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  • July 11, 2011

    At EU urging, the Quartet convenes a senior-level mtg. in Washington to discuss issuing a statement on how to jumpstart the peace process, but because of sharp disagreements over a draft prepared...

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  • January 26, 2008

    On the Israeli side of the Erez crossing into Gaza, more than 1,000 Israeli Palestinians and left-wing peace activists rally to urge Israel to lift the siege on Gaza, while in Gaza City, 100s of...

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  • November 30, 2006

    The IDF troops on the n. Gaza border fire on, wound a Palestinian who strays nr. the border fence nr. Bayt Lahiya. In the West Bank, the IDF demolishes a Palestinian home, 3 shops, a warehouse in...

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  • August 6, 2006

    Overnight, the IDF pulls troops out of Rafah and al-Shuka and back into the Dahaniyya airport, ending a 3-day offensive; troops go back into al-Shuka briefly during the day to surround, evacuate,...

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  • August 4, 2006

    The IDF continues operations al-Shuka, making air and artillery strikes on buildings allegedly housing Hamas and Islamic Jihad weapons caches, exchanging fire with Palestinian gunmen, conducting...

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  • July 30, 2006

    The IDF reopens the Nahal Oz pipeline (closed 7/27), the Qarni crossing to imports only (closed 7/26; exports have been banned since 6/23); makes an air strike destroying a Palestinian home nr....

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  • July 22, 2006

    The IDF continues to shell n. Gaza, wounding at least 1 Palestinian civilian. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem. A Palestinian militant wounded during...

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At EU urging, the Quartet convenes a senior-level mtg. in Washington to discuss issuing a statement on how to jumpstart the peace process, but because of sharp disagreements over a draft prepared by the U.S. in consultation with Israel, the members fail to issue a statement. (AFP 7/11; AP 7/12; WJW 7/14; Foreign Policy [online] 7/22; WJW 8/5) 

Unidentified assailants attack Egypt’s natural gas pipeline to Israel and Jordan again (see 7/4). In the West Bank, the IDF demolishes a grocery store, sheep farm, and garage on land in al-Jib village nr. Jerusalem, strategically located between Givat Ze’ev and Givon settlements; declares a Palestinian olive grove in the Wadi Qana area nr. Salfit a closed military zone and uproots 600 trees; patrols in 3 villages nr. Ramallah, 2 nr. Salfit, and 1 nr. Jenin; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Jenin town and r.c. and in Qalqilya. The World Zionist Organization’s settlement division (newly transferred to Netanyahu’s control; see 6/19) allocates 54,000 d. of agricultural land to 21 Jewish settlements in Jordan Valley, nearly doubling the total farmland under their control to 110,000 d.; it also increases water allocations to Jewish farmers in the Jordan Valley. (JP 6/28; WP 7/12; PCHR 7/14; OCHA 7/15)

The Knesset passes (47-38) into law a bill that would sanction individuals and organizations that call for a boycott of Israel or its settlements, denying them tax breaks and barring them from working for the government. The Knesset’s legal adviser warns, however, that the measure is “borderline illegal” since it strays into the right to free political expression. Human rights groups plan to challenge the law in the High Court within days. (HA, JTA, MNA 7/11; JTA, WJW 7/14; JPI, WP 7/22)

On the Israeli side of the Erez crossing into Gaza, more than 1,000 Israeli Palestinians and left-wing peace activists rally to urge Israel to lift the siege on Gaza, while in Gaza City, 100s of Palestinians hold a parallel demonstration “to join the hands of Israeli and Palestinian peace activists who want to end the siege and all forms of violence.” In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron. Jewish settlers stone Palestinian vehicles driving on Wadi Qana Road nr. Qalqilya, damaging 1 but causing no injuries. (NYT, WT 1/27; OCHA 1/30; PCHR 1/31)

PFLP founder George Habash dies of a heart attack in Amman at age 82. (AP, NYT, REU, WP, WT 1/27; NYT 1/28)

The IDF troops on the n. Gaza border fire on, wound a Palestinian who strays nr. the border fence nr. Bayt Lahiya. In the West Bank, the IDF demolishes a Palestinian home, 3 shops, a warehouse in Qalqilya as well as 1 home in nearby Wad al-Rasha, 2 animal farms in nearby Wad Qana, 2 homes nr. Bethlehem; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus (firing on stone-throwing youths who confront them in Nablus, killing 1 Palestinian teenager, wounding 3), and nr. Bethlehem, Hebron, Jenin, Ramallah. In Hebron, Israeli border police fatally shoot a Palestinian who throws a Molotov cocktail at police, lightly injuring 1 officer. (NYT 12/1, 12/2; OCHA 12/6; PCHR 12/7)

