The Palestine Chronology

In Gaza, IDF bulldozers, tanks level land at al-Qarara nr. Khan Yunis. Palestinians nr. al-Bureij r.c. fire 4 mortars toward Israel, but all fall inside the Gaza border. Palestinians nr. Rafah fire 3 mortars toward Kerem Shalom crossing, causing no damage. In both cases, the IDF responds with heavy machine gun fire, causing no reported damage or injuries. Palestinians detonate a roadside bomb nr. an IDF patrol inside the Israeli border nr. Kissufim base, causing no injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in Tulkarm and nr. Hebron, Jenin, Qalqilya, Ramallah. (OCHA 11/21; PCHR 11/22)

The IDF occupies strategic high points inside the Gaza border nr. Bayt Lahiya, firing surface-to-air missiles at a group of armed Palestinians (missing them, causing no damage or injuries) and on a car carrying a local Islamic Jihad military cmdr., wounding him in an apparent assassination attempt; conducts bulldozing operations inside the Gaza border nr. Bayt Lahiya; continues operations in al-Shuka. Islamic Jihad mbrs. fire an RPG at an IDF patrol inside the Israeli border nr. al-Bureij r.c., missing the target and causing no injuries; the IDF responds with heavy machine gun fire, killing 1 Islamic Jihad mbr. Egyptian border police detain 3 PRC mbrs. who entered Egypt through a tunnel under the Rafah border. In the West Bank, the IDF imposes a roundthe-clock curfew on ‘Azun nr. Qalqilya after Palestinian youths throw stones at Jewish settler vehicles, causing no injuries; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Nablus and neighboring Balata r.c., nr. Ramallah. Unidentified gunmen fire on Abbas’s residence in Ramallah, causing damage but no injuries. (PCHR 11/1; OCHA 11/7; PCHR 11/8)

To increase pressure on Hamas, Israel announces that it will begin curtailing fuel shipments to Gaza by up to 11% and that it has permanently closed the Sufa crossing (closed on 10/26 and 10/27 for the weekend), leaving Kerem Shalom (fully controlled by Israel) the sole crossing point for goods and humanitarian aid. (Officially the government calls the move “self-defense.”) Israel says that it will allow into Gaza “the minimum amount of food and medicines necessary to avoid a humanitarian crisis.” In Gaza, the IDF shoots, wounds a Palestinian fisherman laying nets on the Bayt Lahiya coast; sends troops into al-Shuka, where they exchange tank and heavy machine gun fire with armed Palestinians firing RPGs, leaving 1 Hamas mbr., 1 IDF soldier dead, 2 IDF soldiers wounded; conducts land-leveling operations inside the Gaza border nr. Dayr al-Balah, firing on residential areas, causing no reported injuries. Palestinians fire an RPG at an IDF jeep patrolling the Gaza border e. of al-Maghazi r.c., missing the target, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus, nr. Bethlehem, Hebron, Jenin, Ramallah. Jewish settlers fr. Itamar nr. Nablus harass Palestinians harvesting olives nearby; the IDF intervenes, forcing the settlers to leave. In Gaza City, some 300 PA workers stage a peaceful sit-in to protest nonpayment of their salaries. (NYT, WP, WT 10/29; OCHA 10/31; PCHR 11/1)

Overnight, the IDF launches major arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus, clashing with armed Palestinians, killing local AMB leader Basim Abu Saria and a 71-yr.-old Palestinian man, wounding 8 Palestinians (2 gunmen, 1 cameraman for the German press agency, and 5 bystanders, including a woman and a child); during the operation, the IDF blows up an apartment in a 4-story complex, damaging 2 other apartments, 10 nearby buildings, 4 cars, 7 electricity relays, 3 water pipes, displacing 3 Palestinian families (20 persons). Also in the West Bank, the IDF sends troops into Anabta nr. Tulkarm, firing on stone-throwing youths who confront them, wounding 1; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem, Hebron and in al-Bireh, Jenin town and r.c., Ramallah. In 2 separate incidents nr. Nablus, Jewish settlers attack Palestinians harvesting olives; the Palestinian DCO contacts its IDF counterpart, which removes the settlers; 1 Palestinian is injured. In Gaza, the IDF bulldozes 3 d. of Palestinian olive groves nr. Qarni crossing; Palestinians fire 3 mortars at the troops, who respond with heavy machine gun fire; no injuries are reported. (NYT, OCHA 10/17; PCHR 10/18)

In Gaza, the IDF sends bulldozers into the Qarni industrial zone to erect sand berms; Palestinians fire anti-tank missiles at the troops, who respond with heavy machine gun fire; no injuries are reported. The IDF also sends troops into al-Qarara nr. Khan Yunis, where they exchange fire with local Palestinians, causing no reported injuries. The IDF, armed Palestinians trade machine gun and mortar fire across the border e. of al-Maghazi, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF ambushes, arrests 3 Palestinians driving in Birzeit nr. Ramallah (their political affiliation is not reported); conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron and in Qalqilya, Qabatya nr. Jenin. (OCHA 10/10; PCHR 10/11)