The Palestine Chronology

The IDF makes a day-long incursion 500 m inside the Gaza border e. of Jabaliya and Gaza City to level land to clear lines of sight. Unidentified Palestinians fire 6 mortars toward Israel, but all land inside Gaza, 1 hitting a home, injuring 6 Palestinians (1 seriously). In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Ramallah. (BBC, HA, YA 4/7; PCHR 4/8; OCHA, PCHR 4/15)

Israeli naval vessels fire on Palestinian fishing boats off the n. Gaza coast, causing no reported damage or injuries. IDF snipers fire into Gaza near the beach w. of Bayt Lahiya, causing some residents of the al-Sudaniyya neighborhood to evacuate for safety. Unidentified Palestinians fire at least 1 rocket fr. Gaza into Israel, causing damage but no injuries. A Jewish settler kills a Palestinian teenager in a deliberate hit-and-run nr. Ramallah. (AFP, CSM, JAZ, NYT, YA 4/2; WP 4/3; PCHR 4/8; OCHA 4/15)

The Arab League ends 2 days of talks in Libya to debate whether to re-endorse proximity talks without reaching an agreement, though members renew support for the 2002 Arab League initiative offering full normalization for full peace. (WP 3/29; WJW 4/1)

The IDF makes a brief incursion into s. Gaza e. of Abasan to level land along the border fence to clear lines of sight. In the West Bank, 10s of Palestinians, Christian clerics, and international activists take part in a nonviolent march from Bethlehem to the main IDF checkpoint to Jerusalem to protest Israeli restrictions on Christians entering Jerusalem today, Palm Sunday; IDF troops beat marchers, arrest 12 Palestinians (including Fatah Central Comm. mbr. Abbas Zaki; all are released on 4/1) and 4 internationals (releasing them later in the day), and seal the Gilo crossing to Jerusalem (including to medical cases and tourists) through 3/31. (OCHA, PCHR 4/1)

Unidentified Palestinians fire a Qassam rocket fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF fires stun grenades, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, and international activists protesting the separation wall and settlement construction in Bayt Umar nr. Hebron (injuring 2 Palestinian journalists, arresting 2 other Palestinian journalists and 2 Israelis); closes the Qalandia checkpoint and fires on stone-throwing Palestinians attempting to march to Jerusalem to mark International Women’s Day (injuring 5 women); conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in al-Bireh, Dahaysha r.c. nr. Bethlehem. (YA 3/17; OCHA, PCHR 3/18)

Biden wraps up his trip to Israel with a big speech to the Israeli public at Tel Aviv University, underscoring American solidarity with Israel. He reiterates U.S. disapproval of the Ramat Shlomo housing plan because it “undermined the trust required for productive negotiations,” but accepts what he calls “significant” assurances from Netanyahu that the construction will not break ground for years, expressing hope that negotiations would “resolve this and other outstanding issues” before construction could begin. He then heads to Jordan. Separately, Netanyahu issues a statement apologizing for the “unfortunate timing” of the Ramat Shlomo announcement, but notably not apologizing for the construction itself. At the same time, Israel’s Jerusalem municipality announces plans to build 1,000s of settlement housing units e. and s. of Jerusalem in areas Israel intends to keep under final status, including 3,000 units each in Gilo and Givat Matosim, 1,500 units each in Har Homa and Pisgat Ze’ev, 1,200 units in Ramot, 600 in Armona Netseev, 450 in Neve Ya’acov, and 144 in Olive Mount. The U.S. does not comment. Abbas warns Biden by phone that the PA cannot start proximity talks until Israel reverses the construction approval. (JTA 3/11; NYT, WP, WT 3/12)

In Ramallah, at least 1 PA security official and 1 Fatah Central Comm. member take part in a ceremony in Ramallah naming a public square after Dalal Mughrabi, a 19-yr.-old Fatah member who in 1978 led a squad from Lebanon that sailed to Israel where they staged attacks killing 1 American and 38 Israelis before being shot dead; Netanyahu denounces the official Fatah and PA participation as incitement undermining the peace process. Late in the evening, the IDF patrols in Ramallah, firing rubber-coated steel bullets at stonethrowing Palestinian youths who confront them, causing no injuries; carries out latenight house searches in Jenin town and r.c., making no arrests. In Gaza, the littleknown Salafist group Ansar al-Sunna fires a Qassam rocket into Israel, causing no damage or injuries but marking the 1st incidence of rocket fire since 2/12. Later in the day, unidentified Palestinians fire 2 more Qassams toward Israel, but they land harmlessly inside Gaza. Late at night, the IDF makes an air strike on a smuggling tunnel on the Rafah border, causing no injuries. Hamas authorities in Gaza release British journalist Paul Martin, held for 25 days on suspicion of security offenses (see 3/1). (NYT, YA 3/12; OCHA, PCHR 3/18)

