The Palestine Chronology

In the West Bank, IDF troops shoot and injure 1 Palestinian nr. Hebron with live ammunition, as he was reportedly seen “damaging the security fence” (according to Israeli military sources). The IDF conducts house searches and arrest raids in Bethlehem and 1 nearby village and Dahaysha r.c., 2 villages nr. Hebron, and 1 village each nr. Qalqilya, Ramallah and Tulkarm at night. Jewish settlers chop down more than 100 olive trees nr. Nablus. (MNA 10/19; PCHR 10/24)

PA Pres. Mahmud Abbas tells German television that despite the reports, the negotiations with Israel have not reached a dead end. Asked whether a lack of Palestinian national unit complicated the possibility of reaching a deal, Abbas says he speaks for the entire Palestinian people. Meanwhile, Hamas PM Ismail Haniyeh calls for a “popular uprising” in the West Bank, and a renewal of resistance, as well as urging Palestinians to reject new negotiations with Israel for fear of jeopardizing the Palestinian issue. (MNA, ToI 12/19)

A suicide bomber blows himself up in a car in an Egyptian military intelligence facility nr. Ismailia and 2 other explosive-laden cars also detonate. The attack injures 4. (AFP, MNA 12/19)

Israeli media report that U.S. officials have told their Israeli counterparts that Iran made “no serious proposals” during the Geneva talks this past week, a verdict apparently echoed by British officials, too. (ToI 12/19)

In the West Bank, the IDF conducts house searches and arrest raids in 1 village nr. Jenin in the morning, and in 2 villages nr. Jenin and al-Fawar and al-‘Arub r.c. nr. Hebron at night; patrols in Nablus, 3 villages nr. Tulkarm and 1 village nr. Hebron at night. In Bayt Umar village nr. Hebron, the IDF attacks a funeral procession, sparking clashes where 2 Palestinians are injured by rubber-coated metal bullets. In East Jerusalem, Israeli troops demolish residential and agricultural structures in al-Za’ayem village, displacing around 35 people. In addition, Israel’s Housing Minister Uri Ariel visits the al-Aqsa mosque compound under police protection, heading a tour group of around 100 rightist Jewish activists. (MNA, WAFA 9/11; PCHR 9/12)

The 5 permanent mbrs. of the UNSC meet at Russia’s UN mission to discuss the contents of a new res. on the securing and dismantling of Syria’s chemical weapons. Meanwhile, U.S. Secy. of State John Kerry and Russian FM Sergey Lavrov speak by phone the day before heading to Geneva for talks with experts about the practicalities of the Russian proposal. France, for its part, aligns itself with the U.S. position of insisting that a military option remains on the table but that the diplomatic process will be prioritized. (AFP, AP, REU 9/11)

Three attacks including 2 car bombs kill 11 people and injure more than 15 in the Sinai, as the army continues its offensive against Islamist militants, including Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis. The dead include 9 Egyptian officers targeted at the intelligence headquarters in Rafah. Meanwhile, Israeli officials arrive in Cairo on a private jet for discussions with Egyptians security officials expected to focus on events in the Sinai. (MNA, REU 9/11)

U.S. Amb. Joseph Macmanus tells a meeting of the IAEA that there are “troubling developments” in Iran’s nuclear program amid concerns that Tehran is stalling on achieving any progress in negotiations with the international community. Iran’s FM Mohammad Javad Zarif says that Iran’s nuclear work could take place under international safeguards but would not just go away. (REU 9/11)

In the West Bank, the IDF conducts house searches and arrest raids in Balata r.c. nr. Nablus and Hebron at night; patrols in 1 village nr. Tulkarm at night. Israeli soldiers also attack regular demonstrations by Palestinians, Israelis, and international activists against Israel’s separation wall, settlements, and the occupation in 3 villages nr. Ramallah (Bil‘in, Ni‘lin, Nabi Salih), 1 village nr. Qalqilya (Kafr Qaddum) and 1 village nr. Bethlehem (al-Ma‘sara), causing no serious injuries except in Bil‘in, where there are 2 injuries from rubber-coated metal bullets and 1 injury from a tear gas canister. (PCHR 7/11)

