The Palestine Chronology

In the West Bank, Israeli forces arrest 25 Palestinians during raids in and around Qalqilya, Hebron, Bethlehem, Tulkarm, Ramallah, and Jenin. In Gaza, Israeli forces bomb Nuseirat refugee camp, Dayr al-Balah, Khan Yunis, al-Bureij, and Gaza City, killing at least 92 people. In Lebanon, Israeli forces bomb Naqoura, Aitaroun, Ayta ash Shab, Marwahin, and Hamool. Hezbollah forces fire anti-tank missiles at Metula; there are no reports of injuries or damage. In Syria, Israeli forces bomb the southern part of the country, wounding a Syrian soldier. (AJ, AP, HA, REU, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 3/17; UNOCHA 3/18)

More than 31,645 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza, including at least 13,400 children and 8,900 women, and around 73,676 have been injured since 10/7/2023. At least 7,000 people are missing in rubble, including 1,700 children. 426 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 10/7/2023, including 111 children. More than 4,665 people have been injured. Israel reports that 1,139 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed and 5,400 have been injured in Israel since 10/7/2023, including Israeli soldiers. In addition, 247 Israeli soldiers have been killed and 1,476 injured in Gaza since the ground invasion began on 10/27/2023. Over 1.93 million Palestinians, nearly 85% of the population of Gaza, have been displaced since 10/7/2023. There has been a complete electricity blackout in Gaza since 10/12/2023 due to the Israeli blockade. At least 70,000 housing units have been destroyed and 290,000 have been damaged in Israeli airstrikes since 10/7/2023, constituting over 60% of all housing units. 192 trucks carrying aid enter Gaza, including 13 trucks that arrive in Jabalia refugee camp and Gaza City. The aid arriving in Jabalia is the first in 4 months. U.S. forces airdrop 28,000 meals and 34,500 bottles of water over northern Gaza. (AJ, HA, REU, WAFA 3/17; UNOCHA, UNOCHA 3/18)

Adalah says it has documented 19 clear cases of torture in Israeli prisons since 10/7/2023, including sexual violence. (AJ 3/17)

Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh meets with a delegation of Chinese diplomats in Doha, discussing the situation in Gaza and the political situation in Palestine. (AJ 3/17)

PA president Mahmoud Abbas meets with Brazilian foreign minister Mauro Vieira in Ramallah, warning against the humanitarian consequences of an Israeli invasion of Rafah. (AJ, WAFA 3/17)

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu says during a press conference with German chancellor Olaf Scholz that Israel will invade Rafah, but that Israel will enable civilians to leave the city. Scholz says an invasion of Rafah would make regional peace “very difficult.” Scholz also says Israel has a “right to defend itself” but adds the humanitarian cost of Israel’s attacks on Gaza is “extremely high, many will argue much too high.” (AJ, AJ, HA, REU, REU 3/17)

Haaretz reports that Israeli finance minister and minister with a portfolio at the Defense Ministry Bezalel Smotrich is trying to appoint a settler, Hillel Roth, from the Yitzhar settlement as the deputy head of the Civil Administration and transfer authority over settlement building regulations to him instead of the military’s Central Command. (HA 3/17; HA 3/18)

Qatari prime minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani meets with UAE foreign minister Abdullah bin Zayed in Doha, discussing ceasefire negotiations. (AJ 3/17)

U.S. president Joe Biden meets with Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar, saying that a ceasefire and more humanitarian aid is needed in Gaza. Varadkar says Irish solidarity with Palestinians is rooted in the Irish “story of displacement, of dispossession, a national identity questioned and denied, forced emigration, discrimination, and now hunger.” (HA 3/15; AJ, HA, NYT 3/17)

U.S. senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) says in an interview that Israel’s claim that UNRWA is a Hamas proxy is “just flat-out lies” and says Prime Minister Netanyahu wants to get rid of UNRWA because he wants to destroy hopes of a 2-state solution. (AJ 3/17)

U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump reiterates his support for Israel’s attacks on Gaza, saying Israel should “finish it up and do it quickly and get back to the world of peace,” claiming he would make a normalization agreement between Iran and Israel. (AJ, HA, HA 3/17)

In the West Bank, 1 Palestinian man shot by Israeli forces during a raid in Jenin refugee camp on 5/13 succumbed to his injuries. An Israeli settlement guard detained 1 Palestinian minor near the Yitzhar settlement. Israeli settlers also vandalized 50 olive trees in Yasuf. Israeli forces arrested 1 Palestinian man from al-Bireh carrying an axe; Israeli police claimed that a suicide note was found on his person. Israeli forces also violently dispersed Palestinian protesters during a Nakba Day commemoration near al-Bireh, injuring 20, including 7 with live ammunition, 3 with baton rounds, and 6 with tear gas. Elsewhere, Israeli forces violently dispersed Palestinians commemorating the Nakba at Palestine Technical University in Tulkarm, causing tear-gas related injuries. Israeli forces also delivered a demolition notice for 1 house in as-Samu. Off the coast of Gaza, Israeli naval forces opened fire at Palestinian fishermen northwest of Rafah; no injuries were reported. In Israel, Israeli forces arrested 3 Palestinian students at Tel Aviv University during a Nakba Day protest, claiming the 3 had assaulted right-wing counter protesters; 2 were released the same day. (AJ, AP, AX, HA, HA, MEE, REU, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 5/15; HA, MDW, MEMO, MEMO 5/16; PCHR 5/19; UNOCHA 6/4)

Israel reopened the crossings between Gaza and Israel for the 1st time since 5/3. (HA 5/14; MEMO 5/15; PCHR 5/19)

