, YA 11/11; CSM, HA, JTA 11/14)

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)

Overnight, Palestinian gunmen exchange fire with an IDF undercover unit that attempts to enter Jenin; no injuries are reported, the undercover unit apparently retreats. During the day, the IDF shoots, wounds an Islamic Jihad mbr. as he drives outside Nablus when he allegedly evades a checkpoint; fires on a group of Palestinian youths allegedly planting a roadside bomb outside Nablus, killing a 15-yr.-old Palestinian, wounding 3; fires on residential areas of al-Zawiyya nr. Jenin; shoots, wounds a mentally handicapped Palestinian who ignores orders to halt nr. a checkpoint outside Qalqilya; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Ramallah. (HA, IMEMC 11/8; NYT 11/9; PCHR 11/10)

The IDF conducts arrest raids in al-Til, Tubas and nr. Hebron, Qalqilya; begins work on a new section of the separation wall southwest of Hebron. 10 armed Jewish settlers fr. Hebron storm a Palestinian law office in the city, search and set fire to files, causing serious damage. (IMEMC 11/6; PCHR 11/10)

The IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in Qabatya, fires on stone-throwing youths who confront the troops, seriously wounding 6 boys ages 14–19; also conducts arrest raids, house searches in Dahaysha r.c., nr. Hebron. Palestinians fire 2 rockets at an IDF post at Erez crossing on the Gaza border, causing no damage or injuries. A 12-yr.-old Palestinian boy shot in the head by the IDF on 11/3 dies of his injuries. (IMEMC, XIN 11/5; NYT, WP 11/6; PM 11/7)

The IDF continues arrest raids, house searches in villages around Jenin into the predawn hours; for no apparent reason fires 5 artillery shells at Palestinian homes and fields e. of Khan Yunis, causing damage but no injuries; detains, beats, releases after 6 hrs. an al-Jazeera cameraman filming a nonviolent Palestinian demonstration against the separation wall in Bil‘in. An Israeli comm. responsible for preserving historic sites approves the demolition of the Shepherd Hotel in East Jerusalem (owned by Mufti of Jerusalem Hajj Amin al-Husayni before being converted into a hotel in 1945) to make way for construction of 70 Jewish settlement housing units that would link up different Jewish districts of Jerusalem; the hotel was acquired by Jewish-American millionaire Irving Moscowitz in 1985. (AFP, Committee to Protect Journalists press release, IMEMC, Middle East Times, Reporters Without Borers press release 11/4; PCHR 11/10)

The IDF assassinates AMB military cmdr. Hassan Madhun, Hamas military cmdr. Fawzi Abu Qara’ in air strikes on their car in Gaza’s Jabaliya r.c., wounding 10 bystanders; bans foreign journalists fr. entering Gaza; fires on stone-throwing Palestinians in Bil‘in; sends 40 tanks supported by helicopters into Jenin town and r.c. to conduct arrest raids and house searches, clashing with Palestinian gunmen, leaving 3 Palestinian bystanders, 1 IDF soldier wounded; conducts major arrest raids in Husan, arresting 10 Palestinian boys ages 16–17; severely beats a West Bank Palestinian in Jerusalem during an ID check. (AFP, Guardian, HA, IMEMC 11/1; HA, NYT, WP, WT 11/2; PCHR 11/10)

Islamic Jihad announces that it will halt all rocket attacks fr. n. Gaza if Israel pledges to cease targeting its mbrs. Hrs. later, the IDF raids a house in Qabatya, assassinating Islamic Jihad mbrs. Jihad Zakarna and Arshad Abu Zayd, also wounding at least 7 bystanders; Islamic Jihad retaliates by firing at least 2 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. The IDF also sets up 2 new artillery positions outside n. and s. Gaza to deter rocket fire; opens the Rafah checkpoint for several hrs. to allow Palestinians making the hajj to leave for Saudi Arabia. Shin Bet reports that it has detained 3 PRC “rocket engineers” in the Negev on their way fr. Gaza to the West Bank. In Ramallah, PA police fire in the air to disperse 60 Islamic Jihad mbrs. protesting outside Abbas’s residence against the PA’s arrest of 4 fellow mbrs. earlier in the wk. Jewish settlers fr. Elon Moreh severely beat a 73-yr.-old Palestinian man walking nr. the settlement. (AFP, HA, IMEMC, XIN, YA 10/30; HA, NYT, WP 10/31; PCHR 11/10)

As Operation Starting All Over Again continues, IDF warplanes launch 12 more air strikes on Gaza, cutting electricity to 1,000s of Palestinian homes, causing serious damage but no injuries; continue conducting sonic booms over the Strip roughly every 20 mins. almost around the clock. The IDF also drops leaflets on Gaza warning of more air strikes until there is a “total cessation of terror attacks”; responds to Palestinians firing a rocket at Sederot (no damage or injuries) with artillery fire on the launch site in n. Gaza, causing no injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches and fires on residential areas in and around Balata r.c., Nablus; Palestinians set fire to 1 IDF vehicle in Nablus during the operation. The IDF also fires on stonethrowing Palestinians in Dura, wounding 8. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba rampage through Palestinian areas of Hebron, damaging 10s of houses, seriously injuring 1 Palestinian. Jewish settlers fr. Carmiel, rampage through Yatta village, damaging 10s of Palestinian homes and 1 car. In Ramallah, PA police break up a protest in front of the PA headquarters by Birzeit University students demanding the release of jailed student leader of the Islamic movement at Birzeit, Ala’ Barahma; several students are injured. (ABC News, YA 10/29; AFP, HA, IMEMC, WT, YA 10/30; IMEMC, OCHA 10/31; PCHR 11/10)

