The Palestine Chronology

In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Jenin, Nablus. An unnamed Egyptian official offering no evidence says that Egypt’s preliminary investigation into the 8/2 rocket fire fr. the Egyptian Sinai has determined that “Palestinian factions” fr. Gaza were responsible. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack. Hamas explicitly denies involvement in the attack, urging Egypt to investigate thoroughly. (PCHR, WT 8/5; PCHR 8/12; OCHA 8/13)

As announced on 6/1, Egypt opens its side of the Rafah border in both directions to Palestinian medical cases, students, other humanitarian cases with proper travel documents, as well as to foreign passport holders; 1,000s of Gazans stream to the border crossing in hopes of reaching stores in Egyptian Rafah, but Hamas and Egyptian officials allow fewer than 500 out and fewer than 600 in the first day. (The crossing remains open continuously through the end of the quarter, but average daily numbers allowed to cross are slightly lower than these, with Egypt denying entry to a significant number of Palestinians approved for exit by Hamas.) Twice during the day, IDF troops on the Israeli side of the Erez crossing fire warning shots at Palestinians scavenging construction materials inside the Erez industrial zone, wounding 1 Palestinian. Israeli naval vessels fire on Palestinian fishing boats off the n. Gaza coast, forcing them to return to shore. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts evening arrest raids in al-Ma‘sara. Jewish settlers set fire to crop land in 4 Palestinian village nr. Nablus, destroying 450 olive trees and 300 almond trees. (PCHR 6/3; OCHA 6/4)

Mbrs. of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) claim responsibility for firing 2 manufactured Grad rockets fr. Gaza into Israel; the missiles hit nr. Netivot, causing no damage or injuries. Egypt allows a token delegation of around 85 international activists to cross into Gaza to demonstrate with Gazans for an end to Israel’s siege, while in Cairo, Egyptian authorities disperse another 1,000 international activists calling on Egypt and Israel to open the Gaza border. Inside Israel, about 1,000 Israeli Palestinian and Jewish peace activists march to the Erez crossing in solidarity with the internationals in Egypt. Israeli police arrest a Jewish settler teenager connected to the outlawed right-wing group Kahane Chai suspected in the 12/11 arson of a mosque in Yasuf. In the West Bank, the IDF demolishes 2 animal shelters on a Palestinian farm located nr. an unauthorized Israeli settlement outpost northeast of Hebron, saying they had been erected illegally; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron. Jewish settlers fr. Shavei Shomron and Einav settlements set up an outpost on a hill nr. Nablus overlooking the spot where a settler was ambushed and killed on 12/24. Jewish settlers at another settlement outpost northwest of Hebron raze 1,500 d. of surrounding Palestinian agricultural land, saying they plan to build a park and swimming pools. (JP 12/31; NYT, WP 1/1; HA 1/2; OCHA, PCHR 1/6; WJW 1/7)

Israel allows 973 Palestinians to transit through the Rafah crossing (881 going into Egypt, 92 returning to Gaza). In the West Bank, IDF troops catch a Palestinian man attempting to scale the separation wall in al-Ram to gain access to Jerusalem to find work; they force the man to stand on top of the wall and jump to the ground, causing him to fracture both legs; they then order him to crawl to a military jeep where they handcuff him before giving him medical attention. The IDF also fires rubbercoated steel bullets, stun grenades, tear gas, and skunk at stone-throwing Palestinians protesting the separation wall in Bil‘in; fires rubber-coated steel bullets, stun grenades, tear gas at Palestinian and international activists demonstrating against the separation wall in Ni‘lin, causing no serious injuries; fire stun grenades and tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, and international activists nr. Nablus protesting the IDF’s bulldozing of large areas of Palestinian land for the expansion of Brakha settlement. (OCHA, PCHR 8/13)

Israel allows 636 Palestinians to transit through the Rafah crossing (618 going into Egypt, 18 returning to Gaza). Israeli naval vessels halt and confiscate 2 Palestinian fishing boats operating 600 m off the Rafah coast, taking the fishermen to Ashdod port and returning them to Gaza after interrogation. IDF troops make a brief incursion into Gaza nr. Qarni crossing to level at least 60 d. of crops obscuring soldiers’ lines of sight into the Strip. In the West Bank, the IDF imposes a curfew on Kafr Haris nr. Salfit, patrols streets for several hrs. before escorting 10s of Jewish settlers into the village to visit historic tombs; they all depart late in the evening. The IDF also conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Nablus. In East Jerusalem, the IDF forces a Palestinian family to demolish their home in the Wadi al-Juz neighborhood, threatening to levy a $2,500 fine if the IDF were to carry out the demolition. (OCHA, PCHR 8/13) 

For a 3d day, Israel allows significant cross-border transit through the Rafah crossing, allowing 600 Palestinians to enter Egypt and 494 to return to Gaza. IDF troops on the central Gaza border e. of Gaza Valley, supported by IDF helicopters, engage in a cross-border exchange of fire with armed Palestinians; the only casualty is a 12-yr.-old Palestinian boy seriously wounded by IDF fire outside his home, 1,500 m fr. the border. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts a rare daytime arrest raid, house searches in Bayt Umar village nr. Hebron; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Balata r.c. and Nablus, in Bil‘in, and nr. Jenin and Qalqilya. The Israeli High Court approves construction of the 1st 50 of 1,450 housing units in Adam settlement nr. Jerusalem, intended to house families to be resettled fr. the unauthorized outpost of Migron, as agreed btwn. the government and settlers in 11/08 (see Quarterly Update in JPS 151). (OCHA, PCHR 7/2)

