The Palestine Chronology

The IDF makes 1 air and 3 artillery strikes on a field deep inside the n. Gaza no-go zone nr. Bayt Lahiya, killing 2 Palestinians; occupies the PA military intelligence headquarters in Jenin, forcing all PA officers to leave, arresting 1; conducts arrest raids in and around Jenin town and r.c., and in Hebron, Nablus, al-Til, Tulkarm, Yatta. Some 50 AMB gunmen occupy a PA Interior Min. office in Gaza for several hrs., demanding jobs. Some 30 armed mbrs. of a Palestinian clan that clashed with PA police in Gaza City on 12/29 and 12/30 rally outside the Rafah crossing, threaten to bar PA officials fr. crossing if their relative is not freed by police.AMB mbrs. protesting the Fatah party list (see 12/28) take over a West Bank hotel, demand that foreign election observers leave. (REU, XIN, YA 12/31; IMEMC, NYT, WP 1/1; PCHR 1/5)

The IDF continues to shell the n. Gaza no-go zone; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Dayr al-Ghusun nr. Tulkarm, Jenin town and r.c. (firing on stone-throwing youths who confront troops, wounding 9), al-Til, Yatta; removes without incident 3 unauthorized settlement outposts nr. Beit El, Kiryat Arba, Shvut Rachel. Some 100 PA policemen occupy the Rafah border terminal to protest the death of a policeman on 12/29; EU monitors shut the crossing, leave the area for several hrs., until the demonstration breaks up. In Gaza City, a Palestinian clan attacks a PA police station, trades gunfire with police for a 2d day in an attempt to force them to free a jailed relative; a 14-yr.-old Palestinian is fatally shot in the crossfire. During the day, the AMB, Hamas hold separate rallies in Gaza protesting the kidnapping of 3 Britons on 12/28; the Britons are released late in the evening; just before freeing them, a group calling itself the Brigades of the Mujahiddin (reportedly connected to Fatah) issues a videotaped statement claiming responsibility, calling on Britain to take a harder line with Israel. (IMEMC, JAZ, YA 12/30; NYT, WP, WT 12/31; HA 1/1; PCHR 1/5)

An Islamic Jihad suicide bomber fr. al-Til detonates a device at a checkpoint nr. Tulkarm, killing 1 IDF soldier, 2 Palestinians and wounding 3 IDF soldiers, 7 Palestinians. A Palestinian stabs, injures an Israeli in the Atarot industrial zone nr. Jerusalem, flees. The IDF seals Qalqilya, Tulkarm; continues to shell the n. Gaza nogo zone, targeting 6 main access roads; sends troops into Jenin town and r.c., patrolling streets, firing on residential areas, occupying several homes as observation posts, then raiding and searching the PA General Intelligence headquarters; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Balata r.c. (firing on residential areas, wounding 2 Palestinians), al-Til and nr. Hebron, Jenin, Ramallah; begins to bulldoze Palestinian land east of Shavei Shomron settlement nr. Nablus to install a fence around the settlement. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba vandalize Palestinian homes, steal chickens in Hebron. Mbrs. of a Palestinian clan angry over the arrest of a relative on drug and auto theft charges storm a PA police station in Gaza City, exchange gunfire with police, leaving 1 PA policeman, 1 gunman dead. Unidentified Palestinian gunmen fire on Abbas’s Gaza City home, causing no injuries; Abbas is not there. (HA, IMEMC, JAZ, YA 12/29; HA, IMEMC, NYT, WP, WT 12/30; PCHR 1/5)

