The Palestine Chronology

The West Bank and Gaza remain effectively severed from each other following Hamas’s takeover of Gaza in 6/07, with Hamas controlling Gaza and Fatah the West Bank (see Quarterly Update in JPS 145). Tight Israeli restrictions on Gaza’s borders dating from 8/07 remain in place, including reduced fuel imports, a near-total ban on exports, and limited imports of basic goods. Israel Defense Forces (IDF) roadblocks in the West Bank divide the territory into 3 cantons, and Palestinian access to the Jordan Valley is limited. In Gaza, 30,000 Palestinians attend a Hamas-organized rally in Gaza City to protest ongoing Israeli archaeological excavations nr. al-Aqsa Mosque. Some 1,500 Palestinians attend a similar Hamas rally in al-Maghazi refugee camp (r.c.), also denouncing the upcoming U.S.-sponsored Annapolis peace summit, tentatively set for 11/26–27. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Jenin, and in ‘Ayn Bayt al-Ma’ r.c. nr. Nablus, Salfit; fires rubber-coated steel bullets, percussion grenades, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, international activists taking part in the weekly nonviolent demonstration against the separation wall in Bil‘in nr. Ramallah (injuring 5). Jewish settlers fr. Elon Moreh nr. Nablus set fire to 50 nearby Palestinian olive trees. Hamas releases almost all of the approximately 450 Fatah mbrs. detained during demonstrations in Gaza City on 11/12. (NYT 11/16; OCHA 11/21; PCHR 11/22)

IDF troops on the n. Gaza border fire a surface-to-surface missile at a group of Palestinians preparing to fire a rocket into Israel, killing 2 Palestinian resistance mbrs., wounding 4; exchange fire with Palestinian gunmen across the border nr. Erez crossing, causing no reported injuries; make air strikes on as many as 5 suspected rocket-launching sites in the Bayt Hanun area, causing no reported injuries; shell an open area nr. Bayt Hanun, causing no reported injuries. Hamas organizes large rallies in Gaza City (7,000), Rafah (3,000), al-Bureij r.c. (2,000), and Nussayrat r.c. (2,000) to protest ongoing Israeli excavations nr. the al-Aqsa Mosque. A Palestinian is killed when a smuggling tunnel under the Rafah border collapses. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in Bethlehem; patrols in, fires on residential areas of Balata r.c., Nablus; erects checkpoints, checks IDs in al-Bireh. Jewish settlers fr. Aley Zahav and P’duel w. of Salfit vandalize a nearby Palestinian home, light a fire near the house, damage a car and an animal pen; IDF troops observe but do not intervene. In Gaza City, unidentified assailants detonate an explosive device outside an ESF post, causing damage but no injuries. Later, unidentified assailants detonate a bomb outside Fatah al-Yasir offices nearby, causing significant damage but no injuries.ESF officers find, dismantle another explosive device in Gaza City; the target of that attack is unclear. (OCHA 11/21; PCHR 11/22)

IDF troops on the Gaza border e. of Dayr al-Balah fire on Palestinian farmers working their fields, wounding 1. In the West Bank, the IDF demolishes a Palestinian shop nr. Salfit; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem, Hebron, Nablus, Tulkarm. Palestinians stone a Jewish settler vehicle nr. Ramallah, lightly injuring the driver. In Gaza, Hamas continues an arrest campaign targeting Fatah a day after a huge Fatah rally in Gaza City ended in violence, detaining up to 450 Fatah supporters for “incitement.” (NYT, WP 11/14; PCHR 11/15; OCHA 11/21)

In Gaza, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches, ID checks in Um al-Nasser nr. Bayt Lahiya, detaining 67 Palestinians for questioning, firing on residential areas (particularly to hold back a group of journalists attempting to reach the area) and making an air strike on a previously destroyed Palestinian home. Overnight, the IDF raids Balata r.c., blows up the home of a senior AMB mbr., causing no reported injuries. Late in the evening, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in Nablus and nr. Hebron, Jenin, Salfit, Tulkarm. The U.S. complains that Israel is not allowing Abbas’s security forces to expand their control of the West Bank before the Annapolis conference, citing the 11/3 confiscation of body armor intended for the PA presidential guard and the continuing raids on Nablus since the new PA security force has been deployed there, undermining its credibility. (PCHR, PAP, WT 11/8; PCHR 11/15)