An estimated 30 people die across Egypt as supporters of deposed pres. Mohamed Morsi protest the military takeover. Twelve die in clashes in Alexandria, with 5 dead in Cairo as supporters and opponents of the Muslim Brotherhood fight in c. neighborhoods. Meanwhile, 5 police officers die in 3 separate attacks in the n. Sinai town of al-Arish, and gunmen also open fire on a military intelligence building in Rafah. The Egyptian authorities close the Rafah crossing on the border of the Gaza Strip due to the security situation. Separately, the Ansar Bayt al-Maqdes group says that it fired 2 rockets at Eilat from the Sinai, after Eilat residents report hearing 2 blasts—though searches by Israeli security forces find nothing. (AFP, AP, JP, MNA, REU 7/5)

The IDF shoots and injures 1 Palestinian during clashes in Abu Dis, East Jerusalem, sparked by a visit to the neighborhood by an Israeli intelligence officer. In the West Bank, IDF forces uproot around 700 olive trees in a village nr. Jenin. The IDF patrols in 1 village nr. Jenin in the morning, in 1 village nr. Jenin and 1 village nr. Ramallah in the afternoon, and in al-‘Arub r.c. nr. Hebron, 3 villages nr. Hebron, 1 village each nr. Qalqilya, nr. Ramallah and nr. Tulkarm at night. IDF troops conduct house searches and arrest raids in Hebron in the afternoon. The IDF makes an incursion into Gaza nr. Khan Yunis to level land and clear lines of sight along the border fence. (MNA, PCHR, WAFA 4/25; PCHR 5/2)

The Israeli air force shoots down an unmanned aerial vehicle over the Mediterranean Sea as it approaches the Israeli coast from the direction of Lebanon. No group claims responsibility, and Hizballah specifically denies involvement. (REU 4/25)

Israeli newspaper Ha’Aretz claims that the Obama admin. aims to host a Middle East peace summit in Washington in 6/2013, bringing together Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, Palestinian pres. Mahmud Abbas, and Jordan’s King Abdullah II. U.S. officials deny the report. (HA 4/25)

Hamas’s acting PM in Gaza Ismail Haniyeh authorizes a senior CEC team to begin updating Gaza’s voter rolls, in keeping with agreements reached in Cairo on 5/20/12. The CEC estimates that since the rolls were last updated for the 1/2006 elections, the number of eligible but unregistered Gaza voters has grown to as many as 250,000. (NYT 5/29)

In Hamza village, just n. of Jerusalem, Israeli security forces demolish a gas station, car wash, 2 auto body shops, and 2 cafeterias, confiscating several motorcycles, fuel pumps, gasoline, and equipment. Deeper in the West Bank, IDF soldiers nr. Qalqilya fire tear gas, stun grenades at a group of Palestinian laborers attempting to cross into Israel without permits to find work, causing no injuries but starting a small fire that burns a grove of 20 Palestinian olive trees. The IDF patrols in 2 villages nr. Ramallah and 1 nr. Jenin in the morning; in 1 village nr. Jericho in the afternoon; and in 2 villages each nr. Ramallah, Salfit, and Tulkarm and 1 nr. Jenin late at night. The IDF also conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Kafr Qaddum and nr. Hebron, Qalqilya, and Salfit. (PCHR 5/31; OCHA 6/1)

A Turkish court indicts 4 fmr. senior IDF commanders (fmr. IDF chief of staff Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi and those who headed the Israeli navy, air force, and military intelligence) who were in authority when Israel killed 9 Turks aboard the Mavi Marmara aid flotilla ship to Gaza in 2012 (see QU in JPS 157). The 4 officials are unlikely to appear for trial but may be tried in absentia. (NYT, WP 5/29; NYT 6/5)

