The Palestine Chronology

In the afternoon, the IDF makes an air strike on a car crossing a bridge btwn. c. Gaza’s Nussayrat r.c., and al-Mughraqa village in an attempt to assassinate local Fatah cmdr. ‘Abd al-Ra’uf Ahmad Safadi, striking in front of the car, injuring Safadi, a passenger in his car, and 2 children nearby (ages 2 and 10). In addition, IDF troops on the n. Gaza border fire warning shots at Palestinians scavenging for construction materials in the fmr. settlement sites, wounding 1. In the West Bank, the IDF makes a predawn raid on Bardala village in the Jordan Valley, raiding and searching several homes and summoning 2 Palestinians for questioning; patrols without incident in Fasayil village nr. Jericho in the morning and in al-‘Auja village nr. Jericho and Bayt Liqya village nr. Ramallah in the afternoon; conducts late-night house searches nr. Tulkarm, making no arrests. (PCHR 10/14; OCHA 10/15)

In a bid to secure the backing of rightwing coalition partners for a package of U.S. guarantees for a short extension of the settlement freeze, Netanyahu proposes legislation that would require those becoming Israeli citizens to pledge a loyalty oath to “the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state,” as opposed to simply “the State of Israel” as it is now worded. (NYT 10/7, 10/8; WP 10/11)

Unidentified Palestinians fire 2 Qassam rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. The IDF retaliates with a late-night air strike on an IQB training site in the Shaykh Ridwan area of Gaza City, destroying a building, damaging 30 surrounding buildings and 3 cars, and injuring 6 Palestinian civilians. In the West Bank, the IDF makes a brief incursion into Tulkarm early in the morning to photograph the entrances of a police station, the local PASF and PA General Intelligence headquarters, and a PASF medical services building, withdrawing without incident; blocks Palestinians from joining a solidarity rally with Jewish settlers outside Bayt Fajjar village (site of a mosque arson on 10/4), sparking clashes between stonethrowing Palestinian youths and soldiers (no serious injuries reported); patrols late at night, without incident in 2 villages n. of Jenin; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in ‘Ayn Bayt al-Ma’a r.c. and Zawata village, both nr. Nablus. The Israeli daily Ha’Aretz reports that nearly 350 housing units are currently under construction in West Bank settlements, including 56 in Keddumim nr. Qalqilya, 54 in Ariel n. of Salfit, 56 in Karme Tzur; 24 within Ma’ate Binyamin regional council area (nr. Jerusalem and Ramallah), 34 in Kiryat Arba, and 1 each in Barqan, Dolev, Kefar Adumim, Kochav HaShachar, Oranit, Revava, Sha’are Tikva, Tekoa, and Yakir. (HA, JP 10/6; NYT, PCHR, REU, YA 10/7; PCHR 10/14; OCHA 10/15)

IDF troops on the n. Gaza border fire warning shots at Palestinians scavenging for construction materials in the fmr. settlement sites, wounding 1. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night patrols in Zayta village nr. Tulkarm, detaining 2 Palestinian men for questioning, but releasing them when they withdraw hrs. later. In an act of reconciliation, rabbis fr. the Gush Etzion settlement bloc, escorted by the IDF and PASF, bring new Qur’ans to the Bayt Fajjar mosque burned on 10/4, saying they are “sorry and ashamed” by the arson. A PA security court in Ramallah sentences IQB mbr. Alaa Hisham Diab to 20 yrs. in prison for his participation in a 5/09 shootout in Qalqilya that left 3 PASF officers and 2 IQB mbrs. dead. Hamas denounces the verdict, saying that the apparent “lack of legality of the courts that issue these verdicts” and the timing of “these verdicts . . . while there is talk of coming closer to reaching internal reconciliation” are disturbing. (AFP, MNA 10/5; UNSCO, WP, WT 10/6; PCHR 10/7; OCHA 10/8)

In the West Bank, the IDF patrols without incident in 2 villages nr. Tulkarm and 1 nr. Jenin in the morning; enters Azun village nr. Qalqilya in the evening, closing the main road No. 55 toward the village, sealing all the entrances to the village, and searching nearby fields for 2 hrs. looking for Palestinian youths who threw stones at passing troops (no arrests are made); conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Jenin town and r.c. and nr. Ramallah. Jewish settlers set fire to a mosque in Bayt Fajjar nr. Bethlehem and write “revenge” and “price tag” in Hebrew near the doorway. Netanyahu denounces the incident and orders security forces to “act firmly to quickly uncover the criminals and bring them to justice.” DM Barak calls the assailants “terrorist(s) in every sense of the word.” (JAZ, MNA, YA 10/4; NYT, WP 10/5; PCHR 10/7; OCHA 10/8)

