The Palestine Chronology

The IDF sends additional tanks, troops into Nablus, making the incursion begun on 12/18 (now dubbed Operation Still Water) the largest into the city in over a yr., firing on stone-throwing youths, killing 1 Palestinian, wounding 17; closes all roads leading to Tulkarm; erects a number of new roadblocks at entrances to villages around Tulkarm; tightens existing checkpoints, erects 3 new ones around Jenin; demolishes a Palestinian home in Balata r.c.; bulldozes 85 dunams of olive groves east of al-Bureij r.c.; fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis, wounding a Palestinian toddler in her home; conducts arrest raids in Dayr al-Balah. The IDF also bars 2 bus-loads of international peace activists fr. reaching a 2d day of separation wall protests (see 12/26) in Qalqilya, where 1,000s of Palestinians demonstrate, throw stones at IDF troops. Jewish settlers place mobile homes on the 2 sites of unauthorized settlement outposts previously removed by the IDF nr. Hebron. (NYT, WP, WT 12/28; PM 12/29; PCHR 1/1)

The IDF erects a new military post in Shaykh Ajlin s. of Gaza City; bulldozes 3 dunams of land nr. Khan Yunis; conducts arrest raids in Balata, Nablus, Qabatya, Tulkarm; searches houses in Hebron. Palestinians fire a mortar at a Jewish settlement in Gaza, causing no damage or injuries. (VOI, YA 12/8 in WNC 12/10; PCHR 12/11)

The IDF sends tanks, troops into Balata r.c. in a predawn raid, erecting earthen barriers, bulldozing recently repaved streets, occupying at least 2 Palestinian homes as staging areas, conducting house-to-house searches, and firing live ammunition, rubber bullets, tear gas at stone-throwing youths, wounding 14 Palestinians (including a 12- yr.-old hit by a live bullet in the face), 2 ISM volunteers. The IDF alsoissues confiscation orders for 4,000 dunams of Palestinian land in Bethlehem, reportedly for settlement expansion; imposes a curfew on Hawara (nr. Nablus) after Jewish settlers attack local Palestinian farmers harvesting their olives; shoots, wounds a Palestinian child in Tulkarm r.c.; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Hebron, Qalqilya, Silat al-Dahir (nr. Jenin). (VOP 11/4 in WNC 11/6; PCHR, PR 11/5; PCHR 11/6)

Overnight, the IDF sends 25 heavy vehicles, 2 helicopters into Tulkarm city and r.c., nearby Far‘un village; imposes curfews on the areas, seizes a building in central Far‘un as an IDF post, fires on stone-throwing youths who confront the incursion, wounding 4 (ages 9–18). The IDF alsofires on residential areas s. and n. of Rafah; shoots, wounds a farmer working his field nr. Khan Yunis; shoots, wounds a mentally handicapped Palestinian nr. Dayr al-Balah who fails to follow orders to halt; fires on stonethrowing youths nr. Jenin, wounding 2; lifts the curfew on Hebron imposed on 11/1. A 16-yr.-old AMB suicide bomber detonates a device in the West Bank village of Azun as IDF soldiers move in to capture him, wounding 1 soldier. Palestinian Tariq Hussein, wanted in the shooting death of an Israeli girl, turns himself in tothe IDF at a Qalqilya roadblock. The IDF confirms that Jewish settlers fr. Yitzhar settlement, the unauthorized outpost of Mitzpe Yitzhar are suspected of having felled some 500 Palestinian olive trees in ‘Ayn Abus (s. of Nablus) in the past wk., while Palestinians have been under curfew. (JP 11/3; VOP 11/3 in WNC 11/5; MM, NYT 11/4; NYT, PCHR 11/6)

