The Palestine Chronology

The IDF maintains, for a 2d day, the closure of Araqa where 2 Palestinians were killed on 2/14; declares it a closed military zone. They conduct raids in the village, arresting 2 Palestinians. Meanwhile, IDF troops conduct raids in al-Am‘ari r.c. nr. Ramallah, arresting 2 Palestinians and sparking clashes with stonethrowing and armed youths; 42 Palestinians and 1 Israeli soldier are injured. Late at night, they escort 17 busloads of Israelis to Joseph’s Tomb outside Nablus to perform religious rites, sparking more clashes with stone-throwers; there are no serious injuries. Israeli forces demolish 20 residential structures in a village nr. Nablus; deliver stop-work orders to 2 homes under construction in Qalqilya. Throughout the day, the IDF conducts raids and house searches in 2 villages each nr. Jenin and Salfit and 1 nr. Bethlehem, as well as in Qalqilya and Hebron, arresting 11 Palestinians and issuing an arrest summons to 1; patrols in 3 villages nr. Hebron and 1 nr. Tulkarm. Off Gaza’s coast, Israeli naval forces open fire on Palestinian fishing boats nr. Gaza City, causing no damage. Along Gaza’s border, IDF troops open fire on Palestinian farmers nr. Khan Yunis, causing no injuries. Meanwhile, the Egyptian authorities keep the Rafah border crossing open for a 3d and final day. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces assault and arrest a Palestinian youth outside the Old City after they search and find a knife on her person. They also arrest 1 Palestinian on a raid in Issawiyya. (HA, JP, MNA, TOI, WAFA 2/15; TOI 2/16; OCHA, PCHR 2/18)

Palestinian hunger striker al-Qiq refuses an Israeli court offer to transfer him from Emek Medical Center in Afula to a hospital in East Jerusalem, demanding to be treated at a Palestinian hospital in the West Bank. Al-Qiq has been on hunger strike since 11/24, days after he was captured from his Ramallah home and held under administrative detention. (MNA 2/16)

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)

For the 2d day in a row, stabbing incidents continue in Israel and the oPt. First, a Palestinian stabs and injures an Israeli in Shaykh Jarrah, East Jerusalem. In response, Israeli forces raid the suspected attacker’s home in Shu‘fat r.c., sparking clashes with stone-throwers; 1 Palestinian is killed and 42 are injured. Then, as a “preventative measure,” Israeli forces install metal detectors at checkpoints around the Old City. In Tel Aviv, Israeli police shoot and kill a Palestinian after he stabs and lightly injures 4 Israelis, including 1 soldier, and Israeli forces then arrest the suspected attacker’s father and uncle in their home in East Jerusalem. Later, a Palestinian stabs an Israeli soldier and a civilian in Afula (Israeli civilians assault the Palestinian and he is arrested), and another Palestinian stabs and seriously injures an Israeli settler outside the Kiryat Arba settlement nr. Hebron; Israeli forces kill the alleged suspect. In response to the recent attacks, Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat calls on Jewish citizens with gun permits to carry their weapons when in public, saying that it is “like doing reserve duty” due to Israel’s compulsory military service. (HA, JP, MNA, TOI, WAFA, YA 10/8; PCHR 10/15)

Meanwhile, hundreds of right-wing Israelis gather in Jerusalem to protest the Israeli govt.’s alleged inaction, and minor clashes ensue when Israeli police block them from entering Silwan (4 are arrested). In Nazareth, Israeli police violently disperse dozens of Palestinian youths protesting Israeli restrictions on access at Haram al-Sharif, injuring several Palestinians and arresting 16. Meanwhile, dozens of Jewish Israelis attack 3 Palestinian citizens in Netanya, injuring 1 (5 of the assailants will be arrested on 10/10). Clashes erupt between IDF troops and Palestinian protesters across the West Bank, injuring at least 50 Palestinians, including 2 photojournalists (1 Palestinian will succumb to his injuries on 10/10). The IDF patrols across the region, arresting 27 Palestinians and issuing arrest summons to 3. Israeli settlers continue assaulting Palestinians and their property, smashing the car windows of the PA minister of telecommunications nr. Nablus and injuring at least 2 Palestinians throughout the day. (HA, JP, MNA, TOI, WAFA, YA 10/8; MNA, YA 10/9; MNA, PIC, TOI 10/10; PCHR 10/14)

In Gaza, a 30-year-old Palestinian succumbs to injuries sustained in Khan Yunis on 11/8/ 2000, during the 2d intifada, when IDF troops shot him in the back, paralyzing him. (HA, MNA, WAFA 10/8)

The Israeli PM’s office clarifies that the recent ban on politicians’ visits to Haram al-Sharif applies to both Jewish and Palestinian MKs, after the media reported that the ban only applied to Jewish politicians. (HA, JP, NYT, TOI, YA 10/8)