The IDF makes an air strike on an ESF post in Abasan in s. Gaza, killing 4 ESF officers; makes a 2d air strike on a suspected rocket-launching site in Jabaliya r.c., hitting a home, wounding 6 Palestinian civilians (ages 1, 3, 29, 30, 75, 82). Palestinians fire 2 rockets, 5 mortars fr. Gaza into Israel, causing damage but no injuries; the IDF shells the launching site, causing no reported injuries. Late in the evening, the IDF sends troops into Dayr al-Balah, conducting arrest raids and house searches, occupying a home as an observation post, leveling land to improve lines of site; launches a similar operation in al-Shuka (Palestinian militants fire on the troops, detonate a roadside bomb, causing no injuries). In the West Bank, the IDF bulldozes the farming community of Khirbat Qussa, located btwn. the separation wall and the Green Line nr. Hebron, demolishing the 15 homes, 12 cave dwellings, and 27 sheep pens comprising the village, evicting the 267 residents to the “Palestinian” side of the separation wall. The IDF also conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Jenin, Nablus, Salfit; raids a number of stores and a bank in Ramallah. Jewish settlers fr. Brakha nr. Nablus prevent Palestinians fr. reaching their olive groves; the IDF intervenes, forcing the settlers to leave. The IDF also intervenes to prevent Jewish settlers fr. Elon Moreh nr. Nablus fr. blocking Palestinians access to their olive groves nearby. Inside Israel, some 100 Israeli police officers make an overnight raid on the Galilee Druze village of Pekiin to arrest men suspected of vandalizing a cell phone antenna, firing live ammunition at stonethrowing residents who protest the predawn incursion, wounding 10s. An AMB mbr. wounded by the IDF in Nablus on 10/16 dies. (NYT, OCHA, PAP, WP 10/31; PCHR, WT 11/1)

In Gaza, the IDF sends tanks, a bulldozer into the Gaza airport site, exchanging heavy fire (heavy machine guns, mortars) with Hamas mbrs., causing no reported injuries; occupies a strip of land in the al-Hawouz area northeast of Bayt Lahiya. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in Mas’ha nr. Salfit, firing percussion grenades and live ammunition in residential areas, causing no reported injuries; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Jenin, Nablus; begins bulldozing confiscated land nr. Salfit for the expansion of the Burkin industrial zone; fires rubber-coated steel bullets, percussion grenades, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, international activists taking part in nonviolent demonstrations against the separation wall in Bil‘in (injuring 5, including a journalist covering the demonstration) and al-Ma‘sara nr. Bethlehem (lightly injuring 3). Hamas, Islamic Jihad mbrs. exchange fire in Khan Yunis’s al-Rihab Mosque, wounding 3 Palestinians, after Hamas allegedly attempts to seize control of the building. (OCHA 10/24; PCHR 10/25)

The IDF blows up the home of a wanted Hamas mbr. in Nablus; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron, Nablus, Salfit. In and around Hebron, a Jewish settler fr. Kiryat Arba attacks, moderately injures a Palestinian; Jewish settlers fr. Havat Ma’on attack a Palestinian family, injuring 3; a Jewish settler injures a Palestinian in a deliberate hit-and-run; several Jewish settlers stone a Palestinian vehicle on the Jerusalem–Hebron road, injuring the driver. Nr. Bethlehem, several Jewish settlers ambush, beat 2 Palestinian paramedics traveling nr. Nekudim settlement nr. Bethlehem with IDF permission to collect an ailing Palestinian child; the IDF observes but does not intervene. (OCHA 9/26; PCHR 9/27)

In the wake of the 9/19 Beirut bombing, Lebanese PM Siniora postpones until 10/23 the start of the Lebanese presidential elections process, previously set for 9/25. By law, Lebanese pres. Emile Lahoud must step down on 11/24. (NYT 9/23; WP 9/24)