The Washington Post runs (5/28) a special report alleging proof of an elaborate plan orchestrated either by Iranback Hizballah elements or operatives based in Iran to assassinate U.S. embassy officials and their families in Azerbaijan. The U.S., however, refrains at this stage from accusing Iran or Hizballah of direct involvement. (WP 5/28)

IDF troops make 2 brief incursion into Gaza to level land and clear lines of sight along the border fence nr. Bayt Lahiya in the north and Khan Yunis in the south. IDF soldiers on the n. Gaza border nr. Bayt Lahiya fire warning shots at Palestinian farmers who stray too near the border fence, forcing them to leave. IDF soldiers on the s. Gaza border open fire on Palestinian agricultural areas e. of Abasan, causing no reported damage or injuries. Israeli naval vessels fire at Palestinian fishing boats off the n. Gaza coast, forcing them to return to shore. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in 2 villages nr. Ramallah and 1 each nr. Qalqilya and Tulkarm in the morning; in 2 villages nr. Jenin and 1 each nr. Qalqilya and Tulkarm in the evening; and in 2 villages nr. Jericho and 1 each nr. Ramallah and Tulkarm late at night. The IDF also conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Jenin, including rearresting a PA General Intelligence officer released in the 2011 prisoner swap that freed captured IDF soldier Gilad Shalit. (PCHR 5/23; OCHA 5/25)

News hits the media that the new U.S. amb. to Israel Dan Shapiro recently told a meeting of the Israeli Bar Association that the U.S. is ready and willing to use military force against Iran if diplomacy and sanctions fail, stating that the military option is ‘‘not just available, but it’s ready. The necessary planning has been done.’’ A tape of Shapiro’s address was leaked to the AP, with an anonymous Israeli official stating: ‘‘Quite clearly he didn’t mean this to be public. ... For the Iranians to understand that he really means it, they have to hear it publicly and clearly.’’ (AP, ITV 5/17; NYT, WT 5/18; see Quarterly Update [QU] in JPS 165 for details on Iran.)

At a private fundraising event in Florida that is secretly taped and leaked to the media on 9/18/12, Republican presidential frontrunner Mitt Romney states that ‘‘the Palestinians have no interest whatsoever in establishing peace’’ and are ‘‘committed to the destruction and elimination of Israel.’’ He also opposes creation of an independent Palestinian state, assuming that it would become a client state of Iran. In terms of a U.S. mediating role in the peace process, he states: ‘‘The idea of pushing on the Israelis—to give something up, to get the Palestinians to act, is the worst idea in the world.’’ In response to the leak, which was seen (e.g., NYT 9/19)

as likely to damage Romney’s ability to act as a peace broker if elected, Romney publicly states on 9/18 that he stands by his longtime support for the U.S. official position advocating a negotiated 2-state solution. (Mother Jones 9/18; NYT 9/19)

Israeli DM Ehud Barak meets with U.S. secy. of defense Leon Panetta in Washington to request an additional $680 m./yr. in aid over 3 yrs. to help purchase 3–4 new Iron Dome antimissile batteries and another $168 m. for 3 other missile programs jointly developed with the U.S. (This is on top of an increase of $99.9 m. in funding for FY 2013 already requested by the Obama admin.) With the appeal coinciding with Israel cutting its defense budget by 5% per year for 2013 and 2014, critics complain (e.g., WP 5/17) that the U.S. is effectively helping balance Israel’s budget before balancing its own. (WP 5/17)

Paraguay recognizes Palestine as independent state on the 1967 borders. (JP 2/5)

