The Palestine Chronology

The IDF makes a brief incursion into s. Gaza to level lands e. of al-Qarara village to clear lines of sight, firing at Palestinians in the area but causing no injuries. In 2 separate incidents on the Rafah border, 1 Palestinian is fatally electrocuted in a smuggling tunnel, 4 are injured in a tunnel collapse. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Tulkarm, nr. Hebron. (OCHA, PCHR 7/22)

Mitchell returns to the region for 3 days of talks with Israeli and Palestinian peace teams, Egyptian pres. Husni Mubarak, and the crown prince of Abu Dhabi Shaykh Muhammad bin Zayid al-Nahayan to press Israel and the Palestinians to resume direct talks. After their meeting, Abbas says he will begin direct talks with Israel if it accepts the 1967 borders as the baseline for negotiations and accepts deployment of international forces to guard them. (UPI 7/17; WP 7/18; AFP 7/19)

IDF troops on the northeastern Gaza border fire 3 artillery shells into an open area e. of Jabaliya, causing no reported injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF escorts Jewish settlers into Kafr Haris village nr. Salfit late at night to conduct religious ceremonies; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Jenin; conducts latenight patrols in Tulkarm 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 rubbercoated steel bullets, tear gas, and stun grenades at the protesters, leaving 5 Palestinian injured (including 3 journalists), 10s suffering tear gas inhalation, 1 Palestinian cameraman under arrest, 1 international activist detained for questioning (later released). At least 10 Jewish settlers attack a Palestinian nr. the al-Ibrahimi Mosque/ Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron, moderately injuring him; IDF troops observe but only intervene to defend the settlers when Palestinians try to protect the injured man. In Gaza, Hamas authorities attempting to boost their Muslim credentials, begin enforcing a ban (announced 1 yr. ago) on women smoking water pipes in public. (NYT 7/18; WP, WT 7/19; OCHA, PCHR 7/22)

The IDF makes a brief incursion into s. Gaza to level land along the border e. of al-Qarara, clearing lines of sight. In the West Bank, the IDF demolishes 2 Palestinian homes, confiscates 1 mobile home, and orders a 4th family to remove their mobile home fr. areas nr. Hebron; makes a late-night incursion into Tulkarm town and r.c., patrolling around and photographing the PA military intelligence headquarters, the main PA security compound, and al-Salam Mosque fr. various angles; conducts late-night patrols in Qarawat Bani Zaid village nr. Ramallah, making no arrests. An Israeli military court convicts an IDF lt. col. and a subordinate on charges of shooting and wounding a bound, blindfolded Palestinian at a demonstration against the separation wall in 7/08; they could face prison terms of up to 3 yrs. (NYT, WP 7/16; OCHA, PCHR 7/22)

IDF troops on the Israeli side of the Erez crossing fire warning shots at Palestinians scavenging for construction materials inside the industrial zone, wounding 1 Palestinian. The IDF sends troops into the former settlement sites inside the n. Gaza border to patrol the area to keep scavengers away; troops fire on the area but no injuries are reported. IDF troops make a brief incursion into s. Gaza to level land along the border e. of al-Qarara to clear lines of sight, shooting and wounding a farmer working his land 700 m fr. the border. In the West Bank, the IDF sends troops into Bidya village nr. Salfit at midday to search several stores, making no arrests; makes an incursion in Hijja village nr. Qalqilya in the afternoon, patrolling streets and photographing homes before withdrawing without incident; patrols in Shaqba village nr. Ramallah in the evening, making no arrests; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Qalqilya and nr. Ramallah, Salfit, Tulkarm. Jewish settlers escorted by IDF troops enter Awarta village nr. Nablus to hold religious ceremonies. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba nr. Hebron severely beat a 65-yr.-old Palestinian man. (PCHR 7/15; OCHA 7/16)

IDF Maj. Gen. (ret.) Giora Eiland, who headed the Israeli military’s internal inquiry into the 5/31 Gaza flotilla incident, releases brief excerpts of his classified 100-page final report to the IDF chief of staff concluding that overall the “the entire operation is estimable,” praising soldiers for their “professionalism, bravery, and resourcefulness.” While the report faults planning for the operation as inadequate (relying “excessively on a single course of action . . . while no alternative courses of action were prepared”), it deems the use of live fire on the passengers “justified.” (IFM 7/12; NYT, WP 7/13; JPI 7/23)