For a 2d day, Israel allows a significantly higher number of Palestinians to transit through the Rafah border, most of them medical cases: 568 entering Egypt and 896 entering Gaza. In the West Bank, the IDF enters Hebron in the evening and erects a checkpoint nr. Hebron University, checking Palestinians’ IDs but making no arrests; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Balata r.c. and Nablus, in Bil‘in, and nr. Hebron and Jenin. (OCHA, PCHR 7/2)

In the West Bank, the IDF begins work on a new electricity network on Palestinian land to supply Jewish settlements n. and s. of Hebron; enters Thinnaba and Izbat al-Jarad villages nr. Tulkarm in the evening, patrolling the streets and firing percussion grenades; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Ramallah, in Nablus, nr. Jenin. The IDF also demolishes 2 Palestinian homes in Silwan and Sur Bahir in East Jerusalem, displacing 21 Palestinians. (OCHA 3/4; PCHR 3/5; OCHA 3/10)

In Sharm al-Shaykh, Egypt and Norway host an international donor conference to raise $2 b. for the reconstruction of Gaza. In total, 75 states pledge more than $4 b. (WP 3/2; HA, WP, WT 3/3; see also VOA 2/27, WP 3/1)

After attending the donor conference, U.S. Secy. of State Hillary Clinton arrives in Israel for 3 days of talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders. (IFM 3/3; NYT, WP, WTW 3/4; NYT, WP 3/5; WT 3/11)

No violence is reported in Gaza. Israel allows in 293 truckloads of humanitarian aid and commercial goods. In the West Bank, the IDF raids Battir village nr. Bethlehem early in the morning and occupies a Palestinian home, stating the home is needed for several days “for security purposes”; makes a latenight raid on a market in al-Fara‘ r.c. nr. Tubas, firing on stone-throwing youths who confront them, wounding 2 but making no arrests; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Bethlehem, nr. Jenin, Nablus, Ramallah. (PCHR 1/29)

Obama’s newly appointed Middle East envoy George Mitchell begins an 8-day “listening tour,” with planned stops in Israel, Ramallah, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, France, and Britain. He will not meet with Hamas officials. (Globes, MM, al-Ra’i, YA 1/26; MM, NHR, NYT, QA, al-Thawra [Damascus], WP 1/27; WJW 1/29)

Egypt announces that Gaza- and Damascus-based Hamas officials have agreed on a cease-fire offer to be present to Israel (see Quarterly Update). Israel agrees to send an envoy to Cairo on 1/15 to be briefed on the plan. Meanwhile, Israel’s intense air, naval, and ground assaults on Gaza continue.

Combat notes: Under cover of air strikes and heavy shelling, IDF troops take up new positions in s. Gaza’s al-Fukhari area nr. the Sufa crossing (occupying several homes and expelling the residents) and al-Shuka village; Israeli fire is so intense that rescuers cannot reach the wounded or retrieve the dead. The IDF reports carrying out approximately 120 air strikes today (70 of them after nightfall) that kill 10s of Palestinians. Targets include at least 24 groups of armed Palestinians, 16 smuggling tunnels, at least 10 suspected weapons depots (including a Rafah mosque), and 24 rocket launching sites (killing senior IQB cmdrs. Walid Za‘abud and Muhammad Dash nr. al-Zaytun). Air strike target areas include Bani Suhayla, Bayt Lahiya, Gaza City (areas northwest of the city and al-Nasser, al-Sabra, al-Sha‘af, Shaykh Ridwan, al-Shuja‘iyya, Tal al-Hawa, al-Yarmuk, al-Zaytun), Khan Yunis, Khuza, al-Mughraqa, Nussayrat r.c., al-Qarara, Rafah, al-Shabura r.c., Twam, Yibna r.c. Heavy artillery and tank fire are reported in and around Bayt Lahiya (white phosphorous suspected), al-Bureij r.c., Gaza City (al-Sabra, al-Tuffah), Jabaliya town and r.c. Naval bombardment centers on Rafah’s Tal al-Sultan neighborhood.

Palestinians fire 14 rockets and 2 mortars, including 4 Grads (2 each in Ashdod and Beersheba), into Israel, causing no injuries. Gaza medical workers put the estimated Palestinian toll at 1,018 dead (including an estimated 300 children), 4,700 injured. The IDF reports 27 soldiers wounded (1 severely, 2 moderately, 24 lightly), mostly in ground fighting with Palestinians n. Gaza, including 7 soldiers wounded (1 severely, 1 moderately, 5 lightly) by a Palestinian antitank missile. The Israeli toll stands at 13–14 dead, more than 150 wounded.

Humanitarian notes: The IDF allows at least 108 truckloads of humanitarian aid into Gaza during the lull. A group of Israeli human rights groups (including Amnesty International–Israel, B’Tselem Gisha, Physicians for Human Rights–Israel) characterize Israel’s restrictions on aid and access to Gaza by relief groups and medial workers as a “blatant violation of the laws of warfare and raises the suspicion, which we ask be investigated, of the commission of war crimes.” (AP, BBC, CBS News, HA, IDF, IFM, JAZ, MM, QA, REU, RFM, XIN 1/14; AYM, HA, IDF, IFM, IHY, JAZ, MA, MM, NYT, PCHR, WP, WT, YA 1/15; ITIC 1/19; PCHR 1/22, 1/29)

The IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron and Jenin, in Bayt Sahur, and nr. Nablus. (PCHR 1/22)

Unidentified assailants fire 3 rockets fr. s. Lebanon into n. Israel. (Up to a dozen rockets total may have been fired, with others landing inside Lebanon). The IDF returns fire. No damage or injuries are reported. (MM, MNR 1/14; WP 1/15)

The UNSC passes (14–0, with the U.S. abstaining) res. 1860, calling for an “immediate, durable, and fully respected cease-fire, leading to the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza” but not outlining an implementation or enforcement mechanism (see Doc. A8). Israel says it will not halt its operations until a Hamas cease-fire can be guaranteed. Meanwhile, Egypt begins intensive bilateral talks with Israeli and Hamas envoys to mediate a cease-fire.