The IDF conducts air strikes to destroy 2 vacant AMB buildings in n. Gaza; fires 3 shells at the eastern border of Gaza nr. alMaghazi r.c., causing no injuries; demolishes a Palestinian home in Bayt Hanina outside East Jerusalem for being constructed without permits; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem, Jenin, Nablus; completes a section of the separation wall btwn. Qalandia checkpoint s. of Ramallah and the al-Ram and Dahiyat al-Barid area nr. Jerusalem. Nr. Tulkarm, 2 Palestinian teenagers throw Molotov cocktails at an IDF patrol, causing no injuries; 1 is shot, wounded by the IDF. Some 20 AMB gunmen occupy the n. Gaza governor’s office, Education Min. offices, and a shari‘a court for several hrs., demanding jobs in the PA security forces; some 400 Palestinians, including AMB mbrs., hold a similar protest outside the Fatah headquarters in Bethlehem. The Jewish “hilltop youth” settlers set up 13 new unauthorized outposts nr. existing settlements in the Bethlehem, Hebron, Jericho, Nablus, Qalqilya, and Ramallah areas. (HA, IMEMC, JAZ, REU, YA 12/27; DS, HA, IMEMC, NYT 12/28; PCHR 12/29)

The IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in Ramallah. Late in the evening, the IDF raids Tubas nr. Jenin, patrols streets, stops and seizes a PA police car, arrests 3 PA policemen; the PA joint liaison team intervenes to secure the policemen’s release and the return of the car. The AMB, Islamic Jihad each fire a rocket fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. Jewish settlers fr. Yitzhar cut and damage more than 100 Palestinian olive trees nr. Nablus. PA police in Gaza City hold a group of armed Hamas mbrs. at a checkpoint, order them to surrender their weapons; the Hamas mbrs. open fire, wounding 2 policemen, and flee the scene; the PA Interior Min. issues a statement vowing to beat “with an iron fist all those who shed Palestinian blood and assault Palestinian security personnel.” (HA, IMEMC 12/24; HA 12/25; PCHR 12/29)

The Knesset passes a law to compensate Jews who purchased property or held bank accounts in British Mandatory Palestine and whose property was seized by the State of Israel after 1948. Compensation is expected to run to $220 m. Commenting on the passage of the measure, MK Michael Melchior (Labor) says “this is not a question of money but of ethics and morality for the Jewish state.” (AFP 12/24)

The IDF conducts predawn arrest raids, house searches nr. Jenin and in Tubas, latenight arrest raids, house searches in Nablus and nr. Hebron, Ramallah. In Gaza, 10s of AMB mbrs. hold a press conference to say that they would support postponing of elections if Israel bars East Jerusalem Palestinians fr. voting. (IMEMC, YA 12/23; IMEMC, NYT, WP 12/24; PCHR 12/29)

Islamic Jihad mbrs. fire 2 rockets fr. n. Gaza towards an IDF base nr. Ashkelon, injuring 5 IDF soldiers; the IDF retaliates with artillery fire on the launch site, killing 1 Palestinian bystander in adjacent Jabaliya r.c.; Israel warns that it could send ground forces back into Gaza. The IDF also raids Nablus, assassinates local PFLP cmdr. Bashar Hanani (also reported as Bashar Khalani), AMB mbrs. Ahmad Jayyusi and Anas Hamad; shells areas northwest of Bayt Lahiya, wounding a farmer working his land; sends troops into Qabatya, fires on stone-throwing youths who confront them, wounding 5 Palestinians; raids, searches a building in Qiffin nr. Tulkarm, confiscating files fr. and sealing the offices of the Loans Association, Palestinian Peoples Party, Popular Campaign against the Wall, and Union of Agricultural Relief Comms.; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Bethlehem, Nablus, Ramallah and nr. Hebron, Jenin; uproots 200 Palestinian olive trees northwest of Hebron to erect a gate cutting al-Jaba village off fr. a nearby Jewish settlement. In the evening, the Israeli security cabinet approves new measures, known as Operation Blue Skies, aimed at curbing Palestinian rocket fire fr. Gaza, including using artillery, helicopter, and gunboat fire to enforce a new n. Gaza buffer zone; more stringent monitoring of the Gaza Strip by air; “other steps we have not taken until now,” but does not immediately give orders for the IDF to implement the plan. (BBC, IMEMC, JTA, PCHR, PM, XIN, YA 12/22; BBC, HA, IMEMC, JTA, NYT, WP, WT 12/23; PCHR 12/29)

