The Palestine Chronology

IDF troops on the Gaza border e. of Jabaliya fire warning shots at Palestinian farmers who stray nr. the border fence, causing no injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF makes a late-night raid on the home of Hamas-affiliated PC mbr. Khalil Rab‘ie nr. Hebron, arresting him. The IDF also patrols in Rummana village nr. Jenin, confiscating an unlicensed tractor; makes a late-night raid on a Palestinian store nr. Jenin, confiscating fireworks; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Nur al-Shams r.c. nr. Tulkarm. Jewish settlers fr. Suissa settlement nr. Hebron set fire to 3 Palestinian tents nearby. Israel’s Jerusalem municipal authorities level several rooms of homes, stores, and poultry farms and swaths of agricultural land in al-Tur village in the East Jerusalem environs. (PCHR 12/30; OCHA 12/31; PCHR 1/6; OCHA 1/7)

Tunisian pres. Zine El Abidine Ben Ali reshuffles his cabinet in response to 11 days of nationwide popular demonstrations against his government. The protests denouncing rising unemployment and the lack of job opportunities for youths began on 12/17, sparked by the attempted suicide of a 26-yr.-old, college-educated street vendor in the southern town of Sidi Bouzid who set himself on fire in despair after police seized produce he was selling without a license. (WT 12/30)

In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in Tulkarm and in 5 villages nr. Qalqilya, 2 each nr. Jenin and Salfit, and 1 each nr. Jericho, Nablus, Ramallah, and Tulkarm; conducts a late-night raid on the Hebron home of Hamas-affiliated PC mbr. Muhammad al-Tal, arresting him. Palestinian, Israeli, and international activists march to the IDF’s Beit El checkpoint outside Ramallah and demand its removal; IDF soldiers fire tear gas, rubber-coated steel bullets, and stun grenades at the protesters, seriously injuring 1 Palestinian. Jewish settlers fr. Yitzhar settlement nr. Nablus burn and uproot at least 20 Palestinian olive trees nr. Madama village. (PCHR 12/30; OCHA 12/31)

IDF troops on the n. Gaza border fire warning shots at Palestinians scavenging for construction materials in the fmr. Jewish settlement sites, wounding 1. During the day, the PRCs fire 10 mortars fr. Gaza toward Israel, with at least 9 landing inside Israel, causing no damage or injuries. Late at night, in response to the recent increase in Palestinian rocket fire, the IDF makes an air strike on a manned Hamas facility in Khan Yunis, injuring 2 IQB mbrs., marking Israel’s 1st targeting of an occupied Hamas facility since OCL ended in 1/2009. Hrs. later, the IDF carries out 6 more air strikes targeting 2 suspected tunnels nr. the border. Targets include Bayt Lahiya and Jabaliya in n. Gaza (hitting a poultry farm, killing 1,800 chickens), 3 smuggling tunnels on the Rafah border, and 2 alleged Hamas military sites in s. Gaza (an empty house in Shuka, also destroying a grocery store next door and damaging 2 nearby homes; and an abandoned dairy factory); no injuries are reported. In the West Bank, the IDF demolishes 4 Palestinian agricultural storehouses nr. Kiryat Arba settlement in Hebron; conducts morning patrols in 2 villages nr. Jenin and 2 nr. Tulkarm; conducts synchronized late-night patrols in 2 villages nr. Jenin. (AFP, JP, MNA 12/20; AFP, UPI 12/21; NYT 12/22; OCHA, PCHR 12/23)

In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in al-‘Araqa village nr. Jenin in the morning, questioning Palestinians on the street and summoning 4 for interrogation; conducts patrols without incident in 3 villages nr. Ramallah and Salfit during the day and in Qabatya nr. Jenin late at night; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron. IDF soldiers also make a late-night incursion into Tulkarm where they raid a home and business, confiscating money, personal property, and business assets, saying they are implementing an Israeli court order to confiscate $650,000 that the father of the family (currently jailed in Israel) confessed to receiving from Hamas as compensation for his company, which was destroyed by arson in 6/2007 during rioting over Hamas’s takeover of Gaza. A Jewish settler fr. Einav settlement deliberately runs down a Palestinian roadside vendor nr. Tulkarm, moderately injuring him; the IDF detains the settler at a nearby checkpoint for questioning. (WP 11/15; OCHA 11/24; PCHR 11/25)

Pres. Obama, asked during his trip to Indonesia about his reaction to Israel’s 11/8 construction announcement, states sharply that “this kind of activity is never helpful when it comes to peace negotations. I’m concerned that we’re not seeing each side make the extra effort . . . to get a breakthrough. Each of these incremental steps can end up breaking trust.” Hours later, Netanyahu’s office responds saying “Jerusalem is not a settlement. It is the capital of the State of Israel. . . . Israel sees no link between the peace process and its development plans in Jerusalem.” (IFM, Israel Radio News [Internet], MNA, REU 11/9; NYT, WT 11/10)

