The Palestine Chronology

The IDF makes air strikes on 2 groups of armed Palestinians nr. Abasan, killing 5 Hamas and PRC mbrs., wounding 8; sends bulldozers into the Gaza airport site nr. Rafah to level land. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus (searching a mosque), nr. Jenin; 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 4). (NYT 12/2; OCHA 12/5; PCHR 12/6)

The IDF makes an air strike targeting armed Palestinians nr. Khan Yunis, causing no reported injuries; levels land inside the Gaza border nr. the Erez crossing. In the West Bank, the IDF bulldozes a Palestinian road and barn in al-Walaja nr. the separation wall outside Bethlehem; raids, searches a secondary school in Azun nr. Qalqilya when staff is present but classes are not in session; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Jenin and Nablus, in Abu Dis nr. Jerusalem, and nr. Bethlehem. During the day, the new PA policing unit in Nablus, deployed by Palestinian Authority (PA) PM Mahmud Abbas on 11/2 to enhance security in keeping with the road map, makes major arrest raids into ‘Ayn Bayt al-Ma’ r.c. (WT 11/19; OCHA 11/21; PCHR 11/22, 11/29)

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)

For the 1st time since 6/07, Abbas meets with 4 West Bank Hamas officials in an effort to encourage them to split fr. their Gaza counterparts. In Nablus, the PA deploys a new 308-mbr. policing unit trained by Western advisers at a multimillion dollar training facility in Jericho; they will form part of a new National Security Force unit set up to “operate in coordination with Israeli forces to fight crime and terrorism” as part of Abbas’s new security effort “to restore law and order” in the West Bank, in keeping with road map requirements; the unit will patrol during the day only, while the IDF will continue night operations. In Gaza, the IDF makes an air strike on an ESF post nr. Rafah, killing 1 ESF officer, wounding 3. Nr. Bayt Hanun, 2 Palestinians are injured when a mortar they are preparing misfires. A Palestinian is injured when a smuggling tunnel under the Rafah border collapses. In the West Bank, the IDF lifts the round-the-clock curfew on ‘Azun imposed on 10/31; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Tulkarm town, r.c. and nr. Qalqilya; 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 (injuring 1 demonstrator, 1 journalist). Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba and Harsina in Hebron attack, vandalize nearby Palestinian homes, also beating 1 Palestinian. (NYT, WT 11/3; NYT 11/6; OCHA 11/7; PCHR 11/8; NYT 11/14)

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)

IDF troops clash with armed Palestinians in, make 2 air strikes on Gaza City, killing at least 4 Hamas and Islamic Jihad mbrs., wounding at least 5. The IDF also conducts land-leveling operations inside the Gaza border e. of Gaza City. Egyptian border police find, demolish 2 smuggling tunnels on the Rafah border. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in Nablus (also raiding an Islamic charity, confiscating computers and files), nr. Jenin; fires percussion grenades, rubber-coated steel bullets at 2 groups of stone-throwing Palestinians in Hebron, injuring 4; 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 (injuring 3). Jewish settlers fr. Ramat Yishai nr. Hebron attack and vandalize a nearby Palestinian home; the IDF intervenes to halt the attack. Palestinians stone a Jewish settler vehicle nr. Ramallah, injuring 2 settlers. (NYT 10/27; OCHA 10/31; PCHR 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 sends troops into areas northwest of Bayt Lahiya to bulldoze 5 d. of citrus trees, temporarily detaining farmers working in the area, withdrawing by evening. Palestinians fire 2 mortars fr. al-Maghazi r.c. toward Israel; both land inside Gaza, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Ramallah, nr. Nablus (arresting a PA General Intelligence officer); 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, injuring 4. Jewish settlers fr. Elon Moreh nr. Nablus deny local Palestinian farmers access to their land nearby the settlement; the Palestinian District Coordination Office (DCO) contacts its IDF counterpart, which refuses to intervene. (OCHA 10/17; PCHR 10/18)

