The Palestine Chronology

Islamic Jihad announces that it will halt all rocket attacks fr. n. Gaza if Israel pledges to cease targeting its mbrs. Hrs. later, the IDF raids a house in Qabatya, assassinating Islamic Jihad mbrs. Jihad Zakarna and Arshad Abu Zayd, also wounding at least 7 bystanders; Islamic Jihad retaliates by firing at least 2 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. The IDF also sets up 2 new artillery positions outside n. and s. Gaza to deter rocket fire; opens the Rafah checkpoint for several hrs. to allow Palestinians making the hajj to leave for Saudi Arabia. Shin Bet reports that it has detained 3 PRC “rocket engineers” in the Negev on their way fr. Gaza to the West Bank. In Ramallah, PA police fire in the air to disperse 60 Islamic Jihad mbrs. protesting outside Abbas’s residence against the PA’s arrest of 4 fellow mbrs. earlier in the wk. Jewish settlers fr. Elon Moreh severely beat a 73-yr.-old Palestinian man walking nr. the settlement. (AFP, HA, IMEMC, XIN, YA 10/30; HA, NYT, WP 10/31; PCHR 11/10)

Early in the morning, Palestinians fire 2 rockets fr. Bayt Hanun into Israel, causing no damage or injuries; IDF artillery responds, shelling a road and an open field n. Gaza where Palestinians have launched rockets, causing no injuries. Despite the exchange, the IDF partially reopens the Erez and Qarni crossings. In the afternoon, an Islamic Jihad suicide bomber retaliating for the 10/24 Saadi assassination detonates a bomb in an open-air market in Hadera, killing 5 Israelis, wounding 6 seriously, 14 moderately. Palestinians also fire another rocket at the Negev (no damage or injuries), a mortar at an IDF post on the s. Gaza border (no damage or injuries). Israel immediately cancels a planned mtg. btwn. Israeli, PA cabinet mbrs.; Sharon says he will not meet with Abbas until he takes “serious action” against militants. Late in the evening, the Israeli cabinet approves Operation Starting All Over Again—a “broad and nonstop” offensive (including assassinations) against “terrorism” in the West Bank and Gaza that will continue until “terrorism” ends; says there are no plans for a ground offensive into Gaza at present, but restrictions on Palestinian movement across the West Bank will be tightened, diplomatic offensives will be raised to pressure Syria over its hosting of Islamic Jihad in Damascus. Meanwhile, right-wing Jewish settler youths occupy abandoned buildings nr. Elon Moreh, Keddumim settlements and site on Worshippers Way in Hebron, declaring new unauthorized outposts. (HA, WP, YA 10/26; HA, NYT, PCHR, WP, WT, YA 10/27; HA 10/28; IMEMC 10/31; PCHR 11/10)

Before dawn, Islamic Jihad and Hamas fire more than 30 rockets fr. Gaza at Sederot and the Negev, 3 of which lightly wound 3 Israeli security guards, 2 civilians. Early in the morning, the IDF fires missiles fr. helicopters at warehouses and an alleged weapons factory in Gaza City and Jabaliya r.c., marking Israel’s 1st military operations against Gaza since disengagement; orders the Rafah crossing shut, saying it will allow humanitarian aid only into Gaza through the Sufa crossing; fires missiles fr. naval vessels at Palestinian fishermen who attempt to go out to sea; drops leaflets on Gaza warning of harsh retaliation against further rocket fire; warns the PA that it is responsible for preventing attacks fr. Gaza. Abbas meets with Hamas officials in Gaza, secures their pledge to halt all armed demonstrations. Hrs. later, IDF aircraft fire 5 missiles at 2 cars in n. Gaza, assassinating 2 Hamas mbrs. (Nafiz Abu Hassanian, Rawad Farhat); 2 other Hamas mbrs. may have been targeted but escape. During the day, IDF fighter jets bomb open areas along the n. Gaza border used by Palestinians to launch rockets, while tanks, artillery, infantry gather along the n. Gaza border in preparation for a major operation. Meanwhile, the IDF seals the West Bank, fires on Palestinians waiting to cross a checkpoint outside Nablus, wounding 3 (1 seriously); conducts patrols in Jama‘in village nr. Nablus; raids 20 houses in Hebron, interrogating and photographing residents. In the evening, Sharon convenes his security cabinet, which approves an “all-out continuous offensive” called Operation First Rain, using artillery, air strikes, assassinations in Gaza, saying that if Palestinian violence continues after several days, the full cabinet will convene to consider sending infantry back into the Strip. (JP, REU, WP, YA 9/24; AP, HA, IMEMC, JAZ, NYT, WP, WT, XIN, YA 9/25; MEI, PCHR 9/29; IDF press release 10/9)

