The Palestine Chronology

In the pre-dawn hours, the IDF imposes a 24-hr. curfew, begins house-to-house searches in the Tal al-Sultan neighborhood of Rafah bordering the Philadelphi Route, occupies some buildings as observation posts; begins digging a trench to separate a section of Rafah r.c. fr. the rest of the camp, demolishing at least 3 Palestinian homes, cutting water and electricity supplies. Around daybreak, the IDF begins bulldozing operations, launches 3 missile strikes inside Rafah: the 1st killing 3 Hamas mbrs., wounding 5 gunmen and bystanders; the 2d killing 1 Hamas mbr. laying a roadside bomb nr. a mosque where Palestinians are leaving dawn prayers, also killing 5 bystanders, wounding several others, starting a fire that severely damages the mosque; the 3d hitting a residential area, killing 7 Palestinians (many in their homes), wounding at least 16. The IDF reports killing at least 3 more Palestinians, demolishing at least another 9 Palestinian homes during the day. A 20th Palestinian reportedly dies when explosives he is handling detonate. At least 2 ambulances are deliberately targeted by IDF snipers. The IDF also fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis. In the West Bank, the IDF ambushes, assassinates wanted al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade (AMB) mbr. Muhammad Obeid as he drives nr. Sanur nr. Jenin, also wounding his passenger; raids Jenin r.c., fatally shoots wanted AMB mbr. Ahmad Judah in an apparent assassination, wounding a 2d Palestinian; fatally shoots an AMB mbr., a Palestinian gunman in separate incidents in Nablus; conducts arrest raids targeting Hamas in Tulkarm; orders the confiscation of 380 dunams of Palestinian land nr. Bethlehem for construction of the separation wall. A Palestinian dies of injuries received in 4/04. (BBC, HA, MM, NYT, PCHR, PRCS, PM, WP 5/18; ITAR-TASS, ITV, MENA, PSCT, VOI, VOP, XIN 5/18 in WNC 5/20; HA, NYT, PR, WP, WT 5/19; PCHR 5/20; NYT 5/21; PR 5/26)

The IDF assassinates Hamas spiritual leader and founder Shaykh Ahmad Yasin, firing 3 internationally banned flechette missiles at him as he leaves a Gaza City mosque after morning prayers, also killing 3 bodyguards, 4 bystanders, wounding at least 17 Palestinians, including Yasin’s 2 sons. Immediately, 100,000s of Palestinians take to the streets throughout the territories to protest the assassination. The IDF seals Gaza; clashes with Palestinian demonstrators in Balata r.c. (killing an al-Najah Radio correspondent in Balata r.c., apparently thinking his mobile phone was a weapon), Bethlehem, Dayr al-Balah, Hebron (fatally shooting 1 Palestinian watching fr. his balcony), Jenin, Khan Yunis (killing 3 Palestinians), Nablus; fires on residential areas of Rafah, Qalqilya, Tal Zu’rub; imposes a curfew on areas around Jenin, fires on residential areas; temporarily occupies a Palestinian home as an IDF post nr. Dayr al-Balah. 100s of Palestinian youths in East Jerusalem gather at checkpoints to throw stones at IDF soldiers; Palestinian prisoners in 2 Israeli jails riot. Palestinians fire Qassam rockets, mortars, antitank rockets at Gush Katif and Netzarim settlements, nearby IDF posts, the western Negev, damaging 2 apartments in Netzarim but causing no injuries. An ax-wielding Palestinian fr. the West Bank village of Bidiyya wounds 3 Israelis outside an army base in Tel Aviv before being arrested. An unidentified assailant said to be Arab stabs, lightly wounds 3 Israelis on a Jaffa bus. 4 Palestinians are arrested for beating up a Jewish settler in East Jerusalem. Jewish settlers detain, beat a Palestinian man in the Jordan Valley. An estimated 200,000 Palestinians, including reps. of all Palestinian factions, take part in Yasin’s funeral services later in the day, with 21 PSF officers forming an honor guard for Yasin’s coffin, Gaza churches ringing their bells, mosques broadcasting Qur’anic verses. Meanwhile, Israeli defense chiefs meet, agree to target the entire remaining Hamas leadership immediately, without waiting for another Hamas attack. Israel also announces that it will close the only mental health clinic serving East Jerusalem Palestinians (1,200 patients) because of “security concerns.” (AP, BBC, CSM, HA, MA, MM, NYT, REU, WP, WT 3/22; AP, ATL, ITARTASS, MNR, MENA, IDF Radio, IRNA, ITARTASS, JP, VIRI, VOI, VOP, XIN 3/22 in WNC 3/24; al-Arabiyya TV [Dubai], Syrian Arab News Agency 3/22 in WNC 4/27; AFP, BBC, CSM, HA, JT, MM, NYT, WP, WT 3/23; AFP, AYM, DUS, HA, al-Hayat al-Jadida, JT, MA, MENA, al-Ra’i, THWR, TSHR, VIRI, YA 3/23 in WNC 3/25; MM, NYT, PR, WP 3/24; ATL, ITAR-TASS, Izvestiya, JT, al-Ra’i, SA, VOP, XIN 3/24 in WNC 3/26; AYM 3/24 in WNC 4/3; JT, MM, PCHR, WJW 3/25; ITAR-TASS, MENA, NHR, VIRI 3/25 in WNC 3/27; MM 3/26; MNR 3/27 in WNC 3/30; AYM 3/30, VOP 3/31 in WNC 4/2; MEI 4/2; PCHR 4/15)

