The IDF fatally shoots a Palestinian involved in a traffic altercation with an IDF jeep nr. Jenin; occupies 2 medical clinics in Nablus, firing fr. the facilities on stone-throwing Palestinians,...
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December 30, 2002
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December 26, 2002
The IDF reoccupies Bethlehem following Christmas celebrations, reimposes a 24-hr. curfew on residents; assassinates local AMB head Jamal Yahya in Tulkarm; assassinates Hamas mbr. Bassam Ashqar,...
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December 23, 2002
The IDF assassinates wanted Hamas mbrs. Shaman Subuh, Mustafa Baqash in Jenin; demolishes 8 Palestinian homes, 3 brick factories, a dairy farm and damages 18 other homes in Rafah; demolishes 1...
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December 18, 2002
The IDF opens fire on a group of Palestinian youths in Rafah who refuse to disperse, killing a 15-yr.-old Palestinian; fires on stone-throwing students returning fr. school in Nablus during break...
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December 17, 2002
The IDF shells residential areas of Khan Yunis, killing a 17-yr.-old Palestinian inside his home; demolishes 6 Palestinian homes, fires on residential areas in Rafah; fires on stone-throwing...
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December 15, 2002
The IDF captures 2 armed Hamas mbrs. originally fr. Gaza attempting to sneak into Israel across the Egyptian border, plotting to kidnap an IDF soldier, take him to Gaza, hold him hostage for the...
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December 14, 2002
The IDF imposes a curfew on Nablus, closes local al-Najah University, sparking clashes with local students that leave 9 Palestinians injured; demolishes 2 Palestinian homes nr. Netzarim settlement...
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December 9, 2002
The IDF fatally shoots a mentally disabled Palestinian riding a donkey nr. Tulkarm when he refuses orders to halt; the man had been detained, released by IDF soldiers in the area on numerous...
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November 29, 2002
The IDF imposes a curfew on Ramallah; blows up 2 Palestinian homes before dawn in Jalbun; conducts arrest raids targeting AMB, Hamas mbrs. in Nablus; safely detonates a roadside bomb found in East...
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November 27, 2002
Before dawn, IDF helicopters fire 5 missiles at a school in Khan Yunis, extensively damaging it; fatally shoots a Palestinian drummer going alley-to-alley in Askar r.c. nr. Nablus despite the...
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November 25, 2002
Under pressure fr. the U.S. to end its op-erations in the city quickly, the IDF pulls out of main areas of Bethlehem before dawn. The IDF also opens fire on 100s of Palestinian schoolchildren who...
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November 24, 2002
The IDF fires on Palestinians waiting to cross an IDF checkpoint w. of Nablus, killing 1 Palestinian; conducts house-to-house searches, arrests in Aida r.c., Bayt Umar,...
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November 16, 2002
In response to an Islamic Jihad ambush of Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and settler security officers in Hebron on 11/15, the IDF sends tanks into Hebron, bulldozes 5...
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October 27, 2002
A Hamas suicide bomber is discovered outside a café in Ariel settlement, captured and pinned down by 3 IDF soldiers, fatally shot by 2 Jewish settlers; the gunfire triggers the bomber’s explosives...
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October 9, 2002
The IDF makes a predawn raid on Salfit, imposing a curfew, blowing up 2 Palestinian homes; fires on Palestinian protesters in Rafah, killing 2 Palestinian teenagers, wounding 25 others (including...
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October 8, 2002
The IDF fires on stone-throwing Palestinian youths in Bayt Lahia, Jenin, Rafah r.c. (killing a 12-yr.-old Palestinian girl inside her house); kills 1 Palestinian nr. Tulkarm who was allegedly en...
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October 7, 2002
Before dawn, the IDF sends 40 tanks and helicopters into Khan Yunis, occupying and blowing up buildings, firing on residential areas, killing a total of 14 Palestinians; in one...
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October 5, 2002
The IDF fires on stone-throwing Palestinian youths violating the curfew in Nablus, killing 1 Palestinian teenager; sends an APC into the demolished areas of Arafat's Ramallah compound for the 1st...
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September 21, 2002
In Ramallah, the IDF continues demolition work at the PA compound, setting fire to storehouses, bulldozing the Ramallah governate building; says it now seeks the extradition of 50 Palestinians...
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September 19, 2002
A Hamas suicide bomber detonates a device on a bus in Tel Aviv, killing 5 Israelis, injuring more than 50. Sharon convenes his cabinet, which unanimously decides to launch Operation Matter of Time...
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September 17, 2002
In Nablus, 9 schools hold classes in violation of the ongoing curfew; the IDF blocks 3 other schools fr. opening. In Yatta, a nail bomb explodes in the courtyard of an elementary...
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September 10, 2002
The IDF raids Beitunia, imposes a curfew, fires on and raids the local PA General Intelligence office, killing wanted Palestinian Mahmud Harfush, wounding 2 General Intelligence...
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August 29, 2002
The IDF shells and raids Rafah, fatally shooting a 7-yr.-old Palestinian boy, demolishing 21 stores, firing at a Reuters camera crew (damaging a video camera but causing no injuries); conducts...
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August 24, 2002
The IDF fatally shoots AMB Jenin cmdr. Muhammad al-Ott, wounds 5 in a shoot out in Jenin; fires tank shells at stone throwers in Nablus, injuring 9 Palestinians; reimposes the curfew on Hebron;...
