The Palestine Chronology

Israel announces it will lift restrictions on the import of foodstuffs to Gaza, “provided that the source of the shipments is approved by the Israeli authority” (not further clarified). IDF troops enter s. Gaza nr. Abasan to bulldoze land along the border fence. Israeli warplanes repeatedly break the sound barrier over Gaza City. Israeli naval vessels fire on Palestinian fishing boats off the Rafah coast, damaging several and forcing them to return to shore, but causing no injuries. In the West Bank, IDF troops demand that a Palestinian move his car, parked nr. the Beit Shalom outpost site evacuated last quarter; when the man refuses, troops scuffle with him, prompting Palestinians nearby to come to his aid; the situation escalates, with IDF troops beating 6 Palestinians and storming and damaging a nearby Palestinian grocery. The IDF also conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron. The Israeli High Court approves the confiscation of 30 d. of land in Shu‘fat r.c. northeast of Jerusalem for construction expansion of an existing IDF checkpoint and extension of the separation wall to create a new permanent crossing point into Jerusalem; 30 Palestinian shops are expected to be demolished and at least 45,000 Palestinians are expected to lose direct access to Jerusalem. The local council of Har Adar settlement in East Jerusalem issues instructions that Palestinian “laborers are strictly forbidden to move around the community on foot, between the construction sites,” and must be accompanied at all times by their employer or the employer’s representative, stating “this instruction is meant to protect the community’s residents”; the IDF says it will enforce the order, which the Association for Civil Rights in Israel denounces as “a racist instruction based on a general fear of Arabs.” Alleging corruption by Fatah-affiliated employees, Hamas authorities in Gaza take control of the PA Referrals Abroad Dept. which assesses medical cases for specialized treatment in hospitals in the West Bank, Egypt, and Jordan. In response, the PA Health Min. in Ramallah and the Egyptian government say they will no longer finance the transportation or treatment of medical patients referred by the office and Israel says it will not grant travel permits for referrals to exit Gaza. (Yedi’ot Aharonot 3/22; WP 3/23; OCHA 3/24, 3/25; PCHR 3/26)

Overnight, the IDF escalates its military operations in Gaza, making air strikes on Haniyeh’s empty Gaza City offices (destroying them, but causing no casualties), an Interior Min. office used by the ESF (killing 1 Hamas volunteer with the ESF, wounding a 2d) in Jabaliya r.c., 2 ESF training sites in Gaza City (no casualties), a Gaza City school (causing damage but no injuries); shells the s. Gaza coast fr. the sea, causing no injuries; continues to shell open areas in n. Gaza (setting fire to a Palestinian home), break the sound barrier over the Strip. Egyptian security envoy Omar Sulayman cancels plans to visit Gaza as Egyptian mediation efforts to free Cpl. Shalit will not result in a deal, though lower-level efforts continue. During the day, the IDF reduces the rate of shelling of n. Gaza; fatally shoots 3 armed Palestinians nr. the Dahaniyya airport. Under international pressure, Olmert allows Qarni crossing to open for 5 hrs. for the import of basic goods, resumes fuel deliveries to Gaza through Nahal Oz to ease the humanitarian situation. In the West Bank, the IDF raids a Nablus hospital in a failed search for a wanted Palestinian, firing on the surrounding neighborhood (wounding 1 Palestinian) and stone-throwing youths who confront the troops (wounding 6); patrols in and around Nablus, bulldozing several Palestinian vehicles, raiding and shutting down transmission of the Nablus TV station; raids 4 Islamic charities and a clinic in ‘Askar r.c., 3 other charities in Bethlehem, nr. Qalqilya, and in Tulkarm, confiscating computers, files; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Nablus, Salfit and nr. Bethlehem, Hebron, Jenin; conducts house searches, fires percussion grenades in al-Fawwar r.c., several villages around Hebron. (AFP, AP, HA, IFM, IMEMC, NYT, WP, WT, YA 7/2; AFP 7/2 in WNC 7/2; NYT, WP 7/3; PCHR 7/6)

As Operation Summer Rains continues, the IDF sends a small number of additional troops into s. Gaza nr. the border to search for explosives and tunnels, though the main force occupying Dahaniyya airport largely remains idle since taking over the site on 6/28; makes air strikes on Hamas targets in s. Gaza, causing no reported injuries but destroying 2 greenhouses, damaging several homes and a rehabilitation center; conducts arrest raids in Abasan e. of Khan Yunis, also bulldozing 110 d. of olive trees and agricultural land; continues to shell areas of n. Gaza (wounding 1 Palestinian civilian), to conduct nightly flights over the Strip breaking the sound barrier. Palestinian gunmen fire on the troops, hit an IDF bulldozer with an antitank missile, causing damage but no injuries. The Palestinian groups holding Shalit issue a 2d demand that Israel release 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, including women and children, in an exchange. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron; raids, searches 5 Islamic charities in Jenin and Jericho and the offices of Manbar al-Islah newspaper in Ramallah, confiscating computers, files. (OSC, VOP 7/1 in WNC 7/2; WP 7/2; PCHR 7/6)