In Washington, Shalom holds further talks on Sharon’s disengagement plan with VP Dick Cheney, Powell, Rice. (WP 3/23)

The IDF launches a predawn raid on Balata r.c. and Hebron, placing the area under curfew, sparking clashes that leave 30 Palestinians wounded. The IDF also fires on a PSF post outside Bayt Hanun, killing a PSF officer; imposes a closure on Nablus; lifts the closure on Ramallah; demolishes a Palestinian home in Tulkarm; conducts arrest raids in Jaba, Kafr Haris. 2 Palestinians die of injuries received earlier. Israel releases some 100 Palestinian detainees, including Ahmad Jubara, the longest-serving detainee, jailed in 1975 for staging a bombing that killed 14 Israelis. Kach activists set up 4 new unauthorized settlement outposts in the West Bank. (HA, MM 6/3; NYT, PR, WP, WT 6/4; MA 6/4 in WNC 6/8; PCHR 6/5)

In Sharm al-Shaykh, Bush meets with Abbas and the leaders of Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia for talks on “issues of common interest,” including the peace process, Iraq, international efforts to combat terrorism, economic cooperation. (BBC, MM, WP 6/3; DUS, ITAR-TASS, MENA, XIN 6/3 in WNC 6/4; SARR, THWR 6/3 in WNC 7/10; MM, NYT, PR, WP, WT 6/4; QA, al-Quds 6/4 in WNC 6/7; DUS 6/6 in WNC 7/10; THWR 6/6, THWR, TSHR 6/7 in WNC 7/11; MM 6/10)

The IDF reoccupies Bethlehem following Christmas celebrations, reimposes a 24-hr. curfew on residents; assassinates local AMB head Jamal Yahya in Tulkarm; assassinates Hamas mbr. Bassam Ashqar, ambushing his car in Ramallah, also killing a Palestinian bystander; raids Qabatiyya, assassinating local Islamic Jihad leader Yusif Abu Rub, demolishing his family house, arresting local Izzeddine al-Qassam Brigades head Natzir Nazal, senior Hamas mbr. Talal al-Baz; sends undercover units into a hospital in Ramallah, fatally shooting wanted Palestinian Samir al-Shamali, who was working there as a guard, in what may be an assassination, sparking demonstrations, clashes with local residents that leave 1 Palestinian stone thrower dead; fatally shoots 2 Palestinians “approaching” Netzarim settlement; fires on demonstrators protesting the curfew in Nablus, killing 1 Palestinian, wounding 20; raids a village n. of Ramallah, firing stun grenades, causing an elderly Palestinian to suffer a fatal heart attack; imposes a curfew on Beitunia, sends 30 tanks into the town; conducts house-to-house searches, arrest raids in Qalqilya; fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis. The PA accuses Israel of stepping up attacks on Palestinians in an effort to scuttle Fatah-Hamas talks in Cairo. The IDF also announces that it has begun building 300-yd.-wide buffer zones around several Jewish settlements in the West Bank (see Quarterly Update in JPS 126). Palestinians fire 2 mortars at a Jewish settlement in Gaza, causing damage but no injuries. This evening, Israeli DM Shaul Mofaz orders the IDF to step up pressure on militant groups in the territories. (HP, LAW, PCHR, PM 12/26; HA, NYT, WP, WT 12/27; AYM, Interfax, ITAR-TASS, al-Quds 12/27, De Standaard 12/28 in WNC 12/31; NYT, WT 12/28; LAW, PCHR 1/1)

