The Palestine Chronology

The IDF fatally shoots a Palestinian at a checkpoint in s. Gaza after he opens fire on a car carrying Jewish settlers, wounding 3; fatally shoots a mentally handicapped Palestinian who strays too close to Aley Sinai settlement; conducts arrest raids in Ramallah. Late in the evening, 2 Palestinian gunmen (1 Hamas, 1 Islamic Jihad) infiltrate an IDF barracks at Netzarim settlement, fatally shooting 3 IDF soldiers, wounding 2 before the Hamas mbr. is shot dead, the Islamic Jihad mbr. escapes. 2 Palestinians die of injuries received in the 10/20 IDF attack on Nussayrat r.c., bringing that toll to at least 10. Palestinians also fire a Qassam rocket at the Negev, causing no damage or injuries. In Tulkarm, the AMB executes 2 Palestinians suspected of providing Israel with information used to assassinate an AMB mbr. on 10/4. Israel issues tenders for construction of 333 new housing units in West Bank Jewish settlements. Jewish settlers attack Palestinian cars, property in Hebron. (HA 10/23; VOP 10/23 in WNC 10/25; AFP, HA, MM, NYT, WP 10/24; VOP 10/24, MENA 10/26 in WNC 10/28; NYT, WT 10/25; NYT 10/26; HA, MM 10/27; MM 10/28; AYM 10/28 in WNC 10/30; PR 10/29; PCHR 10/30; MEI 11/7)

The IDF assassinates wanted AMB mbr. ‘Abd al-Hadi Natsha in Hebron, local PFLP military cmdr. Ahmad ‘Atiya in Qalqilya; bulldozes 20 dunams of land, fires a flechette shell at Palestinian houses nr. Qarni crossing, leaving 1 Palestinian brain dead; conducts arrest raids, blows up a Palestinian home nr. Hebron; beats up a Palestinian AP cameraman filming soldiers vandalizing Palestinian cars at the Salim roadblock. A car explodes in Balata r.c., killing 1 Hamas mbr., injuring 2; the IDF says the men suffered a “work accident”; Hamas claims it was an IDF assassination. A Palestinian gunman infiltrates Tal Rumayda settlement, shoots and wounds 2 Jewish settlers before being shot dead; the IDF places curfews on nearby Palestinian villages. Palestinians also fire a Qassam rocket at Sederot, causing no damage or injuries. Late in the evening, the IDF sends troops into al-Qarara, Satar al-Gharbiyya, conducting arrest raids, razing 49 dunams of land. A Palestinian dies of injuries received in the IDF attack on Nussayrat r.c. on 10/20, bringing that toll to at least 8; a 2d Palestinian dies of injuries received in Ramallah on 10/21. (HA, PR 10/22; HA, MM, PCHR 10/23)

Ward Boston, a fmr. Navy lawyer who helped lead the military investigation into Israel’s 1967 attack on the USS Liberty that killed 34 U.S. soldiers, files a signed affidavit that Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson and Defense Secy. Robert McNamara ordered those heading the naval inquiry to “conclude that the attack was a case of ‘mistaken identity’ despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.” (AP 10/22; NYT 10/23)

The IDF lifts restrictions on West Bank Palestinian vehicular traffic; continues operations in Rafah, demolishing several more Palestinian homes, crushing a 14-yr.-old Palestinian boy to death, wounding 3 other boys. Later, IDF troops pull out of al-Brazil r.c. (where 15 Palestinian homes have been demolished since 10/15), Rafah, to “regroup and refresh” before resuming operations.AMB gunmen ambush an IDF patrol outside the West Bank settlement of Ofra, killing 3 IDF soldiers, wounding 1; the IDF places curfews on Ramallah and surrounding villages tosearch for the gunmen. The IDF also fires on Palestinians violating curfew in Jenin, seriously wounding 2. Hamas mbrs. fire 8 Qassam rockets at Sederot, causing no damage or injuries. (HA, MM, NYT, WP 10/20; al-Quds 10/21 in WNC 10/23; PR 10/22; PCHR 10/23; MEI 10/24; MM 10/27; AYM 10/28 in WNC 10/30)

The IDF conducts arrest raids, fires on stone-throwing Palestinians in ‘Ayn Bayt al-Ma r.c., Nablus; imposes curfews on villages surrounding Nablus, Ramallah (also surrounding, closing Birzeit University); demolishes a Palestinian home in Nablus, 1 in Ramallah; arrests the wife of wanted senior Hamas mbr. Shaykh Ibrahim Hamid in an apparent bid to pressure him toturn himself in (see 10/8). An AMB suicide bomber detonates a device at an IDF checkpoint outside Tulkarm, injuring 2 IDF soldiers, 1 Palestinian. An Israeli woman dies of injuries received in the 10/4 bombing, bringing that toll to 20. (HA 10/9; VOP 10/9 in WNC 10/11; WP, WT 10/10; PR 10/15; PCHR 10/16)

The IDF bans until the end of Sukkoth holidays (10/19) all Palestinian vehicular traffic in areas C (full Israel control) of the n. West Bank; fires on Palestinians breaking curfew in Khan Yunis, wounding 3 (ages 2, 12, 22); conducts house-to-house searches in al-Bireh and Ramallah (including dormitories of Birzeit University), also fires on residential areas, wounding 2; conducts arrest raids in Arbuna, Jenin (arresting the wife of wanted Islamic Jihad military cmdr. Amjad Ebeidi in an apparent bid to pressure him toturn himself in), Qalqilya; fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis, Qalqilya, al-Qarara; bulldozes 160 dunams of land n. of Rafah. Palestinians fire on an IDF patrol nr. Nablus, wounding 3 IDF soldiers. Some 50 Jewish settlers attack Palestinian houses in Hebron; the IDF does not intervene. (VOI 10/8 in WNC 10/11; HA, NYT, PCHR 10/9; PR 10/15; HA 10/20)