The Israeli high court of justice rejected 4 petitions against the planned Jerusalem cable car project. The project had been heavily criticized by Palestinians for seeking to deepen the Israeli occupation of East Jerusalem and by Israelis who believe the cable car would harm the aesthetics of the city. (AP, HA, REU 5/15; MEE 5/16)

The Jerusalem Post reported that Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett instructed his government to examine options of demolishing the family homes of Palestinian citizens of Israel convicted of committing attacks against Israeli Jews and whether Israel can deport their families to Gaza. (JP 5/16)

Berlin police arrested more than 170 pro-Palestine protesters marking Nakba Day. Berlin police had banned all Palestinian events and protests in the days surrounding Nakba Day, citing the potential for anti-Semitic sentiments. 1 of the banned pro-Palestine protests was organized by the Jewish organization Jüdische Stimme. (HRW 5/20; +972 5/21)

Members of the Somalia parliament elected Hassan Sheikh Mohamud as the country’s new president. During Mohamud’s previous tenure, he secretly met with then Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv in 2016, discussing potential normalization. (TOI 5/22)

In the West Bank, Israeli settlers from the Yitzhar settlement raided Burin, leading to a confrontation with Palestinian residents; no injuries were reported. Israeli forces violently dispersed Palestinian protesters at the Huwwara checkpoint, injuring 8 with rubber-coated bullets and 15 with tear gas. Israeli forces also violently dispersed Palestinian protesters in al-Arroub refugee camp, causing tear-gas related injuries, and 4 were arrested. Elsewhere, Israeli forces violently dispersed Palestinian protesters in Hebron, leading to tear-gas related injuries. Israeli forces also violently dispersed Palestinian protesters in Qalqilya, causing tear-gas related injuries and 2 arrests. Palestinians also protested in solidarity with the Palestinian prisoners that escaped Gilboa prison on 9/6 in al-Bireh, Ramallah, and Bethlehem. 11 Palestinians were arrested during raids in Sa‘ir, Hebron, and Ya‘bad. In East Jerusalem, Palestinians threw stones and Molotov cocktails at Israeli soldiers in Isawiya, and Israeli forces shot and injured 1 Palestinian with a rubber-coated bullet; 1 was arrested. 1 other Palestinian was arrested during a late-night raid in the Old City. In Gaza, for the 2d day in a row, 1 rocket was fired at Israel and was intercepted, and Israel conducted air strikes, hitting 4 different targets in Khan Yunis and Rafah, causing damage. In Israel, 2 of the 6 Palestinian prisoners who escaped Gilboa prison on 9/6, Zakaria Zubeida and Mohammed Aradeh, were arrested near Umm al-Ghanam. 2 others were arrested on 9/10, while 2 are still free. (AJ, AP, MEE, REU 9/10; AP, MEMO, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 9/11; AP, HA, REU, WAFA 9/12; AJ 9/13; PCHR 9/16)

The 4 Palestinian prisoners who were caught by Israeli forces after escaping Gilboa prison on 9/6 were at a court in Nazareth for a closed-off remand hearing. The Shin Bet asked the court to extend the prisoner’s detention with the Shin Bet for 13 days. The 4 have not been allowed to meet with a lawyer. 1 of the prisoners, Zakaria Zubeida, was later admitted to a hospital after receiving heavy beatings by Israeli interrogators. (HA 9/11; MEMO, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 9/12; PCHR 9/14)

In the West Bank, Israeli forces demolished parts of a settlement outpost near the Yitzhar settlement. During the demolition, Israeli settlers attacked the Israeli forces, wounding 1. Israeli settlers closed a road between Nablus and Qalqilya and threw stones at Palestinian vehicles. Israeli forces razed Palestinian-owned land in Yasuf and east of Salfit. 8 Palestinians were arrested during late-night raids in and around Ramallah, Tulkarm, Jenin, and Bethlehem. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces razed land and 1 Palestinian family started demolishing their own home in Jabal Mukabir. 4 Palestinians were arrested during late-night raids in Issawiyya. In Gaza, Israel fired missiles at Gaza City, Rafah, and al-Bureij, causing damage and incendiary balloons from Gaza landing in Israel. Israeli forces also opened fire at agricultural lands east of Bayt Hanun; no injuries were reported. Israel announced that it had reduced the Gaza fishing zone to 8 nautical miles from 15 at its maximum as collective punishment for incendiary balloons landing in Israel. (AJ, HA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 8/12; HA, PCHR, PCHR 8/13; HA, HA 8/14)

Italy contributed $8.1 million for UNRWA core programming. (WAFA 8/12)

In the West Bank, 1 Palestinian was shot dead after he attacked 1 Israeli soldier at a checkpoint near Abu Dis. Israeli forces later raided the home of the Palestinian man and arrested his parents in al-Sawahara. During the raid, Palestinians and Israeli forces clashed; 1 Palestinian was hospitalized after being cut by broken glass from his windshield, which was hit by a projectile. Elsewhere, Israeli forces blocked a main access road to Qusra village, leading to clashes with Palestinians. Israeli forces demolished a settlement outpost outside of Yitzhar settlement. 5 Palestinians were arrested during late-night raids in and around Bayt Awa, Hebron, Jalazun refugee camp, and Ramallah. In Gaza, Israeli forces made incursions to level land east of Rafah. In Israel, 1 23-year-old Palestinian prisoner died in a hospital after being found unresponsive in his cell on 4/21. (AJ, HA, HA, REU, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 4/22; PCHR 4/23)

U.S. secretary of state Mike Pompeo said during a press briefing that, “[a]s for annexation of the West Bank, the Israelis ultimately make those decisions, so that’s an Israeli decision,” in response to questions about the Netanyahu-Gantz Israeli government, which will decide on annexation in July. PA president Mahmoud Abbas said that if Israel annexes land in the West Bank, all agreements made between the PA and Israel, and the PA and the U.S., would be “completely canceled.” (AJ, HA, JP, REU, REU, WAFA, WAFA 4/22; WAFA 4/23)

