The Palestine Chronology

PA pres. Abbas’s legal adviser Hassan al-Ouri says that the PA’s financial crisis may prevent it from joining several international and UN institutions. (MNA 1/4)

In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in 1 village nr. Ramallah in the morning and in al-‘Arub r.c. and Ithna r.c. (both nr. Hebron), 5 villages nr. Ramallah, 3 villages nr. Hebron, and 1 village nr. Tulkarm at night; conducts house searches and arrest raids in Bayt Sahur and Aida r.c. in Bethlehem at night. Israeli soldiers attack weekly nonviolent demonstrations held by Palestinians, Israelis, and internationals in 3 villages nr. Ramallah (Bil‘in, Ni‘lin, al-Nabi Salih), 1 village nr. Bethlehem (al-Ma‘sara), and 1 village nr. Qalqilya (Kafr Qaddum). There are no serious injuries, except in Bil‘in, where 2 Palestinians are wounded with live ammunition. Jewish settlers enter al-Manshiya village nr. Bethlehem, vandalize a car, and write ‘‘price-tag’’ graffiti. (PCHR 1/10)

Hundreds of thousands of Fatah supporters rally in Gaza City to mark the 48th anniversary of the founding of the movement, the 1st such show of support for Fatah in Gaza since 2007. Pres. Abbas tells the crowds in a televised address that Palestinian national unity is coming soon. Hamas’s acting PM Ismail Haniyeh calls Abbas to congratulate him on the occasion of the anniversary. Meanwhile, a report in Ha’Aretz says that IDF-PA security coordination is improving again, and the PA is renewing arrests of Hamas and Islamic Jihad suspects. (HA, MNA, REU 1/4)

Christian Science Monitor reports that Palestinian support for military operations against Israel has registered its most significant jump in 10 years (50.9%, up from 29.3% in 1/2011), spurred by Operation Pillar of Defense, ongoing Israeli settlement expansion, and frustration over a peace process that has been essentially deadlocked for more than 4 yrs. (CSM 4/1)

Egyptian security forces seize antitank and anti-aircraft missiles in the Sinai Peninsula, weaponry thought by Egyptian security sources to be bound for the Gaza Strip via the tunnels. (MNA 1/4)

In Syria, fighting between pro- and anti-government groups resumes in Yarmuk r.c. nr. Damascus, ending a short-lived cease-fire (see 12/21) and prompting another wave of Palestinian refugees. (AKH 1/4)

Recently retired Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin says in an interview with Israeli media that PM Netanyahu acted irresponsibly regarding Iran’s nuclear program and tried to convince him and colleagues to approve an ‘‘illegal’’ decision to attack Iran. (AP 1/4)

Unidentified assailants armed with heavy weapons and explosives enter s. Israel fr. the Egyptian Sinai and stage coordinated attacks on a bus, several cars, and an IDF patrol, killing 7 Israelis (1 IDF soldier, 6 civilians) and wounding up to 40, marking the deadliest attack on Israel since 3/2008. The attacks begin at midday with gunfire on a bus nr. Elat carrying mostly soldiers fr. a nearby army base; when an IDF unit arrives on the scene, it is quickly ambushed and hit with explosive devices. Within the hour, at least 3 reports of mortar fire fr. Egypt and attacks on civilian vehicles with antitank weapons are reported in the Elat area. Israeli security forces engage in firefights with the infiltrators over the next several hours, killing at least 7 attackers, noting that 3 of the bodies were booby trapped. At one point, IDF troops pursue the attackers into Egypt and clash with Egyptian border guards, killing an Egyptian military officer and 2 Egyptian border police and injuring 2 others. Israel accuses Hamas of sending terrorists fr. Gaza through the Rafah smuggling tunnels into Egypt and then on to Israel, and criticizes Egypt’s inability to secure its borders. The IDF quickly launches 12 air strikes on s. Gaza in retaliation, primarily targeting the Popular Resistance Committees (PRCs)—an umbrella group comprising mbrs. of all Gaza factions, including Fatah and Hamas. In total, 7 Palestinians (including 2 children) are killed and at least 23 Palestinians (including 7 children, 6 women) are wounded. Among the dead are 5 senior PRC members who were targeted for assassination, including PRC leader Kamal Abu Abed al-Nairab, PRC chief military cmdr. Imad Hamad, and a PRC rocket expert. Later in the evening, gunfire erupts again in Elat, killing 1 Israeli border policeman and critically injuring another. The PRCs fire 4 rockets (including at least 1 manufactured Grad rocket) fr. Gaza into Israel, where at least 3 are intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system; no damage or injuries are reported. By late evening, the Israeli DMin. reports no further fire, but says assailants may still be on the loose. Hamas and the PRCs deny any part in the attacks. Egyptian and American analysts (e.g., NYT, WT 8/19) say that “it is not a remote possibility for [Egypt’s radical militant elements] to cross the border and launch attacks against Israeli targets. It makes a lot of sense” given Egypt’s recent crackdown on al-Qa‘ida-inspired Islamist militants in the n. Sinai (see 8/13). (AHR, AP, HA, IFM, JP, JTA, MNA, REU, WAFA, YA 8/18; NYT, OCHA, WP, WT 8/19; al-Masri al-Yawm 8/20; JAZ 8/21; PCHR 8/25; OCHA 8/26)

