The Palestine Chronology

For a 2d day in a row, the IDF maintains its “general closure” of the West Bank and Gaza surrounding Israel’s Independence Day. Egyptian authorities open the Rafah border crossing for passage in both directions for the 2d of 2 planned days. Along Gaza’s border, IDF troops open fire on Palestinian farmers working nr. Khan Yunis, causing no injuries. Off Gaza’s coast, Israeli naval forces open fire on Palestinian fishermen working nr. Bayt Lahiya, causing no injuries. In the West Bank, Israeli border police arrest 6 Palestinian youths throwing stones and setting fires nr. the separation wall outside Jerusalem. IDF troops patrol in 2 villages nr. Hebron and 1 nr. Nablus. In East Jerusalem, Israeli police disperse right-wing Jewish activists marching toward Haram al-Sharif in commemoration of Israeli Independence Day; 5 activists are arrested. They also arrest 10 rightwing Jewish activists after they assault Palestinians nr. Haram al-Sharif; there are no serious injuries. In Israel, thousands of PCI march through Rahat in the Negev calling for Palestinian refugees to be afforded their right of return. (HA, MNA, OCHA, TOI 5/12; PCHR 5/19)

In the West Bank, Palestinian gunmen open fire on an IDF border police vehicle nr. Hebron, killing 1 Israeli border police officer and wounding 3 in the first fatal shooting attack against Israelis in the West Bank in over 1 yr.; a claim of responsibility and threat of more attacks are issued by a group calling itself the Freedom Flotilla Martyrs. Also in the West Bank, the IDF conducts 3 separate synchronized late-night arrest raids, house searches in Bethlehem and neighboring Dahaysha r.c., al-Far‘a r.c. and Tammun village nr. Tubas, Jenin town and r.c. and 2 nearby villages; additional late-night arrest raids, house searches are carried out nr. Salfit, Tubas. In Gaza, unidentified Palestinians fire 1 Qassam rocket fr. the s. Gaza border area into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. The IDF fires 5 artillery shells at the launch site, causing no damage or injuries. Separately, the IDF makes a brief incursion into s. Gaza to level land to clear lines of sight. IDF troops on the Israeli side of the Erez crossing fire on Palestinian scavenging for construction materials in the industrial zone, wounding 1 Palestinian. IDF troops on the s. Gaza border fire warning shots at Palestinians staging a nonviolent march to the border fence e. of Khan Yunis to protest Israel’s no-go zone; no injuries are reported. Israeli naval vessels fire on Palestinian fishing boats off the n. Gaza coast, forcing them to return to shore. (NYT, YA 6/15; PCHR, WJW 6/17; OCHA 6/18)

In Gaza, the IDF shells armed Hamas mbrs. laying a roadside bomb nr. the Gaza border fence e. of Khan Yunis, killing 2 armed Hamas mbrs. In the West Bank, the IDF withdraws fr. Khirbat Safa and suspends the manhunt for the Bet Ayn attacker, without arresting a suspect, but continues to block all entry and exit fr. the village; patrols in al-Naqura village in the afternoon, withdrawing without incident. Inside Israel, Israeli police fatally shoot a 16-yr.-old bedouin girl after she allegedly fires a pistol toward a border police post. (WP, WT 4/5; OCHA 4/8; PCHR 4/9)

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)

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 an apparent assassination attempt in Gaza, suspected Fatah gunmen fire on Haniyeh’s 10-car convoy, set fire to 1 PA security vehicle, causing no injuries. In Gaza, the IDF sends troops into Bayt Hanun, seals the town, demolishes a workshop, a coffee shop before withdrawing; sends troops into Khan Yunis, fatally shooting 1 Palestinian, demolishing 2 Palestinian homes, bulldozing 6 d. agricultural land. A 15-yr.-old Palestinian is injured when he accidentally detonates unexploded IDF ordnance nr. Dayr al-Balah. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in Hebron. On the last Friday of Ramadan, Israel allows 180,000 West Bank Palestinians into Jerusalem to worship at al-Aqsa Mosque. 100s of Palestinians denied entry scuffle with IDF soldiers and border police nr. Bethlehem, who fire tear gas, stun grenades. Fatah, Hamas mbrs. exchange fire in Bayt Hanun, wounding 3 Palestinians. In Khan Yunis, a Fatah mbr. is kidnapped, shot, wounded by unidentified gunmen. (NYT, WP, WT 10/21; OCHA 11/1; PCHR 11/2)

In Gaza, the IDF partially reopens Rafah crossing as a gesture marking U.S. Secy. of State Condoleezza Rice’s visit today; makes an air strike on a car driving nr. Khan Yunis, assassinating Islamic Jihad mbr. Yasir al-Banna, Abu Rish Brigades mbr. Omar al-Zaqzuq. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Tulkarm and in and around Hebron, Jenin town and r.c. In Qalqilya, 4 unidentified gunmen assassinate local Hamas official Muhammad Odeh; no group takes responsibility. Unidentified gunmen fire on a car carrying PC mbrs. in Gaza City, wounding 1 Palestinian. In Israel, an Israeli border policeman fatally shoots a Palestinian laborer fr. Hebron being detained in IDF custody in Jaffa for working without a permit, claims his gun went off accidentally; the worker was also reportedly severely beaten by 9 policemen; the guard who shot him is placed under house arrest pending an investigation. (NYT, PCHR, REU, WP 10/5; OCHA 10/11; PCHR 10/12)