Overnight in Gaza, the IDF makes air strikes on at least 20 targets, including PA Interior Min. offices (saying they were used to plan terrorist attacks), buildings used by the AMB and Hamas, an ESF training camp, a PA intelligence office, several roads, and open areas; continues to shell n. Gaza, to break the sound barrier over the Strip; conducts arrest raids in Rafah. The only reported casualties are 1 Islamic Jihad mbr. killed in an air strike on a rocket launching site in Rafah, 3 Palestinian gunmen (AMB or Islamic Jihad) wounded nr. Jabaliya r.c., and 7 Palestinian bystanders (including 5-yr.- old Palestinian girl) wounded in shelling of n. Gaza. Israel also revokes the residency rights of Hamas-affiliated PA Jerusalem Affairs M Khalid Abu ‘Arafa and Change and Reform PC mbrs. Muhammad Abu Tir, Ahmad Attoun, Muhammad Totah (detained on 6/28–29), giving them 30 days to appeal or renounce their positions within the PA. The PRCs fire at least 3 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF sends an undercover unit into Nablus, surrounding a cemetery, fatally shooting 1 Palestinian teenager, wounding and arresting a 2d Palestinian, arresting 2 others, firing on stonethrowing youths who confront the troops, wounding 31; also raids an Islamic charity in Nablus, confiscating a computer, files; conducts additional arrest raids in and around Nablus, in Jenin. IDF Central Command head Maj. Gen. Ya’ir Naveh says that the main crossing between Jerusalem and Bethlehem is now closed to Palestinians who hold Israeli IDs (including 237,000 East Jerusalem residents), enforcement (which reportedly is irregular at present) may be expanded to other crossings into the West Bank soon. (HA, IMEMC, MM, PCHR, WP, YA 6/30; OSC, XIN 6/30 in WNC 7/1; IMEMC, NYT, WP 7/1; VOP 7/1 in WNC 7/2; PCHR 7/6)

Overnight, the IDF stages scores of arrest raids across the West Bank detaining 64 senior Hamas political officials, including 8 PA cabinet mbrs. and 26 PC mbrs., plus 23 senior Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades mbrs. Haniyeh, Siyam, PA FM Mahmud Zahhar remain free. (100s of Palestinians in Jenin, Ramallah, Tulkarm hold marches, sit-ins to protest the Israeli arrest of PA legislators.) Israel says the arrest campaign has been planned for wks., with the government securing Atty. Gen. Menachem Mazuz’s authorization and arrest warrants far in advance of the Kerem Shalom attack on 6/25. In Gaza, the IDF shells 2 electricity transformers and open areas of n. Gaza, cutting all electricity to n. Gaza and wounding 1 Palestinian civilian; makes air strikes on 2 electrical shops in Khan Yunis, a Hamas training camp outside Khan Yunis, a car carrying 4 Islamic Jihad mbrs. in Gaza City, wounding 3 bystanders in the Gaza City incident; fires at least 30 shells at areas around Khan Yunis, wounding 1 Palestinian farmer; conducts house searches in al-Shuka nr. Rafah; intermittently breaks the sound barrier to harass the Gaza population. In response to Israel’s military escalation, the PRC mbrs. overnight kill a Jewish settler teenager they reported they kidnapped on 6/27; the IDF finds his body buried nr. Ramallah. During the day, the IDF makes an air strikes on targets in s. Gaza and on a car driving in Gaza City in an attempt to assassinate an Islamic Jihad mbr., who escapes lightly wounded; shells n. and s. Gaza, lightly wounding at least 3 Palestinians. AMB, Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Islamic Jihad, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) mbrs. also fire at least 6 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing light damage to a farm. Palestinian militants (thought to be Hamas) blow a hole in the Gaza-Egypt border fence; cordons of PA security forces,Egyptian border guards prevent most Palestinians fr. crossing through, though the militants who set the bomb reportedly escape into Egypt. In the evening, Olmert, Peretz order the IDF to suspend plans to send the Givati Brigade into n. Gaza overnight as planned in light of requests fr. Egypt to allow its envoys in Gaza more time to secure Shalit’s release. Meanwhile in the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches (unrelated to the arrest of PA officials) in Hebron, and in and around Ramallah, Salfit; raids 6 Islamic charities and schools nr. Hebron, Jenin and in Bethlehem, Tulkarm, confiscating computers, files; issues military orders confiscating 25 d. of Palestinian land nr. Hebron for construction of the separation wall. (HA, IFM, IMEMC, JAZ, MM, NYT, WP, WT, YA 6/29; AFP, MENA, OSC, PSCT, VOI, VOP 6/29 in WNC 6/30; CSM, HA, MM, NYT, PCHR, WP, WT 6/30; OSC, PSCT, YA 6/30 in WNC 7/1; al-Ayyam 7/1 in WNC 7/2; HA, PCHR 7/6; PCHR 7/27) 