In Gaza, 1,000s of Hamas supporters protest against the PA in light of the Palestine Papers revelations about negotiation concessions, particularly on the right of return. In the West Bank, around 2,000 Palestinians in Hebron and smaller groups in other cities attend Fatah-organized rallies in support of Abbas and against al-Jazeera. Also in the West Bank, a group of 100 armed Jewish settlers hiking nr. Khirbat Safa nr. Hebron is confronted by stone-throwing Palestinian youths, prompting 1 Jewish settler to open fire, killing 1 Palestinian teenager and wounding a 2d, marking the 2d such shooting in 2 days. Jewish settlers fr. Yonatan outpost in the East Jerusalem environs attack nearby Palestinian houses; accompanying IDF soldiers fire tear gas and stun grenades to keep Palestinians at a distance, sparking a fire that lightly damages 1 home. Meanwhile in the West Bank, the IDF patrols in villages nr. Ramallah, Tulkarm; enters Jayyus village nr. Qalqilya, searching 1 home but making no arrests. Palestinians (accompanied by Israeli and international activists in some areas) hold weekly nonviolent demonstrations against the separation wall, land confiscations, and settlement expansion in Bil‘in and Ni‘lin. IDF soldiers fire rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas, and stun grenades at the protesters, injuring 2 Palestinians. PA General Intelligence units detain leading Hizb al-Tahrir mbr. Mus‘ab Abu Arqub after Friday prayers in Dura nr. Hebron. (WP 1/29, MNA 1/30; PCHR 2/3; OCHA 2/4)

Across Egypt, 100,000s of protesters heed the call to observe a “Friday of rage” in Egypt, launching massive demonstrations after midday prayers. Protesters burn the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) headquarters in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. Police stations and NDP offices are torched in several of Cairo’s middleclass neighborhoods and poorer quarters, as well as in Alexandria, Suez, Port Said, Damietta, Damanhour, and other areas of Upper Egypt and Sinai; prisoners in several jails are freed. With regular police already largely having withdrawn fr. the street, not wanting to confront protesters, Mubarak sends out security and plain-clothes police who violently clash with demonstrators and target journalists, killing as many as 300 and injuring as many as 2,000. Protesters in Cairo and Alexandria overwhelm the security police by dusk, forcing Mubarak to withdraw them to regroup and send the army and tanks into the cities to impose a curfew; but when protesters ignore the curfew, the army does not act. Later, Mubarak appears on state TV and, in effort to appease critics and quell protests, pledges to speed up his program of political and economic reforms, announcing that he has dissolved his cabinet, appointed a new PM to form a new government, and named military intelligence chief Gen. Omar Suleiman as his 1st ever VP, but protesters vow to remain in the streets until he steps down. The U.S. issues its first warnings that it will review its $1.56 b. in annual aid to Egypt depending on how events unfold in the coming days, pressing its contacts within the Egyptian army to avoid violence. Abbas, however, phones Mubarak to assure him of the PA’s support for Egypt’s security and stability. (IHS Global Insight, Middle East Research and Information Project, NYT, WP 1/29; MNA 1/30)

In Jordan, where criticism of the king is banned, 1,000s of demonstrators inspired by events in Egypt and Tunisia turn out after Friday prayers in Amman and cities across the kingdom to demand the resignation of PM Samir al-Rifa‘i and his cabinet, dissolution of the parliament, and a new round of free and fair elections. (The last parliamentary elections held in 11/2010 were widely criticized as fraudulent.) (NYT 1/29; NYT, WP 1/30; WP 2/1; NYT 2/2)

IDF troops on the Gaza border fatally shoot a 65-yr.-old Palestinian farmer working his land nr. the border fence. IDF troops make a brief incursion into c. Gaza e. of Gaza Valley village to level lands and clear lines of sight, and into the border area n. of Bayt Hanun to issue demolition orders for several structures, firing on stone-throwing Palestinians who confront them, injuring 1. Unidentified Palestinians fire 4 Qassam rockets fr. Gaza into Israel in 2 barrages, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF demolishes 2 Palestinian homes nr. Qalqilya; conducts numerous patrols in villages and open areas around Qalqilya during the day, stopping Palestinians to check IDs and raiding 1 home, but making no arrests; patrols without incident in 2 villages nr. Jenin, 2 nr. Salfit, and 2 nr. Tulkarm in the morning and afternoon; conducts latenight arrest raids, house searches in Nabi Salih, Nur Shams r.c. (searching the home of and arresting a PA military intelligence officer, confiscating his computers and cell phones), and Salfit (searching the home of and arresting Hamas-affiliated PC mbr. Omar ‘Abd al-Rizk; see Quarterly Update for details). In East Jerusalem, Israeli authorities demolish 2 Palestinian stables in al-Tur and Wadi al-Juz neighborhoods. (AP 1/10; NYT 1/11; PCHR 1/13; OCHA 1/14)