Biden spends the day in the West Bank, meeting with Abbas and Fayyad. After receiving assurances that the U.S. will press Israel to reverse the 3/9 Ramat Shlomo decision, the PA indicates that it will move forward with plans for indirect talks with Israel. Meanwhile, Israeli officials stress that Israel will never cede Jerusalem and will build unimpeded within Jerusalem’s municipal borders. The Arab League reconvenes to discuss the situation and withdraws support for proximity talks, phoning Abbas to urge against negotiations. Abbas consequently informs the U.S. that the Palestinians cannot restart talks with Israel until the approval of the 1,600 housing units is rescinded. (IFM, JTA 3/10; NYT, WP, WT 3/11; NYT 3/29)

In the West Bank, the IDF sets up a checkpoint at the entrance to Rumana in the morning, checking Palestinian vehicles and arresting 1 Palestinian. Israel also authorizes the UN to send bomb disposal units into Gaza to identify and disarm unexploded IDF ordnance fr. OCL; the UN says the operation may take several months. (JTA 3/10; NYT, PCHR 3/11; OCHA, PCHR 3/18)

IDF troops stationed on the Israeli side of the Erez crossing into Gaza fire on Palestinians scavenging bricks from demolished buildings inside the former Erez industrial zone forcing them to flee, causing no injuries.

Palestinians hold protests across the West Bank and East Jerusalem after Friday prayers to denounce Israel’s decision to include West Bank holy sites on Israel’s national heritage register; clashes with the IDF (which include the IDF storming the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, firing tear gas and stun grenades to disperse worshipers) leave 2 Palestinians seriously injured (1 at the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount; the other in al-Nabi Salih), and 50 Palestinians and 15 Israeli riot police lightly injured.

The IDF also fires rubber-coated steel bullets, stun grenades, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, and international activists, some of whom throw stones at IDF troops, taking part in a nonviolent march to the separation wall in Bil‘in (10s suffer tear gas inhalation); fires rubber-coated steel bullets, stun grenades, tear gas at Palestinian and international activists, some of whom throw stones at IDF troops, taking part in protests against the separation wall in Ni‘lin (3 Palestinians are injured, including an 11-yr.-old child); fires rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas, stun grenades at Palestinian, Israeli, and international activists staging a nonviolent protest against settlement expansion nr. Dayr Nizam/al-Nabi Salih (injuring 6); conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron. In Gaza, 4,000 Palestinians attend a Hamas rally calling on the PA to “unleash the resistance” over the holy sites controversy. (NYT, WP 3/6; OCHA, PCHR 3/11)

IDF troops on the n. Gaza border nr. Bayt Hanun fire on Palestinian residential areas 800 m inside the Strip, causing no injuries. Late at night, Israeli naval vessels intercept a Palestinian fishing boat off the Rafah coast, detaining 3 fishermen (they are released on 3/5 after questioning). In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Jenin. Gaza’s Hamas-run government bans male hairstylists fr. working in women’s beauty salons; analysts (e.g., WT 3/5) view it as evidence that Hamas is coming under increasing pressure from radical Islamist groups to prove its Muslim credentials. (WP, WT 3/5; OCHA, PCHR 3/11)

IDF troops on the n. Gaza border fire 2 artillery shells at open areas nr. al-Nada housing project, causing no damage or injuries. Later, IDF troops on the n. Gaza border nr. Bayt Lahiya fire 4 flechette rounds at armed Palestinians operating 700 m fr. the border, killing 1 armed Palestinian, wounding 1. IDF troops at the Erez crossing fire into Gaza at Palestinians demonstrating against Israel’s imposition of a 300-m no-go zone along the length of the Gaza border, causing no injuries. Hamas authorities in Gaza extend for 15 days the detention of British journalist Paul Martin, detained (2/14) on suspicion of security offenses based on his testimony in a trial in Gaza on behalf of a Palestinian accused of collaboration with Israel. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron, Jericho. PA Pres. Mahmud Abbas holds his weekly cabinet session in Hebron instead of Ramallah to protest Israel’s decision to include the Tomb of the Patriarchs/ al-Ibrahimi Mosque (located in Hebron) and Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem as Israeli national heritage sites, calling the move contrary to international law. (NYT 3/2; OCHA, PCHR 3/4)

IDF troops on the Gaza border n. of Bayt Lahiya fire on Palestinians scavenging bricks, iron bars from demolished buildings nearby, forcing them to flee; no injuries are reported. Late at night, the IDF moves 200 m in to s. Gaza nr. the destroyed Dahaniyya airport site, exchanging fire with armed Palestinians, severely wounding 1. In the West Bank, low-level clashes between Palestinian protesters and the IDF continue in Hebron for a 4th day, with no serious injuries reported. (NYT 2/26; OCHA, PCHR 3/4)

