The Palestine Chronology

In the Gaza Strip, the Union of Civil Servants announces that all govt. employees will go on strike on 12/11, and that school workers will strike on 12/14, in protest of the PA unity govt.’s failure to pay civil servants in Gaza who were hired after Hamas came to power in 2007. An IDF tank stationed along the border e. of al-Bureij r.c. fires on agricultural land, causing damage. Hours later, 4 IDF tanks and 3 armored bulldozers cross the border fence in e. Gaza, leveling land and firing live ammunition toward Palestinian property. In the West Bank, IDF troops detain 2 Palestinians as they approach the Tekoa settlement nr. Bethlehem. Israeli forces confiscate 3 Palestinian-owned tractors while patrolling in a bedouin village in the n. Jordan Valley. They also stop work on a UN Development Program project nr. Salfit, detain 2 Palestinian workers, and confiscate 1 tractor. The IDF conducts house searches and arrest raids nr. Ramallah, Hebron, Tulkarm, and Jenin. Israeli settlers cut the wires to 4 electricity poles and chop down several olive trees nr. Burin village s. of Nablus, clearing the area for the expansion of 2 nearby settlements. In East Jerusalem, Israeli police raid the Silwan home of Ahmad al-Ghoul, head of the Fatah Youth Movement in Jerusalem, and arrest him. He was recently attacked by Israeli settlers on 11/21. Israeli authorities deliver demolition notices to several residences and commercial buildings in Silwan, al-Tur, Issawiyya, and Jabal Mukabir. Israeli police detain 2 Palestinian women at Haram al-Sharif. They also conduct arrest raids around East Jerusalem; deliver demolition notices in Silwan, al-Tur, Issawiyya, and Jabal Mukabir. (IMEMC, JP, MNA, WAFA 12/9; PCHR 12/10)

After threatening a mass action on 12/6, 70 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons launch a hunger strike in protest of Israel’s treatment of a fellow prisoner and its use of solitary confinement. (MNA 12/9; WAFA 12/10)

The Knesset Finance Comm. approves a series of public funds transfers, including PM Netanyahu’s 12/8 request for around $20 m. to support the West Bank settlements. (AFP, TOI, YA 12/9)

The Lower House of the Irish Parliament unanimously passes a nonbinding res. calling on the Irish govt. to recognize Palestinian statehood, similar to the 1 passed by the Upper House on 10/23. (REU 12/9; HA 12/11)

Off the coast of the Gaza Strip nr. Bayt Lahiya, Israeli naval vessels attack Palestinian fishermen, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts house searches and arrest raids in 1 village each nr. Ramallah and Jenin at night; patrols in 1 village nr. Salfit in the morning, in 2 villages nr. Tulkarm, in Salfit and 1 nearby village, and in Hebron in the afternoon, and in 1 village and al-Fawar r.c. nr. Hebron and in Tulkarm at night. (PCHR 1/9)

U.S. Secy. of State Kerry visits Jordan and Saudi Arabia before returning to Jerusalem, in a day of whistle-stop diplomacy focused on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. In Amman, Kerry meets with Jordan’s King Abdallah II and FM Nasser Judeh, and then with King Abdallah in the Saudi monarch’s desert residence. Following 3 days of talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders, an anonymous Palestinian official says that Kerry demanded Abbas recognize Israel as the Jewish homeland, in exchange for Israel’s acceptance of its pre-1967 borders as the basis for talks. Meanwhile, Israeli FM Lieberman tells a meeting of Israeli diplomats that he supports a comprehensive agreement with the Palestinians in the context of U.S.-led negotiations, but also says that he would only accept an agreement including the exchange of land and population, a reference to his longstanding proposal to move a number of Palestinian citizens into a putative Palestinian state. (See document C2 in JPS 171 for extended excerpts of Lieberman’s remarks.) Separately, Israel’s ministerial cmte. on legislation rejects 2 bills proposed by the Labor Party that would have facilitated a two-state solution by placing restrictions on settlement construction and preventing unilateral annexation. (AFP, AP, HA, JP 1/5)