In the Gaza Strip, IDF troops open fire on and wound Palestinians in 2 separate incidents; 1 nr. Khan Yunis, a civilian close to the border fence, and 2 nr. al-Musaddar, hitting a farmer. IDF troops also conduct a limited incursion in the c. Gaza Strip to level land close to the border fence. In Israel, a Palestinian from Jenin stabs to death an Israeli soldier on a bus in Afula, later telling investigators that he was motivated to avenge the imprisonment of his relatives. In the West Bank, the IDF shoots and injures a Palestinian with live ammunition during clashes nr. Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem. The IDF conducts house searches and arrest raids in 1 village nr. Jenin in the afternoon (that of the killer of an IDF solider on the bus), and in Hebron and 2 nearby villages, and 2 villages nr. Jenin at night; patrols in 1 village nr. Hebron in the morning, Hebron and 1 nearby village in the afternoon. Jewish settlers set fire to a Palestinian home nr. Ramallah and leave “price-tag” graffiti, in reference to the earlier killing of an Israeli soldier. (HA, MNA 11/13; PCHR 11/14)

The Palestinian negotiating team resign in protest at Israeli settlement construction, Pres. Abbas announces. Negotiator Mohammed Shtayyeh says that the move had not yet been accepted by Abbas. An unnamed Palestinian official says that there are no immediate plans for new peace talks, in light of the development. In response, U.S. State Dept. spokesperson Jen Psaki notes that Abbas remains committed to a 9-month time frame peace process. Meanwhile, the Knesset Finance Cmte. authorizes NIS 36 million by way of compensation to settler councils for the 2009 construction freeze. (AFP, HA, MNA, REU 11/13)

U.S. Secy. of State Kerry and VP Joe Biden brief the Senate Banking Cmte. and ask them to hold back on new sanctions targeting Tehran to allow talks with Iran to proceed in a productive atmosphere. (AP 11/13)

IDF undercover units assassinate AMB Tulkarm cmdr. Fayiz Jabber , also killing a 2d AMB mbr., wounding 8 bystanders. In Hebron, the IDF conducts arrest raids targeting the AMB, raiding and searching 3 police stations, several homes and offices (including the Hebron governate, al-Quds university, Islamic charities), closing radio and TV stations, bulldozing stalls in the Hebron market, blocking roads with earthen barriers. The IDF also fatally shoots 3 Palestinians allegedly attempting to fire a Qassam missile into Israel; demolishes 5 Palestinian homes, a sports center, 2 wells serving 1,000s of Palestinians in Rafah, damaging 27 homes; demolishes a Palestinian home in Tamun, sparking clashes with local Palestinians, injuring 17; bulldozes 31 dunams of land in Dayr al-Balah; fires on residential areas of Jabaliya, Khan Yunis; conducts arrest raids in Dayr al-Balah. An Israeli court sentences 2 Israeli Arabs fr. Nazareth to 5 yrs. in prison for plotting to smuggle arms, stage a suicide bombing in Afula. (HA 1/30; HA 1/31; LAW, PCHR, PR 2/5)

The IDF makes a failed assassination attempt on wanted Hamas mbrs. Muhammad Abu Shammala, Ra’id al-Attar, firing missiles fr. a helicopter at their car as they drive past a hospital in Khan Yunis, killing 2 Palestinian bystanders, wounding 1; the wanted men escape unharmed. 2 Palestinian gunmen infiltrate Moshav Gadish nr. Afula, inside Israel, killing 1 Israeli civilian, wounding 1 civilian, 3 border police, before being killed by police. Nr. the s. Negev town of Nitzana, 3 gunmen infiltrate the Israeli border, fatally shooting 1 Israeli, wounding 3, before 2 gunmen are shot dead by IDF troops and 1 escapes; the IDF says the gunmen may have come fr. Egypt. A senior Islamic Jihad mbr. is killed, a 2d Islamic Jihad mbr. is wounded in a mysterious explosion in a home in Nussayrat r.c.; the IDF claims they were building a bomb. A 12-yr.-old Palestinian dies of injuries received on 12/24/02. The IDF also bulldozes 10 dunams of land n. of Rafah; occupies an empty house nr. Dayr al-Balah, demolishes a nearby poultry farm. Jewish settler guards escorting an oil tanker nr. Hebron fatally shoot 1 Palestinian. Palestinian children playing in Askar r.c. accidentally trigger unexploded IDF ordnance, leaving 4 of them injured. In response to raids on Bayt Hanun, Khan Yunis on 1/11, Hamas fires 3 mortars (possibly Qassam rockets) at the Negev town of Sederot, injuring 2 Israelis “very lightly.” Palestinians in Gaza note that there has been a sharp increase in the cost of fuel (up 9%) and basic foodstuffs (flour up 53%, cooking oil up 24%, bread up 17%) since 1/1/03; urge the PA to subsidize prices. Hamas spiritual leader Shaykh Ahmad Yasin says Hamas will consider kidnapping Israelis to hold them in exchange for the release of Hamas mbrs. in Israeli custody. (HA, PCHR 1/12; LAW, MM, NYT, PCHR, WP 1/13; HA 1/14; LAW, MM, PCHR 1/15)

