The Palestine Chronology

In the West Bank, the IDF conducts largescale arrest raids in Nablus, detaining 25 Palestinians affiliated with Hamas, including Reform and Change PC mbr. Ahmad al-Hajj Ali Mutair, 2 mbrs. of the municipal council, an al-Najah University dean and 2 professors; bars a Palestinian woman in labor fr. crossing a checkpoint to reach a Qalqilya hospital, forcing her to give birth at the checkpoint (see 12/12 for similar incident). Some 200,000 Hamas supporters rally peacefully in Gaza City to mark the movement’s 20th anniversary. Suspected Fatah mbrs. detonate a roadside bomb nr. a bus carrying Hamas supporters to the rally; no injuries are reported. The PA bans Hamas rallies in the West Bank. In Gaza City, the Hamas-affiliated security forces for unknown reasons exchange fire with mbrs. of a Fatah-affiliated family, causing no injuries. (WP 12/15; NYT 12/16, 12/17; OCHA 12/19; PCHR 12/27; NYT 12/29)

The IDF makes an air strike on an ESF post in Abasan in s. Gaza, killing 4 ESF officers; makes a 2d air strike on a suspected rocket-launching site in Jabaliya r.c., hitting a home, wounding 6 Palestinian civilians (ages 1, 3, 29, 30, 75, 82). Palestinians fire 2 rockets, 5 mortars fr. Gaza into Israel, causing damage but no injuries; the IDF shells the launching site, causing no reported injuries. Late in the evening, the IDF sends troops into Dayr al-Balah, conducting arrest raids and house searches, occupying a home as an observation post, leveling land to improve lines of site; launches a similar operation in al-Shuka (Palestinian militants fire on the troops, detonate a roadside bomb, causing no injuries). In the West Bank, the IDF bulldozes the farming community of Khirbat Qussa, located btwn. the separation wall and the Green Line nr. Hebron, demolishing the 15 homes, 12 cave dwellings, and 27 sheep pens comprising the village, evicting the 267 residents to the “Palestinian” side of the separation wall. The IDF also conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Jenin, Nablus, Salfit; raids a number of stores and a bank in Ramallah. Jewish settlers fr. Brakha nr. Nablus prevent Palestinians fr. reaching their olive groves; the IDF intervenes, forcing the settlers to leave. The IDF also intervenes to prevent Jewish settlers fr. Elon Moreh nr. Nablus fr. blocking Palestinians access to their olive groves nearby. Inside Israel, some 100 Israeli police officers make an overnight raid on the Galilee Druze village of Pekiin to arrest men suspected of vandalizing a cell phone antenna, firing live ammunition at stonethrowing residents who protest the predawn incursion, wounding 10s. An AMB mbr. wounded by the IDF in Nablus on 10/16 dies. (NYT, OCHA, PAP, WP 10/31; PCHR, WT 11/1)

Israeli human rights groups petition the Israeli High Court to halt the government’s 10/24 plan to cut electricity to Gaza to pressure Hamas, arguing collective punishment, forcing the IDF to suspend implementation.Israelsays that it will continue to cut 1% of Gaza’s electricity for 15 mins. at a time as a “symbolic” response to Palestinian rocket fire until Israel’s atty. gen. rules otherwise. Overnight and into the afternoon, IDF troops conduct arrest raids, house searches in Khan Yunis, also bulldozing 30 d. of agricultural land. During the day, the IDF sends infantry units into the Bayt Lahiya area (to engage several armed Palestinians laying a roadside bomb, killing 1 Palestinian, arresting another), the border area e. of Jabaliya r.c. (where they clash with armed Palestinians, killing 1 Palestinian), and areas nr. Abasan (where they engage with armed Palestinians, killing 1 Palestinian, wounding 4). Palestinians fire an RPG at an IDF jeep patrolling the Gaza border nr. al-Bureij r.c., missing the target, causing no damage or injuries. A Palestinian is injured in Dayr al-Balah when explosives he is handling detonate prematurely. In the West Bank, the IDF fires rubber-coated steel bullets on Palestinian children holding 2 peaceful demonstrations in Hebron and nearby al-Arub r.c. in support of Palestinian prisoners, injuring 3 (ages 13, 16, 17) and arresting 1 (age 14); conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus, and in Tulkarm (also firing on residential areas, causing damage but no injuries). In Ramallah, Palestinians demonstrate for the release of Hamas mbrs. held by the PA; PA security forces disperse the protesters. An ESF officer dies of injuries received in the 10/18 clash with the Fatah-affiliated Hillis clan in Gaza City. (NYT, WT 10/29; OCHA 10/31; PCHR 11/1)