Israeli tax authorities and border police seal the entrances to the Jerusalem suburb of Issawiyya, checking Palestinians leaving and entering the village and raiding businesses in search of Palestinian tax evaders. Border police fire rubber-coated steel bullets at stone-throwing Palestinian youths who confront them, injuring 19 Palestinian children (ages 10–15); 1 Israeli border policeman is also injured. Also in East Jerusalem, Israeli authorities raid, search 2 Palestinian homes in Silwan, arresting 2 Palestinians. Silwan residents report that in recent weeks, Israeli authorities have stepped up arrests of young Palestinian men in Issawiyya and Silwan, and that Jewish settlers and settlement guards in Silwan have been accosting local Palestinians more frequently, generating almost daily low-grade clashes. The IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in Issawiyya later in the evening; and conducts latenight arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron and nearby al-‘Arub r.c., in al-Bireh (searching the home of Palestinian Council secy. Mahmud al-Ramahi, but making no arrests; Ramahi was one of the Hamas-affiliated elected PC mbrs. that Israel arrested after the 2006 capture of Shalit to pressure Hamas but he was recently released; 7 Hamas-affiliated PC mbrs. are still jailed by Israel), and nr. Tulkarm. Meanwhile, the IDF makes brief incursions into n. Gaza nr. Bayt Lahiya and c. Gaza e. of al-Maghazi r.c. to bulldoze Palestinian lands along the border fence to clear lines of sight. Unidentified Palestinians fire 2 mortars fr. Gaza toward Israel, 1 landing in Israel and 1 inside Gaza, causing no damage or injuries. OCHA (11/11) reports that in the previous wk., the IDF imposed at least 8 new barriers to Palestinian travel around Hebron. (YA 11/9; NYT 11/10; OCHA, PCHR 11/11)

IDF troops on the n. Gaza border fire warning shots at Palestinians scavenging for construction material in the fmr. settlement sites, wounding 1. Hamas’s acting FM Mahmud Zahhar warns that Gazans who fire rockets at Israel violate an agreement among Palestinian factions not to initiate strikes on Israeli targets and face possible arrest. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in 2 villages nr. Jericho and Jenin in the morning, making no arrests; makes a late-night raid into Mazra‘a village nr. Ramallah, patrolling streets and firing rubbercoated steel bullets, tear gas, stun grenades at stone-throwing youths who confront them, causing no serious injuries; makes a late-night raid on a Palestinian apartment building in Ya‘bad village nr. Jenin, photographing it and questioning the owner; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in al-Askar r.c. and nearby Nablus, in Hebron, and nr. Salfit. Jewish settlers fr. Shilo settlement throw stones at Palestinians driving on the nearby Nablus– Ramallah road, causing no injuries. In East Jerusalem, Israeli security forces raid and search a Palestinian home in the alBustan area of Silwan early in the morning, arresting 2 Palestinians. (al-Hayat 10/31; PCHR 11/4; OCHA 11/5)

IDF troops on the e. Gaza border fire on Islamic Jihad mbrs. planting roadside bombs nr. the border fence e. of Jabaliya r.c., killing 1 Islamic Jihad mbr. and damaging a nearby Palestinian home. Earlier in the day, unidentified Palestinians fire 1 mortar fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. IDF troops on the n. Gaza border fire warning shots at Palestinians scavenging for construction materials in demolished buildings nr. the border fence n. of Bayt Lahiya, wounding 1. In the West Bank, IDF troops and intelligence units raid the homes of 2 local Hamas leaders and 1 local Islamic Jihad leader in Jenin, stating they had not come to arrest the men but to speak with them; the intelligence officers’ questions focus on relations between the PA and Hamas, the prospects for national reconciliation, Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and prospects for peace, the PA dismissal of Hamas mbrs. fr. public jobs, and the financial and political bans on Hamas. The IDF also bulldozes 18 d. of Palestinian agricultural land in Issawiyya nr. Jerusalem; patrols in Bayt Liqya late at night without incident; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Jalazun r.c. nr. Ramallah and nr. Bethlehem, Hebron, Jenin; conducts late-night patrols in Tulkarm, stopping Palestinian drivers to search their vehicles and check their IDs. Palestinians in Dayr al-Khattab village nr. Nablus report that in the previous wk. settlers fr. nearby Elon Moreh settlement pumped wastewater onto the villages agricultural lands, damaging 220 olive trees. Inside Israel, 100s of Israeli police escort 10s of right-wing Jewish extremists chanting “death to terrorists” on a march through the Israeli-Palestinian town of Umm al-Fahm in a show of force, sparking stone-throwing clashes with Palestinian residents; Israeli police respond with tear gas, stun grenades, and batons; 10 people are arrested, and around 24 injured (including 2 Israeli Arab MKs). (Financial Times, YA 10/27; NYT, PCHR 10/28; PCHR 11/4; OCHA 11/5)

