The Palestine Chronology

In the Gaza Strip, the 72-hour cease-fire ends at 8:00 A.M. local time and hostilities resume. The IDF continues its assault with aerial and naval bombardment, killing 5 Palestinians. The IAF strikes around 50 targets across Gaza. Armed Palestinian groups fire dozens of rockets into Israel, attacks claimed by Islamic Jihad and the PRC, injuring 3. In the West Bank, IDF troops shoot and kill a Palestinian during clashes nr. Psagot settlement close to Ramallah. IDF troops also shoot a Palestinian in clashes nr. Hebron, who later dies of his injuries. In the clashes, 25 are injured with live ammunition and 15 with rubber-coated metal bullets. There are further clashes in Safa village nr. Ramallah, where IDF troops shoot and injure 7 Palestinians, as well as outside Ofer prison, where IDF troops injure 6 Palestinians. IDF troops violently disperse Palestinian, Israeli, and international protesters at weekly demonstrations against Israel’s separation wall, settlements, and occupation in 3 villages nr. Ramallah (Bil‘in, Nabi Salih, and Ni‘lin), and 1 village nr. Qalqilya (Kafr Qaddum). There are no serious injuries, except in Kafr Qaddum, where 4 are injured by live ammunition. The IDF patrols in 3 villages nr. Ramallah and 2 villages nr. Jericho during the day. (AFP, AP, HA, JP, MNA, REU, YA 8/8; PCHR 8/9)

Egyptian officials call for a resumption of the cease-fire, saying that only a few points remain to be agreed, but Israeli officials say that they are unprepared to negotiate under fire. Israeli officials accuse Hamas of firing a few rockets before the cease-fire even ended. (AFP, AP, HA, JP, MNA, REU, YA 8/8)

In the Gaza Strip, Palestinians fire 18 rockets into s. Israel, causing no damage or injuries except where 2 houses are hit by shrapnel. Two of the rockets are intercepted by Iron Dome missile defense batteries. According to Israeli officials, Hamas activists were involved in this barrage, making it the 1st time the organization has participated in rocket fire since the 11/2012 cease-fire. IDF troops conduct air strikes on 34 targets across the Gaza Strip, hitting training sites of al-Qassam Brigades, Islamic Jihad, and the PRC, and agricultural areas, killing 1, injuring 4, and causing damage. Off the coast nr. Bayt Lahiya, Israeli naval forces shell an open area on the coast, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts house searches and arrest raids in Hebron and 1 nearby village at night; patrols in 2 villages nr. Ramallah and 1 village nr. Hebron at night. Israeli settlers attack a Palestinian in Hebron, wounding him. Separately, settlers vandalize 12 olive trees nr. Hebron. In East Jerusalem, Israeli security forces shoot and wound 2 Palestinians with rubber-coated metal bullets during clashes nr. Haram al-Sharif. The confrontations begin after restrictions are placed on worshippers’ access to the area while right-wing Jewish activists are allowed to enter. (AP, HA, IMEMC, JP, MNA 6/30; PCHR 7/3)

Israeli security forces locate the bodies of the 3 Israeli settler teenagers nr. Hebron, not far from where they were kidnapped (on 6/12) and killed. PM Netanyahu and DM Ya’alon propose that the response to the killing of the teens should include a wave of settlement construction. Netanyahu also addresses the increased tensions in Gaza and s. Israel, saying “either Hamas will stop the rocket fire or we will.” Hamas spokesperson Abu Zuhri says that if Israel attacks Hamas in Gaza, “they will open the gates of hell on themselves,” adding that Hamas does not “want any military confrontation with Israel, but if it will be forced on us it will look like in previous rounds.” Meanwhile, U.S. Pres. Barack Obama issues a statement expressing his condolences to the families of the murdered Israeli youth, calls on Israel and the PA to cooperate to bring the guilty parties to justice, and urges all sides to exercise restraint to prevent further destabilization. (AFP, HA, JP, MNA, REU 6/30)

