The Palestine Chronology

In the West Bank, a Palestinian teenager succumbed to injuries sustained from Israeli forces last week in Anabta. Israeli settlers assaulted a Palestinian man and threatened to demolish his family’s home in the Masafer Yatta area. Israeli settlers also rammed a Palestinian vehicle in Ras Karkar, opening fire at the driver and passengers, injuring 3, including 2 with live ammunition. Elsewhere, Israeli settlers set fire to a Palestinian home in Talfit and vandalized 10 vehicles in Beit Iksa. Israeli forces shot and injured 3 Palestinians in Ras Karkar. 51 Palestinians were arrested during late-night raids in and around Hebron, Ramallah, Bethlehem, Qalqilya, and Jenin, including Hamas member Adnan Hamarsheh. In East Jerusalem, Israeli authorities closed the Haram al-Sharif compound for Muslim worshippers, allowing Israeli settlers to tour the compound. Israeli forces also demolished a house in Jabel Mukaber and a commercial structure in Sur Baher. In Gaza, Israeli airstrikes killed 704 Palestinians, including 305 children. Israel said that its military has attacked 400 sites in Gaza and assassinated 3 members of Hamas. Rockets were fired at Israel, causing damage. Israel said it killed 10 militants who had tried to enter Zikim by sea. In Syria, Israeli forces fired artillery at what it said were militants near the Golan Heights. (AJ 10/23; AJ, UNOCHA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 10/24; WAFA 10/25)

The Gaza Ministry of Health said as of 5.pm. at least 5,791 Palestinians had been killed, including at least 3,600 women and children, and 16,297 had been injured in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza since 10/7. It is estimated that 1,500 were trapped in rubble. In addition, Israeli media reported that 1,500 Palestinian militants have been killed near Gaza. 95 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 10/7, including 27 children. More than 1,833 have been injured, including at least 360 with live ammunition. Israeli officials recorded no new fatalities, leaving the Israeli death toll at around 1,400 Israelis and foreign nationals; 5,431 have been injured since 10/7. The UN reported that over 1.4 million Palestinians, more than half the population in Gaza, have been displaced since 10/7 and that since 11 p.m. on 10/12 there has been a complete electricity blackout due to the Israeli blockade. At least 27,781 housing units have been destroyed and 150,000 have been damaged in Israeli airstrikes since 10/7. At least 45% of all housing units have been either destroyed or damaged in Israeli airstrikes. The Indonesian Hospital, the largest hospital in northern Gaza, lost power for a period of time overnight. 8 trucks carrying aid, including 5 with water, 2 with food, and 1 with medical supplies, entered Gaza (AJ 10/23; AJ, AJ, HA, UNOCHA, WAFA, WAFA 10/24; AJ 10/25)

25-year-old Palestinian Arafat Hamdan died in the Ofer Prison, a day after Omar Daraghmeh died at the Megiddo Prison. Hamdan was arrested by Israeli forces on 10/22. The Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Council urged the Red Cross to visit the 2 Israeli prisons and investigate the deaths. (AJ 10/23; HA, WAFA 10/24; WAFA, WAFA 10/25)

PA health minister Mai al-Kaila said hospitals in Gaza were no longer able to receive new patients, saying 12 hospitals were no longer operational due to Israeli airstrikes or lack of fuel and that 65 doctors and nurses have been killed by Israel since 10/7. (AJ 10/23)

Israel dropped leaflets in Gaza saying Israel will provide security and monetary rewards for information on where Israeli and foreign captives are being kept. (AJ 10/23; HA 10/24)

Israeli attorney general Galia Baharav-Miara approved an emergency regulation to allow Israel to detain members of Hamas for 90 days without access to a lawyer. (HA 10/24)

The New York Times published an investigation into what Israel called evidence that an errant rocket caused the explosion at al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City on 10/17, finding that the Israeli-presented video did not prove that a rocket fired by Islamic Jihad caused the explosion. The Times suggested that the video footage pointed to a projectile fired from the Nahal Oz area of Israel at Gaza as the cause. (NYT 10/24)

French president Emmanuel Macron visited PA president Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, who called for an immediate end to the Israeli aggression. Macron had visited Israel earlier in the day, meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Macron called for the international coalition fighting ISIS to also fight Hamas and said that 30 French nationals were killed by militants during Operation Al-Aqsa Flood. (AJ 10/23; AJ, AP, HA, WAFA 10/24; AP 10/25; HA 10/26)

Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi spoke with PA foreign minister Riyad al-Maliki and Israeli foreign minister Eli Cohen, urging steps be undertaken to prevent further escalation and establish a lasting peace. (AJ, WAFA 10/24)

U.S. president Joe Biden spoke with Prime Minister Netanyahu, urging him to not interfere with humanitarian aid for Gaza. Biden also spoke with Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said the U.S. is not calling for a ceasefire as a “ceasefire right now really only benefits Hamas.” (AJ, HA 10/23; HA, NYT, REU 10/24)

UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres said the Hamas operation did not happen in a vacuum, referring to “56 years of suffocating occupation” and that the Hamas operation did not justify Israeli “collective punishment of the Palestinian people.” Israeli UN ambassador Gilad Erdan called on Guterres to resign. Foreign Minister Cohen canceled a meeting with Guterres. Israel also said it would refuse visas to UN officials. (AJ 10/23; AJ, AJ, HA, HA, NYT, WAFA 10/24; AJ, REU, WAFA 10/25; AP, WAFA 10/26)

At the UN Security Council, Foreign Minister al-Maliki called on the council to act to stop Israeli massacres of Palestinians, labelling them savage and systematic. Iranian UN ambassador Saeed Iravani said the U.S. was exacerbating the conflict by providing “unwavering support for the [Israeli] occupation.” Egyptian foreign minister Sameh Shoukry said the governments that remain silent on Israeli attacks on civilians are “participating in the crimes.” Saudi foreign minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud called for an immediate ceasefire and for Israel to lift its siege on Gaza. Foreign Minister Cohen rejected calls for a ceasefire. (AJ 10/23; HA, NYT, WAFA, WAFA 10/24; AP, AP 10/25)

NBC News reported that 24 U.S. soldiers suffered minor injuries in attacks on U.S. bases in Syria and Iraq on 10/18. (AJ 10/24)

Florida governor, and republican presidential candidate, Ron DeSantis, banned the group Students for Justice in Palestine, falsely claiming it supports terrorism. (HA 10/24; AJ 10/25)

The Council on American-Islamic Relations called the Biden administration’s refusal to call for a ceasefire “unacceptable.” (AJ 10/23; HA 10/25)

Palestine Legal said it has responded to 260 incidents of people in the U.S. being targeted for supporting Palestine, including people being fired and losing job opportunities. (AJ 10/24)

Japan donated $10 million in humanitarian aid to Gaza, including $7 million to UNRWA and $3 million to the International Committee of the Red Cross. (WAFA 10/24)

IDF troops on the c. Gaza border e. of Juhur al-Dik fire on a Palestinian shepherd who strays nr. the border fence, wounding her and killing 8 sheep. Israeli bulldozers working nr. the fmr. Nahal Oz crossing sever fiber-optic lines providing all mobile, landline, and Internet service to Gaza; Hamas authorities blame the IDF, but the IDF says it was not responsible. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in al-‘Arub r.c. and Bayt Umar. Jewish settlers escorted by the IDF enter Palestinian areas nr. Bethlehem and in Hebron to hold religious services. (Press TV [Tehran] 8/10; PCHR 8/11; OCHA 8/12)

The U.S. says it is “deeply concerned” by Israel’s 8/4 approval of 930 new settlement housing units in Har Homa/Jabal Abu Ghunaym in East Jerusalem, stating “such unilateral actions work against efforts to resume direct negotiations.” (WT 8/10)

Islamic Jihad mbrs. fire 6 mortars fr. Gaza at the IDF base at the fmr. Nahal Oz crossing (closed in 1/2010), injuring 3 Thai workers (1 seriously) at a kibbutz nearby. Late in the evening, unidentified Palestinians fire 1 mortar, 2 Qassam rockets fr. Gaza into Israel in 3 barrages; 1 rocket lands nr. a truck, causing light damage and lightly injuring the driver. In the West Bank, IDF troops fatally shoot a Palestinian who runs toward a checkpoint nr. Nablus (the same one where another Palestinian was fatally shot on 1/2) and ignores orders to halt; the IDF says he was carrying a bag that contained a pipe bomb and other explosives, but Palestinian witnesses say he was not carrying anything. The IDF also patrols in villages nr. Jenin and Salfit in the morning; conducts late-night arrest raids, searches in and around Qalqilya; conducts late-night patrols in 3 villages nr. Salfit, summoning 2 Palestinians for questioning. Jewish settlers fr. Gilad settlement nr. Qalqilya vandalize nearby Palestinian agricultural land and damage a well. Israeli authorities conduct late-night arrest raids, house searches in Silwan neighborhood in East Jerusalem. (HA, JP, MNA 1/8; WP, UPI 1/9; NYT 1/11; PCHR 1/13; OCHA 1/14)

The UN reports that in the previous wk., Palestinians and the IDF exchanged gunfire across the border nr. the Nahal Oz crossing (causing no injuries) and that the IDF fired “randomly” into Gaza nr. the Qarni and Sufa crossings (causing no injuries). In the West Bank, the IDF makes synchronized daytime raids on 4 villages s. of Jenin, patrolling in the streets, firing live ammunition and percussion grenades at residential areas, causing no injuries and making no arrests. The UN reports that over the previous wk. Jewish settlers have razed 200 d. of Palestinian land (including 50 d. of olive groves) w. of Salfit to expand Burkan settlement. A PA court sentences Hebron resident Anwar Breghit to death by hanging, convicting him of selling private Palestinian land to Israelis when he sold a plot in Bayt Umar village to Karme Tzur settlement; the sentence must be approved by PA Pres. Mahmud Abbas. (NYT, OCHA, PCHR 4/29; PCHR 5/7)

The IDF significantly increases attacks on Gaza for the 2d straight day, as international mediation efforts led by Egypt to secure a cease-fire also intensify.