Overnight the IDF raids the PA Military Intelligence headquarters in Ramallah, arrests 18 wanted AMB mbrs. who had been taking refuge there, 50 other PA Military Intelligence officers and employees (most of whom are released after interrogation); the IDF claims that the 18 were funded by Iran through Hizballah to carry out attacks on Israeli targets but offers no proof. During the day, IDF troops on the n. Gaza border send bulldozers 500 m into the border area nr. Bayt Hanun to level land, while IDF troops in the West Bank seal a Hamas-affiliated social services office and kindergarten in Bayt Fajjar nr. Bethlehem, another charitable society and kindergarten in neighboring al-Khadir. Late in the evening, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in Azariyya nr. Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Hebron, Nablus, al-Til nr. Tulkarm, Tulkarm r.c. In Israel, Israeli police arrest Shaykh Raed Salah, leader of the Islamic Movement in Israel, on suspicion of provocative behavior for attending a rally in East Jerusalem protesting Israel’s construction at the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount. In Gaza’s Nussayrat r.c., 4 unknown gunmen kidnap, break the hands of, then release a PA security officer. A PA General Intelligence Service mbr. dies of injuries sustained in interfactional fighting in Jabaliya on 2/2. (NYT, PCHR 3/8; OCHA 3/14; PCHR 3/15)

IDF troops on the n. Gaza border shoot, wound a Palestinian farmer who strays nr. the border fence n. of Bayt Lahiya. AMB mbrs. fire an RPG at an IDF observation post on the Gaza border e. of Gaza City, causing no damage or injuries; the IDF directs heavy machine gun fire in return, killing 1 AMB mbr. The Israeli navy fires on the Gaza beach nr. Bayt Lahiya, wounding 1 Palestinian. In the West Bank, the IDF demolishes 11 bedouin homes nr. 3 Jewish settlements southwest of Jenin; bulldozes 38 d. of Palestinian olive, almond trees nr. Nablus; raids the offices of the al-Ihsan Charitable Society in Hebron, confiscating files, computer discs; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron and in Nur al-Shams r.c. nr. Tulkarm, Tulkarm r.c. The PA fires 470 mbrs of the security forces (at least 150 fr. the Presidential Guard; the remainder fr. Force 17, Military Intelligence, the PSF) for “mutinous behavior”. Today, 10s of fired security officers stage a sit-in outside the PC offices in Gaza to demand that the PA rescind their dismissals. (Jerusalem Post 2/13; OCHA 2/14; PCHR 2/15; OCHA 2/21)

In the West Bank, the IDF sends undercover units into Azun in a car with Palestinian license plates, surrounds a home, arrests 1 PSF mbr. who surrenders; conducts random ID checks in, fires on residential areas of Kafr Dan nr. Jenin; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Jenin and Nablus, in Dahaysha r.c., nr. Bethlehem, Hebron; burns 70 d. of agricultural land btwn. the separation wall and the Green Line nr. Tulkarm (see 8/5). In Ramallah, 7 Palestinians working in the PC building are taken to the hospital with breathing difficulties after opening a suspicious letter addressed to PM Haniyeh; the building is evacuated. The PA head of military intelligence for n. Gaza dies of injuries received in an ambush in Jabaliya r.c. on 8/6; no group claims responsibility. (AP 8/7; WP 8/8; OCHA 8/9; PCHR 8/10)

