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  • December 27, 2012

    Israeli naval vessels open fire on Palestinian fishermen 6 naut. mi. from the Gaza shore nr. al-Waha, causing no injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in 3 villages nr. Ramallah in the...

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  • November 22, 2012

    Israeli leaders defend the 11/21 Gaza cease-fire in the face of strong criticism from politicians like Yesh Atid’s Yair Lapid and Kadima’s Shaul Mofaz, who believe that the operation had not...

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  • September 21, 2012

    Three unidentified gunmen enter Israel from the Egyptian Sinai nr. Mount Harif, where Israel’s new border fence is currently under construction. They are killed in an exchange of gunfire with IDF...

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  • July 17, 2012

    The IDF patrols in 2 villages nr. Tulkarm (synchronized) and 1 nr. Ramallah during the day; patrols in Jenin, Jericho and 2 villages nr. Jericho and Ramallah late at night; and conducts late-night...

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  • March 14, 2006

    Early in the morning, the British and U.S. monitors guarding 6 political prisoners in the PA’s Jericho jail pull out of the city, citing security concerns. Within 20 minutes, the IDF encircles and...

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  • December 4, 2005

    Israel increases the number of Palestinian workers allowed into Israel fr. the West Bank to 37,000, while Israeli police launch a crackdown on Palestinians working in Israel without permits,...

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  • December 26, 2002

    The IDF reoccupies Bethlehem following Christmas celebrations, reimposes a 24-hr. curfew on residents; assassinates local AMB head Jamal Yahya in Tulkarm; assassinates Hamas mbr. Bassam Ashqar,...

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  • November 1, 2002

    The IDF continues Operation Vanguard in Jenin, arresting Islamic Jihad mbr. Fayiz Tubasi, wanted for plotting the 10/21 suicide bombing; conducts arrest raids in Ramallah, Tulkarm (...

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  • July 8, 2001

    Israeli-Palestinian violence continues. The IDF says that overnight Palestinians threw 60 grenades at an IDF post in Rafah, where a Palestinian boy was killed on 7/7, but caused no damage....

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  • October 29, 2000

    With Israeli-Palestinian clashes showing no sign of abating, IDF chief of staff Gen. Shaul Mofaz announces that the army will begin initiating attacks on Palestinian targets, especially Fatah...

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Israeli naval vessels open fire on Palestinian fishermen 6 naut. mi. from the Gaza shore nr. al-Waha, causing no injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in 3 villages nr. Ramallah in the morning, in 1 village nr. Jenin and 1 village nr. Ramallah in the afternoon, and in 1 village nr. Jericho, 2 villages nr. Hebron, and al-‘Arub r.c. nr. Hebron at night; conducts house searches and arrest raids in 1 village nr. Jenin and 1 village nr. Bethlehem at night. Jewish settlers uproot 40 olive trees in Qusra village nr. Nablus. (MNA 12/27; PCHR 1/3)

PA pres. Abbas tells Israeli newspaper Ha’Aretz that if both settlement construction and the diplomatic stalemate continue after the forthcoming Israeli elections, he will dismantle the PA. He also says that Israel has reduced security cooperation with the PA since the UN vote in 11/2012. Abbas says he does not intend to bring charges against Israel at the ICC in The Hague, at least ‘‘as long as there are diplomatic negotiations.’’ Meanwhile, UK min. for the Middle East Alistair Burt condemns Israel’s plans to expand settlements in East Jerusalem and its official recognition of Ariel University Center as a university in unusually strong terms that refer to the Geneva Conventions. (HA, ToI 12/27)

Kadima chair Shaul Mofaz warns that Israel might be on the brink of a 3d intifada. Israeli media report an increasing number of small-scale clashes between Palestinians and the IDF in different locations throughout the West Bank since the end of Operation Pillar of Defense, including stone-throwing Palestinians attacking Israeli vehicles and IDF troops. (ToI 12/27)

Hamas issues an order banning Palestinian journalists in the Gaza Strip from working with or giving interviews to the Israeli media, and instructs government officials similarly. Meanwhile, Fatah cancels its anniversary celebrations in Gaza, citing Hamas’s refusal to agree to their proposed locations for the event. (Guardian, MNA 12/27)