An explosion inside a Hamas security compound in Rafah damages more than 30 houses, 4 schools, and 1 clinic nearby, injuring 26 Palestinian civilians (including 18 children, 15 of whom were inside their classrooms), mostly by flying glass; the reason for the explosion is unclear. The IDF makes a brief incursion into s. Gaza e. of Khan Yunis to level land along the border to clear lines of sight, firing on surrounding areas to keep Palestinians away, seriously wounding a 65-yr.-old Palestinian harvesting olives 1,000 m away. In the West Bank, the IDF raids a coal plant nr. the separation wall w. of Jenin, confiscating 40 tons of wood and sealing the building, saying that local Jewish settlers claimed it was a nuisance; makes a daytime incursion into Barta‘a nr. Jenin, raiding several stores and interrogating several Palestinians, but making no arrests; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron, Ramallah. Jewish settlers fr. Eli settlement nr. Nablus vandalize and set fire to part of a Palestinian school nearby. Jewish settlers fr. Elon Moreh nr. Nablus fire on and chase off Palestinians harvesting olives nearby. Jewish settlers fr. Keddumim nr. Qalqilya throw stones at Palestinian vehicles driving on the nearby Nablus–Qalqilya road, causing no injuries. (PCHR 10/21; OCHA 10/22; PCHR 10/28; OCHA 10/29)

Abbas convenes the PLO Exec. Comm. along with the Fatah Central Comm. in Ramallah to discuss the lapsed settlement freeze, issuing a statement afterward that the Palestinian leadership is in agreement that direct negotations should not resume without a halt to Israeli settlement construction. The statement is welcomed by Hamas. Abbas then leaves for Jordan and Egypt to urge Arab support for the Palestinian decision. (AP, HA, NYT, REU, WP 10/3; XIN 10/4; MNA 10/5)

Unidentified Palestinians fire a mortar fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF fires rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas, and stun grenades at Palestinian, Israeli, and international activists conducting a nonviolent march from Bayt Umar village to Karme Tzur settlement outside Hebron to protest land confiscations and settlement expansion; 10s suffer tear gas inhalation and a 14-yr.-old Palestinian is lightly injured. (JP 10/2; PCHR 10/7; OCHA 10/8)

Secy. of State Clinton races to broker a deal with Israeli officials to extend the settlement freeze 1 day before it is scheduled to expire, while Mitchell meets with Abbas in New York to urge him not to walk away from peace talks immediately if Netanyahu allows the freeze to expire. On the ground Jewish settlers begin positioning construction equipment in some settlements. In addition, Jewish settlers in Revava settlement nr. Salfit seize 30 d. of Palestinian agricultural land, raze crops, and install 2 mobile homes as a “new quarter” of the settlement. Jewish settlers fr. Nokdim settlement nr. Bethlehem place 3 mobile homes on nearby Palestinian land. Jewish settlers fr. Barqan settlement nr. Salfit raze adjacent Palestinian land to expand the settlement’s industrial zone. Jewish settlers fr. Givat Ze’ev settlement enter Beitunia town nr. Ramallah and make preparations to celebrate the Sukkoth holiday; the IDF removes them. (NYT, WP 9/26)

Meanwhile, Israeli-Palestinian clashes in Issawiyya, which began on 9/22, taper off by the end of the day, leaving a total of 99 Palestinians (including 17 children) and 9 Israelis injured (7 lightly, 2 moderately), and 70 Palestinians under arrest; during the rioting, Palestinians set fire to or damage 8 Israeli cars and vandalize an Israeli tourist information center. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in Iraq Burin village nr. Nablus in the afternoon, firing tear gas and stun grenades at stone-throwing Palestinian youths who confront them, causing no serious injuries; fires rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas, and stun grenades at Palestinian, Israeli, and international activists conducting a nonviolent march from Bayt Umar village to Karme Tzur settlement outside Hebron to protest land confiscations and settlement expansion; 10s suffer tear gas inhalation and 2 Palestinians and 3 Americans are injured. An Egyptian hospital reports that an armed Palestinian transported to Egypt for treatment has died of injures sustained in the 9/14 IDF shelling nr. Gaza Valley village. (NYT, WP 9/26; PCHR 9/30; OCHA 10/1)

Delegations headed by Hamas Political Bureau chief Khalid Mishal and senior Fatah official Azzam al-Ahmad meet for 3 hours in Damascus, afterward issuing a statement confirming a restart of national unity talks. (AP 9/24; AP, REU 9/25; JP 9/27; MNA 11/1) 

Mitchell goes to Beirut to brief Lebanese officials on the Israeli-Palestinian talks, informing them that the U.S. will push for a comprehensive Israeli-Arab peace that would include Lebanon and Syria. (Asia Times 9/16)

Israel seals the West Bank through 9/18 for the Yom Kippur holiday. Overnight in the West Bank, an IDF special forces unit raids the home of local IQB cmdr. Iyad Abu Shilbaya in Nur Shams r.c. nr. Tulkarm, fatally shooting him at close range in his bedroom, in what Hamas and the PA both call an assassination. The IDF says it received intelligence that Abu Shilbaya might be armed and fired on him “when they felt their lives were threatened.” Hamas vows revenge against Israel and the PA, accusing the PASF of collusion, noting that they arrested Abu Shilbaya just days before. Simultaneously with the assassination, the IDF conducts arrest sweeps in Nur Shams, detaining 11 suspected Hamas mbrs. During the day, Palestinians (accompanied by Israeli and international activists in some locations) hold weekly nonviolent demonstrations against the separation wall, land confiscations, and settlement expansion in Bil‘in, Ni‘lin, and Nabi Salih/Dayr Nizam. IDF soldiers fire rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas, and stun grenades at the protesters; 10s suffer tear gas inhalation and 1 Palestinian is moderately injured. (WP 9/18, 9/22; PCHR 9/23; OCHA 9/24)