Combat notes: The IDF tightens the cordon around Gaza City (focusing attacks on the outlying neighborhoods of Shaykh Ajlin, Tal al-Hawa, and al-Zaytun and open areas n. of the city), with troops reportedly taking fire from Palestinian rocket-propelled grenade antitank missiles and mortars. The IDF also launches a major incursion into Jabaliya under heavy shelling, engaging in heavy exchanges of fire with Palestinian gunmen, killing at least 13. In s. Gaza, the IDF continues heavy attacks on Khuza, including air strikes, intense shelling, and widespread bulldozing of some 50 houses and farms; Israeli fire is so heavy and constant that residents report being unable to reach the injured or flee their homes to seek shelter outside the village; IDF troops pull back fr. Khuza after nightfall.

The IDF reports carrying out more than 160 air strikes across Gaza. Air strike target areas include Bayt Hanun, Bayt Lahiya, Gaza City (al-Sabra, Shaykh Ridwan, al-Zaytun), Jabaliya r.c., Khan Yunis, Khuza, Nussayrat r.c., Rafah, al-Shuka, Tal al-Za‘atar, and the Twam area. Israeli gunboats shell Nussayrat r.c. Heavy tank and artillery fire are reported nr. Bayt Lahiya (white phosphorous suspected) and in Dayr al-Balah, Jabaliya town, Khan Yunis (white phosphorous suspected), Khuza, Nussayrat r.c. (confirmed use of flechette shells). For a 2d day, nearly half of the air strikes take place after nightfall, targeting Gaza City. Palestinians report 12 hrs. of constant Israeli bombardment of the Rafah border, with the IDF claiming to destroy 90 smuggling tunnels. (The IDF also demolishes 1 tunnel on the Gaza–Israel border nr. the Nahal Oz crossing.) Specific targets include a Hamas police headquarters in Gaza City, 31 groups of armed men, 25 rocket-launching sites, and 13 suspected weapons manufacturing and storage facilities.

On the ground, the IDF reports a total of 6 soldiers wounded (2 moderately, 4 lightly) in 2 exchanges of gunfire with Palestinians. In a 3d incident, IDF reservists open fire on an IDF paratrooper unit, seriously wounding 1 and moderately wounding 3. Palestinians report around 70 Gazans killed today, putting the estimated Palestinian toll at 971 dead and 4,400 wounded. The Israeli toll stands at 13–14 dead, more than 125 injured. (Israeli military intelligence confirms that 1 soldier killed on 1/6 or 1/8 was targeted by a suicide bomber, stating that several Palestinian suicide bombers, including some women and some dressed as IDF soldiers, have approached combat units.)

Palestinians fire about 11 rockets and 6 mortars into Israel, causing no reported damage or injuries.

Humanitarian notes: The IDF observes another 3-hr. lull, allowing 102 truckloads of aid into Gaza. (The IDF states that 1,028 truckloads of humanitarian goods have been allowed into Gaza since 12/27.) During the lull the ICRC rescues 100 Palestinians trapped in Jabaliya. Heavy IDF attacks in Rafah force UNRWA to close a medical center just n. of the border to ensure the safety of patients and to open more shelters for displaced residents. Human Rights Watch calls Israel’s 3-hr./day breaks to facilitate humanitarian aid “woefully insufficient.” Other aid groups (including Doctors Without Borders, the ICRC, the UN) complain that they are still able to import and distribute only a fraction of the emergency supplies available for Gaza because of Israeli delays and restrictions. (BBC, HA, IDF, IFM, MA, MM, REU, YA 1/13; AYM, IDF, IFM, MM, NYT, WP, WT, YA 1/14; NYT, PCHR, WP, XIN 1/15; ITIC 1/19)

In the West Bank, IDF troops at the Tarqumiyya crossing nr. Hebron fatally shoot a Palestinian who allegedly attempts to grab the gun of a border patrol officer after being denied permission to cross the checkpoint. Late in the evening, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in Bayt Awa, Dura, and Kafr Khalil (all nr. Hebron). A Jewish settler driving nr. Azun village e. of Qalqilya opens fire on Palestinian youths who stone his car, killing 1 Palestinian teenager, wounding 2. (HA 1/13; PCHR 1/15)