Overnight in Gaza, the IDF sends troops into Dayr al-Balah and al-Maghazi r.c., conducting arrest raids and house searches, bulldozing at least 55 d. of olive and citrus groves, firing on residential areas, killing 1 Palestinian, wounding 3, withdrawing by evening. During the day, the IDF bulldozes 150 d. of citrus and olive groves, 2 greenhouses, 270 beehives e. of Bayt Hanun. In Bureij r.c., 2 Hamas mbrs. are injured when explosives they are handling detonate prematurely. In the West Bank, the IDF sends undercover units into Jenin in a vehicle with Palestinian license plates to ambush and assassinate AMB mbr. Muhammad Abu Sorour, also shooting, wounding, and arresting AMB mbr. Hilal al-Sa‘di, who is traveling with him; conducts arrest raids, house searches in al-Bireh, nr. Bethlehem and Nablus; demolishes the single shantylike structure comprising the Netzer unauthorized settlement outpost nr. Bethlehem (which has been removed by the IDF and rebuilt by settlers several times since its 1st incarnation in 2005). In ‘Azun nr. Qalqilya, the IDF deliberately fires on the main electricity transformer, cutting power to the village; bulldozes 7 d. of Palestinian crops; issues military orders confiscating 390 d. of Palestinian land for construction of the separation wall. A Jewish settler fr. Kiryat Arba injures a 2-yr.-old Palestinian girl in a deliberate hit-and-run. Some 700 Fatah mbrs. in al-Maghazi r.c. hold a rally commemorating local Palestinians killed in the 6/07 clashes with Hamas. (NYT 10/12; OCHA 10/17; PCHR 10/18)

The IDF makes an air strike on a car in Rafah carrying Islamic Jihad’s al-Quds Brigade leader ‘Awad ‘Abd al-Fattah alQiq, missing the car, hitting a store, wounding 3 bystanders in an apparent assassination attempt. Armed Palestinians fire 5 mortars, machine guns at an IDF undercover unit attempting to infiltrate the Gaza border e. of al-Maghazi r.c., forcing the unit to retreat into Israel. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in Balata r.c. (where armed Palestinians detonate an explosive device nr. an IDF jeep, wounding a soldier), Nablus; fires rubber-coated steel bullets, percussion grenades, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, international activists taking part in the weekly nonviolent demonstrations against the separation wall in Bil‘in, injuring 3. In Jabaliya r.c., 7,000 Islamic Jihad supporters hold a peaceful rally to mark Jerusalem Day. In Dayr al-Balah, 300 PRC supporters hold a peaceful rally to mark the 2d anniversary of the IDF assassination of PRC leader Jamal Abu Samhadana. Suspected Fatah mbrs. detonate a bomb outside the home of a local Hamas leader in Khan Yunis, causing no injuries. In Gaza City, unidentified assailants detonate an explosive device outside the home of a local AMB leader, causing damage but no injuries. An unidentified Palestinian throws a bomb at the house of a Hamas activist in Abasan, causing no serious damage or injuries; flees to a nearby IDF border post, where he surrenders to the IDF. (OCHA 10/10; PCHR 10/11)

Islamic Jihad and the PRCs in n. Gaza take joint responsibility for a predawn rocket strike on the IDF’s Zikim base nr. the Gaza border that hits a tent full of sleeping soldiers, critically wounding 1, seriously wounding 2, moderately wounding 7, marking the highest casualty toll in a rocket strike to date; another 60 soldiers are lightly injured or treated for shock. The IDF responds with air strikes, shelling on suspected rocketlaunching sites in n. Gaza, hitting a home in Bayt Hanun, wounding 4 Palestinian children and an adult. Palestinians retaliate by firing 7 mortars fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. The Israeli DMin. begins drafting an assessment for DM Ehud Barak of the impact of cutting water, electricity, fuel services to Gaza. In the West Bank, the IDF demolishes 21 agricultural structures in Anata nr. Jerusalem for being too close to the separation wall and a settler bypass road; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron and Nablus, nr. Jenin and Tulkarm; issues military orders shutting the Ibrahimi Mosque/Tomb of the Patriarchs to Muslims for 5 days during Ramadan so that Jewish settlers may celebrate concurrent Jewish holidays. Jewish settlers fr. Avraham Avino, escorted by IDF troops, occupy the roof of al-Aqtab Mosque (seized by the IDF in 1994 after the Ibrahimi Mosque/Tomb of the Patriarchs shooting), begin construction on it to expand their outpost. In Jabaliya r.c., Hamas mbrs. occupy the home of the Fatah-affiliated PA prisoners’ affairs minister, who fled to Ramallah. (IFM, NYT, WP, WT 9/11; NYT, OCHA, WP, WT 9/12; PCHR 9/13; OCHA 10/19)

