The Palestine Chronology

IDF troops encamped in the Erez industrial zone since 11/23 fire on local Palestinians who stray nr. the zone, wounding 1. Palestinians fire 4 mortars fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. The IDF responds with tank fire, wounding 4 armed Palestinians, 2 bystanders. In the West Bank, the IDF sends undercover units into Tulkarm r.c. to ambush a car carrying wanted AMB mbrs. Muhammad Qawzah and Mushir Mansouri, mortally wounding Qawzah (he subsequently bleeds to death over an hr.), wounding Mansouri; conducts arrest raids in and around Nablus, nr. Ramallah (ambushing and detaining Birzeit University student council pres. Fadi Hamad). Jewish settlers fr. Beit Hadasah in Hebron vandalize a nearby Palestinian school, breaking windows, breaking down walls, attempting to set fire to the building, uprooting trees outside; settlers have previously tried to occupy the school to establish a new outpost. (NYT 11/26; OCHA 11/28; PCHR 11/29)

In Gaza, an ailing 8-yr.-old Palestinian boy dies when the IDF denies permission to transport him through the Erez crossing to an Israeli hospital despite his having the proper Israeli permits. The IDF fires on several al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade (AMB) mbrs. attempting to infiltrate the border nr. Bayt Lahiya, killing 2 AMB mbrs.; raids Khan Yunis, firing on residential areas and then exchanging fire with Palestinian gunmen who confront them, killing 1 Palestinian (possibly armed), seriously wounding 1 Palestinian civilian, moderately wounding 2 gunmen. Palestinians fire 8 mortars at IDF bulldozers sent into the Erez industrial zone to level land; the IDF responds with heavy machine gun fire; no injuries are reported. Palestinians fire 2 rockets fr. n. Gaza into Israel, causing damage at a cemetery but no reported injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Tubas, partially demolishing a Palestinian home, firing on stone-throwing youths who confront the troops, wounding 9. Jewish settlers fr. Yitzhar nr. Nablus ambush, stone a Palestinian taxi driving nearby, heavily damaging the car but not injuring the driver. AMB gunmen protesting the upcoming Annapolis summit fire on a Jewish settler vehicle nr. Keddumim settlement outside Qalqilya, killing 1 settler. The Israeli High Court rules that the 3/07 purchase by Israelis of a Palestinian house overlooking Kiryat Arba settlement in Hebron was illegal, stating that Israeli police may evict Jewish settlers who have since occupied the site. (IFM 11/19; PCHR 11/20; OCHA 11/21; PCHR 11/22, 11/29)

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)

Israel releases 29 Palestinian prisoners fr. Gaza (see 10/1); once again, the IDF fires on Palestinians waiting at the Erez crossing to welcome the prisoners home, wounding a Reuters cameraman. Late in the evening, the IDF sends troops into Khan Yunis, bulldozing agricultural land, searching and occupying Palestinian homes as observation posts, exchanging fire with local Palestinian gunmen, killing 1 armed Palestinian. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in Nur al-Shams r.c. nr. Tulkarm, nr. Ramallah. At least 15 Jewish settlers, escorted by IDF soldiers, enter and stay overnight in Joseph’s Tomb nr. Nablus. 100s of Jewish settlers set up tents on the vacated Homesh settlement site, level land, set up sand barriers; the IDF restricts Palestinian movement in the area. In Gaza City, 4 AMB mbrs. are killed when explosives they are carrying detonate prematurely outside an ESF post that they apparently planned to attack; 1 passerby is wounded. (OCHA, WP 10/3; NYT, PCHR 10/4; NYT 10/5)

As a gesture to Abbas, Israel frees 57 Palestinian prisoners from the West Bank (mostly Fatah mbrs. but also mbrs. of the DFLP, PFLP, and PA security forces) to mark Ramadan; the release of 29 prisoners fr. Gaza to “encourage the moderates” there is delayed until 10/2 after Israeli pres. Shimon Peres initially refuses to sign the releases, citing captured IDF soldier Gilad Shalit’s continued detention in Gaza, finally signing them late in the evening. Meanwhile, the IDF on the Israeli side of the Erez crossing fires at a crowd on the Palestinians side gathered to welcome home the prisoners, wounding a 14-yr.-old Palestinian boy. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus, in Hebron, nr. Ramallah; removes Jewish settlers fr. 2 unauthorized settlement outposts occupied on 9/30 as well as fr. 2 new sites occupied today nr. Elon Moreh settlement nr. Nablus and Keddumim settlement nr. Qalqilya. In Gaza, some 300 PFLP mbrs. stage a solidarity sit-in outside the home of a UNRWA staff mbr. who was temporarily kidnapped, beaten by unknown assailants earlier in the day. (NYT 10/2; OCHA 10/3; PCHR 10/4)

Israel begins to allow more than 6,000 Palestinians stranded on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border to enter Gaza through Erez via the al-Oja cargo crossing s. of Rafah and bus them to Erez; 1 ailing Palestinian stranded at the crossing dies. Nr. Khan Yunis, Islamic Jihad mbrs. exchange heavy fire with an IDF unit patrolling the border inside Israel, causing no injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF searches stores, conducts random ID checks in Hebron; patrols in Qalandia. Jewish settlers fr. Yitzhar set fire to 100 d. of Palestinian olive and almond groves nr. Nablus. (NYT 7/29; WT 7/31; OCHA 8/1; PCHR 8/2)