Overnight, the IDF assassinates 3 Islamic Jihad mbrs. (Ra’id ‘Ajaj, Said alAshqar, Jamil Ja’ara) in a raid on Tulkarm. In the afternoon, Islamic Jihad fires at least 13 rockets at Sederot, the Negev in retaliation, causing no damage or injuries. At a heavily armed Hamas rally in Jabaliya r.c., a Qassam rocket paraded on a truck accidentally explodes in a crowd of 1,000s, killing at least 15 Palestinians (and perhaps as many as 21), wounding at least 100. Hamas accuses the IDF of firing missiles at the truck fr. a drone, but Israel denies this, the PA discounts it, the Fatah Central Comm. issues a statement holding Hamas responsible, and most Palestinians see it as an accident. Israel allows the PA to reopen the Rafah crossing for 48 hrs. to allow the passage of Palestinians with special needs, marking the 1st time the PA has processed travelers crossing an international border. (REU 9/23; NYT, WP, WT 9/24; WP 9/25; CSM 9/26; MEI, PCHR 9/29; DS 10/8)

Israeli DM Shaul Mofaz orders IDF cmdrs. to carry out stringent roadblock checks, demanding that troops “show no pity for anyone, even if it causes traffic hold ups and anger.” In Gaza, the IDF fires on a group of at least 60 stone-throwing Palestinians that attempts to enter the vacated Neve Dekalim site, killing 1 Palestinian, wounding 3. Palestinians in Gaza fire 2 rockets at the Negev, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in Tubas nr. Jenin; imposes a brief curfew on, raids and searches homes in Kafr Qaddum nr. Qalqilya; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron; bulldozes 3 d. of Palestinian land at the entrance of Bayt Wazzan nr. Nablus for construction of an IDF checkpoint. (HA, YA 9/6; WP 9/7; NYT, PCHR, WT 9/8)

Following the 8/24 IDF assassinations, Gaza Palestinians fire rockets at Sederot and the Negev for the 1st time since disengagement was completed, causing no damage or injuries. The IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Nablus, in and around Hebron, and in al-Khadir nr. Bethlehem. Jewish settlers rampage through a shopping district of East Jerusalem, vandalizing Palestinian stores, chanting “We don’t want Arabs,” threatening to expel Palestinians. Jewish settlers fr. Ramat Yishai in Hebron stone, vandalize a Palestinian home, tear down a fence outside the home; the IDF observes but does not intervene. (IMEMC 8/25; NYT 8/26; PCHR 9/1)

Israel says it has begun construction of 2 additional fences around the Gaza Strip—1 of razor wire, 1 with electronic sensors and surveillance cameras—to ensure Israeli security after disengagement; both fences will be inside Israel. IDF undercover units make a major incursion into Tulkarm, raid the home of wanted Islamic Jihad mbr. Mu’ayyad Musa, fatally shoot him in an apparent assassination. The IDF demolishes a Palestinian home in Husan w. of Bethlehem for construction of the separation wall; fires on residential areas of Budrus nr. Ramallah, Rafah; raids the Abu Huli neighborhood of Dayr al-Balah, searches homes, rounds up residents for interrogation, arrests 2; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Bayt Khalil nr. Hebron, Burqin, Nablus, Qabatya, Yatta. Palestinians fire 3 rockets at Sederot and the Negev, a mortar at the Gaza security fence, causing no damage or injuries.Armed mbrs. of the Jenin Martyrs Brigades (a Bureij cell of the PRCs affiliated with Fatah) kidnap PA military intelligence officer Jihad ‘Abid (fmr. aide to fmr. military intelligence head Musa Arafat) as he returns to Gaza through the Rafah crossing. (AFP, HA, XIN, 7/28; NYT 7/29; PR 8/3; PCHR 8/4; HA 8/8)

