The Palestine Chronology

In Gaza, 2 armed Palestinians representing the Fatah-linked al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade (AMB) and the Popular Resistance Comms. (PRCs; an umbrella group including mbrs. of all factions) infiltrate the Israeli border, open fire with automatic weapons at the IDF post at Erez crossing, lightly wounding 2 soldiers before being shot dead. The IDF directs heavy machine gun fire at Palestinian homes in al-Shuka, makes several air strikes on the area during the day, wounding 1 Palestinian. Hamas mbrs. detonate a roadside bomb under an IDF vehicle patrolling the Gaza border nr. alShuka, causing no injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF sends undercover units into Jenin in cars with Palestinian license plates, ambushing and assassinating Islamic Jihad mbrs. Ala’ Sorour and Mustafa Atiq, wounding 3 other Islamic Jihad mbrs.; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Jenin town and r.c., nr. Hebron. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba in Hebron attack a Palestinian home in an area previously targeted by settlers for confiscation. The IDF forcibly removes some 100 Jewish settlers who reoccupied the vacant Homesh settlement site earlier in the day. (IFM, WT 8/26; OCHA 8/29; PCHR 8/30)

For unclear reasons, IDF troops at the Erez crossing fire on ESF troops manning the Palestinian side, killing 1 ESF officer, wounding a baggage porter. An IDF helicopter fires a missile at a suspected rocket launching site nr. Bayt Hanun, causing no injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF bars an ailing 75-yr.-old Palestinian woman living in a village btwn. the Green Line and the separation wall fr. crossing a checkpoint at the wall to reach a Jenin hospital, allowing her to die; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Tulkarm. In ongoing settler violence in Hebron (see 8/5), Jewish settlers attack and vandalize Palestinian property in the central market area, set fire to the al-Kayal Mosque, burn a business and 2 Palestinian homes; the IDF observes but does not intervene. Later in the day, Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba attack, vandalize several Palestinian homes in Hebron. A Jewish settler security guard is injured when his car hits a roadside bomb on the settlers-only road to Elon Moreh settlement nr. Nablus. (OCHA 8/8; PCHR 8/9)

In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus, nr. Hebron, and in Abu Dis nr. Jerusalem, ‘Ayn Bayt al-Ma’a (moving from house to house by breaking through walls, as it did during Operation Defensive Shield in 2002; firing on stone-throwing Palestinians who confront them, wounding 1), Jalazun r.c. nr. Ramallah. Expecting the IDF to forcibly evict 2 Jewish settler families squatting in vacant Palestinian stores in Hebron’s wholesale market (in 4/07, the Israeli High Court ordered them to vacate the site by 7/27), 100s of Jewish settlers begin arriving at the site to block the eviction, harassing local Palestinians; among the incidents: a Jewish settler fr. Beit Hadasah injures a Palestinian man in a deliberate hit and run; Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba attack, vandalize Palestinian homes, cars; Jewish settlers set fire to the Hebron Rehabilitation Comm. offices (previously declared a closed military zone by the IDF). (OCHA 8/8; PCHR 8/9)

The IDF makes an air strike on a car in Gaza City suspected to be carrying wanted Palestinians, missing the target and hitting a nearby home, causing heavy damage but no injuries. Islamic Jihad fires 10 mortars at the IDF base at Kissufim crossing, causing no injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus, nr. Hebron, and in Bethlehem, Qalqilya, nr. Hebron and Nablus; raids the offices of a children’s charity in Jenin, confiscating documents. For a 2d day in Jerusalem, Israeli police escort a group of Jewish settlers into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound to mark the Tisha B’Av holiday. A Jewish settler fr. Kiryat Arba seriously injures a 10-yr.-old Palestinian boy in a deliberate hit-and-run in Hebron. Jewish settlers severely beat a Palestinian teenager nr. Nablus. In Ramallah, PA presidential guardsmen halt a car carrying the son and daughter of jailed Fatah tanzim leader Marwan Barghouti (seen as a potential challenger to Abbas), harass them both, detain and beat the son at the PA headquarters. Pro-Fatah students at al-Najah University in Nablus attack, beat pro-Hamas students protesting Abbas’s ouster of the Haniyeh government, leading to police intervention and an exchange of fire that leaves 3 students wounded, 1 critically. In Gaza City, 10,000 Hamas supporters stage a nonviolent march to PC headquarters to protest PA attacks on Hamas activists and institutions in the West Bank. (OCHA, WP 7/25; PCHR 7/26)