UNRWA workers in the Gaza Strip go on strike over pay and employment conditions, joining West Bank-based UNRWA employees, who went on strike on 12/3. (MNA 1/5)

The Israeli PM’s Office passes responsibility for creating and implementing govt. development plans for the Bedouin communities in the Negev to the Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry. Until now, the legislative measure set to codify the Prawer Plan was being overseen by former minister Benny Begin. (ToI 1/3; ToI 1/5)

In the Gaza Strip, IDF troops conduct a limited incursion nr. Dayr al-Balah to level land close to the border fence. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts house searches and arrest raids in 1 village nr. Hebron and Nablus at night; patrols in 1 village nr. Jericho in the morning, in 1 village nr. Qalqilya in the afternoon, and in 2 villages nr. Hebron, 1 village nr. Ramallah, Qalqilya and Tulkarm at night. Unknown assailants throw a petrol bomb at a Jewish settler’s car nr. Nablus, causing no injuries. (MNA 10/20; PCHR 10/24)

Hamas’s armed wing Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades claims direct responsibility for digging the tunnel under the Gaza-Israel border recently exposed by the IDF. Meanwhile, Israeli authorities open Kerem Shalom border crossing for truckloads of imports including commercial commodities and limited amounts of fuel and gas for domestic use. Construction material is not part of the consignment. (MNA, REU 10/20)

Journalists demonstrate in Ramallah to demand the reopening of the Gaza Strip offices of Ma’an News Agency and Al-Arabiya, which have been shut since the summer. Meanwhile, the PA Public Workers’ Union announces a general strike to begin on Wednesday in all govt. offices in the West Bank, due to an industrial dispute about rising living costs requiring a commensurate increase in wages. (MNA 10/12)

Gunmen shoot dead 3 people including a child outside a Coptic church in Cairo, opening fire on congregation mbrs. as they leave the church. In the Sinai, gunmen attack Egyptian security forces nr. Shaykh Zuweid in the Sinai, injuring 3. Meanwhile, some 3,000 student supporters of ousted pres. Morsi protest in Al-Azhar University, with security forces using tear gas to disperse demonstrators and arresting 11. (AFP, AP, MNA, REU 10/20)

In the Gaza Strip, IDF troops conduct a limited incursion nr. Juhur al-Dik, where they level land close to the border fence and then withdraw. In the West Bank, the IDF injures 5 Palestinians nr. Jalazun r.c. nr. Ramallah during clashes which result from Palestinians trying to stop Jewish settlers throwing stones at cars nr. the camp. The IDF conducts house searches and arrest raids in 2 villages nr. Bethlehem, Qalqilya and 1 nearby village, Nablus, and Jenin r.c. at night. They patrol in al-Fawar r.c. nr. Hebron in the afternoon, and in Tulkarm and 1 nearby village, as well as 1 village nr. Jenin at night. (MNA, WAFA 9/1; PCHR 9/5)

U.S. State Dept. spokesperson Jen Psaki confirms that U.S. peace process envoy Martin Indyk participated in 1 of the sets of meetings between Israelis and Palestinians that have taken place since the resumption of talks in 7/2013 (though without specifying which one). Meanwhile, Palestinian PM Rami Hamdallah says that a 2d group of Palestinian prisoners could be freed by Israel by the end of 9/2013. (JP, REU 9/1)

Secy. of State John Kerry tells U.S. television networks that the govt. has proof sarin gas was used in a recent Damascus chemical weapons attack, urging Congress to vote for military action against the Asad regime. Meanwhile, the Syrian opposition coalition issues a statement asking Congress to approve the strike. In France, Interior Minister Mauel Valls says that his govt. would not go it alone in Syria and will wait for the decision by the U.S. Congress. (AFP, AP, REU 9/1)