A Jordanian soldier fires on an Israeli border patrol unit operating along the Negev border with Jordan n. of Elat. The border police return fire. No injuries are reported. (MM 1/13; WT 1/14; JPI 1/23)

IDF troops along the s. Gaza border e. of Khan Yunis fire on a group of armed Palestinians inside Gaza, causing no injuries; troops then cross into Gaza, exchange fire with armed Palestinians, wounding 4. PRC mbrs. then fire 11 mortars fr. Gaza toward the IDF military post at Nahal Oz crossing; 3 mortars hit the base, wounding 6 IDF soldiers, 1 critically. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts an evening raid on an Internet cafe nr. Jenin, checking IDs and searching ´ the premises but making no arrests; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron, Jerusalem, Qalqilya, Tulkarm; conducts synchronized, late-night house searches in Tubas and neighboring al-Fara‘ r.c., and in 8 villages s. of Jenin, making no arrests; fires rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas, percussion grenades at Palestinian, Israeli, international peace activists taking part in nonviolent demonstrations against the separation wall in Bil‘in (injuring 1 Japanese activist), Jayyus nr. Qalqilya (injuring 2 Palestinians), and Ni‘lin (injuring 2 Danish activists, 1 Palestinian teenager). Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba and Beit Shalom attack Palestinians, vandalize property in nearby Palestinian areas, seriously injuring 4 Palestinians, including a 6-yr.-old boy. Later, IDF troops close the area, take up positions on surrounding rooftops, escort 5 busloads of settlers from other parts of the West Bank into the area to “defend” the illegal Beit Shalom outpost. In the evening, the settlers rampage through Palestinian areas, burning cars, slashing tires, breaking windows of cars and homes, destroying water tanks; the IDF does not intervene. (NYT 11/29; OCHA 12/3; PCHR 12/4)

Israeli FM Tzipi Livni narrowly wins Kadima party elections to replace Ehud Olmert as party head. Olmert, Israel’s current PM, called for party elections on 6/11/08, after government investigators turned up serious new evidence of his financial impropriety (see Quarterly Update in JPS 149). He vowed to resign as PM formally once a new party head was elected. (NYT 9/17; HA, NYT, WP, WT 9/18)

Israel reopens Gaza’s Kerem Shalom crossing for limited imports of humanitarian goods and the Nahal Oz crossing for limited fuel (see 9/14). In the West Bank, the IDF fires rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, international peace activists taking part in a nonviolent demonstration against the separation wall in Ni‘lin, injuring 6; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus, in Azariyya nr. Jerusalem and al-Jalazun r.c. nr. Ramallah, and nr. Hebron. Jewish settlers fr. Yitzhar burn Palestinian olive trees nr. Nablus. (PCHR 9/18; OCHA 9/24; PCHR 9/25; AIC 11/9)

In the West Bank, Jewish settlers in Hebron attack Palestinians and their property in Wadi al-Nassara, severely beating 2 Palestinians. Separately, Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba stone Palestinian cars driving nr. the settlement, causing no reported injuries. In Gaza, Hamas-affiliated police raid an area of Gaza City controlled by the Hillis family, which Hamas has accused of hiding suspects wanted in connection with the 7/25 bombings, sparking violent clashing involving exchanges of mortars and grenades that leave 11 Palestinians dead (2 policemen, 8 mbrs. of the Hillis clan, 1 bystander) and 88 injured (including 12 children), marking some of the heaviest intra-Palestinian fighting since 6/07. (A 12th Palestinian dies several days later.) By afternoon, Hamas forces seize control of the 100,000-resident Shijaiyah neighborhood, conduct house-to-house searches for weapons and suspects, arresting 50 people. During the fighting, 188 Fatah mbrs. fr. Gaza, including clan leader and senior Fatah mbr. Ahmad Hillis, flee to Nahal Oz crossing, where Israel grants them entry for transit to the West Bank; Hamas police fire on the fleeing men, injuring 22, who are treated in Israeli hospitals. Hamas also closes a PFLP radio station in Gaza for reporting sympathetic to Fatah. (NYT, WP, WT 8/3; WT 8/4; OCHA 8/6; PCHR 8/7; OCHA 8/20)