The IDF fatally shoots a Palestinian at a checkpoint in s. Gaza after he opens fire on a car carrying Jewish settlers, wounding 3; fatally shoots a mentally handicapped Palestinian who strays too close to Aley Sinai settlement; conducts arrest raids in Ramallah. Late in the evening, 2 Palestinian gunmen (1 Hamas, 1 Islamic Jihad) infiltrate an IDF barracks at Netzarim settlement, fatally shooting 3 IDF soldiers, wounding 2 before the Hamas mbr. is shot dead, the Islamic Jihad mbr. escapes. 2 Palestinians die of injuries received in the 10/20 IDF attack on Nussayrat r.c., bringing that toll to at least 10. Palestinians also fire a Qassam rocket at the Negev, causing no damage or injuries. In Tulkarm, the AMB executes 2 Palestinians suspected of providing Israel with information used to assassinate an AMB mbr. on 10/4. Israel issues tenders for construction of 333 new housing units in West Bank Jewish settlements. Jewish settlers attack Palestinian cars, property in Hebron. (HA 10/23; VOP 10/23 in WNC 10/25; AFP, HA, MM, NYT, WP 10/24; VOP 10/24, MENA 10/26 in WNC 10/28; NYT, WT 10/25; NYT 10/26; HA, MM 10/27; MM 10/28; AYM 10/28 in WNC 10/30; PR 10/29; PCHR 10/30; MEI 11/7)

The IDF fatally shoots wanted Islamic Jihad mbr. Mazin Salama in Tulkarm; shells residential areas of Rafah, killing 1 Palestinian, wounding 3 (ages 55–65); fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis, critically wounding an 18-mo.-old Palestinian in his home; begins leveling a 120-dunam area of Palestinian land nr. Hebron to create a settlers-only bypass road; discovers, destroys a car bomb in Nablus, allegedly being prepared for an attack in Israel; conducts arrest raids around Jenin. Saying Israel has no responsibility to meet its road map obligations until Palestinians crack down on militant groups, the Israeli Housing Min. approves construction of 600 new housing units in Jewish settlements in and around East Jerusalem. (BBC, HA, MM 10/2; VOP 10/2 in WNC 10/4; NYT, WP, WT 10/3; PCHR 10/9)

The IDF fatally shoots an armed AMB mbr. wearing an IDF uniform at Erez crossing; blows up a Palestinian store in Hebron; raids, imposes a curfew, fires on residential areas of Tulkarm r.c. The IDF alsoreleases a 3d Jewish settler suspected of plotting attacks on Palestinians, saying his movements will be restricted until an investigation is completed. The IDF denies permission to 2 private firms to remove pre-1967 Jordanian landmines fr. an area in East Jerusalem slated for construction of a Palestinian school, stating that although the work would be done by contractors, there would be an unacceptable “risk to soldiers,” who would have to certify their work. (HA 9/8; PCHR 9/11)

The IDF pulls troops out of Nablus; demolishes a Palestinian home nr. Hebron, 1 nr. Tulkarm; fires on residential areas of Balata r.c. (wounding 2), al-Qarara; demolishes 7 shops in Nazlat Issa (see 8/21). A Palestinian gunman fires on a truck leaving a Jewish settlement in Gaza, wounding the driver. (WT 9/1)

In Gaza City, 10,000s of Palestinians march in the funeral procession for Hamas’s Abu Shanab. IDF snipers fire on 3 wanted AMB mbrs. in a “semi-open room” a top a Nablus hospital, assassinating 1 AMB mbr., wounding 2. The IDF retakes control of Gaza’s main north–south road, setting up checkpoints that divide the Strip into thirds; makes brief incursions into Bayt Jala, Bayt Sahur; reestablishes checkpoints it abandoned in recent wks. as part of the process of road map implementation; bulldozes 8 dunams of land in Rafah; demolishes 1 Palestinian home in Nablus, 1 in Tulkarm; fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis. The IDF also arrests an IDF soldier, resident of a West Bank Jewish settlement, for participation in a militant settler cell, bringing to 9 the number of Jewish settlers recently arrested on terrorism charges. Israel breaks ground on a new section of the separation wall n. of Abu Dis. (BBC, MM 8/22; HA, NYT, WP, WT 8/23; HA, MA 8/25 in WNC 8/27; WP 8/26; PCHR 8/28; HA 9/29)

The IDF arrests 3 Palestinians fr. Hebron on charges of selling weapons, IDF maps, IDF uniforms to militant groups; demolishes 3 Palestinian homes in Jabal Mukabir in East Jerusalem; fires on curfew breakers in Badraw, nr. Ramallah, injuring several; fires on residential areas of Jenin. Palestinians fire a mortar at Gush Katif settlement, open fire on IDF post nr. Nablus and Tulkarm, causing no damage or injuries. (HA 8/19; PCHR 8/21)