In the West Bank, IDF troops arrest a Palestinian youth at a checkpoint near Nablus, allegedly for carrying a knife. They also arrest 1 Palestinian during a raid in Hebron and patrol near Nablus, Jenin, Qalqilya, and Hebron. Israeli forces raze a swathe of Palestinian land south of Bethlehem to clear space for a new IDF training base, demolish a kindergarten in a Palestinian Bedouin community east of Jerusalem, and remove 6 prefab trailer homes near the Yitzhar settlement, sparking minor clashes with the Israeli settlers living in them (there are no serious injuries). Along Gaza’s border, Israeli forces conduct a limited incursion to level land near Khan Yunis. Off Gaza’s coast, Israeli naval forces open fire on Palestinian fishing boats near Bayt Lahiya on 2 separate occasions, causing no damage or injuries. In Gaza, unidentified armed men open fire on a Hamas post in Rafah, causing no serious injuries. (MNA, WAFA 8/21; TOI 8/22; PCHR 8/24)

IDF troops shoot and kill a Palestinian outside the Yitzhar settlement nr. Nablus after chasing him and other youths who allegedly threw stones from a moving vehicle at Israeli soldiers. According to the IDF, the slain Palestinian allegedly stabbed and lightly injured 1 of the soldiers in the ensuing confrontation. However, photos of the scene show the Palestinian, still alive, sitting in the army vehicle, where he would not have presented a threat to the soldiers. His cousin says he did not attempt to stab anyone, adding that he was engaged to be married in 2 mos. Elsewhere in the West Bank, IDF troops arrest a Palestinian in c. Hebron when she is found to be carrying a knife, and conduct late-night raids nr. Ramallah and Bethlehem, arresting 9 Palestinians. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces return the body of a Palestinian to his family, who hold a small funeral for him in a nearby cemetery. Israeli forces killed him on 3/9 after he and a companion opened fire on an Israeli bus. Overnight, Israeli forces demolish 3 residential structures and a cultural center in a village nr. Hebron. Israeli settlers dump untreated sewage in Palestinian olive groves and grape arbors nr. Bethlehem. Along Gaza’s border, Israeli forces conduct a limited incursion to level land nr. Rafah, and open fire on Palestinian shepherds working nr. Bayt Hanun, injuring 1 moderately. Off Gaza’s coast, Israeli naval forces open fire on Palestinian fishing boats nr. Jabaliya r.c., causing no damage or injuries. (EI, HA, JP, MNA, PIC, TOI, WAFA 8/24; PCHR 8/25; PCHR 9/1)

U.S. Secy. of State John Kerry welcomes the Arab League’s expression of support for reviving peace talks made the previous day, describing it as a ‘‘very big step forward.’’ An Israeli official welcomes the development, but says that the framework will not be a starting point for talks. Justice Minister Tzipi Livni says that the Arab League proposal represents encouragement for the Palestinians that they have regional support for a negotiated agreement. PLO Chief Negotiator Saeb Erekat says that the Arab League’s support for land swaps is nothing new. Meanwhile, Israel’s Construction and Housing Minister Uri Ariel says that his party, Bayit Yehudi, will not back a 2013 budget that does not include full funding for West Bank settlement construction projects. (NYT 4/29; MNA, JP 4/30)

In the Gaza Strip, the IDF makes an air strike nr. Rafah assassinating Hitham al-Mishal, whom Israel accuses of being a Salafist militant responsible for arms manufacturing. In response, Hamas urges Egypt to ensure that Israel stays committed to the truce deal signed at the end of Operation Pillar of Defense in 11/2012 (see QU 167). Israeli naval vessels open fire on Palestinian fishermen twice, once off the central Gaza coast nr. Dayr al-Balah and once off the south Gaza coast nr. Rafah, in the latter case causing damage and 1 injury. IDF forces also make a brief incursion into central Gaza nr. Juhr al-Dikto level land and clear lines of sight along the border fence. In the West Bank, a Palestinian fatally stabs a Jewish settler from Yitzhar at a Tapuach junction bus stop. In retaliation, Jewish settlers riot and attack Palestinians across the West Bank, including blocking roads and throwing stones at passing vehicles. Overall, the Palestinian civil defense report 57 fires across the West Bank caused by settlers, with damage to hundreds of olive and almond trees. In the most serious incident, Jewish settlers from Yitzhar settlement attack a mosque in Urif village and try to set it on fire; and stone a bus carrying Palestinian schoolchildren, injuring 2. The attack on Urif sparks clashes between IDF forces and Palestinians, leaving 4 Palestinians injured. Meanwhile, the IDF patrols in Hebron and 2 villages nr. Ramallah in the morning; conducts house searches and arrest raids in Tulkarm in the afternoon, and in Bethlehem and Tulkarm at night. (HA, MNA 4/30; MNA 5/1; PCHR 5/2)

UNRWA estimates that 235,000 Palestinian refugees have been displaced inside Syria during the ongoing civil war. (AP, WAFA 4/30)