Late in the evening, the IDF sends undercover units dressed in ESF uniforms into Rafah to kidnap and take to Israel Hamas military cmdr. Mihawish al-Nu‘aymat (also reported as Mohawah al-Qadi), who reportedly has information on captured IDF soldier Gilad Shalit. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in Jenin town and r.c., Qabatya and nr. Hebron; 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, injuring 1. A 13-yr.-old Palestinian boy is injured by IDF UXO nr. Nablus. Across Gaza, Fatah supporters for a 3d week hold Friday prayers outside in protest against Hamas; the ESF clashes with demonstrators in al-Bureij r.c., Gaza City, Jabaliya r.c., Khan Yunis, and Rafah, using batons and percussion grenades, leaving a total of 51 Palestinians injured, 20 Fatah mbrs. arrested, 3 journalists temporarily detained; reports differ as to whether the ESF tried to break up peaceful prayer services or only intervened afterward, when Fatah supporters began chanting anti-Hamas slogans and throwing stones at ESF officers. (NYT 9/8; OCHA 9/12; PCHR 9/13)

Israelis in Sederot close schools, demand government action after Palestinians fire 3 more rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. Egyptian border police demolish a smuggling tunnel on the Rafah border. In the West Bank, the IDF raids, searches several Hamas-run charities in Nablus, confiscating documents, computers and sealing the offices; patrols in, fires on residential areas of ‘Azun nr. Qalqilya (also firing on stone-throwing youths who confront them, wounding 2 children, ages 13 and 14), Sa‘ir nr. Hebron (seriously wounding 1 Palestinian); conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus, in Qabatya nr. Jenin and Tulkarm r.c., and nr. Hebron. The Israeli High Court rules that the separation wall around Bil‘in, site of weekly nonviolent protests, must be moved westward to prevent the de facto annexation of more han half of the village’s agricultural land, rejecting the government’s claim that a wide buffer zone was needed to protect nearby Mod’in Ilit settlement and determining that the original route took into consideration plans to expand the settlement “as much as possible”; the decision gives the government a “reasonable period of time” to take down and move portions of the wall, which is expected to return 250 acres of land to Bil‘in residents. In Gaza City, the previously unheard-of Security Members Martyrs Brigade took responsibility for detonating a bomb under the car of a prominent Hamas mbr. in Gaza City, causing no injuries; the group is thought to be made up of Fatah security officers still in Gaza who have been underground since Hamas took over in mid6/07. Suspected Fatah mbrs. also fire on an ESF patrol, causing no injuries. In Rafah, ESF officers fire on Fatah mbrs. writing proFatah graffiti, wounding 3. (BBC 9/4; IFM, NYT, OCHA, WP, WT 9/5; PCHR, WT 9/6)

IDF troops stationed on the Gaza border fatally shoot a Palestinian shepherd who strays nr. the border fence nr. Juhur al-Dik; troops conduct bulldozing operations in the area. The IDF makes an air strike on a suspected rocket-launching site nr. Bayt Hanun, causing no injuries. The Israeli navy fires on Palestinian fishing vessels off the Bayt Lahiya coast, forcing them to return to shore. In the West Bank, the IDF arrests Palestinian Awad Abu Suway, head of a Bethlehem group that organizes local nonviolent protests against the separation wall, and his 65-yr.-old father; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Jenin town and r.c. and in Hebron, Nablus, and neighboring Balata r.c. PA police rescue an IDF soldier who mistakenly drives into Jenin and is surrounded by an angry mob; police safely turn over the soldier to the IDF, but the crowd burns his vehicle; Israel praises the PA police, saying their actions are a sign of PA Pres. Mahmud Abbas’s growing authority. A Palestinian civilian injured in an 8/14 IDF air strike on Khan Yunis dies. (AP 8/27; WP 8/28; OCHA 8/29; PCHR 8/30)