The IDF fatally shoots an AMB mbr. nr. Tulkarm who was allegedly planting a roadside bomb; fires on a taxi driving into Nablus, injuring 2 Palestinians; fires on residential areas of Balata r.c., Rafah; arrests 2 Palestinians in East Jerusalem for allegedly aiding suicide bombers who staged attacks in 5/03, 6/03; demolishes a Palestinian home in Masha to make way for the separation wall, arrests 46 ISM mbrs. (including 4 Israelis, 3 Palestinians) protesting the construction. Palestinians fire an antitank rocket at an IDF post on the Rafah border, causing no damage or injuries. Jewish settlers shoot, wound a Palestinian nr. Nablus; begin work on a new unauthorized outpost e. of Hebron. (HA 8/4; NYT 8/5; PCHR 8/7)

Israel publishes a list of 342 Palestinian prisoners it plans to free on 8/6. To protest the lower-than-promised number (see 7/29), Abbas cancels a mtg. with Sharon scheduled for 8/6. (BBC, HA, MM, NYT, WP 8/5; IDF Radio, VOI, XIN, YA 8/5 in WNC 8/7; NYT, WP 8/6; AYM 8/7 in WNC 8/14; MEI 8/8)

The IDF says that a 21-km section of the separation wall around the n. and s. of Jerusalem should be completed by the end of 7/03. The IDF sends tanks, troops into Ramallah, occupying buildings surrounding Arafat’s headquarters, conducting searches, withdrawing after 2 hrs.; fires on residential areas of Rafah, wounding 1 woman; places a curfew on Tulkarm; bulldozes 2 Palestinian homes in Bayt Rima. Shin Bet arrests 2 Jewish settlers on charges of “security crimes against Palestinians,” places a gag order on the case. (HA, PMC 7/17; HA 7/18; WT 7/19; MM 7/21; JP 7/23 in WNC 7/25; PCHR 7/24)

In Dayr al-Ghasun, Palestinians, accompanied by ISM volunteers, for the 1st time attempt to gain access to farmland newly cut off by Israel’s separation wall to plant fall crops, but the IDF denies them passage; the wall cuts off 500 farmers fr. 3,000 dunams of village crop land. Nr. Nablus, the IDF arrests 6 ISM mbrs. who remove 2 earthen roadblocks barring Palestinian traffic on a local road. The IDF also issues order for the confiscation of 424 dunams of land n. of Tulkarm (for construction of the separation wall), 100s of dunams of land in al-Khadir (reportedly to expand Ofra settlement); tightens roadblocks around Jenin, Nablus, Ramallah; fires on a PSF post in Rafah, causing no injuries; fires on residential areas of Dayr al-Balah; demolishes a Palestinian home in Rafah; conducts arrest raids in Hebron. Palestinians rally in Khan Yunis to call for Israel’s release of Palestinian prisoners. Jewish settlers scuffle with IDF soldiers attempting to evacuate an unauthorized settlement outpost nr. Nablus. A Palestinian boy is hit and killed by a Jewish settler driving nr. Nablus. (AP, HP, ISM press release 7/10; NYT, PMC 7/12; PR 7/16; PCHR 7/24)