IDF troops on the s. Gaza border fire toward residential and agricultural areas e. of Rafah, wounding a Palestinian who is 1,000 m. from the border (well beyond the no-go zone). In the West Bank, the IDF conducts daytime patrols in 2 villages nr. Ramallah and 1 nr. Jenin, and late-night patrols in Tulkarm. Palestinians rally outside Ofer prison nr. Ramallah to show solidarity with hunger-striking Palestinian prisoners; IDF troops fire on the demonstrators, wounding 4. For the 2d time in a week (see 4/24), Jewish settlers fr. Yitzhar settlement nr. Nablus, escorted by IDF troops, throw stones at a Palestinian elementary school in nearby Ourif village; when local Palestinians throw stones back at the settlers, IDF soldiers fire tear gas at them to force them to disperse, causing no serious injuries. Jewish settlers accompanied by IDF troops raid and occupy a plot of Palestinian land in Imatin village nr. Qalqilya, arresting 2 Palestinian shepherds on the land. Jewish settlers block Palestinian traffic on the Nablus–Ramallah road nr. the IDF’s Za’atra checkpoint s. of Nablus. (PCHR 5/3; OCHA 5/4)

PA Communications M Mashhour Abudaka resigns, citing unspecified personal reasons, though many insiders believe (see NYT 5/7) that he is strongly opposed to the recent string of arrests of journalists and public commentators who have criticized Abbas’s administration, particularly the 2/2012 arrest of journalist Rami Samara for criticizing him personally; Samara was released after 2 weeks. (NYT 5/7) (see 4/5/12, 4/15/12, and Quarterly Update in JPS 164 for details)

Jordan’s reformist PM, Awn alKhasawneh, suddenly resigns after only 6 mos. in office in a move seen (e.g., WP 4/27) as reflecting his differences with King Abdullah over the pace and extent of government reforms. Abdullah replaces him with veteran politician and close ally Fayiz Tarawnah. (WP 4/27)

IDF troops briefly enter s. Gaza to bulldoze land along the border fence e. of Abasan, firing on nearby residential areas, wounding 1 Palestinian. Israeli naval vessels detain a Palestinian fishing boat off the Bayt Lahiya coast, interrogating and releasing the fishermen. The UN reports that 2 Palestinians were killed and 6 were injured in tunnel collapses on the Rafah border in the previous wk.; in addition, the body of a Palestinian missing since 7/1 has been found in a collapsed smuggling tunnel. In the West Bank, IDF undercover units enter Yatta village in a vehicle with Palestinian license plates, raid an auto mechanics shop, arresting 1 Palestinian. The IDF also conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus and neighboring ‘Askar r.c., and nr. Hebron, Jenin. Jewish settlers fr. Yitzhar cut down 24 Palestinian olive trees in nearby Burin village. Jewish settlers fr. Gilad settlement stone Palestinian cars on the Qalqilya–Nablus road. In Khan Yunis, a bomb explodes at the wedding of a fmr. Fatah-affiliated PA security officer, injuring 42 Palestinians; no group claims responsibility. (OCHA, PCHR 7/23)

The IDF sends troops, bulldozers into n. Gaza to level land along the border nr. Bayt Hanun; troops fire toward nearby residential areas to keep Palestinians indoors, causing no injuries. The UN reports that in the previous wk., 4 Palestinians were injured in tunnel collapses on the Rafah border. The UN Development Program reports that it has begun a $12-m. project to remove the nearly 420,000 tons of rubble created by OCL. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron, Nablus. Palestinians report that in the previous wk., Israeli authorities removed remains fr. 300 graves at a Muslim cemetery nr. the Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem to make way for construction of Israel’s national Tolerance Museum; the remains were reburied in a mass grave elsewhere. Jewish settlers level 18 d. of Palestinian land nr. Yitzhar settlement, in what local residents fear is an attempt to expand the settlement. (OCHA, PCHR 7/16)

A mysterious explosion levels a building in Lebanon’s Khirbat Slim, 12 mi. fr. the Israeli border, causing no casualties; Lebanese and Hizballah authorities secure the site, barring access to UNIFIL soldiers. Israel claims the site housed a Hizballah arms cache, indicating that Hizballah is rearming in violation of UN Res. 1701 that ended the 2006 Lebanon war. Hizballah claims that the explosion was caused by unexploded IDF cluster munitions left over fr. the war. (NYT 7/16)

In Gaza, the UN reports that 2 Palestinians have been killed and 3 injured in tunnel collapses on the Rafah border in the past 2 days. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in Nablus in the evening, firing on stone-throwing youths who confront them, wounding 1; fires live ammunition, rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas, percussion grenades at Palestinian, Israeli, and international activists taking part in nonviolent demonstrations against the separation wall in Bil‘in (injuring 2), Jayyus (beating 2 women), al-Ma‘sara nr. Bethlehem (also beating 2 women), and Ni‘lin (injuring 12); makes late-night incursions into Tubas and neighboring al-Fara‘a r.c., patrolling streets and firing on residential areas, wounding 2 Palestinians. Jewish settlers fr. Yitzhar nr. Nablus stone Palestinian cars driving in the area. In Gaza, interfactional fighting breaks out at the funeral in al-Maghazi r.c. for an Islamic Jihad mbr. killed by IDF crossborder fire on 3/5; 3 Palestinians are injured. (OCHA 3/10, 3/11; PCHR 3/12)

The 20th day of OCL is marked by serious diplomatic steps toward a cease-fire but also by Israel’s heaviest attacks on Gaza since operations began. Israel’s envoy receives the Egyptian-Hamas cease-fire offer in Cairo, returns to Israel to brief the security cabinet. Olmert dispatches Livni to Washington to finalize a bilateral “memorandum of understanding” (MOU) regarding U.S.-led international efforts to halt arms smuggling into Gaza.