As daily clashes continue at Nahr al-Barid r.c., FI kills 3 Lebanese soldiers—2 by a mortar, 1 by a booby-trapped device. The estimated death toll to date is 120 soldiers, 81 FI members, 41 civilians. (WT 7/25)

In Gaza, the IDF makes an air strike on a suspected rocket launching site nr. Bayt Hanun, causing no injuries. In Dayr al-Balah, 4 Palestinian children are injured by IDF UXO. In the West Bank, the IDF demolishes a Palestinian home in al-Tur nr. Jerusalem; orders the closure of a Palestinian barbershop in Hebron, stating it is too close to Beit Romano settlement; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Jenin. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba beat a 12-yr.-old Palestinian boy. Jewish settlers fr. Otniel uproot another 100 Palestinian olive trees nr. the settlement as part of the expansion begun on 7/14. Jewish settlers beat a Palestinian farmer tending his land nr. Qalqilya. (OCHA 7/18; PCHR 7/19; OCHA 7/25)

Unidentified assailants detonate a roadside bomb targeting a UNIFIL convoy driving through Tyre, causing no injuries. Hizballah condemns the attack. (NYT 7/17) (see 6/24)

The IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba in Hebron raze Palestinian agricultural land nr. the settlement, attack and beat several Palestinians and international peace activists who attempt to stop them; the IDF intervenes to detain a Palestinian journalist who arrives on the scene. The Israeli Housing Min. issues tenders for 20 new housing units in Karnei Shomron settlement. (OCHA 6/6; PCHR 6/7)

Palestinians fire some 7 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, hitting a gas station in Sederot, lightly injuring 2 Israelis. An Islamic Jihad mbr. is injured when explosives he is handling detonate prematurely. In the West Bank, the IDF sends troops into Jenin town and r.c., firing on residential areas and stonethrowing youths who confront the troops, wounding 5 Palestinians; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron and in al-Khadir. Jewish settlers fr. Karme Tzur and Kiryat Arba set up a tent on a hill northeast of Halhul, later leave but vow to establish a new settlement on the site; the IDF observes but does not intervene. Jewish settlers fr. Einav nr. Tulkarm set fire to 80 d. of Palestinian olive, almond trees nearby. Nr. Ramallah, Palestinian gunmen fire on a convoy delivering gas to a Jewish settlement, wounding an Israeli security guard. Some 70 Palestinian protesters thought to be aligned with the Army of Islam throw stones, possibly fire at Fatah lawmaker Majid Abu Shamalah as he leaves an end-of-the-school-year celebration at a Rafah UNRWA school, prompting his bodyguards to open fire, killing 1 of their own and leaving 2 teachers, 2 protesters, and 2 schoolchildren (ages 9, 14) wounded; the attack on the school comes days after the Army of Islam warned the school against holding the celebration, which they condemned for involving “the mixing of adolescent boys and girls, which is forbidden in Islam.” Unidentified gunmen fire on a Fatah base in Bureij r.c., causing no injuries. A Palestinian possibly affiliated with the Army of Islam orders UNRWA employees off an agency minibus in Rafah before tossing a hand grenade inside, damaging it. (Jerusalem Post 5/6; NYT 5/7; OCHA 5/9; PCHR 5/10; AHR 5/15)

Israel allows the Rafah crossing to open for the 1st time since 4/19. Gunfire breaks out among the 5,000 Palestinians waiting to enter Egypt, leaving a PA presidential guardsman dead; UN monitors overseeing the passage say Israel’s closures have left the crossing too crowded to operate. IDF troops on the s. Gaza border fire tank shells, heavy machine guns at DFLP mbrs. planning a roadside bomb nr. the border fence, killing 1 DFLP mbr. The IDF also sends tanks, bulldozers into Gaza to level land along the border fence e. of al-Maghazi r.c. In Bayt Hanun, a PRC mbr. is killed when explosives he is handling detonate prematurely. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in Hebron; fires rubbercoated steel bullets, percussion grenades, tear gas at Palestinians and international and Israeli peace activists holding a nonviolent demonstration against the separation wall in Bil‘in, wounding 6 Palestinians, 1 French activist. Some 200 Palestinians fr. villages nr. Bethlehem hold a nonviolent protest in the area against the separation wall. A Jewish settler fr. Kiryat Arba beats a Palestinian child working in his family’s garden; when his father and brother come to his aid, the settler fires at them, causing no injuries; the IDF intervenes, beating and arresting the father and older brother for “threatening” the settler. Jewish settlers fr. Hebron beat 3 Palestinian shepherds grazing their sheep nearby and 3 peace activists (including an Israeli rabbi) accompanying them for protection. In Israel, 100s of Palestinian Israeli residents of Jaffa protest actions by the Israel Land Administration (ILA) in the past yr. to evict some 500 Arab families from the al-Ajami and Givat Aliya neighborhoods so as to develop the seafront properties; the ILA calls the Palestinian families “invaders” who built on the sites illegally. A Palestinian dies of injuries received during an IDF raid on Gaza City on 10/16/06. (HA 4/27; NYT 4/28; OCHA 5/2; PCHR 5/3)

