Israel ends the siege on Arafat's compound in Ramallah, allowing Arafat, all those inside with him to leave; troops remain in Ramallah however. A Palestinian heart attack victim dies...
Before dawn, the IDF reoccupies Amari r.c., al-Bireh, Qadura r.c., and Ramallah, surrounding Arafat's offices (placing Arafat under de facto house arrest), arresting 13 PSF officers,...
The IDF continues to surround all major Palestinian population centers in the West Bank, barring travel btwn. towns and villages except through heavily guarded checkpoints. In Gaza, 1 Palestinian...
In Bethlehem, the IDF fires on 3 Palestinians who attempt to leave the Church of the Nativity, killing 1 Palestinian, severely wounding 2 others; the dead, wounded are evacuated later in the day....
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Israel ends the siege on Arafat's compound in Ramallah, allowing Arafat, all those inside with him to leave; troops remain in Ramallah however. A Palestinian heart attack victim dies at an IDF checkpoint nr. Khan Yunis when troops deny his passage to a hospital for several hrs. Palestinians in Nablus defy the curfew by reopening schools. The IDF surrounds 3 Nablus schools, forces them to close; fires on curfew breakers in nearby Balata r.c., injuring 3 children. The IDF also fires tear gas into an education center for children and the mentally disabled in Shu`fat r.c., injuring 150 children; demolishes 4 Palestinian houses nr. Netzarim settlement; fires on stone-throwing Palestinian children nr. Bayt Hanun and Khan Yunis, injuring 4. (AFP, JT 9/29, Interfax, MENA, QA 9/30 in WNC 10/1; MM, NYT, WP, WT 9/30; CSM 10/1; LAW, PCHR 10/2; MEI 10/11; WP 11/8)
The Jerusalem Report, citing Britain’s respected Jane’s Foreign Report, claims that IDF special forces are currently operating inside western Iraq, with the knowledge of the U.S., to locate missile launchers that could be used against Israel. (JP 9/29)
Before dawn, the IDF reoccupies Amari r.c., al-Bireh, Qadura r.c., and Ramallah, surrounding Arafat's offices (placing Arafat under de facto house arrest), arresting 13 PSF officers, meeting no resistance; imposes 24-hr. curfews on Aqaba, Dura, Iktaba, Tamun, Taysir, Tubas, Yatta; fires shells at residential areas of Khan Yunis; continues operations in Bethlehem, Jenin, Nablus (fatally shooting 1 Palestinian), Qalqilya, Tulkarm areas; lifts curfews in Jenin, Nablus, Qalqilya for 3 hrs. The IDF assassinates 2 Izzeddine al-Qassam Brigades leaders, Yasir Raziq and `Amr Kufa, in Rafah, firing missiles at their taxis, also killing 2 passengers, 2 drivers, injuring 13 bystanders. Jewish settlers stone an ambulance nr. Tulkarm. In Gaza, Hamas supporters clash with PSF officers enforcing Shaykh Yasin's house arrest, leaving 1 Hamas supporter dead. (BBC, MM, NYT, PRCS press release, WP, WT 6/24; XIN 6/24 in WNC 6/25; MM, NYT, WP, WT 6/25; LAW 6/26; PCHR, WJW 6/27; MEI 6/28)
After a wk.'s delay, Bush gives a major speech outlining the new U.S. policy toward the peace process. Without mentioning Israel's military escalations, Bush says in effect that the Palestinians must remove Arafat and create a Western-style democracy before the peace process can move forward. The U.S. halts direct dealings with Arafat. Bush's decision to call for Arafat's ouster was reportedly influenced heavily by an Israeli intelligence report he received last wk. (uncorroborated by the CIA) claiming that Arafat authorized a $20,000 payment to the AMB, which carried out the 6/19 suicide bombing. (AP, MM, NYT, WP 6/24; MA 6/24 in WNC 6/25; GS, MM, NYT, WP, WT, YA 6/25; AFP, ATL, Interfax, ITAR-TASS, MENA 6/25 in WNC 6/26; MM, NYT, WP, WT 6/26; AFP, JT, Le Monde 6/26 in WNC 6/27; NYT, WJW, WP 6/27; JT, al-Nahar 6/27 in WNC 6/28; MEI, MM 6/28; NYT, USIS Washington File 6/30; WP, WT 7/1; AN 7/1 in WNC 7/2; JPI 7/5)