In Gaza, the IDF fatally shoots 2 armed Palestinians on the border nr. Jabaliya; sends troops into al-Shuka nr. Rafah to bulldoze 6 d. of agricultural land nr. the Gaza airport; bulldozes Palestinian land along the border fence n. of Bayt Lahiya. In the West Bank, the IDF sends undercover units into Sa‘ida nr. Tulkarm to raid 2 Palestinian homes, mortally shooting Islamic Jihad cmdr. Tariq Milhem in an exchange of fire, allowing him to bleed to death over 2 hrs., also fatally shooting his 11-yr.-old brother, wounding 2 other family mbrs. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in, fires on residential areas of Balata r.c. nr. Nablus, wounding 1 Palestinian woman; conducts house searches in ‘Ayn Bayt al-Ma’a; 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, injuring 2. Jewish settlers fire on a Palestinian wedding party nr. Nablus, wounding 2 Palestinians. Jewish settlers in Hebron assault an 11-yr.-old Palestinian boy riding his bike, breaking his arm. Meanwhile, 500 Fatah mbrs. hold an unauthorized protest against the Hamas-led government outside the main security headquarters in Gaza City, throwing stones at ESF officers guarding the building, who fire into the air and beat back the demonstrators, injuring 15. Separately in Gaza City, ESF officers raid a wedding to halt celebratory gunfire, scuffling with guests, beating and injuring 1 Palestinian. (WT 8/25; OCHA 8/29; PCHR 8/30)

Under a temporary cease-fire brokered by the Palestinian Clerics Association btwn. the Lebanese army and Fatah alIslam (FI) militants who have been fighting in and around the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Barid nr. Tripoli since 5/07, army soldiers escort the remaining families of FI mbrs. (22 women, 41 children) out of the r.c. in anticipation of a final assault. The army estimates that 70 FI mbrs. are left in the camp and are refusing to surrender. (NYT, WT 8/25)

In Gaza, Palestinians begin experiencing longer blackouts resulting fr. fuel shortages since Israel closed the Nahal Oz pipeline on 8/15. Hamas volunteers undertake a clean-up campaign in Khan Yunis, where municipal sanitation workers have been on strike over salary issues. The IDF makes an air strike on an Islamic Jihad rocketlaunching site nr. Bayt Lahiya in n. Gaza, causing no injuries. A 10-yr.-old Palestinian boy is injured when a Palestinian rocket fired fr. Gaza toward Israel hits a Palestinian home nr. Bayt Hanun, nr. the n. Gaza border. In the West Bank, the IDF kills 2 Islamic Jihad mbrs. in an exchange of fire nr. Jenin; sends troops into Kafr Dan nr. Jenin to patrol, firing on stone-throwing youths who confront them, killing a 14-yr.-old Palestinian boy, prompting an exchange of gunfire with Palestinian resistance mbrs. that leaves 1 armed Palestinian dead, 7 Palestinians wounded; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus (firing on residential areas, wounding a Palestinian woman in her home), in Qalqilya, nr. Hebron; 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, injuring 5. (BBC 8/17; NYT 8/19; OCHA 8/22; PCHR 8/23)

For unclear reasons, IDF troops at the Erez crossing fire on ESF troops manning the Palestinian side, killing 1 ESF officer, wounding a baggage porter. An IDF helicopter fires a missile at a suspected rocket launching site nr. Bayt Hanun, causing no injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF bars an ailing 75-yr.-old Palestinian woman living in a village btwn. the Green Line and the separation wall fr. crossing a checkpoint at the wall to reach a Jenin hospital, allowing her to die; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Tulkarm. In ongoing settler violence in Hebron (see 8/5), Jewish settlers attack and vandalize Palestinian property in the central market area, set fire to the al-Kayal Mosque, burn a business and 2 Palestinian homes; the IDF observes but does not intervene. Later in the day, Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba attack, vandalize several Palestinian homes in Hebron. A Jewish settler security guard is injured when his car hits a roadside bomb on the settlers-only road to Elon Moreh settlement nr. Nablus. (OCHA 8/8; PCHR 8/9)

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)