IDF troops on the Gaza border fire on, send a drone to fire missiles at a group of armed Palestinians attempting to cross into Israel e. of Jabaliya, killing 1 armed Palestinian, wounding 4. For the 3d day, the IDF sends bulldozers and tanks into Gaza nr. Bayt Hanun to level land; this time, Palestinian gunmen fire an RPG at a tank, sparking an exchange of gunfire, causing no reported injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF sends troops into Jenin town and r.c. late in the evening, exchanging fire with Palestinian gunmen who confront the troops, wounding local AMB leader Zacharia Zubeidi; conducts arrest raids, house searches in alBireh, Nablus, Qalqilya; fires rubber-coated steel bullets on stone-throwing Palestinians nr. the Qalandia checkpoint, injuring 2; fires rubber-coated steel bullets at 10s of Palestinians and Israeli and international peace activists protest the separation wall nr. Bil‘in, injuring 14; similarly fires rubber-coated steel bullets on Palestinians, international peace activists protesting the construction of the separation wall nr. Um Salamuna nr. Bethlehem, injuring 8. Jewish settlers fr. Ramat Yishai set fire to a Palestinian car in Hebron; the IDF bars fire engines fr. reaching the scene. For a 2d day, Jewish settlers occupying a Palestinian building nr. Kiryat Arba throw bottles and stones at local Palestinians, use trained dogs to scare Palestinian children; the IDF observes but does not intervene. In ‘Abasan, Fatah-Hamas clashes leave 11 Palestinians wounded. A Palestinian wounded in an IDF artillery strike on ‘Abasan on 9/6/06 dies. (OCHA 4/11; PCHR 4/12)

The IDF sends bulldozers into Gaza nr. Bayt Hanun, al-Maghazi r.c. to level land. For a 2d day, the Israeli navy fires on Palestinian fishing boats off the Rafah coast, forcing them to return to port. In the West Bank, the IDF fires on 3 Palestinians nr. Jericho who fail to heed orders to stop, killing 1 Palestinian; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron, Tulkarm. Jewish settlers who have been occupying a Palestinian building nr. Kiryat Arba since 3/19 throw bottles and stones at local Palestinians, use trained dogs to scare Palestinian children; the IDF observes but does not intervene. A 17-yr.- old Palestinian girl shot in the head by IDF forces during a raid on Jabaliya r.c. on 10/4/04 dies of her injuries. (NYT 4/6; OCHA 4/11; PCHR 4/12)

IDF troops on the n. Gaza border fire on a group of Palestinians collecting scrap metal nr. the border fence nr. the Erez industrial zone, wounding 1 Palestinian. In the West Bank, IDF troops patrol in, fire on residential areas of ‘Askar r.c. and Nablus, causing no injuries. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba severely beat a 12-yr.-old Palestinian boy; the IDF observes but does not intervene. Jewish settlers fr. Negohot nr. Hebron, attack and injure 2 Palestinians (including a 10-yr.-old boy) in a village nearby. FatahHamas clashes leave 6 Palestinians injured in ‘Abasan in s. Gaza. In Gaza’s Nussayrat r.c., unidentified gunmen shoot, wound a PA presidential guard mbr. (OCHA 3/28; PCHR 3/29)