The IDF continues operations in Nablus, clashing with AMB gunmen who detonate explosives as soldiers approach, wounding 10 soldiers; during the incursion, the IDF arrests 2 AMB mbrs., blows up 1 Palestinian home, damages 4 others, and fires on stonethrowing youths who confront the troops, wounding 15 (ages 12–19). The IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in Hebron and neighboring Qalqas (detaining 51 Palestinians, including 17 children; releasing 40 later in the day). In Gaza, the IDF bulldozes Palestinian land on the Gaza side of the Erez crossing; sends troops into agricultural areas s. of Gaza City, where they clash with Palestinian gunmen, seriously wounding 1. (NYT 6/29; OCHA 7/4; PCHR 7/5)

As part of the ongoing offensive against FI, the Lebanese army raids a hillside cave outside Tripoli, killing 6 FI mbrs., securing an arms cache. (WP, WT 6/29)

Overnight, the IDF sends tanks and troops, backed by air support, into Gaza City and Khan Yunis in a major day-long ground offensive targeting primarily Hamas and Islamic Jihad, but also including the AMB, arresting 10s of Palestinians, bulldozing 1 Palestinian home and 70 dunams of land, and leaving at least 13 Palestinians (including at least 4 gunmen and 6 civilians, including a 10-yr.-old boy) dead, more than 50 Palestinians and at least 2 IDF soldiers wounded; Fatah and Hamas gunmen fight side-by-side against the IDF, using small arms and antitank weapons. The IDF also makes an air strike on a car in Gaza City, assassinating Islamic Jihad senior cmdr. Raed Fanuna; bulldozes Palestinian land on the Gaza side of the Qarni crossing and industrial zone, along the border southeast of Khuza’a in s. Gaza. For a 2d day, the Israeli navy fires on Palestinian fishermen off the Gaza City coast, forcing them back to shore. Islamic Jihad fires 4 rockets, 5 mortars fr. Gaza toward the Erez crossing; 2 mortars land on the Gaza side, injuring a Palestinian child; those landing on the Israeli side cause no damage or injuries. In Khan Yunis, a Palestinian is killed when explosives he is handling detonate prematurely. In the West Bank, the IDF launches a major arrest campaign in the Old City of Nablus, imposing a curfew, searching homes (occupying at least 7 as sniper posts), taking over local radio stations, searching hospitals; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Bethlehem, nr. Jenin. In Ramallah, unidentified gunmen fire on the home of senior Fatah official Hani al-Hassan, causing no injuries. In Hebron, unidentified gunmen fire on the home of the local PA General Intelligence head, causing no injuries. Islamic Jihad mbr. Zakariyya al-Tartar dies of injuries received in a 6/24 IDF air strike on his vehicle in Gaza City. (PCHR, WP, WT 6/28; OCHA 7/4; PCHR 7/5)

Israel allows 12 trucks with food, medical supplies to enter Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing; evacuates 2 Palestinians wounded in the crossfire at Erez on 6/18, 3 other Palestinian medical cases; allows Israeli medics to enter Erez to treat the 9 others wounded. Twice during the day, IDF troops stationed at the Erez crossing fire toward Palestinians waiting to cross the checkpoint in an attempt to disperse them, wounding another 2. In the West Bank, the IDF imposes a curfew on Beita nr. Nablus; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem, Hebron, Jenin (exchanging fire with Palestinians, killing 1 AMB mbr., 1 Islamic Jihad mbr.), Qalqilya. Israeli security officials announce that they recently arrested 12 PFLP mbrs. for allegedly plotting to kidnap Americans to secure the release of their leader, Ahmad Saadat, who is currently held by Israel. (NYT, WP 6/20; PCHR 6/21)

The U.S. and EU end their boycott on aid to and diplomatic contacts with Abbas’s PA, pledging to work with and support the emergency government. In Gaza, Hamas mbrs. on the Gaza side of the Erez crossing exchange fire with IDF soldiers on the Israeli side, trapping in the crossfire some 400 Palestinians hoping to leave Gaza, killing 1 Palestinian, wounding 11. Israel has allowed around 200 Fatah mbrs. to flee Gaza for the West Bank via Erez. Egypt reports that 344 Fatah security mbrs. have fled Gaza for Egypt; all will be repatriated to the West Bank. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus, and nr. Hebron, Jenin; demolishes a Palestinian home in East Jerusalem. (AFP, MENA 6/18 in WNC 6/19; NYT, WP, WT 6/19; PCHR 6/21)

Clashes at Nahr al-Barid r.c. btwn. the Lebanese army, FI continue, with the army resuming shelling of the camp; at least 3 soldiers are reported killed. In ‘Ayn al-Hilwa r.c., 2 Jund al-Sham mbrs. are killed, 3 are injured when explosives they are handling detonate prematurely. (DS 6/19 in WNC 6/20; NYT, WP, WT 6/19)