Israel releases 255 Palestinian prisoners, including PFLP 2d-in-command ‘Abd al-Rahim Malluh; 85% of those released are Fatah mbrs.; the remainder are fr. smaller parties; none are fr. Hamas (Israel still holds 1 Fatah mbr. after learning that he switched affiliation to Hamas in jail); all had at least 1 yr. left to serve on their sentences. Palestinians fire a rocket fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF fires rubber-coated steel bullets at Palestinian, Israeli, international activists attending the weekly nonviolent demonstration against the separation wall in Bil‘in, injuring 6; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus, firing on stone-throwing youths who confront troops in ‘Ayn Bayt al-Ma’a r.c., wounding 4 teenagers and a 65-yr.-old bystander; closes roads northwest of Nablus to Palestinian traffic to allow more Jewish settlers to reach the evacuated Homesh settlement site (en route, settlers damage Palestinian crops and vandalize 2 Palestinian cars, 4 homes). Also nr. Nablus, Jewish settlers fr. Gilad severely beat 1 Palestinian in neighboring Fara’ta; Jewish settlers fr. Elon Moreh and Yitzhar burn 10s of Palestinian olive trees nr. the settlements. (AP, HA 7/20; NYT, WP, WT 7/21; OCHA 7/25; PCHR 7/26)

IDF troops operating in n. Gaza nr. Bayt Hanun capture 8 rocket launchers and rockets. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in Balata r.c., Jenin town and r.c., Nablus; fires rubber-coated steel bullets, percussion grenades, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, international activists holding weekly nonviolent demonstrations against the separation wall in Bil‘in, injuring 3. In Gaza City, ESF, Islamic Jihad mbrs. exchange fire, causing no injuries. (NYT 7/7; OCHA 7/11; PCHR 7/12)

In Gaza, the IDF bulldozes Palestinian land nr. the Qarni industrial zone along the border n. of Bayt Hanun. Palestinians fire 7 mortars at IDF troops operating n. of Bayt Hanun, causing no injuries; fire 4 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF fatally shoots 1 Palestinian in Nablus before ending a 3-day operation there; bars an ambulance fr. transporting a Palestinian seriously injured in a car accident through a checkpoint to reach the nearest hospital in East Jerusalem because he did not have a permit to enter the city, allowing him to die; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Qabatya and nr. Bethlehem, Hebron; fires rubbercoated steel bullets, percussion grenades, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, international activists attending the weekly nonviolent protest against the separation wall in Bil‘in, injuring 1. (OCHA 7/4; PCHR 7/5)

Nr. Tripoli, Lebanese soldiers fire on Palestinian refugees who attempt to cross an army checkpoint while staging a protest march toward Nahr al-Barid, seeking to return to their homes. Local Lebanese youths also beat marchers. At least 3 Palestinians are killed, up to 50 wounded. (NYT, WP, WT 6/30)

In Gaza, the IDF bulldozes Palestinian land 300 m. inside Gaza n. of Jabaliya r.c., occupying the area. In the West Bank, the IDF fatally shoots a Palestinian nr. Hebron who allegedly attempted to infiltrate an IDF post; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Ramallah, in Jenin town and r.c. (firing on residential areas, wounding a Palestinian woman inside her home), Nablus; 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 2 internationals. Jewish settlers fr. Rachelim settlement nr. Nablus uproot and cart away 300 Palestinian olive trees fr. nearby Qaryut (the IDF secures the return of 140 trees). Jewish settlers fr. Yitzhar nr. Nablus cut down 20 Palestinian olive, almond trees in nearby Burkin village. Jewish settlers fr. Tekoa nr. Bethlehem set fire to 300 d. of nearby Palestinian agricultural land, including 400 olive trees. Jewish settlers fr. Ramat Yishai in Hebron burn 50 nearby Palestinian olive and almond trees. Suspected Hamas mbrs. toss a homemade bomb at the Fatah offices in Qalqilya, causing damage but no injuries. (WP 6/23; OCHA 6/27; PCHR 6/28)