Overnight, the IDF launches Operation Summer Rains, sending ground troops into s. Gaza; retaking the Dahaniyya airport area as a base, demolishing 5 Palestinian homes and bulldozing land to improve lines of sight, and blowing up 3 bridges to control movement between the Rafah and Gaza City environs; conducting 7 air strikes on Gaza’s only electricity plant nr. Gaza City and 6 transformer stations, wounding 2 Palestinians, blacking out 45% of the Strip, and leaving Gaza fully dependent on electricity fr. Israel); shelling open areas of s. Gaza; repeatedly breaking the sound barrier over the Strip. The IDF’s elite Givati Brigade deploys outside n. Gaza, prepared to enter if rocket attacks resume. Midafternoon, IDF artillery begins shelling n. Gaza for the 1st time since the 6/9 incident that killed 8 Palestinians. After Palestinians fire 2 rockets into Israel in response (causing no damage or injuries), the IDF warns n. Gaza residents to evacuate the area, with Olmert saying that IDF operations will escalate until Shalit is released. In a warning to Syrian pres. Bashar al-Asad and Hamas’s Damascus-based leadership, the Israeli air force makes overflights of Asad’s residence in Latakia (where he is believed to be staying) and along the Syrian coast. Meanwhile, Palestinians fire 6 more rockets toward Israel, but all land inside Gaza, causing no damage or injuries. The AMB says it has kidnapped a 62-yr.-old Israeli man fr. Rishon Letzion, inside Israel, who has been missing since 6/26; issues a statement threatening to target Israeli embassies abroad. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in Iktaba nr. Tulkarm; raids a Fatah office in al-Bireh, confiscating computers, arresting 3 Palestinians; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Tulkarm, nr. Hebron. In Khan Yunis, 2 Palestinian children are killed when they accidentally detonate unexploded IDF ordnance. In West Jerusalem, around 100 ultra-Orthodox Jews attack a tour group of 50 pro-Israel Christians for wearing shirts saying “love your neighbor as yourself”; Israeli police intervene to stop the attack but make no arrests; 3 tourists, 1 police officer are injured. (AP, BBC, B’Tselem press release, HA, IFM, IMEMC, ITV, MM, NYT, PCHR, REU, Voice of the Arabs [Cairo], WP, WT, YA 6/28; OSC 6/28 in WNC 6/30; BBC, CSM, HA, IMEMC, MM, NYT, REU, WP, WT 6/29; Globe, PCHR 6/29; HJ 7/1 in WNC 7/1; see also AFP, MENA, PSCT 6/27 in WNC 6/28; OCHA 6/30; PCHR 7/6; REU 7/11)

After Palestinians fire rockets fr. Gaza into Israel (causing no damage or injuries), the IDF launches Operation Southern Arrow (as warned on 3/30), making air strikes on a PA security compound (wounding 2 Palestinians; see 3/30) and Abbas’s helicopter pad in Gaza City, firing at least 30 shells at residential areas nr. the n. Gaza no-go zone (hitting 2 houses, killing 1 Palestinian and wounding at least 5), flying mock air raids over Gaza (repeatedly breaking the sound barrier), reducing the distance that artillery fire may be targeted nr. Palestinian homes fr. 300 m to 100 m. The IDF also recloses the Qarni commercial crossing; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Bethlehem, Dura, Nablus. (WP 4/5; VOP 4/5 in WNC 4/6; PCHR 4/6; HA 5/14)

According to the biography of fmr. Mossad chief Efraim Halevy, released today in Britain, just before Israel’s 1997 attempted assassination of Hamas political leader Khalid Mishal in Amman, King Hussein transmitted a message offering a 30-yr. cease-fire fr. Hamas to then Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu via a local Mossad rep. The message did not reach Netanyahu until after the hit was made. (JAZ 4/4)

The IDF conducts mock air raids over the Gaza Strip, breaking the sound barrier; imposes a curfew on, sends troops into al-Shayukh and Sa’ir nr. Hebron based on false reports that an Israeli pilot had landed a glider in the area, fires percussion grenades, tear gas, and live ammunition at residents to keep them in their homes during the search, causing no injuries; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron, nr. Jenin and Tulkarm, and in Aida r.c., alAzza r.c., Bethlehem, Dahaysha r.c. Jewish settlers write slogans in Hebrew defaming the Prophet on the walls of a mosque in Nabi Elias nr. Qalqilya. (PCHR 2/16)