Combat notes: The IDF carries out another 60 air strikes across Gaza, with heavy bombing of the Rafah border. Targets include more than 18 homes of senior IQB members (all believed to be in hiding), “a number of armed operatives” assassinated (not named), several groups of armed men, 15 tunnels (including some homes believed to be covering entrances to tunnels), 11 suspected weapons depots (including 1 mosque in n. Gaza), 15 rocket-launching sites, the PASF headquarters and PA Youth and Sports Min. offices in Rafah, and an Islamic Jihad office in Abasan. Target areas include Abasan, Bani Suhayla, Bayt Hanun, Bayt Lahiya, al-Bureij r.c., Dayr al-Balah, Gaza City (city center, al-Nasser), Jabaliya town and r.c., Khan Yunis, al-Nasser (n. of Rafah), Nussayrat, Rafah. Heavy naval shelling of Dayr al-Balah and the nearby al-Qur’an area of c. Gaza is also reported. As ground operations continue, the IDF begins moving a small number of reservists into the Strip for the 1st time since OCL began. Heavy artillery and ground fire is reported in Abasan, Gaza City (al-Sha‘af, al-Shuja‘iyya, Tal al-Hawa, alZaytun), al-Qarara. Late in the evening, IDF troops withdraw from al-Qarara; residents report at least 20 homes destroyed since the IDF took up positions in the city on 1/6.

Palestinians fire at least 15 rockets and 1 mortar into Israel, lightly injuring 4 Israelis. Areas hit by rockets include Ashdod, Ashqelon, Beersheba (4 Grads), Ofakim.

The Palestinian toll, including bodies recovered during the humanitarian lull today (see below), reaches at least 758 dead and more than 3,100 injured. In addition, a Ukrainian woman (married to a Gazan) and her toddler are killed by an IDF shell in Gaza City, becoming the 1st foreign casualties inside Gaza (1 Egyptian was killed on the Rafah border on 12/28). Today, 3 IDF soldiers are killed and 14 are wounded (1 seriously, 1 moderately, 12 lightly) during clashes inside Gaza, bringing the Israeli toll to 13–14 dead and more than 100 injured.

Humanitarian notes: IDF soldiers fire on relief workers in 3 incidents in which the UN and ICRC had fully coordinated their movements with the IDF in advance (providing the IDF with the license plates of the vehicles, giving precise times and routes of travel, and using clearly marked vehicles) and received IDF assurances that travel would be safe. One UN driver is killed and 2 other UN employees and 1 ICRC employee are wounded. The UN and other groups scale back or suspend aid deliveries to Gaza, citing security concerns.

During the humanitarian lull, the IDF allows ICRC workers back into a heavily damaged residential block of al-Zaytun (see 1/7), where they rescue 103 injured Palestinians who have been stranded since 1/5 and report finding 40–50 bodies, fearing that more dead and injured may be trapped under demolished homes. The Israeli human rights group B’Tselem reports (WP 1/9) new evidence that IDF soldiers stationed outside the destroyed houses were aware people were trapped but denied aid. UN Undersecy. Gen. for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes urges Israel to investigate, calling (WP 1/9) it “a particularly outrageous incident” and “absolutely horrifying.”

Israel allows 223 Palestinian dual nationals to exit Gaza via the Erez crossing for Jordan (see 1/2).

The UN estimates that 20,000 Gazans have been internally displaced by the fighting. (AP, HA, IDF, IHY, JP, MA, NYT, UNIS, YA 1/8; AFP, Daily Star, IDF, IFM, ITARTASS, MET, NYT, RFM, UNIS, WP, WT 1/9; AFP, AP, NYT, WT 1/12; AYM, JP, NYT, WT 1/13; IHY, MM 1/14; PCHR 1/15; WJW 1/16; NYT 1/17; ITIC 1/18; JPI 1/23)

In the West Bank, the IDF fatally shoots a Palestinian who allegedly attempts to set fire to a gas station outside the Ma’ale Adumim settlement e. of Jerusalem; fires live ammunition and rubber-coated steel bullets at Palestinians demonstrating against OCL in al-Fawar r.c. nr. Hebron, seriously wounding 2 (including a 12-yr.-old boy); fires live ammunition at Palestinians protesting against the separation wall in Bil‘in, wounding 1; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus, in Qabatya nr. Jenin. (PCHR 1/15)

The PFLP General Command fires 4 rockets fr. s. Lebanon into Israel, 3 of which explode near Nahariya, lightly wounding 4 Israelis (5 others are treated for shock). The IDF fires 5 shells the border as a “measured response” and intensifies surveillance overflights of s. Lebanon. Hizballah, the Lebanese government, and Fatah and Hamas reps. in Lebanon condemn the fire, assuring Israel they have no intention of opening a 2d front. The Lebanese army and UNIFIL pledge to step up surveillance in s. Lebanon (ITV, MM, MNR, RFM 1/8; Guardian, HA, MM, NYT, WP, WT, SFR, al-Watan, YA 1/9; YA 1/10; AFP, AP, NYT, WT 1/12; HA, MM 1/15; JPI 1/23)

The Israeli cabinet rejects the 12/30 French proposal for a 48-hr. humanitarian truce, complaining that it lacked a mechanism to guarantee enforcement. Damascusbased Hamas leader Khalid Mishal says Hamas will consider any cease-fire proposal that includes a lifting of Israel’s embargo, but in Gaza, Haniyeh states that Hamas would not consider any proposals until Israel halts its attacks and opens Gaza’s border crossings, including Rafah.