Firmly in control of Gaza, Hamas declares amnesty for Fatah leaders, except National Security Advisor (NSA) Dahlan, with the aim of quelling violence, releasing several of the 10 senior Fatah political security officials captured earlier in the day; orders all mbrs. of the PA security forces in Gaza to continue to report for duty to provide law and order, albeit under Hamas cmdrs. Hamas also calls for the immediate release of kidnapped BBC correspondent Johnston. With fighting suspended, Palestinian crowds loot abandoned Fatah buildings, targeting in particular Dahlan’s home and Abbas’s presidential compound; Hamas mbrs. surround and prevent looting at Abbas’s Gaza residence. Some violence persists, with a Fatah mbr. thrown to his death from a high building by the family of a man he killed earlier; a Fatah security official commits suicide after learning that he was on a Hamas wanted list. Meanwhile, Egypt reinforces its forces on the border with Gaza with riot police, APCs, and water cannons, fearing that Palestinians will attempt to flee Gaza for Egypt en masse at the first opportunity. Israel temporarily opens the Erez crossing to allow Fatah officials to escape Gaza for Ramallah. In the West Bank, Abbas names Finance M Salam al-Fayyad as his new PM, charging him with forming a government; issues a presidential decree suspending articles of the Basic Law (the interim Palestinian constitution) requiring the new government to receive a vote of confidence from the PC (currently controlled by the Hamas-affiliated Change and Reform party). Fatah-Hamas tensions remain high in the West Bank, where heavily armed Fatah mbrs. patrol in Ramallah in a show of force; Fatah mbrs. ransack Change and Reform offices, Hamas-run charity organizations in several cities; kidnap at least 9 Hamas mbrs. AMB mbrs. fatally shoot a Hamas mbr. in Nablus. Inside Israel, the Israel Prisons Service separates Fatah, Hamas detainees to prevent rioting. Meanwhile, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches, patrols in villages around Jenin, firing on residential areas, causing no injuries. In Gaza, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in Dayr al-Balah; fires rubber-coated steel bullets, percussion grenades, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, international activists attending weekly nonviolent demonstrations against the separation wall in Bil‘in, injuring 2. (AP, HA, WP, QA 6/15; NYT, WP, WT 6/16; Interfax 6/16 in WNC 6/17; PCHR 6/21; NYT 7/9)

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)

IDF troops in the n. Gaza buffer zone fatally shoot 2 Palestinian boys (ages 12, 13), wound a 3d (age 16) who stray nr. their position. The IDF also makes an air strike on Khan Yunis, assassinating Islamic Jihad mbr. Fadi Abu Mustafa; sends troops into Gaza e. of al-Maghazi to conduct arrest raids and house searches, detaining 2 NSF mbrs. Islamic Jihad mbrs. fire 2 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in al-Fawwar r.c. nr. Hebron, Nablus (firing on residential areas and blowing up cement blocks in the Old City, injuring 1 Palestinian, damaging 86 homes, 69 stores, 1 factory, 1 mosque, 1 church, electricity and water installations; the municipality estimates $75,000 in property damage); fires rubber-coated steel bullets, percussion grenades, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, and international activists conducting their weekly nonviolent protest against the separation wall in Bil‘in, injuring 4; beats and forcibly disperses 10s of Palestinians and several international peace activists who stage a nonviolent protest in Bani Na‘im nr. Hebron against the IDF’s declaration of a closed military zone on 1,500 d. of Palestinian land adjacent to Bnei Hefer settlement. In Khan Yunis, Hamas mbrs. fire an RPG at a Fatah training base, causing no injuries. In Ramallah, unidentified gunmen fire on a PA police station, causing no injuries. The Army of Islam releases an undated video tape of BBC reporter Alan Johnston, kidnapped on 3/12, showing him in good condition. (NYT, WP, WT 6/2; PCHR 6/3; OCHA 6/6; PCHR 6/7)

A day after the Lebanese government voted to give the military carte blanche to take action against FI, the Lebanese army tightens its cordon on Nahr al-Barid r.c., directs heavy artillery barrages on FI sniper posts and 3 positions on the outskirts of the camp, seizing them, and moves into the camp for the 1st time, taking control of limited areas inside the camp. The clashes leave at least 3 Lebanese soldiers, 2 FI mbrs., 14 others inside the r.c. (FI or civilians) dead and 60 civilians, 18 soldiers wounded. At least 8,000 civilians are still inside the camp. (DS, NYT, WP, WT 6/2)