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August 19, 2002
The IDF turns over control of Bethlehem, the main n.+ns. road in Gaza to the PA Preventive Security Force (PSF), lifts the curfew on Bethlehem, keeps troops on the outskirts of the...
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August 18, 2002
The IDF temporarily lifts the curfew on Hebron; shells residential areas of Khan Yunis, destroying 1 Palestinian home; bulldozes 3 Palestinian homes s. of Nablus; conducts arrest...
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August 16, 2002
The Israel Defense Force (IDF) continues to reoccupy 7 Palestinian towns (Bethlehem, Hebron, Jenin, Nablus, Qalqilya, Ramallah, Tulkarm) and impose 24-hr. curfews on most population centers, tight...
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August 10, 2002
In Nablus, IDF soldiers halt a Palestinian electric company employee driving a company truck who is returning fr. making authorized repairs during a curfew, kill him with 1 shot to the head; the...
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August 5, 2002
In light of the increase in violence, Ben-Eliezer promises a "long list of actions" in the West Bank and Gaza that would "make the closure much bigger than it is now"; bans all Palestinian travel...
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August 3, 2002
In Nablus, the IDF conducts arrest raids, searches homes; bulldozers block entrances to Nablus's old city with dirt; tanks, APCs patrol, tightly enforcing curfew. The IDF fatally shoots a...
The IDF fatally shoots a Palestinian involved in a traffic altercation with an IDF jeep nr. Jenin; occupies 2 medical clinics in Nablus, firing fr. the facilities on stone-throwing Palestinians, killing 1 Palestinian; fires on 3 Palestinians allegedly attempting to infiltrate the Israeli border fence in the Negev, killing 1 Palestinian (2 others escape); fatally beats a 17-yr.-old Palestinian for violating the curfew in Hebron; demolishes 1 Palestinian home in Dura; denies an ailing Palestinian woman passage through a checkpoint to a clinic, allowing her to die; conducts arrest raids nr. Tulkarm. Israeli courts sentence an Israeli Arab taxi driver to 15 yrs. for driving 2 suicide bombers to Tel Aviv, an East Jerusalem Palestinian to 6 yrs. for providing Palestinian militants with information used to carry out attacks on Israelis. (HA, JTA 12/30; NYT, WP, WT 12/31; LAW, PCHR, WP 1/1; NYT 1/2; PRCS press release 1/5)
The Israeli Central Elections Comm. decides to follow Atty. Gen. Rubinstein’s 2/19 advice to disqualify Israeli Arab MK Ahmad Tibi (Ta’al) fr. running in 1/03 elections on the grounds that he does not support the Jewish character of the State of Israel, supports armed attacks against it (a charge he denies); turns down a similar request to bar MK `Abd al-Malik Dahamshe and his United Arab List; rules that Herut mbr. Baruch Marzel, the fmr. head of the outlawed Kach movement who placed 2d on Herut’s slate of MK candidates, can participate in the 1/28 elections. The Knesset bans mbrs. of Kach, which advocates the deportation of Arabs fr. Israel and the occupied territories, from holding parliamentary office. (HA 12/30, 12/31; ADL, HA, MM 1/2; DUS 1/2 in WNC 1/3; MA 1/3 in WNC 1/6; WT 1/8; JPI, NYT 1/10)
The IDF reoccupies Bethlehem following Christmas celebrations, reimposes a 24-hr. curfew on residents; assassinates local AMB head Jamal Yahya in Tulkarm; assassinates Hamas mbr. Bassam Ashqar, ambushing his car in Ramallah, also killing a Palestinian bystander; raids Qabatiyya, assassinating local Islamic Jihad leader Yusif Abu Rub, demolishing his family house, arresting local Izzeddine al-Qassam Brigades head Natzir Nazal, senior Hamas mbr. Talal al-Baz; sends undercover units into a hospital in Ramallah, fatally shooting wanted Palestinian Samir al-Shamali, who was working there as a guard, in what may be an assassination, sparking demonstrations, clashes with local residents that leave 1 Palestinian stone thrower dead; fatally shoots 2 Palestinians “approaching” Netzarim settlement; fires on demonstrators protesting the curfew in Nablus, killing 1 Palestinian, wounding 20; raids a village n. of Ramallah, firing stun grenades, causing an elderly Palestinian to suffer a fatal heart attack; imposes a curfew on Beitunia, sends 30 tanks into the town; conducts house-to-house searches, arrest raids in Qalqilya; fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis. The PA accuses Israel of stepping up attacks on Palestinians in an effort to scuttle Fatah-Hamas talks in Cairo. The IDF also announces that it has begun building 300-yd.-wide buffer zones around several Jewish settlements in the West Bank (see Quarterly Update in JPS 126). Palestinians fire 2 mortars at a Jewish settlement in Gaza, causing damage but no injuries. This evening, Israeli DM Shaul Mofaz orders the IDF to step up pressure on militant groups in the territories. (HP, LAW, PCHR, PM 12/26; HA, NYT, WP, WT 12/27; AYM, Interfax, ITAR-TASS, al-Quds 12/27, De Standaard 12/28 in WNC 12/31; NYT, WT 12/28; LAW, PCHR 1/1)