Overnight, the Israeli navy rounds up 14 Palestinian fishing boats, detains 56 fishermen, releases 50 later in the day. A Hamas sniper fires across the Gaza border into Israel, wounding an Israeli electrical worker in the 1st armed attack by Hamas since the Gaza cease-fire went into effect 11/26/06. Hamas mbrs. also fire 2 mortars at the IDF post at Qarni crossing, causing no damage or injuries. Hamas spokesman Ghazi Hamad reiterates Hamas’s call for mutual calm; Israel says that it will continue to abide by the truce but that its patience is wearing thin. In Shati’ r.c., an Islamic Jihad mbr. is killed, 9 Palestinians are injured when explosives he is handling detonate prematurely. Egyptian security forces announce that they have captured a Hamas mbr. in the n. Sinai, who allegedly intended to sneak into Israel to stage a suicide bombing. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron, firing on stone-throwing Palestinians, wounding 4. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba bar Palestinian worshipers fr. entering al-Ras Mosque in Hebron; the IDF observes but does not intervene. Separately, 50 Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba, under IDF protection, occupy a 4-story Palestinian residential building in Hebron, claiming to have legally purchased it; the owner denies this; officers fr. the Temporary International Presence in Hebron (TIPH) ask the settlers to see the purchase documents, but they refuse. A Jewish settler fr. Hebron seriously injures a Palestinian man in a deliberate hit and run. In Gaza City, 200 family mbrs. of Palestinians detained by Israel hold a sit-in to demand greater PA and international efforts to secure a prisoner release. (al-Mezan, NYT, OCHA, WP, WT 3/20; PCHR 3/22)

As the quarter opened, Israel and the Palestinians both stated they were observing a cease-fire in Gaza that went into effect on 11/26/06, though near-daily cross-border incidents occurred. Israel’s siege of Gaza, in place since Hamas took control of the Palestinian Authority (PA) on 3/28/06, remained, as did heavy restrictions on Palestinian movement in the West Bank. Today, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) troops on the n. Gaza border fire on several Palestinians collecting scrap metal nr. the border fence n. of Bayt Lahiya, wounding a 12-yrold boy. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in ‘Aida refugee camp (r.c.) nr. Bethlehem, Azun nr. Qalqilya, Qalandia r.c. (exchanging fire with Palestinian gunmen, leaving 2 IDF soldiers wounded), Tulkarm and nr. Hebron, Jenin; fires on stone-throwing Palestinians in and nr. Hebron demonstrating against Israel’s new construction at the Haram alSharif/Temple Mount (see 2/6/06 in the Chronology in JPS 143); fires rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas, percussion grenades at 10s of Palestinians, as well as Israeli and international activists, taking part in the weekly nonviolent demonstration against the separation wall in Bil‘in, injuring 8. Jewish settlers fr. Tel Rumeida in Hebron occupy a Palestinian home next to the settlement; the IDF evicts the settlers but declares the area a closed military zone, barring the Palestinian family fr. returning. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba in Hebron vandalize Palestinian homes, shops; the IDF observes but does not intervene. A Fatah mbr. dies of injuries received in recent clashes in Jabaliya with members of the PA Interior Min.’s predominantly Hamas Executive Support Force (ESF). PA health sector employees in the West Bank begin an open-ended strike to protest the PA’s failure to pay their salaries. (OCHA 2/21; PCHR 2/22)

IDF troops on the central Gaza border nr. Dayr al-Balah fire on Palestinian shepherds who stray nr. the border fence, wounding 1. In the West Bank, the IDF releases 15 Palestinian schoolchildren detained outside Bethlehem on 2/10; fire on Palestinians holding a peaceful march nr. Hebron to protest Israel’s construction at the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount, wounding 2. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba under IDF escort plant on nearby Palestinian land, apparently with the intention of eventually annex the area to the settlement. A Jewish settler fires on Palestinian children throwing stones at his car nr. Hebron, wounding 1 Palestinian bystander. (OCHA 2/14; PCHR 2/15)

The IDF conducts house searches in Hebron’s al-Takrusi neighborhood. In Sa’ir nr. Hebron, 2 Palestinians are killed, 1 is wounded by unexploded IDF ordnance. Jewish settlers fr. Ramat Yishai in Hebron beat 3 Palestinian children ages 7–17. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba vandalize Palestinian homes in Hebron. In Bureij r.c., ESF, Fatah mbrs. exchange fire, leaving 1 bystander wounded. PA security forces in Jenin protest the Hamas-led government’s failure to pay back salaries. Some 1,000 PA security forces protest on the same issue in Gaza, where demonstrators storm the PC building, fire in the air, exchange fire with PC security guards and the ESF. (OCHA 12/13; PCHR 12/14; AIC 1/17)

