The Palestine Chronology

IDF troops make a day-long incursion into c. Gaza to level land along the border fence e. of al-Bureij r.c. to clear lines of sight, firing on nearby residential areas to keep Palestinians indoors; no injuries are reported. Unidentified Palestinians fire a Qassam rocket fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF uses live fire, tear gas, and stun grenades to disperse Palestinians and Israeli activists staging a nonviolent march in Dayr Qaddis nr. Ramallah to protest local settlement expansion and construction of the separation wall; 2 Palestinians are wounded with live ammunition, and 1 Israeli activist is arrested. The IDF also conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem. Jewish settlers fr. Matityahu settlement nr. Ramallah set fire to 10s of Palestinian olive trees in Bil‘in; the IDF prevents Palestinian firefighters fr. reaching the site quickly and directs live fire, tear gas, and stun grenades at stone-throwing youths who challenge them (no serious injuries are reported). Israel’s Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court rules that a Palestinian family (the Farhans) cannot be evicted from their home in Shaykh Jarrah, East Jerusalem, where they have lived since 1948. (HA 6/15; JTA, PCHR, YA 6/16; PCHR 6/23; OCHA 6/24)

Overnight, the IDF sends troops into Gaza City, clashing with local gunmen and calling in air strikes in support, killing 7 Palestinian gunmen (including 4 Hamas, 2 PRC mbrs.), wounding 4 bystanders. In an apparent assassination attempt, the IDF fires a missile at a car nr. Nussayrat r.c. driven by a senior PRC mbr., leaving him unharmed but injuring 3 PRC mbrs. traveling with him. Citing humanitarian concerns, Egypt allows 2,152 Palestinian pilgrims, including at least 1 senior Hamas official, to return to Gaza via the Rafah crossing, angering Israel; 1,000s of Hamas supporters rally at the crossing to welcome the pilgrims home. In the West Bank, the IDF bulldozes 7 bedouin tents nr. Mikhmas outside Ramallah, displacing 60 Palestinians; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron and nr. Bethlehem, Ramallah; patrols in, fires on residential areas of Jenin town and r.c.; occupies a vacant Palestinian home in Kafr Dan nr. Jenin as an observation post; patrols in Tulkarm, firing live ammunition at stone-throwing youths who confront them, wounding 1 teenager. Jewish settlers fr. Matityahu settlement attempt to set up 2 trailers on Palestinian land in Bil‘in; the IDF removes the settlers. (NYT, PCHR, WP, WT 1/3; OCHA 2/9; PCHR 1/10)