As gestures to the PA, Israel announces a halt to deporting families of West Bank Palestinian militants to Gaza; releases 34 Palestinian prisoners, including senior Gaza PSF official Sulayman Abu Mutlak, who was arrested in early 5/03 and is freed for lack of evidence. Overnight, Palestinians fire an antitank rocket at Kefar Darom, wounding 4 Jewish settlers; the Palestinian resistance comms. (PRCs) and a Rafah-based Fatah offshoot called Abu Rish, neither of which agreed to the cease-fire, claim responsibility; meanwhile, the PSF arrests 4 PRC mbrs., an AMB mbr. in connection with the attack; the IDF shuts Gaza’s main north–south road for 6 hrs. to search for the assailants, without success. Abbas condemns the rocket attack and the 6/30 fatal shooting of a Bulgarian worker as “acts of sabotage.” The PSF also arrests 2 Palestinians in Khan Yunis on charges of firing mortars at Gush Katif on 7/1. The IDF raids Qalqilya, arresting local AMB head Ibrahim Mansur, fatally shooting his aide Mahmud Shawar (reportedly 1st wounding him in the leg, then executing him with gunshots to the head); the AMB vows to respond within 24 hrs. The IDF also imposes a curfew on, conducts arrest raids in Tulkarm; fires on Palestinians waiting to cross a Khan Yunis checkpoint, wounding 1; bulldozes 8 dunams of Palestinian land nr. Dayr al-Balah. Sharon authorizes Israeli police to crack down on crime among bedouin in s. Israel. (HA, MM 7/3; MA, VOI 7/3, AYM 7/5 in WNC 7/10; NYT, WP, WT 7/4; NYT 7/6; MM 7/8; PR 7/9; PCHR 7/10)

Israel releases 9 administrative detainees, all arrested during the 6/24 sweep of Hebron, as a goodwill gesture to the PA. The IDF redeploys to the outskirts of Bethlehem, turning security control over to the PSF; the IDF will continue to patrol Bayt Jala, control the area around Rachel’s Tomb (an especially high separation fence around the tomb reportedly is planned), but otherwise vows not to enter the town unless the PA is unable to prevent an imminent attack on Israelis fr. the city. The IDF confiscates 283 dunams of land s. of Khan Yunis, for a new settler bypass road for Morag; enters the offices of the Hebron Rehabilitation Comm. (HRC), orders all HRC reconstruction projects to halt; demolishes a Palestinian home in East Jerusalem; moves the Ganei Tal settlement fence east, bringing 4 Palestinian homes within the settlement’s zone of control. Palestinian gunmen fire on Israeli construction workers building the separation wall nr. Tulkarm, lightly injuring 1 Israeli security guard; fire on an IDF patrol in Nablus, causing no injuries. A roadside bomb explodes along the separation wall nr. Qalqilya, causing no damage or injuries. (HA, REU 7/2; MM, NYT, PCHR, WP, WT 7/3; al-Quds 7/7 in WNC 7/10; PCHR 7/10; MEI 7/11; HA 7/17)

The IDF attempts to assassinate, wounds Hamas political leader and chief spokesman ‘Abd al-‘Aziz Rantisi, firing missiles at his car as he drives through Shati‘ r.c., killing a bodyguard and a Palestinian woman walking nearby, wounding 27. In a rare acknowledgment, Israel confirms it targeted Rantisi, saying it took the decision after Rantisi called off Hamas cease-fire talks with the PA. Later in the day, IDF helicopters fire missiles at a 2d car in Jabaliya, allegedly targeting 2 Palestinians who fired 5 Qassam rockets at Sederot earlier, causing no damage or injuries; 3 Palestinian bystanders are killed, 30 (including the 2 targets) are wounded. Abbas condemns the Rantisi attack as a “terrorist attack in the full meaning of the word,” saying it was aimed at sabotaging the road map; Hamas says it is a “declaration of war,” vows to “commit operations that will shake Israel.” The IDF also fatally shoots wanted Palestinian Issam Ibrahim in Jenin in what may be an assassination; fatally shoots 2 Palestinians in s. Gaza; fires on, wounds a Palestinian nr. Morag settlement; fires on residential areas of Hebron, Khan Yunis; bulldozes 5 dunams of land in Jabaliya; conducts arrest raids in Battir, Bayt Iba, Dura, Haris, Hebron, Jericho, Nablus (targeting Hamas), Qatanna, Tulkarm, al-Walaja, Yatta; dismantles another 5 unauthorized settlement outposts, all of them uninhabited. The Israeli High Court blocks the removal of 1 occupied outpost, Havat Gilad, which Israel attempted to dismantle in fall 2002. Jewish settlers rebuild 1 outpost taken down on 6/9. (BBC, HA, LAW, MM 6/10; ITAR-TASS, VOI, MENA 6/10 in WNC 6/12; MM, NYT, PR, WP, WT 6/11; AFP, AKH, DUS, HA, IDF Radio, JP, JT, MA, MENA, NHR, QA, al-Quds, VOI, YA, XIN 6/11 in WNC 6/13; JPI, LAW, PCHR, WP 6/12; AYM, JP 6/12 in WNC 6/14; PR 6/18, 6/25; MEI 6/27; MEI 7/11)