The IDF continues operations in n. Gaza, exchanging fire with Palestinians (who fire at least 1 RPG, causing no injuries), killing 1 DFLP mbr. and 1 Islamic Jihad mbr., wounding 3 Palestinians, bulldozing land; fires a missile fr. a drone at a group of Islamic Jihad mbrs. n. of Bayt Hanun suspected of having fired a rocket, causing no injuries; sends tanks, bulldozers into areas nr. Khan Yunis to level land. In the West Bank, the IDF raids a school, an Islamic organization, a house, a factory in Bayt Sahur nr. Bethlehem, conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron and Jenin town and r.c., in Balata r.c. and Nablus, and nr. Nablus, Ramallah, Salfit. The IDF also dismantles a low wall (not part of the separation wall) running 25 mi. along roads s. of Hebron, in keeping with a 2/06 Israeli High Court decision that it impeded daily life for Palestinians in 21 rural communities. Jewish settlers in Jerusalem attack a Palestinian family in Bayt Safafa, injuring 5 Palestinians, vandalizing their home. In Gaza City, several Fatah mbrs. take refuge in the home of an Islamic Jihad mbr. while trying to evade arrest by the ESF for firing in the air at a wedding; the ESF surrounds the home leading to a clash btwn. ESF officers and Islamic Jihad mbrs. that leaves 2 Islamic Jihad mbrs., 1 ESF mbr. dead and 8 Palestinians wounded; PRC mbrs. intervene to stop the fighting and secure the surrender of the Fatah and Islamic Jihad gunmen. (NYT, PCHR, WP 8/2; NYT 8/3; OCHA 8/8; PCHR 8/9)

In the West Bank, the IDF imposes restrictions barring Palestinians ages 16–25 from traveling southward through 8 major northern checkpoints (Anabta-Kifriyat tunnel, al-Ras in Tulkarm; Awarta, Hawara, Yitzhar in Nablus; Jit in Qalqilya; Dayr Ballut, Za‘atara in Salfit); fatally shoots a Palestinian teenager in Hebron, mistaking his toy gun for a real one; raids 3 mosques and a rehabilitation center in Hebron, confiscating documents, books; raids, searches the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions offices in Ramallah; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron and in Balata r.c., Nablus, Tulkarm town and r.c. A Palestinian dies nr. Um Salamuna when he is run over by a Jewish settler bus. In Gaza, the ESF deploys heavily in Gaza City’s Sabra neighborhood, where Hamas believes BBC reporter Johnston is being held; detains a number of mbrs. of the Daghmash clan thought to be behind the Army of Islam; exchanges fire with Daghmash family mbrs. who refuse to stop at an ESF checkpoint, wounding 1 Palestinian bystander. (The ESF says that since 7/2, it has detained 20 Daghmash mbrs.; that the Daghmash clan has kidnapped 10 Hamas mbrs. in retaliation.) Palestinians fire 3 mortars fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. (HA 7/3; OCHA, WP 7/4; PCHR 7/5)

Overnight, Hamas mbrs. kidnap, shoot, wound, release a PA presidential guard mbr. in Gaza City. An appeal made by Haniyeh at Friday prayers in Gaza for Hamas and Fatah mbrs. to observe his and Abbas’s calls to halt their infighting is ignored as Fatah, Hamas mbrs. exchange fire nr. Gaza City, with Hamas mbrs. attacking a house where Fatah gunmen are suspected of hiding. Meanwhile, the IDF makes a major raid on Shuka in s. Gaza, searching, occupying homes as observation posts, ordering all males ages 16–45 to surrender for ID checks, detaining 53 (who are transported to Kerem Shalom crossing for interrogation). IDF troops on the n. Gaza border trade tank fire for RPG fire fr. Palestinian gunmen, causing no injuries; fire on a group of Palestinian teenagers hunting birds southeast of Bayt Hanun, wounding and detaining 1. In the West Bank, the IDF fires on a group of Palestinians hunting birds nr. Hebron, killing 1 Palestinian, seriously wounding 1; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron and in Balata r.c., Nablus, Tulkarm; fires rubber-coated steel bullets, percussion grenades, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, international activists attending the weekly nonviolent demonstration against the separation wall in Bil‘in, injuring 6; fires rubbercoated steel bullets at Palestinians holding a similar nonviolent protest against the separation wall in Um Salamuna nr. Bethlehem, injuring 2. Jewish settlers vandalize a Palestinian cemetery nr. Salfit. (NYT 6/9; OCHA 6/13; PCHR 6/14)

The IDF fires on Palestinians who stray nr. the central Gaza border fence while collecting scrap metal, wounding 2. Palestinians fire 7 rockets fr. Gaza toward Israel; 3 land inside Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, IDF undercover units raid a Nablus shop, wounding and capturing a wanted man, fatally shooting 1 Palestinian bystander (the shop owner’s son), wounding a 2d. The IDF also clashes with armed Palestinians in Jenin town and r.c., leaving 1 Palestinian gunman dead; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Tulkarm; patrols in al-Naqura nr. Nablus (spot checking IDs of schoolchildren), Qarawat Bani Zaid nr. Salfit. In Dayr al-Balah, 2 PA General Intelligence officers are wounded in an exchange of fire with mbrs. of their own force; no motive is given. Unidentified gunmen fire on a PA police officer driving in Bayt Lahiya, missing him. (NYT 6/4; OCHA 6/6; PCHR 6/7)

