The Palestine Chronology

During the day, the IDF patrols in Nur al-Shams r.c. and 4 villages nr. Tulkarm, in Ramallah and 3 nearby villages, and in 2 villages nr. Jenin. Late at night, the IDF launches arrest raids targeting the PFLP in Balata r.c. nr. Nablus, arresting at least 3 PFLP mbrs.; conducts other arrest raids and house searches in Qalqilya, in Tulkarm town and r.c., and nr. Bethlehem. In East Jerusalem, Israeli security forces force a Palestinian to demolish his entire home and a 2d Palestinian to demolish a home addition or face fines and fees for having the IDF demolish them. (PCHR 12/8; OCHA 12/9)

IDF troops, bulldozers cross into s. Gaza to level land along the border e. of Khan Yunis, exchanging fire with Hamas mbrs., causing no reported injures. In a similar incident nr. the Erez crossing, IDF soldiers exchange fire with DFLP gunmen, causing no reported injuries. The IDF also makes an air strike on an alleged rocket-launching site in n. Gaza, causing no injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Nur al-Shams r.c. nr. Tulkarm, nr. Bethlehem. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba beat a 6-yr.-old Palestinian boy on his way to school until his grandfather halts the attack; the IDF observes but does not intervene. Hamas accuses PA security forces in the West Bank of arresting 26 Hamas mbrs. and supporters, mostly in Hebron, but also in Bethlehem, Jericho, and Salfit. (HA, JP, MNA, REU, YA 11/8; HA, JAZ, MNA 11/9; OCHA 11/12; PCHR 11/13)

After a last-minute talks in Cairo between Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Sulayman and senior Hamas official Mahmud Zahhar fr. Gaza, Hamas’s dep. leader Musa Abu Marzuq announces from Damascus that Hamas will not attend national unity talks in Cairo on 11/9. Hamas officials cite Egyptian and PA unwillingness to compromise on the wording of an Egyptian draft national unity statement or to discuss issues of importance to Hamas, and the PA’s failure to fulfill a pledge to release 100s of Hamas and Islamic Jihad prisoners held in the West Bank as a confidence-building gesture in advance of the summit. (AFP 11/8; NYT, WT 11/9; see also MNR 11/7)

Rice stops in Jenin to meet with Abbas and to inaugurate a new hospital wing funded by USAID, announcing another $14 m. in USAID funds for Jenin. (HA 11/8; IFM, NYT, WP, WT 11/9)

In the West Bank, the IDF bars Palestinian workers fr. paving a road inside al-Walaja village nr. Bethlehem, stating that the area is under the jurisdiction of Israel’s Jerusalem municipal authority; this marks the 1st clear indication that Israel plans to annex the area to Jerusalem after its separation wall, which is planned to bisect al-Walaja, is completed. The IDF also makes daytime raids on 3 radio and TV stations in Hebron, arresting employees and confiscating broadcasting equipment; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Jenin and Nablus, nr. Hebron and Ramallah, and in Nur al-Shams r.c. nr. Tulkarm. (PCHR 8/2; OCHA 8/27; PCHR 8/28)

Overnight, the IDF sends troops back into Shuka (see 5/27) to bulldoze 200 d. of agricultural land, demolish 4Palestinian homes, and arrest 12 Palestinians; IDF aircraft supporting the ground troops fire missiles at 2 groups of armed Palestinians who approach the area, killing 2 Palestinian gunmen, wounding 1 civilian. During the day, IDF troops stationed at Gaza’s Nahal Oz crossing fire on Palestinian children collecting scrap metal nearby, wounding 3. Israeli naval vessels fire at Palestinian fishing boats off the Bayt Lahiya, Gaza City, and Rafah coasts, forcing them to return to shore. Palestinians detonate a roadside bomb along the Gaza border e. of Dayr al-Balah as an IDF jeep patrolling inside Israel passes, causing no damage or injuries. Late in the evening, the IDF sends bulldozers, troops into Bayt Hanun in n. Gaza, conducting house searches, bulldozing 50 d. of agricultural land, detaining several Palestinians for questioning, releasing them, and withdrawing around midnight. In the West Bank, the IDF sends undercover units into Bethlehem to arrest a wanted Palestinian teenager; conducts evening arrest raids, house searches nr. Nablus; conducts similar late-night operations in Nur al-Shams r.c. nr. Tulkarm, and nr. Hebron, Jenin, Ramallah. A Palestinian civilian injured in an IDF air strike in al-Fukhari on 5/27 dies. In Gaza City, unidentified assailants detonate a bomb outside a store previously criticized for “immoral behavior,” causing no injuries. (PCHR 5/29; OCHA 6/4; PCHR 6/5)