The IDF assassinates wanted Hamas mbrs. Shaman Subuh, Mustafa Baqash in Jenin; demolishes 8 Palestinian homes, 3 brick factories, a dairy farm and damages 18 other homes in Rafah; demolishes 1 home, 3 blacksmith shops in Hebron; fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis; bulldozes part of the Silwan Sports Club in East Jerusalem; makes arrest raids in Anabta, Nablus. Israel lifts the curfew on Bethlehem for Christmas, says it will provide free public transportation to any Christian Arabs in Israel or the territories who want to visit the city in the next few days. (HA 12/23; LAW, NYT 12/24; AFP 12/25 in WNC 12/26; LAW, PCHR 12/25)
The Israeli Housing Min. issues tenders to construct 232 new housing units in the ultra-Orthodox West Bank settlement of Emmanuel, even though the settlement is losing residents at the rate of 5% a year. Housing Min. figures show that 1,688 (75%) of the 2,178 tenders for public construction issued between 1/02 and 9/02 were for housing in the territories. Tenders for 28 units in Beitar Ilit, 102 units in Efrat's Givat Hazayit, 76 new units in Ariel, all in the West Bank, were also issued recently. (HA 12/24)
The IDF opens fire on a group of Palestinian youths in Rafah who refuse to disperse, killing a 15-yr.-old Palestinian; fires on stone-throwing students returning fr. school in Nablus during break in the curfew, injuring 8; bulldozes 6 Palestinian homes, 5 dunams of olive trees in Rafah . (JTA, LAW, PCHR 12/18; WP 12/19)
The IDF shells residential areas of Khan Yunis, killing a 17-yr.-old Palestinian inside his home; demolishes 6 Palestinian homes, fires on residential areas in Rafah; fires on stone-throwing students returning fr. school in Nablus during break in the curfew, injuring 9; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Burqa, Dayr al-Balah, Jenin, al-Khadir, Tubas, Tulkarm; searches dorms at Birzeit University. (LAW, NYT, PCHR 12/18)
The IDF captures 2 armed Hamas mbrs. originally fr. Gaza attempting to sneak into Israel across the Egyptian border, plotting to kidnap an IDF soldier, take him to Gaza, hold him hostage for the release of detained Hamas cmdrs.; fatally shoots a Palestinian in Khan Yunis when he leaves his home during curfew to tend to a donkey wounded by IDF shelling; bulldozes 14 Palestinian homes, 7 greenhouses in Rafah; fires on residential areas of Brazil r.c., seriously injuring 2 Palestinian girls; detains for 5 hrs. 6 Palestinian journalists working for foreign news agencies covering a clash in Nablus btwn. IDF soldiers, stone-throwing Palestinians; conducts arrest raids in Bethlehem, Jaba, Nablus. In East Jerusalem, 5 Jewish settlers attack, beat a Palestinian shop owner, threaten to occupy his store. An Israeli court convicts 4 East Jerusalem Palestinians for participation in 8 Hamas attacks, including the 7/02 Hebrew University bombing; 3 other East Jerusalem Palestinians are indicted on charges of plotting attacks on Israelis, including downing a helicopter nr. the Knesset. (HA 12/15; NYT 12/16; LAW, PCHR 12/18; HA 12/24)
The IDF imposes a curfew on Nablus, closes local al-Najah University, sparking clashes with local students that leave 9 Palestinians injured; demolishes 2 Palestinian homes nr. Netzarim settlement; bulldozes 41 dunams of land in al-Mughraqa; uproots 150 trees at an al-`Arub agricultural center; conducts arrest raids in al-Bireh, Birzeit, Jenin, and Qarawat Bani Zaid, targeting the tanzim, arresting at least 14 Palestinians. (HA 12/14; LAW, PCHR, PR 12/18)
The IDF fatally shoots a mentally disabled Palestinian riding a donkey nr. Tulkarm when he refuses orders to halt; the man had been detained, released by IDF soldiers in the area on numerous occasions. Asked why they fired on someone known to be mentally handicapped, the soldier says, “That’s not our problem. We told him to stop and he didn’t.” The IDF also fires on a taxi driving nr. Nablus after dark, during a curfew, killing a Palestinian woman, wounding her husband, 3d passenger; fires on a UNRWA school bus, injuring 1 Palestinian student; fires rubber-coated steel bullets at Palestinians waiting to cross the Qalandia checkpoint, the Abu Hualy roadblock; demolishes 2 Palestinian homes in Rafah r.c; conducts arrest raids, searches in Bayt Furik, Bayt Rima, Khan Yunis, al-Qarara, Tulkarm. A 3d Palestinian dies of injuries received on 9/24/02. (NYT, WP 12/10; LAW, PCHR, PR 12/11)