Israel backs off plans to expel to Gaza 21 male relatives of suspected Palestinian militants (see 7/19). Sharon tells his cabinet that he will abide by Atty. Gen. Rubinstein's ruling that family mbrs. would have to have been directly involved in supporting the attacks in order to be deported. A small remote controlled bomb explodes underneath a commuter train in Rehovat nr. Tel Aviv, slightly injuring the driver; no one takes responsibility. The IDF conducts arrest raids in Jenin; fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis. A Jewish settler driving in Hebron deliberately runs over a Palestinian man, seriously injuring him. (MM, NYT, WT 7/22; MM 7/23; PCHR 7/24; LAW 7/31)

Sharon, Housing M Natan Sharansky announce plans to create 14 new Jewish localities in the Negev and Galilee to strengthen Jewish control of the land, create a security buffer btwn. Jenin and Afula (the site of numerous Palestinian attacks). (HA 7/22; Between the Lines 8/02)

A Palestinian suicide bomber detonates a device in an Afula bus station, injuring 1 patrolman, when he is stopped by Israeli police for a security check. The IDF conducts arrest raids into Tulkarm, Zabuna nr. Jenin; shells residential areas nr. Khan Yunis. (MM 5/20; NYT, WT 5/21; LAW 5/22)

Israeli-Palestinian violence continues to escalate, leaving 1 Israeli civilian, 1 Jewish settler, at least 6 Palestinians dead. A package bomb planted by a Jewish vigilante group called Revenge of the Innocent Babes (in reference to the 3/2 Beit Israel attack) explodes on a playground at a Palestinian school in East Jerusalem, injuring 2 teachers, 24 children. In response to the 3/4 AMB attack in Tel Aviv, IDF F-16s rocket Palestinian targets across Gaza and in Bethlehem, Nablus, Ramallah, Tulkarm; helicopters fire a missile at a car in Ramallah, killing 3 Palestinians, including 2 wanted AMB members, Muhannad Abu Halawa and Fawzi Murrar. The IDF also makes incursions into Palestinian areas nr. Bayt Lahia, Jabaliya, Khan Yunis, Tamun; direct shells, heavy machine gun fire at residential areas of Bethlehem, al-Khadir, Qalqilya; demolishes greenhouses in Issawiyya. Nr. Gush Etzion settlement, Palestinian gunmen fire on a Jewish settler vehicle, killing 1 settler. A Palestinian suicide bomber detonates a devices on a bus in Afula, Israel, killing 1 Israeli. Palestinians also launch 2 Qassam-2s fr. Gaza into Israel, for the 1st time hitting an apartment building in Sederot, injuring 2 children. Jewish settlers attack a PSF post in Qalqilya, stone a Palestinian car nr. Ramallah. (HP, MM 3/5; XIN 3/5 in WNC 3/6; LAW, MM, NYT, PCHR, PMC, WP, WT 3/6; MA 3/6 in WNC 3/7; AYM 3/7 in WNC 3/8; MEI 3/8; JP 3/15)

     Sharon convenes his inner cabinet, then his full cabinet to discuss how to respond to the 3/4 Tel Aviv attack. Participants reportedly debate launching massive "mopping-up" operations in refugee camps, incursions into a list of villages in areas A and B, escalating attacks on Ramallah (including removing Arafat). The cabinet gives the IDF "free rein to further intensify military pressure on the PA, especially in Ramallah," bars all Palestinian vehicular traffic in the West Bank. (MM 3/5; NYT, PMC, WP, WT 3/6) quote in PMC 3/6

In Afula, Israel, 2 Palestinian gunmen (1 fr. Islamic Jihad, 1 fr. the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade [AMB]) open fire on a crowd, killing 2 Israelis, wounding 14 before being shot dead. Sharon, taking U.S. envoys Burns and Zinni on a helicopter tour of the West Bank and Gaza at the time, redirects the chopper to overfly the scene of the attack. Later, a Palestinian sniper fatally shoots a Jewish settler driving in Gaza, wounds 3 others, is then killed by the IDF. The PA condemns the attacks; PA head Yasir Arafat issues a statement pledging to make a "100% effort" toward achieving a cease-fire. Meanwhile, the IDF steps up strikes on residential areas of Khan Yunis; tightens access to Jerusalem. (HP, MM 11/27; AP, HA, MM, NYT, WP, WT 11/28; AFP, AYM, al-Quds 11/28 in WNC 11/29; JP 12/7)