Sharon suffers a massive stroke. Sharon, who was expected to win a 3d term in the 3/06 elections at the head of his new Kadima party, is not expected to return to politics, throwing the elections into question. Political powers are transferred to Vice PM Ehud Olmert, Sharon’s close ally. (BBC, JTA 1/4; CSM, NYT, WP, WT 1/5; DS 1/6; CSM 1/9)

The IDF seals the West Bank, Gaza for the 4-day Muslim holiday of Id al-Adha; conducts predawn mock air raids over Gaza, breaking the sound barrier; raids a house in East Jerusalem, breaks up a mtg. being held by Change and Reform candidate Ahmad Attoun; bulldozes a Palestinian home nr. Bethlehem; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Jenin town and r.c. (firing on stone-throwing Palestinians who confront the troops, wounding 9), in and around Bethlehem, Ramallah, Tulkarm. In continued retaliation for the 1/2 killings (see 1/3), Islamic Jihad, the AMB fire 8 rockets fr. Gaza towards Ashkelon, Sederot, and the IDF base at the Erez crossing, causing no damage or injuries. IDF soldiers, Israeli police scuffle with Jewish settlers when serving them with notices that they must evacuate by 1/15 Palestinian-owned buildings they have occupied in the Hebron central market; 4 policemen are injured. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba vandalize Palestinian homes in Hebron, bar Palestinians fr. using a road linking the settlement to the Ibrahimi Mosque/Tomb of the Patriarchs; the IDF observes but does not intervene. About 40 armed AMB mbrs. occupy 4 PA government buildings in Gaza, fire on a police station to protest the 1/3 arrest of AMB leader Hams; other AMB mbrs. set burning barricades on the road to the Rafah crossing (barring all but medical cases fr. reaching the border), detonate an explosive device under the Rafah border wall (causing only minor damage). AMB mbrs. later steal 2 bulldozers, tear down a 15-ft stretch of the concrete Gaza border wall; as many as 1,000 Palestinians, some armed, overrun the Egyptian border guards, who fire in the air, call in reinforcements, declare the area a closed military zone, arrest around 100 Palestinians and injure 3; during the skirmish, some Palestinians set fire to an Egyptian armored vehicle, throw hand grenades and fire at the Egyptian contingent, leaving 2 Egyptian border guards dead and around 30 injured; Egypt closes the Rafah border until further notice. The PA says it will release Hams on 1/5 in response to the protests. PA police in Gaza City, fatally shoot a Hamas mbr. hanging campaign posters. Meanwhile, 5 armed Palestinians raid a Gaza house, attempt to kidnap the parents of Rachel Corrie, an American college student who was killed by the IDF in Gaza in 2003; the gunmen back off when the owners of the home explain who the Corries are. (IMEMC, JAZ, YA 1/4; AP, HA, IMEMC, NYT, PCHR, WP, WT 1/5; HA, NYT 1/9; al-Ahram Weekly 1/10; PCHR 1/19; PLO Negotiation Affairs Dept. press release 1/23)

The IDF fires missiles at a car in Jabaliya r.c., assassinating Islamic Jihad cmdr. Said Abu Jidayn, as well asIslamic Jihad mbrs. Akram Qaddas, Omar Obayid, wounding 3 bystanders; fires missiles fr. F-16s at an educational center in Khan Yunis (causing serious damage but no injuries), 7 access roads to the n. Gaza no-go zone; conducts mock air raids, breaking the sound barrier over Gaza City; extends closure on the Tulkarm and Jenin areas (in place in Tulkarm since 12/15, in Jenin since shortly thereafter) to Nablus, effectively prohibiting any Palestinian travel southward towards Ramallah and sealing 800,000 Palestinians in the northern canton; detains 23 Palestinian election officials on their way to a training session in Ramallah at a checkpoint nr. Tulkarm for 6 hrs.; arrests a Palestinian candidate for the 1/25 elections campaigning in Jerusalem; patrols in Bethlehem, Ramallah; conducts arrest raids, house searches in al-Arub r.c. (arresting the campaign coordinator for the Alternative list in the 1/25 elections), Balata r.c., Jenin town and r.c. and nr. Bethlehem, Hebron; uproots 400 Palestinian olive trees southwest of Hebron for construction of the separation wall. Dozens of armed Jewish settlers attempt to reoccupy the vacated West Bank settlement of Sanur; the IDF removes them. Some 200 PA policemen rampage through PA offices, courthouses, an election office, and a municipal building in Rafah, firing in the air to protest the PA’s failure to fight lawlessness in Gaza after the death of a PA policeman in clashes on 12/29. AMB mbrs., PA police clash in Gaza; no injuries are reported. In Brazil r.c., 2 Japanese aid workers escape a kidnapping attempt by unknown Palestinians. (HA, IMEMC, JAZ, XIN 1/2; NYT, PCHR, WP 1/3; NYT, PCHR 1/5; HA 1/13)