The IDF imposes a curfew on Ramallah; blows up 2 Palestinian homes before dawn in Jalbun; conducts arrest raids targeting AMB, Hamas mbrs. in Nablus; safely detonates a roadside bomb found in East Jerusalem, in an area usually patrolled by Israeli police; safely detonates a 2d explosive device found nr., Baqa’ Sharqiyya; fires residential areas of Bayt Hanun, Dayr al-Balah, Khan Yunis, Tal Zu’rub; conducts arrest raids in al-Qarara; bulldozes 5 dunams of Palestinian land outside Khan Yunis. 2 Hamas gunmen open fire inside Dolah settlement in Gaza, wounding 2 Thai workers, 1 Jewish settler; 1 of the gunmen is shot dead. 2 IDF soldiers are lightly injured in an exchange of gunfire with a Palestinian nr. Neve Dekalim settlement. Israeli police arrest 2 Jews for stabbing, wounding a Palestinian in Jerusalem in an apparent hate crime. (JTA 11/29; HA, NYT, WP 11/30; LAW, PCHR 12/3)
Bush simultaneously imposes and waives a congressionally mandated sanction to “downgrade” the PLO office in Washington for at least 180 days, citing the PA for noncompliance with its commitment to work against violence. (NYT 12/3; MM 12/4; WJW 12/5; HA, WT 12/6; MEI 12/20)
Before dawn, IDF helicopters fire 5 missiles at a school in Khan Yunis, extensively damaging it; fatally shoots a Palestinian drummer going alley-to-alley in Askar r.c. nr. Nablus despite the curfew to declare the start of the day’s Ramadan fast (Ramadan began on 11/6), bars an ambulance fr. reaching him, allowing him to bleed to death. During the day, the IDF fatally shoots 1 Palestinian driving in Bethlehem; holds a Palestinian woman in labor at a Bethlehem checkpoint for 2 hrs., causing her baby to die; conducts arrest raids in Balata r.c., Nablus; raids an emergency clinic in Hebron, vandalizing patient files. A PFLP suicide bomber detonates a car bomb nr. an IDF post in Gaza, killing himself but causing no other injuries. Palestinians fire 5 mortars at Gush Katif settlement, causing no damage or injuries. (LAW, PCHR, PM, UPMRC, WT 11/27; HA, WP 11/28)
Israel’s Interior M Eli Yishai announces his decision to strip Israeli Arab Qays Obeid, now residing in Lebanon, of his Israeli citizenship for allegedly spying for Hizballah, marking the 2d time Yishai has stripped an Israeli Arab of his citizenship. (HA 11/27)
Under pressure fr. the U.S. to end its op-erations in the city quickly, the IDF pulls out of main areas of Bethlehem before dawn. The IDF also opens fire on 100s of Palestinian schoolchildren who defy the curfew in Nablus to go to classes, throw stones at troops, killing an 8-yr.-old Palestinian boy, wounding 13; fires on stone-throwing Palestinian youths in Tulkarm, injuring 4; sur-rounds the PA Supply Min. in Ramallah, orders the surrender of PSF officers, who are then arrested; raids the Muslim Society offices, school in Hebron, confiscating files; halts an ambulance in Qalqilya, arrests the patient; conducts arrest raids in Hebron, Sanur. (NYT 11/25; NYT, WP 11/26; LAW, PCHR 11/27; PRCS press release 12/2)
Israel asks the U.S. for $4 b. in new military aid to “defray the costs of fighting terrorism” plus $10 b. in loan guarantees to support its struggling economy. (HA, WP 11/26; MM, NYT 11/27; MEI 12/6; BBC 12/11)
The IDF fires on Palestinians waiting to cross an IDF checkpoint w. of Nablus, killing 1 Palestinian; conducts house-to-house searches, arrests in Aida r.c., Bayt Umar, Bethlehem, Jit, Tal, Tubas, Tulkarm; raids, fires on residential areas of Rafah, Nablus, Nur al-Shams r.c., Tulkarm; bulldozes 14 dunams of land s. of Dayr al-Balah; raids the al-Ihsan charitable society, Hebron University dean’s offices in Hebron, confiscating computers, files; forces at gunpoint a 24-yr.-old Palestinian to undress in the main street of Nablus, bark like a dog. Late in the evening, the IDF sends 10s of tanks, armored person-nel carriers (APCs) into Qalqilya, imposes a curfew, raids Waqf offices, conducts arrest raids targeting Popular Front for the Lib-eration of Palestine (PFLP) mbrs. The UN sends an envoy to the West Bank to investigate the 11/22 death of a UNRWA official, new charges (11/23) by Israel that Palestinian gunmen were firing from inside the UNRWA’s Jenin r.c. compound, prompting the IDF gunfire. (NYT, WT 11/25; WT 11//26; LAW, PCHR 11/27)
In response to an Islamic Jihad ambush of Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and settler security officers in Hebron on 11/15, the IDF sends tanks into Hebron, bulldozes 5 Palestinian homes and a 50-dunam olive grove btwn. Kiryat Arba and the Ibrahimi Mosque/Tomb of the Patriarchs, imposes a curfew, conducts arrest raids, detaining 40 Palestinians. Right-wing MK Benny Elon holds a prayer rally of Jewish settlers at the site of the ambush; afterward Jewish settlers briefly rampage through Palestinian areas (vandalizing homes with spray-painted messages such as “vengeance” and “every Arab killed —for me it’s a holiday”) until IDF soldiers stop them. The IDF also fatally shoots a Palestinian in Hebron; fires on Palestinians in Jenin, killing 1 Palestinian; shells, fires on residential areas of Nablus, killing 1 Palestinian; bulldozes 2 dunams (4 dunams = 1 acre) of Palestinian land, an electricity generator in al-Mughraqa; shells a workshop in Khan Yunis, destroying it; detains, searches a Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) ambulance for 5 hrs., holding the driver for failure to pay a parking ticket. (PM 11/16; NYT, WP, WT 11/17; MM 11/18; AN 11/18 in WNC 11/19; PCHR 11/20; MEI 11/22; PRCS press release 11/23)