The IDF dismantles 5 unauthorized settlement outposts (all of them uninhabited), announces plans to remove another 9 (only 4 of them inhabited); more than 100 Jewish settlers try to bar soldiers fr. removing a water tower at 1 unpopulated site. Meanwhile, the IDF demolishes 13 Palestinian homes in Bayt Hanun, 1 in the Old City of Hebron; fatally shoots 2 Palestinians allegedly attempting to infiltrate Netzarim settlement; fires on residential areas of Bayt Hanun; raids, imposes a curfew on Tulkarm; conducts arrest raids in Balata r.c., Dayr al-Balah. Jewish settlers harass Palestinians in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Shaykh Jarrah. Israeli police round up 1,370 Palestinians laborers working inside Israel without permits. (HP 6/9; XIN 6/9 in WNC 6/12; NYT, WP, WT 6/10; PR 6/11; JP 6/11 in WNC 6/13; LAW, PCHR 6/12)

The IDF launches a predawn raid on Balata r.c. and Hebron, placing the area under curfew, sparking clashes that leave 30 Palestinians wounded. The IDF also fires on a PSF post outside Bayt Hanun, killing a PSF officer; imposes a closure on Nablus; lifts the closure on Ramallah; demolishes a Palestinian home in Tulkarm; conducts arrest raids in Jaba, Kafr Haris. 2 Palestinians die of injuries received earlier. Israel releases some 100 Palestinian detainees, including Ahmad Jubara, the longest-serving detainee, jailed in 1975 for staging a bombing that killed 14 Israelis. Kach activists set up 4 new unauthorized settlement outposts in the West Bank. (HA, MM 6/3; NYT, PR, WP, WT 6/4; MA 6/4 in WNC 6/8; PCHR 6/5)

In Sharm al-Shaykh, Bush meets with Abbas and the leaders of Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia for talks on “issues of common interest,” including the peace process, Iraq, international efforts to combat terrorism, economic cooperation. (BBC, MM, WP 6/3; DUS, ITAR-TASS, MENA, XIN 6/3 in WNC 6/4; SARR, THWR 6/3 in WNC 7/10; MM, NYT, PR, WP, WT 6/4; QA, al-Quds 6/4 in WNC 6/7; DUS 6/6 in WNC 7/10; THWR 6/6, THWR, TSHR 6/7 in WNC 7/11; MM 6/10)

The IDF bulldozes 14 dunams of land nr. Khan Yunis, 2 dunams nr. a PA Preventive Security Force (PSF) post in Hebron, some citrus groves outside Gaza City; conducts arrest raids in Beitunia, Bethlehem, Hebron, Jenin, al-Khadir, Nablus, Qalqilya, Ramallah, Tulkarm; fires on residential areas of Beitunia, Ramallah, Tulkarm town and r.c.; demolishes 4 Palestinian homes s. of Rafah, 1 in Bayt Furik, 1 in Tal. Palestinians fire Qassam rocket at Sederot, causing no damage or injuries. While driving in Ramallah, Force 17 officer Mahmud Zayid is fatally shot, possibly in an internal Palestinian dispute; the PA says it has no proof he was deliberately shot by the IDF, though he may have been hit by crossfire. Late in the evening, Palestinian gunmen fire on a Jewish settler bus in Hebron, lightly injuring 1 Jewish settler. A Palestinian dies of injuries received on 5/27. (HA, HP 5/28; YA 5/28 in WNC 5/29; HA, LAW, PCHR 5/29)