Overnight, the IDF carries out 7 air strikes on Gaza (3 on Rafah tunnels and 4 on Hamas targets: 2 in Gaza City, 1 each on Bayt Hanun and Dayr al-Balah) and fires 6 tank shells across the border at Bayt Hanun in retaliation for recent Palestinian rocket and mortar fire, injuring 2 Hamas mbrs. In response, unidentified Palestinians fire another Qassam rocket fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night patrols in villages nr. Qalqilya, Salfit, and Tulkarm, checking Palestinian IDs but making no arrests. Palestinians (accompanied by Israeli and international activists in some locations) hold weekly nonviolent demonstrations against the separation wall, land confiscations, and settlement expansion in Bil‘in and Ni‘lin. IDF soldiers fire rubbercoated steel bullets, tear gas, and stun grenades at the protesters; 10s suffer tear gas inhalation, 1 Palestinian is moderately injured. (JP, YA 9/10; AFP 9/12; PCHR 9/16; OCHA 9/17)

Unidentified Palestinians fire a homemade Qassam rocket fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In response to this attack and the 8/31–9/2 Hamas shootings in the West Bank, the IDF carries out 2 air strikes on Rafah tunnels (killing 2 Palestinians, injuring 2) and 1 on a tunnel on the Gaza-Israel border e. of Abassan in s. Gaza (causing no reported injuries). In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in Tulkarm in the morning, making no arrests; occupies a Palestinian home in Hebron as an observation post; conducts evening and late-night patrols in villages nr. Nablus, Qalqilya, and Tulkarm, making no arrests. For a second day, Jewish settlers gather at the evacuated Homesh settlement site nr. Nablus and stone passing Palestinian vehicles. (CNN, JP 9/5; PCHR 9/8; OCHA 9/17)

Direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations are formally relaunched at a ceremony at the State Dept. in Washington, with Abbas and Netanyahu pledging to meet again on 9/13–14 in Egypt and then every 2 weeks thereafter to “keep momentum going.” Clinton, Abbas, Netanyahu, and U.S. special envoy George Mitchell meet, after which Abbas and Netanyahu meet privately for 90 mins. Mitchell then announces that the leaders have decided to work toward a “framework agreement” within a year that would outline “the compromises each side must be ready to make” to achieve peace as a 1st step before attempting to iron out a comprehensive peace treaty. (NYT, WP, WT 9/3)

For a 3d day in a row, IQB gunmen fire on a Jewish settler vehicle driving in West Bank area C, causing no injuries. Asked if Hamas’s political leadership approved the recent string of shootings, West Bank IQB spokesman Abu Ubaidah says the operations are “in harmony with the attitude of the political wing.” The PASF says that since the 1st shooting on 8/31, they have detained 300 Hamas mbrs. Late in the evening, the IDF patrol in villages nr. Jericho, Nablus, Qalqilya, and Salfit, making no arrests; conducts arrest raids in Hebron (shooting and wounding 1 Palestinian, releasing him to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society) and neighboring al-‘Arub r.c. Jewish settlers fr. Halamish settlement nr. Ramallah stone Palestinian vehicles driving by the settlement. Jewish settlers fr. Shilo settlement nr. Ramallah stone Palestinian cars on the Ramallah–Nablus road. Unidentified Jewish settlers stone Palestinian vehicles driving nr. Nablus. PCHR reports that Israel’s Gihon Water Company recently sent letters to churches and nunneries in the Old City of Jerusalem warning that their water service will be cut off if they do not immediately pay water consumption fees accumulated since 1967; historically, religious establishments in Jerusalem have been exempt from such fees. (PCHR 9/2; WP 9/4; PCHR 9/8; OCHA 9/17)

On the eve of ceremonies reopening direct Israeli-Palestinian talks, U.S. Pres. Barack Obama holds separate meetings with Abbas, Netanyahu, Egyptian pres. Husni Mubarak, and Jordan’s King Abdullah. In the evening, Obama hosts the leaders for a working dinner at the White House. (WP 9/1; NYT 9/2)

In the West Bank, the IDF continues to impose a curfew on Palestinian areas nr. the site of the 8/31 attack nr. Hebron and carries out house-to-house searches for the Hamas mbrs. involved, rounding up scores of Palestinians with suspected ties to the organization. In the evening, IQB gunmen shoot at another Jewish settler vehicle nr. Ramallah, in area C, wounding 2 settlers (1 seriously). The IDF also conducts latenight arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron, and nr. Ramallah, Salfit, Tulkarm. Jewish settlers retaliating for the 8/31 Hamas attack stake out a 15-d. plot of Palestinian land (exact location not reported) for a new settlement outpost but leave the area by nightfall, stone Palestinian vehicles on the Nablus–Qalqilya road, and vandalize a Palestinian home and set fire to adjacent grass land in Hebron. Meanwhile, in Gaza, IDF troops on the Israeli side of the Erez crossing fire warning shots at Palestinians scavenging for construction material in the demolished Erez industrial zone, causing no injuries. The IDF also makes an incursion into the s. Gaza border areas e. of al-Shuka, accompanied by drones and helicopters, but withdraws 6 hrs. later without incident. (NYT, PCHR 9/2; PCHR 9/8; OCHA 9/17)

