The Palestine Chronology

Hamas, the Fatah Hawks (Fatah’s armed wing, which has not staged an attack on an Israeli target since the 1st intifada) take joint responsibility for detonating a massive bomb underneath an IDF checkpoint on the Gaza-Egypt border, killing 5 IDF soldiers, wounding at least 10; armed Palestinians exchange fire with IDF soldiers attempting to remove the wounded, leaving 1 Palestinian attacker dead. The IDF imposes a curfew on Talluza nr. Nablus; shells an elementary school in Khan Yunis, injuring 7 children; fires on, detains crew mbrs. of 2 Palestinian fishing boats off the Gaza coast; fires on stone-throwing Palestinians in al-Fara‘a r.c.; shells residential areas, bulldozes 24 d. of agricultural land and 8 greenhouses nr. Khan Yunis; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Askar r.c., Hebron. Palestinian shepherds herding nr. ‘Aqraba nr. Nablus severely beat a Jewish settler fr. Itamar settlement who attempts to steal their sheep; other Palestinians alert police, who intervene, detain several Palestinians. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba settlement in Hebron throw stones, bottles at Palestinian houses nr. the Ibrahimi Mosque/Tomb of the Patriarchs (IMEMC, WP 12/12; JAZ, MENA, VOI 12/12 in WNC 12/14; MM 12/13; JAZ 12/13 in WNC 12/15; HA, MM, PR 12/15; AYM 12/15 in WNC 12/18; PCHR 12/16; PR 12/22)

The IDF expands its incursion into Bayt Hanun, Bayt Lahiya, and Jabaliya r.c., with tanks and helicopters firing randomly between houses and into open fields allegedly to deter Palestinians fr. firing Qassam rockets into Israel, killing 5 Palestinians (including a 10-yr.-old boy), wounding at least 53, bulldozing 90 d., and demolishing 12 Palestinian homes, 2 brick factories, 1 workshop, 1 agricultural storehouse, 3 wells. In s. Gaza, the IDF fatally shoots an unarmed Palestinian who strays too near Gush Katif; fires on residential area of Khan Yunis. In the West Bank, the IDF arrests a Palestinian who attempts to stab, lightly injures an IDF soldier outside Kiryat Arba settlement; detains some 40 Palestinians at checkpoints around Hebron, holds them at nearby Jewish settlements for hrs. of questioning, beating some before releasing them; send troops into Rafidiyya nr. Nablus, fires on houses, then fires on stone-throwing Palestinians who confront them; bulldozes 5 d. of olive groves nr. Hebron’s Bnei Hefer settlement; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Hebron and around Bethlehem, Jenin, Qalqilya, Ramallah. An IDF jeep fatally runs over a Palestinian in Amari r.c. (MM, PCHR, XIN 9/9; VOI, VOP 9/9 in WNC 9/11; NYT, WP, WT 9/10; PR 9/15; PCHR 9/16)

The IDF pulls out of Dayr al-Balah after demolishing another 3 Palestinian homes. The IDF also fires on 2 Palestinians approaching a closed military zone nr. the Qarni crossing in Gaza, killing 1 Palestinian; fires on 2 Palestinians who enter a closed military zone nr. Rafah Yam settlement, killing 1 Palestinian, seriously wounding 1; severely beats a Palestinian in Hebron; fires 3 missiles at a Palestinian warehouse (alleged weapons factory) in Gaza’s Maghazi r.c., destroying the building, causing a serious fire but no injuries; raids the al-Anwar library of Hebron’s Islamic Charitable Society, confiscating 100s of books, 25 computers, documents, equipment; sends troops into al-Fara’ r.c., fires on stone-throwing Palestinians who confront them; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Nablus and in Hebron, Salfit, Thinnaba nr. Tulkarm, Tulkarm r.c. Palestinians fire a Qassam rocket at Sederot, causing no damage or injuries. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba fire on neighboring Palestinian homes, causing damage but no injuries. (VOP 9/3, MA 9/5 in WNC 9/7; WP 9/4; PCHR 9/9)

The IDF shells residential areas of Khan Yunis, killing 1 Palestinian; attempts to assassinate senior AMB mbr. Mahmud Abu Khalifa by firing a missile at his car as he drives through Jenin, missing it and hitting a nearby building, injuring a 9-yr.-old Palestinian girl; imposes curfews on villages around Jenin; fires on an ambulance waiting to cross Mahatin checkpoint nr. Khan Yunis, seriously injuring a doctor and a paramedic; fires rubber bullets at Palestinians in Budrus w. of Ramallah to disperse their nonviolent protest against the construction of the separation wall. Late at night, Israel border police raid and search homes in the Dahiyat al-Salam neighborhood of Anata in East Jerusalem, take all men ages 16–80 to a nearby base for ID checks, warn those without blue Jerusalem IDs that they could be arrested, detained, possibly sent to the West Bank if they are caught staying in the village overnight again. The IDF also removes a group of Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba who attempt to set up an unauthorized outpost along the route to the Ibrahimi Mosque/Tomb of the Patriarchs. Palestinian gunmen fire on a crane doing construction work in Neve Dekalim, lightly injuring an Israeli construction worker. (VOI, VOP 8/30 in WNC 9/1; VOP 8/31 in WNC 9/2; PR 9/1; PCHR 9/2)