The IDF carries out at least 8 predawn air strikes on the n. Gaza no-go zone (causing no casualties) and a predawn air strike on al-Mughraqa s. of Gaza City (tearing up a main street, damaging water and phone networks, but causing no casualties). Early in the day, the IDF warns of the imminent launch of Operation Blue Skies, dropping leaflets on n. Gaza that warn residents to stay away fr. the border area and the sites of vacated n. Gaza settlements, saying that anyone in the zone after 6:00 P.M. local time risks being shot; maps on the leaflets show the no-go zone as roughly corresponding to the n. Gaza settlement areas evacuated under disengagement, though also including areas 1.5 miles into Gaza housing some 100,000 Palestinians, whom the IDF recommends evacuate for “a limited period of time”; reportedly no Palestinians leave. Shortly before the deadline, AMB mbrs. fire 4 rockets at Sederot and a nearby IDF base, causing no damage or injuries; the IDF begins several hrs. of artillery fire (at least 25 strikes), fire fr. helicopters on the n. Gaza zone (wounding 1 Palestinian militant, 1 teenage bystander) and mock air raids breaking the sound barrier over the Strip, marking the start of the operation. Late in the evening, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem, Hebron. AMB mbrs. angry over the Fatah party list submitted today for the 1/25 elections seize election offices in 5 towns in Gaza, wage shoot-outs with the PA police, leaving 1 Gaza City policeman wounded. In Rafah, Palestinian gunmen kidnap a British aid worker, her parents; immediately begin negotiating with the PA for their release. (AFP, IMEMC, Israeli FMin. press release, JAZ, NYT, XIN 12/28; DS, IMEMC, JTA, NYT, PCHR, PMC, WP, WT, YA 12/29)

Overnight, the IDF raids, imposes a curfew on Nur al-Shams r.c. and Tulkarm, fatally shoots Islamic Jihad West Bank military cmdr. Luay Saadi, Islamic Jihad mbr. Majid Askar in an apparent assassination; hrs. later, Islamic Jihad fires 5 rockets fr. Gaza into s. Israel, causing no damage or injuries. The IDF responds with air and artillery strikes on open areas used for rocket launches in n. Gaza, causing no injuries; shelling fr. naval vessels at PA security forces sites in n. Gaza, causing no damage or injuries; ongoing mock air raids over Gaza, breaking the sound barrier to harass the population; closure of the Erez, Qarni crossings. During the day, the IDF also demolishes 2 stores nr. Jenin, claiming that they “could be used” to manufacture explosives; conducts arrest raids, house searches around Hebron for a 3d night, as well as nr. Jenin. A Palestinian gunman fires on an IDF post nr. Halamish settlement nr. Ramallah, causing no damage or injuries; the IDF returns heavy fire, killing a Palestinian bystander standing outside his home in neighboring Nabi Salih. (NYT, WP, WT 10/25; HA 10/25; PCHR 10/27)

Overnight, the IDF conducts air strikes on the home of PRC mbr. ‘Amr Qarmut in Jabaliya r.c. in what may be an assassination attempt (causing damage but no injuries), a Hamas-run school in Gaza City (injuring 23 Palestinians), and a cultural center in Bayt Hanun run by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), causing damage but no injuries; arrests 207 Palestinians (mostly Hamas and Islamic Jihad mbrs., including Hamas political leaders Shaykh Hasan Yusuf and Muhammad Ghazzal) in the largest raids across the West Bank since 2/05. During the day, Sharon says that he has given the IDF “free rein” to act against Palestinians firing rockets. The IDF continues to mass troops on the n. Gaza border, breaks the sound barrier over Gaza roughly every 2 hrs., fires artillery shells fr. Nahal Oz into open areas nr. Bayt Hanun as a warning to Palestinians (marking Israel’s 1st shelling of Gaza since 1967); fires missiles fr. F-16s at a car s. of Gaza City, assassinating senior Islamic Jihad leader Muhammad Shaykh Khalil, Islamic Jihad mbr. Nassir Barhum, wounding 4 bystanders. In the evening, Hamas agrees to stop rocket attacks immediately. Later, an IDF helicopter gunship strikes 3 targets in Khan Yunis, including the homes of senior AMB mbrs. Ziyad Abu Hayya and Mahir al-Farra in what may be assassination attempts, causing heavy damage, injuring 17 Palestinians; the IDF says it is targeting AMB arms storage facilities. A 12-yr.-old Palestinian wounded in the 9/23 Jabaliya explosion dies, bringing that toll to at least 16. (AFP, AP, HA, IMEMC, JAZ, WP, WT, XIN, YA 9/25; CSM, HA, IMEMC, JP, NYT, WP, WT 9/26; HA 9/27; AFP, DS, MEI, PCHR 9/29)

