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  • May 15, 2011

    On the anniversary of the Nakba, 1,000s of Palestinians fr. the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria stage marches (mostly nonviolent, though some stone throwing) toward the Israeli border...

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  • November 17, 2002

    Israeli PM Ariel Sharon visits Hebron, calls for the expanding of Jewish settlements in and around Hebron to create “settlement contiguity” btwn. 4 Jewish enclaves in He-...

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  • May 24, 2002

    An AMB mbr. attempts to ram a car loaded with homemade pipe bombs into a Tel Aviv dance club but is fatally shot by a security guard. The car blows up, injuring 3 Israelis. The IDF...

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On the anniversary of the Nakba, 1,000s of Palestinians fr. the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria stage marches (mostly nonviolent, though some stone throwing) toward the Israeli border. In Lebanon, though troops, riot police, and UNIFIL soldiers deploy to prevent marchers fr. reaching the border, a large group succeeds in reaching the border fence nr. Hizballah-controlled Maroun al-Ras village, where they throw stones at IDF troops. IDF troops open fire into Lebanon, leaving 10 Palestinians dead and at least 112 wounded. Palestinians refugees marching fr. Syria knock down the border fence into the Golan Heights, enter the Druze village of Majdal Shams, and rally in the village square, erecting Palestinian flags. IDF troops open fire to drive them back across the border, killing 4 Palestinians and wounding around 200. On the border with Jordan, Jordanian troops fired tear gas and scuffle with some 800 Palestinians, preventing them fr. reaching the border, leaving 14 demonstrators and 3 police officers lightly injured. In Egypt, govt. forces reinforce their border, preventing some 250 Palestinians fr. marching to the Rafah crossing. In Cairo, riot police fire tear gas, disperse protesters converging on the Israeli embassy, injuring around 120. On the Gaza border, IDF troops fire live ammunition and artillery at Gazans marching toward the border, wounding at least 125. In the West Bank, IDF troops fire tear gas, rubber-coated steel bullets to disperse around 1,000 stone-throwing Palestinians marching toward the Qalandia crossing (injuring 10s) and violently beat scores of Palestinians marching fr. Palestinian-controlled area A toward Israeli security-controlled area B in Hebron (injuring 10s). A large peaceful rally commemorating the Nakba is held in Ramallah. Numerous smaller and protests clashes are also reported in the West Bank and East Jerusalem; rights groups say some 185 Palestinians have been injured in these clashes over the past 3 days, 153 of them in Jerusalem. Netanyahu accuses the demonstrators of “incitement” and challenging “the very existence of Israel.” Other Israeli officials accuse Iran and Syria of instigating the Palestinians, noting that Syrian security did nothing to prevent Palestinians fr. approaching the border. (DS, IFM, IsRN, JAZ, JP, MA, YA 5/15; Christian Science Monitor, NYT, PCHR, WP, WT 5/16)

Unrelated to the “March to Palestine,” IDF troops fired across the border into Gaza, killing a Palestinian who allegedly was planting an explosive device. Inside Israel, an Israeli Palestinian drives his truck into several cars, a bus, and pedestrians in Tel Aviv, killing 1 Israeli and injuring 17 in what Israeli police say was a deliberate terrorist attack; the driver, who is arrested, strongly denies deliberately harming anyone, saying he lost control of his vehicle when a tire blew. The IDF also patrols in 2 village nr. Qalqilya (arresting 1 Palestinian teenager for throwing stones) and 2 nr. Tulkarm; sends undercover units into Nur al-Shams r.c. nr. Tulkarm late at night, surrounding and raiding a house and arresting 1 Palestinian; conducts other late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around al-‘Arub r.c. and Hebron, and nr. Salfit. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba settlement in Hebron throw 4 Molotov cocktails at a nearby Palestinian home, causing minor damage. Israel resumes transferring VAT taxes to the PA (see 5/1), having received PA assurances that none of the money would be accessible to Hamas under the new Fatah-Hamas unity deal, but warning that it would reconsider suspending transfers if Hamas was allowed to join a PA govt. (NYT 5/16; PCHR 5/19; OCHA 5/20)

At quarter’s end, fierce fighting is ongoing in Libya and NATO intervention continues. Rebel-held areas increasingly report shortages of food and medical supplies. No reliable figures on casualties are available since independent media access and communications are extremely difficult. Deaths are thought to be well into the 1,000s and perhaps as high as 10,000. (WP 5/16; REU 6/9)

Israeli PM Ariel Sharon visits Hebron, calls for the expanding of Jewish settlements in and around Hebron to create “settlement contiguity” btwn. 4 Jewish enclaves in He-bron, the outlying Kiryat Arba settlement, the Ibrahimi Mosque/Tomb of the Patriarchs site. In response, Jewish settlers declare a new settlement on the site of the olive grove bulldozed by the IDF on 11/16 and move in 3 shipping containers, tents, cisterns; the IDF constructs a 7-ft. concrete wall around the site. IDF undercover units attempt to assassinate Riad ‘Abd al-Ghani in Tulkarm, missing him, killing his brother, wounding a 2d brother. The IDF fires rockets, tank shells at the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) Preventive Security Force (PSF) headquarters complex in Gaza, sends troops in to set fire to 2 buildings, injuring 2 PSF officers, 1 Palestinian journalist. The IDF also fires on Palestinians in Gaza City, Nur al-Shams refugee camp (r.c.); bulldozes 8 dunams of Pal-estinian land in Bayt Lahia; blows up 2 Palestinian homes in Balata r.c.; detains for 2 hrs. a PRCS ambulance carrying Palestinians seriously injured in a car accident; fires on 2 ambulances outside a hospital in Gaza, nr. Shati‘ r.c.; detains, searches 6 ambulances, including 1 transporting a patient, for up to 70 mins. at checkpoints. (MM, NYT, WP, WT 11/18; MENA 11/18 in WNC 11/19; AFP 11/19 in WNC 11/21; PCHR 11/20; WJW 11/21; MEI 11/22; PRCS press release 11/23)

Israeli Arab passenger carrying only a pen knife that he does not wield attempts to hijack an El Al plane bound for Istanbul fr. Tel Aviv. He is quickly captured and detained, without injury to any other passen-gers; says that he intended to hijack the plane to protest Israeli actions against Palestinians, that he is not affiliated with any group. He is described by peers as frail, nervous, eccentric young man with a heart condition, who craves popularity and attention. (MM, NYT 11/18; ATL 11/18 in WNC 11/19; CSM, NYT, WP 11/19; NYT, WJW 11/21; NYT 11/26, 11/27; JPI 11/29

An AMB mbr. attempts to ram a car loaded with homemade pipe bombs into a Tel Aviv dance club but is fatally shot by a security guard. The car blows up, injuring 3 Israelis. The IDF makes an incursion in to Gaza City, demolishes 3 alleged bomb-making factories. The IDF sends troops into Nur al-Shams r.c., Tulkarm r.c. and town. Palestinians ambush an IDF convoy in Tulkarm r.c., killing 1 IDF soldier, injuring 2. The IDF fires tank shells, machine guns at the r.c., wounding 8 Palestinians. (GS, MM, NYT, WP 5/24; NYT, WP 5/25; MA 5/26 in WNC 5/28; LAW 5/29; PCHR 5/30)