The Palestine Chronology

In the West Bank, IDF troops clash with residents in Aida r.c. nr. Bethlehem, causing no serious injuries. At night, the IDF conducts house searches and arrest raids in Hebron and 4 nearby villages, 1 village each nr. Jenin and Ramallah, and in Nablus; patrols in 6 villages nr. Nablus and 2 villages each nr. Hebron and Ramallah. (PCHR 1/16)

PA security forces clash with residents outside Jalazun r.c. nr. Ramallah, leaving more than 100 demonstrators and 40 police officers wounded. The confrontations begin when police try to reopen roads blocked as part of protests against the UNRWA employees’ strike that began 12/3. (HA, REU 1/12)

U.S. Secy. of State Kerry meets with Arab League foreign ministers in Paris to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Those attending include PA FM Riad al-Maliki, along with the foreign ministers of Bahrain, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Egypt, and Morocco. (JP, ToI 1/12)

PM Netanyahu visits Israeli self-declared security zone in s. Lebanon; warns that continued attacks by Hizballah could trigger strong Israeli retaliation. Hrs. later, 1 SLA mbr. is killed by roadside bomb. (MM 8/20; RL 8/20 in WNC 8/23; WT 8/21; RMC 8/21 in WNC 8/27) (see 8/16)

In Beirut, Pres. Ilyas Hrawi, Kuwait's Shaykh Sabah discuss peace process, Arab unity. (RL 8/19 in WNC 8/22)

After receiving notices that their land lies in area C and has been designated a military area, Israel demolishes 4 50-yr.-old Palestinian homes nr. Nablus. (LAWE 8/21)

Israeli Housing Min. drafts plan to approve construction of 5,000 new housing units in the West Bank, along the Green Line, over next 2 yrs.; increase West Bank settler population by 70,000 over next 5 yrs. (IDF Radio 8/19 in WNC 8/22; WT 8/21; MM 8/28; JP 8/31)

In the Golan, Israeli police arrest Human Rights Watch worker Bashar Tarabiyya, a U.S. resident, on suspicion that he threatened national security, engaged in pro-Syrian activity. (MM 9/23, 9/27; JP 9/7)

Jordanian security forces round up 100s of people around the country following 3 days of bread riots. 500 have been arrested in Karak alone. Opposition leaders call on PM `Abd al-Karim Kabariti to resign. (JTV, RJ, RMC 8/19, al-Ra`i 8/20 in WNC 8/22; MM, WP 8/20; MEI 9/6) (see 9/18)

Iraq calls on Turkey, Syria to resume as soon as possible tripartite talks on distribution of the Euphrates, Tigris waters, halted since 1992. (Mother of Battles Radio [Baghdad] 8/19 in WNC 8/22) (see 6/30)

FBI announces plans to open 23 new offices around the world--incl. in Ankara, Cairo, Riyadh, Tel Aviv--that will focus on combatting terrorism, drug trafficking that affects the U.S. (WP 8/20)