The IDF resumes air strikes on rocketlaunching sites in Gaza, citing the need to respond to 15 rockets, 10 mortars fired by Islamic Jihad fr. Gaza into Israel (causing light damage but no injuries) since the IDF assassinations on 3/12. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts daytime arrest raids, house searches in and around Qalqilya and in Tulkarm and neighboring Nur al-Shams r.c.; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Jenin. In Bethlehem, 1,000s of Palestinians from all factions observe a general strike and attend the funeral for 4 Islamic Jihad and AMB mbrs. assassinated on 3/12 in a massive show of unity and protest against Israel’s ongoing attacks since the 11/07 Annapolis conference. A Palestinian shepherd is critically injured when he accidentally triggers IDF UXO nr. Jericho. Jewish settlers fr. Beit Hadasah in Hebron attack a Palestinian elementary school, demolishing a wall and several structures for the ongoing expansion of the school, attempt to occupy the school, beat a Palestinian security guard; the IDF removes the settlers. Israel’s Jerusalem Planning Comm. gives preliminary approval for construction of 2,200 Jewish settler housing units in Givat Hamatos in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Bayt Safafa. In al-Bureij r.c., unidentified assailants kidnap an Islamic Jihad mbr. (BBC 3/13; NYT 3/14; OCHA, PCHR 3/19)

The IDF halts and blows up a Palestinian vehicle nr. Qalqilya, without giving a reason; conducts arrest raids in and around Hebron (occupying 1 home as an observation post), nr. Bethlehem, Jenin, and Ramallah, and in Aida r.c., Nur al-Shams r.c. (firing on residential areas), Tulkarm (firing on residential areas). Some 20,000 Fatah mbrs. angry over their election defeat stage marches, rallies across Gaza; Fatah mbrs. also temporarily take over the PC buildings in Gaza City, Ramallah calling for the Fatah leadership to resign; some 2,000 Fatah mbrs., some armed, march through Nablus, 500 march in Hebron, and 100s rally outside the Muqata in Ramallah, making the same demand. Hamas gunmen ambush, wound 2 PA policemen in Khan Yunis, apparently in retaliation for a clash that left a Hamas mbr. wounded on 1/27. Palestinian farmers in Gaza dump rotting produce at the Qarni crossing to protest Israel’s closing of the export point despite its pledge to the U.S. to keep it open on “an urgent basis.” (Israel sealed the crossing on 1/14 citing intelligence reports that a tunnel was being dug nearby; PA security forces have been looking for a tunnel without success, and Israel won’t say where intelligence indicates the tunnel may be.) Palestinians export tens of millions of dollars of produce through Qarni during this time of yr. (HA 1/28; NYT, WP, WT 1/29; PCHR 2/2)

The IDF delays passage of an ambulance through the separation wall gate at Kafr Qadim to a hospital in Qalqilya, allowing a Palestinian heart attack victim to die; imposes curfews on ‘Ayn al-Bayda, Bardala, Kardala in the n. Jordan Valley; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron, nr. Bethlehem, and in ‘Azun, Khan Yunis, Nur al-Shams r.c.; searches a home in Azariyya; patrols in villages around Jenin, in Nablus. During Abbas’s speech to the PC in Gaza City, several armed AMB mbrs. break into the courtyard of the PC building, stage a brief sit-in demanding jobs and government support, leave without incident when PA officials promise to look into their demands. (IMEMC, XIN 8/9; IMEMC, JAZ 8/10)