The Lebanese army escalates its assault on Nahr al-Barid r.c., making helicopter air strikes on FItargets in addition to continuing tank shelling, reportedly to block an escape route fr. the camp to the sea and to destroy the upper floors of buildings used as sniper posts. Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) officials in the r.c. report that residents still in the camp have been locking houses and barricading neighborhoods to try to isolate and force out FI mbrs. The Lebanese army confirms that the camp has been segmented into 3 parts: the first controlled by army fire from outside, the second controlled by refugees denying the militants sanctuary, and the third controlled by FI. The army reports 4 soldiers killed, 10 wounded during the day; casualties inside the camp are unknown. Lebanese PM Fuad Siniora pledges that Palestinians who have fled Nahr al-Barid will be allowed to return to the camp and that the camp will be rebuilt. (WT 6/3)

After Hamas fires several rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, killing 1 Israeli and wounding 1 in separate strikes, Olmert convenes his security cabinet to discuss expanding attacks on Hamas. During the day, the IDF reinforces troops in its n. Gaza buffer zone; makes air strikes on 3 ESF positions in Bayt Lahiya, Jabaliya, Khan Yunis, causing no injuries; bulldozes a Palestinian home in n. Gaza; raids and temporarily occupies 4 Palestinian homes in Bayt Hanun; fires on Palestinian farmers who stray nr. the border fence e. of Khan Yunis. The Israeli navy fires on Palestinian fishermen off the Rafah coast for a 2d day, causing no injuries. Abbas, Egyptian mediators hold talks with the Palestinian factions aimed at securing a 1-mo. unilateral halt on attacks on Israel fr. Gaza, with hopes that an Israeli cease-fire would follow that could then be extended to the West Bank; the factions demand that the cease-fire include the West Bank fr. the outset. In the West Bank, the IDF demolishes a Palestinian home outside Jerusalem; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Bethlehem and Nablus, in Jenin town and r.c. and Jericho (raiding a hospital to arrested a wounded wanted AMB mbr., firing on stone-throwing Palestinian youths), nr. Hebron and Salfit. (IFM 5/27; NYT, WP 5/28; OCHA 5/30; PCHR 5/31)

A bomb goes off in Beirut’s Berbir neighborhood, wounding 4 Lebanese; no group claims responsibility. (NYT 5/28)

For the 10th day, the IDF makes at least 7 air strikes on Hamas and ESF targets across Gaza (Gaza City, Jabaliya, Rafah, Shati‘), leaving 5 ESF mbrs. dead and at least 4 ESF mbrs. and 23 bystanders injured. The IDF also fires on Palestinian farmers who stray nr. the border fence e. of Gaza City, wounding 1; fires on Palestinian fishermen off the Rafah coast, forcing them to return to shore. Hamas fires 12 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, lightly wounding 1 Israeli. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Salfit and in Dahaysha r.c. nr. Bethlehem, Nablus, Tubas nr. Jenin; raids an elementary school nr. Hebron while classes are in session, searching for stone-throwing youths. In East Jerusalem, 2 Israeli Arab gunmen fire on an Israeli border police patrol in East Jerusalem, wounding 2 border police officers, 2 Israeli private security guards; both Israeli Arabs, 1 Palestinian bystander are killed by return fire; the AMB takes responsibility for the attack. In Gaza City, unidentified gunmen shoot, wound a Hamas mbr. Hamas’s Shabanah dies of injuries sustained when the IDF attempted to assassinate him on 5/17. (NYT, WP, WT 5/27; NYT 5/28; OCHA 5/30; PCHR 5/31)