Israel says it will not expand the Gaza cease-fire to the West Bank, noting that Palestinians have fired 15 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel since the unilateral truce went into effect on 11/26. IDF troops on the Gaza border e. of Gaza City fire on Palestinian farmers who stray too close to the border fence, causing no injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF fires on stone-throwing youths in ‘Askar r.c. nr. Nablus, killing a 15-yr.-old Palestinian; patrols in Hebron’s al-Rajabi neighborhood, firing percussion grenades, severely beating a 16-yr.-old Palestinian boy who throws stones at troops; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Ramallah and in Hebron, Nur al-Shams r.c. nr. Tulkarm, al-Sammu‘. A Jewish settler injures 3 Palestinians in a deliberate hit-and-run at Hawara checkpoint outside Nablus. Jewish settlers fr. Haggai nr. Hebron fire on a Palestinian home in nearby Khirbat Qalqas, seriously wounding a 6-yr.-old Palestinian boy. Under IDF protection, Jewish settler women fr. Kiryat Arba hold a gathering on a plot of Palestinian land, which they have planned to confiscate for some time, adjacent to the settlement. (MM, NYT, WP 12/4; OCHA 12/6; PCHR 12/7; AIC 1/17)

The IDF patrols in al-Sammu‘ nr. Hebron, occupying a house as an observation post, search a car, firing tear gas at school children; searches homes nr. Kiryat Arba settlement in Hebron, occupying 2 as IDF posts to protect the movement of local settlers; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Karma nr. Hebron; raids, seals the al-Buraq Center for Islamic Studies in Ramallah, confiscating documents, computers. A 10-yr.-old Palestinian boy dies of injuries received fr. IDF fire on Jabaliya r.c. on 11/25. (OCHA 12/6; PCHR 12/7)

In response to Palestinian rocket fire on 10/13, Israeli DM Amir Peretz approves an escalation in IDF border operations in Gaza. Overnight, the IDF pulls out of Abasan but sends tanks, troops into n. Gaza nr. Jabaliya r.c., exchanging fire with Palestinian gunmen, conducting air strikes on a house, engaging in armed clashes nearby, killing at least 4 Hamas mbrs., 2 bystanders, wounding 15 before withdrawing; launches air strike on Rafah, which destroys a Palestinian house (warning the residents in advance to evacuate, damaging several nearby houses); bulldozes a Palestinian home in Bayt Hanun. The IDF also sets up a new Palestinian detention center inside Israel nr. the Gaza border. In the West Bank, the IDF sends troops into Tubas nr. Jenin, firing on downtown areas, wounding 3 Palestinian children; conducts arrest raids, house searches, random ID checks in and around Hebron. IDF soldiers, Jewish settlers wall off 50 d. of Palestinian land around an IDF base outside Kiryat Arba. (NYT 10/14; NYT, PCHR, WP, WT 10/15; PCHR 10/19)

Overnight, the IDF raids Abasan nr. Khan Yunis to search for tunnels, exchanging fire with armed Palestinians and firing on residential areas (wounding around 12), making an air strike on Hamas mbrs. (killing 3 Hamas mbrs. and 2 bystanders, including a 13-yr.-old boy; wounding 5 bystanders, 2 Hamas mbrs.), searching and occupying Palestinian homes as operational bases; makes air strikes destroying 2 Palestinian homes in Jabaliya and Gaza City, a metal workshop in Gaza City, warning occupants prior to the attacks; expands operations during the day, firing on residential areas (killing 1 Palestinian civilian), rounding up male residents ages 15–40 for interrogation. The IDF also fires on Palestinian fishing boats off s. Gaza, damaging several but causing no injuries; makes an air strike late in the evening destroying a house in Gaza City in an attempt to assassinate Hamas cmdr Ashraf Farwana, instead killing his brother, 2 bystanders (including a 2-yr.-old girl), wounding 10 bystanders; makes air strikes destroying 2 auto shops in Gaza City. For the 1st time in over 1 mo., Hamas fires 6 rockets into Israel in response, damaging a power line to Sederot. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Tulkarm, firing on residential areas. Also in Gaza, suspected Hamas gunmen fatally shoot a PA General Intelligence Services officer. Late in the evening, suspected Fatah gunmen fatally shoot a local Hamas leader in Bayt Lahiya. In Bayt ‘Umar nr. Hebron, unidentified gunmen shoot, wound a Hamas mbr. Jewish settlers in Hebron prevent local Palestinians fr. harvesting olives. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba stone Palestinian homes in Hebron. (NYT, REU, WP, WT 10/13; OCHA 10/18; PCHR 10/19)