Obama phones Abbas to urge him to agree to begin direct negotiations with Israel. Abbas reiterates demands for a comprehensive settlement freeze including East Jerusalem and assurances that all final status issues will be discussed. (White House press release 7/9; WJW 7/15)

In Gaza, unidentified assailants break into the Palestinian Liaison Office on the Gaza side of the Erez crossing, stealing copies of medical referral documents and communications equipment used to coordinate transit through the crossing with the Israeli Liaison Office on the Israeli side. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts synchronized evening patrols in 3 villages nr. Tulkarm, making no arrests; patrols in a 4th village nr. Tulkarm late at night, making no arrests. Palestinians (sometimes accompanied by Israeli and international activists) hold weekly nonviolent demonstrations against the separation wall and land confiscations in Bil‘in, Ni‘lin, and Dayr Nizam/al-Nabi Salih. IDF soldiers fire rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas, and stun grenades at the protesters, leaving 10s suffering tear gas inhalation, injuring 2 Palestinians, and arresting 1 Palestinian, 1 Israeli, 1 international activist. (PCHR 7/15; OCHA 7/16)

In an effort to show positive movement on the peace process in advance of Netanyahu’s 7/6 meeting with Obama, Israel releases its new guidelines for the entry of goods to Gaza in keeping with its 6/20 cabinet decision, issuing 2 lists of (1) prohibited goods, which include all weapons and munitions, and (2) restricted “dual use” items with military or terrorist applications (including many common chemicals and fertilizers, optical equipment, knives). Israel also itemizes 19 permitted construction goods allowed for import only for PA or internationally supervised projects. Israeli DM Barak personally briefs Abbas, Fayyad on Israel’s steps to ease the Gaza blockade and improve security and economic coordination in the West Bank. (NYT, WT 7/6; WJW 7/8; OCHA 7/9)

IDF troops on the n. Gaza border fire warning shots at Palestinians scavenging for construction materials 700 m fr. the border, seriously wounding a 13-yr.-old boy. Israeli naval vessels fire on Palestinian fishing boats off the c. Gaza coast, seriously wounding a 14-yr.-old boy and damaging the boat. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in Tulkarm and neighboring Dayr al-Ghusun in the morning and Bidya village in the afternoon, making no arrests; enters Kafr Lakif village nr. Qalqilya in the afternoon, raiding a metal workshop and arresting 2 Palestinians; fires rubber-coated bullets, tear gas, stun grenades at Palestinians holding a nonviolent demonstration against settlement expansion in Bayt Jala (injuring 4, including 1 journalist); conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Qalqilya, Salfit. Israeli tax authorities search Palestinian shops in East Jerusalem’s al-Misrara market, seizing the truck of one shop, releasing it later in the day after the owner pays $13,000 in back taxes. (PCHR 7/7; OCHA 7/9)

In the West Bank, the IDF forces a Palestinian to demolish a room of his home built without a permit or face fines and fees for the IDF to do the job; conducts late-night patrols in 3 villages e. of Tulkarm, making no arrests. (PCHR 7/7; OCHA 7/9)

Abbas gives an interview to Israel’s 6 leading newspapers to appeal directly to the Israeli people to step up peace efforts, accusing Netanyahu of not being serious about proximity talks and saying that the Palestinians need serious progress on borders and security issues in particular before direct negotiations can begin. Netanyahu replies publicly, saying that if the Palestinians are serious about peace they will proceed immediately to direct talks. Separately, Israeli FM Avigdor Lieberman tells the press that Abbas cannot be trusted and that Israelis “don’t need to pay for the pleasure of speaking to Abu Mazin” by making gestures. (NYT, WT 7/2)

The IDF makes a late-night air strike on the Dahaniyya airport site in s. Gaza, causing no injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF makes a rare daytime raid into Tulkarm accompanied by Shin Bet units, surrounding and searching a home and farm, questioning several Palestinians, but making no arrests; patrols in ‘Abwayn village n. of Ramallah in the evening without incident; demolishes 14 tents and huts nr. Tammun and Tubas villages used by itinerant farmers, saying the areas are closed military zones; makes a late-night raid on an Islamic charity in Hebron, searching the offices without sealing them, confiscating anything, or making any arrests. (PCHR 7/7; OCHA 7/9)