Overnight, the IDF sends troops into Khuza, imposing a curfew, firing on residential areas (killing 1 Palestinian, wounding 2 inside their homes), exchanging gunfire with armed Palestinians (wounding 3), arresting 2 Palestinians, and bulldozing 106 d. of agricultural land, 1 Palestinian home, 4 greenhouses, 2 poultry farms before withdrawing late in the morning. The Israeli navy fires on Palestinian fishing boats off the Rafah coast, forcing them to return to shore but causing no reported damage or injuries. Palestinians fire at least 3 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing damage but no injuries; fire 1 mortar at Nahal Oz crossing while an emergency fuel shipment to UNRWA is been transferred into Gaza, prompting the Israelis to close the terminal. In the West Bank, the IDF removes the tiny unauthorized settlement outpost of Hazon David nr. Kiryat Arba; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem, Hebron, Nablus. Jewish settlers fr. Gil’ad Farm outpost nr. Qalqilya attack a Palestinian shepherd, steal a sheep. (NYT 5/5; OCHA 5/7; PCHR 5/8)

The IDF makes an air strike assassinating DFLP military cmdr. Ibrahim Abu Olba as he walks in Bayt Lahiya, wounding 2 bystanders, including a child; bulldozes land on the Palestinian side of the Nahal Oz crossing. In the West Bank, the IDF blocks 4 buses transporting Palestinian children home from a school outing deep in the West Bank to Azun Atma village (located between the separation wall and the Green Line), firing on angry parents gathered on the village side of the wall awaiting their children’s return, wounding 4, arresting 2, and imposing a curfew on the village until the morning of 4/15, when the buses are allowed to pass. The IDF also demolishes a Palestinian home in Anata in East Jerusalem, displacing 10 Palestinians (including 4 children); conducts arrest raids, house searches during the day nr. Salfit and late at night in Hebron, nr. Jenin. Jewish settlers gather nr. the Hawara checkpoint s. of Nablus, stone Palestinian vehicles, causing no injuries; the IDF does not intervene. Jewish settlers fr. Gilad uproot 30 Palestinian almond trees in nearby al-Til. (OCHA 3/16; PCHR 4/17)

Four Palestinian gunmen representing Islamic Jihad, the PRCs, and the Mujahiddin Brigades (an AMB offshoot) raid the Nahal Oz fuel depot on the Gaza-Israel border under cover of mortar fire, killing 2 Israeli civilian workers; IDF soldiers on site return fire, killing 2 gunmen; 2 escape back into Gaza. The IDF retaliates with air strikes and artillery fire, killing a 3d Palestinian gunman, 4 Palestinian civilians, wounding 2 armed Palestinians, 6 civilians (including 2 children), demolishing a Palestinian home. Israel also closes Nahal Oz until it reviews security procedures (Gaza’s electricity plant has enough fuel to last until 4/13). In the West Bank, the IDF demolishes a Palestinian home in Bayt Hanina in East Jerusalem, displacing 7 Palestinians (including 5 children); patrols in Bayt Rima nr. Ramallah, firing on stone-throwing youths who confront them, wounding 1; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron and Nablus, in Qalqilya and Tubas, and nr. Ramallah and Tulkarm, nr. Salfit. Jewish settlers stone a Palestinian family nr. Ramallah, injuring 2 women. Jewish settlers fr. Brakha nr. Nablus uproot Palestinian olive trees, vandalize a Palestinian home nearby. (AP, BBC, HA, IFM, Ma’ariv [Tel Aviv], REU, YA 4/9; NYT, WP, WT 4/10; WP 4/11; OCHA 3/16; PCHR 4/17)

Gaza nr. the Nahal Oz crossing triggers a roadside bomb, causing damage but no injuries. Palestinians fire 2 RPGs at an IDF patrol inside Israel e. of al-Qarara; the IDF then sends undercover units, a tank into al-Qarara to search for the assailants, exchanging fire with Hamas mbrs.; no injuries are reported. IDF soldiers, Palestinian gunmen exchange fire across the border nr. the Erez crossing, causing no damage or injuries. Palestinians fire 2 mortars fr. the Bayt Hanun area toward Israel, but both land inside Palestinian territory, causing no damage or injuries. The IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron, Qalqilya. A Jewish settler kills a 14-yr.- old Palestinian in a deliberate hit-and-run nr. Salfit. In Gaza, the Palestinian Union of Medical Professions ends the work slowdown started on 8/26. (OCHA 9/19; PCHR 9/20)

After 5 days of bulldozing operations to expand the n. Gaza buffer zone (leveling 90 d. of land), the IDF withdraws troops fr. the border area n. of Bayt Hanun that were sent in on 7/4. Hamas fires 2 mortars at IDF tanks, bulldozers leveling land inside the Gaza border further south nr. Nahal Oz, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF sends an undercover unit into Jenin in a civilian vehicle with Palestinian license plates, ambushing and assassinating Islamic Jihad cmdr. Mahmud Nazzal as he drives through town, arresting his 3 passengers (1 wounded); conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron and in Balata r.c., Bethlehem, Jenin town and r.c., Nablus, Tubas. Jewish settlers place new caravans at the unauthorized settlement outpost of Avigail nr. Hebron. Jewish settlers fr. Susia vandalize 2 Palestinian homes in Hebron, uproot several trees. (OCHA 7/11; PCHR 7/12)