The IDF makes an arrest raid into Rafah, fatally shooting a Palestinian bystander outside his home; makes an air strike destroying a Palestinian house in Rafah that allegedly hid the opening of a smugglers tunnel (warning the residents in advance to evacuate), severely damaging 8 nearby homes; bulldozes 3 d. of agricultural land nr. Sufa crossing. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in Bethlehem, nr. Hebron. Some 20 armed Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba attack a Palestinian house in Hebron, beat 2 Palestinians. (PCHR 9/21)

In Gaza, the IDF withdraws fr. Khuza‘a, ending a 3-day operation. In the West Bank, the IDF sends undercover units in cars with Palestinian license plates into Qabatya, shoots, wounds 2 Palestinians (at least 1 of whom is a wanted AMB mbr., Rashid Zakarna), also shoots, wounds 2 unarmed Palestinians who come to their aid; the units detain all 4 men, shooting execution style Zarkana and 1 of the men who came to his aid, Kamil al-Lubani; the units then raid a wedding party nearby, firing indiscriminately, wounding 12 Palestinian civilians (1 is declared clinically dead). The IDF patrols in Hebron; raids the Prisoners’ Supporters Association (PSA) offices in Jenin, Nablus, Qalqilya, and Salfit, confiscating computers and files, sealing the offices for 2 yrs.; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Jenin (also raiding the offices of attorney Fadl Bushnaq, confiscating computers and files, sealing the office for 2 yrs.; bulldozes 50 d. of Palestinian land nr. Kiryat Arba in Hebron for construction of a new settler-only bypass road. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba, escorted by the IDF, bulldoze a large area of Palestinian land w. of the settlement. In Khan Yunis, unidentified Palestinian gunmen fire on a Force 17 officer, wounding a bystander. Elsewhere in Gaza, unidentified Palestinian gunmen fire on a PA military intelligence officer, killing a Palestinian bystander. (OCHA 9/13; PCHR 9/14)

Israel lifts the air blockade on Lebanon but continues to patrol off the Lebanese coast after its self-declared 6:00 P.M. deadline, stating that too few international vessels have taken up patrols to enforce an arms embargo. Israel also continues surveillance overflights of Lebanon, saying it has no plans to end them. (NYT, WP, WT 9/8)

IDF troops inside Israel fire across the border into Gaza at Palestinian farmers working their fields nr. Bureij r.c., wounding a Palestinian woman and 12-yr.-old child. The IDF also shells residential areas of al-Shuka, destroying 1 Palestinian home. In the West Bank, the IDF sends troops into the industrial zone nr. Hebron, searches 20 industrial facilities, holding workers for several hrs.; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Balata r.c., Nablus and nr. Hebron, Jenin. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba attack Palestinian homes in Hebron for a 2d day. Nr. Jenin r.c., Palestinian gunmen fatally shoot a Palestinian whom they accuse of being a collaborator; no group takes responsibility. (PCHR 8/17)

The Israeli cabinet accepts (24–0, with 1 abstention) UN Res. 1701, but separately Israeli DM Peretz warns that “there is no situation in which Hizballah fires at [Israeli] forces that we will not retaliate,” and Israeli officials warn that the IDF will continue to destroy Hizballah assets in areas it controls until those areas are handed over to the Lebanese army or UNIFIL. In anticipation of the 8/14 truce, both Israel and Hizballah intensify attacks. The IDF escalates air and artillery strikes, particularly on s. Beirut (leveling an area of several 100 sq. yds., including 8 apartment buildings); also hits 50 villages and towns across s. Lebanon, focusing on areas around Tyre (targeting gas stations), Ali al-Nahri in the Biqa‘ Valley, Tiri in s. Lebanon; expands ground offensives in an attempt to take control of as much land as possible by the truce deadline, engaging in major clashes outside Tyre, in Aita alSha‘b, Bint Jubayl, and Rashaf in central s. Lebanon, and in Dayr Sirin, al-Ghanduriyya, Khiyam, Qantara further northwest; shoots down 2 Hizballah drones heading for Israel. At least 20 Lebanese civilians, 2 Lebanese soldiers, 5 IDF soldiers are killed, and 25 IDF soldiers are wounded. Hizballah fires 220–250 rockets into n. Israel, the most in 1 day to date, mostly targeting Haifa (killing 1 Israeli civilian) but also hitting Kiryat Shimona, Yaara. (IFM 8/13; NYT, WP, WT 8/14; NYT 8/15)