Citing retaliation for the death of an Israeli woman on 7/14, the IDF launches overnight missile strikes on 4 sites in Gaza: a Hamas cultural center in n. Gaza, 2 sites Palestinians have used to launch rockets in s. Gaza, and a metal workshop (alleged weapons factory) in central Gaza; at least 2 Palestinians are injured. Later in the day, an IDF drone fires a missile at a car driving in Gaza City, assassinating 4 Hamas mbrs. (Sabir Abu Assi, ‘Assim Abu Ras, Amjad Arafat, ‘Adil Haniyeh), wounding more than 12 bystanders; an IDF helicopter and ground troops fire 3 missiles at a car driving in Salfit, assassinating 3 wanted Hamas mbrs. (Muhammad Ayyash, Samir Dawahqa, Muhammad Mar’ai); an IDF helicopter fires at 3 Palestinians firing mortars at Gush Katif, injuring them. In clashes in Salfit after the assassinations, the IDF fatally shoots a stone-throwing Palestinian teenager. The Israeli strikes mark the definitive end of the 2/8 cease-fire; Hamas announces that it is considering massive retaliation. Israel blames Abbas for failing to crack down on militant groups. The IDF also continues operations in and around Tulkarm; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem, Hebron, Jenin, Nablus. Overnight, PA police searching for Hamas gunmen clash again with Hamas mbrs., this time in Gaza City, leaving 2 Palestinian children dead; during the clash, Hamas mbrs. destroy a PA armored personnel carrier with rocket-propelled grenades, burn a police station and a PA office building; Hamas, Fatah quickly convene an emergency mtg. to defuse tensions. Palestinians fire a barrage of at least 19 rockets and 10s of mortars at Neve Dekalim, lightly injuring 2 settlers, damaging 5 houses; 1 shell hits an industrial zone in the Negev, sparking a fire. A Jewish settler seriously injures a Palestinian teenager in a hit-and-run incident in Hebron. Jewish settlers fr. Ramat Yishai throw stones, bottles at Palestinian homes in Hebron and at a Palestinian teenager, lightly injuring him. An Israeli court sentences an East Jerusalem Palestinian to 5 mos. in jail for joining Force 17 in 2000, calling it a “severe crime”; says at least 80 “Jerusalem Arabs” have been indicted on similar charges since 9/00. (IMEMC, JTA, NYT, UNIS, WP, YA 7/15; VOI 7/15 in WNC 7/15; Interfax, ITARTASS, JP, MENA, VOI, VOP, XIN 7/15 in WNC 7/16; HA, IMEMC, NYT, PRCS, REU, WP, WT, YA 7/16; VOP 7/16 in WNC 7/17; HA 7/17; OCHA, PR 7/20; PCHR 7/21)

Israel confirms that disengagement will begin ca. 8/17. The IDF continues arrest raids in Hebron, Husan nr. Bethlehem, Jenin targeting Islamic Jihad; fires on Palestinian children playing btwn. Ganei Tal and Neve Dekalim settlements outside Khan Yunis, seriously wounding an 11-yr.-old boy; arrests 4 unarmed Palestinians who attempt to cross the Gaza fence into Israel to find jobs. Palestinians fire a mortar fr. Gaza at the Negev, fires on IDF posts in s. Gaza, causing no damage or injuries. A Palestinian stonethrower wounded in Nablus on 7/6 dies. (HA 7/9; HA, VOI 7/9 in WNC 7/10; PRCS 7/10; OCHA 7/13; PCHR 7/14)