Overnight, the IDF pulls troops out of Rafah and al-Shuka and back into the Dahaniyya airport, ending a 3-day offensive; troops go back into al-Shuka briefly during the day to surround, evacuate, blow up a Palestinian home, also bulldozing 20 d. of surrounding agricultural land. Late in the evening, the IDF makes an air strike destroying a Palestinian home nr. Bayt Lahiya, damaging 2 others after warning residents by phone to evacuate. In the West Bank, the IDF sends troops into Silat al-Harithiyya nr. Jenin, occupies a house as a sniper post, shoots and assassinates wanted Islamic Jihad mbr. Sami al-‘Imari; arrests, searches the Ramallah home of Change and Reform PC mbr. Fadl Hamdan; conducts arrest raids, house searches and fires on residential areas of Shayukh nr. Hebron in a raid targeting the AMB; searches vehicles, an Internet caf´e in Hebron; issues military orders confiscating 10s of d. of agricultural land southwest of Hebron for construction of the separation wall. Jewish settlers driving nr. Nablus open fire at a Palestinian truck driving ahead of them, killing a 48-yr.-old Palestinian, wounding his son. Unidentified gunmen ambush the car of the PA military intelligence head for n. Gaza as it drives through Jabaliya, wounding him, 2 passengers. (OCHA 8/9; PCHR 8/10)

The IDF intensifies air strikes across Lebanon, hitting targets in s. Beirut, Ansar, al-Jibbayn, Nabatiyya, Naqura, Qana, Tyre (striking within 40 yards of a UN humanitarian aid convoy traveling with prior coordination with the IDF, hitting a car traveling in the opposite direction), killing 10s of Lebanese civilians, several Lebanese soldiers, 1 PFLP-GC mbr. Ground operations continue across s. Lebanon, with Hizballah claiming to disable 4 tanks (in Adassiyya, Ras al-Biyada, Wadi Hunin), acknowledging the death of 3 Hizballah mbrs. The IDF says that it has taken prisoner 22-yr.-old Hizballah mbr. Hasan Ali Sulayman, who has allegedly admitted under interrogation to involvement in the 7/12 capture of 2 IDF soldiers. Hizballah fires around 160 rockets into n. Israel, killing 3 Israeli civilians (1 an Israeli Palestinian) in Haifa, and killing 12 IDF reservists, wounding 5 in Kfar Giladi on the border with Lebanon. (REU 8/6; NYT, WP, WT 8/7; IFM 8/8; PCHR 8/10)

The IDF continues operations al-Shuka, making air and artillery strikes on buildings allegedly housing Hamas and Islamic Jihad weapons caches, exchanging fire with Palestinian gunmen, conducting house-tohouse searches, prompting residents to flee, leaving 2 Palestinian civilians, 1 Palestinian militant dead, at least 1 Palestinian wounded. Late in the evening, the IDF expands operations deeper into Rafah, making air strikes on militant targets in heavily residential areas, killing 1 Islamic Jihad mbr., 2 other armed Palestinians, a Palestinian woman and her 2 children, wounding at least 3 Palestinians; also destroys the remaining parts of a PA security barracks. Also in Gaza, the IDF makes an air strike destroying a home in Shatti r.c. nr. Gaza City after warning residents to evacuate. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids in Tulkarm town; patrols in Tulkarm r.c.; conducts random ID checks in Hebron. The IDF also bars Palestinians under age 45 fr. attending Friday prayers at al-Aqsa Mosque. (NYT 8/4; WP 8/5; PCHR 8/10)

The IDF calls up more reservists (no details reported), moves additional artillery to the border with Lebanon; escalates air strikes on s. Beirut (killing at least 1 Lebanese soldier, wounding 2 soldiers, 4 civilians), hitting bridges and roads in Christian areas n. of the capital along the coast for the 1st time (killing a least 5 Lebanese civilians, wounding 19; hitting an 8-truck UN convoy, preventing the movement of other aid convoys south); also strikes targets in s. Lebanon (flattening 2 houses, leaving 50 Lebanese missing) as well as in Baalbek, Hermel, Qana (killing at least 28 farm workers, mostly Syrian Kurds) in the Biqa‘ Valley. Ground operations in s. Lebanon continue, with especially intense fighting in Aita al-Sha‘b, Markaba (where at least 3 IDF soldiers are killed and 1 tank is destroyed), Taybeh. Hizballah fires 195 rockets into n. Israel, hitting Buaineh, Carmiel, Hadera (50 mi. fr. the border, the deepest strike to date), Kiryat Shimona (hit by 60 missiles), Ma’alot, Migdal Hamek, Nahariya, Qunaytra, Safad, Shar Yishuv; killing 4 Israelis (including 3 Druze; 1 in Maghir, 2 in Majd al-Krum) wounding 8. (AP, NYT 8/4; NYT, WP, WT 8/5)