Egypt’s chief prosecutor orders ousted pres. Morsi and 14 other Muslim Brotherhood leaders to stand trial on charges including inciting violence and murder. The new regime also names a constituent assembly and gives it 60 days to review amendments that would erase articles brought in by the Brotherhood and other Islamic parties last year. (NYT, REU 9/1)

In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in 1 village nr. Jenin in the afternoon, and in 1 village each nr. Jericho, Ramallah, and Salfit at night; conducts house searches and arrests in 2 villages nr. Hebron in the afternoon, and in 2 villages nr. Salfit and 1 village each nr. Hebron, Qalqilya, Tulkarm, and Aida refugee camp (r.c.) in Bethlehem at night. Schools across the West Bank are on strike to protest the failure of the Palestinian Authority (PA) to pay 1/2013 wages, with a second day of industrial action planned for later in the week. (MNA 2/16; PCHR 2/21)

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu tells Likud ministers that he intends to create a broad coalition following January’s elections in order to advance negotiations with the Palestinians from a position of strength. (AP, HA 2/17)

Israeli security officials visit Cairo for the second time in a week to discuss the regional security situation with Egyptian intelligence officials. Items for discussion include the security situation in Sinai and the indirect talks with Hamas. Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya confirms that the organization is indeed conducting indirect talks with Israel over the details of the cease-fire deal that ended Israel’s Operation Pillar of Defense in 11/2012, including possibly allowing the entry of Qatari-donated construction materials to Gaza and the export of Gaza’s agricultural products to Israel. (MNA, ToI 2/17)

Hizballah forces controlling 8 Syrian border villages expand into other adjacent villages, prompting the fighting between Hizballah fighters and Free Syrian Army rebels in Syrian territory nr. the Lebanese border. (AP, REU 2/17)

The IDF kills 3 Palestinians from a small Islamist resistance group in a morning air strike nr. Bayt Hanun. The armed wing of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) fires Grad rockets from Gaza into Israel, causing no injuries. The IDF also makes a brief morning incursion into s. Gaza nr. Khan Yunis to level land along the border fence. IDF troops on the Gaza border nr. Jabaliya open fire into Gaza, wounding 1 Palestinian. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in 1 village nr. Ramallah in the morning; in Palestinian-controlled areas of Hebron, 1 village nr. Qalqilya, and 1 village nr. Tulkarm in the afternoon; and in 2 villages nr. Tulkarm and 1 village nr. Qalqilya at night. (MNA 9/6; PCHR 9/13)

Palestinians angry at rising prices and cost of living protest in West Bank cities, and taxi drivers observe a strike. One demand of demonstrators is that the PA abolish the 1994 Paris Protocol governing economic relations with Israel, claiming that it disproportionately benefits the latter. Some demonstrations call for the resignation of PA PM Salam Fayyad. (MNA 9/6)

Led by the U.S., NATO forces begin air strikes on military installations of Yugoslavian pres. Slobodan Milosevic to prevent further Serbian attacks on the Kosovo province's ethnic Albanian guerillas, civilians. 13 of NATO's 19 mbr. states participate in this 1st NATO attack on a sovereign state. Russia suspends coordination with NATO in protest. (MM, NYT, WP, WT 3/25, 3/26; al-Quds 3/26, al-Ahram 3/27 in WNC 3/29; MEI 4/9) (see 3/17)

Arafat meets with Canadian PM Jean Chretien in Ottawa. (MM 3/25)

Israeli MK Azmi Bishara announces that he will run for PM even though as an Arab he cannot legally hold the job. (MM, NYT 3/25; YA 3/28 in WNC 3/29; NYT 4/1; JP 4/2; PR 4/6; MEI 5/7)

Fmr. PM Yitzhak Shamir quits the Likud, joins Begin's new right-wing coalition. (NYT, WP 3/25; WP 3/26) (see 3/12)

In Israel, 400,000 unionized government workers go on strike to demand a 14% wage increase. (MM 3/24; MM, NYT 3/25)

Social/Economic/Political

Occupied Palestine/Israel: Israel announces 100 Palestinians will be released from Gazan detention centers and several soldiers will be disciplined for excessive use of force. Commercial strike continues in many E. Jerusalem communities [NYT 1/30]. Nearly 200 demonstrators march in protest at al-Haram al-Sharif; 6 are arrested for incitement and carrying Palestinian flags [WP 1/30].