Abbas swears in a 12-mbr. emergency cabinet; issues a presidential decree suspending article 79 of the Basic Law allowing the PC to vote out the government by a no-confidence vote and requiring PC approval for all ministerial appointments. The cabinet comprises mostly independent technocrats, except for veteran Fatah mbr. ‘Abd al-Raziq Yahiya, named interior minister to control the PA security branches. Hamas rejects Abbas’s actions as illegal. Both Hamas and Abbas stress, however, that Gaza and the West Bank must continue to be considered a single administrative and political unit as laid out in the 1993 Oslo Accord, rejecting Israel’s appeal to the U.S. that they officially be “delinked.” In Gaza, some 1,000 Fatah loyalists encamp at the Erez crossing, requesting transit to the West Bank, afraid to leave the corridor for fear of reprisals. In Khan Yunis, residents report Hamas mbrs. going door to door collecting unauthorized weapons. The Army of Islam releases a video rejecting Hamas demands to release BBC reporter Johnston, threatening to kill him if Hamas goes after the group. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron, Nablus, Ramallah. (AYM, MNA, QA 6/17 in WNC 6/18; NYT, WP, WT 6/18; OCS 6/18 in WNC 6/19; NYT, PCHR 6/21)

U.S. Consul Gen. Jacob Walles meets with Abbas in Ramallah, says that the U.S. is prepared to resume direct aid as soon as Abbas swears in a new government that does not include Hamas, even if it controls only the West Bank; indicates that international sanctions on the PA would also be lifted. Abbas issues a presidential decree outlawing the ESF, Hamas’s IQB, all other militias affiliated with Hamas on the grounds that they carried out a “military coup against the Palestinian legitimacy and its government.” Abbas also angrily rejects offers by Arab League Secy. Gen. ‘Amr Musa to mediate btwn. him and Damascus-based Hamas leader Khalid Mishal, stating that he would not hold a dialogue with “killers.” Olmert says that Israel will “cooperate fully” with Abbas’s new government, calling the new situation “an opportunity.” Israel says it will allow food, basic supplies into Gaza but otherwise will consider Gaza a “terrorist entity” with which it will not deal. Haniyeh says Hamas will not seek to set up a parallel government in Gaza to rival Abbas, though it will assume day-to-day government functions. In Gaza, at least 2 Fatah mbrs. are killed in revenge slayings; bodies of 7 Hamas mbrs., 1 Fatah mbr. killed in recent fighting are found. Hamas mbrs. confiscate weapons fr. Fatah mbrs., set up roadblocks nr. crossing points into Israel to prevent Fatah officials fr. fleeing, but several senior Fatah mbrs. make it through the Erez crossing, are allowed by Israel to go to the West Bank. Looters break into Yasir Arafat’s fmr. residence, kept largely as a museum, and steal many items before Hamas mbrs. secure the building, prevent further thefts. In the West Bank, AMB mbrs. temporarily take over the parliament building, several PA ministries in Ramallah, ordering Hamas-affiliated employees to leave and not return, raising Fatah flags; raid the Hebron and Nablus municipal offices, order the Change and Reform–dominated municipal council mbrs. to surrender control of the city governments; in Bethlehem, Fatah mbrs. raid and search the homes of elected Change and Reform officials. The IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron, Jenin. (MNA, OCS 6/16 in WNC 6/17; NYT, WP, WT 6/17; PCHR 6/21; WP 7/8)

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)

The IDF makes 2 air strikes on Palestinians allegedly planting a roadside bomb nr. troops operating in n. Gaza, killing 1 Hamas mbr., wounding another. Hamas fires 3 mortars at the IDF post at Erez crossing in response, causing no injuries. The IDF also conducts arrest raids in al-Qarara nr. Khan Yunis.IDFUXO injures an 11-yr.-old Palestinian boy in Bayt Lahiya, 4 Palestinian children in Gaza City. In the West Bank, the IDF makes a predawn raid on an apartment building in Hebron searching for 2 Palestinian men who had thrown objects at their patrol, fatally shooting an innocent 75-yr.-old Palestinian man, wounding his 66-yr.-old wife and 6 other relatives; the 2 wanted men were later arrested elsewhere. The IDF also conducts arrest raids in and around Nablus, and in ‘Aida r.c. nr. Bethlehem, Halhul nr. Hebron, Jenin, Qabatya, Tulkarm. (al-Jazeera 6/6; NYT, PCHR, WT 6/7; OCHA 6/13; PCHR 6/14)

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)

In Gaza, IDF soldiers in the Erez industrial zone fire on Palestinians collecting scrap metal nr. the site, wounding 1. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids nr. Jenin, Qalqilya and in Aida r.c., Balata r.c., Nablus (detaining a PA General Intelligence officer). AFP photographer Razuri is released unharmed in Gaza City. Fatah gunmen release a video of Nablus dep. mayor Hambali, kidnapped on 1/6, threatening to expand attacks on Hamas if the ESF is not disbanded. (NYT, WP, WT 1/8; OCHA, WT 1/10; PCHR 1/11)