In the West Bank, Israeli border police fire on a group of Palestinian laborers climbing over the separation wall nr. al-Tur village to reach their jobs in East Jerusalem, killing 1 Palestinian; the IDF conducts late-night patrols in Anabta village nr. Tulkarm without incident; conducts late-night searches of homes and a shop nr. Qalqilya, ordering 2 Palestinians to report for questioning. Jewish settlers fr. Adi Ad settlement outpost nr. Ramallah raid a nearby Palestinian olive grove and attempt to steal olives, but the IDF intervenes, forcing them to leave. An Israeli military court convicts 2 soldiers of using a 9-yr.-old Palestinian boy as a human shield during the 2008–9 Operation Cast Lead in Gaza; the soldiers are not immediately sentenced but could face jail terms. The case was not 1 of the 4 human shields cases mentioned in the UN’s 9/09 Goldstone report. (NYT 10/4; PCHR 10/7; OCHA 10/8)

In the West Bank, the IDF raids, searches the home of Hebron magistrate court judge Jamal ‘Abd al-Majid Shadid, arresting him without charge; patrols without incident in 5 villages nr. Tulkarm and 1 nr. Ramallah between late morning and late evening, making no arrests. (PCHR 10/7; OCHA 10/8)

Israeli naval vessels intercept a catamaran of Jewish activists off the Gaza coast, escorting it to Ashdod port without incident (see 9/26). The IDF carries out air strikes on a group of armed Palestinians preparing to fire a rocket into Israel from an area nr. al-Bureij r.c. in c. Gaza (killing 3 Islamic Jihad mbrs.) and on the Nussayrat r.c. home of a Gaza Education Min. employee, causing heavy damage but no injuries. IDF troops on the n. Gaza border fire warning shots at Palestinians scavenging for construction materials in the evacuated settlement sites near the border, wounding 1 deaf Palestinian. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols late at night, without incident in Qiffin village nr. Tulkarm; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron. (CNN, JP, MNA, NYT 9/28; NYT, WT 9/29; PCHR 9/30; OCHA 10/1)

In the first full day after the expiration of the settlement freeze, the Israeli government approves construction of a new settler-only bypass road linking Kiryat Arba to the Tomb of the Patriarchs/al-Ibrahimi Mosque in c. Hebron, which could require the removal of 10s of Palestinian homes and confiscation of Palestinian agricultural land. Jewish settlers begin construction of 56 new houses in Karme Tzur. Armed Jewish settlers accompanied by IDF soldiers begin leveling 8 d. of Palestinian land in Wadi al-Hussein neighborhood in Hebron seized by settlers in 2008. State Dept. spokesman P.J. Crowley says the U.S. is “disappointed” Israel allowed the freeze to expire, saying Mitchell phoned Abbas to thank him for not suspending talks immediately and that Clinton had held a “business-like” phone conversation with Netanyahu about the freeze. (NYT, WP 9/28; PCHR, WJW 9/30; OCHA 10/1)

Secy. of State Clinton meets with Syrian FM Walid Moualem in New York to broach the possibility of reviving the Israeli-Syrian peace track, with the U.S. and Syria agreeing to develop some ideas on how to proceed. (NYT, WP 9/28)

In Gaza, IDF troops make a day-long incursion into s. Gaza to level lands in the no-go zone e. of al-Qarara to clear lines of sight. In the West Bank, the IDF seals an entrance to Jayyus village nr. Qalqilya; seals 2 entrances to Azun village, checking Palestinian IDs, saying stones were thrown from the village at passing IDF patrols (no arrests are made); conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Tulkarm; conducts late-night patrols in Jenin and 2 nearby villages, making no arrests. (PCHR 9/30)

Israeli DM Ehud Barak comes to the U.S. with a backchannel proposal for Israel to extend its temporary settlement freeze (set to expire on 9/26) for a short period in exchange for rewards and guarantees from the U.S. He shuttles between New York and Washington discussing the proposal with various senior U.S. officials. Separately, Israel’s chief negotiator Yitzhak Molcho, Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erakat arrive in the U.S. for their own meetings with U.S. officials regarding the upcoming expiration of the settlement freeze and the consequences for peace talks. (NYT 9/21; WT 9/22; JPI 10/1)