Overnight, the IDF destroys the last remaining bridge over the Litani River linking n. and s. Lebanon; this cuts off access to Tyre. The IDF announces a 10:00 P.M. curfew on Tyre, saying that any movement there after dark and any vehicular traffic s. of the Litani River at any time will henceforth be considered Hizballah activity and a legitimate target. As UN mbrs. narrow differences on a cease-fire res., Olmert’s security cabinet discusses speeding up the IDF’s advance to the Litani River, escalating attacks on Lebanon’s civilian infrastructure. During the day, the IDF continues heavy air, artillery strikes on some 150 targets across Lebanon, hitting s. Beirut (including 47 killed, 70 wounded in the Christian-Shi‘i suburb of al-Shiyah, where Shi‘a are pro-Amal), the Biqa‘ Valley (including Baalbek, Masnaa), in and around Nabatiyya (including 7 civilians killed in air strikes on cars traveling in Qasmiyya; 15 killed, 20 wounded in an air strike on an apartment building in Ghaziyya), and across s. Lebanon (including demolishing a 4-building apartment complex in Tyre), killing at least 69 Lebanese civilians; continues ground operations across s. Lebanon that leave 3 IDF soldiers dead, 7 wounded in Bint Jubayl and include heavy fighting in Hula (the IDF claims to kill at least 15 Hizballah mbrs.); downs an unmanned Hizballah drone off the s. Lebanon coast. Hizballah fires 130 rockets into n. Israel, injuring 10 Israelis, hitting targets in Acre, Carmiel, Kiryat Shimona (70 rockets), Ma’alot, Nahariya, Safad. The ICRC says that the IDF has barred humanitarian aid missions to the south for 3 days. (BBC, NYT, WP 8/7; BBC, NYT, WP, WT 8/8; WP, WT 8/9; WP 8/10)

The IDF makes 1 air and 3 artillery strikes on a field deep inside the n. Gaza no-go zone nr. Bayt Lahiya, killing 2 Palestinians; occupies the PA military intelligence headquarters in Jenin, forcing all PA officers to leave, arresting 1; conducts arrest raids in and around Jenin town and r.c., and in Hebron, Nablus, al-Til, Tulkarm, Yatta. Some 50 AMB gunmen occupy a PA Interior Min. office in Gaza for several hrs., demanding jobs. Some 30 armed mbrs. of a Palestinian clan that clashed with PA police in Gaza City on 12/29 and 12/30 rally outside the Rafah crossing, threaten to bar PA officials fr. crossing if their relative is not freed by police.AMB mbrs. protesting the Fatah party list (see 12/28) take over a West Bank hotel, demand that foreign election observers leave. (REU, XIN, YA 12/31; IMEMC, NYT, WP 1/1; PCHR 1/5)

Before dawn, the IDF sends undercover units into Nablus to arrest 6 Palestinians, including PA General Intelligence officer Amjad Mus‘ad; in the evening, fires 27 artillery rounds at n. Gaza in response to 3 mortars fired by Palestinians towards Israel, causing no damage or injuries on either side; late in the evening, undercover units return to Nablus, surround a PA security vehicle patrolling the area, order the7 PA security officers to lie on the ground, confiscate their weapons and phones, hold them for an hr., release them. The IDF also lifts the seal on the West Bank and Gaza imposed on 12/5, opens Qalandia crossing (closed since 12/8); raids and closes 10s of shops in Anabta, withdraws, later returns to conduct arrest raids and house searches; bulldozes a Palestinian home in East Jerusalem, sparking clashes with 10s of local Palestinians; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Nablus, nr. Tulkarm. IDF soldiers bar an ambulance fr. transporting a critically ill 10-yr.-old Palestinian boy to a hospital in Jerusalem, beating a female paramedic and driver, arresting the paramedic; a 2d ambulance arrives, takes the patient to a Ramallah hospital. In Dayr al-Balah, 10 AMB gunmen angry over the Fatah primaries raid a PA election office, force it to close. In Gaza City, unidentified gunmen fire on a PA police patrol, killing 1 PA policeman, wounding a 2d; the incident may be connected to the Bayt Hanun clan violence (see 12/7) as the dead policeman belongs to 1 of the families. (AP, HA, IMEMC, PCHR, PRCS, XIN, YA 12/12; AP, NYT 12/13; PCHR 12/15; PLO press release 12/21)