In a briefing to Olmert’s security cabinet, Shin Bet head Yuval Diskin states that Hamas’s weapons development facilities have been “completely wiped out” and “Hamas’s ability to govern Gaza has been significantly impaired.” Senior Israeli military sources speaking anonymously state that no major hardened targets remain standing but that Hamas’s military wing, the Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades (IQB), “has to a large extent survived the initial onslaught.”

The IDF continues to mass troops and tanks on the Gaza border, stating explicitly for the 1st time that a ground invasion is likely once wet weather clears. The security cabinet increases the number of reservists activated to more than 9,000.

Israeli actions: The IDF carries out some 60 air strikes, and the Israeli navy shells Gaza from the sea. Among the 66 sites hit by the IDF are Haniyeh’s office, the Tal al-Hawa Mosque in Gaza City (Israel claims it was used as a weapons depot), a major Islamic Jihad weapons depot in Khan Yunis (killing senior Islamic Jihad military cmdr. Amar Abu Ghalula, 3 other Islamic Jihad mbrs.), more tunnels on the Rafah border, at least 8 homes, 1 medical clinic, Hamas posts (including money exchanges). Target areas include Abasan, Bayt Hanun, Gaza City, Jabaliya r.c., Khan Yunis, Nussayrat r.c., Rafah. The estimated Palestinian toll reaches 393 dead, more than 1,900 wounded.

The IDF claims to have destroyed 200 smuggling tunnels since 12/27; a Palestinian source in Rafah says the Israelis seem to know which tunnels are commercial and which are used by Hamas, and have been selectively targeting Hamas tunnels.

Palestinian actions: Palestinians fire 49 rockets, 15 mortars into Israel, causing no serious injuries; 4 longer-range rockets land in Beersheba, 25 mi. n. of the Gaza border, 1 of which hits an empty school, causing significant damage to 1 room.

Humanitarian notes: Israel allows 93 truckloads of food, medicine into Gaza. UNRWA issues a $34-m. emergency appeal for additional food, medical, and reconstruction aid for Gaza in the wake of OCL; the appeal is in addition to a $275-m. emergency appeal for the West Bank and Gaza for 2009 issued earlier in the month. UNRWA Commissioner-Gen. Karen AbuZayd, warning of the dire conditions in Gaza (where she currently is based), states that for the first time in her 8 yrs. with UNRWA she has begun to see Palestinians begging on the streets of Gaza.

Of note: Residents in Egyptian Rafah report a heavy military, border police, and plain-clothed intelligence presence on the Egyptian side of the border, which Egypt has declared a closed military zone, preventing demonstrations, keeping journalists away, and preventing breeches of the Rafah border from either direction. (AFP, AP, BBC, Canadian Broadcasting Center, FT, IDF, IFM, JP, REU, UNIS, UNOSAT, XIN 12/31; IDF, JP, NYT, PCHR, WP, WT 1/1; WT 1/2; IDF, Sabah 1/3; WP 1/4; IFM, PCHR 1/8; NYT 1/11)

In the West Bank, observers report that Palestinian sympathy for Hamas is growing, even though overall public reaction to OCL has been muted, largely because PA security forces have been breaking up explicitly pro-Hamas demonstrations. The IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron, nr. Nablus. (PCHR, WP 1/1)

International diplomacy to end OCL clicks into gear with France proposing that Israel and Hamas impose a 48-hr. humanitarian truce to try to defuse the violence and restore the Gaza cease-fire, with humanitarian groups, Egypt, the EU, the Quartet, and the U.S. opening mediation channels (see Quarterly Update). Israel’s security cabinet meets to discuss the French proposal but does not formally respond.

Israeli actions: The IDF conducts 70 air strikes on Gaza, while the Israeli navy continues shelling from the sea, killing at least 10 Palestinians and wounding 40, bringing the death toll to about 370. The IDF reports hitting 110 individual sites, with primary targets being tunnels on the Rafah border, suspected weapons factories and rocket-launching sites, civil and naval police stations, and groups of resistance mbrs. In Gaza City, at least 20 air strikes hit Haniyeh’s offices, PA Interior Min., and main PA government complex in Gaza City, all of which had been targeted previously; 1 air strike hits an ambulance, killing 1 paramedic, seriously wounding a doctor and the driver. Part of Gaza’s main power grid is also hit, cutting all power to Gaza City. A fuel depot in Rafah is destroyed. In al-Bureij r.c., a mosque and health clinic are hit. In Khan Yunis, a money exchange is destroyed. At least 7 homes across the Strip are targeted. Target locations include Abasan, Bayt Hanun, Bayt Lahiya, al-Bureij r.c., Dayr al-Balah, Gaza City, Jabaliya town and r.c., Khan Yunis, al-Maghazi (c. Gaza), al-Mughraqa, al-Qarara, Rafah. The IDF launches a YouTube channel to broadcast declassified videos of its operations in Gaza, “other footage of interest to the international community” (JPI 1/8) and begins regular briefings for Internet bloggers worldwide.