Two IDF undercover units riding in vehicles with Palestinian plates raid Jenin, fatally shoot Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades cmdr. Zayid Musa in an apparent assassination; open fire on Palestinians who gather to protest the killing, wounding 5; the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in Alar, Qalqilya and nr. Bethlehem, Nablus, Ramallah. Israel warns that it may cut off Gaza’s electricity supply if rocket attacks continue. In Gaza, the principal and vice principal of the American International School (1 Australian, 1 Dutch) are kidnapped, held for 8 hrs., released unharmed by PFLP mbrs. seeking the release of PFLP leader Ahmad Saadat, who has been jailed by the PA at Israel’s request since 4/02. (IMEMC 12/21; JAZ, NYT, PCHR 12/22, 12/29)

The IDF shoots, wounds a 15-yr.-old Palestinian attempting to sneak into Israel fr. Dayr al-Balah to find work; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron, Ramallah and in Azun nr. Qalqilya, Nablus, Qabatya, Yamun nr. Jenin; fires rubber-coated steel bullets at Palestinian stone-throwers who confront the troops, injuring 5, precipitating gunfire fr. Palestinian militants that leaves 1 IDF soldier wounded. A Palestinian detained by an IDF undercover unit on 12/19 is released at the entrance to Jenin. Palestinians fire 5 rockets fr. Gaza towards Sederot and an IDF base, causing no injuries; IDF artillery shells uninhabited areas of n. Gaza in response. Jewish settlers fr. Ma’on bulldoze 15 d. of Palestinian land abutting the settlement. Some 20 armed AMB mbrs. demanding jobs in the security services, financial aid fr. the PA for 300 local AMB mbrs. occupy Bethlehem’s municipal building overlooking Manger Square; the stand-off ends peacefully when the PA agrees to consider their demands, allows them to walk out. Some 2,000 Palestinians rally outside the PC headquarters in Gaza City to express frustration over the PA’s failure to control the security situation inside Gaza. (AFP, AP, BBC, YA 12/20; HA, IMEMC, NYT 12/21; PCHR 12/22; WT 12/24)

The Israel Lands Administration demolishes 3 Israeli Palestinian homes in Lod (Lydda) for lack of permits; another 2,000 houses are threatened. (Arab Association for Human Rights press release 12/22)

Overnight and into the predawn hours, the IDF conducts at least 13 air strikes on n. Gaza, destroying a bridge outside Bayt Hanun, damaging roads, hitting a PA naval police building, injuring 2 officers. Israel allows the Palestinians to increase the hours of operation at the Rafah crossing fr. 4 hrs./day to 8 hrs./day. The IDF also exchanges fire with Palestinian gunmen in Nablus’s old city, wounding 2 gunmen; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem, Ramallah and in al-Khadir, Qabatya. An IDF undercover unit enters Burkin nr. Jenin, abducts, beats, detains a Palestinian. (IMEMC, PCHR 12/19; PCHR 12/22)

Senior Abu Rish Brigades (ARB) leader Khalid Abu Sitta is killed, 3 bystanders are wounded when his car mysteriously explodes nr. Khan Yunis; ARB claims it is an assassination, but the IDF denies involvement. Palestinians fire 2 mortars fr. Gaza towards Israel, causing no damage or injuries. The IDF fires 3 missiles at a rocket launching site nr. Khan Yunis, causing no damage or injuries; fires a missile at the main Rafah–Khan Yunis road, creating large crater; fatally shoots a PRC mbr. laying a roadside bomb nr. Erez crossing; fatally shoots 1 Palestinian, wounds a 2d who attempts to sneak into Israel fr. Bayt Lahiya to find work; fires on, wounds a mentally handicapped Palestinian who strays close to the Israeli border nr. Khan Yunis; fires on residential areas of Kafr al-Labad nr. Tulkarm, wounding, arresting, evacuating to an Israeli hospital a member of the PA security forces; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Issawiyya, Tulkarm (shooting and wounding a wanted Islamic Jihad mbr.) and nr. Hebron, Jenin. In response to the AMB–Islamic Jihad drive-by shooting on 12/16, the IDF closes some 50 roads in Hebron with sand barriers, blocks the main northern and southern entrances to Hebron with cement barriers. Jewish settlers fr. Yitzhar cut down more than 150 Palestinian olive trees nr. Nablus. (BBC, HA, IMEMC, NYT 12/18; AFP 12/19; PLO press release 12/21; PCHR 12/22)