Combat notes: The IDF sharply escalates air, naval, and ground attacks across Gaza. IDF ground forces push deep into Gaza City under cover of air strikes and heavy tank and artillery fire. Residents report almost constant air, naval, artillery bombardment from 1:00 A.M. to 1:00 P.M. local time, and particularly heavy ground engagements in al-Atatra n. of the city and Tal al-Hawa neighborhood on the southern outskirts, as well as in Jabaliya r.c. Thousands of Gaza City residents attempt to flee the fighting, but many cannot leave their homes because of the intensity of Israeli fire. During the operations, Israeli troops surround the home of Hamas’s Mahmud Zahhar (in hiding), killing his security guards. Gaza City fighting eases slightly in the afternoon, but IDF troops remain in the city overnight. The IDF also takes up new positions in Bayt Hanun’s alFarta and al-Nazzaza quarters under cover of heavy shelling and gunfire, ordering residents of the 2 areas (some 20 families) to evacuate.

The IDF reports carrying out more than 80 air strikes today, hitting at least 23 rocket and mortar launching sites, 19 groups of armed Palestinians, 6 suspected weapons depots (including 2 mosques in Gaza City, 1 in Rafah), 4 tunnels, 1 radio station in Gaza City. Air strike target areas include al-Atatra, Bayt Hanun, Bayt Lahiya, Dayr al-Balah, Gaza City (al-Rimal, al-Sabra, Tal al-Hawa, al-Yarmuk), Jabaliya, Khan Yunis, al-Maghazi r.c., Nussayrat r.c., Rafah, Yibna r.c. Heavy tank and artillery fire are reported in Abasan, Bayt Hanun, Bayt Lahiya, al-Bureij r.c., Dayr al-Balah, Gaza City (al-Sabra, Tal al-Hawa, al-Tuffah), Jabaliya, Khuza, al-Mughraqa, al-Nasser (n. of Rafah), Nussayrat r.c., al-Qarara, Rafah. UNRWA reports 100s of Palestinians fleeing areas of northeastern Rafah to escape heavy bombardments. Reports of Israel using white phosphorous munitions spike sharply, with confirmed use in 3 areas (Abasan, Khuza, al-Qarara) and suspected use in 5 areas (Bayt Hanun, Bayt Lahiya, al-Bureij r.c., Khan Yunis, Nussayrat r.c.). Israeli naval bombardment concentrates on Khan Yunis and the neighboring al-Mahatin area. Closecombat fighting is reported around Jabaliya r.c.

In a major air strike on Jabaliya, the IDF assassinates Gaza’s acting Interior M Said Siyam in his brother’s home, along with his brother and nephew, Hamas internal security head for Gaza Salah Abu Sharah, 4 Palestinians in an adjacent home. In addition, IDF air strikes hit buildings in Gaza City housing UNRWA’s main food depot (3 white phosphorous missiles incinerate tons of food and medicine brought in during the humanitarian lulls); Palestinian Red Crescent Society offices and the adjacent al-Quds Hospital (both hit repeatedly over a 5-hr. period; the patient wing of the hospital is not targeted); and the shared media offices of Abu Dhabi TV, al-Arabiyya TV, Reuters, and the Russian TV channel Rusiya al-Yaum, causing serious damage and injuring 2 journalists. A number of other hospitals in Gaza City are damaged by Israeli mortar fire. Palestinian medical workers say the Palestinian toll is at least 1,090 dead (including 375 children, 150 women, 14 medical workers), more than 5,000 wounded.

Palestinians fire 15 rockets and 8 mortars into Israel, seriously injuring a 7-yr.-old Israeli boy in Beersheba and causing significant damage in 2 instances (both by Qassams in Sederot); at least 3 of the rockets are Grads (2 in and nr. Beersheba, 1 in Gadera).

The Palestinian toll is estimated to be at least 1,090 dead, more than 5,000 wounded.

Humanitarian notes: With diplomacy toward a cease-fire showing progress, Israel extends the daily humanitarian lull to 4 hrs./day, allowing in up to 170 truckloads of humanitarian aid; permits the Qarni crossing conveyor belt to resume operation for the 1st time since 12/27 for the import of grain. Israel also allows the ICRC and Palestinian Energy Authority to begin repairs to part of Gaza’s electricity network. (AFP, AP, HA, IDF, IFM, IHY, MM, RFM, UNOSAT, YA 1/15; HA, IDF Radio, JP, MA, MM, NYT, REU, Scotsman, WP, WT, XIN, YA 1/16; IFM, NYT, XIN 1/17; ITIC 1/19; PCHR 1/22, 1/29)

Citing unspecified security concerns, the IDF imposes a total closure on the West Bank through 1/17. The IDF also conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem, Hebron, Nablus. Jewish settlers fr. Yitzhar attempt to close a road nr. Nablus to Palestinian traffic, stone Palestinian cars; the IDF forces them to leave. (IDF 1/15; PCHR 1/22)

Israel reseals crossings into Gaza, citing continued Palestinian mortar and rocket fire. Palestinian rocket fire immediately falls to near zero. The IDF sends tanks into s. Gaza to disable roadside bombs planted along the border, trading fire with Palestinian gunmen, causing no reported injuries. The Israeli navy intercepts and confiscates 3 Palestinian fishing boats carrying fishermen and international peace activists, detaining passengers and crew (all are released on 11/19). Egyptian security forces demolish 20 smuggling tunnels on the Rafah border. In the West Bank, the IDF demolishes a Palestinian home in Issawiyya nr. East Jerusalem; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus, in Ramallah, and nr. Bethlehem and Salfit. Jewish settlers fr. Yitzhar bar Palestinian access to a nearby road, stone Palestinian vehicles. (WP, WT 11/19; OCHA 11/19; PCHR 11/20)

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)

