The Palestine Chronology

An Israeli drone bombs a group of Gazans near Jabaliya refugee camp allegedly preparing to fly incendiary kites and balloons into Israel; no injuries are reported. Around the same time, IDF troops violently disperse Palestinians gathering along the border fence near Jabaliya refugee camp to continue the Great March of Return; 1 Palestinian is injured. In the West Bank, IDF troops conduct raids in Dahaysha refugee camp, arresting 3 Palestinians and sparking clashes with stone-throwing Palestinian minors; 1 Palestinian is killed and 2 are injured. They arrest 13 more Palestinians during late-night raids in and around Bethlehem, Tulkarm, Ramallah, and Hebron; and patrol near Hebron and Nablus. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces arrest 2 Palestinians during late-night raids in Issawiyya. In northern Israel, Israeli forces demolish a Palestinian-owned home in Sakhnin, sparking minor clashes with residents of the area; 6 Palestinians are injured. (MNA, TOI, WAFA, YA 7/23; PCHR 7/26)

A Palestinian succumbs to injuries sustained when Israeli snipers opened fire on Great March of Return protesters along Gaza’s border fence on 6/8, bringing the death toll stemming from the Great March of Return to 134. (MNA, WAFA 7/23)

The Egyptian authorities shut down the Rafah border crossing for the day in commemoration of the Egyptian Revolution of 7/23/52. (MNA 7/23)

Hundreds of Palestinians gather in various locations along Gaza’s border to participate in the Great March of Return. IDF troops violently disperse them near Gaza City and al-Bureij refugee camp; 8 Palestinians are injured. Later, IDF troops arrest an unarmed Palestinian who crossed into Israel and open fire on Palestinian agricultural lands near al-Maghazi refugee camp, causing no damage. In the West Bank, IDF troops violently disperse Palestinian minors throwing stones in Kafr Qaddum near Qalqilya, arrest 2 Palestinians during late-night raids near Ramallah and Hebron, and patrol near Tulkarm and Hebron. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces arrest 7 Palestinians during late-night raids in Issawiyya. In Israel, approximately 1,500 Palestinian citizens of Israel, including a number of Knesset members, gather in Sakhnin to protest in solidarity with the Palestinians killed in Gaza over the past week. (TOI, WAFA 4/7; TOI 4/8; PCHR 4/12)

Two Palestinians, including 1 photojournalist, succumb to injuries sustained when the IDF violently dispersed peaceful protesters along Gaza’s border on 4/6, bringing the death toll of the IDF’s response to the Great March of Return to 28. The IDF later issues a statement denying that Israeli soldiers targeted journalists, and pledging to investigate any such incidents. (HA, TOI, WAFA 4/7)

Across Israel, Palestinian citizens gather to commemorate the 16th anniversary of the killing of 13 Palestinians by Israeli forces in 10/2000. Around 2,000 people, including several Joint List MKs, march through Sakhnin to mark the occasion. In the West Bank, IDF troops arrest 5 Palestinians and issue 1 arrest summons during raids and house searches nr. Bethlehem, Qalqilya, and Salfit; and patrol during the day nr. Nablus and Hebron. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces arrest 18 Palestinians during late-night raids in the Old City, al-Tur, and Silwan. (HA, MNA, WAFA 10/1; PCHR 10/6)

The Israeli authorities announce that the IDF will be imposing a general closure of the West Bank and a temporary moratorium on passage to and from Gaza between midnight on 10/2 and midnight on 10/4 during the upcoming Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah. Only medical and humanitarian exceptions will be allowed. (HA, JP, MNA 10/2)

The Israeli NGO Peace Now reports that the Israeli Civil Admin. has advanced plans to build a new settlement outpost nr. Nablus, likely with the intention of housing the 40-odd families from the condemned Amona outpost. The plan for the new settlement includes 98 housing units, with an option to increase the number of units to 300. Peace Now also reports that plans for a new industrial zone nr. Ramallah were also advanced. (JP, MNA, PCN 10/2)