Palestinian actions: Palestinians fire 41 rockets, 10 mortars into Israel, damaging 1 home in Sederot and causing several light injuries (excluding shock); 1 rocket lands in Beersheba, 25 mi. fr. the Gaza border, marking the farthest strike to date; 2 other long-range rockets land in Ashdod. Humanitarian notes: Israel allows 93 trucks into Gaza (50 carrying medical supplies and food donated by aid groups; 43 carrying commercial goods), but Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital says it is out of 150 kinds of medicine and 230 other medical supplies, including gloves, scissors, sterilization equipment, nitrogen for anesthesia. Fuel shipments are still cut off; Gaza’s power plant shuts down for lack of fuel. (BBC, HA, Independent 12/30; IDF, IFM, NYT, REU, UNOSAT, WP, WT 12/31; JP, PCHR 1/1; ITV 1/2; IDF 1/3; WP 1/4; IFM 1/8; NYT 1/13)

In the West Bank, a Palestinian worker in Mod’in Ilit settlement, angry over Israel’s war on Gaza, stabs, wounds 4 Jewish settlers before being shot and wounded by a paramedic who arrives on the scene. The IDF fires live ammunition, rubber-coated steel bullets, percussion grenades, tear gas at Palestinians demonstrating against OCL in al-Fawar r.c. nr. Hebron, wounding 3 (including teenagers ages 13, 14); makes simultaneous afternoon incursions into Beita and Hawara villages nr. Nablus, imposing curfews through 12/31; conducts simultaneous late-night raids, house searches on 4 villages nr. Jenin, firing on residential areas in all cases, causing no injuries and arresting only 1 teenager; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Abu Dis and Jalazun r.c. nr. Ramallah, and nr. Bethlehem, Hebron, Jenin, Nablus, Tulkarm. (PCHR, WJW 1/1)

As massive Israeli strikes on Gaza enter a 2d day, IDF Southern Command head Maj. Gen. Yo’av Galant says (HA 12/28) that the IDF aims to “send Gaza decades into the past” in terms of Hamas’s leadership, weaponry, and smuggling capabilities while achieving “the maximum number of enemy casualties.” Israel’s security cabinet authorizes the IDF to call up 6,500 reservists, and the IDF begins massing tanks and troops on Gaza’s border, indicating planning for a ground incursion. Israel’s Homefront Command orders 80 factories and businesses within 3 mi. of the Gaza border to close indefinitely for their safety (a move expected [WJW 1/1] to cost Israel’s economy $1 m./day), indicating concerns of increased Palestinian rocket fire once ground operations begin. Israeli Military Intelligence breaks into Palestinian radio broadcasts to warn Gazans against cooperating with Hamas. The IDF drops 300,000 leaflets across Gaza warning residents to evacuate areas where Hamas is operating or storing weapons or to remain at their own risk. The Israeli FMin. opens an international media broadcast outlet in Sederot (a main target of Palestinian rockets), begins tours of Sederot and other Gaza border communities for foreign media, diplomats, and VIPs. (Israel continues to prevent the foreign media fr. entering Gaza.)

Israeli actions: The IDF reports air and naval bombardment of 100 sites across Gaza, bringing the number of targets destroyed since operations began to more than 210. The 2-day Palestinian toll rises to an estimated 300 dead (including at least 22 children, 9 women, 60 other civilians) and 1,300 injured (including at least 235 children and 200 women). Target areas include Abasan, Bayt Hanun, Bayt Lahiya, Bani Suhayla (s. Gaza), Bir al-Naja (n. Gaza), Dayr al-Balah, Gaza City (city center, al-Rimal, Shaykh Ridwan, Shati’ r.c., al-Shuja‘iyya, Tal al-Hawa, al-Zaytun), Jabaliya town and r.c., Khan Yunis, Khuza (east of Khan Yunis), Nussayrat r.c., al-Qarara (s. Gaza), Rafah, Shati’ r.c., and Tal al-Za‘atar (nr. Jabaliya).

The IDF’s primary targets are around 40 tunnels along the Rafah border, hit with GBU-39s. Other major targets include several buildings at Islamic University (including a science building Israel claims was connected to rocket manufacturing); Gaza City’s PA ministry compound, the offices of acting PM Ismail Haniyeh, and the main police station (destroying the Saraya; allowing about 50 Fatah prisoners to escape, but killing at least 4); Rafah’s main PASF, governorate, and municipal complexes; more civil and naval police stations, metal workshops believed to make rockets; the Gaza City and Rafah ports; at least 3 mosques (Imad ‘Akel Mosque in Jabaliya r.c., Izzeddin al-Qassam Mosque in Abasan, al-Rimal Mosque in Gaza City) alleged to be weapons depots; a Palestinian Energy Authority building in Khan Yunis; a private medical warehouse; and at least 8 homes and 3 apartment buildings.

Palestinian actions: Palestinians fire 17 rockets, 18 mortars into Israel, injuring at least 6 Israeli civilians (including cases of shock). The rockets include 1 manufactured Grad/Katyusha that lands in Gan Yavne 20 mi. inside Israel, outside Ashdod, the farthest to date. In the evening, 100s of Palestinians attempt to flee Gaza through small breaches in the border wall apparently caused by IDF air strikes; they are sent back by Egyptian security forces, who exchange fire with the crowd, leaving at least 1 Palestinian, 1 Egyptian border policeman dead, 4 Palestinians, 5 Egyptian border policemen, an 8-yr.-old Egyptian child wounded.

Humanitarian notes: Israel allows the entry to Gaza of 100 truckloads of food and medical aid, 10 ambulances, and fuel for hospitals, donated by Jordan, Turkey, and international aid organizations. The shipments include 4 truckloads of pharmaceuticals from the PA central pharmacy in Ramallah (the 2d PA delivery since the PA had blocked the shipments of medicine to Gaza in early 9/08; see 12/16), transferred by the PA at UNRWA request. Humanitarian groups, however, continue to warn of deteriorating medical conditions and lack of food in Gaza and urge Israel to allow unrestricted entry of aid. OCHA reports power outages of up to 16 hrs./day in Gaza City, n. Gaza, and c. Gaza; says all flour mills have shut down for lack of grain imports, threatening widespread bread shortages. (AFP, AP, BBC, HA, IDF, IFM, JAZ, OCHA, REU 12/28; IDF, JP, al-Masryun[Egypt], NYT, SFR, WP, WT 12/29; BBC, Defense Update [online], Global Research [online], WP 12/30; REU, UNOSAT 12/31; JP, PCHR, WJW, WP 1/1; IDF, NYT 1/3; WP 1/4; IFM 1/8; WP 1/10)