During the day, IDF troops make brief incursion 400 m into Gaza n. of Bayt Hanun and 300 m into s. Gaza nr. Abasan to level land to clear lines of sight. Between midday and evening, unidentified Palestinians fire 13 mortars and 2 Qassam rockets fr. Gaza toward Israel in 4 barrages (6 mortars land inside Gaza), causing no damage or injuries. Late at night, the IDF retaliates with air strikes on 2 tunnels on the Rafah border and a suspected weapons depot in n. Gaza, killing 2 Palestinians (both in the tunnels). In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in Surda village n. of Ramallah in the evening without incident; conducts synchronized late-night arrest raids, house searches in villages s. of Nablus; makes similar late-night arrest raids, house searches in Tulkarm, nr. Nablus. (YA 6/24; JP 6/25; WP, WT 6/26; PCHR 7/1; OCHA 7/2)

IDF tanks and helicopters on the c. Gaza border fire into the Strip at a group of armed Palestinians laying explosive devices along the border, killing 2 Islamic Jihad mbrs. and wounding 3; troops then send bulldozers 400 m into the area to level land and clear lines of sight. Late in the evening, Hamas-affiliated police move into the Rafah border area and order Palestinians to shut smuggling tunnel operations until further notice, allowing operators to retrieve food and other perishable goods from the tunnels before cordoning off the area. In the West Bank, the IDF demolishes 1 Palestinian home nr. Salfit; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron, Jenin, Ramallah, Tulkarm. Armed Jewish settlers fr. Karme Tzur nr. Hebron assault a Palestinian family working the land nearby, firing in the air to scare them off the land. (WP, WT 4/14; OCHA, PCHR, WP 4/15)

Israeli mayor of Jerusalem Nir Barkat unveils a plan to demolish 10s of Palestinian homes built without permits in al-Bustan in the Silwan area of East Jerusalem to make way for a tourist center (offering the Palestinians new apartments over retail space to be constructed, which they reject) but delays the plan at the last minute at the request of PM Netanyahu, who tells Barkat to continue efforts to negotiate an amicable deal with Palestinian residents. In the West Bank, the IDF sends troops covered by helicopters into several villages w. of Jenin in search of 2 Islamic Jihad mbrs., surrounding and searching relatives’ homes, making no arrests; resumes work on a segment of the separation wall in Bayt Jala nr. Bethlehem (suspended for 3 yrs.) where 300 d. of agricultural land and 2,000 olive trees are slated to be razed; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Tulkarm, nr. Ramallah. (WT 3/3; OCHA, PCHR 3/4; JPI 3/19)

In the West Bank, low-level clashes between Palestinian protesters and the IDF continue in Hebron for a 2d day, with no serious injuries reported. The IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Tulkarm. The UN reports that in the previous wk., the IDF demolished 1 Palestinian home nr. Hebron; 1 Palestinian died of electrocution in a smuggling tunnel nr. the Rafah border. (PCHR 2/24; OCHA 2/25; NYT 2/26; PCHR 3/4)

In the West Bank, the IDF and Israeli tax authorities reenter Shu‘fat r.c. (see 2/7–8), confiscating 10s of cars, arresting at least another 30 individuals (the UN puts the total number arrested at 92), and firing live warning shots at stone-throwing Palestinian youths who confront them, wounding a 14-yr.-old boy. The IDF also makes an incursion into Zayta al-Sha‘rawiyya village northwest of Tulkarm to arrest 3 14-yr.-old Palestinian boys as they leave school for lunch. Some 50 Jewish settlers fr. Brakha attempt to drive 2 Palestinian shepherds off adjacent Palestinian land in Iraq Burin village; after stone-throwing villagers come to the shepherds’ defense and drive off the settlers, settlement security guards return to the scene and open fire on the Palestinians, wounding 1. Late in the evening, IDF troops on the n. Gaza border for unknown reasons open fire on an open area of the Bayt Lahiya beach, causing no damage or injuries. Almost simultaneously, the IDF carries out air strikes, and a drone fires a missile at the Dahaniyya airport site in s. Gaza, causing no reported injuries; Israel says the air strikes are in response to Palestinian rocket fire over the past several days (see 2/2, 2/3, 2/7), though no rocket fire was reported today. Soon after, Israeli naval vessels fire on a Palestinian boat off the n. Gaza coast, forcing it to return to shore. (OCHA, PCHR 2/11; MNA 2/22)