A Hamas suicide bomber is discovered outside a café in Ariel settlement, captured and pinned down by 3 IDF soldiers, fatally shot by 2 Jewish settlers; the gunfire triggers the bomber’s explosives, killing the 3 soldiers restraining him, wounding 18 soldiers and settlers. After hearing news of the bombing, Jewish settlers fr. Itamar attack Palestinians, international peace activists harvesting olives outside Yanun, injuring 6 activists, including 2 Americans (ages 68 and 74), 2 Israelis. IDF troops fatally shoot 2 Islamic Jihad mbrs. in an apparent assassination in Nablus, wounding a 7-yr.-old boy; fatally shoot 1 Palestinian checking the water tank on his roof in Jenin during the curfew; fatally shoots a Palestinian youth standing outside his home in Jenin r.c.; bulldozes 7 Palestinian homes in Rafah; bulldozes water wells, greenhouses in Muraj. A PA security court sentences a Palestinian to life with hard labor for collaborating with Israel. (al-Quds 10/27 in WNC 10/31; MM, NYT, WP, WT 10/28; MA 10/28 in WNC 10/28; LAW, PCHR 10/30; JPI, MEI 11/8)
The IDF makes a predawn raid on Salfit, imposing a curfew, blowing up 2 Palestinian homes; fires on Palestinian protesters in Rafah, killing 2 Palestinian teenagers, wounding 25 others (including a 1-yr.-old boy); lifts the day curfew on e. Nablus (see 10/7); fires on residential areas and 2 schoolyards in Khan Yunis, injuring 8 Palestinians (at least 4 of them children). The IDF removes caravans fr. 2 unoccupied settler outposts in the West Bank; Jewish settlers dismantle 2 other unoccupied outposts. Jewish settlers block, attack a group of 5 international peace activists, 100 Palestinians attempting to reach Palestinian olive groves btwn. Elon Moreh and Itamar settlements, injuring 6 Palestinians; the IDF intervenes, orders Palestinians to leave. Israel releases Reuters journalist Jussry al-Jamal whom the IDF has held without charge since arresting him 5 mos. ago during Operation Defensive Shield; 3 other Palestinian journalists detained in 4/02, a reporter for al-Quds and 2 photographers for Agence France-Presse, are still being held. Israel also links Tubas, 21 surrounding villages to the Israeli electricity grid; the PA funded the $517,000 cost of the link-up. (HA, MM, PCHR 10/9; HA, NYT, PM, WP, WT 10/10)
The IDF fires on stone-throwing Palestinian youths in Bayt Lahia, Jenin, Rafah r.c. (killing a 12-yr.-old Palestinian girl inside her house); kills 1 Palestinian nr. Tulkarm who was allegedly en route to stage a suicide bombing; fires on a busload of university students in Jenin, wounding 8; conducts arrest raids in Hebron, Nablus, Ramallah, Tulkarm. 2 Palestinians die of injuries received in the 10/7 IDF attack on Khan Yunis, which Sharon describes as a "success" despite the fact that the IDF failed to capture or kill 2 Hamas mbrs. targeted in the attack. Palestinians fire on a settler vehicle nr. Hebron, wounding 4 Jewish settlers; Jewish settlers assault Palestinians on the street, break windows of Palestinian cars; the IDF reinforces troops in the city, reimposes a curfew, but does not intervene to stop settler attacks. (HA, NYT, PCHR, PM, WP, WT 10/9)
Before dawn, the IDF sends 40 tanks and helicopters into Khan Yunis, occupying and blowing up buildings, firing on residential areas, killing a total of 14 Palestinians; in one incident a missile fired by an IDF helicopter at a Palestinian crowd kills 10 Palestinians, wounds more than 100; in a 2d incident, troops fire on a hospital where 100s of Palestinians are gathered to check on the status of relatives, leaving a hospital worker clinically dead, seriously injuring 3 (including a child shot in the neck), and firing grenades at the admin. office, equipment and supplies dept., training dept., and other facilities. The IDF the raid is part of its new strategy to put pressure on Hamas (see 9/24), calling Khan Yunis a "nest of terror." The IDF lifts the day curfew on w. Nablus; shoots at, mortally wounds a Palestinian motorist on the Nablus + n. Qalqilya road, blocks an ambulance fr. reaching him, allowing him to bleed to death; shells around an elementary school in Jenin while class is in session, causing damage to the school but no injuries; raids a school in the al-Mawasi area of Gaza, arresting 1 staff mbr.; bulldozes 78 dunams of olive groves nr. Jabaliya r.c. In Gaza City, masked Palestinian gunmen kidnap, murder PSF riot police chief Raghib Abu Lahiya. An attempt by PSF officers to arrest the assailants sparks a clash that leaves 5 Hamas mbrs. dead, 30 other Palestinians injured; Hamas denies involvement, says one of its mbrs. whose brother was killed by Abu Lahiya on 10/1/01 arranged the murder as a personal vendetta. (AP, HA, JTA, MM, PM, WP, WT 10/7; AFP 10/7 in WNC 10/8; MM, NYT, WP, WT 10/8; AFP, MENA, al-Quds, XIN 10/8 in WNC 10/9; AP, MM, NYT, PCHR, PR, WP, WT 10/9; AKH, SA 10/9 in WNC 10/15; NYT, PM, WP 10/10; MEI 10/11; JPI 10/18; MEI 10/25; JPI 11/8)