Across the West Bank, Palestinians protest against OCL, clashing with the IDF at numerous points (Abu Dis, Issawiyya, and al-Ram nr. Jerusalem; Bani Na‘im nr. Hebron; Ni‘lin and Silwad nr. Ramallah), leaving 3 Palestinians dead, 31 Palestinians, 1 IDF soldier, 1 Israeli child injured. In at least one instance, PASF breaks up one protest by 100s of Palestinians in Ramallah when demonstrators unfurl Hamas banners; the PASF reportedly (NYT 1/3) has been ordered to prevent any popular displays of support for Hamas. The IDF conducts daytime house searches nr. Jenin, making no arrests; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Bil‘in and nr. Hebron, Nablus. Palestinians stone a Jewish settler vehicle nr. Hebron, lightly injuring an 8-yr.-old girl. (PCHR, WJW 1/1)

Hamas’s Gaza leadership calls on factions to halt their fire for 24 hrs. in an effort to restore the truce. Senior Hamas official Mahmud Zahhar appears on Israeli TV to state that Hamas seeks a new cease-fire in exchange for regular food and electricity in Gaza and a halt to IDF operations in the West Bank. On the ground, Palestinians (suspected to be Islamic Jihad, which says it had not agreed to suspend attacks) fire 3 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. An unnamed senior Israeli security official states (YA 12/23) that “all of the IDF’s preparations for a military operation are continuing as planned. As far as we are concerned the clock is ticking down on a military operation.” Israel, which maintains a full seal on Gaza, dispatches diplomats to lobby for international support and sympathy for Israel in the face of rocket attacks. Egyptian pres. Husni Mubarak asks Israeli FM Livni to come to Cairo on 12/25 for talks on renewing the truce. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron, Jenin, Nablus. (IFM 12/22; HA, JP, MA, MM, WP, YA 12/23; PCHR 12/24)

Egypt opens its side of the Rafah crossing to allow select Palestinian pilgrims to exit Gaza to perform the Hajj, but Hamas officials bar their exit because they were chosen by the PA in the West Bank without consultation with Hamas authorities in Gaza; Hamas has provided Saudi Arabia with its own proposed list of pilgrims fr. Gaza, but Saudi Arabia, supporting PA PM Mahmud Abbas, refuses to grant them entry permits, so Egypt has barred their transit. For the 1st time since 1973, no Gazans will be able to perform the Hajj. The IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Jenin; conducts synchronized, late-night house searches in village nr. Nablus, with no arrests reported. Throughtout the day, Jewish settlers continue (see 11/27, 11/28) to attack Palestinians and their property in Hebron; 1 Palestinian teenager is shot in the shoulder by an IDF soldier, 12 other Palestinians (including 2 children) and a B’Tselem field worker documenting the violence are beaten and injured by settlers wielding iron bars; 20 Palestinian homes are damaged. (WT 12/3; NYT, PCHR 12/4)

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)

By this date, Palestinian factions have agreed to an Egyptian proposal to resume their national unity dialogue in Cairo on 11/9. Hamas and Fatah are considering a draft memorandum of understanding on national reconciliation proposed by Egypt that would be issued at the close of the Cairo summit (see Quarterly Update). (Electronic Intifada [online] 10/28; MNA 11/2; MNR 11/7; AFP 11/8; NYT, WT 11/9)

In the West Bank, the IDF patrols, searches houses in al-Khadir, beats 3 Palestinians (ages 28, 37, and 63), claiming that Palestinians in the area had thrown stones at Israeli vehicles on a nearby settlersonly bypass road; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus, nr. Hebron. More than 100 Jewish settlers block roads and throw stones at Palestinian cars nr. Qalqilya to prevent Palestinians, accompanied by international and Israeli peace activists, fr. reaching their groves to harvest olives. Inside Israel, Israeli police arrest 6 Israeli Jews fr. Tel Aviv for taking part in recent arson attacks against Israeli Palestinian property in Acre. (BBC 10/20; OCHA, WT 10/22; PCHR, WJW 10/23)

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)

Palestinian construction worker Hussam Dweikat (who has Israeli residency status in East Jerusalem) commandeers a Caterpillar bulldozer (symbolic, as the IDF uses Caterpillar D9 bulldozers to level Palestinian homes and land in the occupied territories) from the Jerusalem construction site where he works, plows through midday traffic in West Jerusalem’s business district, overturning a bus, running over at least 2 cars, killing 3 Israelis, injuring more than 40 before a police officer fatally shoots him. Israeli officials believe Dweikat acted alone. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Bethlehem, in Tubas, and nr. Jenin, Nablus (also raiding a mosque and its library, taking computers, documents, books), Ramallah. Jewish settlers fr. Massu’a in the Jordan Valley attempt to fence off and confiscate a plot of land in Jiftlik village, but the Palestinian owners drive them away. Palestinian youths stone a Jewish settler bus nr. Ramallah, causing damage but no injuries. In Gaza, 1,000s of Palestinians storm the Rafah crossing, demanding entry to Egypt and throwing stones at Egyptian security forces, who respond by pushing the crowd back with water cannons and tear gas; Hamas-affiliated police bring the situation under control. Hamas-affiliated police launch a campaign to removed small shops and huts erected along the Gaza shoreline without municipal permission. Nr. Shuka, 2 Palestinian teenagers are injured when they accidentally trigger IDF unexploded ordnance (UXO). (AP, BBC, HA, IFM, Israel Radio, MA, MM, PCHR, REU, YA 7/2; NYT, WP, WT 7/3; MM, WP 7/4; OCHA 7/9; PCHR 7/10)