During the day in Gaza, the IDF fires on Jabaliya r.c., seriously wounding a Palestinian woman inside her home. In the evening, Olmert convenes his security cabinet, which authorized the IDF to step up attacks on Hamas, Islamic Jihad. Soon after, the IDF makes an air strike targeting IQB cmdr. Samih Farwanah in Gaza City, who is at the home of Hamas-affiliated Change and Reform Palestinian Council (PC) mbr. Khalil al-Haya, assassinating Farwanah, killing 7 of Haya’s relatives, wounding more than 12; fires a missile at Hamas mbr. Nasser Hammuda, biking through Gaza City, wounding him in an apparent assassination attempt; makes an air strike on an alleged Hamas weapons factory in Gaza City, killing 1 Palestinian security guard, wounding 3 bystanders; makes an air strike on the home of an Islamic Jihad mbr., destroying it and a neighboring meeting hall, causing no injuries; shells residential areas of Bayt Lahiya, heavily damaging 2 homes, wounding 6 Palestinians. Palestinians fire at least 12 rockets, 2 mortars fr. Gaza into Israel, damaging 2 trucks on the Israeli side of the Qarni crossing but causing no injuries. In Rafah, an al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade (AMB) mbr. is injured when explosives he is handling detonate prematurely. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in al-Arub r.c nr. Hebron and in and around Bethlehem, Jenin town and r.c.; raids 4 TV and radio stations in Nablus seizing computers and broadcasting equipment; begins bulldozing 130 dunams (d.; 4 d. = 1 acre) of apricot and date orchards nr. Artas nr. Bethlehem to make way for the separation wall. Under IDF escort, Jewish settlers fr. Efrat nr. Bethlehem uproot Palestinian trees nr. the settlement. Jewish settlers fr. Karme Tzur nr. Hebron unleash an attack dog on a Palestinian farmer working his land nr. the settlement, injuring him. Meanwhile, Hamas, Fatah observe a ceasefire during the day; stores begin to reopen and residents venture out for the 1st time in a wk. (HA, IFM, NYT, PCHR, WP 5/20; HA, NYT, OCHA, PCHR, WP, WT 5/21; OCHA 5/23; PCHR 5/24)

Overnight, Lebanese police and soldiers raid several homes in Tripoli in an attempt to capture a group connected to the tiny militant group, Fatah al-Islam (FI), that was suspected of carrying out a bank robbery on 5/19. The raids spark gun battles that quickly spread throughout the city and to the outskirts of Nahr al-Barid r.c. (pop. 40,000), where FI is based. When FI forces leave the camp to ambush and capture nearby army positions, the Lebanese army fires tank shells, mortars into the camp, quickly precipitating massive clashes (including RPG, heavy weapons fire by FI) that continue throughout the day. In total, at least 27 Lebanese soldiers, 20 FI mbrs., and 9 Palestinian civilians inside the camp are killed and scores are wounded during the day. By nightfall, the army regains control of areas surrounding the camp, seals the camp to prevent militants fr. escaping; cuts water and electricity to the camp to urge a surrender. Syria closes several border crossings n. and w. of Tripoli in reaction. Separately, a car bomb explodes nr. a shopping mall in the Christian neighborhood of Achrifiyya in Beirut, killing 1 Lebanese woman, wounding 12; no group claims responsibility. (AP, NYT, REU, WP, WT 5/21; WT 5/24; NYT 6/20, 7/7)

In Gaza, the IDF assassinates IQB mbrs. Ra’ed Habib and Munir al-Jamal in an air strike on their car in Gaza City, wounding 6 bystanders; makes 5 other air strikes on Hamas and ESF targets in Bayt Lahiya, Dayr al-Balah, and Gaza City, wounding 10 bystanders, destroying 2 alleged weapons factories, damaging several homes. In retaliation, Hamas fires 17 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, injuring 2 Israelis in Sederot. The Israeli navy fires on Palestinian fishermen off the Gaza City coast, forcing them to return to shore. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in, fires on residential areas of Kafr Dan nr. Jenin, wounding 3 Palestinians; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus and neighboring Balata r.c.; fires rubber-coated steel bullets, percussion grenades, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, and international activists holding a weekly nonviolent protest against the separation wall in Bil‘in nr. Ramallah, injuring 2. Jewish settlers scuffle with Palestinian, Israeli, and international activists demonstrating against the wall in Bani Na‘im nr. Hebron; the IDF intervenes, detaining 5 activists. Meanwhile, Fatah-Hamas fighting in Gaza continues, leaving 4 Palestinians dead and more than a dozen wounded. Incidents include Abbas’s presidential guard firing RPGs and mortars at the predominantly Hamas Islamic University in Gaza City. A 7-yr.-old Palestinian boy dies of injuries received in the 5/17 Fatah attack on a funeral in Rafah. (AP, WP 5/18; NYT, WP, WT 5/19; PCHR 5/21; OCHA 5/23; PCHR 5/24)