The IDF fires on stone-throwing Palestinian youths violating the curfew in Nablus, killing 1 Palestinian teenager; sends an APC into the demolished areas of Arafat's Ramallah compound for the 1st time since the IDF pullback on 9/29 (pulls it out by the end of the day); arbitrarily reimposes a curfew on Jenin, immediately firing on a taxi, seriously wounding the driver. Jewish settler attack Palestinians picking olives in Aqraba, pistol whipping several, stealing the day's harvest. (PM 10/5; XIN 10/5 in WNC 10/7; NYT, WP, WT 10/6; NYT 10/8; PCHR 10/9)
In Ramallah, the IDF continues demolition work at the PA compound, setting fire to storehouses, bulldozing the Ramallah governate building; says it now seeks the extradition of 50 Palestinians inside Arafat's offices; warns those inside the remaining building to evacuate or risk being harmed when the IDF blows it up, prompting 1,000s of Palestinians to take to the street in protest, despite the curfew. The IDF fires stun grenades, live ammunition at the crowds, killing 2 Palestinians (including a journalist with Voice of Palestine). (After al-Jazeera TV broadcasts news of the spontaneous Ramallah demonstrations, 1,000s of Palestinians violate the curfews Jenin, Nablus, Tulkarm and rally in Gaza to protest; the IDF kills 1 Palestinian protester in Nablus, a 2d Palestinian in Tulkarm and demolishes 2 Palestinian homes in Qabatya, Qalqilya.) None of the Palestinians in the Ramallah compound evacuates, the IDF does not blow up the building; unnamed Israeli officials suggest the threat was "psychological combat" aimed at making living conditions so unbearable for Arafat that he seeks refuge abroad. The IDF also conducts arrest raids in al-Fara' r.c., Jenin, Rafah; fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis, Rafah; fires on an ambulance in Nablus, damaging it, wounding 1 Palestinian bystander. (PM 9/21; MENA 9/21, ITAR-TASS, XIN 9/22 in WNC 9/23; NYT, PM, WP, WT 9/22; HA 9/23; al-Quds 9/23 in WNC 9/24; MM 9/24; LAW, PCHR, PR 9/25; MEI, MM 9/27; PRCS press release 9/27)
A Hamas suicide bomber detonates a device on a bus in Tel Aviv, killing 5 Israelis, injuring more than 50. Sharon convenes his cabinet, which unanimously decides to launch Operation Matter of Time to "isolate” Arafat, calls for the immediate extradition of around 20 wanted Palestinians (including Force 17 head Mahmud Damara, PA General Intelligence chief Tawfiq Tirawi) allegedly among the 200 Palestinians hiding in Arafat's offices (8 surrender in the evening). The IDF immediately reimposes 24-hr. curfews on all West Bank areas except Hebron; sends tanks into Ramallah to surround Arafat's offices (1 tank fatally shoots a 10-yr.-old Palestinian boy 6 times; troops shoot, wound 2 Arafat bodyguards in the PA headquarters compound); fires on "Palestinian schoolchildren challenging the army's attempt to impose a curfew" in Amari r.c., killing a 11-yr.-old Palestinian; shells residential areas of Rafah; conducts arrest raids in Bayt Hanun (where an IDF tank runs over a roadside bomb, injuring 2 soldiers), Jenin r.c. (blowing up 1 Palestinian home), Nablus, Qalqilya, the Tulkarm area; bulldozes 19 dunams of agricultural land nr. Kefar Darom settlement. Jewish settlers open fire on a Palestinian taxi nr. Tulkarm, seriously injuring the driver. (AP, HA, JTA, LAW, MM, PM 9/19; ATL, ITAR-TASS 9/19 in WNC 9/20; MM, NYT, WP, WT 9/20; Interfax, MA, Radio Monte Carlo 9/20 in WNC 9/23; MEZ, NYT 9/21; AYM 9/23 in WNC 9/25; LAW, PCHR, PR 9/25; MA 9/25 in WNC 9/26; WJW 9/26; MEI 9/27)
In Nablus, 9 schools hold classes in violation of the ongoing curfew; the IDF blocks 3 other schools fr. opening. In Yatta, a nail bomb explodes in the courtyard of an elementary school while classes are in session, lightly injuring 8 Palestinian children; a 2d bomb is found, defused by the IDF; the IDF believes Jewish settlers staged the attack. In Tulkarm, a 14-yr.-old Palestinian is killed in a mysterious explosion; the IDF claims he was making a bomb. The IDF demolishes 9 Palestinian foundries in Khan Yunis allegedly used to manufacture mortars; demolishes 1 Palestinian home in Rafah; conducts arrest raids in Khan Yunis, Nablus; fires on a group of Palestinian children in Askar r.c., wounding 3 teenagers. (HA, REU 9/17; AP, JP, LAW, NYT, PCHR, PM, PR, WP, WT 9/18; AYM 9/20 in WNC 9/23)