Hamas’s military wing, the Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades (IQB), takes responsibility for shooting at a Jewish settler vehicle driving nr. Hebron (in area C, under full Israeli control, where the PASF is not allowed to operate), killing 4 Jewish settlers, including a pregnant woman, marking the deadliest West Bank attack on Israelis in more than 2 yrs. and the first staged by Hamas since before the 1/2006 elections. Both Abbas and Netanyahu say the attack should not derail peace talks. The YESHA settlement council vows to renew construction in West Bank settlements immediately, before the temporary freeze ends, to demonstrate Israelis’ “resolve against terrorism.” Following the attack and throughout the night, the IDF seals the entrances to Hebron, Halhul, and al-Fawar r.c. and imposes a curfew on nearby Bani Na‘im village, raiding and searching homes and detaining Palestinians with suspected connections to Hamas. Meanwhile, Jewish settlers implementing their “price-tag” doctrine to punish Palestinians for any state acts against settlers, beat Palestinian farmers working their land nr. Emanuel settlement nr. Salfit and stone Palestinian vehicles traveling on the Nablus–Qalqilya road (2 separate incidents) as well as on a road bypassing Yitzhar settlement nr. Nablus. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba in Hebron attempt to break into a nearby Palestinian home but are prevented by the IDF. Late at night, the IDF patrols 2 villages nr. Salfit; no incidents are reported. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that in the previous wk. 3 Palestinians were killed in 2 separate tunnel collapses on the Rafah border. (NYT, WP, WT 9/1; PCHR 9/2; OCHA 9/3)

The UN reports that Israel has expanded the Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza allowing the number of truckloads of goods crossing daily to increase fr. 100 to 250; despite Israel’s easing of restrictions since 6/17, imports to Gaza are still only 36% of what they were before Hamas’s takeover of Gaza in 6/07. In the West Bank, the IDF raids and threatens to seal Palestinian stores across fr. the Beit Romano settlement in Hebron (site of weekly protests against Israeli settlement expansion); Palestinian and international activists race to the scene to block the soldiers; the IDF arrests 4 Palestinians (released several hrs. later) and 1 international activist (deported). (PCHR 8/12; OCHA 8/13)

The Israeli human rights group Peace Now issues an 8-mo. assessment of Israel’s temporary settlement construction freeze documenting that: (1) construction of at least 600 housing units in over 60 different settlements has begun during the freeze, with at least 492 of those units being constructed in direct violation of the freeze; (2) some 2,000 housing units started before the freeze was implemented on 11/26/09 are currently under construction; and (3) new construction starts during the freeze constitute approximately half of the normal settlement construction pace. (Peace Now press release 8/2)

Unidentified assailants fire 5–7 modified Grad-type rockets apparently fr. the Egyptian desert toward the Aqaba-Elat resort; 1 rocket lands harmlessly nr. the entrance to the Israeli resort town, 2 land inside Jordan (1 harmlessly, the other striking a taxi outside the InterContinental hotel in Aqaba, killing 1 Jordanian and wounding 3), 2 land in the Red Sea. Israel believes the rockets were all intended to strike Elat and calls Hamas “responsible” for the rocket fire; Hamas denies involvement. (JP 8/2; YT 8/3; WT 8/4; KUNA 8/5; HA 8/6; JPI, OCHA 8/13)

Israel’s Jerusalem municipal authority approves construction of 40 settlement housing units in Pisgat Ze’ev settlement in East Jerusalem. In the West Bank, the IDF dismantles and confiscates a Palestinian irrigation network nr. Hebron; patrols in 2 villages nr. Salfit at midday, making no arrests; arrests 3 Palestinian children (ages 13–14) nr. the separation wall nr. Bil‘in; sends undercover units in Jafna village nr. Ramallah late in the evening, raiding 2 Internet cafes and arresting 1 Palestinian; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron, Qalqilya. In Gaza, unidentified Palestinians apparently mishandle explosives in a home in Dayr al-Balah, triggering an explosion that injures 58 Palestinians (including 13 children, 9 women) and damages several surrounding homes. (AP 8/3; PCHR 8/5)

In continued retaliation for the 7/30 Grad strike, the IDF carries out a predawn air strike on c. Gaza assassinating senior Hamas military cmdr. and rocket maker Issa Batran, marking the 1st Israeli assassination in Gaza since Operation Cast Lead (OCL) ended in 1/09. (Israel attempted to assassinate Batran during OCL, making an air strike on his home, killing his wife and 5 of his children.) Later in the day, unidentified Palestinians fire a Qassam rocket fr. Gaza into Israel, damaging a vacant daycare facility. The IDF responds with 2 additional air strikes on a smuggling tunnel and an open area in s. Gaza. IDF troops on the n. Gaza border fire warning shots at Palestinians scavenging for construction materials in the fmr. Jewish settlement sites and in the Erez industrial zone, wounding 3 Palestinians. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night house searches in and around Hebron, summoning several Palestinians for interrogation; fires tear gas and stun grenades at Palestinian, Israeli, and international activists taking part in weekly nonviolent demonstrations against land confiscation and settlement expansion nr. Karme Tzur settlement nr. Hebron. (HA, IDF, YA 7/31; MEZ, NYT, WP 8/1; PCHR 8/5; OCHA 8/13)