In Syria, 4 Palestinians are killed when Syrian government forces shell Yarmuk r.c. nr. Damascus, the 1st attack of its kind since the rocketing of the camp on 12/16 that killed at least 25 people. (NYT 12/27; MNA 12/28)

Israeli leaders defend the 11/21 Gaza cease-fire in the face of strong criticism from politicians like Yesh Atid’s Yair Lapid and Kadima’s Shaul Mofaz, who believe that the operation had not successfully restored ‘‘deterrence.’’ DM Barak asserts that ‘‘it is still not time to enter Gaza in a very wide operation and conquer it.’’ Barak also reveals that Israel dropped 1,000 times as many explosives on the Gaza Strip as landed on its soil. FM Lieberman (Yisrael Beiteinu) states that Israel will ‘‘eventually need to overthrow the Hamas regime.’’ (INN, JP, REU, YA 11/22)

In Gaza, Palestinian factions organize a major rally in Gaza City to celebrate the cease-fire and call for national reconciliation. On a rare visit to Gaza since the Hamas takeover in 2007, Fatah Central Comm. mbr. Nabil Shaath tells the crowds that Israel failed to isolate them from the West Bank. PM Ismail Haniyeh tells the rally that the ‘‘resistance fighters changed the rules of the game’’ but that the fighters should ‘‘guard’’ the truce ‘‘as long as Israel respects it.’’ (AP, MNA 11/22)

Meanwhile, the toll of Operation Pillar of Defense continues to climb: an Israeli soldier dies from injuries sustained by a Palestinian rocket attack during the operation, becoming the 2d soldier and 6th Israeli to die in the fighting. In the Gaza Strip, rescue workers pull the bodies of 2 more Palestinians from the rubble of the Dalou family home (bombed on 11/18), raising the Palestinian toll to 160. Though the ceasefire generally continues to hold, the IDF opens fire on Palestinians who protest at the border fence nr. Khan Yunis, injuring 1 man. (AP, MNA 11/22; PCHR 11/29)

In the West Bank, Israeli authorities transfer 30 Palestinian prisoners to administrative detention, apparently because of their involvement in solidarity events for Gaza. (MNA 11/22)

The IDF patrols in 1 village each nr. Jenin and Tulkarm in the afternoon; conducts house searches and arrests in 1 village nr. Jenin in the morning and in Qalqilya, al-Bireh, Balata r.c. nr. Nablus, 3 villages nr. Hebron, 1 village nr. Jenin, 1 village nr. Qalqilya, 1 village nr. Tulkarm, Nur Shams r.c. nr. Tulkarm, 1 village nr. Ramallah, and Bethlehem, 4 nearby villages, and Dahaysha r.c. and al-Azza r.c. (both nr. Bethlehem) at night. Those detained overnight include at least 5 mbrs. of the Palestinian parliament affiliated with Hamas. Right-wing Jewish extremists chop down 300 olive trees belonging to Palestinians nr. Hebron, leaving graffiti nearby reading ‘‘price tag’’ and ‘‘regards from Beersheba and Tel Aviv.’’ (MNA 11/22; MNA, ToI 11/23; PCHR 11/29)

The European Parliament passes a resolution expressing support for ‘‘Palestine’s bid to become a UN nonmember observer.’’ (EJP 11/22)

The Lebanese army disables a rocket aimed at Israel and say 2 others were fired but fell short of the border. No group claims responsibility. (REU 11/22)

Three unidentified gunmen enter Israel from the Egyptian Sinai nr. Mount Harif, where Israel’s new border fence is currently under construction. They are killed in an exchange of gunfire with IDF soldiers that also leaves 1 IDF soldier dead. (HA, MNA, REU 9/21)

Palestinian protesters angered at the EU’s policies toward Israel and Palestine demonstrate under the banner of ‘‘Palestinians for Dignity’’ outside the Ramallah offices of the European mission training Palestinian police. (MNA 9/21)

In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in 1 village in Ramallah in the morning; conducts house searches and arrest raids in 1 village nr. Qalqilya and al-Fawar r.c. nr. Hebron in the morning; patrols in 1 village nr. Qalqilya in the afternoon; patrols in Hebron, 1 village nr. Jenin, and 1 village nr. Tulkarm at night; conducts house searches and arrest raids in Hebron, 2 villages nr. Hebron, and al-‘Arub r.c. nr. Hebron. (PCHR 9/27)