Overnight, the IDF deploys an artillery battery outside the s. Gaza Strip (since Operation First Rain, artillery has been positioned in Nahal Oz, outside the n. Gaza); begins massing troops in the Gaza border in case the Israeli cabinet calls for ground operations; conducts arrest raids, house searches in the n. West Bank targeting mostly Islamic Jihad mbrs. During the day, the IDF begins erecting a massive new checkpoint (the Zaatara checkpoint) s. of Nablus at Tapuach Junction that will sever the Nablus and Jenin districts from the rest of the West Bank, creating a northern West Bank canton; the crossing, which is similar to the Qalandia checkpoint that Israel has said will be treated as an international crossing, was approved by the IDF Central Command 9 mos. ago and should begin operation in 2 mos. An IDF drone fires on a car in n. Gaza that launched rockets toward Sederot (causing no damage), killing AMB mbr. Majid Nattat. Soon after, Palestinians fire another 2 rockets and a mortar toward Sederot, and the IDF carries out 2 air strikes on 2 roads leading to Bayt Lahiya; no injuries are reported in the exchange. Later, the IDF carries out another 3 air strikes on n. Gaza, causing no reported injuries; fires stun grenades to disperse Palestinians hoping to cross the al-Ram checkpoint into Jerusalem to mark the final Friday of Ramadan at al-Aqsa mosque. Late in the evening, the IDF launches F-16 air strikes on uninhabited areas of n. Gaza; patrols, shoots out street lights in Nablus; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Hebron. Palestinians then fire an antitank rocket at the Erez crossing, causing no damage or injuries. Meanwhile, 10,000s of Palestinians attend the Gaza funerals of the 7 Palestinians killed in the 10/28 Muhanna assassination; AMB, Hamas, Islamic Jihad hold massive armed marches, firing automatic weapons in the air in violation of their agmt. with the PA not to carry or use weapons in public. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba, escorted by IDF soldiers, severely beat 2 Palestinians in Hebron. Separately, Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba vandalize several Palestinian homes in Hebron. Jewish settlers fr. Ramat Yishai violently beat 2 Palestinian teenagers in Hebron; the IDF intervenes and detains 1 Palestinian. Mofaz orders the eviction of 15 Jewish settler families living in the unauthorized enclave of Amona in Hebron. (AP, CSM, HA, IDF Radio, IMEMC, REU, YA 10/28; NYT, WP, WT 10/29; HA, IMEMC 10/30; OCHA 10/31; PCHR 11/10)

Early in the morning, Palestinians fire 2 rockets fr. Bayt Hanun into Israel, causing no damage or injuries; IDF artillery responds, shelling a road and an open field n. Gaza where Palestinians have launched rockets, causing no injuries. Despite the exchange, the IDF partially reopens the Erez and Qarni crossings. In the afternoon, an Islamic Jihad suicide bomber retaliating for the 10/24 Saadi assassination detonates a bomb in an open-air market in Hadera, killing 5 Israelis, wounding 6 seriously, 14 moderately. Palestinians also fire another rocket at the Negev (no damage or injuries), a mortar at an IDF post on the s. Gaza border (no damage or injuries). Israel immediately cancels a planned mtg. btwn. Israeli, PA cabinet mbrs.; Sharon says he will not meet with Abbas until he takes “serious action” against militants. Late in the evening, the Israeli cabinet approves Operation Starting All Over Again—a “broad and nonstop” offensive (including assassinations) against “terrorism” in the West Bank and Gaza that will continue until “terrorism” ends; says there are no plans for a ground offensive into Gaza at present, but restrictions on Palestinian movement across the West Bank will be tightened, diplomatic offensives will be raised to pressure Syria over its hosting of Islamic Jihad in Damascus. Meanwhile, right-wing Jewish settler youths occupy abandoned buildings nr. Elon Moreh, Keddumim settlements and site on Worshippers Way in Hebron, declaring new unauthorized outposts. (HA, WP, YA 10/26; HA, NYT, PCHR, WP, WT, YA 10/27; HA 10/28; IMEMC 10/31; PCHR 11/10)

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)

Israel says it is weighing a plan to bar private Palestinian vehicles fr. using all main roads in the West Bank “to protect Israeli motorists from roadside shootings,” drastically to expand the system of settler-only bypass roads and bridges to completely separate Palestinian and Israeli transportation networks within 2 yrs., and to bar all Palestinian workers’ entry into Israel within 3 yrs. The IDF sends troops backed by tanks, armored personnel carriers into Jenin town and r.c. to conduct arrest raids, house searches; also conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron. Jewish settlers fr. Ma’on vandalizes Palestinian homes in Yatta. (AFP, HA, IMEMC, REU 10/19; HA, NYT, PCHR, WT 10/20; HA 10/24; PCHR 10/27)

The IDF seriously injures a Palestinian woman in a hit-and-run nr. Bayt Fajjar; bulldozes 24 d. of agricultural land, including 150 olive trees, in ‘Azun ‘Atma; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Aida r.c., Dahaysha r.c., Dura, Kharsa nr. Hebron; moves into and fires on residential areas of Bayt ’Awa nr. Hebron, then fires on stone-throwing Palestinians who confront the troops, seriously wounding a 13-yr.-old boy, moderately wounding a 12-yr.-old boy; conducts late-night patrols in Jenin, firing on residential areas. Palestinians throw a pipe bomb at an Israeli border police patrol s. of Jerusalem, lightly injuring 3 officers. Jewish settlers fr. Elon Moreh set fire to 300 d. of Palestinian olive groves in nearby Salim. A previously unknown group calling itself Knights of the Storm (thought to be a Fatah offshoot) claims to have kidnapped 2 Palestinian collaborators in Gaza City, saying they took action when the PA security forces failed to do so. (HA, IMEMC, PM, REU 10/18; WP, WT 10/19; PCHR 10/20)