Israel for the 1st time since 6/07 allows 20 used cars to be imported to Gaza. Israeli naval vessels fire on Palestinian fishing boats off the n. Gaza coast, forcing them back to shore. Unidentified Palestinians fire a Qassam rocket fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts morning patrols in 2 villages nr. Qalqilya, randomly checking Palestinian IDs, but making no arrests; late-night patrols in a village nr. Tulkarm, making no arrests. Jewish settlers fr. Ramat Gilad settlement nr. Qalqilya begin working a Palestinian olive grove near the settlement, telling local Palestinians who challenge them that they purchased the land; they leave when the Palestinian owner arrives. In East Jerusalem, Israeli authorities stage a predawn raid on several houses in Silwan village, arresting 4 Palestinians. In addition, Jewish settlers seize a Palestinian house in the suburb of Bayt Safafa (home to 20 people), sparking fights between settlers and the Palestinian owners. Israeli police and municipal officials intervene, arresting 2 Palestinians, and issuing an order to demolish the house (not immediately implemented). (JP 9/20; NYT 9/21; PCHR 9/23; OCHA 9/24)

In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night patrols in Tulkarm town and r.c. and in 3 villages nr. Qalqilya, 2 nr. Ramallah, 2 nr. Salfit, facing stone-throwing youths in 1 instance (firing rubber-coated steel bullets at them, causing no injuries) and making no arrests; conducts synchronized late-night arrest raids, house searches in Jenin town and r.c. and 3 neighboring villages; conducts additional late-night arrest raids, house searches in Hebron. Jewish settlers fr. Harsina settlement nr. Hebron uproot 70 grapevines from nearby Palestinian land. In Gaza, 25 unidentified gunmen (suspected Salafists) set fire to a popular water park, completely destroying it, and beat the 2 night watchmen. (PCHR 9/23; OCHA 9/24; JPI 10/1)

Mitchell goes to Beirut to brief Lebanese officials on the Israeli-Palestinian talks, informing them that the U.S. will push for a comprehensive Israeli-Arab peace that would include Lebanon and Syria. (Asia Times 9/16)

Israel seals the West Bank through 9/18 for the Yom Kippur holiday. Overnight in the West Bank, an IDF special forces unit raids the home of local IQB cmdr. Iyad Abu Shilbaya in Nur Shams r.c. nr. Tulkarm, fatally shooting him at close range in his bedroom, in what Hamas and the PA both call an assassination. The IDF says it received intelligence that Abu Shilbaya might be armed and fired on him “when they felt their lives were threatened.” Hamas vows revenge against Israel and the PA, accusing the PASF of collusion, noting that they arrested Abu Shilbaya just days before. Simultaneously with the assassination, the IDF conducts arrest sweeps in Nur Shams, detaining 11 suspected Hamas mbrs. During the day, Palestinians (accompanied by Israeli and international activists in some locations) hold weekly nonviolent demonstrations against the separation wall, land confiscations, and settlement expansion in Bil‘in, Ni‘lin, and Nabi Salih/Dayr Nizam. IDF soldiers fire rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas, and stun grenades at the protesters; 10s suffer tear gas inhalation and 1 Palestinian is moderately injured. (WP 9/18, 9/22; PCHR 9/23; OCHA 9/24)

Clinton meets with Abbas in Ramallah, then stops in Amman to brief King Abdullah on the Sharm al-Shaykh talks. Clinton and Mubarak issue statements saying that they have jointly recommended a short 3 or 4 mo. extension to the settlement freeze during which Israel and the PA would focus on border issues in hopes of solving which settlements would stay and go under final status. Abbas states: “We all know there is no alternative to peace other than negotiating peace, so we have no alternative but to continue peace efforts.” (NYT, WP 9/17)

Mitchell goes to Damascus to brief Syrian pres. Bashar al-Asad on the peace talks, saying for the first time that the U.S. intends to push for renewed Israeli-Syrian peace talks parallel to Israeli-Palestinian talks. (Asia Times 9/16)

In the West Bank, the IDF conducts synchronized late-night patrols in 2 villages e. of Qalqilya, making no arrests; similar late-night patrols without incident in villages nr. Salfit; late-night arrest raids, house searches in Hebron, Tulkarm. (PCHR 9/23; OCHA 9/24)