Overnight in Gaza, the IDF sends troops into al-Fukhari nr. Khan Yunis and nearby Shuka to raid and search homes, firing on armed Palestinians who confront them, wounding 2 civilians, 1 armed Palestinian. Troops withdraw to Israel early in the morning. The Israeli navy detains 6 Palestinian fishing off the Rafah coast, questions and releases 16 fishermen. Palestinians fire a rocket toward Israel, but it lands inside Gaza, hitting a home e. of Gaza City, injuring a mother, 2 children. Egyptian border police find a cache of more than 1,000 lbs of explosives, including mortars and rockets, on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border. Overnight in the West Bank, the IDF sends troops into Qabatya to raid and search homes, 2 schools, a mosque, confiscating money and computers, arresting 10 Palestinians; before withdrawing in late morning, troops fire tear gas at children heading to school, injuring 10. The IDF also conducts daytime arrest raids nr. Qalqilya; fires tear gas at Palestinians demonstrating against the separation wall in Ni‘lin (pop. 5,000) nr. Ramallah, causing no injuries; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus, in Qalqilya, and nr. Bethlehem, Hebron. (NYT, OCHA 5/28; PCHR 5/29)

In Gaza, the IDF bulldozes 24 d. of olive groves and a small Gaza police outpost nr. al-Maghazi r.c. Egyptian border police discover, demolish a smuggling tunnel on the Rafah border. In the West Bank, the IDF demolishes a Palestinian home in Anata nr. Jerusalem; occupies a Palestinian home nr. Jenin as a military outpost; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Tulkarm and in al-Bireh (raiding and searching the municipal building, rounding up 2 municipal employees fr. their homes and bringing them to the offices to log onto password-protected computers), Ramallah (raiding the chamber of commerce offices), Jericho. The Israeli Housing Min. presents Olmert with a proposal for construction of 1,900 new Jewish settler housing units across the West Bank in 2008: 682 units in Beitar Ilit nr. Bethlehem, 510 units in Givat Ze’ev n. of Jerusalem, 302 units in Ma’ale Adumim e. of Jerusalem, 160 units in Binyamin settlement n. of Jerusalem, 158 units in Efrat nr. Bethlehem, and 48 units each in Ariel nr. Salfit and Kiryat Arba in Hebron. Palestinians throw stones at Jewish settler vehicles nr. Nablus; the settlers respond by shooting, killing 3 Palestinian sheep nearby. Jewish settlers fr. Keddumim nr. Qalqilya stone Palestinian vehicles driving nearby, causing no reported injuries. PA security forces impose a night curfew on Kafr Thuluth nr. Qalqilya to prevent clashes btwn. feuding families (the curfew is still in place as of 4/8). (PCHR 4/3; OCHA, PCHR 4/9)

Abbas suspends peace talks with Israel to protest Operation Hot Winter. Overnight, the IDF makes air strikes destroying Haniyeh’s vacant office in Gaza City and Change and Reform offices in Khan Yunis. During the day, IDF assaults kill at least 21 Palestinians (including at least 7 civilians, including 3 children; 5 militants; 2 Hamas-affiliated policemen); 4 IDF soldiers are wounded. Palestinians fire about 33 rockets (3 of them Grads, according to the IDF) fr. Gaza into Israel, causing damage but no injuries. Egypt opens its border to allow transportation of wounded Palestinians to Egyptian hospitals, but Palestinian hospitals report that many patients are too badly injured to be moved. Late in the evening (9:00 P.M. EST; 4:00 A.M. on 3/3 local time), the IDF withdraws ground troops fr. the Jabaliya area, substantially reducing the scope of Operation Hot Winter. Meanwhile, across the West Bank, 1,000s of Palestinians protest the Israeli strikes on Gaza (in Ramallah, 100s of Palestinians waving Hamas banners rally outside the Muqata‘a). The IDF fires on 3 protests nr. Hebron, killing a 14-yr.-old Palestinian and wounding a total of 16 Palestinians (including 10 teenagers); patrols in, fires on residential areas of Hijja nr. Qalqilya, seriously wounding 1 Palestinian; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron, in Nablus, nr. Jenin. (WP 3/2; HA, NYT, WP, WT 3/3; PCHR 3/6) 

Under pressure fr. Israel and the U.S. to stop the flow of Palestinians across the Rafah border, Egypt deploys 100s of police and plainclothes intelligence officers along the border. Hamas mbrs. help Egyptian security forces string bales of razor wire across breaches in the wall; begin coordinating border-crossing operations (e.g., searching travelers, checking IDs) with Egyptian forces. In the West Bank, the IDF troops raid Bethlehem, surround the home of a wanted Islamic Jihad mbr., and demand his surrender, firing on the house and surrounding residential area to prevent journalists fr. approaching (detaining several), killing 1 Palestinian teenager, wounding 5 other bystanders; when troops begin to demolish the home, the wanted man surrenders. The IDF also conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron and Tulkarm, nr. Nablus and Ramallah, and in Balata r.c., al-Bireh, East Jerusalem. (OCHA, WT 1/30; PCHR 1/31)

Telling the Israeli High Court that Israel must wage “economic warfare” on Gaza, the Israeli DMin. announces plans to cut electricity to Gaza by 5% beginning on 2/7 and to continue restricting fuel shipments, though it will allow weekly EU-funded deliveries of industrial fuel to keep Gaza’s power plant operating at a level to meet “minimum humanitarian criteria.” Meanwhile, Egypt blocks deliveries to Egyptian Rafah, hoping that Palestinians will return to Gaza if there is nothing to buy. The IDF makes an air strike on a Hamas-affiliated police post nr. Rafah, damaging 2 cars, 8 nearby homes, and a mosque but causing no injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus and Hebron, in Jenin town and r.c. (WP 1/28; OCHA 1/30; PCHR 1/31)

