The Palestine Chronology

The IDF fires on 3 Palestinians attempting to sneak into Israel fr. Jabaliya to find work, seriously wounding 1, lightly injuring 1, while 1 escapes; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Baqa‘ al-Sharqiyya. The IDF also imposes new restrictions on Palestinian movement nr. the Ibrahimi Mosque/Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron, erecting an iron gate 30 m away fr. the site, closing the main road leading to the site to Palestinians, checking all Palestinians before allowing them through the gate to the site. Jewish settlers fr. Ma’on attack 5 Palestinian shepherds grazing their animals nearby; the IDF intervenes, arrests the Palestinians, takes them to Kiryat Arba for interrogation, releases them later. Israel authorizes the construction of a “temporary wall” btwn. Jerusalem, the West Bank in areas where the legal disputes to the route of the separation wall are still underway; approves a new route for the separation wall around Jerusalem that would annex Ma’ale Adumim settlement, surround Shu‘fat r.c. with fences, isolate Palestinian neighborhoods and villages n. of the city, incorporate Bilal Bin Rabah mosque n. of Bethlehem into Jerusalem. At Hebron University, 100s of students supporting Fatah disrupt a Hamas student rally in advance of campus elections, leaving 9 Palestinians injured. (AP, IMEMC 3/13; WT 3/14; OCHA 3/16; PCHR 3/17)

The IDF expands Operation Days of Penitence, using some 200 tanks and APCs to seize control of a 3.5 mi2 of costal territory in n. Gaza. In Jabaliya r.c., IDF missile strikes kill 3 Islamic Jihad mbrs. and 2 Hamas mbrs., wound 4 bystanders; gunfire kills at least 3 Palestinians (possibly Islamic Jihad mbrs.); demolitions of Palestinian homes continue; the IDF uses loudspeakers to urge 10s of Palestinians to evacuate their homes. The IDF fatally shoots another 4 Palestinians trying to infiltrate Israel fr. n. Gaza. A Palestinian militant dies of injuries sustained in Jabaliya on 10/1. The IDF also opens fire on Palestinians in central Gaza protesting against Days of Penitence; shells residential areas of Rafah, killing a 62-yr.-old Palestinian; evacuates, demolishes 4 Palestinian homes in Rafah, shooting and seriously wounding a Palestinian woman (6-mos. pregnant) in the process; fires on several residential areas of Khan Yunis, bulldozing 14 d., damaging an elementary school and forcing students to evacuate; conducts arrest raids in al-Qarara. In the West Bank, the IDF imposes a 1-day curfew on Palestinian areas of Hebron, fires on stone-throwing youths; conducts arrest raids at Hebron University and in Abu Nujaym and Artas nr. Bethlehem, Bayt Umar nr. Hebron, Silwad, Tulkarm, Tura nr. Jenin. A 4-yr.-old Palestinian dies of injuries received on 7/30/04. (HA, NYT, XIN 10/2; AFP, JAZ, VOI, VOP 10/2, VOI 10/3 in WNC 10/5; NYT, WP, WT 10/3; PCHR 10/7)