The IDF seals the West Bank; closes the Sufa, Qarni crossings into Gaza; imposes a closure on Tulkarm, barring most travel into and out of the area; raids the offices of Future Studies and Media in Hebron, confiscating computers; bulldozes 500 sq. m. of Palestinian land nr. Kiryat Arba settlement; conducts late night arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron, Jenin, Tulkarm. Palestinians fire 4 rockets towards Ashkelon, causing no damage or injuries; the IDF responds with 10 air strikes, 21 artillery rounds on the n. Gaza no-go zone, wounding 3 Palestinians. (IMEMC, JAZ, WP, YA 12/15; NYT 12/16; Israeli cabinet communiqu´e 12/18; PCHR 12/22; HA 1/13)

IDF conducts air strikes on 2 cars in Gaza City, assassinating 4 PRC mbrs. and wounding 1 bystander in one case, and wounding Islamic Jihad spokesman Khadir Habib and 3 bystanders in the other. Later, Palestinians fire 5 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries; in response, the IDF fires artillery shells at n. Gaza areas, carries out 2 air strikes on a n. Gaza access road, wounding 2 Palestinians. During the day, the IDF also conducts arrest raids in and around Jenin, in Nablus (reportedly finding a Qassam rocket, explosives in the search of a Hamas building). Late in the evening, the IDF makes air strikes on the Bayt Lahiya home of a PRC leader, injuring a relative, and on an Islamic Jihad charity in Rafah, causing damage but no injuries; conducts an air strike on an agricultural school in Bayt Hanun, injuring 1 Palestinian; launches 4 air strikes on open areas of n. Gaza, causing no damage; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Tulkarm and nr. Bethlehem, Hebron, Nablus, Ramallah. Israel approves construction of 200 new housing units in Ma’ale Adumim settlement and 40 in Ariel Brakha, Nokdim. A group of AMB mbrs.storms the Fatah headquarters in Gaza, demanding jobs; exchanges fire with another group of Fatah mbrs. who drive them away, leaving 3 wounded. (BBC, HA, IMEMC, JAZ, REU, YA 12/14; DS, JAZ, NYT, PCHR, PMC, WP, YA 12/15; PLO press release 12/21; PCHR 12/22)

The IDF makes a predawn raid on Nablus, clashes with stone-throwing Palestinian youths and gunmen, leaving 1 Palestinian bystander dead and more than 20 Palestinians and 2 IDF soldiers wounded; shells uninhabited areas of n. Gaza in response to 4 mortars fired by Palestinians into Israel (no damage or injuries on either side); raids, imposes a curfew on Bardala nr. Tubas; conducts arrest raids nr. Hebron, Jenin, Tulkarm and in Bethlehem, Birzeit, Ubidiyya nr. Bethlehem, Salfit nr. Nablus (arresting a Hamas mbr. running in the upcoming 1/25 elections). About 100 AMB gunmen occupy 3 election offices in Gaza and 1 in Nablus in ongoing Fatah primary disputes; gunmen at 2 Gaza offices eventually leave without incident; gunmen at the Gaza City office fire in the air, causing no injuries; gunmen at the Nablus office steal a computer, a television set. A Palestinian farmer in Abasan, Gaza, is killed when he accidentally triggers unexploded IDF ordnance. A Palestinian dies of injuries received earlier fr. settlers in Hebron. (AFP, AP, BBC, HA, IMEMC 12/13; AFP, NYT, WT 12/14; HA, PCHR 12/15; PLO press release 12/21)