The Quartet (the European Union [EU], Russia, UN, U.S.), reps. of Israel and the PA meet in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly opening session. The EU presents the Quartet with a draft “road map” for creation of a Palestinian state with provisional borders in 2003 and full Palestinian statehood by 6/05, the plausible target date mentioned by Bush in his 6/24/02 speech. (REU 9/17; MM, PR, WT 9/18; WJW 9/19; AYM, al-Quds 9/19 in WNC 9/20; AYM 9/20 in WNC 9/23; JT 9/24 in WNC 9/24; MEI 9/27)
The IDF raids Beitunia, imposes a curfew, fires on and raids the local PA General Intelligence office, killing wanted Palestinian Mahmud Harfush, wounding 2 General Intelligence officers; conducts arrest raids in Dahariyya, Nablus; fires on Palestinian stone throwers in Yatta nr. Hebron, injuring 11; demolishes 2 Palestinian homes in Jenin. (LAW, PCHR 9/11; PCHR 9/18)
The PC opens debate on approving the new Executive Authority (EA or cabinet) appointed by Arafat in 6/02; the vote confidence is not held for lack of time. Many PC mbrs. argue that they should reject the EA to underline the need for substantive change of PA policy and style and because several of EA mbrs. have been cited for corruption. (HA, MM, WT 9/10; NYT, WT 9/11)
The IDF shells and raids Rafah, fatally shooting a 7-yr.-old Palestinian boy, demolishing 21 stores, firing at a Reuters camera crew (damaging a video camera but causing no injuries); conducts house searches, arrests in al-Safaya nr. Bayt Lahia; fires rubber-coated steel bullets at a Palestinian stone thrower in Amari r.c., seriously wounding him; fires on residential areas of Jenin, Khan Yunis. In Nablus, the IDF announces a temporary lifting of the curfew, immediately opens fire on Palestinians in the streets, forcing them to go back into their homes; occupies, searches, blows up part of the local PA headquarters; surrounds the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) center, barring ambulances fr. moving. The IDF admits that the 8/28 Shaykh Ajlin attack was an error. Ben-Eliezer agrees to meet with Yahya, but Yahya cancels to protest the Shaykh Ajlin deaths. (HA, MM, PM 8/29; MM, WP, WT 8/30; LAW, PCHR 9/4)
The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington announces that its annual fundraising campaign brought in $20.5 m., up 8% from last year. Of that amount $11.8 m. will be used for projects in the greater Washington area, such as Jewish day schools and community centers, and $7.8 m. will go to Israel and diaspora Jewish communities in Argentina and Ethiopia. The $20.5 m. does not include an additional $18.3 . the federation has raised for its Israel Emergency Campaign since fall 2001. (WJW 8/29)
The IDF fatally shoots AMB Jenin cmdr. Muhammad al-Ott, wounds 5 in a shoot out in Jenin; fires tank shells at stone throwers in Nablus, injuring 9 Palestinians; reimposes the curfew on Hebron; shells residential areas of, razes 69 dunams of agricultural land in Abasan, Khuza; demolishes 3 Palestinian homes in Gaza, allegedly used as cover by AMB mbrs. who attempted to infiltrate Kefar Darom on 8/23; confiscates an apartment building in Hebron as an IDF post; raids a Hebron police station, detaining 1 PSF officer. In Tulkarm, AMB gunmen fatally shoot a Palestinian woman who allegedly collaborated with Israel in the 8/7/02 assassination of local AMB cmdr. Ziad Da'as. (WP, WT 8/25; al-Quds 8/24, XIN 8/25 in WNC 8/26; NYT, WT 8/26; LAW, PCHR 8/28; NYT 9/2)
The IDF turns over control of Bethlehem, the main n.+ns. road in Gaza to the PA Preventive Security Force (PSF), lifts the curfew on Bethlehem, keeps troops on the outskirts of the city, poised to reinvade if the PA fails to maintain security control; 400 PA Preventive Security Force (PSF) officers take up posts around the city. The IDF fatally shoots a 14-yr.-old boy in Jenin for no apparent reason; blows up a building in Nablus that it claims to be a bomb-making factory; raids a PSF post nr. Ramallah, detaining 6 PSF officers; bulldozes 9 dunams (4 dunams = 1 acre) of agricultural land, 1 Palestinian home in Satar al-Gharbiyya; conducts arrest raids in Jenin r.c. (MM 8/19; MM, NYT, WP, WT 8/20; LAW, PCHR, WP 8/21; AKH 8/22 in WNC 8/23; PCHR 8/26)
Fatah Revolutionary Council (FRC) head Sabri al-Banna (Abu Nidal), who broke with the Fatah organization in the 1970s, is found dead in his Baghdad apartment. Iraqi officials say he committed suicide, but do not explain how he suffered multiple gunshot wounds. (HA 8/19; MM, NYT, WP, WT 8/20; NYT, WP, WT 8/21; DUS 8/21 in WNC 8/22; MA 8/29 in WNC 8/30; MM 9/20)