In overnight raids, the IDF, Shin Bet arrest 33 senior Hamas or Hamas-affiliated political figures across the West Bank (Jenin, Nablus, Qalqilya, Salfit, Tulkarm), including PA Education M Nasir al-Sha‘ir, PA State M Wasfi Kabaha, at least 3 PC mbrs., 5 mayors, a number of heads of educational and charitable associations. The IDF also makes at least 7 air strikes on Gaza, targeting at least 3 ESF positions in Gaza City, Khan Yunis, Rafah, injuring at least 2 ESF mbrs. and 13 bystanders; a guard house outside Haniyeh’s Shati‘ r.c. home, causing no casualties; the home of a PRC mbr. in Jabaliya r.c., hitting an adjacent home instead, wounding 2 Palestinians; an alleged weapons factory in Rafah, wounding 5 bystanders; a Hamas post in Dayr al-Balah, causing no injuries; and a money exchange in Gaza City. The IDF also fires on a group of Palestinians on the Bayt Lahiya shore, wounding 1 Palestinian fisherman. Palestinians fire 2 mortars at the IDF post at Erez (causing no injuries, but light damage that will slow processing of trucks going through the crossing) and at least 12 rockets fr. Gaza toward Israel (only 5 land inside Israel, causing light damage but no injuries). In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in Balata r.c., Jenin (also searching the offices of the PA Waqf Min., confiscating documents) and nr. Qalqilya, Tulkarm. A Palestinian woman dies of injuries received in a 5/17 IDF air strike on Gaza City. A Hamas mbr. dies of wounds received in clashes with Fatah on 5/13. (BBC, IFM, WP 5/24; NYT, WT 5/25; NYT 5/27; OCHA 5/30; PCHR 5/31)

The IDF makes at least 4 air strikes on Gaza targeting Hamas, attempting to assassinate Hamas mbr. Muhammad Shatat as he drives in Gaza City (causing no injuries), hitting 2 suspected weapons caches and 2 money exchanges in Jabaliya r.c. (also destroying a Palestinian home) and Gaza City (wounding 7 Palestinians, including a pregnant woman, 2 children). Palestinians fire at least 3 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In Jabaliya, 2 Abu Rish Brigades mbrs. (affiliated with Fatah) are injured when explosives they are handling detonate prematurely. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Bethlehem and Nablus, in Qalqilya, and nr. Hebron, Jenin, Ramallah, Salfit, Tulkarm. Meanwhile, Abbas, Hamas-affiliated PA PM Ismail Haniyeh meet in Gaza to discuss ways of calming intra-Palestinian violence. Abbas also meets with reps. of other factions to urge them to halt rocket fire into Israel. Unidentified gunmen fire on the home of a Fatah leader in Gaza City, wounding 1 Palestinian. A Palestinian dies of injuries received in an 5/18 IDF air strike on Gaza City that assassinated 2 Hamas mbrs. (IFM, NYT, PCHR, WP, WT 5/24; OCHA 5/30; PCHR 5/31)

With the cease-fire at Nahr al-Barid r.c. holding, the Lebanese army reinforces troops around the camp. Palestinian refugees continue to flee the r.c. during the day, most heading to nearby Biddawi r.c.; at most, half of the 40,000 residents remain. The UN warns the camp is still without water, electricity; food supplies are low. The PLO says it would not object to the Lebanese army entering the r.c. if necessary; raises the possibility of sending in fighters fr. Palestinian factions who know the layout of the r.c. to roust the FI mbrs. Palestinian leaders in the camp and local Islamist figures in Tripoli attempt to negotiate a FI surrender. Meanwhile, a bomb explodes in the Druze village of Aley nr. Beirut, wounding 16 Lebanese; no group claims responsibility. (AFP, DS, LBC, OCS 5/23 in WNC 5/24; NYT, WP, WT 5/24; WT 5/25)