Overnight, the IDF launches a major raid into eastern neighborhoods of Gaza City to look for “terrorist infrastructure,” sending in troops, tanks, bulldozers, accompanied by helicopters; making an air strike on a clearly marked Reuters TV truck covering the incursion, saying it was “acting suspiciously,” seriously wounding 2 Reuters journalists; during the day, the IDF fires on residential areas, warns residents to leave, exchanges fire with and conducts air strikes on Palestinian gunmen (killing 3 Palestinian gunmen, 1 Palestinian civilian; wounding 2 Palestinian militants, 10 civilians), occupies houses as observation posts. Also in Gaza, the IDF closes the Rafah crossing, Nahal Oz pipeline. In the West Bank, the IDF fatally shoots a Palestinian guard outside a school in Jenin, claiming he was acting suspiciously; raids, searches the Ramallah home of Hamas-affiliated PC mbr. Mahmud Muslih, arresting him; patrols in Jenin town and r.c., Nablus (firing on residential areas in both cases, causing no injuries); conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron and nr. Bethlehem, Jenin, Qalqilya. Jewish settlers in Hebron break into the Ibrahimi Mosque/Tomb of the Patriarchs, violating agreements that this day is reserved for Muslims to pray there. After 13 days, the Holy Jihad Brigade releases unharmed 2 Fox News Journalists; the PA says that none of the group’s 8/23 demands were met, the group is not linked to al-Qa‘ida but is a group of “young men who carried out the action out of private beliefs.” (AFP, HA 8/27; NYT, WP, WT 8/28; PCHR 8/31; PMG 9/1)

In Gaza, the IDF closes the Nahal Oz pipeline; shells areas nr. Gaza City, killing at least 1 Palestinian militant, 1 Palestinian farmer working in her field; shells areas nr. Bayt Hanun (killing 1 Palestinian child outside his home, wounding 5 Palestinians), in al-Shuka; makes air strikes destroying 3 houses nr. Bayt Lahiya (killing 1 Palestinian bystander), in Bayt Hanun, Khan Yunis (also destroying 2 adjacent homes). In Jerusalem, a Palestinian gunman fires on Israeli police, wounding 2 before being shot dead. In the West Bank, the IDF sends undercover units into Jenin r.c. in cars with Palestinian license plates, surrounds a home, opens fire (wounding a Palestinian bystander in an apartment building nearby), occupying several surrounding houses as sniper positions, evacuates and checks IDs of residents, arrests 1 Palestinian, fires on stone-throwing Palestinians who confront the troops, wounding 8 Palestinians (including 2 journalists covering the incident for al-Jazeera, Reuters); patrols in al-Bireh; begins construction of a new segment of the separation wall in Bayt Jala that will cut Palestinians off fr. 5,000 d. of agricultural land and cut off the access of Battir and Husan Nahalin villages to Bethlehem. The body of a Jewish settler fr. Yakir missing since early in the morning is found in a burnt-out vehicle nr. a West Bank Palestinian village; the AMB takes responsibility for kidnapping, killing him. In Israel, Israeli police free dual Israeli-Canadian citizen Falah after a Haifa District Court orders the police and/or Shin Bet to file formal charges against him or let him go (see 7/26). A Palestinian wounded during the 7/26 IDF raid on Kafr Qadim dies. A 2d Palestinian dies of injuries received during IDF operations in Nablus on 7/19. (OCHA 7/27; NYT 7/28; NYT 7/29; PCHR 8/3)

Israel’s security cabinet approves call-ups for up to 3 divisions of reservists (15,000–30,000 reserves) for the war on Lebanon. The IDF makes some 180 air and artillery strikes on targets across Lebanon, including hitting radio and TV relays in Amshit n. of Beirut, 3 trucks in the Biqa‘ Valley carrying emergency food supplies to Beirut. Ground clashes continue in Bint Jubayl, 2 residential apartment buildings nr. an Amal headquarters in Tyre; a Lebanese army base in n. Lebanon; roads, buildings in s. Lebanon and the Biqa‘ Valley, including al-Khiyam, Kafr, Nabatiyya, Sidon, Tuffah, Riyaq, Zahleh. The IDF broadcasts radio warnings to s. Lebanon residents that their villages would be “totally destroyed” if rockets are fired fr. them. Hizballah fires some 110 rockets into n. Israel, wounding 7 Israelis and hitting an empty factory in Haifa, also hitting sites in Carmiel, Nahariya Safad, Tiberias. (IFM 7/27; NYT, WP, WT 7/28)