The IDF reopens the Nahal Oz pipeline (closed 7/27), the Qarni crossing to imports only (closed 7/26; exports have been banned since 6/23); makes an air strike destroying a Palestinian home nr. Bayt Lahiya after phoning the residents and warning them to leave; makes an air strike severely damaging the Gaza City home of a PA police officer, claiming he was storing weapons for militants (the officer was warned to evacuate; denies storing weapons); continues to shell residential areas of al-Shuka, wounding 1 Palestinian. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols, randomly checks IDs of residents in Qalqilya; conducts house searches in Bethlehem (targeting the home of a PA security officer), nr. Tulkarm. Some 5,000 Palestinians demonstrate outside the UN compound in Gaza City to protest the IDF’s attack on Qana, Lebanon, overnight (see below). A PSF officer is shot, wounded by unidentified armed Palestinians in Khan Yunis. A Palestinian wounded in the 7/19 IDF assault on al-Maghazi dies. (PCHR 8/3)

Overnight, the IDF drops 2 2,000-lb MK84 guided missiles on a 3-story residential building in Qana in s. Lebanon killing at least 28 Lebanese (including 16 children), wounding 9, and leaving 11 missing and presumed dead (including 6 children; initial reports say 57 Lebanese are killed, including 37 children, and 8 are wounded but Lebanese government, hospital, independent reports downgrade the figures by 8/3); the Israeli FMin. issues a statement blaming Qana residents for ignoring IDF warnings to leave. U.S. Secy. of State Rice, in Israel to discuss a cease-fire, announces that she will return to Washington but succeeds in securing Israel’s agmt. to a 48-hr. partial suspension of air strikes on s. Lebanon, including a 24-hr. window for relief agencies to transport goods and civilians; Israel says it will observe the suspension until the IDF “detects an imminent launch” of Hizballah rockets, but ground operations in s. Lebanon, air and artillery strikes n. of the Litani would continue. During the day, the IDF launches new ground operations in southeastern Lebanon nr. Taybeh and n. of the Israeli town of Metula, reporting 8 IDF soldiers wounded, 3 Hizballah mbrs. killed; makes air and artillery strikes across Lebanon, including in Yarun (killing at least 5 Lebanese civilians); calls on UNIFIL to evacuate Aita al-Sha‘b, Ramieh before sunset (UNIFIL refuses to comply). Hizballah fires more than 150 rockets into Israel in the heaviest barrage since the conflict began on 7/12, with some 80 rockets hitting Kiryat Shimona. (IFM, JAZ, UNIS 7/30; NYT, WP, WT 7/31; NYT 8/1; WT 8/4)

The IDF continues to shell n. Gaza, wounding at least 1 Palestinian civilian. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem. A Palestinian militant wounded during the 7/19–20 IDF raid on al-Maghazi r.c. dies of his injuries. (PCHR 7/27)

The IDF continues its troop build-up on the n. Israel border, artillery strikes and heavy air raids across Lebanon, incursions by small special forces units into the south. In its 1st major ground operation, the IDF sends some 2,000 soldiers, a tank brigade, armor into Maroun al-Ras (a Hizballah stronghold, reportedly largely depopulated since fighting began) on the central s. Lebanese border, stating later that after heavy, close combat, it has taken control of the town and several surrounding villages; at least 3 Hizballah mbrs., as many as 7 IDF soldiers may have been killed, several tanks disabled. Meanwhile, the IDF continues to warn s. Lebanon residents to move northward; Sidon reports some 35,000 displaced Lebanese arriving in the city today; Tyre, the largest s. Lebanese town, reports that only around 5,000 of its 175,000 residents remain. Among the targets hit in IDF air strikes are TV and cell phone transmission towers n. of Beirut (killing at least 1 Lebanese); 2 ICRC ambulances nr. Qana, killing 1 patient and injuring 6 medics, 2 patients; Hizballah targets in Baalbek, s. Beirut, Hermel, Sidon, Tyre. At least 8 Lebanese are killed during the day. Hizballah fires some 130 rockets into n. Israel, wounding 10–20 Israelis (3 seriously); targets include Carmiel, Haifa, Kiryat Shimona, Nahariya, Safad. Israel allows some ships bearing humanitarian aid to enter Lebanese ports. (AFP 7/22; NYT, WP, WT 7/23; NYT 7/24; WP 7/25)