Today’s Independent (9/25) reports that a new book by 2 prominent Israeli journalists, Ofer Shelah and Raviv Druker, states that “at a conference of officers as early as May 2001, Shaul Mofaz, now defense minister and then chief of staff, asked for the tape to be switched off before telling them that he wanted a ‘price’ exacted from the Palestinians of 10 killed a day on each of the army’s seven fronts.” The book also reports that after 6 IDF soldiers were killed in an ambush in 3/02, “Mofaz personally ordered a revenge operation in which for the first time [sic—see “Overview of Israeli Military Operations,” Resource File Doc. A, JPS 134] Palestinian police officers would be shot, whether they posed a threat or not.” (Independent 9/25)

The IDF surrounds, fires on, then shells a car workshop where Islamic Jihad Hebron leader Muhammad Sidr (whom Israel attempted to assassinate in 12/01) is staying, killing him in an apparent assassination; demolishes the Nablus home of the 2d 8/12 suicide bomber. The PSF raids Shati r.c. in Gaza in search of Islamic Jihad mbrs. suspected of detonating a bomb outside PSF offices on 8/13; the raid sparks an exchange of gunfire that leaves 7 Palestinians, including bystanders, wounded; 1 senior Islamic Jihad mbr. is arrested. Islamic Jihad accuses the PA of complicity in Sidr’s assassination. (BBC, HA, MM, PCHR 8/14; NYT, WP, WT 8/15)

Mofaz meets with Dahlan, reiterates Israel’s proposal to turn over control of Jericho, Qalqilya; says it will accelerate the transfer of another city if the PA accepts. (HA, MM 8/15) (see 7/30)

Israeli warplanes break the sound barrier over Lebanon’s Biqa‘ Valley. Hizballah, after not responding for several days to the flights, fires antiaircraft missiles at them, but directs the missiles northward, to ensure that no shrapnel falls in Israeli territory. (HA 8/15)

The IDF fires on stone-throwing Palestinians in Askar r.c., Balata r.c.; demolishes 2 Palestinian homes in Rafah, 1 in Issawiyya; bulldozes 26 dunams of land in Rafah; conducts arrest raids in Dahaysha r.c., Nablus, Qabatiyya, Qalqilya, Tulkarm; searches homes in Dayr al-Balah, occupying 1 as an IDF post; conducts arrest raids in Hebron, Ramallah. Palestinians reportedly fire an antitank missile at an IDF post in Gaza, injuring 1 soldier, a civilian worker; fire 3 mortars at Gush Katif, causing no damage or injuries. IDF F-16s break the sound barrier over the Gaza Strip throughout the day. Late in the evening, at least 1 Palestinian gunman fires on an Israeli vehicle just inside the Israeli border nr. Qalqilya, killing a 7-yr.-old Israeli girl, wounding 3; the AMB, PFLP-GC each claim responsibility. Israeli police detain Mufti of Jerusalem Ikrima Sabri for questioning as part of the investigation into whether the Islamic Movement laundered money for Hamas. The IDF says it has drawn up a list of another 19 unauthorized outposts to be dismantled; of the original list, 10 uninhabited outposts have been removed, while 5 inhabited ones are slated for removal in the next few days. (AFP, AP, HA, HP 6/17; VOI, YA 6/17 in WNC 6/19; HA, MM, NYT, PR, WP, WT 6/18; HA, LAW, NYT, PCHR 6/19; JPI 6/27)

A female Palestinian suicide bomber detonates a device in West Jerusalem, killing 1 Israeli, wounding 2 seriously, 5 moderately. This marks the 1st suicide bombing carried out by a Palestinian woman, though 2 women have been caught placing bombs previously during the al-Aqsa intifada. A release faxed to Hizballah's TV station in Lebanon identifies the woman by name as a Palestinian Hamas mbr. from Nablus University, but neither the school nor the PA can find a woman by that name; no women are reported missing. In response, the Israeli air force flies low-level sorties over Gaza City, breaking the sound barrier, shattering windows. The IDF directs shells, heavy machine gun fire at residential areas of Khan Yunis, Nablus. (MM, NYT, WP, WT 1/28; DUS, MA 1/28 in WNC 1/29; Guardian [Internet] 1/29; NYT 1/30; SA 2/2 in WNC 2/4; JP 2/8)