Overnight, the IDF deploys an artillery battery outside the s. Gaza Strip (since Operation First Rain, artillery has been positioned in Nahal Oz, outside the n. Gaza); begins massing troops in the Gaza border in case the Israeli cabinet calls for ground operations; conducts arrest raids, house searches in the n. West Bank targeting mostly Islamic Jihad mbrs. During the day, the IDF begins erecting a massive new checkpoint (the Zaatara checkpoint) s. of Nablus at Tapuach Junction that will sever the Nablus and Jenin districts from the rest of the West Bank, creating a northern West Bank canton; the crossing, which is similar to the Qalandia checkpoint that Israel has said will be treated as an international crossing, was approved by the IDF Central Command 9 mos. ago and should begin operation in 2 mos. An IDF drone fires on a car in n. Gaza that launched rockets toward Sederot (causing no damage), killing AMB mbr. Majid Nattat. Soon after, Palestinians fire another 2 rockets and a mortar toward Sederot, and the IDF carries out 2 air strikes on 2 roads leading to Bayt Lahiya; no injuries are reported in the exchange. Later, the IDF carries out another 3 air strikes on n. Gaza, causing no reported injuries; fires stun grenades to disperse Palestinians hoping to cross the al-Ram checkpoint into Jerusalem to mark the final Friday of Ramadan at al-Aqsa mosque. Late in the evening, the IDF launches F-16 air strikes on uninhabited areas of n. Gaza; patrols, shoots out street lights in Nablus; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Hebron. Palestinians then fire an antitank rocket at the Erez crossing, causing no damage or injuries. Meanwhile, 10,000s of Palestinians attend the Gaza funerals of the 7 Palestinians killed in the 10/28 Muhanna assassination; AMB, Hamas, Islamic Jihad hold massive armed marches, firing automatic weapons in the air in violation of their agmt. with the PA not to carry or use weapons in public. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba, escorted by IDF soldiers, severely beat 2 Palestinians in Hebron. Separately, Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba vandalize several Palestinian homes in Hebron. Jewish settlers fr. Ramat Yishai violently beat 2 Palestinian teenagers in Hebron; the IDF intervenes and detains 1 Palestinian. Mofaz orders the eviction of 15 Jewish settler families living in the unauthorized enclave of Amona in Hebron. (AP, CSM, HA, IDF Radio, IMEMC, REU, YA 10/28; NYT, WP, WT 10/29; HA, IMEMC 10/30; OCHA 10/31; PCHR 11/10)

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)

A Jewish settler is found murdered nr. Ramallah; officials think he was lured to Ramallah, then kidnapped, similar to the case of an Israeli murdered on 1/18.Palestinians throw 15 grenades at a Rafah checkpoint during the day, causing no injuries. The IDF bulldozes 45 dunams of Palestinian land along the Gaza border nr. Nahal Oz kibbutz. (MM, NYT, WP 7/25)

Israel continues to reinforce its West Bank forces, stationing paratrooper units in areas nr. Bethlehem, Jinin. Palestinians fire 4 mortars at Netzarim settlement, Nahal Oz kibbutz inside Israel. The IDF files low-level F-16 sorties, drops thermal balloons over the Gaza Strip; directs shells, heavy machine gun fire at Palestinian residential areas of Hebron, setting 7 Palestinian homes on fire; tightens the closures on Qalqilya, Tulkarm. Jewish settlers reportedly confiscate several Palestinian homes in the Palestinian section of Hebron nr. Kiryat Arba. In Bethlehem, 1,000s of Palestinians hold anti-Israeli demonstrations following the funeral for Hamas's Saada. 1 Palestinian dies of injuries received on 7/16. (AP, HA, HP 7/18; NYT 7/19)

At a G-8 preparatory mtg. in Rome, the FMs of Britain, France, Germany, Italy insist that dispatching an impartial observer force to the West Bank and Gaza is necessary to restore a lasting cease-fire, renew peace talks. Secy. of State Powell says sending a force is "premature," since Israel does not approve, but he does not reject the idea outright. (WP, WT 7/19)

In a predawn operation, the IDF bulldozes at least 17 Palestinian homes, 12 stores in Rafah refugee camp, leaving 150 Palestinians homeless and sparking a gunfight that leaves 5 Palestinians, 3 IDF soldiers wounded. Terming the demolitions "highly provocative," the U.S. announces plans to send Dep. Asst. Secy. of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Satterfield to the region to push U.S. cease-fire initiatives. Meanwhile, Palestinians fire a mortar at Nahal Oz kibbutz, causing no injuries but marking the 1st confirmed mortar attack inside the Green Line since 5/4. A Palestinian woman gives birth at an IDF checkpoint when soldiers deny her passage, the baby dies before reaching a hospital. For the 2d time in 2 days, a Palestinian man dies of a heart attack at an IDF checkpoint when soldiers refuse to allow him passage to a hospital. Jewish settlers set fire to 50 dunams of Palestinian agricultural land nr. Avni Hefets settlement. (MEZ, MM, WP 7/10; HP, NYT, PMC, WP, WT 7/11; JT 7/11 in WNC 7/12; HJ, IRNA 7/12 in WNC 7/13; ATL 7/12 in WNC 7/16)