The IDF imposes a curfew on, patrols in, fires on residential areas of Dayr Istiyya nr. Salfit; patrols in Tamun and Tubas nr. Jenin; occupies 5 Palestinian homes in Allar nr. Tulkarm as observation posts; fires on residential areas of Rafah, wounding a Palestinian infant inside her home. A Jewish settler injures a 69-yr.-old Palestinian woman in a hit-and-run incident in the West Bank (exact place not reported). (VOI 7/1 in WNC 7/2; OCHA 7/6; PCHR 7/7)

Israel police send a large contingent (20 vehicles) into the unrecognized village of Bir al-Mashash in the Negev, with home demolition orders covering all structures in the village of 4,000 Israeli Palestinians. Angry residents scuffle with police, leaving at least 2 Israeli Palestinians hospitalized. (IMEMC 7/1)

A group of Israelis celebrating Jerusalem Day, marking the 1967 occupation of East Jerusalem, visit the al-Aqsa Mosque compound under Israeli police escort; outraged Palestinians at the site throw stones at Israeli police, Jewish worshipers at the Wailing Wall; the some 3,000 police, deployed to prevent violence on the anniversary, respond with stun grenades; no injuries are reported. In response to the al-Aqsa incident, Hamas fires 4 Qassam rockets at the Negev, causing light damage or injuries. The IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in Bayt Hanina nr. Jerusalem, Jenin; bulldozes at least 8 d. of agricultural land n. of Qalqilya for construction of the separation wall. (JAZ 6/6; HA 6/7; NYT, WP 6/8; PCHR 6/9)

The IDF closes for 48 hrs. the 2 main checkpoints on the primary north–south Gaza road; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Araba, Hebron. Palestinians fire 2 Qassam rockets at Sederot and the Negev, causing no damage or injuries. Jewish settlers severely beat 3 Palestinians in Hebron. (MA, VOP 4/27 in WNC 4/28; PCHR 4/28, 5/5)

Syria reports that its last troops, intelligence forces have withdraw fr. Lebanon. (MM, NYT, WP 4/26; MM, NYT, WP, WT 4/27; see also NYT, WP 4/25; MEI 4/29) (see 3/8)

Overnight, Hamas, the PRCs reportedly fire another 45 mortars, 30 rockets at Jewish settlements in Gaza (lightly damaging 1 house) and the Negev in retaliation for the deaths of 3 Palestinians on 4/9. The IDF arrests Fatah mbr. Firas Tanbur in Nablus on charges of planning a terrorist attack on behalf of Hizballah; Palestinians confront soldiers with stones during the raid; soldiers respond with rubber-coated steel bullets and tear gas, injuring 10. The IDF also raids, searches an elementary school in, imposes a curfew on al-‘Asa’sa nr. Jenin; fires on stonethrowing Palestinians nr. Nablus; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem, Hebron, Jenin; occupies a Palestinian home in Ramallah as an observation post; sends troops into Aida r.c. to break up a nonviolent protest against threats by Revava to attack al-Aqsa mosque. Some 3,000 Israeli police bar a rally at the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif by Revava attended by only 50 rightwing Israelis. Israel reports that Egypt recently arrested a Fatah Hawks mbr. on charges of smuggling Strela surface-to-air missiles into Gaza. (HA, MM, NYT 4/11; XIN 4/12; OCHA, PR 4/13; MM, PCHR 4/14)

The IDF allows 16 West Bank Palestinians deported to Gaza to return to their homes; increases the number of Palestinian workers permitted into Israel by one-third to 1,500; shoots, critically wounds a 13-yr.-old Palestinian boy nr. Gaza’s Netzarim settlement. A Jewish settler fr. Negohot attacks a Palestinian shepherd near the settlement; IDF troops intervene, arrest the settler. (VOI, VOP 2/18 in WNC 2/19; JP 2/20)

The IDF reportedly has begun removing 100s of bedouin families fr. shanty towns around its Negev air base with the aim of creating a 5,000-meter buffer zone out of concern that bedouin could acquire anti-aircraft missiles to shoot down Israeli air force planes. 10,000s of bedouin live in 10s of unrecognized villages in the area of the air base, some shanties slated for removal have stood for 22 yrs. (JP 2/18 in WNC 2/19)