In the Gaza Strip, an IDF drone strikes a target nr. Dayr al-Balah, killing a mbr. of Hamas’s armed wing, al-Qassam Brigades. Meanwhile, the IDF strikes 12 other, separate targets across the Gaza Strip, causing damage and 3 injuries to civilians. The air strikes hit military training facilities belonging to al-Qassam Brigades, Islamic Jihad, and the PRC, as well as a concrete factory. In addition, IDF troops shell agricultural lands close to the border fence nr. Khan Yunis, causing no damage or injuries. Off the coast of Khan Yunis, Israeli naval forces open fire on Palestinian fishermen, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, IDF troops level land nr. Salfit and destroy dozens of olive trees. The IDF conducts house searches and arrest raids in 1 village nr. Bethlehem; patrols in 2 villages nr. Ramallah and 1 village each nr. Bethlehem and Jericho at night. Israeli settlers attack Palestinian-owned agricultural land nr. Beitar Ilit, destroying crops. (HA, JP, MNA, REU, WAFA 6/29; PCHR 7/2)

Israeli PM Netanyahu says his country is “ready to expand” the operation in Gaza, in comments at the weekly cabinet meeting. Meanwhile, the PRC in Gaza claims responsibility for rocket fire, which it describes as “retaliation to the Israeli crimes against our Palestinian people in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and the ongoing violations against prisoners.” (AFP, MNA, ToI 6/29)

In the Gaza Strip, an Egyptian-brokered truce between Israel and Islamic Jihad is secured. A leader of the Palestinian group, Khaled al-Batsh, writes on Facebook that “intensive Egyptian contacts and efforts” mean a restoration of “the agreement for calm . . . in accordance with understandings reached [on 11/21/12] in Cairo,” a reference to the end of Operation Pillar of Defense. Hamas Dep. FM Ghazi Hamad says that Egypt deliberately ignored the govt. in Gaza and communicated directly with Islamic Jihad, a claim corroborated by an anonymous Egyptian security official. Following the cease-fire, the Popular Resistance Cmte. (PRC) fires 8 rockets into s. Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In response, the Israeli air force conducts air strikes against 4 sites in Rafah and Jabaliya, targeting a PRC training camp and Izzeddin alQassam Brigades sites, causing damage but no injuries, except in Rafah, where 3 civilians are injured. In the West Bank, IDF troops wound 2 Palestinians during a clash with mourners at a funeral in Bayt Umar nr. Hebron. The IDF conducts house searches and arrest raids in 1 village nr. Qalqilya in the afternoon; patrols in 3 villages, al-‘Arub r.c. and al-Fawar r.c. nr. Hebron at night. (AFP, HA, MNA, REU, WAFA 13/3; PCHR 3/20)

Israeli science minister Yaakov Peri says that unless Palestinians agree to an extension of peace talks, it would be difficult for Israel to go ahead with a scheduled 4th prisoner release. Israeli FM Lieberman says that “negotiations should be extended to the end of the year at least.” Separately, Israeli authorities approve construction permits for 387 housing units in Ramat Shlomo settlement in East Jerusalem, part of the 1,500 unit-plan approved in 2/2012 by the Jerusalem municipality. Meanwhile, U.S. Secy. of State Kerry tells the House Foreign Relations Cmte. that PM Netanyahu’s insistence on a public statement of recognition from the Palestinians of Israel as a Jewish state is “a mistake.” (AIC, AFP 3/13; JP 3/14)

Obama Middle East adviser Dennis Ross and acting U.S. special envoy to the Middle East peace process David Hale arrive in the region for 2 days of mtgs. with Israeli and Palestinian officials regarding the Palestinian statehood bid and a possible Quartet plan to revive negotiations. As they meet first with Israeli pres. Benjamin Netanyahu and DM Barak, U.S. secy. of state Hillary Clinton phones Abbas, urging him to “work hard with us to avoid a negative scenario in New York at the end of the month.” (AFP, Bloomberg, NYT 9/6; WP 9/7)

\Overnight, unidentified Palestinians fire a Qassam rocket fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In retaliation, the IDF carries out an air strike on a suspected weapons depot in Gaza, causing no reported injuries. Later in the day, the IDF makes a brief incursion into s. Gaza nr. Khan Yunis, exchanging fire with PRC mbrs., causing no initial injuries; when the PRCs. fire mortars toward soldiers, the IDF replies with gunfire fr. a helicopter, killing 1 PRC mbr. and wounding 3 bystanders. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in 1 village nr. Tulkarm. (IFM 9/6; NYT 9/7; PCHR 9/8; OCHA 9/9)

As OCL enters day 6, Israel announces that it will allow 443 foreign passportholders living in Gaza (mostly the spouses and children of Gazan Palestinians, including U.S., Russian, Moldovan, Ukrainian, Turkish, and Norwegian passport-holders) to leave on 1/2, raising concerns that a major ground incursion into Gaza is imminent.