The IDF makes at least 6 air strikes on Gaza, killing 9 Palestinians, wounding 10s. Air strikes target an ESF barracks outside the Interior Min. (killing 1 ESF mbr., wounding at least 21 Palestinians, including at least 10 bystanders); a civilian car (apparently mistaken for a Hamas vehicle) driving nr. Rafah, killing 2 Palestinian children, wounding their father, 2 siblings; a trailer used to house ESF mbrs. guarding Interior Min. spokesman Khalid Abu Hilal’s home, killing 1 ESF mbr., wounding 4; a Hamas base e. of Gaza City nr. Qarni, killing 4 Hamas mbrs., 1 bystander and wounding 4 Hamas mbrs., 2 bystanders; a car in Gaza City, in an apparent attempt to assassinate Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades (IQB) cmdr. Imad Shabanah and a 2d senior Hamas mbr., wounding them, 4 bystanders. The IDF reoccupies an area of prime Palestinian agricultural land northeast of Bayt Hanun and northwest of Bayt Lahiya to expand its n. Gaza buffer zone, declaring the area off limits to Palestinians farmers, leveling land; deploys an artillery battery on the n. Gaza border, shelling areas nr. Bayt Lahiya and in Jabaliya r.c. (targeting Islamic Jihad mbrs.), causing no injuries; sends tanks into n. Gaza to conduct “limited ground operations” to halt Palestinian rocket fire, occupying buildings in Bayt Lahiya, and later Bayt Hanun and Jabaliya r.c. (The U.S. supports Israel’s “right to defend itself.”) A Palestinian teenager is injured in Jabaliya r.c. when he accidentally triggers unexploded IDF ordnance (IDF UXO). Palestinians fire at least 17 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, wounding several Israelis and damaging a synagogue, high school, and industrial building. (The Israeli DMin. evacuates 900 residents fr. Sederot, where most rockets have hit, taking them for a “weekend respite” at a recreation center in Netanya; about half of the town’s 24,000 residents have left.) In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Salfit, Tulkarm (firing on stone-throwing Palestinians who confront them, wounding 2) and in Hebron (also raiding a wedding in Hebron, interrogating celebrants and arresting 3), Nablus; sends troops to patrol in Bayt Fajjar nr. Bethlehem, firing on residential areas and stonethrowing youths who confront the troops, killing 1 Palestinian teenager, wounding a 2d. Meanwhile, a new Hamas-Fatah ceasefire significantly reduces violence in Gaza, though at least 6 Palestinians are killed in clashes during the day. The dead include a Hamas mbr. kidnapped, executed by Fatah; a Hamas mbr. killed by a Fatah sniper; 4 Hamas supporters killed, 14 wounded when Fatah forces ambush a funeral for 2 ESF mbrs. killed on 5/16. Hamas mbrs. also attack PA national security forces (NSF) and PSF headquarters in n. Gaza. With the PA security forces unable to guarantee his security, Abbas delays plans to go to Gaza today to discuss the interfactional fighting. (AP, HA, REU 5/17; IFM, NYT, WP, WT 5/18; PCHR 5/21; OCHA 5/23; PCHR 5/24)

The Israeli navy fires on Palestinian fishing boats off the coast of Rafah, forcing them to return to shore. The IDF makes a helicopter rocket strike on a suspected rocket-launching site nr. Bayt Hanun, causing no injuries. Olmert’s security cabinet discusses military options for dealing with continued rocket fire fr. Gaza; no decisions are reached; talks are expected to continue over the next several days. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron, nr. Jenin, and in Balata r.c., Nablus. Israel’s Jerusalem authorities issue an eviction order to the Palestinian al-Ansari Library in Jerusalem (one of the largest collections in Jerusalem with 45,000 books), slating the building for demolition to make way for a train station. A Jewish settler guard at Burkan settlement nr. Salfit shoots, wounds a Palestinian driver who routinely transports Palestinian workers to and fr. the settlement; no reason is given. Heavy Fatah-Hamas fighting in Gaza escalates, leaving 5 Palestinians dead (including AMB cmdr. Bahaa Abu Jarad and his bodyguard), around 20 wounded. Egyptian mediators broker a truce late in the day, but fighting continues. (Ma’an News Agency 5/13; NYT 5/14; OCHA 5/16; PCHR 5/17)

IDF helicopters fire on Islamic Jihad and Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) mbrs. planting roadside bombs along the Gaza border nr. Jabaliya r.c., killing 1 DFLP mbr., wound 2 other armed men; the Palestinians fire RPGs, automatic weapons across the border at IDF tanks approaching (perhaps crossing) the border, detonate bombs they had planted, causing no injuries but marking the heaviest exchanges of fire in Gaza since the 11/26/06 truce. Palestinians fire 2 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, damaging a factory in Sederot. A Palestinian is injured when a smugglers’ tunnel on the Rafah border collapses. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in Jenin r.c. (exchanging gunfire with Palestinians who confront the troops, wounding 1), Nablus and nr. Bethlehem, Ramallah, Salfit. A Palestinian injured in the IDF demolition of a Palestinian home in Rafah on 4/22/04 dies. In Gaza, Fatah-Hamas clashes leave 3 Palestinians wounded in Bayt Hanun. (WP 4/7; NYT, WP, WT 4/8; NYT, WT 4/9; OCHA 4/11; PCHR 4/12)