On the 1st day of the cease-fire in Gaza, no Israeli-Palestinian violence is reported inside the Strip. Israeli naval vessels, however, fire on Palestinian fishing boats off the coast of Rafah, forcing them to return to shore. Hamas removes armed mbrs. fr. posts along the border with Israel. In the West Bank, the IDF demolishes a Palestinian home in Qalqilya; raids several Palestinian homes in Hebron, detains and photographs 30 residents for no apparent reason; conducts latenight arrest raids, house searches nr. Nablus and in Jenin town and r.c., Qabatya. Jewish settlers fr. Yitzhar nr. Nablus block a road, stone Palestinian cars driving in the area, burn 800 d. of Palestinian olive groves, stone local Palestinians who attempt to reach the area to put out the fires; the IDF observes but only intervenes to detain Palestinians who arrive to extinguish the fire. Jewish settlers fr. Tapuach settlement nr. Salfit burn 48 d. of nearby Palestinian crops. A Jewish settler seriously injures a 70-yr.-old Palestinian man in a deliberate hit-and-run along the Qalqilya-Nablus road outside Qalqilya; the IDF evacuates him to an Israeli hospital. In Gaza City, unidentified gunmen fire on the offices of a Hamas-affiliated newspaper, causing damage but no injuries. In al-Bureij r.c., Hamas-affiliated police raid, fire in the air to disperse a wedding party, claiming attendees were playing pro-Fatah songs; no injuries are reported. (MM 6/19; AHR, NYT, WP 6/20; OCHA 6/25; PCHR 6/26)

In Gaza, the IDF fatally shoots 3 Islamic Jihad mbrs. laying a roadside bomb nr. the border fence e. of Khuza; makes an air strike destroying a workshop in Khan Yunis, causing no injuries; fires on Palestinian farmers who stray nr. the border fence nr. Kerem Shalom crossing, causing no injuries. Islamic Jihad mbrs. fire 2 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, hitting a cemetery in Ashqelon, lightly wounding 1 Israeli; the IDF makes an air strike on the launch site e. of Gaza City, killing 1 Islamic Jihad mbr., wounding 1. Israeli naval vessels fire on Palestinian fishing boats off the Rafah coast, forcing them to return to shore. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus, in Jenin town and r.c., and nr. Bethlehem. Jewish settlers fr. Yitzhar settlement nr. Nablus attack and drive off 3 Palestinian shepherds (ages 12, 14, 30) tending a flock nearby, then kill their 3 donkeys. Unidentified assailants detonate a roadside bomb nr. a Hamas-affiliated police patrol in Gaza City, causing no injuries. (MM 6/16; NYT 6/17; OCHA 6/18; PCHR 6/19)

Israel’s siege of Gaza, imposed after Hamas’s takeover of the Strip in 6/07, remains tight. In Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) conduct late-night arrest raids, house searches in Shuka nr. Rafah, arresting 3 Palestinians, wounding 1 with live ammunition, bulldozing 8 dunams (d.; 4 d. = 1 acre) of greenhouses and a poultry farm (killing 50,000 chickens). In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in Qaryut nr. Nablus, detaining 4 Palestinians (including 3 teenagers) for questioning; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Jenin and Hebron (partially bulldozing a Palestinian home in Bayt Umar); fires rubber-coated steel bullets, percussion grenades, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, international activists taking part in the weekly nonviolent demonstration against the separation wall in Bil‘in n. of Jerusalem nr. Ramallah (10s suffer tear gas inhalation); and beats demonstrators at a similar protest al-Ma‘sara nr. Bethlehem (lightly injuring 3). Nr. Nablus, 10s of armed Jewish settlers fr. Yitzhar vandalize Palestinian homes in nearby Asira al-Qibliyya. In Gaza City, unknown assailants detonate a bomb outside a Catholic school in Gaza City, causing damage but no injuries. (OCHA 5/21; PCHR 5/22)

U.S. pres. George W. Bush ends a 4-day visit to Israel to mark Israel’s 60th anniversary (see Quarterly Update in JPS 148). (NYT, WP, WT 5/17; NYT 5/19)

In Gaza, the IDF sends tanks, bulldozers into Juhur al-Dik, areas n. of Rafah to bulldoze land. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus, in Tulkarm, and nr. Jenin. Israel announces plans to construct several new housing units in Har Brakha settlement nr. Nablus on 229 d. of Palestinian land fr. neighboring Burin village. Jewish settlers fr. Yitzhar nr. Nablus vandalize a nearby Palestinian home, set fire to Palestinian crops, beat Palestinians who come to put out the fire. A new contingent of 500 PA security officers trained in Jordan takes up patrols in Jenin, adding to the 150 police officers already there in what the PA has dubbed “Operation Smile and Hope”. In Jabaliya r.c., a Fatah mbr. is injured by an explosive device left outside his door; no group claims responsibility. (NYT, WT 5/4; OCHA 5/7; PCHR 5/8)

After PRC members fire more than 20 rockets into Israel (causing no damage or injuries) to protest the 10/23 assassination of PRC head Hasanat, Israeli DM Barak authorizes the IDF to cut electricity for several hrs. to parts of Gaza fr. which rockets were fired.; Dep. DM Matan Vilnai says that targeted power cuts will increasingly be used to punish the Palestinians as long as rocket fire continues and that he expects electricity to be cut by two-thirds in the coming weeks. In the evening, IDF fires a surface-to-surface missile at a suspected rocket-launching site e. of Gaza City, killing 2 Palestinian boys (ages 14, 17), wounding 2 other Palestinians; sends troops into Abasan, where they clash with armed Palestinians, wounding 2. A Hamas mbr. is killed when a smuggling tunnel on the Rafah border collapses. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Bethlehem and Hebron, and in Jenin r.c. Jewish settlers fr. Yitzhar nr. Nablus prevent local Palestinians fr. harvesting their olive groves. Armed Palestinians fire on a bus stop outside Ariel settlement, wounding 3 Jewish settlers. ESF officers storm and occupy a Fatah office in central Gaza; no injuries or arrests are reported. Some 5,000 Hamas supporters stage marches in n. Gaza camps in support of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. (PCHR, WT 10/25; OCHA 10/31; PCHR 11/1)