Other Countries: U.S. Sec. of State Shultz calls for "new blend of approaches" to Middle East peace process. Nimrod Novik and Simha Dinitz, Israeli Foreign Ministry envoys, arrive in Washington [WP 1/30]. U.S. officials state Attorney Gen. Edwin Meese was told of plan to give money to Israeli Labor party in return for assurances Israel would not attack proposed Iraqi oil pipeline [NYT 1/30].

Military Action

Occupied Palestine/Israel: Israeli officials continue to insist that calm is prevailing in occupied territories. UNRWA workers in E. Jerusalem charge at least 50 Palestinians were injured in military raid of Shu'fat [NYT 1/30]. Worshipers leaving mosques in Am'ari and Tulkarm refugee camps clash with soldiers, who use tear gas to disperse crowds; camps are briefly placed under curfew [FBIS 1/29; WP 1/301. In Jerusalem, 6 Palestinians are arrested on charges of raising Palestinian flags, chanting nationalist slogans after prayers on al-Haram al-Sharif [FBIS 1/29]. Troops use tear gas to disperse demonstrators leaving mosques in Ramallah and al-Birah [FBIS 1/29; FJ 1/31]. Military lifts curfews on Bayt 'Ur al-Tahta and Tulkarm and Am'ari camps [FJ 1/31]. Curfew on Sa'ir is lifted [FBIS 1/29].

Social/Economic/Political

Occupied Palestine/Israel: Political activist Mubarak 'Awad defies Israeli deportation order, takes refuge in al-Aqsa Mosque [LAT 11/21]. Al-Fajr and al-Sha'b resume publication [FJ 11/22]. Augusta Victoria Hospital employees hold 1-day strike, demanding higher salaries and better working conditions [FJ 11/22]. Large march in Nazareth protests Iraeli actions in occupied territories [FJ 11/22].

Other Countries: Israeli P. M. Yitzhaq Shamir meets with U.S. Pres. Reagan and Sec. of State Shultz in Washington [LAT 11/21]. Shamir says he is willing to meet Jordan's King Hussein but rejects international peace conference [NYT 11/21].

Military Action

Occupied Palestine/Israel: In Gaza Strip, IDF troops fire live ammunition ad tear gas at demonstrators demanding cancellation of 'Abd al-'Aziz 'Awdah's expulsion order [FJ 11/22].

Social/Economic/Political

Occupied Palestine/Israel: Several W. Bank and Jerusalem Palestinian political activists are arrested, charged with organizing demonstrations [WP 9/17; FJ 9/20]. Bethlehem U. students hold symbolic funeral to commemorate 5th anniversary of Sabra and Shatila massacres [FJ 9/20]. Inner cabinet adopts economic and cultural sanctions against S. Africa [NYT, WP 9/17]. Palestinian political prisoners at Nafha Prison begin 2-day hunger strike to protest conditions; strike at Ashkelon Prison enters 6th week [FJ 9/20]. Authorities arrest 12 Palestinians in occupied territories: 3 are placed under administrative detention for 6 months; 9 receive 9-day detentions for planning strikes, demonstrations [FJ 9/20]. Israeli High Court rules non-striking Palestinian lawyers have right to form union [FJ 9/20]. Al-Najah U. administration adopts new regulations concerning campus mosque, religious celebrations [FJ 9/20]. Israeli authorities confiscate copies of Arabic dailies in the occupied territories [FJ 9/20].