The IDF fires on residential areas of Rafah, killing 1 Palestinian; opens fire in Nur al-Shams r.c., killing 1 Palestinian teenager, wounding 5 after a Molotov cocktail is thrown at a passing IDF jeep fr. the area; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem, Jenin and in ‘Azun, Hebron, Khan Yunis, Tulkarm; occupies 3 houses in Jenin, Hebron, Tulkarm as observation posts; bulldozes a grove of Palestinian olive trees in Bayt Surik nr. Jerusalem; arrests 5 Palestinian farmers working their fields nr. the separation wall around Qalqilya nr. ‘Azun, releasing 3 after questioning, holding 2. In response to the 8/4 Shafa ‘Amr killings, AMB gunmen fire on a Jewish settler vehicle in the West Bank, wounding 2 settlers. Jewish settlers fr. Ma’on attack, beat 4 Palestinian farmers working their nearby fields. Palestinian gunmen fire on the International Comm. of the Red Cross (ICRC) headquarters in Khan Yunis, causing damage but no injuries. The PA security forces arrest Khan Yunis Fatah official and Qaddumi spokesman Sulayman al-Farah on suspicion of building a local militia; Farah earlier announced that Qaddumi ordered his office to set up a 1,500-man force to help the PA maintain law and order in Gaza during disengagement (see 7/16). (IMEMC, UPI 8/7; NYT 8/8; HA, NYT, WT 8/9; OCHA, PR 8/10; PCHR 8/11)

Announcing the start of a “sustained” campaign against Islamic Jihad, the IDF imposes 24-hr. curfews on Tulkarm town and r.c., al-Til, and Nur al-Shams r.c.; reinvades Tulkarm (turned over to PA security control on 3/22) and al-Til in its largest military operation since Israeli and the Palestinians agreed to an unofficial cease-fire on 2/8, fatally shooting a PA policeman, leaving a 2d PA policeman clinically dead, arresting at least 6 Palestinians with Islamic Jihad ties; 2 IDF soldiers are injured. Israel says it was forced to act in Tulkarm because the PA had not reined in militants there, citing the bombing as proof; the PA says the assault on Tulkarm is unjustified, since the 7/12 bomber came fr. al-Til, 5 mi. away, under Israeli military control. Late in the evening, the IDF raids Nablus, fatally shoots Islamic Jihad cmdr. Muhammad al-Assi when he attempts to elude arrest; detains an Islamic Jihad mbr., a British woman with him. The IDF also demolishes 2 Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem; razes 4 bedouin tents, 6 animal pens outside Bethlehem; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem, Hebron, Jenin, Nablus. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba stone a Palestinian vehicle driving the Palestinian section of Hebron, injuring the driver. Jewish settlers fr. Yitzhar vandalize a Palestinian home, burn a Palestinian car nr. Nablus. In Bureij r.c., the PA security forces secure the release of 2 international aid workers (1 British, 1 Australian) kidnapped by a Palestinian family that hoped to use them as bargaining chips to secure the release of relatives jailed by the PA. An Israeli dies of injuries received in the 7/12 bombing. (AFP, IMEMC, JTA, NYT, PR, XIN 7/13; VOP 7/13 in WNC 7/13; VOI, VOP 7/13 in WNC 7/14; NYT, PCHR, PRCS, WP, WT 7/14; VOI 7/14 in WNC 7/15; JAZ 7/17; OCHA, PR 7/20; PCHR 7/21)