When AMB, Islamic Jihad fire 9 rockets into Israel, causing no damage or injuries, the IDF shells n. Gaza for the 1st time since the 11/26 cease-fire went into effect, wounding 4 Islamic Jihad mbrs. preparing to fire a rocket into Israel, also killing 1 Palestinian bystander and wounding 2; Israel says the strike was not intended to signal a change of policy or an escalation. The IDF also sends bulldozers into Gaza w. of Rafah to level land along the border fence. In the West Bank, IDF demolishes 3 Palestinian businesses, an animal pen in Barta‘a nr. Jenin; fires on stonethrowing Palestinian youths nr. the Qalandia checkpoint outside Jerusalem, seriously wounding 1 with a bullet to the head, lightly wounding 3 others; conducts arrest raids, house searches in ‘Askar r.c., Balata, Nablus, Tulkarm and nr. Hebron, Jenin r.c. (exchanging fire with AMB mbrs., killing 1 AMB mbr., wounding 2), Ramallah, Salfit. Israeli police in riot gear remove the remaining 450 right-wing Jewish settlers and activists fr. the Homesh settlement site (see 3/26). Jewish settlers stone Palestinian cars nr. Jit Junction nr. Qalqilya, injuring 1 Palestinian. Jewish settler teenagers in Hebron ambush, beat a 12-yr.-old Palestinian boy on his way home fr. school. Private Israeli security contractors working for Karme Tzur settlement nr. Hebron prevent Palestinian farmers fr. reaching their land nearby, beating 2, confiscating their equipment. Separately, Jewish settlers fr. Karme Tzur beat a Palestinian farmer working his land nearby. In Jabaliya r.c., ESF mbrs. fire on a car of Fatah mbrs., causing no injuries. In Bayt Hanun, suspected Fatah gunmen fire on the car of a senior Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades mbr., seriously injuring him, his wife and 2 children, a bystander. (REU 3/28; NYT, WT 3/29; WP 3/30; OCHA 4/4; PCHR 4/5; NYT 4/8)

In the West Bank, the IDF sends undercover units into Jenin to ambush, assassinate 3 Islamic Jihad mbrs. (West Bank military cmdr. Ashraf Saadi, senior Saraya al-Quds mbr. Mahmud Abu Naa’sa, lower ranking mbr. Ala’ Baryaki). The IDF also sends troops back into Nablus, reviving Operation Hot Winter, reimposing a curfew, reoccupying TV and radio stations, announcing the names of 7 wanted Palestinians being sought; 1 IDF soldier is wounded by a bomb; the IDF reportedly uses an 11-yr.- old Palestinian girl and a 15-yr.-old Palestinian boy as human shields when searching Palestinian homes. The IDF demolishes 2 apartment buildings under construction in al-Tur nr. Jerusalem; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Tulkarm r.c., nr. Jenin and Salfit; uproots some 500 Palestinian olive, almond trees nr. Bethlehem for construction of the separation wall, replanting some nearby. In response to the Jenin assassinations, Islamic Jihad fires 5 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. Separately, Palestinians fire 2 rockets fr. Gaza toward Israel, but both fall inside Gaza nr. Bayt Hanun. Jewish settlers nr. Shema nr. Hebron stone a 70-yr.-old Palestinian farmer grazing his flock nr. the settlement. In Gaza, Fatah mbrs. manning a flying checkpoint nr. Shati’ r.c. bar an ESF vehicle from passing, sparking an exchange of fire that leaves 1 Fatah mbr. wounded. In Gaza City, a bomb explodes outside the offices of the Fatah-affiliated al-Fursan al-Arab Association, causing no injuries; no group takes responsibility. (HA, NYT, PCHR, WP, WT 3/1; OCHA 3/7; PCHR 3/8; WT 3/10)

In the West Bank, the IDF bulldozes 7 bedouin homes (displacing 75 bedouin), 5 other structures in Hathalin nr. Alasfir settlement southeast of Hebron; fires on 10s of Palestinians nr. Nablus demonstrating against Israel’s construction at the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount, wounding 1; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron and in ‘Ayn Bayt al-Ma’, Nablus, Qabatya; patrols, fires on shops in Kafr Dik nr. Salfit, also firing on stone-throwing Palestinians who confront them, causing only light injuries. Also in Hebron, 20 Jewish settlers occupy a vacant Palestinian building, but are evacuated by the IDF after sundown. (AP 2/14; PCHR 2/15; OCHA 2/21; PCHR 2/22)