Israel’s opposition leader MK Shaul Mofaz (Kadima) says that Israel will not attack Iranian nuclear sites this year and that the U.S. must take the lead in any attack on Iran. (MNA 9/21)

The IDF patrols in 2 villages nr. Tulkarm (synchronized) and 1 nr. Ramallah during the day; patrols in Jenin, Jericho and 2 villages nr. Jericho and Ramallah late at night; and conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron. Hamas authorities in Gaza hang 3 Palestinian prisoners (all convicted of murder in 2004, 2009, and 2010). (PCHR 7/19; OCHA 7/20)

The Knesset education comm. votes to grant full university status to an academic center in Ariel settlement, deep in the West Bank, making it the first accredited Israeli university in occupied Palestinian territory. The decision comes as Palestinian medical students from al-Quds University in Abu Dis, just outside East Jerusalem, await a verdict on their appeal of a 2/2012 Israeli ruling that denied their request to be allowed to sit for Israeli exams that would certify them to practice in East Jerusalem or Israel. The Israeli government had denied the students permission to sit for the exams on the grounds that al-Quds was not an accredited Israeli university and could not gain accreditation because it was a Palestinian entity located in the West Bank. When they then sought permission to take the tests as foreigners, the Israeli court denied permission on the grounds that al-Quds could not be considered a foreign university, since it also has a campus in East Jerusalem. There has long been a shortage of doctors to treat Palestinians in East Jerusalem, where most Palestinian doctors are forced to work without licenses. (HA 2/13/12)

After 2 weeks of unsuccessful efforts to draft plans that would integrate ultraOrthodox Jews and Palestinian citizens of Israel into the Israeli military, Kadima head Shaul Mofaz quits PM Netanyahu’s governing coalition; Netanyahu does not try to dissuade him. Analysts believed the decision (e.g., NYT 7/19) hurts both Kadima and Likud, and might hasten early elections. (NYT 7/18, 7/19)

Fmr. Israeli government attorney David Scharia is named the UNSC’s chief counterterrorism lawyer, marking the first time that an Israeli has been appointed to a security post within the UN Secretariat. (WP 7/18)

Early in the morning, the British and U.S. monitors guarding 6 political prisoners in the PA’s Jericho jail pull out of the city, citing security concerns. Within 20 minutes, the IDF encircles and imposes a curfew on Jericho, sends 80 tanks and armored vehicles, backed by helicopters, into the city, launching Operation Bring the Goods Home to take custody of the 6 prisoners (including PFLP head Ahmad Saadat). IDF troops surround the jail, order the 280 prisoners and PA guards to surrender, begin demolishing the jail and attached PA barracks, clashing with some prisoners, guards, and local Palestinians. (Although the U.S., Britain deny coordinating with Israel, Israeli DM Shaul Mofaz says Israel knew of the monitors pending departure and had been plotting the attack for 1 wk.). After 12 hrs., the remaining prisoners, including the 6 targeted men, surrender. At least 1 PA prison guard and 1 Palestinian prisoner are killed, more than 50 guards and prisoners are wounded, 10s of local Palestinians are injured. In response to the raid, Palestinian gunmen across Gaza and the West Bank (reportedly PFLP and AMB mbrs.) raid hotels, news outlets, and foreign offices, kidnapping at least 9 foreigners, vandalizing foreign-owned offices. Most foreigners kidnapped are quickly released. PA police fire on PFLP mbrs. breaking into the French Cultural Center in Gaza, killing 1 PFLP mbr., wounding 9. Some 15,000 Palestinians demonstrate in Gaza City. As a result of the violence, the UN suspends operations in Gaza; the EU withdraws observers from the Rafah crossing, forcing it to close. Meanwhile, the IDF also closes the Qarni crossing; bars a pregnant Palestinian woman fr. crossing a checkpoint to reach a Ramallah hospital, forcing her to give birth at the checkpoint; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Bethlehem, nr. Hebron and Qalqilya, and in ‘Aida r.c., Jenin town and r.c., Qabatya; begins work on a new segment of the separation wall nr. Dahiyat al-Barid n. of Jerusalem. Israel releases jailed Change and Reform PC mbr. Omar ‘Abd al-Raziq on bail; he was detained 3 mos. ago on charges of belonging to and handling money for Hamas. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba hold Purim parades through Palestinian areas of Hebron under IDF escort, vandalizing Palestinian property and beating 2 Palestinian children (ages 11, 13). (AP, BBC, HA, IMEMC, JAZ, MM, PCHR, REU, XIN 3/14; HA, IMEMC, JAZ, MM, NYT, WP, WT, YA 3/15; DS, MM, NYT, PCHR 3/16; MA, Middle East News Agency, MM, VOP 3/18 in WNC 3/19; AP 3/20; MM 3/21, 3/23; HA 4/26; NYT 4/27)