Senior Abu Rish Brigades (ARB) leader Khalid Abu Sitta is killed, 3 bystanders are wounded when his car mysteriously explodes nr. Khan Yunis; ARB claims it is an assassination, but the IDF denies involvement. Palestinians fire 2 mortars fr. Gaza towards Israel, causing no damage or injuries. The IDF fires 3 missiles at a rocket launching site nr. Khan Yunis, causing no damage or injuries; fires a missile at the main Rafah–Khan Yunis road, creating large crater; fatally shoots a PRC mbr. laying a roadside bomb nr. Erez crossing; fatally shoots 1 Palestinian, wounds a 2d who attempts to sneak into Israel fr. Bayt Lahiya to find work; fires on, wounds a mentally handicapped Palestinian who strays close to the Israeli border nr. Khan Yunis; fires on residential areas of Kafr al-Labad nr. Tulkarm, wounding, arresting, evacuating to an Israeli hospital a member of the PA security forces; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Issawiyya, Tulkarm (shooting and wounding a wanted Islamic Jihad mbr.) and nr. Hebron, Jenin. In response to the AMB–Islamic Jihad drive-by shooting on 12/16, the IDF closes some 50 roads in Hebron with sand barriers, blocks the main northern and southern entrances to Hebron with cement barriers. Jewish settlers fr. Yitzhar cut down more than 150 Palestinian olive trees nr. Nablus. (BBC, HA, IMEMC, NYT 12/18; AFP 12/19; PLO press release 12/21; PCHR 12/22)

The IDF fires on residential areas of Nablus, Rafah; conducts arrest raids in Beitunia, Beita nr. Nablus, Dura, al-Majd nr. Hebron; raids the Nabih Salih campaign headquarters of an unidentified candidate in the 1/9 elections, confiscating election placards, documents. In Bayt Lahiya, a Hamas mbr. dies either when a rocket he is preparing explodes prematurely (according to the IDF) or when he is hit by an IDF tank shell (according to Palestinians). Jewish settlers clash with IDF soldiers who remove 2 structures at an unauthorized West Bank settlement outpost of Mitzpe Yitzhar; 1 soldier is wounded, 15 settlers are arrested; 1 soldier is arrested for encouraging his colleagues to refuse to evacuate the site (he is court-martialed and ordered jailed for 28 days on 1/4). (VOI, VOP 1/3 in WNC 1/5; NYT, WP, WT 1/4; VOI 1/4 in WNC 1/6; WT 1/5; HA, PCHR 1/6)

The IDF withdraws fr. Khan Yunis in the morning but shells residential areas in late in the evening, killing 1 Palestinian; fires on residential areas and agricultural lands nr. Rafah, killing a Palestinian farmer working in his field; demolishes a Palestinian home in Hebron; conducts arrest raids, house searches in ‘Azun, Dayr Ghassana, Hebron, Yamun. Late in the evening, the IDF sends troops into Bayt Hanun, shells residential areas, begins bulldozing wide tracts of land. A Jewish settler fr. Yitzhar shoots a Palestinian shepherd in nearby Ourif village nr. Nablus; other settlers bar an ambulance fr. reaching the scene, allowing the man to bleed to death. (HA, MM, PRCS 10/26; VOI, VOP 10/26 in WNC 10/28; PR, PRCS 10/27; PCHR 10/28)

In n. Gaza, the IDF shells residential areas of Jabaliya; expands its incursion into Bayt Lahiya, killing 1 armed Palestinian in an air strike, directing heavy machine gun fire at residential areas, occupying several Palestinian homes. Elsewhere in Gaza, the IDF makes a 3d attempt (see 8/26) to assassinate Islamic Jihad military cmdr. Muhammad Khalil, firing a missile at his home in Rafah, wounding 4 bystanders; exchanges gunfire with armed Palestinians in Dayr al-Balah, killing 1 Palestinian; fires on residential areas in Khan Yunis. In the West Bank, the IDF demolishes a Palestinian home, conducts arrest raids, fires on stonethrowing youths in Nablus. Armed Jewish settlers fr. Yitzhar attack Palestinians harvesting their olive groves in Asira, shooting and wounding 1 Palestinian, scuffling with others until the IDF separates the sides. (HA, MEZ, XIN 10/11; VOI, VOP 10/11 in WNC 10/13; NYT 10/12; PR 10/13; PCHR 10/14)

The IDF seals Rafah as the 1st step in what the government says will be a major military offensive against Palestinian militants, dubbed Operation Rainbow. Tanks, armored personnel carriers, armored bulldozers, helicopters, troops ring the city, firing on any traffic attempting to enter or exit. Many residents nr. the Philadelphi Route evacuate their homes, taking their belongings with them. IDF troops also fire on the area to encourage Palestinians to leave. In Gaza City, the IDF fires missiles at offices of Fatah, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, causing damage but no reported injuries. The IDF also imposes a curfew on Silwad nr. Ramallah, fires on stone-throwing youths, killing 1 Palestinian; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Balata r.c. nr. Nablus, Bethlehem, Yatta nr. Hebron; demolishes 3 Palestinian homes nr. Hebron for construction of the separation wall; evacuates the unauthorized settlement outpost Mitzpe Yitzhar nr. Nablus; arrests an Israeli Arab fr. Um al-Fahm for allegedly plotting with Hamas to stage attacks inside Israel. (AFP, HA, MM, WP 5/17; VOI, VOP 5/17 in WNC 5/19; NYT, PCHR, WP, WT 5/18; PR 5/19; PCHR 5/20; JPI, MEI 5/28)