Israeli actions: The IDF continues air strikes and naval bombardment of Gaza, hitting at least 70 targets and carrying out at least 40 air strikes. Primary targets include the PA parliament building, Justice Min., Education Min., the headquarters of the PA presidency in Gaza City, homes of several other Hamas and PRC cmdrs., tunnels on the Rafah border, suspected weapons depots, 2 mosques in Jabaliya r.c., a fishing harbor w. of Khan Yunis, a water reservoir in Bayt Hanun. Target areas include Abasan, Bani Suhayla, Bayt Hanun, al-Bureij r.c., Gaza City, Jabaliya, Khan Yunis, al-Maghazi r.c., Nussayrat, al-Qarara, Rafah, Tal al-Za‘atar. By day’s end, the Palestinian toll is at least 412 dead.

Palestinian actions: Palestinians fire 59 rockets (at least 10 of them fired by Islamic Jihad) and 1 mortar into Israel, with 1 longrange rocket hitting an apartment building in Ashdod (causing heavy damage but no major injuries) and 3 in open areas outside Beersheba (causing no damage or injuries). Beersheba municipal official Shimon Krief says that city emergency workers received only 18 calls from concerned citizens during incoming rocket warnings today, stating “People are relaxed.” Beersheba hospital reports that since the city first came under rocket fire on 12/30, it has treated 10 Israelis for moderate physical injuries and 154 for stress, adding that “with each attack, we’ve gotten significantly fewer patients.”

Humanitarian notes: Israel allows 60 trucks of humanitarian aid into Gaza. The International Comm. of the Red Cross (ICRC) warns that humanitarian needs are growing sharply despite the limited entry of aid, noting severe shortages of water, cooking gas, electricity. Israeli human rights groups issue an appeal to DM Barak to restore fuel shipments to Gaza to allow proper functioning of hospitals, water services, and so on.

Of note: Air strikes today include an attack on the home of Hamas’s Nizar Rayyan, a cleric and chief liaison btwn. Hamas’s political and military wings, in a densely populated residential area inside Jabaliya r.c., assassinating him and killing his 4 wives and 11 of his 12 children, causing heavy damage to surrounding buildings; Rayyan is the most senior Hamas official to be killed since Israel assassinated Abd al-‘Aziz Rantisi in 2004 and one of the only Hamas figures who has not gone into hiding since OCL began. (AFP, AP, BBC, HA, IDF, REU 1/1; Bloomberg, HA, ITV, NYT, REU, WP, WT 1/2; IDF 1/3; NYT, WP 1/4; MM, QA 1/6; IFM, PCHR 1/8)

The IDF seals the West Bank through 1/3, citing unspecified security concerns. IDF troops at Ni‘lin checkpoint fire rubbercoated steel bullets, percussion grenades, tear gas at mbrs. of a funeral procession that refuses to lower a Palestinian flag while going through the crossing, injuring 2 Palestinians; 1 tear gas canister lands inside a nearby Palestinian home, sparking a fire that guts the 1st floor. (IDF 1/2; PCHR 1/8)