The IDF temporarily lifts the curfew on Hebron; shells residential areas of Khan Yunis, destroying 1 Palestinian home; bulldozes 3 Palestinian homes s. of Nablus; conducts arrest raids in Khan Yunis, Karabatha Bani Harith, Rafah (taking 8 Palestinians to Morag settlement for interrogation); temporarily detains, beats, confiscates the camera of Palestinian journalist for Reuters. Israel's National Religious Party (NRP) reports that 4 new settler bypass roads are under construction in the West Bank. (Hatzofe 8/18 in WNC 8/20; LAW, PCHR 8/21; PCHR 8/26)
In Tel Aviv, Israeli DM Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, PA Interior M `Abd al-Razzaq Yahya agree on implementation of Ben-Eliezer's Gaza First plan: the IDF is to withdraw fr. parts of Gaza and fr. Bethlehem within 48 hrs.; the PA is to take control of security in areas evacuated; if calm is maintained, Israel would extend the arrangement to Hebron. Israel makes no promises to halt assassinations, arrest raids, home demolitions; the PA makes no promises to make preventive arrests of mbrs. of opposition groups. National unity talks among the 12 Palestinian factions making up the National and Islamic Higher Coordinating Comm. of the Intifada (NIHC) reportedly continue in Gaza. (XIN 8/18 in WNC 8/20; MM, NYT, WP, WT 8/19; AFP 8/19, AYM 8/20 in WNC 8/21; MM 8/21; al-Quds 8/21 in WNC 8/22, 8/23; MM 8/22; MA 8/25 in WNC 8/26; JPI, MEI 8/30)
The Israel Defense Force (IDF) continues to reoccupy 7 Palestinian towns (Bethlehem, Hebron, Jenin, Nablus, Qalqilya, Ramallah, Tulkarm) and impose 24-hr. curfews on most population centers, tight restrictions on movement through out the West Bank, Gaza. The IDF demolishes 5 Palestinian homes (2 Anabta, 1 Bayt Hanun, 2 Jenin); conducts arrest raids nr. Hebron. (NYT, WT 8/17; LAW, PCHR 8/21; PCHR 8/26)
In Nablus, IDF soldiers halt a Palestinian electric company employee driving a company truck who is returning fr. making authorized repairs during a curfew, kill him with 1 shot to the head; the IDF later apologizes, says it will investigate. The IDF fatally shoots an armed Hamas mbr. attempting to sneak into Israel fr. Gaza. An AMB gunman infiltrates Mehola settlement, fatally shooting 1 Jewish settler, seriously wounding a 2d before being shot dead. A 4th Palestinian dies of injuries received on 8/7. The IDF use water cannons, horses to break up a nonviolent demonstration by 500 Israeli, Palestinian peace activists nr. a Bethlehem-Jerusalem checkpoint, injuring 2; for no apparent reason opens fire with live ammunition, rubber bullets, percussion grenades on Palestinians waiting to cross Surda checkpoint in Ramallah, seriously injuring 2; bulldozes at least 4 dunams of agricultural land nr. Kefar Darom settlement in Gaza. (NYT, WP, WT 8/11; NYT 8/12; PCHR 8/16)
In light of the increase in violence, Ben-Eliezer promises a "long list of actions" in the West Bank and Gaza that would "make the closure much bigger than it is now"; bans all Palestinian travel in the n. West Bank; seals the s. Gaza Strip. The IDF makes a predawn raid on Burqa village, assassinates wanted AMB mbr. Khalid Sayf, also killing 1 Palestinian bystander; opens fire on a group of Palestinians violating the curfew nr. Nablus, killing a 13-yr.-old Palestinian boy. Palestinian gunmen ambush a settler vehicle nr. Nablus, killing 2 Jewish settlers, wounding 2. A Palestinian car explodes nr. Umm al-Fahm, killing the Palestinian driver and injuring another in what the IDF says was a premature detonation of a suicide bomb; al-Nathir takes responsibility. The IDF says it has captured Hamas mbr. Mazan Fukha, who allegedly plotted the 8/4 bus bombing; shells, demolishes a autobody shop in Gaza City that allegedly served as a weapons factory; conducts arrest raids nr. Khan Yunis, Tubas; shells residential areas nr. Dayr al-Balah. (MM, WP, WT 8/5; AFP 8/5 in WNC 8/5; NYT, WP, WT 8/6; LAW, PCHR 8/7)
With Sharon's permission, Ben-Eliezer presents his Gaza First plan to PA Interior M Yahya, senior PA security officials. (HA, WP 8/6; MM 8/7; HA 8/8; MM 8/16) (see 7/15)
For the 10th yr. in a row, the Anti-Defamation League sponsors a group of U.S. college newspaper editors on a trip (8/5-18) to Israel, Poland, Bulgaria to learn about the history of the Holocaust, the founding of Israel, the Israeli Palestinian conflict. (JTA 8/6)
In Nablus, the IDF conducts arrest raids, searches homes; bulldozers block entrances to Nablus's old city with dirt; tanks, APCs patrol, tightly enforcing curfew. The IDF fatally shoots a Palestinian driving a truck in Hebron just after a curfew had been reimposed without warning; demolishes 8 Palestinian homes (1 Hebron, 5 Jenin, and 2 Nablus) belonging to relatives of Palestinian militants; shells residential areas of Khan Yunis. (NYT, WP, WT 8/4; LAW, PCHR 8/7)