MK Salah Tarif, Israel's 1st Arab cabinet mbr., resigns, saying he can no longer effectively perform his job in light of an announcement last wk. that Atty. Gen. Rubenstein planned to lift his immunity and indict him for fraud. Tarif has consistently denied charges, 1st raised in 2001, that he gave $5,000 to an Interior M official to obtain citizenship papers for a Palestinian businessman. (WP, WT 1/28)

Israeli Arabs hold a demonstration in Umm al-Fahm protesting Israeli aggression against the Palestinians. (al-Quds 1/28 in WNC 1/29)

IDF soldiers fatally shoot 1 Palestinian at a roadblock nr. Ramallah. (Soldiers say the man was "moving suspiciously," they fired at his legs but "somehow struck" him in the heart.) IDF sends troops into PA-controlled al-Qarara; flies low-level F-16 sorties over Jinin, breaking the sound barrier; bulldozes 3 Palestinian homes in Gaza City, nr. Netzarim settlement; tightens the closures on Ramallah, Tulkarm (digging more trenches across roads leading to the city). The PSF arrests 2 Palestinians in the shooting death of a Greek monk on 6/12. Inside Israel, a pipe bomb hidden in a trash can explodes in a bus station in Hadera, causing no injuries. A Palestinian sniper kills a Jewish settler nr. Nablus. In response, Jewish settlers enter a nearby Palestinian village, damage buildings, set fire to an olive grove. Settlers also raze an olive grove nr. Tulkarm. 10s of armed Jewish settlers protest outside Sharon's offices in Jerusalem. (HA, JP [Internet], PMC 6/20; MM, NYT, WP, WT 6/21; MA 6/21 in WNC 6/22; QA 6/21 in WNC 6/25; MEZ 6/24; MEI 6/29)

After further talks with his security cabinet, Sharon decides not to abandon the Tenet plan but says Arafat has "done nothing" to stop violence, warns that plans for a major military strike are ready but will be held in abeyance for now. Arafat accuses Israel of focusing on isolated incidents while ignoring PA successes in controlling violence; notes that the IDF has not stopped using tanks, machine guns against Palestinians or prevented Jewish settlers fr. harassing, attacking Palestinians. EU, U.S. say the PA is making a noticeable effort but should do more. (AP 6/20; NYT, WP, WT 6/21; DUS 6/25 in WNC 6/27)

At the weekly trilateral security comm. mtg., Israel presents a timetable for the IDF to completely lift its blockades in the West Bank, Gaza and to redeploy to 9/28/00 positions, but says it will not implement it until all violence ceases. Several District Coordination Offices (DCOs) have reopened in the West Bank as required in stage 2 of the cease-fire, which ends today. Israel has also reopened 5 mi. of sea off to Gaza fishermen; allowed 1,000s of Palestinian workers to return to an industrial park on the Gaza border; left 2 of 9 Palestinian homes in Rafah that the IDF occupied as security outposts. (NYT, WT 6/21; AYM 6/23 in WNC 6/26)

After phone calls to Arafat, Mubarak, and Sharon, Bush announces he will send Powell to the region next wk. to reinforce the shaky cease-fire. (MM 6/20; MENA 6/20 in WNC 6/21; MM, NYT, WP, WT 6/21; JT 6/22 in WNC 6/25)

Israeli-Palestinian clashes continue, leaving 2 Palestinians dead. Palestinians fire mortars at a Jewish settlement in Gaza; in response, the IDF sends 5 tanks into nearby PA-controlled territory. The IDF also shells residential areas of Bayt Jala, Bethlehem; bulldozes 30 dunams of Palestinian land nr. Gaza City. (REU 5/24; WP 5/25; PCHR 6/4)

On the anniversary of the IDF pullout fr. s. Lebanon, Israel shoots down a civilian light aircraft that crosses the border fr. Lebanon, killing the pilot. Israel sends jets into Lebanese airspace to break the sound barrier. (HA, MM 5/24; RL 5/24 in WNC 5/29; NYT, WP, WT 5/25; MEI 6/1)

Military Action:

1200 US Marines arrive in Beirut to relieve units deployed with MNF since February; IDF reinforces positions in Bekaa, keeps troops on special alert for 4th consecutive day; Lebanese TV reports exchange of artillery rounds across Syrian-Israeli lines in Bekaa; Israeli jets repeatedly break sound barrier over Bekaa during dozens of reconnaissance flights, encounter anti-aircraft fire from Palestinian positions in north Lebanon; Lebanese guerrillas attack IDF vehicles near Bhamdoun; grenade thrown at Israeli civilian truck in Nabatiyeh; grenade thrown at IDF vehicle in Beirut; IDF APC hits mine near Yanta; IDF position fired on from behind Syrian lines near Amik.