The IDF bars all access to al-Salim nr. Nablus; fires on residential areas of Rafah; detonates percussion grenades around Khan Yunis in the middle of the night. A Jewish settler fr. Elon Moreh, with IDF escort, attacks 5 Palestinian shepherds outside Nablus, beating 2, shooting dead 1 sheep and 2 dogs; the IDF does not stop the settler but bars the shepherds fr. leaving. Some 15 Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba throw stones breaking windows of 4 Palestinian homes in 2 neighboring villages. PA FM Nabil Shaath begins a hunger strike in solidarity with hunger-striking Palestinian prisoners. (HA, VOP 8/28, VOP 8/29 in WNC 8/31; PCHR 9/2)

The IDF resumes work (halted by Israeli court order in late 2002) on a settler bypass road in Hebron linking Kiryat Arba settlement to the Ibrahimi Mosque/Tomb of the Patriarchs, demolishing 3600-yr.-old historic buildings (including 11 residential apartments); local Jewish settlers harass Palestinians in the area. The IDF also continues operations in Rafah begun overnight, demolishing 12 Palestinian homes; uproots 130 dunams of citrus groves s. of Gaza City; raids the offices of the al-Islah Islamic Association in Bethlehem, confiscating computers, files; fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis, al-Qarara; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Bethlehem, Qalqilya, Yatta. Jewish settlers burn 60 olive trees in Marda village nr. Salfit. A 12- yr.-old Palestinian shot by the IDF in Khan Yunis on 8/7 dies of his injuries. (HA, PM 8/10; PR 8/11; PCHR 8/12)

The IDF fires missiles at 2 car repair shops (suspected weapons factories) in Gaza’s Shatti r.c., destroying them, causing no injuries; begins bulldozing work on al-Quds University campus in Abu Dis for construction of the separation wall around Jerusalem, breaking agreements not to build on university land; demolishes a Palestinian home in Rafah; conducts arrest raids in Dahaysha r.c., Jenin, al-Khadir; fires on Palestinian, Israeli, international demonstrators staging a nonviolent protest against the separation wall nr. Qalqilya, wounding 2 Palestinians (1 with live ammunition); fires on residential areas nr. Khan Yunis, Ramallah. Palestinians fire a Qassam rocket into Sederot, causing no damage or injuries. In response, the IDF shells a Gaza City building housing a Hamas office, causing a fire, wounding 2 Palestinians. Israel says that all 187 Israeli businesses will be withdrawn fr. the Erez Industrial Zone for their own protection, leaving some 5,000 Palestinians unemployed. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba, escorted by IDF soldiers, throw stones at Palestinians in Hebron. (Globes, Qol Yisra’el Radio 6/8; VOI, VOP 6/8 in WNC 6/10; HA, MM, NYT, WP 6/9; VOI, YA 6/9 in WNC 6/11; PCHR 6/10)

The IDF raids, occupies a Palestinian home in Dayr al-Balah; raids Balata r.c., firing on houses, stone-throwing youths who confront the troops; shells residential areas of Rafah; conducts arrest raids nr. Hebron, Nablus. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba severely beat a 14-yr.-old Palestinian girl in Hebron. (XIN 6/6; PCHR 6/10)

A Palestinian suicide bomber detonates a car bomb at the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, killing only himself, lightly injuring 2 IDF soldiers. The IDF fatally shoots a Palestinian, wounds a 2d nr. Dayr al-Balah; bulldozes tents and tin shacks housing 95 Palestinians nr. a settler bypass road leading to Gaza’s Gush Katif bloc; bulldozes 12 dunams of land in Wadi al-Silqa nr. Dayr al-Balah, 9 dunams nr. the Rafah crossing; fires on residential areas of Dayr al-Balah; imposes a curfew on, conducts house searches and arrest raids in Jaba‘ nr. Jenin; confiscates 5,500 m2 of agricultural land nr. Salfit, located btwn. the separation wall and the Green Line, that provides income for some 60 Palestinian families. In Hebron, 15 Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba, escorted by IDF troops, attack Palestinian homes. A Palestinian dies of injuries received during the IDF raid on Rafah on 5/20. (VOP 5/28 in WNC 6/1; NYT 5/29; PCHR 6/3)