The IDF makes a major raid on Balata r.c., sending in 40 armored vehicles, fatally shooting AMB cmdr. Iyad al-Hashash and wounding a 2d Palestinian in what may be an assassination, searching 10s of homes; exchanges fire with Palestinians nr. Jenin, causing no casualties; fires on stone-throwing Palestinian youths nr. Askar r.c., wounding 2; fires on Palestinian fishing boats nr. Khan Yunis for no apparent reason, wounding 1 Palestinian; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Bethlehem, Hebron, Jayyus, Jenin. Palestinians fire a rocket fr. Gaza into Israel, striking nr. Sederot, causing damage to a water network but no injuries; the IDF shells the suspected launch site in an open area of n. Gaza in response, causing no damage or injuries. Nr. Balata r.c., a Palestinian dies when a hand grenade he intends to throw at an IDF patrol explodes prematurely. (HA, IMEMC 12/11; PCHR 12/15)

The IDF fires 3 shells at s. Gaza, causing no damage or injuries; conducts arrest raids in Hebron, Jenin, Nablus and nr. Bethlehem, Tulkarm. AMB mbr. Khadir Rayan dies of wounds sustained in the 12/8 Qaddas assassination. (HA, IMEMC 12/10; HA 12/11; PCHR 12/15)

In the 2d such incident in a wk. (see 12/2), an IDF naval patrol fires on a Palestinian boat nr. the Egyptian border, suspecting it of being involved in smuggling arms; 1 Palestinian is killed, 1 is missing. The IDF fires tear gas, rubber bullets at the car of UN special rapporteur on human rights John Dugard when he visits Bil‘in village to observe the weekly nonviolent demonstrations against the separation wall; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Hebron, Nablus and nr. Qalqilya, Tulkarm; enters, fires on residential areas of Jenin; issues confiscation orders for Palestinian land west of Dura for construction of 5 observation towers surrounding Nahal Negohot settlement. A 17-yr.-old Palestinian girl attempts to stab an IDF soldier in Hebron, is arrested. (YA 12/9; AP, HA, IMEMC 12/10; NYT 12/11; PCHR 12/15)

The IDF assassinates senior AMB mbr. Iyad Qaddas, firing a missile at a house where he is staying in Jabaliya r.c.; a 2d AMB mbr., Iyad Najjar, is killed and 1 AMB mbr. and 5 bystanders are wounded. Following the assassination, the PRC (firing rockets), IDF (responding with artillery and air strikes) trade heavy fire across the n. Gaza border, leaving 4 Palestinian civilians wounded. The IDF also demolishes 3 Palestinian homes, 2 shops nr. Jenin; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Ramallah (including arresting the mayor of Bayt Laqia, who is a Hamas mbr.), nr. Tulkarm and in Bethlehem, Hebron, Jenin, Nablus, Tubas; confiscates 10 d. of Palestinian land east of Bethlehem for construction of an IDF post. At the Qalandia checkpoint outside Ramallah, an AMB mbr. fatally stabs an IDF soldier, is arrested; the IDF immediately seals the crossing until further notice. PA police raid some 40 Palestinian homes in Hebron and Tubas, arresting more than 10 Islamic Jihad mbrs. in connection with the 12/5 Netanya bombing; Islamic Jihad denounces the raids and warns the PA against becoming an “arm of Israel,” while the AMB and PRCs warn that they will not renew the unilateral truce at the end of the yr. if the arrest campaign continues. (Israeli FMin. press release, XIN, YA 12/8; AFP, BBC, HA, JAZ, NYT, PCHR, REU, WP, WT, XIN, YA 12/9; HA 12/10; PCHR 12/15)