Unidentified Palestinians fire a rocket fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. Late at night, the IDF carries out 6 air strikes on smuggling tunnels on the Rafah border and abandoned buildings at the destroyed Dahaniyya airport site, causing no reported injuries. Meanwhile, Israeli naval vessels fire on Palestinian fishing boats off the s. Gaza coast, then deploy small Zodiac boats to chase some fishermen, destroying or confiscating their nets. A smuggling tunnel collapses on the Rafah border killing 1 Palestinian civilian, injuring 3. The UN reports that since 1/27, another 2 Palestinians have been killed in tunnel incidents (1 in a collapse, 1 by electrocution). In the West Bank, the IDF enters Khirbat Jabara village s. of Tulkarm in the morning, sealing the village, checking IDs, and stopping 10s of vehicles; troops withdraw in the evening, without making any arrests; conducts latenight arrest raids, house searches in Bil‘in (targeting individuals involved in demonstrations against the separation wall) and Nablus. The UN reports that since 1/27, the IDF has removed 24 obstacles to Palestinian travel in Hebron district (21 earthen mounds, 2 road blocks, 1 locked gate), noticeably improving Palestinian movement along Route 60 (550 manned and unmanned barriers are still in place across the West Bank). (HA, NYT, WP, YA 2/3; OCHA, PCHR 2/4)

PA PM Fayyad gives a major address at Israel’s annual Herzliya policy conference. Fayyad’s 30-min. speech aims to explain the Palestinian historical narrative and stresses the need for a “political horizon” for Palestinian statehood. Israeli DM Barak addresses the same panel, focusing his comments on regional security threats. Both stress the importance of a 2-state solution, with Barak stating that Israel risks becoming “an apartheid state par excellence” if it does not accept Palestinian statehood. (WP 2/3; Ma’ariv 2/5)

In the West Bank, the IDF fires rubber-coated steel bullets, stun grenades, tear gas at stone-throwing Palestinians and nonviolent international (and, in the case of Bil‘in, Israeli) activists taking part in protests against the separation wall in Bil‘in (injuring 8 Palestinians, including 2 journalists) and Ni‘lin (10s suffer tear gas inhalation); fires tear gas, stun grenades at Palestinian and international activists holding a nonviolent demonstration against the separation wall in alMa‘sara (no injuries reported). Late in the evening, the PASF conducts arrest raids in Hebron, Nablus, Tubas, and Tulkarm, arresting at least 15 senior West Bank Hamas officials and local council heads affiliated with Hamas, in 1 incident sparking a heavy exchange of gunfire, causing no reported injuries. (YA 1/16; OCHA 1/20; PCHR 1/21)

In the West Bank, the IDF makes a predawn incursion into al-‘Ubaydiyya village e. of Bethlehem, patrolling in the streets and randomly checking Palestinian IDs, making no arrests; levels 3 d. of Palestinian olive trees n. of Hebron, citing security reasons; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in al-Fara‘a r.c., and nr. Hebron, Tulkarm. The UN reports that since 1/6, 2 Palestinians have been killed in tunnel collapses on the Rafah border. (OCHA 1/13; PCHR 1/14; OCHA 1/20; PCHR 1/21)

In the West Bank, the IDF stages synchronized late-night house searches in and around Jenin town and r.c., arresting 1 Palestinian; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in al-Fara‘a r.c. nr. Tubas and nr. Hebron, Ramallah. A Jewish settler is fatally shot while driving nr. Nablus; a caller to a Palestinian radio station claims the attack was carried out by the Fatah-offshoot al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades (AMB). Jewish settlers, implementing their “price-tag doctrine” of retaliation, vandalize Palestinian homes and block Palestinian traffic nr. Yitzhar settlement s. of Nablus; bar Palestinian traffic, stone and vandalize Palestinian vehicles, and uproot 100s of Palestinian trees nr. Shavei Shomron settlement, home to the deceased settler; attempt to prevent a Palestinian bus fr. passing through the Einav checkpoint nr. Tulkarm. (NYT 12/25; PCHR 12/30; OCHA 1/6)