The IDF sends troops into n. Gaza, bulldozing Palestinian land and searching for rockets and rocket launchers, reportedly uncovering 4 rockets, 11 launchers; Palestinians fire 2 antitank missiles at the troops, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in Hebron, Nablus (where 3 IDF soldiers are wounded when an explosive device detonates nr. their patrol) and nr. Qalqilya, Tulkarm. (IFM 9/5; PCHR 9/6; OCHA 9/12; PCHR 9/13)

The IDF launches air strikes on 5 rocketlaunching sites in nr. Bayt Hanun, killing 3 Palestinian children (ages 8–12); Israel says it hit viable targets, claiming that Hamas was using the children to “adjust” the launchers, states its “sorrow for the cynical use the terror organizations make of the active participation of teenagers in terror attacks”; relatives of the children say they were playing in the vicinity of an Islamic Jihad launcher. The Israeli navy fires on Palestinian fishing boats off the coast of Rafah, forcing them to return to shore. Palestinians fire 1 rocket fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. Nr. Gaza City, a Palestinian dies when a roadside bomb he is planting explodes prematurely. In the West Bank, the IDF demolishes 6 Palestinian homes in Qalqilya; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus, in Bethlehem. Meanwhile, AMB mbrs. in Ramallah fire on the car of a Hamas-affiliated municipal council mbr., causing damage but no injuries. A Hamas mbr. dies of injuries received in an 8/23 IDF missile attack on Gaza. (AP, IFM, YA 8/29; NYT, PCHR, WP 8/30; OCHA 9/5; PCHR 9/6; NYT 9/26)

Israel cuts off fuel imports into Gaza through the Nahal Oz crossing, citing “specific terror warnings.” Palestinians fire mortars fr. Gaza into Israel, lightly injuring 1 Israeli. In the West Bank, the IDF demolishes a Palestinian home nr. East Jerusalem; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus (1 IDF soldier is wounded when Palestinians detonate an explosive device nr. his patrol), nr. Bethlehem and Hebron. (PCHR 8/16; BBC 8/17; NYT 8/19; OCHA 8/22; PCHR 8/23)

For unclear reasons, IDF troops at the Erez crossing fire on ESF troops manning the Palestinian side, killing 1 ESF officer, wounding a baggage porter. An IDF helicopter fires a missile at a suspected rocket launching site nr. Bayt Hanun, causing no injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF bars an ailing 75-yr.-old Palestinian woman living in a village btwn. the Green Line and the separation wall fr. crossing a checkpoint at the wall to reach a Jenin hospital, allowing her to die; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Tulkarm. In ongoing settler violence in Hebron (see 8/5), Jewish settlers attack and vandalize Palestinian property in the central market area, set fire to the al-Kayal Mosque, burn a business and 2 Palestinian homes; the IDF observes but does not intervene. Later in the day, Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba attack, vandalize several Palestinian homes in Hebron. A Jewish settler security guard is injured when his car hits a roadside bomb on the settlers-only road to Elon Moreh settlement nr. Nablus. (OCHA 8/8; PCHR 8/9)

Israel releases fmr. Education M Nasser al-Sha‘ir (arrested 5/24, dismissed by Abbas on 6/14) after he signs a pledge renouncing his ties to Hamas, vowing never to hold an official position representing the group. In Gaza, 2 Palestinian children are injured by a roadside bomb planted nr. an ESF post. In the West Bank, the IDF demolishes 2 Palestinian homes nr. Jerusalem (in Anata, Bayt Hanina); conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus and Ramallah, nr. Bethlehem, in Hebron. Some 3,500 Jewish settlers bring construction materials to the Homesh settlement site with the intention of rebuilding the settlement vacated under Israel’s 9/05 disengagement plan; settlers set fire to 10s of nearby Palestinian olive trees, vandalize fuel tanks and cars at a nearby Palestinian gas station. The IDF closed several main checkpoints (nr. Hebron, Qalqilya, Ramallah) and stretches of Route 60 to block settlers fr. reaching the site, causing major obstacles to Palestinian movement. (OCHA, WT 7/18; PCHR 7/19)