Casualties:

1 civilian killed, another wounded in Syrian-Israeli artillery exchange; 2 IDF soldiers killed, 3 wounded in Bhamdoun attack; IDF warns soldiers in Lebanon not to buy drinks or pita bread locally, due to recent incidents of booby-trapped food.

Political Responses:

Israel/ Occupied Territories: Cabinet approves continuation of military alert status; Peace Now march to get Israel out of the Lebanese quagmire begins at Rosh Hanikra on Lebanese border and heads for Tel Aviv; police arrest son of Rabbi Hirsh, leader of anti-Zionist Orthodox Jewish Neturei Karta movement, on charges of failing to register for military conscription; 20 West Bank sites advertised by private companies for construction of villas have not been approved by Ministerial Settlement Committee.

Palestinians/ Lebanese: Abu Saleh, dissident Fateh officer, denies Libyan support, but says he would welcome it; PLO denies right-wing Lebanese radio report of assassination attempt on Arafat; Arafat tours PLO positions in Baalbek area; Gemayel speaks to largely Muslim rally in West Beirut, calls for Lebanese unity; mufti of Lebanon opposes Lebanese-Israeli agreement.

Military Action:

Israeli jets break sound barrier in flights over Beirut.

Casualties:

UNRWA official says about 30 Palestinian civilians have been killed in South Lebanon by unidentified gunmen since January, hundreds more have fled their homes for refugee camps, UNRWA unable to obtain guarantees for safety and assistance of Palestinian camp population from IDF or Lebanese government.

Political Responses:

Israel/ Occupied Territories: Settlers in Western Negev demonstrate in Gaza against murder of 2 men in Gaza market in past 2 months; High Court increases from 4 months to 1 year prison sentence of Kiryat Arba resident convicted of wounding 5 year-old girl by shooting into house in Hebron; Israeli Civil Rights Movement gives Justice Ministry list of 70 instances during 1982-83 in which Jewish settlers or IDF and border police allegedly acted illegally against Arab residents; West Bank Civil Administration fires Arab director of public health services over his March 31 statement that symptoms of illness in Arraba pointed to something more than mass hysteria; Birzeit University student council head arrested in Jenin, hand is broken by security guard.

Palestinians/ Lebanese: Gemayel and other officials meet special envoy Habib; commander of PLO artillery in Bekaa says he and his men place themselves under command of Abu Musa, support corrective movement within Fateh.

Arab Governments: Syria says it will never allow the liberated areas of Tripoli and Bekaa to fall into hands of Israel and Phalange; Libya calls for expulsion of Lebanon from Arab League.

US and Other Countries: Habib travels from Beirut via Cairo to Riyadh; Shultz tells House Foreign Affairs Committee Reagan has decided to permit sale of F-1 6s to Israel, cites Soviet military supplies and advisers in Syria as major factors.

Military Action:

IDF patrol attacked southeast of Beirut, Lebanese National Resistance Front reportedly responsible; 2 grenades thrown at French MNF position in Beirut; Israeli jets break sound barrier over Beirut, fly mock bombing runs in South Lebanon.

Casualties:

1 IDF wounded; IDF reportedly investigating deaths of 7 men whose bodies were found in Israeli detention center in Sidon soon after invasion; IDF arrests sheikh of Jibsheet, Shiite village in South Lebanon, on suspicion of aiding terrorist activity; prisoner in Ansar camp murdered by other prisoners; Committee of Prisoners' Families reports more than 200 Palestinian women arrested or kidnapped by Phalange in Beirut area between October and February.

Political Responses:

Israel/ Occupied Territories: Science and Development Minister Ne'eman says he will demand extension of Israeli law to West Bank and Gaza and massive Jewish settlement; IDF and Defense Ministry reply to US Marine Commandant's charges, accuse US of failing to honor agreement to delineate military patrol zones in Beirut; Arens tells Weinberger that IDF under strict instructions to avoid incidents with US Marines, proposes agreement on demarcation lines, liaison arrangements between forces.

Palestinians/ Lebanese: Lebanese Army Commander Tannous says non-Lebanese parties are masterminding and staging attacks on MNF to drive it out of Lebanon.

Arab Governments: Arab League delegation, led by King Hussein, with Walid Khalidi representing Palestinians, meets PM Thatcher in London, who reaffirms commitment to self-determination for the Palestinian people.

US and Other Countries: Former President Carter meets President Gemayel in Beirut, calls for immediate withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon, says he hopes Israeli occupation of West Bank will not be repeated in Lebanon.

UN: UN officials say France has expressed concern over August Question of Palestine conference to be held at Paris UNESCO HQ will not take part in preparations or send delegation.