Jewish settlers launch an organized campaign of civil disobedience to protest Netanyahu’s settlement freeze, blocking traffic at major intersections leading into Jerusalem. Israeli police quickly disperse them without violence, but settlers say they plan to keep up such actions randomly over the coming days to frustrate the government. Meanwhile, IDF undercover units stage a major late-night raid on a Nablus apartment building, arresting Palestinian Salah al-Bukhari, wanted since 2001. The IDF also stages late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron and nr. Bethlehem, Nablus, Salfit, Tulkarm. Hamas-affiliated police manning the Gaza side of the Erez crossing block the exit of 37 Palestinian medical patients granted permission by Israel to leave the Strip, stating they have not obtained the proper exit visa from Gaza’s Interior Min. (see 12/6). (OCHA 12/9; WJW, PCHR 12/10)

Netanyahu summons West Bank settlement leaders to a meeting at his office to appeal to them to observe the 10-mo. construction freeze, but they refuse, vowing to continue to bar entry into settlements to inspectors searching for illegal construction. The IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Tulkarm. Jewish settlers evict a Palestinian family from their home in Shaykh Jarrah in East Jerusalem, citing a 10/09 Israeli court ruling that the land on which the home sits belongs to a settler organization (see Quarterly Update for details); a settler family moves into the home under guard of the IDF and a private Israeli security company. (NYT 12/4; OCHA 12/9; PCHR 12/10)

In the West Bank, Palestinian activists celebrating the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall with a protest against the separation wall in Dayr Ghusun nr. Tulkarm attempt to remove and subsequently damage a gate in the separation wall that prevents Palestinian farmers in the area fr. reaching their lands. The IDF fires rubber-coated steel bullets, sound bombs, tear gas at the protesters (causing no reported injuries) and arrests 6 Palestinians (including 2 teenagers). Jewish settlers fr. Carmiel attack Palestinians fr. the nearby Bedouin village of Umm al-Khayr, badly injuring 1 Palestinian woman and damaging several Palestinian houses and 1 car. (MNA 11/14; PCHR 11/19; OCHA 11/20)

In the West Bank, the IDF demolishes 12 partially built Palestinian homes and 1 poultry farm in Rujib nr. Nablus; issues demolition orders for 17 other Palestinian civilian structures (including 9 homes housing 57 people, of whom 39 are children) in Umm al-Khayr nr. Hebron’s Carmiel settlement; and conducts latenight raids, house searches in Tulkarm, summoning 4 Palestinians for interrogation. Jewish settlers fr. Yitzhar uproot nearly 100 olive trees fr. nearby Palestinian land. (OCHA 11/12; PCHR 11/19)

In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night raids, house searches in Nablus, nearby ‘Ayn Bayt al-Ma’ r.c., and Tulkarm, arresting 12 Palestinians (including 2 teenagers). Jewish settlers fr. Shvut Rachel nr. Nablus stone and violently beat Palestinians harvesting olives nearby, injuring 5 of them; IDF troops escorting the settlers arrest 1 Palestinian for refusing orders to leave the area. (OCHA, PCHR 10/29)

In East Jerusalem, Israeli security forces evict families fr. 3 Palestinian homes, demolishing 1 of the homes completely, destroying part of the 2d (ordering the family to complete the demolition within 2 days), and completing the destruction (begun earlier) of a 3d. (Reports differ as to the exact locations of the properties: Palestinian sources place 2 homes in Jabal Mukabir and 1 in Shu‘fat, UN reports indicate 1 each in ‘Anata, Jabal Mukabir, and Sur Bahir). (OCHA, PCHR 10/29)

Unidentified assailants fire a Katyusha rocket fr. Hula village in s. Lebanon into n. Israel nr. Kiryat Shimona. The IDF responds by firing several artillery rounds into Lebanon. No casualties are reported in either incident. (NYT, WT 10/28; JPI 11/5; JR 11/23)