IDF air strikes target the head of the Popular Resistance Comm.’s (PRC) Salah al-Din Brigades Mahmud Arqan, assassinating him as he drives through a residential area of Rafah, wounding at least 5 bystanders. In retaliation, Palestinians fire several rockets and 1 mortar fr. n. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries; IDF artillery fires 10s of shells on roads and uninhabited areas in n. Gaza, causing no reported casualties. The IDF also conducts arrest raids nr. Ramallah and in Balata r.c., Hebron, Tulkarm; raids Waqf offices, 2 charitable societies in Jenin, confiscating computers and files, sealing the buildings; conducts arrest raids in Bani Na‘im nr. Hebron, Bayt Laqia, Bethlehem, Kafr Dan nr. Jenin, al-Khadi, Tulkarm r.c. Late in the evening, the IDF raids the Muslim Youth Association in Hebron, confiscates computers, copiers, documents and vandalizes and seals the building. A Palestinian woman (a bystander) is killed, several Palestinians are wounded in a clash btwn. rival clans in Bayt Hanun in continuation of the fatal violence of 12/3. (Israeli FMin. press release, JAZ, JP, YA 12/7; HA, NYT, PCHR, WP, WT, XIN 12/8; HA 12/9; PCHR 12/15)

Overnight, the IDF raids Kefar Rai, arrests 15 Palestinians in connection with the 12/5 Netanya bombing, including the bomber’s father, 3 brothers; also conducts arrest raids in villages around Hebron and Tulkarm, in Bethlehem. PA security forces detain 13 Islamic Jihad mbrs. in Balata r.c and Nablus, exchanging fire with AMB and Islamic Jihad gunmen opposed to the arrests, causing no reported injuries; also arrest 4 Islamic Jihad mbrs. in the n. West Bank. During the day, the IDF suspends Palestinian VIP passage through checkpoints; further tightens restrictions on Palestinian movement in the West Bank; conducts an air strike on Gaza City, targeting and destroying a 1950s statue of the unknown soldier; confiscates 85 d. of Palestinian land outside Bethlehem for construction of a permanent checkpoint to separate the western rural areas of Bethlehem fr. the rest of the governorate; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Balata r.c., Hebron; raids, closes 2 Islamic charities in Jenin. A Palestinian dies of injuries received earlier. (AP, HA, IMEMC, JAZ, XIN, YA 12/6; NYT, WP 12/7; PCHR, YA 12/8)

Israel suspends further implementation of the 11/15 Rafah arrangements brokered by U.S. Secy. of State Condoleezza Rice, aimed at easing Palestinian movement in and out of Gaza, between Gaza and the West Bank, and within the West Bank; tells the U.S. that it will not resume discussion of the issue until PA Pres. Mahmud Abbas acts against Palestinian militant groups. (NYT, WP, WT 12/9; HA 12/9, 12/10; HA 12/13; WP 12/15, HA 12/16)

An Islamic Jihad suicide bomber fr. Kefar Rai (btwn. Jenin and Tulkarm) detonates a device outside a shopping mall in Netanya, killing 5 Israelis, wounding 31 (4 seriously). Islamic Jihad says the attack is retaliation for the IDF’s 10/24 assassination of 2 of its leaders. The IDF immediately imposes closures on the West Bank and shuts pedestrian crossings in Gaza (keeping the Qarni crossing open for goods); announces that it is preparing for a wide-scale retaliation operation in northern Gaza and will step up assassinations and arrest campaigns in the West Bank, with DM Mofaz stating that the IDF had “decided to operate in a much broader, much deeper and more intensive manner against the Islamic Jihad infrastructure” and would make an effort to keep fr. drawing Hamas into the fighting. Later in the evening, the Israeli security cabinet authorizes the IDF to “adopt a harsher response” to rocket fire fr. Gaza, targeting built-up areas of Gaza as well as launch sites in uninhabited areas. During the day, the IDF also shells uninhabited areas in n. Gaza and in s. Gaza nr. Khan Yunis, causing no damage or injuries; makes 5 mock air raids over Gaza, breaking the sound barrier; fires on residential areas of Aida r.c., wounding 2 Palestinians; conducts arrest raids in and around Hebron and in Bethlehem, Jenin (targeting Hamas, including detaining 2 candidates in the 12/15 municipal elections, 1 candidate in the 1/25 parliamentary elections), Ramallah; bulldozes 5 d. of Palestinian land in Silwan for construction of a parking lot for Jewish settlers. Palestinians throw 2 pipe bombs at an IDF patrol nr. Bethlehem and fire on an IDF checkpoint nr. Nablus, causing no damage or injuries. PA police fire at Palestinians in Jenin rallying in support of the Netanya bombing. Israeli police round up another 500 Palestinians working in Israel without permits (see 12/4). (BBC, HA, IDF Radio, IMEMC, XIN, YA 12/5; CSM, DS, HA, IMEMC, JAZ, NYT, REU, WP, WT, YA 12/6; AFP, PCHR 12/8)