The IDF sets up another artillery battery nr. Kerem Shalom outside the s. Gaza Strip; conducts air strikes on a car nr. Rafah assassinating wanted senior PRC military cmdr. Iyad Abu al-‘Aynayn and 3 other PRC mbrs., also killing ‘Aynayn’s 5-yr.-old son, a young bystander, and wounding at least 14 bystanders, including ‘Aynayn’s 7-yr.- old daughter; steps up shelling across Gaza, particularly around Gaza City, including nr. Abbas’s presidential compound where he is currently staying (no injuries reported); blows up a Palestinian home in Hebron allegedly used for manufacturing explosives; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Balata r.c. (firing on stone-throwing youths who confront the troops, wounding 2), nr. Jenin. After Palestinians fire a rocket fr. n. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries; the IDF shells n. Gaza, injuring 4 Palestinians nr. Bayt Hanun, Bayt Lahiya. Jewish settlers fr. Avraham Avino occupy a Palestinian house in Hebron, evicting the Palestinian residents (the IDF observes but does not intervene); the settlers claim to have purchased the building, but the Palestinian owners deny this; the Israeli Civil Administration says it is reviewing the claim. Jewish settlers fr. Elon Moreh beat a 73-yr.-old Palestinian farmer working on his land in nearby Salim. (AFP, HA, YA 4/7; Guardian, HA, NYT, WP 4/8; VOP 4/8 in WNC 4/9; PCHR 4/9; PCHR 4/13)

Senior PRC cmdr. Abu Yusuf Abu Quka (allied with Hamas) is killed in a car bombing in Gaza City; the PRCs blame PA security forces linked to Fatah (specifically to Gaza strongman and PC mbr. Muhammad Dahlan) in collaboration with Israel; the IDF denies involvement. Clashes erupt btwn. PRC mbrs., PA security forces allied with Dahlan at Abu Quka’s funeral later in the day, leaving 3 Palestinians dead, 35 wounded. In light of the 3/30 bombing, the IDF tightens restrictions on Palestinian movement in the n. West Bank, barring Palestinians ages 15–32 fr. crossing checkpoints in the Nablus area; carries out early morning air strikes, fires 10s of shells fr. naval vessels at the n. Gaza no-go zone, a soccer stadium in Gaza City, causing damage to a number of homes but no injuries; makes late-night F-16 air strikes on a hotel under construction nr. Bayt Lahiya, partially destroying it; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Hebron (violently beating a 78-yr.-old Palestinian woman), nr. Nablus. Some 40 Jewish settlers fr. Elon Moreh nr. Nablus (including 2 off-duty IDF soldiers) beat, fire on Palestinian farmers working their fields nr. Salim. (AFP, REU 3/31; HA, JAZ, NYT, WP, WT 4/1; XIN 4/2 in WNC 4/3; MM 4/5; MM, PCHR 4/6; HA 4/16)

An IDF drone fires on 4 PRC mbrs. launching rockets nr. Rafah towards the Kerem Shalom crossing into Israel; all 4 are wounded; the rockets cause no damage or injuries. The IDF extends the seal on the West Bank and Gaza (imposed on 3/11) through 3/19; fatally shoots 1 Palestinian, wounds 3 who stray close to the separation wall west of Ramallah; patrols in Tulkarm; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Balata r.c., in and around Hebron, and nr. Bethlehem (also raiding the offices of the Women’s Purity Association, destroying furniture, computers), Qalqilya. Jewish settlers fire on, toss hand grenades at a group of Palestinians in Awarta nr. Nablus, wounding 3. Palestinians across the West Bank, Gaza observe a general strike to protest the IDF’s 3/14 raid on Jericho; those protesting in Ramallah clash with IDF soldiers who fatally shoot 1 Palestinian. Palestinian gunmen release the last 4 foreigners kidnapped on 3/14. Palestinians fire rockets fr. n. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. (AFP, JAZ, MM 3/15; IMEMC, NYT, PCHR, WP, WT 3/16; PCHR 3/23)

In Gaza, 1 AMB mbr., 1 PRC mbr. are fatally shot when they jointly attack the IDF post at the Erez crossing with gunfire and grenades, causing no injuries; the IDF shuts the Erez crossing in response. The IDF also fatally shoots a Palestinian laying a roadside bomb nr. the n. Gaza border fence; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem, in Nablus, in and around Hebron. In Gaza City, unidentified Palestinian gunmen ambush, kidnap Egyptian military attache Hussam al-Musali ´ ; no group claims responsibility or issues demands; Hamas denounces the action. The PA releases 39 Islamic Jihad prisoners, 7 AMB mbrs. held in its Jericho jail since arrest sweeps following the 12/5/05 Islamic Jihad suicide bombing in Netanya. (IMEMC, XIN 2/9; NYT 2/10; PCHR 2/16; AFP 2/22)