In the West Bank, the IDF prevents Palestinian farmers and international activists fr. reaching agricultural lands nr. Bayt Umar n. of Hebron to cultivate olives, beating 1 Spanish and 1 Israeli activist, and forcing the farmers to leave the area. The IDF also conducts late-night raids, house searches in and around Jenin town and r.c., in ‘Aqabat Jabir r.c., nr Tulkarm and Jericho, arresting 4 Palestinians and summoning a number of others for questioning (violently beating the father of 1 suspect when he takes too long to open the door). Palestinian sources report that in the previous wk., at least 50 Jewish settlers fr. Ma’ale Levona attacked Palestinian farmers fr. Sinjil nr. Ramallah headed to their olive fields and were removed fr. the area by the IDF; Jewish settlers fr. the unauthorized settlement outpost of Adei Ad nr. Ramallah cut down 55 Palestinian olive trees in protest at the arrest of 2 other settlers for stealing Palestinian olives. (OCHA 10/22; PCHR 10/29; OCHA Humanitarian Monitor 10/09)

The IDF makes air strikes on smuggling tunnels along the Rafah border, killing 2 Palestinians and trapping at least 11 others (who are freed and hospitalized). IDF tanks on the s. Gaza border nr. the Dahaniyya airport site fire on and injure a Popular Resistance Comm. mbr. monitoring IDF movements along the border. Meanwhile, Israeli DM Barak authorizes the export of palm fronds fr. Gaza for use in Jewish Sukkoth celebrations because Egyptian suppliers are overcharging (JP 9/30; PCHR 10/1; OCHA 10/2; JPI, OCHA 10/8)

In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night raids, house searches nr. Ramallah, Qalqilya, Jenin, and in Tulkarm, arresting 8 Palestinians (including 1 teenager) and summoning 1 mbr. of the Bil‘in Public Committee Against the Wall and Settlement for interrogation; issues demolition orders for 6 Palestinian homes in Azun that allegedly provided cover for stone-throwing Palestinian youths. Unidentified Palestinians shoot at a Jewish settler vehicle outside Kida settlement n. of Jerusalem, wounding the driver, who is airlifted to a hospital in Jerusalem; stone Israeli vehicles traveling nr. Bethlehem, damaging at least 1 car. (PCHR 10/1; JPI 10/8)

In Jerusalem’s Old City, Israeli security forces arrest at least 50 Palestinians in search and arrest operations targeting those who participated in riots on 9/27. (OCHA 10/2)

In Gaza, the IDF makes an air strike on an open area nr. Bayt Hanun, causing no casualties. (PCHR 10/1)

Israel imposes a general closure on the West Bank for the 2-day Yom Kippur holiday. The IDF conducts late-night raids, house searches nr. Tulkarm, arresting 1 Palestinian. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba nr. Hebron attack Palestinians exiting the nearby al-Ras Mosque and throw stones, empty bottles at Palestinian vehicles; no serious injuries are reported. (PCHR 10/1)

Outraged by rumors that right-wing Jews plan to invade the al-Aqsa Mosque compound to mark Yom Kippur, Palestinians throw stones at French tourists visiting the mosque, mistaking them for Jewish activists. Israeli police disperse the crowd of approximately 150 Palestinians with stun grenades, leading to a number of disturbances throughout East Jerusalem. Palestinians also throw rocks, Molotov cocktails, and garbage at Israeli border police. As many as 38 Palestinians and 18 mbrs. of Israeli security forces are injured, and 11 Palestinians are arrested. (NYT 9/28; OCHA Humanitarian Monitor 9/09; WJW 10/1; OCHA 10/2; JPI, OCHA 10/8)

Israeli naval vessels detain for 12 hrs. 5 fishermen off the n. Gaza shore and confiscate their boat. The IDF also makes a brief incursion into n. Gaza to level land along the border fence n. of Bayt Hanun. (PCHR 10/1)

In the West Bank, the IDF reopens 3 gates in the separation wall in the Jerusalem governorate that were closed on 8/26; local Palestinian farmers who rely on the gates for access to their land located between the separation wall and the Green Line report that their grape crops have been damaged because of the prolonged closure. The IDF also conducts late-night raids, house searches nr. Hebron, Salfit, and Tulkarm and in and around Nablus, arresting 11 Palestinians. (OCHA Humanitarian Monitor 9/09; PCHR 10/1)