Israel increases the number of Palestinian workers allowed into Israel fr. the West Bank to 37,000, while Israeli police launch a crackdown on Palestinians working in Israel without permits, arresting 250. The IDF erects a fortified observation tower on the Gaza border nr. Khan Yunis; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Jenin, al-Khadir and nr. Hebron. AMB mbrs. fire 3 rockets into Israel, causing light damage but no injuries. Late in the evening, the IDF responds with artillery strikes on rocket launch sites in n. Gaza, with fighter jets creating sonic booms over the Strip and conducting air strikes on an Islamic Jihad charity and alleged weapons-making factory; Israeli DM Shaul Mofaz approves an increase in assassinations in response to the rocket attacks. PA police shoot, seriously wound a Palestinian driver in Ramallah who refuses to stop for an ID check, precipitating a protest by some 100 bystanders, joined by AMB gunmen who force local shop owners to close their stores in protest. (HA, IMEMC, XIN 12/4; HA, VOI, WT 12/5; IMEMC 12/6; NYT 12/7; PCHR 12/8)

The IDF reoccupies Bethlehem following Christmas celebrations, reimposes a 24-hr. curfew on residents; assassinates local AMB head Jamal Yahya in Tulkarm; assassinates Hamas mbr. Bassam Ashqar, ambushing his car in Ramallah, also killing a Palestinian bystander; raids Qabatiyya, assassinating local Islamic Jihad leader Yusif Abu Rub, demolishing his family house, arresting local Izzeddine al-Qassam Brigades head Natzir Nazal, senior Hamas mbr. Talal al-Baz; sends undercover units into a hospital in Ramallah, fatally shooting wanted Palestinian Samir al-Shamali, who was working there as a guard, in what may be an assassination, sparking demonstrations, clashes with local residents that leave 1 Palestinian stone thrower dead; fatally shoots 2 Palestinians “approaching” Netzarim settlement; fires on demonstrators protesting the curfew in Nablus, killing 1 Palestinian, wounding 20; raids a village n. of Ramallah, firing stun grenades, causing an elderly Palestinian to suffer a fatal heart attack; imposes a curfew on Beitunia, sends 30 tanks into the town; conducts house-to-house searches, arrest raids in Qalqilya; fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis. The PA accuses Israel of stepping up attacks on Palestinians in an effort to scuttle Fatah-Hamas talks in Cairo. The IDF also announces that it has begun building 300-yd.-wide buffer zones around several Jewish settlements in the West Bank (see Quarterly Update in JPS 126). Palestinians fire 2 mortars at a Jewish settlement in Gaza, causing damage but no injuries. This evening, Israeli DM Shaul Mofaz orders the IDF to step up pressure on militant groups in the territories. (HP, LAW, PCHR, PM 12/26; HA, NYT, WP, WT 12/27; AYM, Interfax, ITAR-TASS, al-Quds 12/27, De Standaard 12/28 in WNC 12/31; NYT, WT 12/28; LAW, PCHR 1/1)

The IDF continues Operation Vanguard in Jenin, arresting Islamic Jihad mbr. Fayiz Tubasi, wanted for plotting the 10/21 suicide bombing; conducts arrest raids in Ramallah, Tulkarm (where troops search a school); shells residential areas of Khan Yunis; razes 219.5 dunams of land nr. Bayt Hanun. An AMB gunman fires on an IDF patrol nr. Beit El, is fatally shot by the soldiers. IDF soldiers nr. Tulkarm bar an ambulance fr. transporting a patient to the hospital, search the vehicle, order paramedics to return fr. where they came. (HA 11/1; LAW, PCHR 11/6; PRCS press release 11/10)