In Gaza, IDF troops occupy the Dahaniyya airport, seal the Rafah crossing (reopened on 8/10), raze large areas of agricultural land, destroy several greenhouses and sites used by the PA security forces, blow up what it says is a smuggler’s tunnel. In the West Bank, the IDF raids 2 hospitals in Hebron, conducts random ID checks on the streets in search of wanted Palestinians, but makes no arrests; patrols in, fires on residential areas of Azun, Jenin; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Balata r.c., nr. Bethlehem. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba attack Palestinian homes in Hebron. Unidentified gunmen shoot, wound a PA General Intelligence officer in Gaza City. (OCHA 8/16; PCHR 8/17)

Hizballah, the Lebanese government endorse UN Res. 1701, Hizballah says it will maintain its “natural right to resist” in keeping with international law as long as IDF troops “are practicing an occupation and acts of aggression” inside Lebanon. Meanwhile, the IDF continues heavy air and artillery strikes across Lebanon, mostly targeting infrastructure and roads, including destroying electricity plants nr. Sidon, a Lebanese army base in the Biqa‘ Valley, 2 homes nr. Bint Jubayl (killing at least 15 Lebanese civilians); air strikes are concentrated around Sidon and Tyre (cutting electricity to Tyre), in the north btwn. Akkar and Arida, and in central s. Lebanon nr. Bint Jubayl. The IDF also rapidly expands ground offensives in the south, sending in additional troops and artillery, with heavy clashes reported in the Bint Jubayl area, in Ghanduriyya and Dayr Sirin s. and w. of Marja’uyun, and s. of Tyre. Hizballah continues to fire rockets into n. Israel (hitting targets in Kiryat Shimona, Ma’alot, Safad and nearby Amirim) and downs an IDF helicopter, killing 5 IDF soldiers (including Israel’s 1st female combat fatality). The casualty toll during the day includes 24 IDF soldiers dead (2 when an IDF tank rolls over them) and 70 wounded, and at least 26 Lebanese civilians, 1 Lebanese soldier killed; the IDF claims to have killed 50 Hizballah mbrs. in the previous 24 hrs. (al-Manar TV 8/12; NYT, WP, WT 8/13)

Before dawn, the IDF responds to Hamas’s 7/3 rocket fire on Ashqelon by carrying out air strikes on the PA Interior Min. in Gaza City (destroying it and wounding at least 7 Palestinians in homes nearby, including 4 children), a Hamas-run school in Gaza City, a Hamas training camp in s. Gaza. Later, Hamas fires a 2d 2-engine Qassam rocket that lands outside Ashqelon, causing no damage or injuries, the Israeli security cabinet authorizes the IDF to step up operations in Gaza and the West Bank aimed at halting rocket fire and “striking at institutions and infrastructures that serve terrorism,” particularly targeting Hamas. During the day, the IDF moves more tanks, troops into n. Gaza and begins to push south toward Bayt Hanun and Jabaliya r.c., reoccupying fmr. settlement sites, occupying a 7th Palestinian home as an operational base, exchanging fire with Palestinian gunmen and shelling (fr. land and sea) areas where militants are allegedly burying explosives, killing 1 Hamas mbr., 1 PA naval officer, wounding at least 17 Palestinians (10 PA naval officers at a barracks nr. where the Hamas mbr. was killed, 7 children). In Gaza City, 2 Islamic Jihad mbrs. are killed when explosives they are handling detonate prematurely. In the West Bank, the IDF sends troops into ‘Ayn al-Sultan r.c. nr. Jericho, surrounds a building, orders wanted AMB cmdr. Mahmud Haymur to surrender, ordering him to undress when he emerges and then executing him by shooting him in the head at point blank range; surrounds, fires on a PA police station in Halhul nr. Hebron, demanding custody of an Israeli Palestinian believed to be held there (police allow soldiers to search the station to confirm he is not there); raids 3 Islamic charities nr. Hebron, Jenin, and Nablus, confiscating computers, vandalizing offices; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Jenin and Nablus, nr. Tulkarm and Qalqilya, and in Bethlehem. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba, under IDF escort, begin work on a new settler bypass road linking the settlement to the Ibrahimi Mosque/Tomb of the Patriarchs. In Gaza City, unidentified gunmen assassinate senior Hamas mbr. Husayn Abu Ajwa, who is considered a leading promoter of religious and political reform within the movement. (IFM, NYT, PCHR, REU, WP, WT 7/5; HA, NYT, OCHA, PCHR, WP, WT 7/6; HA 7/8; PCHR 7/13; OCHA 7/18)