Israel increases the number of Palestinian workers allowed into Israel fr. the West Bank to 37,000, while Israeli police launch a crackdown on Palestinians working in Israel without permits, arresting 250. The IDF erects a fortified observation tower on the Gaza border nr. Khan Yunis; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Jenin, al-Khadir and nr. Hebron. AMB mbrs. fire 3 rockets into Israel, causing light damage but no injuries. Late in the evening, the IDF responds with artillery strikes on rocket launch sites in n. Gaza, with fighter jets creating sonic booms over the Strip and conducting air strikes on an Islamic Jihad charity and alleged weapons-making factory; Israeli DM Shaul Mofaz approves an increase in assassinations in response to the rocket attacks. PA police shoot, seriously wound a Palestinian driver in Ramallah who refuses to stop for an ID check, precipitating a protest by some 100 bystanders, joined by AMB gunmen who force local shop owners to close their stores in protest. (HA, IMEMC, XIN 12/4; HA, VOI, WT 12/5; IMEMC 12/6; NYT 12/7; PCHR 12/8)

After Palestinians fire 2 rockets into Israel, causing no damage or injuries, an IDF helicopter fires missiles at an Islamic Jihad charity in Gaza City, damaging the building, lightly wounding 1 bystander. In response, Palestinians fire 3 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In retaliation, the IDF carries out artillery and F-16 air strikes on open areas in Gaza, firing at least 30 shells and 3 missiles, causing no damage or injuries. The IDF fires on, sinks a Palestinian fishing boat in Palestinian waters off Gaza, killing 1 Palestinian, leaving 1 missing; the IDF says that it attempted to halt the boat after the Palestinian sailor headed toward Egyptian waters alone and returned with a passenger, but the boat ignored warning shots and fired back at the naval vessel, causing no damage or injuries. (The IDF says that videotape that routinely records the naval unit’s activity ran out about three minutes before the incident.) The IDF also begins work on a new segment of the separation wall northwest of Jerusalem in al-Jib, Dahiyat al-Barid; conducts arrest raids, house searches in al-Khadir, Qabatya nr. Jenin. A Jewish settler injures a Palestinian child in a deliberate hit-and-run nr. Qalqilya. A PA policeman, 4 Palestinians are shot dead in Bayt Hanun during a clash btwn. rival Palestinian clans that erupts at the funeral for the mbr. of 1 family who was killed on 12/1. (AP, HA, IMEMC 12/3; AFP, HA 12/4; PCHR, WT 12/5; PCHR 12/8; IMEMC 12/10)

The IDF reinforces roadblocks around Qalqilya; sends 40 armored vehicles, escorted by helicopters, into Nablus to conduct arrest raids targeting the AMB and Hamas, shelling an apartment building, firing on stone-throwers and residential areas (wounding 10 Palestinians), rounding up all males over age 16 for ID checks (arresting 4); patrols in, fires on residential areas of Tulkarm town and r.c., nearby Anabta, and Tubas nr. Jenin; demolishes a Palestinian home in Bethlehem for being built without a permit; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Aida r.c. and Balata r.c., and nr. Hebron, Jenin, Ramallah, Tulkarm. In the evening, the AMB fires several mortars fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. (HA, IMEMC 11/30; PCHR 12/1, 12/8; HA 12/9)