IQB mbrs. fire 1 manufactured Grad rocket fr. Gaza into Israel, striking nr. Ashqelon, causing damage but no injuries, marking a serious escalation; the last time Ashqelon was hit by Palestinian rocket fire was in 2/09. Several hrs. later, unidentified Palestinians fire 2 mortars fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In response, the IDF carries out 3 air strikes targeting a training camp for the Hamas-affiliated police in Gaza City (wounding 5 policemen and 16 bystanders, damaging 30 surrounding buildings) and smuggling tunnels on the Rafah border (causing no reported injuries). In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in Bayt Liqya village nr. Ramallah at midday without incident; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron. Palestinians (sometimes accompanied by Israeli and international activists) hold weekly nonviolent demonstrations against the separation wall and land confiscations in Bil‘in (a 45- mbr. Spanish delegation and a 30-mbr. German delegation take part), Ni‘lin, and Dayr Nizam/al-Nabi Salih. IDF soldiers fire rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas, and stun grenades at the protesters, leaving scores suffering tear gas inhalation and arresting 1 Palestinian and 1 international activist. Jewish settlers fr. Brakha nr. Nablus set fire to 100 olive trees and large tracks of agricultural land; IDF soldiers initially fire tear gas and stun grenades at Palestinian civil defense workers who attempt to put out the fire, but finally let the firefighters pass more than half an hour later, after the PA liaison dept. intervenes. (HA, JP, YA 7/30; HA, NYT, WP 7/31; IFM, MEZ 8/1; PCHR 8/5; OCHA 8/13)

Mitchell returns to the region for 3 days of talks with Israeli and Palestinian peace teams, Egyptian pres. Husni Mubarak, and the crown prince of Abu Dhabi Shaykh Muhammad bin Zayid al-Nahayan to press Israel and the Palestinians to resume direct talks. After their meeting, Abbas says he will begin direct talks with Israel if it accepts the 1967 borders as the baseline for negotiations and accepts deployment of international forces to guard them. (UPI 7/17; WP 7/18; AFP 7/19)

IDF troops on the northeastern Gaza border fire 3 artillery shells into an open area e. of Jabaliya, causing no reported injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF escorts Jewish settlers into Kafr Haris village nr. Salfit late at night to conduct religious ceremonies; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Jenin; conducts latenight patrols in Tulkarm without incident. Palestinians and international activists take part in weekly nonviolent demonstrations against land confiscation and settlement expansion nr. Karme Tzur settlement nr. Hebron and outside Beit Romano settlement in Hebron; the IDF fires rubbercoated steel bullets, tear gas, and stun grenades at the protesters, leaving 5 Palestinian injured (including 3 journalists), 10s suffering tear gas inhalation, 1 Palestinian cameraman under arrest, 1 international activist detained for questioning (later released). At least 10 Jewish settlers attack a Palestinian nr. the al-Ibrahimi Mosque/ Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron, moderately injuring him; IDF troops observe but only intervene to defend the settlers when Palestinians try to protect the injured man. In Gaza, Hamas authorities attempting to boost their Muslim credentials, begin enforcing a ban (announced 1 yr. ago) on women smoking water pipes in public. (NYT 7/18; WP, WT 7/19; OCHA, PCHR 7/22)

In East Jerusalem, some 200 Palestinians protesting the settler incident in Silwan on 6/26 and the Jerusalem Planning Commission’s 6/21 preliminary approval for the rezoning and demolition of 22 Palestinian homes demonstrate outside the settlers’ Beit Yonatan apartment building. The Palestinians throw stones, bricks, and Molotov cocktails at Israeli police who attempt to disperse them, leaving 6 policemen injured. In the evening, 10s of Jewish settlers break into the al-Rajabi quarter of Silwan, clashing with local Palestinians and opening fire indiscriminately, causing no serious injuries; IDF troops intervene, firing rubber-coated steel bullets and tear gas at the Palestinians, seriously injuring 1 and lightly injuring 10. Meanwhile, Israel begins construction of 20 new housing units for Jews at the Shepherd Hotel site in East Jerusalem’s Shaykh Jarrah neighborhood. In the West Bank, the IDF fires rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas at Palestinians and international activists staging a weekly nonviolent demonstration against the separation wall nr. Bethlehem (10s suffer tear gas inhalation); conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Hebron, nr. Nablus. In the 2d such incident in Gaza since 3/2010 (see Quarterly Update in JPS 156), Hamas-affiliated police raid the Palestine Islamic Bank, presenting a warrant for the seizure of all the money ($16,000) fr. the account of a Hamas-affiliated educational organization whose assets had been frozen by the PA, taking the money at gunpoint when the teller refuses. Officials of the acting Hamas government say a court had ruled that the PA action freezing the organization’s assets was illegal. (ITV 6/27; NYT 6/28; PCHR 7/1; OCHA 7/2; JPI 7/9)