The IDF raids al-Quds Open University campus in Hebron, holds 52 students and staff for interrogation for 3 hrs. until the Temporary International Presence in Hebron intervenes; raids, searches Palestinian homes nr. Nablus, Ramallah; conducts late night arrest raids, house searches in and around Ramallah, nr. Bethlehem. Also in Gaza, 1 Italian, 1 French journalist are kidnapped, quickly released by unidentified gunmen who say they wanted to pressure the PA to address employment issues in the Strip. In Bayt Lahiya, suspected militant Fatah mbrs. shoot, wound PA military intelligence official Bassam Azzam (who was close to assassinated military intelligence cmdr. Musa Arafat). Later, suspected Hamas mbrs. kidnap, shoot, then dump seriously wounded senior Fatah official Samir al-Juz in Bayt Lahiya. Soon after, a previously unknown group calling itself the Omar Bin al-Khattab Brigades (OBKB; suspected to be made up of disaffected PA General Intelligence officers angry over the 10/2 clashes) kidnaps senior Hamas mbrs. (Bassam Obeido, Hassan Safi, Ra’id Raz) in Bethlehem, Hebron, and Tulkarm, stating that “this is a response to Hamas’s violations and disregard for law and order and their attacks on security institutions and Palestinian leaders.... This is our first response”; Hamas blames elements of Fatah; the AMB says it is not involved. (HA, IMEMC, JAZ 10/6; Irish Examiner 10/7; AFP, NYT 10/8; MEI 10/12; PCHR 10/13)

Israel says it has begun construction of 2 additional fences around the Gaza Strip—1 of razor wire, 1 with electronic sensors and surveillance cameras—to ensure Israeli security after disengagement; both fences will be inside Israel. IDF undercover units make a major incursion into Tulkarm, raid the home of wanted Islamic Jihad mbr. Mu’ayyad Musa, fatally shoot him in an apparent assassination. The IDF demolishes a Palestinian home in Husan w. of Bethlehem for construction of the separation wall; fires on residential areas of Budrus nr. Ramallah, Rafah; raids the Abu Huli neighborhood of Dayr al-Balah, searches homes, rounds up residents for interrogation, arrests 2; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Bayt Khalil nr. Hebron, Burqin, Nablus, Qabatya, Yatta. Palestinians fire 3 rockets at Sederot and the Negev, a mortar at the Gaza security fence, causing no damage or injuries.Armed mbrs. of the Jenin Martyrs Brigades (a Bureij cell of the PRCs affiliated with Fatah) kidnap PA military intelligence officer Jihad ‘Abid (fmr. aide to fmr. military intelligence head Musa Arafat) as he returns to Gaza through the Rafah crossing. (AFP, HA, XIN, 7/28; NYT 7/29; PR 8/3; PCHR 8/4; HA 8/8)

The IDF fatally shoots a Palestinian motorist who fails to stop at a flying checkpoint btwn. Nablus and Tulkarm; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem and Hebron, in Nablus, in and around Tulkarm. Some 50 armed PA military intelligence officers block main roads in Gaza City, raid the PC offices in Rafah to protest the PA’s decision to meld military intelligence into the regular PA security forces. (PCHR 6/2; JP 6/2 in WNC 6/3; OCHA 6/8; PCHR 6/9)

The IDF fatally shoots 5 Palestinians in incidents across the Gaza Strip: 2 are killed attempting to cross the border fence into Israel, 2 are killed while allegedly planting a roadside bomb, 1 is fatally shot nr. a Jewish settlement. The IDF also shells residential areas of Khan Yunis, seriously injuring a 3-yr.-old and 6-yr.-old in their beds; fires on residential areas, stone-throwing Palestinians in Balata r.c., Bayt Furik; arrests 70 Palestinians harvesting olives nr. Bayt Jala; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Bethlehem, Dura, al-Khadir, Nabi Salih nr. Ramallah, Silwad, Tulkarm. A Palestinian dies of injuries received a wk. earlier in Rafah. At midday in Gaza City, PA preventive security officers, PA military intelligence officers exchange gunfire, toss grenades at each other, leaving 1 preventive security officer seriously injured, 3 others lightly injured; later in the day, the same group exchanges fire again, leaving 2 people injured; Fatah, PA officials meet later to contain the crisis, the reasons for which are unknown. (REU 10/18; VOP 10/18 in WNC 10/20; BBC, WP 10/19; JAZ, VOI 10/19 in WNC 10/21; PR 10/20; PCHR 10/21)