Arafat sends the U.S., Arab states a 6-page memorandum outlining an ambitious 100-day reform plan, including plans for presidential and legislative elections in 1/03 and municipal elections in 3/03. (MM 6/24; NYT 6/25; MM 6/26; El Pais 6/26 in WNC 6/27;NYT, WP, WT 6/27; XIN 6/27 in WNC 6/28; AYM 7/1 in WNC 7/3; AYM 7/10, 7/17, 7/21 in WNC 7/23)
Israeli atty. gen. Elyakim Rubinstein says he will not take legal action against those calling for the "voluntary transfer" of Arabs fr. Israel, saying "voluntary transfer" is "immoral" not illegal. (The 13 Palestinians deported to Cyprus in 5/02 were "voluntarily exiled" as part of a deal brokered by Israel and the PA; see 5/22) (HA 6/24; MM 6/27)
In response to Israeli appeals to local satellite channels to drop coverage of BBC World and CNN International because of their "pro-Palestinian bias" (1 channel replaced CNN with Fox News coverage on 6/20), CNN chief news exec. Eason Jordan arrives in Israel to apologize publicly on behalf of the network, to unveil a special 5-part series on Israeli victims of violence (aired 6/24-28) and a Web "memorial" to Israeli victims of Palestinian violence. (WT 6/24; NYT 6/25; WJW 6/27; MEI 6/2; see also JTA 6/20, MSNBC 6/21)
The IDF continues to surround all major Palestinian population centers in the West Bank, barring travel btwn. towns and villages except through heavily guarded checkpoints. In Gaza, 1 Palestinian is killed by IDF tank fire. The IDF demolishes at least 3 Palestinian homes in Rafah; directs shells, heavy machine gun fire at residential areas of Khan Yunis. Palestinians reportedly fire mortars at IDF targets in Gaza, causing no damage. Palestinians across Gaza take part in rallies commemorating the anniversary of the Nakba. (XIN 5/15 in WNC 5/16; PCHR, WT 5/16)
In his Nakba day address to the PC, Arafat accepts responsibility for mistakes made by the PA; calls for broad reforms, new elections, national unity. (HA 5/15; AFP, XIN 5/15 in WNC 5/16; MENA 5/15, al-Safir 5/16 in WNC 5/17; AP, MM, NYT, WP, WT 5/16; al-Quds 5/16, Interfax 5/17 in WNC 5/20)
In Bethlehem, the IDF fires on 3 Palestinians who attempt to leave the Church of the Nativity, killing 1 Palestinian, severely wounding 2 others; the dead, wounded are evacuated later in the day. The IDF continues arrest raids in Tulkarm, detaining at least 5 Hamas mbrs. In Rafah, 1 Palestinian is mortally wounded by IDF gunfire in her home. (B'Tselem press release 5/9; MM, NYT, WP, WT 5/3)
Arafat emerges fr. his Ramallah office for the 1st time since 12/3/01, tours Ramallah to assess the damage. (HA 5/2; MENA 5/2, AKH 5/3 in WNC 5/6; NYT, WP, WT 5/3; WP 5/4; al-Nahar 5/4 in WNC 5/6; al-Quds 5/8 in WNC 5/9)
In Washington, the quartet (represented by Annan, Ivanov, Powell, Solana) announce plans to convene a FM-level "regional peace conference" in summer 2002 to secure a cease-fire and revive peace talks, rebuild the Palestinian security apparatus, boost humanitarian aid to and economic conditions of the Palestinians. (AP 5/2; HA, MM, NYT, WP, WT 5/3; Interfax 5/3 in WNC 5/6; MM 5/7; al-Safir 5/10 in WNC 5/13)