As announced on 6/1, Egypt opens its side of the Rafah border in both directions to Palestinian medical cases, students, other humanitarian cases with proper travel documents, as well as to foreign passport holders; 1,000s of Gazans stream to the border crossing in hopes of reaching stores in Egyptian Rafah, but Hamas and Egyptian officials allow fewer than 500 out and fewer than 600 in the first day. (The crossing remains open continuously through the end of the quarter, but average daily numbers allowed to cross are slightly lower than these, with Egypt denying entry to a significant number of Palestinians approved for exit by Hamas.) Twice during the day, IDF troops on the Israeli side of the Erez crossing fire warning shots at Palestinians scavenging construction materials inside the Erez industrial zone, wounding 1 Palestinian. Israeli naval vessels fire on Palestinian fishing boats off the n. Gaza coast, forcing them to return to shore. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts evening arrest raids in al-Ma‘sara. Jewish settlers set fire to crop land in 4 Palestinian village nr. Nablus, destroying 450 olive trees and 300 almond trees. (PCHR 6/3; OCHA 6/4)

Based on Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s 5/20 meeting with Mitchell (see 5/19) and a meeting today between Israeli and PA security officials, Israel announces plans to relax some restrictions on West Bank movement and access over the next 2 wks. as a goodwill gesture to support proximity talks. The promised moves include: removing 60 roadblocks (around 10% of total) across the West Bank, various steps to improve Palestinian tourism and trade, and lifting some restrictions on Israeli Palestinians access to the West Bank. (IFM 5/23; JTA 5/24; OCHA, WJW 5/27)

In Gaza, around 20 armed Palestinians vandalize and set fire to an United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) beachside summer camp for refugee children under construction w. of Gaza City, binding the caretaker and leaving him with a letter threatening UNRWA senior staff; Hamas denounces the attack; no group takes responsibility, but previously Islamist extremists have condemned UNRWA for corrupting Gazan youths by introducing them to activities they deem at odds with Islam. The Israeli navy fires on Palestinian fishing boats off the n. Gaza coast, forcing them to return to shore. IDF troops on the n. Gaza border fire warning shots at Palestinians scavenging construction materials fr. former settlement sites nr. Bayt Lahiya, wounding 1 Palestinian. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids in and around Hebron and neighboring al-‘Arub refugee camp (r.c.), in Jenin and Qalqilya, nr. Jericho and Ramallah. (IFM 5/23; NYT 5/24; OCHA, PCHR 5/27; NYT 6/29)

Israel begins a 5-day nationwide civil defense exercise to test the preparedness of civilians, emergency services, local authorities in case of war. Netanyahu stresses that the drill does not mean Israel is expecting or planning a major security engagement. (NYT 5/24)

Israel seals the West Bank and Gaza completely through 5/19 for the Shavuot holidays. For a 2d day, IDF troops make a brief incursion into Gaza e. of Khan Yunis to level land in the no-go zone to clear lines of sight. IDF troops on the n. Gaza border fire warning shots at Palestinian, international activists who stage a nonviolent march to the border fence n. of Bayt Lahiya to protest Israel’s imposition of a no-go zone, causing no injuries. The UN reports that in the previous wk., a Palestinian teenager was seriously injured when he accidentally triggered unexploded IDF ordnance while working his family’s farm nr. the Gaza border fence. Hamas-affiliated police in Gaza execute 3 Palestinians convicted of murder. Jewish settlers who recently took possession of a Palestinian home in Bayt Safafa in East Jerusalem after winning a 12/09 court verdict beat a 90-yr.- old Palestinian woman and her 4-yr.-old grandson passing nr. the house. The Palestinian Authority (PA) circulates a list of 500 products made in Jewish settlements, saying anyone caught selling the goods will be fined and jailed; Israel threatens to confiscate VAT taxes collected on the PA’s behalf (transferred to the PA monthly) to compensate boycotted companies. (JTA 5/18; NYT 5/19; PCHR 5/20; OCHA 5/21)

Israel allows 3 truckloads of aluminum, 3 of wood into Gaza for the 1st time since 6/07 and 10/08, respectively. Late at night, unidentified Palestinians fire a Qassam rocket fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF seizes 7 d. of Palestinian land nr. Ramat Yishai settlement in Hebron claiming security reasons; makes a late-night incursion into al-Ma‘sara, raiding and searching the home of a local organizer of weekly protests against the separation wall, threatening to arrest him if he continues to organize demonstrations. Hamas authorities in Gaza execute 2 Palestinians convicted in a Hamas military court of collaborating with Israel in the assassination of several resistance fighters, marking the 1st executions since Hamas took control of Gaza in 6/07. (JP 4/15; NYT, WT 4/16; OCHA, PCHR 4/22)

IDF tanks and helicopters on the c. Gaza border fire into the Strip at a group of armed Palestinians laying explosive devices along the border, killing 2 Islamic Jihad mbrs. and wounding 3; troops then send bulldozers 400 m into the area to level land and clear lines of sight. Late in the evening, Hamas-affiliated police move into the Rafah border area and order Palestinians to shut smuggling tunnel operations until further notice, allowing operators to retrieve food and other perishable goods from the tunnels before cordoning off the area. In the West Bank, the IDF demolishes 1 Palestinian home nr. Salfit; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron, Jenin, Ramallah, Tulkarm. Armed Jewish settlers fr. Karme Tzur nr. Hebron assault a Palestinian family working the land nearby, firing in the air to scare them off the land. (WP, WT 4/14; OCHA, PCHR, WP 4/15)