The IDF conducts a predawn raid on Jenin, placing the town under curfew, prompting an exchange of gunfire in which 1 IDF soldier is wounded; fires on a Swiss envoy’s diplomatic vehicle at Erez crossing for no apparent reason, causing damage but no injuries (Switzerland files a formal protest.); fires on stone-throwing youths in Tulkarm, killing 1 Palestinian; demolishes 1 Palestinian home in Bayt Furik, 1 outside Hebron, 1 in al-Til; confiscates 7 dunams of land in Habla, nr. Qalqilya; fires on residential areas of Bayt Furik, Khan Yunis, Tulkarm r.c.; conducts arrest raids in Abu Dis, Balata r.c., Bethlehem, Kafr Dan, Qalqilya, Tubas, Yamun; tightens roadblocks around Ramallah. In Hebron, 5 Palestinian children are injured when they trigger unexploded munitions while playing. Palestinians fire 2 Qassam rockets at Sederot, causing no damage or injuries; detonate a roadside bomb underneath an IDF vehicle in Gaza, causing damage but no injuries. Extremist rightwing Jewish settlers affiliated with the “hilltop youth” and the outlawed Kach movement announce plans to launch a “personal incitement campaign” against Sharon in light of his approval of the road map. (HA 5/27; AFP 5/27 in WNC 5/28; NYT, WT 5/28; MA 5/28 in WNC 5/29; LAW, PCHR 5/29)

Hamas detonates a roadside bomb nr. a Jewish settler bus in Gaza, lightly injuring 8 Jewish settlers. The IDF fatally shoots a mentally disabled Palestinian in Bureij r.c.; shoots, wounds, captures a wanted tanzim mbr. in Tulkarm; demolishes a Palestinian home in Tubas; conducts arrest raids in Jenin. (HA, MM 5/23; al-Haq, WP 5/24; PR 5/28; LAW, PCHR 5/29)

In a carefully coordinated process, U.S. Secy. of State Colin Powell, Rice release a statement saying that Israel has explained its “significant concerns” regarding the road map and that the U.S. will take those concerns into consideration during implementation. Sharon says Israel “is prepared to accept the steps set out in the road map.” (HA, NYT, WP 5/23; MENA 5/23, DUS, QA, alQuds 5/24, JT, MA 5/25, AYM, SA 5/26 in WNC 5/27; HA, NYT, WP, WT 5/24; al-Quds 5/25 in WNC 5/28; MEI 5/30)

IDF undercover units raid Nablus, sparking numerous demonstrations and exchanges of gunfire, in which wanted AMB mbr. Taysir Shihab is fatally shot, 20 Palestinians (mostly stone-throwing youths) are injured. The IDF also bars Norwegian special envoy to the Middle East Jakken Bioern Lian entry to Gaza for a scheduled mtg. with PA officials (see 5/11); issues an order expelling a Palestinian fr. the al-Mawasi area, where he resides, for 6 mos.; shells a PSF post nr. Netzarim settlement, killing 3 PSF officers, wounding 2; makes arrest raids in Jenin, sparking clashes that leave a 12-yr.-old Palestinian dead; conducts additional arrest raids in Qalqilya, Tulkarm; fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis; bulldozes more than 86 dunams e. of Bayt Hanun. Jewish settlers evacuate 7 mobile homes fr. an unauthorized outpost nr. Shilo. Palestinians fire 2 Qassam rockets at Sederot and 5 mortars at Gush Katif settlement, causing no damage or injuries. (AFP, HA, PCHR, REU 5/14; HA, NYT, PCHR, WP, WT 5/15)

Israel allows Islamic Movement northern branch head Shaykh Ra’ed Salah, 1 of the 15 arrested on 5/13, out of custody for several hrs. to attend the funeral of his father in Umm al-Fahm, which turns into a massive Israeli Arab rally against Israeli government discrimination. (HA 5/15)

The IDF assassinates senior Hamas mbr. Iyad al-Bik, whom Israel claims is tied to al-Qa‘ida, firing 3 missiles at his car as he drives through Gaza City, causing no other injuries. The IDF fatally shoots 1 Palestinian riding a donkey nr. Nablus; fires on residential areas of Rafah, killing 1 Palestinian; fires on stone-throwing youths in Balata r.c., injuring 5; bulldozes 30 dunams of land s. of Khan Yunis; raids the Ramallah central bus station, arresting a wanted Hamas mbr.; conducts additional arrest raids in Tulkarm, nearby refugee camps. A 13-yr.-old Palestinian dies of injuries received on 3/3/03; another Palestinian dies of injuries received in 4/29/03. Palestinian gunmen fire on an IDF patrol nr. Kefar Darom, luring an IDF tank to the scene; a Palestinian suicide bomber drives up to the tank, detonates a car bomb, killing only himself; no IDF soldiers are injured in the incident; the IDF demolishes a PSF office in retaliation. Palestinians fire a mortar at a Jewish settlement in Gaza, causing no damage or injuries. (BBC, HA, JP 5/8; HA, NYT, WP 5/9; AYM 5/9 in WNC 5/12; PCHR 5/15)