A Hamas suicide bomber detonates a device on a bus in Tel Aviv, killing 5 Israelis, injuring more than 50. Sharon convenes his cabinet, which unanimously decides to launch Operation Matter of Time to "isolate” Arafat, calls for the immediate extradition of around 20 wanted Palestinians (including Force 17 head Mahmud Damara, PA General Intelligence chief Tawfiq Tirawi) allegedly among the 200 Palestinians hiding in Arafat's offices (8 surrender in the evening). The IDF immediately reimposes 24-hr. curfews on all West Bank areas except Hebron; sends tanks into Ramallah to surround Arafat's offices (1 tank fatally shoots a 10-yr.-old Palestinian boy 6 times; troops shoot, wound 2 Arafat bodyguards in the PA headquarters compound); fires on "Palestinian schoolchildren challenging the army's attempt to impose a curfew" in Amari r.c., killing a 11-yr.-old Palestinian; shells residential areas of Rafah; conducts arrest raids in Bayt Hanun (where an IDF tank runs over a roadside bomb, injuring 2 soldiers), Jenin r.c. (blowing up 1 Palestinian home), Nablus, Qalqilya, the Tulkarm area; bulldozes 19 dunams of agricultural land nr. Kefar Darom settlement. Jewish settlers open fire on a Palestinian taxi nr. Tulkarm, seriously injuring the driver. (AP, HA, JTA, LAW, MM, PM 9/19; ATL, ITAR-TASS 9/19 in WNC 9/20; MM, NYT, WP, WT 9/20; Interfax, MA, Radio Monte Carlo 9/20 in WNC 9/23; MEZ, NYT 9/21; AYM 9/23 in WNC 9/25; LAW, PCHR, PR 9/25; MA 9/25 in WNC 9/26; WJW 9/26; MEI 9/27)

Before dawn, the IDF sends troops back into Aida r.c., Bayt Jala, Bethlehem, Dahaysha r.c. in the largest incursion since Israeli PM Ariel Sharon declared the end of the 1st stage Operation Defensive Shield on 4/21, conducting house-to-house searches; occupying the UNRWA school in Dahaysha r.c.; arresting 10s of Palestinians, including wanted Fatah mbr. Ahmad Mughrabi, blowing up his home; declaring the area a closed military zone, barring entry to journalists; occupying Bethlehem Radio 2000 offices, seriously damaging, confiscating equipment; directing shells, heavy machine gun fire at residential areas, seriously damaging several homes. The IDF also conducts arrest raids in Hebron, Umm al-Sharayit; withdraws to the outskirts of Tulkarm, but maintains a curfew; tightens controls on Palestinian movement across the West Bank. In the evening, a AMB suicide bomber (a cousin of AMB Nablus cmdr. Titi, assassinated on 5/22) detonates a device in cafe in Petah Tikva, killing 2 Israelis, injuring 37. A bomb is found, neutralized in French Hill settlement. (HP, LAW, NYT 5/27; MM, NYT, WP, WT 5/28; ITAR-TASS 5/28 in WNC 5/29; LAW 5/29; MEI 5/31)