The IDF sends an undercover unit into Ramallah in a car with Palestinian license plates, assassinates wanted AMB mbr. Ayman Jabarin, shooting him 10 times; partially lifts the security alert on Rafah crossing, allowing EU monitors to open the crossing for several hrs.; conducts random ID checks in Hebron, seriously beating 1 Palestinian. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba vandalize several homes in the Palestinian section of Hebron. Jewish settlers fr. Ramat Yishai in Hebron beat 2 Palestinians. (IMEMC 6/22; HA 6/24; PCHR 6/29)

The IDF fires shells at 3 Palestinians attempting to sneak into Israel fr. Gaza, killing 2 Palestinians and wounding 1, also killing a PA security officer at a post nearby and wounding 5 bystanders (including a 2d security officer); patrols in Fahma and Kafr Ra’i nr. Jenin; conducts late night arrest raids, house searches in Hebron (firing percussion grenades) and in and around Nablus, Tulkarm. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba vandalize several Palestinian homes in Hebron, beat a Palestinian. (MM, PCHR, WP 6/8; PCHR 6/15)

The IDF reopens Sufa and Qarni crossings; patrols in Qarawat Bani Hassan nr. Nablus and Bidiyya nr. Nablus, conducting random ID checks; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Jenin town and r.c. and nr. Bidiyya, Hebron, Ramallah; issues military orders confiscating 895 d. of land nr. Qalqilya for “security purposes.” Late in the evening, Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba, accompanied by 10 IDF soldiers, raid 2 Palestinian homes in Hebron, beating the residents, setting fire to at least 30 olive trees, preventing firemen fr. reaching the area. In Gaza City and Khan Yunis, Fatah, Hamas gunmen trade fire, leaving 3 gunmen and 1 bystander dead. (MM, WP 6/5; NYT 6/6; OCHA 6/7; PCHR 6/8)

The IDF fatally shoots a Palestinian taxi driver who stops to wait for a passenger nr. a sand barrier set up by the IDF nr. a checkpoint outside Nablus; sends undercover units in cars with Palestinian license plates into Azun and Hebron to arrest wanted Palestinians; also conducts arrest raids in Balata r.c. (exchanging fire with Palestinian gunmen, leaving 3 wounded), Bayt Jala, Nablus, Yatta. Palestinians fire 6 rockets fr. s. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. A Jewish settler fr. Kiryat Arba injures a 3- yr.old Palestinian in a deliberate hit and run in Hebron. Jewish settlers fr. Ramat Yishai throw bottles, stones at Palestinian children (ages 7–12) playing nearby. (WP 5/6; PCHR 5/11)

The Knesset approves, swears in PM Ehud Olmert’s new cabinet, including Vice PM and FM Tzipi Livni (Kadima), DM Amir Peretz (Labor). The new coalition controls 67 of 120 parliamentary seats, with Kadima holding 29 seats, Labor 19, the ultra-Orthodox Shas 12, the Pensioners Party 7. (MM 5/4; MM, WP, WT 5/5)

The IDF reopens the Qarni crossing (closed on 4/26); conducts arrest raids, house searches in Bethlehem, Hebron, Jenin, Nablus. Palestinians fire a rocket fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries; the IDF responds by shelling n. Gaza, causing no injuries. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba vandalize Palestinian homes in Hebron for a 2d day. (HA, IMEMC 4/30; B’Tselem press release 5/1; OCHA 5/3; PCHR 5/4)

Overnight and throughout the day, the IDF shells n. Gaza, hitting a house and a populated street in Bayt Hanun (injuring 7 Palestinians), hitting a house in Bayt Hanun (wounding 3 Palestinians), wounding 3 farmers in fields nr. Bayt Hanun and Bayt Lahiya. Meanwhile, the IDF notes a sharp decline in Palestinian rocket fire over the previous wk. The IDF also unintentionally kills a 3-yr.-old Palestinian girl nr. Ramallah by shutting a crossing gate on her head; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Bethlehem, nr. Qalqilya. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba vandalize Palestinian homes in Hebron. Jewish settlers ambush, attack several Palestinian cars in the Jordan Valley. (IMEMC 4/29; HA 4/30; PCHR 5/4)