The Palestine Chronology

In the West Bank, the IDF patrols Kafr Haris village nr. Salfit and imposes a curfew, disrupting all daily activities in the village; conducts late-night raids, house searches in Qalandia r.c. s. of Ramallah, ‘Aqabat r.c. s. of Jericho, Hebron, Qalqilya, and nr. Nablus, arresting 7 Palestinians (including 2 teenagers). (PCHR 11/12, 11/19)

Israeli police storm the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, detain employee ‘Ali ‘Umar al-‘Abbassi, and deposit him on the West Bank side of the Hizma checkpoint, stating he does not have valid Jerusalem residency documents. ‘Abbassi was born in Jerusalem and has lived with his family nr. the mosque, where he works, for more than 20 yrs. In the West Bank, unidentified Palestinians fire on a Jewish settler vehicle nr. Ofra settlement nr. Ramallah, causing no injuries. In response, the IDF conducts search operations in several surrounding villages, imposing a 3-hr. curfew on Baytin, arresting 2 Palestinians. (OCHA, PCHR 7/16)

In the West Bank, an unidentified assailant with an ax kills a 13-yr.-old Jewish settler boy and wounds a 7-yr.-old inside Bet Ayn settlement in the Gush Etzion bloc nr. Bethlehem; several Palestinian groups (including the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, Imad Mughniyah Group [see 3/15], and Islamic Jihad) take responsibility; the IDF undertakes a manhunt (imposing a curfew on neighboring Khirbat Safa, searching homes, interrogating 10s of Palestinians), believing the attacker, suspected to be a Palestinian who worked in the settlement, may have acted alone; Jewish settlers blame the Israeli government for easing restrictions on Palestinian movement. The IDF conducts late-night house searches nr. Ramallah, but no arrests are reported. Jewish settlers fr. Avraham Avino settlement in Hebron blow the doors off 4 locked Palestinian shops nearby the settlement and occupy them. (NYT, WP, WT 4/3; OCHA 4/8; PCHR, WJW 4/9; JPI 4/17)

Palestinians fire 2 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. Hamas denounces the fire, saying it comes at the wrong time as truce talks in Cairo are ongoing. Israeli naval vessels fire on Palestinian fishing boats off the Rafah coast, forcing them to return to shore. Late in the evening, the IDF makes 2 air strikes on Yibna r.c. nr. the Rafah border, causing no reported injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts morning patrols in Tulkarm; opens fire on 2 Palestinian teenagers throwing stones at Jewish settler vehicles nr. Ramallah, wounding 1, arresting the other; maintains the curfew on, continues occupying and searching homes in Bayt Umar (see 3/10) until withdrawing in the afternoon, making no arrests; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in villages around Jenin, in and around Ramallah, and in Bethlehem. (PCHR 3/12; WT 3/13; OCHA 3/17, 3/18; PCHR 3/19)

IDF troops on the Gaza border e. of al-Maghazi r.c. fire on residential areas of the camp, wounding 1 Palestinian. Late in the evening, the IDF makes 2 air strikes on the Rafah border, causing no reported casualties. Israeli naval vessels shell the Bayt Lahiya coast, nearly hitting a police car, injuring 4 Hamas-affiliated police officers. Palestinians fire 5 rockets and mortars fr. Gaza into Israel, all of which land nr. Sederot, causing no damage or injuries. The UN reports that in the previous wk. (including today), Palestinians have fired 29 rockets and mortars into Israel, causing no reported injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF makes a midday incursion into Bayt Umar nr. Hebron, imposing a curfew, raiding and searching homes, temporarily occupying 3 as observation posts, chasing and firing on stone-throwing youths who confront them, seriously beating 1 teenager; sends troops back into Bayt Umar late in the evening, imposing a curfew, raiding and searching 10s of homes and shops, occupying several as observation posts, heavily damaging several houses, arresting 25 Palestinians; conducts other late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Ramallah. (OCHA 3/11; NYT, PCHR 3/12; OCHA 3/17)

In Gaza, the IDF makes an air strike on a Hamas-affiliated police station in Khan Yunis, which has been bombed repeatedly, causing no reported injuries. Israel allows 94 truckloads of humanitarian aid and commercial goods into Gaza, as well a limited amount of fuel for Gaza’s power plant. In the West Bank, the IDF enters Jayyus in the afternoon, imposes a curfew; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Ramallah, and nr. Jenin, Salfit, Tulkarm. Palestinians in Yassuf village nr. Salfit report that over the past several days, Jewish settlers escorted by IDF troops have bulldozed at least 250 d. of village land and replanted 200 d. with their own crops. (PCHR 2/12, 2/19)