After the mandatory 48 hr. waiting period, Labor party resignations take effect, leaving Sharon with a right-wing minority coalition of 55 of 120 Knesset seats. Sharon invites Likud party rival and fmr. PM Benjamin Netanyahu to take the position of FM, fmr. IDF chief of staff Shaul Mofaz to take the position of DM. (HA 11/1; NYT, WP 11/2)

Israeli-Palestinian violence continues. The IDF says that overnight Palestinians threw 60 grenades at an IDF post in Rafah, where a Palestinian boy was killed on 7/7, but caused no damage. Following the boy's funeral today, Palestinians fire on the same IDF post, causing no injuries. Undercover IDF units kidnap senior Hamas mbr. Ayoub Sharawi, wanted by Israel for allegedly "dispatching terrorist cells," fr. Hebron. The IDF also directs machine gun fire at residential areas of Khan Yunis (injuring 2), Yibna; occupies 2 Palestinian homes in Nabi Salah as a military post, evicting residents and injuring 12, including 1 Palestinian woman who suffers a miscarriage; bulldozes 40 dunams Palestinian land nr. Netzarim settlement; sets fire to an olive grove along the Zawata-Bayt Ibia road; fires on a Force-17 post in Hebron. Palestinians detonate a roadside bomb nr. an IDF vehicle outside Hebron, injuring at least 1 soldier; fire on a Jewish settler bus nr. Ramallah, injuring 1 settler. Jewish settlers vandalize Palestinian property, severely beat 3 Palestinians in Hebron; vandalize Palestinian homes, cars in al-Sahla; bulldoze land, set fire to cattle pens, damage water wells in al-Musafir. 2 Palestinians are shot, wounded by snipers nr. Abraham Avino settlement in Hebron. The PA sentences Tahir Walid Jabir to life in prison with hard labor for collaborating with Israel. (PMC 7/8; HA, HP, NYT, PMC, WT 7/9; NYT 7/10; MEI 7/13)

After an Israeli cabinet mtg. on the security situation, DM Ben-Eliezer says Israel will ease its "policy of restraint," gauge its response to "terrorist attacks in terms of their potential to do violence, and not their results." The cabinet reportedly approves IDF Chief of Staff Shaul Mofaz's revisions to the IDF's 6/2 assault plan, entitled "The Destruction of the Palestinian Authority and Disarmament of All Armed Forces," which he recommends be implemented after the next big suicide bombing inside Israel that causes heavy casualties. (HA 7/8; MM 7/11; AFP [Internet], CBS News [Internet] 7/12; HA, WP 7/13; REU 7/14; WP 7/16; AN 7/16 in WNC 7/17)

With Sharon's permission, Peres meets with Palestinian Council (PC) speaker Ahmad Qurai` to discuss the cease-fire. (NYT 7/12; MA 7/17 in WNC 7/18; MM 7/19)

With Israeli-Palestinian clashes showing no sign of abating, IDF chief of staff Gen. Shaul Mofaz announces that the army will begin initiating attacks on Palestinian targets, especially Fatah leaders, and using more force against demonstrators. During the day, 5 Palestinians are killed, over 100 injured; a 6th Palestinian dies of injuries received earlier. Nr. Qarni crossing in Gaza, IDF tanks fire on Palestinian demonstrators, killing 2, wounding 25. Also in Gaza, Palestinian gunmen fire on and detonate a small bomb nr. a bus carrying Jewish settlers under IDF escort, causing no injuries. In drive-by shooting in East Jerusalem, Jewish settlers wound a Palestinian security guard outside Agusta Victoria hospital. Armed settlers also open fire on Palestinians in Haris, wounding 3. Other hot spots are nr. Jinin, Nablus, Ramallah. Nr. Ariel settlement, the IDF bulldozes Palestinian olive groves. (MM, NYT, WP, WT 10/30; AYM 10/30 in WNC 11/1; NYT, WP 10/31; AIC 11/2; al-Quds 11/9 in WNC 11/13)

A day before the Knesset reconvenes, Barak and Sharon are still unable to reach an agmt. on forming a unity government despite 7 days of talks. The Shas party, which pulled out of Barak's coalition in 7/00, before the Camp David talks, says it will give Barak a 1-mo. safety net against no-confidence votes. In return, Barak suspends plans for secular social reforms (see 8/20). (MM, NYT, WT, YA 10/30; MM, WT 10/31; MM 11/1; WJW 11/2; MEI 11/10)