Unidentified Palestinians fire 2 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. IDF troops on the Israeli side of the Erez crossing fire on Palestinians inside the Strip conducting a nonviolent protest march to the border to denounce Israel’s imposition of a no-go zone. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Tulkarm and neighboring Nur Shams r.c.; conducts late-night patrols in 7 villages e. of Qalqilya, making no arrests; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Jenin town and r.c.; conducts synchronized late-night incursions into 4 villages northwest of Salfit, searching a home and summoning 1 Palestinian for questioning in 1 case, patrolling without incident in 3 cases. Jewish settlers fr. Shvut Rachel nr. Ramallah seize and raze 15 d. of Palestinian agricultural land for expansion of the settlement. (JP, UPI, YA 9/13; JP, NYT 9/14; PCHR 9/16; OCHA 9/17)

The IDF conducts evening and latenight patrols in villages nr. Ramallah, Salfit, and Tulkarm, making no arrests; conducts a late-night house search in Dura nr. Hebron, summoning 1 Palestinian for questioning. (PCHR 9/16; OCHA 9/17)

Overnight, the IDF carries out 7 air strikes on Gaza (3 on Rafah tunnels and 4 on Hamas targets: 2 in Gaza City, 1 each on Bayt Hanun and Dayr al-Balah) and fires 6 tank shells across the border at Bayt Hanun in retaliation for recent Palestinian rocket and mortar fire, injuring 2 Hamas mbrs. In response, unidentified Palestinians fire another Qassam rocket fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night patrols in villages nr. Qalqilya, Salfit, and Tulkarm, checking Palestinian IDs but making no arrests. Palestinians (accompanied by Israeli and international activists in some locations) hold weekly nonviolent demonstrations against the separation wall, land confiscations, and settlement expansion in Bil‘in and Ni‘lin. IDF soldiers fire rubbercoated steel bullets, tear gas, and stun grenades at the protesters; 10s suffer tear gas inhalation, 1 Palestinian is moderately injured. (JP, YA 9/10; AFP 9/12; PCHR 9/16; OCHA 9/17)

Unidentified Palestinians fire a mortar fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF sends undercover units into Sourif village nr. Hebron in 2 cars with Palestinian license plates, raiding a home and arresting 5 Palestinians; conducts evening and late-night patrols in villages nr. Hebron, Qalqilya, and Tulkarm, making no arrests; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in al‘Arub r.c. and nr. Hebron and Salfit. (JP 9/6; PCHR 9/8; OCHA 9/17)

Unidentified Palestinians fire a homemade Qassam rocket fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In response to this attack and the 8/31–9/2 Hamas shootings in the West Bank, the IDF carries out 2 air strikes on Rafah tunnels (killing 2 Palestinians, injuring 2) and 1 on a tunnel on the Gaza-Israel border e. of Abassan in s. Gaza (causing no reported injuries). In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in Tulkarm in the morning, making no arrests; occupies a Palestinian home in Hebron as an observation post; conducts evening and late-night patrols in villages nr. Nablus, Qalqilya, and Tulkarm, making no arrests. For a second day, Jewish settlers gather at the evacuated Homesh settlement site nr. Nablus and stone passing Palestinian vehicles. (CNN, JP 9/5; PCHR 9/8; OCHA 9/17)

In the West Bank, the IDF occupies 2 Palestinian homes nr. a settler-only bypass road in Hebron as observation posts; conducts evening and late-night patrols in villages nr. Nablus, Qalqilya, Salfit, and Tulkarm, making no arrests; conducts latenight arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron. Palestinians (accompanied by Israeli and international activists in some locations) hold weekly nonviolent demonstrations against the separation wall, land confiscations, and settlement expansion in Bil‘in, Ni‘lin, and Dayr Nizam/ Nabi Salih. IDF soldiers fire rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas, and stun grenades at the protesters; 10s suffer tear gas inhalation and 1 Palestinian and 9 internationals are arrested. Jewish settlers gather at the evacuated Homesh settlement site nr. Nablus, stone passing Palestinian vehicles. (PCHR 9/8; OCHA 9/17)

On the eve of ceremonies reopening direct Israeli-Palestinian talks, U.S. Pres. Barack Obama holds separate meetings with Abbas, Netanyahu, Egyptian pres. Husni Mubarak, and Jordan’s King Abdullah. In the evening, Obama hosts the leaders for a working dinner at the White House. (WP 9/1; NYT 9/2)