The IDF reopens the Erez and Sufa crossings into Gaza (closed on 1/18); launches missiles at a car in Gaza City, assassinating PRC mbr. Mahmud ‘Abd al-A‘al, wounding 2 other PRC mbrs. and 3 bystanders; fires on 3 Palestinian teenagers approaching the Gaza border fence nr. Bureij r.c., wounding 1; fires shells fr. naval vessels at the Rafah shore, causing no damage or injuries; arrests Change and Reform candidate Muhammad Totah campaigning in East Jerusalem; bars an Alternative candidate fr. entering Jerusalem to attend a campaign rally; raids the East Jerusalem campaign offices of independent candidate ‘Abd alLatif Ghaith and 9 campaign workers; conducts patrols in Rujib nr. Nablus, Zabbuba nr. Jenin (firing on residential areas); conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron, Jenin, Ramallah and in Nur al-Shams r.c., Tulkarm, Qalqilya, Qitna n. of Jerusalem. (AFP, HA, JP 1/22; NYT, WP 1/23; PCHR 1/26)

The IDF assassinates senior Hamas military cmdr. Thabit Ayadi, fatally shooting him in a raid on Tulkarm, also arresting 3 Palestinians, raiding 10s of homes; demolishes 2 Palestinian homes nr. Bethlehem, 1 nr. Nablus; conducts arrest raids, house searches in al-Fawwar r.c., Hebron, Nablus, Ramallah. In retaliation, PRC mbrs. fire 2 rockets at the Sufa crossing into Gaza, causing no damage or injuries. The IDF also sends 100s of reinforcements to Hebron, where confrontations continue with Jewish settlers protesting their planned eviction fr. the Hebron market; several settlers are arrested. (AFP, HA, IMEMC, YA 1/17; IMEMC, NYT 1/18; PCHR 1/19)

Israeli authorities bulldoze 7 Palestinian buildings in unrecognized villages in the Negev for being built without permits, present bedouin with orders to demolish another 40 structures, including a mosque. (Palestine News Agency [WAFA] 1/18)

Senior Abu Rish Brigades (ARB) leader Khalid Abu Sitta is killed, 3 bystanders are wounded when his car mysteriously explodes nr. Khan Yunis; ARB claims it is an assassination, but the IDF denies involvement. Palestinians fire 2 mortars fr. Gaza towards Israel, causing no damage or injuries. The IDF fires 3 missiles at a rocket launching site nr. Khan Yunis, causing no damage or injuries; fires a missile at the main Rafah–Khan Yunis road, creating large crater; fatally shoots a PRC mbr. laying a roadside bomb nr. Erez crossing; fatally shoots 1 Palestinian, wounds a 2d who attempts to sneak into Israel fr. Bayt Lahiya to find work; fires on, wounds a mentally handicapped Palestinian who strays close to the Israeli border nr. Khan Yunis; fires on residential areas of Kafr al-Labad nr. Tulkarm, wounding, arresting, evacuating to an Israeli hospital a member of the PA security forces; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Issawiyya, Tulkarm (shooting and wounding a wanted Islamic Jihad mbr.) and nr. Hebron, Jenin. In response to the AMB–Islamic Jihad drive-by shooting on 12/16, the IDF closes some 50 roads in Hebron with sand barriers, blocks the main northern and southern entrances to Hebron with cement barriers. Jewish settlers fr. Yitzhar cut down more than 150 Palestinian olive trees nr. Nablus. (BBC, HA, IMEMC, NYT 12/18; AFP 12/19; PLO press release 12/21; PCHR 12/22)