Under intense pressure from human and legal rights groups, Abbas temporarily suspends a 7/6 presidential decree expanding the mandate of the PA security forces at the expense of the judiciary. Overnight, the IDF sends tanks and bulldozers supported by helicopters, drones, warplanes into central Gaza nr. al-Bureij r.c., searching residential areas for weapons and wanted Palestinians, detaining 10s of Palestinians, bulldozing 118 d. of land, clashing with Hamas mbrs. who detonate a roadside bomb nr. an IDF vehicle, killing 1 IDF soldier (the 1st killed by Palestinians since 11/1/06), lightly wounding 2. The IDF also makes an air strike on a rocket launching site nr. al-Bureij r.c., injuring 2 Islamic Jihad mbrs. In the West Bank, the IDF fatally shoots an Islamic Jihad gunman who opened fire on an IDF checkpoint nr. Tulkarm without causing injuries; demolishes 3 Palestinian homes, an agricultural warehouse nr. Qalqilya; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Jenin town and r.c., Nablus. In Khan Yunis, 5,000 Fatah mbrs. stage a march in support of Abbas; when they stone an ESF post, ESF mbrs. fire in the air to disperse the crowd, wounding 1 Fatah mbr. In Gaza City, Hamas supporters hold a sit-in to protest Abbas’s recent decision to halt salary payments to employees hired after 12/05. In al-Bureij r.c., Islamic Jihad mbrs. kidnap, kill an alleged Palestinian collaborator. (AYM 7/12; NYT, WP, WT 7/13; OCHA 7/18; PCHR 7/19)

The Lebanese army shells FI targets in Nahr al-Barid r.c. fr. land and sea, sparking the heaviest clashes in wks. Additional troops sent into the camp reportedly encounter sniper fire and booby-trapped buildings as they advance deeper into areas controlled by FI. At least 4 soldiers and 1 civilian are killed, 20 soldiers injured during the day. (NYT, WP, WT 7/13)

In Gaza, the IDF bulldozes Palestinian land 300 m. inside Gaza n. of Jabaliya r.c., occupying the area. In the West Bank, the IDF fatally shoots a Palestinian nr. Hebron who allegedly attempted to infiltrate an IDF post; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Ramallah, in Jenin town and r.c. (firing on residential areas, wounding a Palestinian woman inside her home), Nablus; fires rubber-coated steel bullets, percussion grenades, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, international activists attending the weekly nonviolent demonstration against the separation wall in Bil‘in, injuring 2 internationals. Jewish settlers fr. Rachelim settlement nr. Nablus uproot and cart away 300 Palestinian olive trees fr. nearby Qaryut (the IDF secures the return of 140 trees). Jewish settlers fr. Yitzhar nr. Nablus cut down 20 Palestinian olive, almond trees in nearby Burkin village. Jewish settlers fr. Tekoa nr. Bethlehem set fire to 300 d. of nearby Palestinian agricultural land, including 400 olive trees. Jewish settlers fr. Ramat Yishai in Hebron burn 50 nearby Palestinian olive and almond trees. Suspected Hamas mbrs. toss a homemade bomb at the Fatah offices in Qalqilya, causing damage but no injuries. (WP 6/23; OCHA 6/27; PCHR 6/28)

The IDF makes 2 air strikes on Palestinians allegedly planting a roadside bomb nr. troops operating in n. Gaza, killing 1 Hamas mbr., wounding another. Hamas fires 3 mortars at the IDF post at Erez crossing in response, causing no injuries. The IDF also conducts arrest raids in al-Qarara nr. Khan Yunis.IDFUXO injures an 11-yr.-old Palestinian boy in Bayt Lahiya, 4 Palestinian children in Gaza City. In the West Bank, the IDF makes a predawn raid on an apartment building in Hebron searching for 2 Palestinian men who had thrown objects at their patrol, fatally shooting an innocent 75-yr.-old Palestinian man, wounding his 66-yr.-old wife and 6 other relatives; the 2 wanted men were later arrested elsewhere. The IDF also conducts arrest raids in and around Nablus, and in ‘Aida r.c. nr. Bethlehem, Halhul nr. Hebron, Jenin, Qabatya, Tulkarm. (al-Jazeera 6/6; NYT, PCHR, WT 6/7; OCHA 6/13; PCHR 6/14)