In the West Bank, the IDF continues to impose a curfew on Palestinian areas nr. the site of the 8/31 attack nr. Hebron and carries out house-to-house searches for the Hamas mbrs. involved, rounding up scores of Palestinians with suspected ties to the organization. In the evening, IQB gunmen shoot at another Jewish settler vehicle nr. Ramallah, in area C, wounding 2 settlers (1 seriously). The IDF also conducts latenight arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron, and nr. Ramallah, Salfit, Tulkarm. Jewish settlers retaliating for the 8/31 Hamas attack stake out a 15-d. plot of Palestinian land (exact location not reported) for a new settlement outpost but leave the area by nightfall, stone Palestinian vehicles on the Nablus–Qalqilya road, and vandalize a Palestinian home and set fire to adjacent grass land in Hebron. Meanwhile, in Gaza, IDF troops on the Israeli side of the Erez crossing fire warning shots at Palestinians scavenging for construction material in the demolished Erez industrial zone, causing no injuries. The IDF also makes an incursion into the s. Gaza border areas e. of al-Shuka, accompanied by drones and helicopters, but withdraws 6 hrs. later without incident. (NYT, PCHR 9/2; PCHR 9/8; OCHA 9/17)

In the West Bank, the IDF moves back into Azun village in the morning (see 8/29), raiding an auto repair shop and confiscating 6 cars with Israeli license plates; conducts afternoon patrols in 4 other villages nr. Qalqilya, 1 nr. Tulkarm, withdrawing without incident; conducts late-night patrols in Tulkarm, nearby Anabta, and Kafr al-Dik nr. Salfit, conducting no searches and making no arrests; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in al‘Arub r.c. nr. Hebron. In Jerusalem, Israeli security forces raid the Wadi Hilwa quarter of Silwan, detaining 5 Palestinians for questioning, releasing all but 1 the same day. (PCHR 9/2; OCHA 9/3)

In the West Bank, the IDF conducts patrols without incident in 3 villages nr. Tulkarm and 1 nr. Jericho during the day, and in 2 villages nr. Salfit and 1 nr. Qalqilya late at night. Jewish settlers attempt to break into al-‘Ayn Mosque in Silwan in East Jerusalem but are confronted by Palestinians and removed by Israeli security forces. (PCHR 9/2; OCHA 9/3)

IDF troops on the n. Gaza border fire warning shots at Palestinians scavenging for construction materials in the fmr. Jewish settlement sites nr. the border, causing no injuries. IDF troops make a brief incursion into n. Gaza nr. Bayt Lahiya, patrolling the border area without incident. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in Azun village nr. Qalqilya in the afternoon without incident; sends undercover units in vehicles with Palestinian license plates into Bayt Umar village nr. Hebron, where they raid a home and arrest 1 Palestinian; conducts late-night house searches in Tulkarm and nr. Bethlehem and Salfit, arresting 1 Palestinian and summoning others for interrogation. (PCHR 8/26; OCHA 8/27)

Abbas accepts the 8/20 U.S. invitation to open direct talks with Israel in Washington on 9/2 but states that “If Israel resumes settlement activities in the Palestinian territories, including Jerusalem, we cannot continue negotiations.” (NYT, WT 8/24)

In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Tubas. The IDF also forces 3 Palestinian families to demolish their homes in the Jerusalem suburb of Sur Bahir, displacing 21 individuals; Jewish settlers raid a Palestinian home nr. Tulkarm, hold the family hostage inside while they burn 5 dunams (d.; 4 d. = 1 acre) of agricultural land. (PCHR 8/26; OCHA 8/27)

IDF troops on the n. Gaza border fire warning shots at Palestinians scavenging construction materials fr. the fmr. Jewish settlement sites nr. the border, wounding 1 Palestinian. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in Kafr Haris village nr. Salfit in the early morning and late evening, making no arrests; raids Marda village nr. Salfit in the evening, searching 1 home and arresting a 14-yr.-old boy; conducts late-night patrols in 3 villages e. of Tulkarm, 1 village northwest of Salfit, making no arrests. A Jewish settler throws a Molotov cocktail at a Palestinian vehicle driving on the Nablus– Qalqilya road, damaging it but causing no injuries. (PCHR 8/19; OCHA 8/20)

Lebanese security forces kill ‘Abd al-Rahman Awad, a Palestinian leader of the radical Islamist group Fatah al-Islam, and his aide Gazi Faysal Abdullah in a shootout in the Biqa‘ Valley. Awad had been on Lebanon’s most wanted list since the summer 2007 battle between Fatah al-Islam and the army that destroyed Nahr al-Barid r.c. (see Quarterly Updates in JPS 145–46). (WP 8/15)

