The Palestine Chronology

IDF troops on the n. Gaza border fire on Palestinians scavenging for construction materials at a demolished garbage collection center, wounding 1. IDF troops on the s. Gaza border shoot, wound an unarmed Palestinian who strays nr. the border fence e. of Abasan. In the West Bank, the IDF enters Tulkarm in the morning, patrolling streets and photographing the Palestinian Technical College; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Tulkarm. In East Jerusalem, Israeli authorities demolish a Palestinian car wash, auto repair shop, and 2 other portable structures in Bayt Hanina. (OCHA reports that another 7 Palestinian structures were demolished in Issawiyya and al-Tur between 10/27 and 11/2.) Meanwhile, at a dedication ceremony in Dahiyat al-Barid (in East Jerusalem but on the Palestinian side of the separation wall), PA PM Fayyad announces that the PA has renovated 15 schools in East Jerusalem in defiance of Israel’s ban on PA activity in East Jerusalem, saying “we are translating steadfastness into facts on the ground.” Fayyad had planned to attend the inauguration of the new schools in Shaykh Jarrah and Shu‘fat as well, but decided not to after Netanyahu pointedly renewed (11/1) his ban on allowing Palestinian leaders to carry out official business in the city and ordered security services to halt the visit if Fayyad proceeded. The Court of First Instance in Gaza sentences a Palestinian man to death by hanging for kidnapping and killing a 9-yr.-old girl in 2004. (JTA, UNSCO 11/2; NYT 11/3; PCHR, WJW 11/4; OCHA 11/5; see also AFP, HA 11/1)

The Israeli human rights group Peace Now estimates that Jewish settlers have started work on 600 settlement housing units in at least 36 settlements since the freeze ended on 9/26. At least half of the construction is to lay foundations for new houses—a priority for settlers in anticipation of reimposition of the temporary settlement freeze, which allowed construction to continue on units that already had their foundations poured. (NYT, WP 10/22)

Egypt allows an aid convoy of 140 vans to enter Gaza through the Rafah crossing; the humanitarian goods were provided by London-based pro-Palestinian activists. Unidentified Palestinians fire a mortar fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. IDF troops on the Israeli side of the Erez crossing fire warning shots at Palestinians scavenging for construction materials inside the destroyed industrial zone, wounding 2. IDF troops also enter Gaza briefly to retrieve an unmanned Israeli drone that crashed nr. the northern border. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols without incident in villages nr. Jericho, Ramallah, Tulkarm; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron. Palestinians report (PCHR 10/21) that in the previous week: (a) the IDF confiscated 130 d. of Palestinian agricultural land nr. Qalqilya for construction of a “security road” past Keddumim settlement, and (b) Jewish settlers seized and leveled 100 d. of Palestinian agricultural land located between the separation wall and the Green Line, accessible to the Palestinian owners only through a gate in the fence that the IDF opens only occasionally. In East Jerusalem, Israeli police raid and search a Palestinian clothing store. (AFP, JP, PCHR 10/21; NYT 10/22; PCHR 10/28; OCHA 10/29)

In his first statement since the 10/8 Arab League decision, Netanyahu, at the opening of the fall session of the Knesset, publicly offers a “limited” extension of its partial settlement freeze if the Palestinians recognize Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people. Abbas rejects this as a key concession that Israel seeks as a basis to reject Palestinian refugees’ right of return to their homes in Israel, noting that the PLO formally recognized the State of Israel in an exchange of letters before signing the 1993 Oslo Accord. The State Dept. suggests that Abbas make a counter offer to keep the process going. (AFP, NYT, WP 10/11; AFP, HA 10/12)

Meanwhile, Israel’s ministerial comm. on legislation sends a bill to the Knesset for a second reading that would require a national referendum before any territory could be ceded in a peace agreement. (JTA, NYT 10/11)

Israeli naval vessels fire on Palestinian fishing boats off the n. Gaza coast, forcing them to return to shore. In the West Bank, IDF undercover units make an incursion into Silwan in East Jerusalem, arresting 4 Palestinian boys (ages 12–13), firing rubber-coated steel bullets, stun grenades at stone-throwing youths who confront them, seriously wounding a 14-yr.-old Palestinian boy; all 4 boys arrested are released on 10/12. The IDF also conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Qalqilya. An Israeli military court sentences Abdullah Abu Rahma, head of the Popular Committee Against the Wall in the West Bank village of Bil‘in who organizes the weekly demonstrations against the separation wall, to 1 year in jail (including time served) and a $1,250 fine; Abu Rahma was arrested in 12/09 and convicted in 8/2010 of incitement and participating in illegal demonstrations. PA PM Salam Fayyad holds a groundbreaking ceremony to inaugurate a new agroindustrial park in the Jordan Valley, which is expected to create 10,000 new Palestinian jobs. (JTA 10/12; Israel National News, WT 10/13; PCHR 10/14; OCHA 10/15; Irish Times 10/21; UNSCO 10/22)

Ansar al-Sunna, a Salafist militant group opposed to Hamas, fires a Qassam rocket fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. The IDF responds with air strikes on 2 open areas along the s. Gaza border and on a Hamas training site in central Bayt Hanun in n. Gaza; no casualties are reported, but significant damage to surrounding civilian buildings is noted in Bayt Hanun. The IDF also conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around East Jerusalem and nr. Bethlehem, Ramallah. (JP 5/19; PCHR 5/20; AFP, JP 5/21; OCHA, PCHR 5/27)

U.S. special envoy George Mitchell arrives in the region for 2 days of indirect Israeli-Palestinian talks, marking the first full round of “proximity talks” since their launch on 5/9. The sides continue to differ on the agenda for talks and which issues should be negotiated first. (CSM, IFM, WP 5/20; WSJ 5/21)