In Gaza, the bodies of 2 Palestinians, an IQB mbr. and a mbr. of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine’s (PFLP) armed wing, are found nr. the Gaza border nr. Jabaliya, possibly the victims of an IDF flechette shell; the IDF does not comment. The IDF carries out air strikes on smuggling tunnels on the Rafah border, causing no reported injuries. (PCHR 10/1; OCHA 10/2)

In the West Bank, a fire in a field nr. the unauthorized settlement outpost of Gil’ad Farm nr. Nablus destroys Palestinian olive trees, 2 settler homes, utility lines and injures 6 settlers. Palestinians claim the fire was started by settlers, while settlers accuse the Palestinians; the IDF arrests 4 Palestinian farmers. IDF troops violently beat a Palestinian at Jibara checkpoint nr. Tulkarm; carry out late-night raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem and Ramallah, arresting 4 Palestinians and summoning 3 more for interrogation; patrol and open fire in Jenin town and r.c., causing no injuries and making no arrests. (JPI, PCHR 10/1; OCHA 10/2)

In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night raids, house searches in Jericho and Tulkarm town and r.c., making no arrests; patrols and opens fire in Qabatya but makes no arrests and causes no injuries. Jewish settlers block the main entrance to Ras Karkar nr. Ramallah, throw stones, empty bottles at Palestinians, and violently beat a Palestinian. (PCHR 9/17)

A Palestinian wounded by the IDF on 8/26 dies in an Israeli hospital. (OCHA, PCHR 9/17)

The IDF shoots and wounds a Palestinian who strays nr. the n. Gaza border nr. Bayt Hanun; makes a brief incursion into Bayt Hanun, firing on residential and surrounding agricultural areas but causing no further injuries; makes an incursion into al-Maghazi r.c., leveling areas of land and firing indiscriminately but causing no injuries. (PCHR 9/10; OCHA, PCHR 9/17)

In the West Bank, the IDF dismantles an unauthorized settlement outpost nr. Hebron. In retaliation, Jewish settlers fr. Susia attack a group of Palestinians fr. a nearby village, injuring 15. The IDF also conducts late-night raids, house searches in al-Bireh, nr. Hebron, Ramallah, and Tulkarm, and in ‘Aqabat Jabir r.c. nr. Jericho, arresting 9 Palestinians. (OCHA 9/11; OCHA, PCHR 9/17)

A Palestinian who fell ill at an IDF crossing on 9/4 while waiting to enter East Jerusalem for prayers on the 2d Friday of Ramadan dies of a heart attack; the UN cites IDF checkpoint restrictions and conditions as a factor contributing to his death. (OCHA 9/11)

IDF troops on the n. Gaza border nr. Bayt Hanun fire on Palestinian farmers approaching their land some 600 m fr. the border fence, killing 1 Palestinian teenager. The IDF also makes a brief incursion into s. Gaza to level land in Khuza village nr. Khan Yunis. (PCHR 9/10; OCHA 9/11; OCHA Humanitarian Report 9/09)

In the West Bank, the IDF fires rubbercoated steel bullets, sound bombs, tear gas at Palestinian and international human rights activists taking part in a nonviolent demonstration against the separation wall in Ni‘lin (injuring 3, including an Israeli and a Palestinian journalist) and at Palestinian activists, some of whom throw stones at IDF troops, taking part in a demonstration against the separation wall in Bil‘in (injuring 2, including 1 teenager); conducts latenight raids, house searches in and around Tulkarm town and r.c., in al-Fara‘a r.c. nr. Tubas, and nr. Jenin, Ramallah, and Hebron, making no arrests but summoning at least 1 Palestinian for questioning; patrols Qabatya but makes no arrests. (PCHR 9/10)

On the 2d Friday of Ramadan, the IDF continues to enforce age restrictions announced on 8/23 limiting Palestinian access to Jerusalem for prayers; an estimated 130,000 Palestinians enter the city, but as a result of intense crowding at Qalandia checkpoint, many other “qualified” Palestinians are prevented fr. entering and 19 people (primarily women and children) are injured in the crush of worshipers awaiting entry at IDF checkpoints around the city. (PCHR 9/10; OCHA 9/11; OCHA Humanitarian Report 9/09)