An Israeli border policeman fires on a group of Palestinians attempting to circumvent a checkpoint btwn. Jerusalem and Bethlehem, seriously injuring 1. The IDF fires on a group of Palestinian children returning home fr. school who apparently stray too close to a separation wall construction site, wounding 3; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Saida, Nur al-Shams r.c. (targeting Islamic Jihad mbrs.), Tulkarm r.c.; bulldozes 22 d. of land in Surif nr. Hebron for construction of the separation wall. Palestinians fire a rocket toward Sederot, causing no damage or injuries. Unidentified Palestinian gunmen fire on an IDF patrol searching for stolen cars in al-Amari r.c. nr. Ramallah, wounding 2 soldiers seriously, 2 lightly; the IDF seals al-Amari, conducts house searches. A PA court sentences 5 Palestinians to jail terms of 3–5 yrs. for collaborating with Israel. (HA, VOP 3/20; VOI 3/21; OCHA 3/23; PCHR 3/24)

A PFLP suicide bomber fr. Askar r.c. nr. Nablus detonates a device in a Tel Aviv open-air market, killing 3 Israelis, wounding 32. The PFLP says that the bombing was carried out to warn Palestinian leaders against being “seduced into talking about ending the resistance and haggling over the national legitimate rights and principles of our people” now that Arafat is out of the West Bank. In the evening, IDF undercover units raid Nablus, assassinate Nablus AMB leader Majdi Mari (whom it attempted to assassinate on 9/15/04), AMB mbrs. Jihad Abu Salah and Fadi al-Sarwan, injure a 4th AMB mbr., 4 bystanders. During the day, the IDF closes the Qalandia checkpoint, declaring the area a closed military zone (see 10/16); fatally shoots 2 Palestinians allegedly attempting to infiltrate Kefar Darom; fires on a group of stone-throwing Palestinian children in Askar r.c., killing a 12-yr.-old Palestinian boy; stops, argues with, shoots and wounds 2 Palestinian teenagers walking nr. the separation wall nr. Jayyus; fires on stone-throwing youths in Jenin r.c.; bulldozes 39 d. of olive groves and greenhouses, 1 Palestinian home nr. Dayr al-Balah; conducts arrest raids, house searches in ‘Anza nr. Bethlehem, al-Bireh, Birzeit, Jayyus, al-Khadir, al-Mughayyir, Nur al-Shams r.c., Rafat nr. Nablus, Tulkarm. Jewish settlers fr. Otniel throw stones at, harass Palestinians and international peace activists harvesting olives on nearby Palestinian land, forcing them to leave. Jewish settlers in Hebron assault Palestinians, attack Palestinian homes nr. the Ibrahimi Mosque/Tomb of the Patriarchs. In both cases, the IDF troops observe but do not intervene. (BBC, HA, MM, PM 11/1; HA, JAZ, JP, VOI, VOP 11/1 in WNC 11/3; CSM, MM, NYT, PRCS, WP, WT 11/2; VOP 11/2 in WNC 11/4; PR 11/3; PCHR, WJW 11/4; MEI 11/5; JPI 11/12)

Hamas fires mortars at Neve Dekalim, killing a Jewish settler woman (a dual Israeli-U.S. citizen). Late in the evening, the IDF stages a major raid into Khan Yunis in retaliation, firing on and shelling residential areas, killing a 60-yr.-old Palestinian, seriously damaging the physiotherapy wing of a hospital. The IDF also tightens restrictions on entry to East Jerusalem, Bayt Sahur nr. Bethlehem; bars Palestinians fr. entering the Ibrahimi Mosque/Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron; raids Balata r.c. and Nur al-Shams r.c., firing on stone-throwing youths who confront the troops; fires on residential areas of Rafah; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Qalqilya. (HA 9/24; AFP 9/24, XIN 9/25 in WNC 9/28; WT 9/25; PCHR 9/30; JPI 10/8)