Stabbing and other small-scale violent incidents continue in the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt) and Israel. In Tel Aviv, 2 Palestinians armed with knives attack a group of Israelis at an office building, killing 2 and injuring 2. Israeli police arrest 1 of the attackers and the other flees. Later, IDF troops raid the Hebron-area home of 1 of the suspects, delivering punitive demolition orders and arresting 3. Nr. Bethlehem, a Palestinian driver opens fire in the Gush Etzion settlement bloc, injuring 10 settlers and killing 3 others, including a U.S. citizen. Israeli forces shoot at the driver, causing him to crash his car and killing 1 Palestinian bystander in the crossfire; they arrest the driver at the scene. In c. Hebron, Israeli forces fire tear gas and skunk water, blocking a number of Palestinian children from accessing their school, after a Palestinian allegedly throws a tear gas canister at an Israeli checkpoint and injures a soldier. Also, a Palestinian succumbs to injuries sustained in clashes with the IDF on 11/11. (HA, MNA, NYT, WAFA, YA 11/19; PCHR 11/26)

Elsewhere, a number of Palestinian municipalities in Israel, including Nazareth, Rahat, and Sakhnin, go on strike in protest of the 11/16 outlawing of the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement. In the West Bank, IDF troops and stone-throwers clash during raids in Dahaysha r.c. and patrols nr. Jenin, injuring 4 Palestinians and arresting 1, respectively. Israeli forces continue their string of late-night house searches and raids in the Hebron, Ramallah, Jalazun r.c., and Dahaysha r.c. areas, arresting 12 Palestinians and issuing arrest summons to 4; patrol during the day nr. Jenin, Tulkarm, Salfit, Hebron, and Qalqilya. Israeli settlers leave racist graffiti and throw stones at Palestinian homes in a village nr. Ramallah late at night, causing minor damage. Israeli forces begin demolishing a synagogue in the Givat Ze’ev settlement nr. Jerusalem, pursuant to the Israeli govt.’s 11/16 compromise with settler leaders (the demolition will be completed by 12/10). In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces clash with and violently disperse Palestinians at a checkpoint in Abu Dis, seriously injuring 1 Palestinian; arrest 4 Palestinians on raids in Issawiyya and Jabal Mukabir; assault a Palestinian youth in Ras al-Amud. (EI, HA, MNA, NYT, WAFA, YA 11/19; MNA, TOI 11/20; PCHR 11/26)

Israel’s Coordinator of Govt. Activities in the Territories (COGAT) Unit cmdr. Yoav Mordechai signs an agreement with the PA Minister of Civil Affairs Hassan al-Shaykh to grant Palestinian mobile phone users in the West Bank access to 3G high-speed data services. The new services are expected to be in place by mid-2016. (AP, HA 11/19)

Stabbing and other small-scale attacks continue in Israel and Jerusalem. In East Jerusalem, 2 Palestinians attack a group of Jewish Israelis on an Israeli bus in Jabal Mukabir, killing 2 and injuring at least 10 (a 3d Israeli will succumb to injuries sustained in the attack on 10/27). Israeli police shoot the 2 Palestinians, killing 1 and seriously injuring the other. In West Jerusalem, a Palestinian driver rams an Israeli pedestrian, then gets out of his car and stabs 5 other Israelis (1 Israeli will succumb to his injuries later in the day). Israeli police shoot and critically injure the Palestinian before arresting him (the Palestinian succumbs to his injuries later in the day). In Israel, Israeli police shoot and seriously injure a Palestinian after he stabs and moderately injures an Israeli in Ra’anana, n. of Tel Aviv. Later, a Palestinian stabs and injures 4 Israelis in the same city. Several Jewish Israelis assault and detain him as he attempts to flee, including 1 Israeli driver who rams the man with his vehicle. An Israeli man attacks a Palestinian citizen of Israel in Netanya, lightly injuring him. In Kiryat Ata nr. Haifa, a Jewish Israeli stabs and moderately injures another Jewish Israeli, mistakenly identifying him as a Palestinian. Following the morning’s attacks, Israel’s security cabinet meets and decides not to return the bodies of Palestinians shot and killed by Israeli forces after carrying out attacks on Israeli citizens. Instead of returning the bodies to their families, they will bury them secretly. The cabinet also decides to revoke the residency status of Palestinian attackers, bar any homes punitively demolished from being rebuilt, and allow the police to “impose a closure on, or to surround, centers of friction and incitement in Jerusalem, in accordance with security considerations”. (HA, JP, NYT, TOI 10/13; EI, HA, MNA, NYT 10/14; HA 10/27)

For the 5th day in a row, IDF troops open fire on hundreds of Palestinians protesting along Gaza’s border fence e. of al-Bureij r.c. and nr. the Erez border crossing, injuring 51. They also disperse and drive back around 30 Palestinians who cross the s. border. The Israeli authorities close the Erez crossing shortly after the clashes. Later, Palestinians open fire on Israeli forces patrolling along the border fence e. of Khan Yunis, causing no damage. Off the coast, Israeli naval forces open fire on Palestinian fishing boats nr. Gaza City, causing no damage or injuries. (HA, JP, MNA, TOI 10/13; HA 10/14; PCHR 10/15; PCHR 10/22)