The IDF assassinates senior AMB mbr. Iyad Qaddas, firing a missile at a house where he is staying in Jabaliya r.c.; a 2d AMB mbr., Iyad Najjar, is killed and 1 AMB mbr. and 5 bystanders are wounded. Following the assassination, the PRC (firing rockets), IDF (responding with artillery and air strikes) trade heavy fire across the n. Gaza border, leaving 4 Palestinian civilians wounded. The IDF also demolishes 3 Palestinian homes, 2 shops nr. Jenin; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Ramallah (including arresting the mayor of Bayt Laqia, who is a Hamas mbr.), nr. Tulkarm and in Bethlehem, Hebron, Jenin, Nablus, Tubas; confiscates 10 d. of Palestinian land east of Bethlehem for construction of an IDF post. At the Qalandia checkpoint outside Ramallah, an AMB mbr. fatally stabs an IDF soldier, is arrested; the IDF immediately seals the crossing until further notice. PA police raid some 40 Palestinian homes in Hebron and Tubas, arresting more than 10 Islamic Jihad mbrs. in connection with the 12/5 Netanya bombing; Islamic Jihad denounces the raids and warns the PA against becoming an “arm of Israel,” while the AMB and PRCs warn that they will not renew the unilateral truce at the end of the yr. if the arrest campaign continues. (Israeli FMin. press release, XIN, YA 12/8; AFP, BBC, HA, JAZ, NYT, PCHR, REU, WP, WT, XIN, YA 12/9; HA 12/10; PCHR 12/15)

Islamic Jihad announces that it will halt all rocket attacks fr. n. Gaza if Israel pledges to cease targeting its mbrs. Hrs. later, the IDF raids a house in Qabatya, assassinating Islamic Jihad mbrs. Jihad Zakarna and Arshad Abu Zayd, also wounding at least 7 bystanders; Islamic Jihad retaliates by firing at least 2 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. The IDF also sets up 2 new artillery positions outside n. and s. Gaza to deter rocket fire; opens the Rafah checkpoint for several hrs. to allow Palestinians making the hajj to leave for Saudi Arabia. Shin Bet reports that it has detained 3 PRC “rocket engineers” in the Negev on their way fr. Gaza to the West Bank. In Ramallah, PA police fire in the air to disperse 60 Islamic Jihad mbrs. protesting outside Abbas’s residence against the PA’s arrest of 4 fellow mbrs. earlier in the wk. Jewish settlers fr. Elon Moreh severely beat a 73-yr.-old Palestinian man walking nr. the settlement. (AFP, HA, IMEMC, XIN, YA 10/30; HA, NYT, WP 10/31; PCHR 11/10)

Overnight, the IDF conducts air strikes on the home of PRC mbr. ‘Amr Qarmut in Jabaliya r.c. in what may be an assassination attempt (causing damage but no injuries), a Hamas-run school in Gaza City (injuring 23 Palestinians), and a cultural center in Bayt Hanun run by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), causing damage but no injuries; arrests 207 Palestinians (mostly Hamas and Islamic Jihad mbrs., including Hamas political leaders Shaykh Hasan Yusuf and Muhammad Ghazzal) in the largest raids across the West Bank since 2/05. During the day, Sharon says that he has given the IDF “free rein” to act against Palestinians firing rockets. The IDF continues to mass troops on the n. Gaza border, breaks the sound barrier over Gaza roughly every 2 hrs., fires artillery shells fr. Nahal Oz into open areas nr. Bayt Hanun as a warning to Palestinians (marking Israel’s 1st shelling of Gaza since 1967); fires missiles fr. F-16s at a car s. of Gaza City, assassinating senior Islamic Jihad leader Muhammad Shaykh Khalil, Islamic Jihad mbr. Nassir Barhum, wounding 4 bystanders. In the evening, Hamas agrees to stop rocket attacks immediately. Later, an IDF helicopter gunship strikes 3 targets in Khan Yunis, including the homes of senior AMB mbrs. Ziyad Abu Hayya and Mahir al-Farra in what may be assassination attempts, causing heavy damage, injuring 17 Palestinians; the IDF says it is targeting AMB arms storage facilities. A 12-yr.-old Palestinian wounded in the 9/23 Jabaliya explosion dies, bringing that toll to at least 16. (AFP, AP, HA, IMEMC, JAZ, WP, WT, XIN, YA 9/25; CSM, HA, IMEMC, JP, NYT, WP, WT 9/26; HA 9/27; AFP, DS, MEI, PCHR 9/29)