U.S. officials say that the 11/02 ruling by a secretive 3-judge federal appeals panel interpreting the 2001 Patriot Act as permitting the use of classified wiretaps and intelligence reports fr. foreign security agencies against terrorism suspects has allowed the FBI to intensify greatly its decades old investigations of alleged U.S. supporters of Hamas, Hizballah. Investigations reportedly have been focusing on U.S. mosques. (WP 5/8)

The IDF fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis, fatally shooting an 18-mo.-old Palestinian child playing outside his home; fatally shoots a Hamas mbr. scouting, according to Hamas, a n. Gaza Jewish settlement for an attack; fatally shoots a mentally disabled Palestinian nr. Khan Yunis when he allegedly fails to obey orders to stop when approaching an IDF roadblock. Wanted senior Hamas mbr. Amin Manzalawi is killed in a mysterious explosion in Zawata; Hamas claims the IDF assassinated him. An IDF vehicle hits a civilian car in Tulkarm, killing 1 Palestinian, injuring 2. A group of 20 armed Jewish settlers attack 10 Palestinian farmers, 2 Israeli and 5 international peace activists plowing a field nr. Eli settlement; IDF soldiers intervene, tell Palestinians and internationals to leave. Jewish settlers break ground for 72 new housing units in Beit El. (HA, ISM press release 5/7; NYT, PCHR 5/8; PR 5/14; PCHR 5/15)

The IDF opens fire on stone-throwing youths in Balata r.c., fatally shooting a 14-yr-old Palestinian in the head; demolishes 3 Palestinian homes in Rafah, 1 in Hebron; storms an elementary school nr. Tulkarm, critically wounding 1 student; shells, fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis, hitting a hospital and a school, injuring 3 students in their classrooms; conducts arrest raids in Bethlehem. The IDF delays the evacuation of 10 unauthorized settlement outposts, citing anger and anxiety among the settlers. (VOI 5/4 in WNC 5/5; HA, NYT, WT 5/5; PCHR 5/8)

Labor leader Amram Mitzna resigns, citing “intrigue and interference” fr. other party leaders, the party losses in the 1/03 elections. Labor cannot immediately agree on a replacement, further debilitating the already weak party. (HA, NYT, WP, WT 5/5; MM 5/6, 5/7, 5/8)

A Palestinian suicide bomber fr. Balata r.c. detonates a device at the Kfar Saba railway station in Israel, killing 1 Israeli security guard, injuring 13 Israelis. A statement faxed to Reuters claims the AMB carried out the act with the help of the PFLP, but AMB’s chief spokesman denies this, saying the attack was staged by Nablus breakaway faction of the AMB (see 4/10). Israel says it will not stage a massive retaliation in response. The IDF fires on stone-throwing Palestinian youths in Qarawat Bani Zayt, killing 2 Palestinians; fires on an elementary school in Qalqilya, injuring 3 students, 1 teacher; shells residential areas of Rafah; bulldozes nearly 300 dunams of land in Bayt Hanun, 34 dunams in Rafah; conducts arrest raids in Bethlehem (targeting Hamas), al-Qarara, Tulkarm. Jewish settlers fr. Mitzpeh Yeriho seize a hilltop nr. Jericho as a new outpost, called Givat Haherut (Liberty Hill), to “prevent invasion” of the area by bedouin shepherds; Israeli police urge the settlers to evacuate the site but leave when they refuse. (HA, LAW, MM 4/24; AFP, ITAR-TASS 4/24 in WNC 4/25; NYT, WP, WT 4/25; al-Quds, VOI 4/25 in WNC 4/28; PR 4/30; LAW, PCHR, WJW 5/1; MEI 5/2)