IDF troops on the n. Gaza border cross into Gaza, arrest 3 Palestinian farmers working their fields nr. the border fence n. of Bayt Lahiya; also sends bulldozers, tanks into Gaza nr. Nahal Oz to level land. In the West Bank, the IDF sends undercover units into Silat al-Harithiyya nr. Jenin, seeking Palestinian gunmen who exchanged fire with troops gunmen earlier in the day, causing no injuries; they ambush a car, killing Islamic Jihad mbrs. Mahdi Abu al-Khayr, Khalid Ashur and a civilian bystander. The IDF also conducts arrest raids, house searches in Jenin town and r.c., Nablus, and nr. Bethlehem, Hebron, Tulkarm; fires tear gas, rubber-coated steel bullets, percussion grenades at Palestinians, Israeli and international peace activists conducting their weekly nonviolent protest against the separation wall nr. Bil‘in, wounding 3. (WT 5/6; NYT 5/7; OCHA 5/9; PCHR 5/10)

In the West Bank, IDF troops posted outside Psagot settlement, believing themselves to be under fire, fire on a PA presidential guard unit conducting a policing operation in adjacent al-Bireh, killing 1 PA presidential guardsman, wounding 2. The IDF also conducts arrest raids, house searches in Aida r.c., Nablus, and nr. Hebron, Qalqilya; issues military orders confiscating 239 d. of agricultural land in Bardala in the n. Jordan Valley, 60 d. nr. Jenin for construction of the separation wall. Jewish settlers fr. Kefar Tapuach settlement nr. Nablus beat a Palestinian teenager grazing sheep nearby. Palestinians stone a Jewish settler vehicle in Azariyya, lightly injuring 1 settler. (OCHA 5/2; PCHR 5/3)

The IDF makes an air strike on a car nr. Jabaliya r.c. carrying Islamic Jihad mbrs. who had fired rockets toward Israel (causing no damage), missing the vehicle and causing no damage; within the hr., the IDF makes a 2d air strike on a car in the same area, killing 1 Palestinian with no known resistance connections. Citing 9 killings in 2 days, Hamas’s Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades declares an end to its observance of the 11/26/06 cease-fire, though PM Haniyeh says that the PA still has every intention of making it work. During the day, Palestinians fire 5 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF fires on stone-throwing Palestinians in Ramallah, killing a 15-yr.-old Palestinian boy; evicts some 80 Palestinians fr. Hadidiyya in the n. Jordan Valley (the Israeli High Court ruled on 1/3 that they posed a security threat to Jewish settlers in nearby Ro’i settlement; see Quarterly Update in JPS 143); confiscates 169 d. of Palestinian land nr. Tulkarm for construction of the separation wall; imposes a curfew on Hawara nr. Nablus; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Balata r.c., Nablus. A Palestinian gunmanfires on a Jewish settler vehicle nr. Hizma checkpoint into Jerusalem, injuring a settler and a Palestinian bystander. In Jabaliya r.c., PRC mbrs. abduct 5 Palestinians, including 2 ESF mbrs., exchanging fire with the ESF that leaves 1 of the abductees dead and sparks local demonstrations. In Gaza City, armed mbrs. of a local clan attack an ESF base, injuring 1 ESF mbr., kidnapping another (who is released later in the day after the PA intervenes). In Khan Yunis, a PA security officer is carjacked, wounded by unidentified assailants. (WP 4/23; BBC, MM, WT 4/24; OCHA 4/25; PCHR 4/26)