The IDF fires on international, Israeli, Palestinian peace activists staging a nonviolent demonstration against the separation wall nr. Biddu, killing 1 Palestinian, wounding 8; demolishes the PA Agriculture Min. dir. gen.’s home in Dayr al-Balah; fires on stone-throwing youths in Bethlehem, Burqa, Hebron, Qalandia, villages nr. Ramallah, Silwad; fires on residential areas of Dayr al-Balah, Rafah, Tulkarm; conducts arrest raids, house searches in al-Arub r.c., Dahaysha r.c., Dura. Hamas fires 5 Qassam rockets at Israeli targets in Gaza, causing no damage or injuries. In Gaza City, 10,000s of Palestinians take part in the funeral of Rantisi, his bodyguards; the Church of the Nativity closes its doors for the afternoon in protest of the Rantisi assassination. Late in the evening, 2 Israeli Arabs fire on an Israeli border patrol in the Galilee, causing no damage or injuries; the patrol returns fire, killing 1, wounding 1; the AMB takes responsibility. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba bulldoze 5 dunams of nearby Palestinian land, clash with Palestinians who attempt to stop them; the IDF intervenes to arrest 3 Palestinians, does not halt the bulldozing. A Palestinian dies of injuries received on 4/16. (PSCT, VOP 4/18 in WNC 4/20; AFP, AP, NYT, WP, WT 4/19; PR 4/21; PCHR 4/22)

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)

The IDF sets up a new checkpoint outside Qalqilya; raids Balata r.c., fires on stonethrowing youths, trades gunfire with Palestinian militants; a 6-yr.-old Palestinian is killed inside his home during the exchange, but the source of the gunfire is in question. The IDF also raids Sabastia nr. Nablus, evacuates 2 secondary schools, imposes a curfew; shells residential areas of Rafah, bulldozes tracts of already demolished homes; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Dahaysha r.c. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba rampage through Hebron for 18 hrs., harassing Palestinians, throwing stones and bottles at Palestinian homes, setting up mobile homes on Palestinian land. (WP, WT 3/28; PR 3/31; PCHR 4/1)

The IDF sends troops into Ramallah to surround Arafat’s headquarters, check identities of anyone going in or out; tightens roadblocks around al-Ram and the n. Jordan Valley; reinforces troops in, fires on residential areas of Rafah; fires on residential areas of Jaba’ nr. Jenin, seriously wounding a 10-yr.-old Palestinian playing outside his home; conducts arrest raids in Balata r.c., Bethlehem, Nablus, Qalqilya. A 10-yr.-old Palestinian dies of injuries received in the IDF assassination of 2 Islamic Jihad mbrs. on 2/28. Jewish settlers in Hebron uproot 150 Palestinian trees along the road fr. Kiryat Arba to the al-Ibrahimi Mosque/Tomb of the Patriarchs. (VOP 3/5 in WNC 3/12; WT 3/6; MM 3/8; LAW, PCHR 3/11; MEI 3/19)

The IDF assassinates an Islamic Jihad military cmdr. Aziz Shami, firing a missile at his car as he drives through Gaza City, also killing a 12-yr.-old Palestinian walking to school, wounding 2 passengers in Shami’s car, 7 bystanders on the street. The IDF also fires on a group of Palestinians allegedly attempting to infiltrate Israel fr. Gaza nr. Bureij r.c., mortally wounding a Palestinian teenager, allowing him to bleed to death. Palestinians detonate a roadside bomb nr. an IDF convoy in Gaza, causing no damage or injuries. Hebron Jewish settlers attack local Palestinians with iron bars (seriously injuring 1), break the windows of 4 Palestinian homes to deter them fr. using a road linking al-Ibrahimi Mosque/Tomb of the Patriarchs and Kiryat Arba settlement. (PCHR 2/7; VOP 2/7, MENA, VOP 2/8 in WNC 2/10; HA, NYT, WP, WT 2/8; PR 2/11; PCHR 2/12)

The PA hastily convenes a military tribunal to arraign 4 Palestinians in connection with the 10/15/03 Erez roadside bombing that killed 4 American security officers, charging them with possessing explosives and weapons, planting mines nr. the area of the bombing, but not charging them with the specific bombing that led to those deaths. (JP 2/7; HA, NYT, WP, WT 2/8; al-Quds 2/11 in WNC 2/13)

More than 350 Fatah mbrs. resign to protest corruption, mismanagement, lack of political direction within the movement. (REU 2/7; NYT, WP, WT 2/8; VOP 2/8 in WNC 2/10; MM 2/9, 2/10; NYT, WJW 2/12; SA 2/13 in WNC 2/18)

The IDF continues operations in Rafah, firing on stone-throwing youths, shelling residential areas of Rafah, killing 1 Palestinian woman in her garden, wounding her 13-yr.- old nephew; opens fire on farmers working their fields nr. Khan Yunis, wounding 2; seals a Palestinian home in East Jerusalem; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Nablus, Rafah, Tulkarm r.c.; begins construction of the separation wall around Kiryat Arba settlement in Hebron, bulldozing a grove of 100 trees. (PM 1/21; HA, LAW, PCHR 1/22; PR 1/28)

The WZO urges every Jewish family in the diaspora to buy $50 worth of Israeli products/mo. to help stimulate the Israeli economy, create 20,000 Israeli jobs. (JP 1/21)