Today’s Independent (9/25) reports that a new book by 2 prominent Israeli journalists, Ofer Shelah and Raviv Druker, states that “at a conference of officers as early as May 2001, Shaul Mofaz, now defense minister and then chief of staff, asked for the tape to be switched off before telling them that he wanted a ‘price’ exacted from the Palestinians of 10 killed a day on each of the army’s seven fronts.” The book also reports that after 6 IDF soldiers were killed in an ambush in 3/02, “Mofaz personally ordered a revenge operation in which for the first time [sic—see “Overview of Israeli Military Operations,” Resource File Doc. A, JPS 134] Palestinian police officers would be shot, whether they posed a threat or not.” (Independent 9/25)

IDF troops in Hebron beat, temporarily detain 7 unarmed PA traffic policemen in the Bab al-Zawiyya district in the Palestinian sector of the city, claiming they were in a prohibited area (see 3/29), beat 3 of the policemen; fire live ammunition, tear gas at Palestinians who attempt to intervene, causing no injuries; fire on residential areas. The IDF also raids, searches a house in East Jerusalem, arresting 1 Palestinian; patrols inside Tamun nr. Jenin, randomly checking Palestinian IDs; uproots 100 olive trees in Bil‘in for construction of the separation wall. For the 2d day, a Jewish settler fr. Kiryat Arba shoots, wounds a Palestinian farmer working his nearby field. A Palestinian Resistance Comm. (PRC) gunman shoots, seriously wounds a Jewish settler working in a greenhouse in Morag settlement, claiming the act is in retaliation for recent Israeli violations of the unofficial truce. Palestinians detonate a roadside bomb nr. an IDF patrol in Rafah, causing no damage or injuries. Hamas complains that the PA has recently fired a number of teachers working in PA schools who are Hamas supporters. (AFP, IMEMC, YA 4/5; HA, NYT, OCHA, WT 4/6; PCHR 4/7)

During the day in Gaza, the IDF assassinates Izzeddine al-Qassam Brigades 2d in command ‘Adnan al-Gul (a founding mbr. of Hamas whom Israel considers responsible for the development of Qassam rockets and whom it has tried to assassinate on at least 4 previous occasions), firing 2 missiles at him as he leaves a building in Gaza City, also killing senior field cmdr. Imad Abbas, wounding 4 bystanders; attempts to assassinate PRC military cmdr. ‘Abd al-Rahman Qarmut, firing a missile at his home in Jabaliya r.c., wounding him and his child; fatally shoots 2 armed Palestinians (1 AMB, 1 Islamic Jihad) who attempt to infiltrate Israel nr. the Nahal Oz crossing outside Gaza City; conducts 2 raids into Rafah, shelling residential areas, demolishing 7 Palestinian homes, bulldozing 9 d. Also in Rafah, an IDF soldier investigating a smugglers’ tunnel is killed by an explosion, possibly fr. a booby trap; Hamas claims responsibility. In Hebron, the IDF raids 2 mosques during evening prayers, interrogates and checks IDs worshipers; raids a university, checks students’ IDs; raids, occupies a Palestinian home. In Qalqilya, the IDF demolishes 2 Palestinian homes. Palestinians fire a Qassam rocket at Sederot, a mortar at Gush Katif, causing no damage or injuries. Jewish settlers attempt to steal olives fr. a grove in al-Mughayyir; Palestinians confront and scuffle with them; 1 settler opens fire, injuring 1 Palestinian; the IDF intervenes, detains the gunman. Islamic Jihad mbrs. stop the car of PA military intelligence officer Hajij al-Sirhi in central Gaza, seize the car and 2 rifles; Sirhi reportedly impounded the car fr. Islamic Jihad mbrs. several mos. earlier. (VOI, VOP 10/21 in WNC 10/23; BBC, NYT, WP, WT 10/22; AFP, VOP 10/22, HJ, VOI 10/23 in WNC 10/26; PR 10/17; PCHR 10/28)