Meanwhile, in the West Bank, the IDF patrols in Bayt Liqya nr. Ramallah during the day and in Jenin, Jericho, and 2 villages nr. Ramallah and Salfit. Jewish settlers fr. Beit El nr. Ramallah enter nearby Dawar al-Qare’ village and set fire to 2 cars. (PCHR 8/25)

Overnight, the IDF sends tanks and troops, backed by air support, into Gaza City and Khan Yunis in a major day-long ground offensive targeting primarily Hamas and Islamic Jihad, but also including the AMB, arresting 10s of Palestinians, bulldozing 1 Palestinian home and 70 dunams of land, and leaving at least 13 Palestinians (including at least 4 gunmen and 6 civilians, including a 10-yr.-old boy) dead, more than 50 Palestinians and at least 2 IDF soldiers wounded; Fatah and Hamas gunmen fight side-by-side against the IDF, using small arms and antitank weapons. The IDF also makes an air strike on a car in Gaza City, assassinating Islamic Jihad senior cmdr. Raed Fanuna; bulldozes Palestinian land on the Gaza side of the Qarni crossing and industrial zone, along the border southeast of Khuza’a in s. Gaza. For a 2d day, the Israeli navy fires on Palestinian fishermen off the Gaza City coast, forcing them back to shore. Islamic Jihad fires 4 rockets, 5 mortars fr. Gaza toward the Erez crossing; 2 mortars land on the Gaza side, injuring a Palestinian child; those landing on the Israeli side cause no damage or injuries. In Khan Yunis, a Palestinian is killed when explosives he is handling detonate prematurely. In the West Bank, the IDF launches a major arrest campaign in the Old City of Nablus, imposing a curfew, searching homes (occupying at least 7 as sniper posts), taking over local radio stations, searching hospitals; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Bethlehem, nr. Jenin. In Ramallah, unidentified gunmen fire on the home of senior Fatah official Hani al-Hassan, causing no injuries. In Hebron, unidentified gunmen fire on the home of the local PA General Intelligence head, causing no injuries. Islamic Jihad mbr. Zakariyya al-Tartar dies of injuries received in a 6/24 IDF air strike on his vehicle in Gaza City. (PCHR, WP, WT 6/28; OCHA 7/4; PCHR 7/5)

IDF troops on the n. Gaza border nr. Bayt Hanun shoot, wound 2 Palestinians who stray nr. the border fence while trapping birds. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in Qalqilya, nr. Jenin; begins construction of a new fence around Karmi’el, Ma’on settlements nr. Hebron that will confiscate around 1,000 d. of Palestinian land to create territorial unity btwn. the 2 settlements. In Gaza City, Hamas-Fatah violence continues for a 6th day, leaving an ESF officer, 3 Hamas mbrs. dead, and 8 ESF mbrs. injured; among the incidents, a bomb explodes outside the home of a Dahlan bodyguard (causing no injuries), Hamas mbrs. fire mortars and antitank rounds at the Fatah-controlled PA police headquarters. Other clashes are reported in and around Khan Yunis, nr. Jabaliya, and in Bayt Hanun. Several Palestinians are also kidnapped during the day in Hamas-Fatah rivalries: Fatah’s Brig. Gen. Sayyid Shaban, head of the PA National Security Forces in central Gaza (quickly released); senior Hamas cmdr. Ashraf Firwana; 2 teenage children of a Fatah col.; a senior Fatah official; a Fatah municipal official. A Fatah mbr. dies of injuries received in the latest round of intra-Palestinian fighting. Fighting also spreads to Nablus, where Fatah mbrs. kidnap, quickly release several Hamas mbrs. In Jabaliya r.c., PFLP mbrs., Islamist parties hold a sit-in to protest the ongoing Palestinian violence. In Ramallah, AMB mbrs. kidnap, kill an alleged Palestinian collaborator with Israel. (MM, NYT, WP, WT 1/29; OCHA 1/31; PCHR 2/1; AIC 2/13)

The IDF shells n. Gaza, wounding 2 Palestinians outside the Bayt Lahiya hospital; raids several shops, homes, and the General Union of Palestinian Workers and the Union of Ex-Combatants offices in Hebron; fires on residential areas of nearby Halhul; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Jenin, Nablus (exchanging gunfire with Palestinian gunmen in Askar r.c., wounding 1), in Jericho, and nr. Bethlehem, Ramallah. In a predawn incident in Abasan nr. Khan Yunis, AMB mbrs. kidnap 3 Hamas mbrs., and Hamas mbrs. kidnap 4 AMB mbrs. (it is unclear who kidnapped whom first), sparking a heavy exchange of fire, with Hamas mbrs. firing an antitank rocket killing 2 AMB mbrs. and Fatah shooting dead 1 Hamas mbr.; some 10 Palestinians, mostly bystanders, are wounded; those kidnapped are released after negotiations. (BBC, MM, NYT, WP, WT 5/8; MM 5/9; PCHR 5/11)