Other Countries: Hasan 'Abd al-Rahman, director of Palestine Information Office in U.S., says he will sue to prevent State Dept.-ordered closure of PIO [LAT 9/18].

Military Action

Arab World: Lebanese National Resistance Front, groups of Syrian-sponsored Palestinian and leftist Lebanese fighters, attack Israeli patrol just north of Israeli border, killing 3 Israelis. Israeli sources allege guerrillas were trying to infiltrate border and take hostages. In Rashayyah, Israeli infantry and helicopters follow group of fighters spotted approaching Israeli border; 3 guerrillas are killed [WP 9/17].

Social/Economic/Political

Occupied Palestine/Israel: P. M. Peres opposes "preliminary talks" between U.S. and joint Jordanian-Palestinian delegation [JP 6/10]. Eleven Palestinian women political prisoners at Neve Tertza prison near Ramleh begin work strike to protest decision to integrate them with criminal prisoners [FJ 6/14]. Women punished by being held in cells 23 hours a day. Israeli military officials announce that starting 6/10 no joumalists will be permitted to enter southern Lebanon from Israel [WP 6/10]. IDF declare Hebron village of Raq'ah closed military area; impose curfew after 6/4 grenade attack on military vehicle [FJ 6/14].

Arab World: At urging of PLO Chairman Arafat, Arab League meets in Tunis to discuss three-week-old crisis [NYT 6/10]; declines to conduct inquiry into massacres of Palestinians in camps [LT 6/10]. Syrian-sponsored peace talks are deadlocked: Palestinians refuse to surrender arms to Amal [LAT 6/10].

Military Action

Occupied Palestine/Israel: Petrol bomb is thrown into Israeli bus in Nablus, West Bank; no injuries. Tourist bus stoned near Hebron. Shots fired at IDF truck in Gaza [JP 6/10].

Arab World: Palestinian fighters in Druzec-ontrolled hills east of Beirut bombard Shi'ite militia attacking three Palestinian camps [NYT 6/10].

SOCIAL/POLITICAL:

Occupied Palestine/lsrael: Israeli military court in Nablus sentences Nayef Sweitat to 9 mos. prison on charges of contact with PLO. Israeli National Insurance Institute releases figures indicating 10% of Israel's population lives below poverty level. Brigadier Shlomo Ilya, head of Israeli "civil administration" in West Bank, resigns in connection with military police investigation of corruption. Israel government workers stage warning strike in support of wage increases; public services, including radio and television broadcasts disrupted. High Court order nisi challenges Gaza military court decision to demolish 24 Palestinian homes in Jabaliya refugee camp.

Arab World: Several leaders of Palestine Liberation Front in Damascus reportedly kidnapped by rival members of PLF.

MILITARY ACTION:

Arab World: Villages from Iqlim al- Kharrub to Souq al-Gharb resist LAF mass arrests and imposition of "mourning curfew" by IDF forces after Saad Haddad's death. 

SOCIAL/POLITICAL:

Occupied Palestine/Israel: Postal workers strike for improved benefits and working conditions. Death penalty conferred on 2 Palestinian men, Maher & Karim Yunis, convicted of killing Israeli soldier in 1980; families maintain confessions were extracted by torture. 6 mo. town arrest order imposed on Khaled Qidra Abd al- Hadi, Deputy General Secretary of Gaza Lawyers Union.

Arab World: Arafat meets with Fateh Central Committee in Sana'a, YAR. Cease-fire called in Beirut; after 3 days fighting, about 60 (mainly Lebanese and Palestinian civilians) killed, 150 wounded. Egyptian foreign affairs advisor says US should open talks with Arafat, calling him "a voice of reason and moderation."

Other Countries: US State Dep't. assails Soviet cut in Jewish emigration as "an unmitigated act of evil."