The IDF fires missiles at the car of PRC leader Muhammad Abu Nusayra as he drives in Khan Yunis in an attempt to assassinate him; he is seriously wounded, his bodyguard Ali al-Sha‘ir is killed, several bystanders are injured. A Palestinian teacher is killed by stray IDF machine gun fire outside a Khan Yunis school. The IDF also fatally shoots 2 Palestinians near the border fence in central Gaza; fatally shoots 2 Palestinians who “approach” an IDF convoy in Balata r.c.; fires on stonethrowing Palestinians in ‘Ayn Bayt al-Ma’ r.c., on residential areas of Rafah (wounding a 9-yr.-old Palestinian inside her home); conducts arrest raids, house searches in Jenin town and r.c., al-Khadir and in and around Hebron, Nablus; raids, searches an ambulance building. Armed Palestinians ambush a carload of CNN reporters in Gaza City, kidnap Jerusalem-based producer Riyad Ali, leaving others unharmed. A Jewish settler fatally shoots a Palestinian driving nr. Itamar, is arrested by Israeli police but is quickly sent home to serve 1 week’s house arrest. (PRCS 9/27; AFP, PSCT, VOI, VOP 9/27 in WNC 9/29; JAZ, MM, NYT, PM, WP, WT 9/28; VOI 9/28 in WNC 9/30; PR 9/29; PCHR, WJW 9/30; JPI 10/8)

The IDF raids Jenin, fatally shooting a Palestinian woman hanging laundry on her roof, wounding an Agence France-Press (AFP) photographer; places a closure on Qalqilya; fires on residential areas in Khan Yunis, nr. Qalqilya and Ramallah; conducts arrest raids nr. Jenin and in Balata r.c., Bayt Furik, al-Bireh, Dahaysha r.c., Nablus, Tulkarm r.c.; reimposes a curfew on Husan (see 3/6). Rafah PRC head Kulab’s pregnant wife, injured during his 3/4 assassination, dies. (JTA, MM 3/9; PR 3/10; LAW, PCHR 3/11; HA 3/18)

Palestine Liberation Front (PLF) leader Muhammad Abbas (alias Abu Abbas), responsible for the 1985 Achille Lauro hijacking in which 1 American died, dies in U.S. custody in Iraq, where he was captured by U.S. forces in 4/03. (BBC, NYT, PR 3/10; WJW 3/11; NYT 3/12; PR 3/17; al-Majallah 3/21 in WNC 3/30)

Israel seals the West Bank, Gaza through 3/7 for the Purim holidays. The IDF makes a major raid on Rafah in search for smugglers’ tunnels, fatally shooting a 14-yr.-old Palestinian boy nr. his school, wounding 9, firing on an ambulance, demolishing 1 Palestinian home, severely damaging 21 homes plus water and electrical works, bulldozing 23 dunams of land; no tunnels are found. In an apparent assassination, the IDF also shells the home of the Palestinian Resistance Comms. (PRC) Rafah head Awni Kulab, killing him, seriously injuring his wife and son; conducts arrest raids nr. Hebron, in Qalqilya; bulldozes 600 dunams of Palestinian land btwn. the separation wall and the Green Line outside Qalqilya. Jewish settlers conduct patrols with IDF soldiers in Hebron, photograph Palestinian homes, raid and vandalize 1. (AFP, MM, REU 3/4; VOP 3/4, al-Quds, VOP 3/5 in WNC 3/12; NYT, WT 3/5; PM 3/9; PR 3/10; PCHR 3/11)

Before dawn, the day of Eid, the IDF sends 40 tanks, troops into Bureij r.c., cuts electricity, conducts house-to-house searches aimed at capturing local PRC leader Ayman Shishniyya, fires on residential areas, shells and destroys Shishniyya’s house and 2 other Palestinian homes, killing 10 Palestinians, including 2 UNRWA workers (both Palestinians; 1 shot 3 times inside her home), wounding at least 10; Shishniyya is not captured; 1,000s of Palestinians attend the funerals for Bureij victims later in the day. UNRWA chief Peter Hansen condemns Israel’s “indiscriminate use of heavy firepower in a densely populated area,” but IDF officials say soldiers followed orders limiting their use of heavy weapons. The IDF also delays a Palestinian woman in labor fr. reaching a Jenin hospital, causing her baby to die; fires on residential areas of Tulkarm; conducts arrest raids in Hebron, Tulkarm. (HA, MM, WP, WT 12/6; AFP 12/6 in WNC 12/7; NYT, WP, WT 12/7; AFP, DUS, MENA 12/8 in WNC 12/9; LAW, MM, PCHR 12/11; PM 12/18)