Elsewhere in the West Bank, IDF troops clash with and violently disperse Palestinians protesting and throwing stones throughout the region, killing 1 Palestinian in Bethlehem and injuring at least 33. Israeli forces raid the Jenin home of the Palestinian who allegedly stabbed and injured an Israeli soldier in Afula on 10/8, preparing for a possible punitive demolition. The IDF also conducts raids and house searches nr. Hebron, Nablus, and Tulkarm, arresting 13 Palestinians. Israeli settlers throw stones at Palestinian drivers nr. Nablus and nr. Hebron, injuring 1 Palestinian in the former and sparking minor clashes in the latter. Israeli settlers also assault and moderately injure a Palestinian youth outside a settlement e. of Jerusalem; assault 4 Palestinian farmers working nr. Ramallah. (HA, JP, MNA, TOI, WAFA, YA 10/13; PCHR 10/15; PCHR 10/22)

In Israel, many schools, public institutions, and businesses in predominantly Palestinian cities go on strike, and around 20,000 Palestinian citizens of Israel and solidarity activists march through Sakhnin protesting the recent Israeli restrictions at Haram al-Sharif and violations in the oPt. (HA, JP, MNA, TOI, WAFA, YA 10/13; EI, HA 10/14; PCHR 10/15; PCHR 10/22)

Three errant mortar shells launched from Syria land in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, causing no damage or injuries. In response, the IDF fires artillery shells at 2 Syrian army targets nr. the border, causing damage. (HA, JP, TOI 10/13)

Violence and protests over recent access restrictions at Haram al-Sharif continue through the day in Israel, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem. A day before Yom Kippur, Israeli forces clear all Muslim worshippers from Haram al-Sharif and close all but 3 of the sanctuary’s entrances. Throughout the day, forces arrest 4 Palestinian youths accused of stone-throwing on their way home from school in the Old City, demolish a Palestinian home under construction in Silwan, and level Palestinian farmland in Issawiyya. The IDF conducts an arrest raid nr. Hebron, and a Palestinian is killed in the ensuing clashes, leading to conflicting accounts of his death. While the IDF says that an explosive device he intended to throw detonated prematurely and soldiers nearby fired shots in the direction of the explosion, Palestinian witnesses say Israeli soldiers shot him and left him bleeding on the ground while blocking paramedics from providing aid. During separate IDF house searches and raids nr. Hebron and Nablus, clashes erupt between stone-throwing Palestinians and Israeli forces, injuring 2 Palestinians and arresting 1. IDF troops violently disperse Palestinians protesting nr. Bethlehem, Hebron, and Ramallah, injuring 3; patrol throughout the West Bank. Thousands of Palestinian citizens of Israel gather in Sakhnin to protest Israeli restrictions at Haram al-Sharif. On Gaza’s n. and e. borders, Israeli forces level land during limited incursions across the border fence. (MNA, WAFA 9/21; JP, MNA, TOI, WAFA 9/22; PCHR 10/1)

The Israeli authorities announce a series of security measures to coincide with the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur on 9/22–23 and the Muslim holiday ‘Id al-Adha on 9/24–27. Meanwhile, the Israeli police temporarily suspend the use of Ruger sniper rifles, which was approved on 9/17, to allow administrators to systematically train officers in their use. (JP, TOI 9/21; HA, TOI 9/22)

Israel’s COGAT announces that, for the 1st time since 2007, it will allow ironware, furniture, and textiles to be imported from Gaza to Israel, starting on 10/7. (HA, TOI 9/22)

In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in 1 village nr. Ramallah in the morning, and in 2 villages nr. Hebron and 1 village nr. Ramallah at night. (PCHR 7/18)

Palestinian citizens of Israel observe a general strike called for by the High Follow-Up Cmte. and carry out demonstrations to protest the govt.’s proposals for the Negev which will force tens of thousands of Bedouin from their homes. Protests a few thousand-strong against the planned demolition of villages take place in Beersheba as well as nr. Sakhnin in the Galilee. There are also solidarity demonstrations in the West Bank cities of Ramallah, Hebron, and Nablus. (HA, JP, YA 7/15)