IDF troops on the Israeli side of the Erez crossing fire warning shots at Palestinians scavenging construction materials in the industrial zone, wounding 1 Palestinian. Late at night, 2 IDF drones fire missiles at a group of armed Palestinians nr. the border e. of Abasan, killing 1 armed Palestinian, wounding 2. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in Salfit before dawn, photographing a PASF building; conducts late-night patrols in 2 villages nr. Tulkarm, making no arrests; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Ramallah, nr. Jericho. (PCHR 8/5; OCHA 8/13)

An IDF officer, 3 Lebanese soldiers, and 1 Lebanese journalist are killed and 1 IDF platoon commander is critically wounded in a clash on the s. Lebanon border, marking the most serious confrontation since the 2006 Lebanon war. (IFM, JTA 8/3; IFM, NYT, WP 8/4; NYT 8/5; HA 8/9; JPI 8/13)

In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night patrols in Tulkarm and 2 villages nr. Jenin, making no arrests; conducts latenight arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron. In Jerusalem, Israeli police and municipal authorities crack down on Palestinian street vendors operating without licenses, confiscating their goods and fining them $270. Inside Israel, 1,300 Israeli police evict 300 bedouin fr. the unofficial village of al-Arakib before dawn, then level the village, demolishing 45 structures including homes and chicken coops to make way for the Jewish National Fund to plant a forest. (BBC, JAZ, YA 7/27; HA 7/28; PCHR 7/29; OCHA 7/30; Inter Press Service 8/10; WJW 8/12; NYT 8/26)

Overnight, the IDF makes 3 air strikes on smuggling tunnels on the Rafah border and 1 air strike on an iron pipe store in Nussayrat r.c. in retaliation for Palestinian rocket fire on 7/24, destroying the shop and cutting electricity around Nussayrat, but causing no injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in 2 villages nr. Tulkarm in the morning, making no arrests; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Tulkarm; makes a late-night raid on the Qalqilya home of the PA Undersecy. for Civil Affairs Ma‘ruf Zahran while he is on vacation in Turkey, searching the home and arresting his son. Jewish settlers escorted by IDF troops enter Nablus to pray at Joseph’s Tomb. In 2 separate incidents nr. Nablus, Jewish settlers attack and vandalize Palestinian homes, in 1 case also setting fire to nearby olive groves. (IDF 7/26; PCHR 7/29; OCHA 7/30)

Unidentified Palestinians fire 5 rockets (possibly including 1 manufactured rocket), 2 mortars fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in Salfit and 2 villages n. of Tulkarm during the day, making no arrests; conducts synchronized late-night patrols in 6 villages nr. Hebron, withdrawing without incident. Palestinians and international activists take part in weekly nonviolent demonstrations against land confiscation and settlement expansion nr. Karme Tzur settlement nr. Hebron and outside Beit Romano settlement in Hebron; the IDF fires tear gas and stun grenades at the protesters, leaving 2 Palestinians (including a Reuters cameraman) and 2 international activists injured, and 1 Palestinian under arrest. (YA 7/24; PCHR 7/29; OCHA 7/30)

In the West Bank, the IDF conducts morning patrols in 2 village nr. Tulkarm, stopping and questioning local residents but making no arrests; makes a late-night incursion into Tulkarm town and r.c., photographing houses surrounding the main PA security compound (see 7/15); conducts late-night patrols in Qalqilya, making no arrests. (OCHA, PCHR 7/22)

Israel authorizes the transfer of NIS 100 m. ($25.8 m.) paper currency fr. Palestinian banks in the West Bank to their branches in Gaza plus the replacement of 30 m. damaged shekels; the amounts are 42% of what the Palestinian Monetary Authority requested to alleviate the liquidity crisis in Gaza. The IDF makes a brief incursion into n. Gaza nr. the fmr. Jewish settlement sites to level land and clear lines of sight, firing on the surrounding area but causing no reported injuries; makes a 2d brief incursion into s. Gaza e. of al-Shuka village to level land 400 m fr. the border to clear lines of sight. In the West Bank, the IDF demolishes 60 tents and huts in Farasiyya nr. Tubas used by itinerant farmers; bulldozes an irrigation network and pool along a settler bypass road nr. Hebron; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Bil‘in; conducts late-night patrols in 2 villages nr. Tulkarm, making no arrests. (OCHA, PCHR 7/22)