In Gaza, 3 Palestinian gunmen fr. the Abu Rish Brigades (a Fatah offshoot), Islamic Jihad, the Palestinian Resistance Comms. (PRC) attack an IDF post outside Morag, fatally shooting 3 IDF soldiers before 2 are shot dead; 1 escapes, wounds an Israeli journalist, is then shot dead. The IDF sends troops into Nablus and surrounding camps, fires on residential areas, blows up 2 Palestinian homes; fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis, Rafah; fires rubber bullets at Palestinian, international peace activists staging a nonviolent protest against the separation wall outside Hebron; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron and Nablus, and in al-‘Aza, Bethlehem, Jenin town and r.c., al-Khadir, al-Mughraqa; demolishes 2 Palestinian homes in al-Mughraqa; bulldozes 6 Palestinian homes, 40 d. of agricultural land in Khan Yunis. Palestinians fire 2 Qassam rockets at Sederot, lightly injuring 1 Israeli. A Palestinian dies of injuries received in Nur al-Shams on 9/14; a 2d Palestinian dies of injuries received in Rafah on 9/19. (BBC, MM, XIN 9/23; VOP 9/23 in WNC 9/25; MM, NYT, WP 9/24; HA, PR 9/29; PCHR 9/30)

The IDF conducts arrest raids in Bethlehem, Hebron; bulldozes 34 dunams of land in Abasan. The IDF also detains an ISM activist, an Italian journalist for photographing soldiers detaining Palestinian women, children in Nur al-Shams r.c.—the 1st implementation of a new policy, aimed at ISM in particular, to bar pro-Palestinian activists fr. entering Israel and the territories, deport those already there. (HA 4/23; GS, LAW, PCHR 4/24)

The IDF breaks into a home in Nur al-Shams r.c., assassinates Hamas's Tulkarm military cmdr. Tariq ‘Abid Rabbuh, also wounding 5 Palestinian bystanders; assassinates Hamas mbr. Jadallah Shuka nr. Bethlehem; demolishes 5 Palestinian homes in Hebron, 2 nr. Bethlehem, 1 in Bayt Kahil; bulldozes 5 dunams of land, several roads, the main water network in al-Mughraqa; bulldozes some 2.5 dunams of land in Dayr al-Balah; conducts an arrest raid in Qarawat Bani Zaid. An explosion in Bureij r.c., kills a wanted Islamic Jihad mbr., wounds another; the PSF suspects the men were preparing a bomb. Some 30,000 Hamas supporters rally in the Gaza Strip marking the 15^th anniversary of the founding of the movement. (JTA 12/13; HA, NYT, WP 12/14; LAW, PCHR 12/18)

The IDF fires on Palestinians waiting to cross an IDF checkpoint w. of Nablus, killing 1  Palestinian; conducts house-to-house searches, arrests in Aida r.c., Bayt Umar, Bethlehem, Jit, Tal, Tubas, Tulkarm; raids, fires on residential areas of Rafah, Nablus, Nur al-Shams r.c., Tulkarm; bulldozes 14 dunams of land s. of Dayr al-Balah; raids the al-Ihsan charitable society, Hebron University dean’s offices in Hebron, confiscating computers, files; forces at gunpoint a 24-yr.-old Palestinian to undress in the main street of Nablus, bark like a dog. Late in the evening, the IDF sends 10s of tanks, armored person-nel carriers (APCs) into Qalqilya, imposes a curfew, raids Waqf offices, conducts arrest raids targeting Popular Front for the Lib-eration of Palestine (PFLP) mbrs. The UN sends an envoy to the West Bank to investigate the 11/22 death of a UNRWA official, new charges (11/23) by Israel that Palestinian gunmen were firing from inside the UNRWA’s Jenin r.c. compound, prompting the IDF gunfire. (NYT, WT 11/25; WT 11//26; LAW, PCHR 11/27)