U.S. Secy. of State John Kerry departs Washington for Amman for talks with Jordanian and Arab League officials about the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. There is no plan for a visit to Israel or the West Bank on this trip, his 6th to the region since assuming office on 2/1. (AP, REU 7/15)

In Cairo, U.S. Dep. Secy. of State William Burns warns the Egyptian military that the country will find it hard to emerge from its crisis if the crackdown on Muslim Brotherhood supporters continues. (AP, NYT 7/15)

PLO chief negotiator Saeb Erakat reveals that the PA is in consultations with Arab countries and others over the text of a draft resolution requesting the UNGA accept Palestine as a non-member state. Erakat reiterates that the UN bid is intended to complement rather than harm the peace process. Reports indicate that the U.S. government is lobbying European countries to oppose the Palestinian initiative on the basis that it would be counterproductive and lead to negative consequences, such as sanctions, for the PA. (Guardian, MNA 10/1)

Unidentified Palestinians fire a rocket from the Gaza Strip into s. Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In East Jerusalem, the IDF conducts house searches in Ras al-Amud neighborhood after clashes with local Palestinian youths; troops fire tear gas during the searches, moderately injuring a Palestinian woman. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in 2 villages nr. Jenin and Hebron in the morning, 1 village nr. Jenin in the afternoon, and 2 villages nr. Qalqilya at night. (AFP, IMEMC 10/1; PCHR 10/4; OCHA 10/5)

Palestinian citizens of Israel hold protests across Israel, including a 2,000- strong march in Sakhnin, to mark the 12th anniversary of the killing of 13 Arabs by Israeli police during demonstrations in solidarity with the 2d intifada then underway. (AFP 10/1)

Freedom Theater director and former AMB commander Zakaria Zubeidi is freed from PA prison after having been charged in connection to a 1/5/12 attack that resulted in the death of former Jenin governor Qaddura Musa from a heart attack (see QU in JPS 164). (MNA 1/10)

Syrian state television attacks Hamas leader Khalid Mishal, accusing him of ‘‘selling out’’’ and being ungrateful for Syria’s years of patronage. Hamas closed its headquarters in Damascus earlier in 2012 after refusing to support the regime’s attacks on Syrian protesters and the opposition. (NYT 10/2)

The IDF launches Operation Days of Penitence, sending 3 brigades (ca. 2,000 troops) with 100 tanks, armored personnel carriers (APCs), armored bulldozers to cordon off the n. Gaza Strip, killing 8 Palestinians (including at least 3 Hamas mbrs., 3 other armed Palestinians, 2 bystanders), wounding 17 in clashes during the day (some casualties, according to hospital workers, were hit by internationally banned flechettes); 2 Palestinians (including 1 militant) die of injuries received in n. Gaza on 9/29, 9/30; the IDF also drops a bomb on a factory in Jabaliya r.c. Armed Palestinians build sand berms to block streets, lay booby-traps along roads in Jabaliya, wounding 2 IDF soldiers with a roadside bomb. The IDF fatally shoots 1 Palestinian, captures 7 attempting to cross the Israel-Gaza border nr. the Erez crossing; the AMB, Hamas say the 8 (who are wearing PA police uniforms, carrying 88 lbs of explosives) are their mbrs. The IDF also fires on residential areas of Rafah; fires missiles at a workshop in Gaza City, causing serious damage, no injuries. In Sakhnin, Israel, 3,000 Israeli Palestinians hold a demonstration to commemorate the 4th anniversary of the 10/00 riots, during which 18 Israeli Palestinians died (13 killed by Israeli police, 5 by Israeli civilians). (HA 10/1; JAZ, VOI, VOP 10/1 in WNC 10/5; HA, NYT, WP 10/2; PCHR 10/7)

In Ramallah, IDF soldiers shoot, seriously wound a Hamas mbr. at a checkpoint, bar an ambulance fr. reaching him for 45 mins., allowing him to bleed to death. The PA terms the incident an assassination. In the West Bank, Palestinian gunmen fatally shoot a Jewish settler driving in the West Bank. Some 2,000 Palestinians in Ramallah, 1,000s of Palestinians in Bethlehem rally against Israel's continued confinement of Arafat, vowing to continue the intifada despite his cease-fire appeals. The IDF also shells 3 PSF posts nr. Jabaliya; arrests 3 PSF officers in Jinin. (REU 1/26; JT [Internet], NYT, WT 1/27; PCHR 1/30)

Israeli Arabs hold demonstrations in Sakhnin protesting Israel's military actions. (al-Quds 1/28 in WNC 1/29)