In response to recent escalating rocket and mortar fire, IDF warplanes and helicopters carry out 7 early morning air strikes on 2 caravans nr. Khan Yunis (no injuries), a cheese factory in Gaza City (injuring 3 Palestinian children nearby), and a metal foundry in Nussayrat r.c. (no injuries) that Israel claims were weapons factories and arms depots, warning of broader retaliation if rocket attacks continue. The U.S. urges both sides to display restraint. Hrs. later, Hamas issues a statement saying it is working with Gaza factions to reimpose the cease-fire with Israel before it escalates out of control, but also condemns the Israeli air strikes for aggravating the situation and calls on the international community to press Israel to keep retaliation in check. (Salafist groups opposed to Hamas refuse to participate in the ceasefire.) In the West Bank, Palestinians stone a settler vehicle outside Hawara village nr. Nablus, causing it to crash (no word on injuries); the IDF sends troops into Hawara in pursuit of the stone throwers, arresting 1 Palestinian. The IDF also fires rubbercoated steel bullets, stun grenades, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, and international activists taking part in nonviolent weekly demonstrations against the separation wall and settlement expansion in Bil‘in (10s suffer tear gas inhalation; 1 Israeli is arrested), Dayr Nizam/al-Nabi Salih (3 Palestinians injured), al-Ma‘sara (where only Palestinians demonstrated; 4 injured), and Ni‘lin (10s suffer tear gas inhalation); conducts latenight arrest raids, house searches nr. Qalqilya. (AFP, JAZ, NYT, YA 4/2; NYT, WP 4/3; YA 4/7; PCHR 4/8; OCHA 4/15)

IDF troops on the s. Gaza border fire on armed Palestinians laying a roadside bomb nr. the border fence e. of Khan Yunis. When Palestinians return fire, the troops enter the Strip in pursuit, triggering at least 1 buried device and drawing Palestinian mortar fire, which prompts the IDF to move several tanks and armed bulldozers into Gaza, shelling areas outside Khan Yunis. The exchange leaves 2 armed Palestinians, 1 Palestinian bystander, and 2 IDF soldiers dead and 3 IDF soldiers and 6 Palestinians (including at least 2 civilians, one a 13-yr.-old boy) wounded, marking the 1st deadly exchange of fire in Gaza since OCL ended on 1/18/09. The al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, Islamic Jihad, and a group calling itself Palestinian Taliban (believed to be a radical Salafist splinter group opposed to Hamas) claim their fighters were involved in the initial border incident; the Izzedin al-Qassam Brigades claims responsibility for ambushing and firing mortars at IDF troops once they entered Gaza, causing the IDF casualties. In the West Bank, the IDF fires rubber-coated steel bullets, stun grenades, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, and international activists taking part in weekly demonstrations against the separation wall and settlement expansion in Bil‘in (10s suffer tear gas inhalation; 1 Israeli is arrested), Dayr Nizam/al-Nabi Salih (2 Palestinians injured), and Ni‘lin (10s suffer tear gas inhalation). (JP 3/27; WP 3/28; OCHA, PCHR 4/1; PCHR 4/8)

Overnight, the IDF carries out 6 air strikes on smuggling tunnels on the Rafah border, 2 open areas nr. Khan Yunis, and a metal workshop in Gaza City in retaliation for the fatal 3/18 rocket strike; 2 Palestinian civilians are wounded in Rafah. After unidentified Palestinians fire another Qassam rocket into Israel during the day (causing no damage or injuries), the IDF carries out air strikes on a Hamas facility nr. Dahaniyya airport (11 Palestinians injured) and on smuggling tunnels on the Rafah border (injuring 14). In the West Bank, the IDF fires rubber-coated steel bullets, stun grenades, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, and international activists staging nonviolent demonstrations against the separation wall in Bil‘in (10s suffer tear gas inhalation), Budrus village nr. Ramallah (1 Palestinian injured; 3 Palestinians, including 2 journalists arrested), Dayr Nizam/ al-Nabi Salih (11 Palestinians injured), and Ni‘lin (10s suffer tear gas inhalation); protesters in Ni‘lin throw stones at IDF troops, but the other demonstrations are nonviolent. Palestinians also demonstrate against the separation wall at the Qalandia checkpoint, setting fire to tires and throwing stones and bottles at IDF troops, who respond with rubber-coated steel-bullets, injuring 3 and arresting 1. The IDF also carries out late-night arrest raids, house searches in Qalandia r.c. nr. Ramallah. Jewish settlers burn a wooded area of Palestinian land nr. Bet Ayn settlement nr. Hebron. (JP, NYT, YA 3/19; HA, WP 3/20; OCHA, PCHR 3/25)

At a meeting in Moscow, the Quartet issues a strong statement “condemning” Israel’s Ramat Shlomo construction plan, “recalling that the annexation of East Jerusalem is not recognized by the international community,” and reiterating that Israel was obligated irrespective of Palestinian reciprocity to “freeze all settlement activity, including natural growth, dismantle outposts erected since March 2001; and to refrain from demolitions and evictions in East Jerusalem.” (WP 3/19, 3/20; NYT 3/21)