The Palestine Chronology

Fatah PA pres. Abbas and Hamas leader Mishal end 2 days of talks in Qatar on forming by Fatah-Hamas consensus a transitional government of independent technocrats with a limited mandate to take the Palestinians to new presidential and parliamentary elections and to lead reconstruction of Gaza, as agreed under the 5/2011 national unity deal. To overcome international concerns about Hamas’s participation and differences between Fatah and Hamas regarding who should serve as PM (Hamas strongly opposed current PA PM Salam al-Fayyad), the sides agree that Abbas would lead the transitional government, serving as both pres. and PM. They stress that the new government “will be a technical one more than a political one” and that diplomacy will rest with the PLO. A meeting of all Palestinian factions is set for 2/18 to endorse the plan. Israeli PM Netanyahu immediately denounces Abbas for “joining forces with the enemies of peace.” The EU and U.S. say they look forward to continuing their support of the PA, provided the new government is committed to the Quartet principles of nonviolence, recognition of Israel, and adherence to existing peace agreements. (NYT, WP 2/6; AP, NYT, WP 2/7; see also MNA 2/5)

Unidentified Palestinians fire a Qassam rocket fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In response, Israeli warplanes make late-night air strikes on open areas nr. the Gaza border n. of Bayt Hanun, causing no reported injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in 2 villages nr. Ramallah and 1 nr. Salfit; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Tulkarm and nr. Jenin and Nablus. Just outside East Jerusalem nr. al-Tur, Israeli border police and an undercover unit bulldoze 20 d. of Palestinian land, demolishing 2 walls, 3 natural caves, and a water network supplying several Palestinian homes. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba settlement in Hebron escorted by IDF troops begin planting trees on 150 d. of nearby Palestinian agricultural land that the IDF previously declared a closed military zone. (PCHR 2/9; OCHA 2/10)

In a 45-min. phone conversation, U.S. secy. of state Hillary Clinton sharply rebukes Netanyahu for the 3/9 Ramat Shlomo construction approval, demanding that Israel prove its desire to seek peace by revoking the plans, stating that the U.S. viewed his apology for the timing of the announcement alone as inadequate. She lists several additional steps the U.S. expects Israel to take to support the peace process and warns of consequences if Israel does not comply; no details are made public (State Dept. press release 3/12; WP 3/13; HA 3/15)

The IDF makes a day-long incursion 200 m into Gaza e. of Jabaliya, later moving s. toward Gaza City, to level land along the border fence to clear lines of sight. IDF troops on the n. Gaza border nr. Bayt Hanun fire on Palestinians scavenging construction materials from destroyed buildings, forcing them to flee, causing no injuries. Late in the evening, the IDF makes air strikes on a suspected weapons lab in Khan Yunis in retaliation for Palestinian rocket fire on 3/11, causing no reported injuries; Israeli naval vessels fire on a Palestinian fishing boat off the Bayt Lahiya coast, forcing it to return to shore. Israel, fearing serious Palestinian protests after Friday prayers over the 3/9 Ramat Shlomo construction approval, imposes a general closure on the West Bank through 3/16 and deploys extra units of riot police around Jerusalem; no violence is reported. In an effort to halt weekly Palestinian protests against the separation wall, the IDF issues a military order declaring Bil‘in and Ni‘lin closed military zones on Fridays until 8/17. Today the order is ignored: Palestinian, Israeli, and international activists stage a nonviolent march to the separation wall in Bil‘in and a protest against the wall in Ni‘lin, where some of them throw stones at IDF troops. In both cases, IDF troops fire rubber-coated steel bullets, stun grenades, tear gas (injuring 2 Palestinians in Bil‘in; arresting 1 Palestinian, 1 Israeli in Ni‘lin). The IDF also fires rubber-coated steel bullets, stun grenades, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, and international activists staging a nonviolent protest against settlement expansion nr. Dayr Nizam/al-Nabi Salih (injuring 18); fires stun grenades and beats Palestinian and international activists demonstrating against the separation wall in al-Ma‘sara village s. of Bethlehem (injuring 2 Palestinians). Jewish settlers fr. Eli nr. Nablus uproot 40 Palestinian olive trees in nearby Qaryut village. (YA 3/12; OCHA, PCHR 3/18)

IDF troops inside Israel fatally shoot an armed Palestinian who approaches the s. Gaza border. The IDF also bulldozes 5 d. of Palestinian land inside the border fence nr. Wadi al-Silqa; later conducts arrest raids, house searches in Wadi al-Silqa, detaining 3 Palestinians. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night house searches in and around Nablus but makes no arrests; fires rubber-coated steel bullets, percussion grenades, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, international activists taking part in the weekly nonviolent demonstration against the separation wall in Bil‘in (injuring 8, including 3 children). Jewish settlers fr. Efrat uproot 100 Palestinian olive trees to make way for new construction begun on 3/23. Palestinians stone Jewish settler vehicles nr. Ramallah, causing no injuries. In n. Gaza, 50,000 Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Fatah al-Yasir (an AMB offshoot) supporters hold a peaceful demonstration calling on the Arab League summit assembling in Damascus to find a way to break Israel’s siege of Gaza. In Jabaliya r.c., 2,000 Palestinians attend a rally organized by Islamic Jihad to call on Fatah and Hamas to form a unity government. (OCHA 4/2; PCHR 4/3)

In Gaza, the IDF sends tanks, a bulldozer into the Gaza airport site, exchanging heavy fire (heavy machine guns, mortars) with Hamas mbrs., causing no reported injuries; occupies a strip of land in the al-Hawouz area northeast of Bayt Lahiya. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in Mas’ha nr. Salfit, firing percussion grenades and live ammunition in residential areas, causing no reported injuries; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Jenin, Nablus; begins bulldozing confiscated land nr. Salfit for the expansion of the Burkin industrial zone; fires rubber-coated steel bullets, percussion grenades, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, international activists taking part in nonviolent demonstrations against the separation wall in Bil‘in (injuring 5, including a journalist covering the demonstration) and al-Ma‘sara nr. Bethlehem (lightly injuring 3). Hamas, Islamic Jihad mbrs. exchange fire in Khan Yunis’s al-Rihab Mosque, wounding 3 Palestinians, after Hamas allegedly attempts to seize control of the building. (OCHA 10/24; PCHR 10/25)