The IDF conducts arrest raids in Tulkarm and nr. Jenin, Jerusalem, Ramallah. Palestinians fire a mortar at Neve Dekalim, fire on an IDF vehicle patrolling the Gush Katif security fence, causing no damage or injuries. An IDF official says that in the last few days, the PA security forces have taken positive steps to stop rocket and mortar launches from Gaza; confirms they have destroyed 2 smugglers’ tunnels linking Rafah and Egypt. (VOI 2/7; NYT 2/8; JP 2/8 in WNC 2/9; PCHR 2/10)

In response to a petition filed with the Israeli High Court in 3/04, the Israel Lands Administration (ILA) admits to aerially spraying bedouin agricultural land in the Negev with chemical agents (some of them not approved by the Agriculture Min. for aerial use), with the aim of effectively and cost-efficiently decreasing Arab “encroachment” on “huge swaths of land belonging to the state,” saying that further spraying operations are needed. From 2002 through 2004, the ILA sprayed and destroyed 1,000s of dunams of bedouin agricultural land. (Adalah press release 2/05)

The IDF arrests a 16-yr.-old Palestinian at Hawara checkpoint nr. Nablus for carrying a bag with “an apparent explosive belt, an improvised weapon, and 20 bullets”; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Ithna, al-Mawasi, Nablus; sends troops into al-Fara’a r.c. to search local Palestinians on the street, fires on Palestinian youths who throw stones at troops; issues military orders confiscating at least 130 d. of agricultural land s. of Nablus to establish a buffer zone around Emmanuel settlement; issues a military order confiscating 25 d. of Azariyya land for separation wall construction. A DFLP mbr. throws grenades at an IDF vehicle in s. Gaza, slightly wounding 2 soldiers; soldiers shoot, kill the assailant. 2 AMB mbrs. fire on an IDF jeep nr. Hebron, wounding 4 IDF soldiers, escaping. A Palestinian dies of injuries received in IDF shelling of Bayt Lahiya on 1/4/05. (IMEMC 2/3; HA, WP 2/4; NYT 2/6; PCHR 2/10; OCHA 2/23)

Inside Israel, some 1,000 Israeli border police backed by 16 bulldozers level 4,000 d. of bedouin land in the al-Araqib area of the Negev, seal off all roads leading to the area to prevent the bedouin owners fr. returning. The Israel Lands Dept. says the goal of the operation is to “salvage the state’s lands from the Arab bedouins who seized and exploited them.” (JAZ 2/4)

The IDF confiscates 352 d. in northwest Jerusalem for construction of the separation wall; fires nr.aPalestinian polling station in Khan Yunis; obstructs Palestinian movement in al-Mawasi; fires on 3 Palestinians attempting to infiltrate Gaza fr. Egypt, wounding and detaining all 3. Palestinians fire 3 Qassam rockets at the western Negev, causing no damage or injuries. (JAZ 1/9; VOI 1/10 in WNC 1/12; OCHA 1/19)

After a robust campaign period, PA presidential elections are held. Abbas wins with 62% of the vote. Hamas, Islamic Jihad do not participate. (HA, NYT, WP 1/9; HA, Interfax, ITAR-TASS, JAZ, MENA, Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation TV, PSCT, al-Quds, al-Ra’i, VOI, VOP, XIN, YA 1/9 in WNC 1/11; JAZ 1/9, AFP, AP, ATL, HA, Interfax, ITAR-TASS, JAZ, MENA, PSCT, VOI, VOP, XIN, YA 1/10 in WNC 1/12; HA, MM, National Democratic Institute press release, NYT, WP, WT 1/10; VOP 1/10, AYM, HJ, JP 1/12 in WNC 1/15; CSM, MM, NYT, WP, WT 1/11; VOP 1/11 in WNC 1/13; PR 1/12; HJ 1/12 in WNC 1/14; MEI 1/21)