Before dawn, Hamas mbrs. detonate explosives at 17 points along the 7-mi.-long Rafah border wall, allowing 10,000s of Palestinians to stream into Egypt to buy food, fuel, medicine, cement, livestock, and other goods that have been banned by Israel since 6/07; Gazans who have been stranded in Egypt reenter Gaza. (For details on the border breach, see the Quarterly Update.) Egyptian pres. Husni Mubarak authorizes border police to stand down, saying Egypt will not be party to starving the Palestinians, but makes it clear that Egypt expects Gazans to return home quickly. IDF troops on the n. Gaza border fatally shoot a Palestinian farmer working his land northwest of Bayt Lahiya. The IDF also levels land inside Gaza northeast of Bayt Hanun, uprooting 350 d. of olive and citrus groves. A Palestinian is injured when 2 rockets to be fired into Israel explode at the launch site. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, searches in and around Hebron (including surrounding and searching a medical clinic, interrogating staff and patients, arresting 2 staff mbrs.), in Balata r.c., and nr. Jenin, Salfit; raids a hospital in Bethlehem, confiscating 3 computers and a diagnostic machine that tests for osteoporosis; returns 200 olive trees to a farmer in Qaryut nr. Nablus who had 300 trees stolen by Jewish settlers fr. Shilo settlement in 6/07. A Palestinian civilian dies of injuries received during IDF operations in Nablus on 1/3. (HA, Independent, JAZ, NYT 1/23; NYT, PCHR, WP, WT 1/24; WP 1/28; OCHA 1/30; PCHR 1/31)

The World Food Program and UNRWA, which distribute food to 887,000 Gazans, say that because of Israel’s restrictions on food and fuel imports, they will have to cease operations by 1/24 and 1/25, respectively. Bakeries are expected to run out of flour within days, and meat prices have doubled in the past 10 days. The UN reports 40–50% of Gazans no longer have access to running water. In Gaza City, 1,500 Palestinians attend a PPCAS rally urging Israel to lift the siege. Reform and Change legislators lead a peaceful demonstration of 1,000 Palestinians at the Rafah border, appealing to Egypt to open the crossing. Palestinians fire 8 rockets and mortars fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. Egyptian security forces uncover a smuggling tunnel on the Rafah border, exchange gunfire with the tunnel’s Egyptian owners, leaving 1 dead, 1 injured. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus, nr. Hebron; fires on 10s of Palestinians in al-Shayukh nr. Hebron holding a nonviolent protest against Israel’s siege of Gaza, wounding 1. A 2d AMB mbr. wounded in a 1/15 IDF missile strike dies (see 1/17). (NYT, WP, WT 1/22; OCHA, WP 1/23; PCHR 1/24)

The Israeli navy fires on Palestinian fishing boats that stray nr. the border with Egypt, sinking 1; armed Palestinians on shore fire toward the navy vessels, prompting the IDF to call in helicopter air strikes on a naval police post, damaging it and a nearby mosque; no injuries are reported. The IDF sends tanks, bulldozers into Gaza e. of Dayr al-Balah to level land along the border, firing on Palestinian farmers in the area, causing no injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in Abu Dis, nr. Tulkarm. In Nablus, 11 AMB mbrs. turn themselves into the PA police, hoping to be granted amnesty by Israel under the terms of Israel’s 7/07 amnesty offer to the AMB (see Quarterly Update in JPS 145); Israel does not agree. (OCHA 2/9; PCHR 1/10)

The IDF occupies strategic high points inside the Gaza border nr. Bayt Lahiya, firing surface-to-air missiles at a group of armed Palestinians (missing them, causing no damage or injuries) and on a car carrying a local Islamic Jihad military cmdr., wounding him in an apparent assassination attempt; conducts bulldozing operations inside the Gaza border nr. Bayt Lahiya; continues operations in al-Shuka. Islamic Jihad mbrs. fire an RPG at an IDF patrol inside the Israeli border nr. al-Bureij r.c., missing the target and causing no injuries; the IDF responds with heavy machine gun fire, killing 1 Islamic Jihad mbr. Egyptian border police detain 3 PRC mbrs. who entered Egypt through a tunnel under the Rafah border. In the West Bank, the IDF imposes a roundthe-clock curfew on ‘Azun nr. Qalqilya after Palestinian youths throw stones at Jewish settler vehicles, causing no injuries; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Nablus and neighboring Balata r.c., nr. Ramallah. Unidentified gunmen fire on Abbas’s residence in Ramallah, causing damage but no injuries. (PCHR 11/1; OCHA 11/7; PCHR 11/8)

In an agmt. reached between Hamas and Egypt, apparently without Israeli knowledge, 85 Palestinians fr. Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and the PRCs stranded in Egypt since the Gaza border was closed on 6/12 are transported in Egyptian busses to the Rafah crossing and allowed entry into Gaza before dawn. The 80 include 2 Reform and Change legislators, a number of suspected Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants, and Palestinian civilians with suspected ties to Hamas whom the PA did not grant permission to return to Gaza with the 6,000 Palestinians allowed reentry last quarter (see Chronology in JPS 145). In Gaza, the IDF sends troops into areas e. of Jabaliya r.c., exchanging fire with Palestinian gunmen who confront them, killing 2 armed Palestinians. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus and nr. Bethlehem, Jenin. Some 500 Jewish settlers occupy a hill overlooking Road 60 nr. Hebron, barring Palestinian farmers fr. reaching their land. Jewish settlers also occupy sites nr. al-Nabi Yunis Junction in Hebron and nr. Efrat settlement (nr. Bethlehem), declare formation of 2 new unauthorized settlement outposts. (OCHA 10/3; PCHR 10/4)