The IDF closes the Rafah crossing to Egypt indefinitely, citing security concerns; conducts an overnight raid into Saida nr. Tulkarm, firing on residential areas, rounding up residents for questioning, exchanging fire with Palestinian gunmen, killing 2 wanted Palestinians; conducts house searches in Bizariyya in the West Bank, causing a 57-yr.- old Palestinian woman to suffer a fatal heart attack; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Askar r.c., ‘Azun nr. Qalqilya, Bayt Rima, al-Khadir, al-Mughraqa; fires on Palestinians waiting to cross a checkpoint in the al-Mawasi area of s. Gaza, wounding 5; fires on residential areas of Rafah; bulldozes large areas of agricultural land, demolishes 2 civilian cars in Bayt Hanun. A 4-yr.-old Palestiniandies of injuries received in Rafah on 7/7. (VOP 7/18 in WNC 7/21; PR 7/21; PCHR 7/22)

Outside the PC headquarters in Gaza, Fatah mbrs. continue to protest against Musa Arafat’s appointment. In the evening, some 150 armed AMB mbrs. attack the PA military intelligence headquarters in Rafah, using a bulldozer in an attempt to break into the complex, exchanging gunfire with security guards, leaving 18 Palestinians (including at least 3 AMB mbrs., several bystanders) wounded. AMB mbrs. also attack the PA military intelligence building in Khan Yunis, setting 2 offices ablaze, stealing weapons, freeing some detainees, wounding a security guard in an exchange of fire; staging marches in Nussayrat r.c. Navy security chief Juma Ghali, an Arafat loyalist, resigns his position to protest the Musa Arafat appointment. (MM, NYT, WP, WT 7/19; SA 7/19 in WNC 7/21; AYM 7/19 in WNC 7/24; PR 7/21; WP 7/22)

IDF commandos ambush, assassinate wanted PA intelligence officer Ayid Mansur outside his home in Nablus. The IDF fatally shoots 1 Palestinian nr. the new security wall in Zita; raids a makeshift PSF jail in Tulkarm, arresting 6 PSF officers, 12 prisoners (the PSF officers, 9 prisoners are later released); conducts arrest raids, searches houses, blows up 2 Palestinian homes in Bayt Hanun; fires on residential areas, bulldozes 1 Palestinian home and part of a mosque in Brazil r.c.; conducts arrest raids, house-to-house searches, fires on residential areas in Askar r.c.; raids Qalandia r.c., detaining 50 Palestinians; directs shells, heavy machine gun fire at residential areas of Bayt Lahia, Gaza City, Rafah; bulldozes 17.5 dunams of Palestinian land s. of Khan Yunis. Some 40 prominent Israelis outraged by recent Jewish settler attacks on Palestinian olive pickers travel to the West Bank to participate in a Palestinian olive harvest. (GS, LAW, PCHR 10/30; PCHR, PR 11/6; MEI 11/8)

DM and Labor party head Ben-Eliezer resigns fr. the government hrs. before Sharon’s FY 2003 budget passes (67-45) in the Knesset, with all 25 Labor party MKs voting against. Afterward, the 5 other Labor Ms, including FM Shimon Peres, resign. (HA, MM 10/30; MM, NYT, WP, WT 10/31; JT 10/31 in WNC 11/1; al-Quds 11/2, MENA 11/3 in WNC 11/5; AYM 11/2 in WNC 11/8; JPI, MEI 11/8)