The IDF fires on stone-throwing youths in Qalqilya, killing 1 Palestinian; fires on residential areas of Rafah. IDF soldiers surround the homes of 7 Tulkarm families, threaten to demolish them if their wanted sons do not turn themselves in; 1 Palestinian turns himself in, no homes are destroyed. An IDF tank rolls over, destroys an empty ambulance in Rafah. Palestinians report that Jewish settlers fr. Shim’a have recently set up a new unauthorized outpost nr. Hebron, moving 5 trailers onto the site. (AYM 4/20 in WNC 4/21; HA, PRCS press release, WP 4/21; PR 4/23; LAW, PCHR 4/24)

Overnight, the IDF fatally shoots a Palestinian who strays too close to Netzarim settlement. The IDF also raids Balata r.c., arresting 5 Islamic Jihad mbrs., blowing up their apartment; conducts arrest raids in al-Qarara, Salim, Tulkarm r.c. (targeting Fatah); demolishes 4 Palestinian homes containing 11 housing units in Issawiyya, 3 in Salim, 1 nr. Nablus. An Israeli court sentences an East Jerusalem Palestinian to 25 yrs. for firing on Jewish settler vehicles, causing no injuries. Israel’s Finance Min. awards the Israeli town of Sederot, which has experienced light damage and light injuries fr. Palestinian mortar and rocket attacks, “front line status,” which gives residents property and income tax breaks of up to 30% and $13.5 m. in aid. Peace Now reports that Jewish settlers have recently established anew or reoccupied at least 6 unauthorized settlement outposts. (HA 4/7; MA 4/7 in WNC 4/9; HA, PM 4/8; PR 4/9; LAW, PCHR 4/10)

The IDF continues house-to-house searches in Tulkarm r.c.; assassinates wanted Hamas mbr. Khalid Rayan (aka Khalid Bakir) in Nablus (there is an exchange of gunfire during an “arrest raid” that wounds 2 IDF soldiers, but soldiers walk up to Rayan’s body and shoot him in the head to make sure he is dead); for no apparent reason fatally shoots a 14-yr.-old Palestinian standing outside his home in Qalqilya; fatally shoots a Palestinian farmer working in a field nr. a closed military zone in n. Gaza; demolishes 6 Palestinian homes in Sur al-Bahir, 1 in al-Tur; raids Nussayrat r.c., firing on residential areas, conducting house-to-house searches, knocking through walls to move to adjoining buildings; extends indefinitely the closure of Palestine Polytechnic University in Hebron, initially shut on 1/15/03. On the 1-yr. anniversary of the launch of Operation Defensive Shield in Jenin town and r.c., 1,000s of Jenin residents demonstrate against Israeli actions, the U.S.-led war on Iraq. Palestinians fire 3 mortars at Jewish settlements in Gaza, causing no damage or injuries. (HA 4/3; WP 4/4; PR 4/9; LAW, PCHR 4/10)

The IDF blows up 1 Palestinian home in Tulkarm, 1 in Amari r.c.; partially demolishes a small mosque, bulldozes 3 grave sites nr. Netzarim settlement; fires at stone-throwing Palestinians in Jenin, Kafr ‘Ayn, Qarawat Bani Zaid, injuring a total of 7 (including 1 who is arrested, severely beaten, dumped outside a nearby village); conducts arrest raids targeting Hamas in Hebron. A Jerusalem court sentences an East Jerusalem Palestinian to 19 yrs. in prison for organizing a “terror cell” comprising mbrs. of the Bethlehem PSF; the alleged cell never staged any attacks. (AP, HA 4/1; VOI 4/2 in WNC 4/3; PCHR 4/3)

A Nazareth magistrate court tosses out the 2001 indictment against Israeli Arab MK Azmi Bishara for organizing trips for Israeli Arabs to visit family in Syria, ruling the visits were of a humanitarian nature, did not amount to treason for contact with a hostile government, and took place before Bishara was stripped of parliamentary immunity in 11/01, but says it will pursue charges against his aides. (ADL, HA 4/1)