IDF fatally shoots Islamic Jihad mbr. Mu`ammar Daraghma, as he drives nr. Jenin in what is likely an assassination. The IDF raids, shuts the admin. offices of al-Quds University in Jerusalem, confiscating files, computers; seals the office of university pres. Sari Nusseibeh, who is also the PLO official in charge of Jerusalem affairs. In Jerusalem's old city, an exchange of gunfire btwn. an Israeli police officer, a Palestinian motorist stopped for an ID check leaves 1 Palestinian bystander dead, the police officer wounded. The IDF also demolishes 6 Palestinian homes in Rafah, severely damages 2 others; reoccupies Bayt Rima, ordering all men to surrender for questioning; imposes a curfew on Husan; conducts arrest raids in Bayt Awa, Bethlehem, Nur al-Shams r.c., Qalqilya, Tafuh, al-Til, Tulkarm r.c. Jewish settlers under IDF protection take control of 1,400 dunams of Palestinian land nr. Jaba', outside Jerusalem.(HP 7/9; LAW, MM, NYT, PCHR, WP 7/10; MA 7/10 in WNC 7/11; WJW 7/11; AFP 7/11 in WNC 7/15; MA 7/11 in WNC 7/16; MA 7/15 in WNC 7/17; MM 7/17, 7/19)

A group of 400 Jewish immigrants fr. the U.S. and Canada arrive in Israel; 75% of them will live in Beit Shemesh, Jerusalem. They arrive as part of a new Jewish Agency program to encourage entire established Jewish communities in N. America to immigrate to Israel with their rabbis. American Evangelical Christians representing the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ) donated $5,000 to each of the 400 to help finance the move. Another group of 130 is expected to arrive in the next few mos. (JP 7/9; Trenton Times 7/10; WJW 7/11; MEI 7/26) (see 6/22)

Israel's air, land, and sea assaults continue, leaving at least 16 Palestinians dead, more than 70 injured. The IDF enters Tulkarm r.c. and Nur al-Shams r.c., meeting fierce resistance. In Tulkarm r.c., IDF fire kills 2 Palestinian ambulance workers, wounds 4 others, plus 10s of Palestinians. IDF soldiers halt an ambulance in Salem, abduct a wounded Palestinian. After a Hamas gunman sneaks into a Atzmona settlement in Gaza and opens fire, killing 5 Jewish settlers and wounding 23 before being shot dead, the IDF sends 10s of tanks and armored personnel carriers (APCs) into Aida, Bethlehem, Dahaysha, 2 neighboring villages, meeting little resistance; soldiers cut electricity, conduct house-to-house searches, occupy numerous homes and schools as observation and staging posts. F-16s bomb PA security offices in Bethlehem, destroying the Force 17 headquarters, a clinic. A PFLP suicide bomber detonates a device in Ariel settlement, lightly injuring 5 settlers; another Palestinian with a large bomb in a backpack is captured, disarmed in a Jerusalem cafe. A Palestinian gunman seriously wounds a Jewish settler nr. Nablus. IDF gunboats shell PA government buildings, political offices, intelligence headquarters, and a PSF compound in Gaza City, injuring 13 PSF officers and leaving only 2 of 25 buildings in the compound standing. The IDF also sends tanks into Jenin; shells PSF offices in Halhul, Hebron, Yatta; shells, destroys the PFLP headquarters in Bayt Hanun; invades the Jerusalem Chamber of Commerce, confiscating files related to Palestinian land, property ownership; demolish 2 Palestinian homes in Tayasir, Jenin; fire on a Palestinian school in Hawara. Some 150 Israeli intelligence officers, border police, troops seal off the Jabal Mukabir section of East Jerusalem, where they surround the home of human rights activist Khader Shkirat, briefly take him into custody, search his home. (AP, CNN, HP, LAW, NYT, WP 3/7; AFP 3/7 in WNC 3/8, 3/11; LAW, MM, NYT, WP 3/8; MA 3/8 in WNC 3/11; LAW 3/13, 3/20; MEI 3/22)

U.S. Pres. George W. Bush orders U.S. special envoy Anthony Zinni back to the region to attempt to secure an Israeli-Palestinian cease-fire. (AP 3/7; NYT, WP, WT 3/8; MM 3/11; AYM 3/12 in WNC 3/14; MEI 3/22)