IDF troops on the Gaza border fire on Palestinian agricultural areas e. of Khan Yunis, sparking a fire that destroys a wheat field; discover, disarm a roadside bomb nr. the former Kissufim crossing e. of Khan Yunis. The Israeli navy fires on Palestinian fishing boats off the Bayt Lahiya coast, forcing them to return to shore. In the West Bank, the IDF makes a predawn raid on Nablus, firing on residential areas and exchanging fire with Palestinian gunmen who confront them, shooting and wounding a pregnant Palestinian woman inside her home, causing her to lose her baby; 2 armed Palestinians, 1 IDF soldier are also wounded. The IDF also conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem (targeting the AMB) and in Balata r.c., Tulkarm; issues stop-work orders for 10 Palestinian homes, a mosque in villages nr. Negohot settlement w. of Hebron that would constrain eventual expansion of the settlement. Israel’s Jerusalem Construction and Planning Comm. approves plans to build 3 new ultra-Orthodox settlements on the outskirts of occupied East Jerusalem to create territorial unity btwn. Jerusalem and Gush Etzion s. of Bethlehem and btwn. Jerusalem and Beit El n. of Ramallah; the plans call for 20,000 housing units in the new settlements, plus 500 new units for settlers in Abu Dis. Abbas deploys 3,000 PA security forces under his control in Gaza City and n. Gaza as part of a new, high-profile “law and order” campaign meant to undermine Hamas. In Bureij r.c, unidentified gunmen fatally shoot a Fatah mbr. in a drive-by attack on a Fatah base. Unidentified assailants ambush, kidnap a PA colonel driving in Nussayrat r.c.; no group claims responsibility. (PLONAD 5/10; MM, NYT 5/11; OCHA 5/16; PCHR 5/17)

IDF troops on the Gaza border shoot, wound a Palestinian farmer working his field nr. Jabaliya r.c.; fire on a group of Palestinians who stray nr. the border fence e. of al-Maghazi r.c., causing no injuries; send bulldozers, tanks into Gaza to level land along the border fence nr. Rafah. In Jabaliya r.c., 2 Palestinian children are injured when they accidentally trigger an unexploded IDF tank shell. In Gaza City, a Hamas mbr. dies when explosives he is handling detonate prematurely. In the West Bank, the IDF demolishes 2 Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem; occupies a Palestinian home nr. the Hawara checkpoint into Nablus as an observation post; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Jalazun r.c. nr. Ramallah, Nablus (Palestinians detonate a roadside bomb nr. an IDF vehicle during the raid, injuring 2 IDF soldiers). Nr. Jenin, 2 Palestinian boys are injured when they accidentally trigger unexploded IDF ordnance. The Foreign Press Association bureau in Jerusalem organizes a demonstration by foreign reporters outside the Erez crossing into Gaza in support of kidnapped BBC reporter Johnston. (REU, WT 4/25; PCHR 4/26; OCHA 5/2; PCHR 5/3)

IDF soldiers on the Gaza border fatally shoot an Islamic Jihad mbr. planting a roadside bomb nr. the border fence n. of Bayt Hanun, wounding 2 Palestinian farmers working a field nearby; troops briefly enter Gaza nr. Bayt Hanun to examine and dismantle the explosive device, but Israel says it was not meant as a breech of the cease-fire. The Israeli navy fires on Palestinian fishermen off the coast of Rafah, forcing them to return to shore. In the West Bank, the IDF shoots, wounds a Palestinian attempting to circumvent the Awarta checkpoint nr. Nablus; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Jenin (exchanging gunfire with Palestinian gunmen, leaving 1 IDF soldier injured) and in ‘Arub r.c. nr. Hebron, Nablus, Qalqilya. In addition, the Israeli Municipality of Jerusalem issues demolition orders for a playground and six houses in the Muslim Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem on Palestinian land that has been sought by Jewish developers in order to build 30 homes, a synagogue, and a religious school for Jews only. In Rafah, 2 Palestinian children are injured when they accidentally trigger an unexploded IDF artillery shell. (Playgrounds for Palestine press release 4/4; PCHR, WP 4/5; OCHA 4/11; PCHR 4/12)

Palestinians detonate a roadside bomb nr. an IDF bulldozer operating inside Gaza nr. Sufa crossing, causing no injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Jenin r.c., in Nablus, nr. Bethlehem; fires rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas, percussion grenades at 10s of Palestinians, as well as Israeli and international activists taking part in the weekly nonviolent demonstration against the separation wall in Bil‘in, injuring 15. In Nablus, 2 Palestinians are injured when they accidentally trigger unexploded IDF ordnance. (OCHA 3/7; PCHR 3/8)