Claiming retaliation for recent arrest raids and attacks on its mbrs., Islamic Jihad, the Abu Rish Brigades (a Fatah offshoot) take responsibility for 2 Palestinians firing an antitank round at an IDF post on the Rafah border, killing 1 IDF soldier, wounding 2; firing a rocket-propelled grenade at IDF soldiers and civilian laborers working nearby, causing no injuries; the IDF fires back, killing 1 Palestinian militant, while the 2d escapes; Israel vows to launch a crackdown on Islamic Jihad. The IDF also conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem and in Jenin, Tubas. (WP 6/20; OCHA, PR 6/22; PCHR 6/23)

The IDF conducts arrest raids in Jenin, Nablus, Ramallah. Palestinians throughout the territories, Israeli Arabs inside Israel hold demonstrations to mark the 28th anniversary of Land Day, when Israeli forces confiscated 5,500 acres of land fr. Arab villages in the Galilee for the construction of Jewish enclaves, sparking clashes in which 9 Israeli Arabs were killed, 96 were injured, 300 were arrested; IDF troops clash with demonstrators in Beitunia. Palestinians fire an antitank rocket at IDF forces outside Gaza’s Neve Dekalim settlement, causing no damage or injuries. A group of 81 prominent Palestinians (mostly veteran leftists, some Fatah mbrs.) issue a call for nonviolent protest similar to that made on 3/25, but also warning that Palestinian violence will not cease until Israel halts its attacks on, oppression of the Palestinians. (AFP, MM, XIN 3/30; PR, WT 3/31; YA 3/31 in WNC 4/2; PCHR 4/1; MEI 4/2)

Military Action:

Israelis move troops experienced in street fighting into hills around West Beirut; IDF artillery repeatedly shells Syrian positions near Hammana.

Casualties:

Hundreds live in Beirut parks, lacking food, water, medicine and basic hygiene; garbage piles up in West Beirut streets (most trucks are in East Beirut); more shops close throughout city as fear of IDF attack grows; Baalbek now has 35,000 refugees; Palestinian refugees reportedly receive less aid than Lebanese; Israeli unsubsidized prices for sales to Lebanon about 3 times Lebanese prices.

Political Responses:

Israel/ Occupied Territories: Former head of Israeli military intelligence, in US, says casualty figures inflated; Israeli Knesset debate ends with Likud/Labor parties agreeing not to vote against each other's resolutions, only to vote for their own; Begin offers to let PLO leave with personal weapons (claims Reagan said USSR might intervene if there were a war with Syria); Sharon says he informed Haig, Weinberger that IDF invasion of Lebanon was virtually inevitable 2 weeks before actual invasion; Sharon announces 271 Israelis killed, 1470 wounded, 13 missing; government charges UN schools used by PLO for training, as arsenals; reports that IDF used new anti-tank weapon similar to US Sadarm; Sharon speaks at Knesset on scope/aims of war (Peres strongly opposes any entry into Beirut); government officials accuse Habib of false optimism; Israeli Cabinet ratifies June 27 ultimatum, but softens departure possibilities (by land or sea); 4 reservists call on Sharon to resign, call on other released soldiers to join their vigil; 600 demonstrate in favor of war; 30 protest effect of war on the poor in Israel; petition with signatures of 40 who fought in Lebanon printed opposing war; Supreme Islamic Council of Jerusalem states support for PLO, denounces silence of Arab regimes.

Palestinians/ Lebanese: Habib meets with Wazzan, Butros; Lebanese disagree on whether PLO leaders can return to Lebanon to visit; Lebanese papers attack USSR, accusing it of complicity with US; Druze leader Jumblatt expects attack on Beirut within 24- 36 hours, predicts coexistence of Muslims, Christians in Lebanon is finished; Bashir Gemayel predicts Israel and Syria will have full-scale war; reports of de facto strike in Sidon area following Israeli mistreatment; Phalangists reject plan to incorporate PLO units into Lebanese Army, Phalangist troops enter Aley, threaten to kill 12 Druze (Druze leader is killed by Phalange members, allegedly mistakenly); PLO stiffens demands as talks deadlocked over timing and method of PLO withdrawal (PLO seeks own police in refugee camps, PLO units attached to Lebanese Army); Arafat addresses PLO rally; Fateh Central Committee reportedly says no more concessions.

Arab Governments: Saudi Arabia reportedly explores flying PLO out of Lebanon; Egypt sends Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Ghali to Paris for talks.

US and Other Countries: US expressed satisfaction with cease-fire; former US envoy to Lebanon, Dean Brown, says US blessed IDF invasion, that Reagan does not know much about the Mideast and "probably does not want to know"; EEC calls for PLO to be involved in peace negotiations, asks immediate IDF withdrawal (arms sales informally suspended to Israel); Austrian Jewish group presents open letter to Israeli Ambassador decrying invasion, asking for peace negotiations with Palestinians; International Socialist delegation, headed by former Portuguese prime minister Soares, visits mayor of Bethlehem; EEC refuses to sign £22 million financial protocol with Israel (does not agree on trade sanctions); Habib requests formal guidance from Washington for negotiations, Haig drafts 9-point proposal in response.