The IDF conducts predawn arrest raids, house searches in Nablus in search of wanted Hamas activist Jafar Masri, arrests Masri’s wife and brother but does not find him. The IDF also begins work on a stretch of the separation wall outside of Husan; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Tulkarm r.c., Yatta; demolishes a Palestinian home nr. Nablus; bulldozes a Palestinian home, levels several others that were previously heavily damaged in Rafah; bulldozes 1.5 dunams of agricultural land nr. Khan Yunis; announces that it has arrested 4 bedouin, 7 Egyptians, a Nablus Palestinian allegedly involved in a scheme to smuggle weapons fr. Egypt to Nablus. Palestinian gunmen fire on an IDF bus outside Hermesh settlement nr. Baqa‘ al-Sharqiyya, wounding 1 IDF soldier. A Palestinian stabs, wounds 2 Israeli police officers in French Hill settlement in East Jerusalem, is arrested. The IDF evacuates an illegal settlement outpost nr. Hebron that has been evacuated 7 times previously (most recently on 3/31), says 5 more outposts are due to be removed soon. At the same time, 50 armed Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba rampage through Palestinian areas of Hebron, vandalizing 6 Palestinian homes, injuring 4 Palestinians; IDF soldiers observe but do not intervene. Jewish settlers fr. Yitzhar bulldoze Palestinian land in neighboring ‘Ayn Abus. (HA, Israel Radio News 4/13; HA, NYT, WP 4/14; PCHR 4/15)

Overnight, the IDF sends 25 heavy vehicles, 2 helicopters into Tulkarm city and r.c., nearby Far‘un village; imposes curfews on the areas, seizes a building in central Far‘un as an IDF post, fires on stone-throwing youths who confront the incursion, wounding 4 (ages 9–18). The IDF alsofires on residential areas s. and n. of Rafah; shoots, wounds a farmer working his field nr. Khan Yunis; shoots, wounds a mentally handicapped Palestinian nr. Dayr al-Balah who fails to follow orders to halt; fires on stonethrowing youths nr. Jenin, wounding 2; lifts the curfew on Hebron imposed on 11/1. A 16-yr.-old AMB suicide bomber detonates a device in the West Bank village of Azun as IDF soldiers move in to capture him, wounding 1 soldier. Palestinian Tariq Hussein, wanted in the shooting death of an Israeli girl, turns himself in tothe IDF at a Qalqilya roadblock. The IDF confirms that Jewish settlers fr. Yitzhar settlement, the unauthorized outpost of Mitzpe Yitzhar are suspected of having felled some 500 Palestinian olive trees in ‘Ayn Abus (s. of Nablus) in the past wk., while Palestinians have been under curfew. (JP 11/3; VOP 11/3 in WNC 11/5; MM, NYT 11/4; NYT, PCHR 11/6)

The IDF says that in the past 24 hrs., it has killed 6 Palestinians attempting attacks on Israeli targets, including 2 Palestinians swimming toward the Gaza settlement of Dugit, carrying grenades and guns. In addition, 3 Palestinians are killed in a mysterious explosion nr. Rafah; 2 Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) mbrs. are fatally shot by the IDF when they open fire on an army base at Yitzhar settlement, injuring 4 IDF soldiers. The IDF raids Halhul, looking for the 2d gunman involved in the 6/7 attack nr. Karmei Tsur. (NYT, WP, WT 6/9; MEI 6/14)

After a 2d round of talks with Mubarak at Camp David, Bush announces that the U.S. is "not ready to lay down a specific calendar" for political talks leading to a Palestinian state, the most urgent issue is PA reform. (NYT, WP, WT 6/9; MENA 6/9 in WNC 6/10; MM 6/10; MENA 6/10 in WNC 6/11; JPI, MEI 6/14; al-Ra'i 7/15 in WNC 7/17)

Retaliating for the firing of Qassam-2s on 3/5, the IDF launches air, land, sea strikes on PA targets across the West Bank and Gaza, striking and partially demolishing Arafat's residence in Gaza City and a UNRWA school for the blind, among other sites. The IDF also shells the PA compound in Ramallah while Arafat is meeting with EU special envoy Miguel Moratinos; they are not injured. Sharon vows to continue the strikes "without letup" until the Palestinians stop attacking Israeli soldiers, civilians. During the day, at least 13 Palestinians are killed, including senior Hamas mbr. `Abd al-Nassar Ghazal in a possible assassination in Gaza, 4 PA naval police killed by IDF shelling in Gaza, 1 Palestinian shot dead nr. Nablus, 1 killed in a questionable explosion nr. Qalqilya, 4 who die of injuries received earlier. 2 IDF soldiers are killed in clashes in Khan Yunis and Rafah. F-16s bomb a Gaza police headquarters where PSF officers had been scheduled to meet, leading the PA to believe the attack was a failed assassination attempt against PSF chief Brig. Gen. `Abd al-Raziq Majayda. The IDF also makes arrest raids and demolishes at least 2 Palestinian houses in Gaza; fires on a Palestinian school in Silat al-Dahir, injuring 4 students; bulldozes Palestinian land in al-Khadir; maintains closure on Balata, Jenin. Over 20 Jewish settlers fr. Yitzhar fire on a neighboring Palestinian village; attack IDF soldiers who intervene, beating them, puncturing tires on their jeeps. Jewish settlers also cut down 300 Palestinian-owned olive trees nr. Hebron; IDF troops reportedly fire warning shots at Palestinians who attempt to intervene. (AP, HP, MM 3/6; AFP, al-Quds 3/6 in WNC 3/7; JP [Internet], LAW, MM, NYT, WP, WT 3/7; MENA, RNE 3/7 in WNC 3/8; JP 3/15)