IDF troops on the Gaza border east of Bureij r.c. fire on, arrest 3 unarmed Palestinian teenagers who stray nr. the border fence. IDF troops stationed in the Erez industrial zone fire on armed Palestinians who approach their post, causing no injuries. Palestinians detonate a roadside bomb nr. an IDF unit patrolling the Gaza border fence nr. Khan Yunis, causing no damage or injures; the IDF unit retaliates with heavy machine gun fire into Gaza, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF sends an undercover unit into Nablus in a car with Palestinian license plates to arrest a wanted Palestinian, wounding 1 bystander, then firing on stone-throwing Palestinians who confront the troops, wounding a 14-yr.-old Palestinian boy; demolishes a Palestinian home in the old city of Nablus; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus (blowing up the 2d story of a Palestinian home), in al-‘Arub r.c., and nr. Bethlehem, Hebron, Tulkarm. Fatah mbrs. fire on Hamas mbrs. in Bayt Lahiya, wounding 1. Unidentified gunmen shoot, wound a Force 17 officer in Gaza City. Suspected Fatah mbrs. set fire to the car of a Hamas mbr. in Khan Yunis. (PCHR 2/1; OCHA 2/7; PCHR 2/8)

In Gaza, Islamic Jihad mbrs. fire on an IDF observation post on the border e. of Khan Yunis, sparking an exchange of fire that causes no injuries. Egyptian forces blow up 2 smugglers’ tunnels on the Rafah border. PA security forces discover, detonate a sophisticated roadside bomb nr. the border fence e. of al-Maghazi r.c. In the West Bank, the IDF fatally shoots a 17-yr.-old Palestinian during an arrest raid in Tulkarm r.c.; sends an undercover unit into Tulkarm town in a van with Palestinian license plates, fatally shoots a wanted Palestinian who attempts to escape; patrols in Qalandia r.c., firing on stone-throwing youths who confront the troops, wounding 1; conducts arrest raids, house searches in ‘Ayn Bayt al-Ma’ and nr. Hebron, Nablus. In Gaza, 1 AMB mbr. is shot execution style in n. Gaza by Hamas gunmen who blame the AMB for the death of one of their mbrs.; later 2 ESF mbrs. are killed by a roadside bomb in the same area; shots are fired at FM Zahhar’s home, causing no injuries. Fatah mbrs. kidnap 9 Hamas mbrs. in Gaza; Hamas retaliates by kidnapping 5 Fatah mbrs. In Ramallah, AMB mbrs. angry at Abbas’s Presidential Guard for expelling them fr. the Muqata‘a fire on the diplomatic missions of Canada, China, Germany, causing no injuries. (MM 1/26; NYT 1/26, 1/27; WT 1/28; OCHA 1/31; PCHR 2/1)

In Gaza, the IDF sends bulldozers into al-Qarara to level land along the border with Israel. Palestinians fire 2 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. Islamic Jihad mbrs. detonate a roadside bomb nr. and IDF vehicle patrolling the border fence e. of Khan Yunis, drawing IDF fire; no injuries are reported on either side. In the West Bank, the IDF imposes a curfew on Hawara nr. Nablus, bulldozes 8 d. of Palestinian land nr. the Hawara checkpoint; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron and in Aida r.c., ‘Ayn Bayt al-Ma’, Nablus, Tulkarm. The Israeli Housing Min. announces bids for construction of 44 new Jewish settlement units in Ma’ale Adumim nr. Jerusalem. Jewish settlers damage a Palestinian water pipeline in Duma nr. Nablus. (MA, MM 1/15; NYT, WP, WT 1/16; OCHA 1/17; PCHR 1/18)

IDF troops on the Gaza border fire several tank shells killing 2 PRC mbrs. planting a roadside bomb nr. the border fence n. of Bayt Hanun. IDF troops on the s. Gaza border fire on Palestinian shepherds who stray close to the border fence e. of al-Maghazi r.c., causing no injuries. The IDF also send troops, bulldozers into Abasan to level land nr. the border with Israel. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem and in and around Jenin town and r.c., Nablus. (NYT 1/15; OCHA 1/17; PCHR 1/18)