For the 2d time in a wk. (see 11/22), an IDF undercover unit driving a vehicle with Palestinian plates enters Bethlehem, attempts to stop a Palestinian taxi to arrest a passenger, but PA security forces observe and intervene, exchanging gunfire with the IDF unit, leaving 1 PA officer, 1 bystander wounded; the undercover unit calls in reinforcements to extract it. The IDF also fires rubber bullets at Palestinian stone-throwers in Hebron; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Dahaysha r.c. and Jenin town and r.c. (during which an IDF dog attacks and seriously injures a 12-yr.-old boy), in and around Hebron (severely beating 4 Palestinians), and nr. Bethlehem. Jewish settlers fr. Emanuel settlement nr. Qalqilya uproot and burn a grove of Palestinian olive trees nearby. Jewish settlers fr. Ma’ale Adumim severely beat a Palestinian walking nr. the settlement. (IMEMC, REU 11/29; PCHR 12/1)

The IDF fires at least 20 artillery shells at the open area on the n. Gaza border, causing no injuries; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Hebron, al-Zababda nr. Jenin (arresting 8 Arab American University students). Jewish settlers driving nr. Nablus abduct, beat, release a Palestinian waiting for a taxi along the Beita–Nablus road. Fatah gunmen raid 10s of polling places, firing in the air, stealing ballot boxes, claiming that the party’s primary voting is not fair (see Quarterly Update). (AP, NYT, REU, WP 11/29; HA, PCHR 12/1)

The IDF requests that all Israelis and journalists leave Gaza until further notice; reopens the Sufa commercial crossing in Gaza (closed on 11/22); conducts arrest raids, house searches in al-Arub r.c., ‘Ayn Bayt al-Ma’, Hebron, Nablus. The PA security forces launch a large-scale campaign to crackdown on criminal activity and to restore order to the West Bank and Gaza, focusing initially on Gaza, Jenin, Nablus, and Ramallah, searching for stolen property (primarily vehicles), unlicensed weapons, drugs; security forces exchange gunfire with local gunmen in Balata r.c. (IMEMC, JAZ 11/27; IMEMC 11/29; IMEMC, PCHR 12/1)

The IDF sends troops back into Jenin (see 11/23) to blow up a Palestinian home that allegedly was a bomb-making factory, also damaging 3 stores, firing rubber bullets at stone-throwing youths who confront them, injuring 1 Palestinian; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Bethlehem; for the first time since 1967, orders Hebron’s Waqf authorities to close the Ibrahimi Mosque for 3 days so that Jewish settlers can celebrate a holy day; orders 50 Palestinian shops nr. Kiryat Arba settlement to be closed for 6 mos. “to keep public order and protect the security” of the IDF. (PCHR 12/1)

The IDF places a curfew on Jenin, sends in 70 jeeps and 25 armored personnel carriers, conducts arrest raids and house searches, exchanging gunfire with Palestinians, leaving 1 Palestinian stone-thrower dead, 9 Palestinians and 2 Israeli border police wounded; wanted Islamic Jihad Jenin cmdr. Iyad Abu al-Rub and an aide, fearing they would be assassinated, surrender in a deal brokered by local AMB head Zakariya Zubaydi. The IDF also conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Nablus. (HA, Israeli FMin. press release, PCHR 11/24, 12/1)

Israel partially reopens the Erez crossing into Gaza (closed on 11/18), allowing 2,000 Palestinian workers, 1,000 businessmen, and some goods to cross per day; conducts predawn arrest raids, house searches nr. Qalqilya and in Jenin town and r.c., Nablus. (XIN 11/20; PCHR 11/24)