Israeli-Palestinian clashes continue at a high level, leaving 2 Palestinians dead. In Jinin, senior Islamic Jihad mbr. Iyad Hardan, wanted by Israel, is assassinated when a bomb planted in a public phone he frequently uses explodes. In response to Palestinian mortar fire nr. Nahal Oz crossing and nr. Netiv Haasara kibbutz inside the Green Line that causes no damage, the IDF fires rockets at PSF posts and a power station in Gaza, wounding at least 5 Palestinians, destroying 4 buildings, damaging 10 homes, causing blackouts. The IDF also bulldozes 100 dunams of Palestinian land in Shaykh Ajlin; begins work on a new settler bypass road linking Beit El settlement with Jerusalem; raids Burqa village, arrests 2 Palestinians. Sharon announces plans to build another 708 housing units in the Jewish settlements of Ma'ale Adumim, Alfe Menashe; the State Dept. criticizes the move as "provocative." Reportedly to ease tensions over the Erez shooting on 4/4, Israel reopens the Rafah border with Egypt, says it will allow 3,000 Palestinian workers into Israel. (LAW 4/5; AFP [Internet], MM, NYT, WP, WT 4/6; MENA, al-Quds 4/6, ITAR-TASS 4/7 in WNC 4/9; MM 4/9; AYM 4/9 in WNC 4/11; al-Quds 4/11 in WNC 4/12; LAW, WJW 4/12; MA 4/17 in WNC 4/18; MEI 4/20)

Sharon orders the Israeli security services to find ways to let Jews visit the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount. (MENA 4/10 in WNC 4/11; WT 4/11)

In Washington, Bush receives 2 letters signed by 87 Senators, 209 House mbrs. calling on him to reconsider U.S. ties with the PLO. (REU, WP 4/6; al-Quds 4/8, HJ, MENA 4/9 in WNC 4/10; MM 4/9; SA 4/13 in WNC 4/16; HA 4/16; MM 4/18; JP 4/20)

Israeli-Palestinian clashes intensify slightly. For the 1st time, Palestinians fire 3 mortars fr. Gaza into Israel, landing inside an army base nr. Nahal Oz kibbutz, lightly injuring 1 IDF soldier. Sharon reportedly orders the IDF not to respond in advance of his visit to the U.S. The IDF shells residential areas of Khan Yunis, damaging 3 homes. Jewish settlers move the boundary markers of Tal Rumayda settlement, confiscating 1 dunam of Palestinian land. (MM 3/19; WJW 3/22; LAW 3/24; MA 3/24 in WNC 3/26)

Israeli-Palestinian clashes continue, leaving 2 Palestinian dead. A 3d, ailing Palestinian dies when the IDF detains her at a checkpoint for over 3 hrs. The IDF booby traps an unfinished Palestinian building nr. Psagot settlement to prevent Palestinian snipers fr. entering. A contractor discovers the trap when he arrives to inspect the site and warns the PA, which cannot disable the devices since the site is in area B, under Israeli security control. The IDF also bulldozes 59 dunams of Palestinian land nr. Netzarim settlement, 25 dunams nr. Nahal Oz crossing, 15 dunams nr. Dayr al-Balah; demolishes 16 greenhouses, building nr. Qarni crossing. (AFP [Internet], AP, LAW 3/14; LAW 3/17; PMC 4/9)

Social/Economic/Political

Occupied Palestine/Israel: Israeli cabinet votes to examine Shin Bet interrogation methods [CSM 6/1]. Jewish settlers rampage through Gaza City stoning houses; thousands of settlers hold demonstration i Tel Aviv in memory of boy killed on W. Bank [BS 6/1]. Estimated 50 Jewish settlers attack 2 Palestinian truck drivers near Nahal Oz settlement in Gaza Strip [FJ 6/7]. Israeli troops declare Balatah refugee camp closed military area to conduct comprehensive search, interrogations; more than 60 residents are arrested, 10 served with administrative dtentions. Jihad Musaymi, a camp leader, is ordered deported to Jordan for inciting demonstrations [BS 6/1; FJ 6/7]. Khan Yunis refugee camp resident Ahmad Nasr is expelled to Jordan [FJ 6/7]. Reports indicate head of Arab Bank in Jordan has turned down Jordanian request to open branch of bank in W. Bank, said bank would only open office if it was located in Jerusalem [FJ 6/7].

Military Action

Arab World: Estimated 250 Islamic Resistance Front militiamen battle Israeli and SLA troops in S. Lebanon for more than 7 hours; reports indicate between 16 and 31 are killed [CSM 6/1; PI 6/2].