Israeli naval vessels fire on, surround 2 Palestinian fishing boats off the n. Gaza coast, forcing them to sail to Ashdod port, confiscating the boats, arresting 3 fishermen, and returning 1 to Gaza through the Erez crossing. IDF troops on the c. Gaza border fire on an unarmed Palestinian teenager who strays into the 300 m. buffer zone e. of Gaza Valley village, moderately wounding him. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron and in Bethlehem, Nablus. Hamas police in Gaza detain BBC reporter Paul Martin for 15 days of questioning on suspicion of unspecified security offenses. Martin was testifying on behalf of Muhammad Abu Muayliq, a fmr. member of the Abu Rish Brigades (a Fatah offshoot) on trial in a Hamas military court for collaboration with Israel, and was arrested in the courtroom during the trial when Abu Muayliq allegedly implicated him in “violating Palestinian law and security in Gaza.” (NYT 2/16; OCHA, PCHR 2/18)

In the morning, IDF troops on the n. Gaza border nr. Bayt Lahiya fire on Palestinians collecting scrap metal from destroyed sites nr. the border fence (no injuries are reported). In the West Bank, an off-duty Palestinian policeman (not in uniform) stabs, kills an IDF soldier parked in a jeep at a junction s. of Nablus in Israeli-controlled area C and is detained by an Israeli security guard from a nearby Jewish settlement; PA Pres. Abbas denounces the attack, urging Palestinians to participate only in nonviolent protests against Israel. In response, the IDF raids, searches several Palestinian houses and the assailant’s home in al-Khiljan village southwest of Jenin, confiscating computers and cell phones, and arresting 6 Palestinians, including 4 of his brothers. The IDF also fires rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas to disperse Palestinians and international activists planting 500 olive trees on Palestinian land slated for Israeli confiscation in Bayt Umar village nr. Karme Tzur settlement; levels Palestinian land nr. Bayt Sahur for construction of an IDF observation post; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Bethlehem, Jalazun r.c. nr. Ramallah (arresting 20 Palestinians, all between the ages of 15 and 18), and nr. Hebron. (NYT, OCHA, PCHR, WP 2/11; OCHA, PCHR 2/18)

In the West Bank, the IDF and Israeli tax authorities reenter Shu‘fat r.c. (see 2/7–8), confiscating 10s of cars, arresting at least another 30 individuals (the UN puts the total number arrested at 92), and firing live warning shots at stone-throwing Palestinian youths who confront them, wounding a 14-yr.-old boy. The IDF also makes an incursion into Zayta al-Sha‘rawiyya village northwest of Tulkarm to arrest 3 14-yr.-old Palestinian boys as they leave school for lunch. Some 50 Jewish settlers fr. Brakha attempt to drive 2 Palestinian shepherds off adjacent Palestinian land in Iraq Burin village; after stone-throwing villagers come to the shepherds’ defense and drive off the settlers, settlement security guards return to the scene and open fire on the Palestinians, wounding 1. Late in the evening, IDF troops on the n. Gaza border for unknown reasons open fire on an open area of the Bayt Lahiya beach, causing no damage or injuries. Almost simultaneously, the IDF carries out air strikes, and a drone fires a missile at the Dahaniyya airport site in s. Gaza, causing no reported injuries; Israel says the air strikes are in response to Palestinian rocket fire over the past several days (see 2/2, 2/3, 2/7), though no rocket fire was reported today. Soon after, Israeli naval vessels fire on a Palestinian boat off the n. Gaza coast, forcing it to return to shore. (OCHA, PCHR 2/11; MNA 2/22)

In Gaza, an International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) jeep is damaged by a roadside explosion along a route nr. the Erez crossing; no injuries are reported. Hamas rejects speculation that the explosion was caused by a roadside bomb, alleging the jeep accidentally triggered IDF UXO fr. OCL; no group claims responsibility. The IDF makes a brief incursion into s. Gaza to level land in the no-go zone e. of Khan Yunis to clear lines of sight. In the West Bank, the IDF makes a rare daytime incursion into Bayt Ula village nr. Hebron, raiding a furniture company and arresting 2 Palestinians; stages 1 late-night arrest raid nr. Hebron, followed several hrs. later by synchronized arrest raids, house searches in 3 other villages nr. Hebron. Jewish settlers fr. Revava nr. Salfit bulldoze 50 d. of nearby Palestinian olive groves and agricultural land, fence off 24 d., block off 3 roads leading to the area, and install mobile homes to expand the settlement. Jewish settlers fr. Adi Ad nr. Nablus place 4 mobile homes on a nearby plot of Palestinian land to create a new settlement outpost. (WT 2/5; OCHA, PCHR 2/11)

For a 2d day, unidentified Palestinians fire a rocket fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In the morning, the IDF makes a brief incursion into Gaza to level land along the border fence e. of Jabaliya. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron, Jenin. (JP, YA 2/3; PCHR 2/4; OCHA, PCHR 2/11)

In the afternoon, IDF troops make an incursion into s. Gaza, leveling agricultural land 250 m fr. the border fence in Khuza village, firing on residential areas but causing no injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF fires tear gas, stun grenades to break up a tree-planting ceremony in Burin village attended by PA Agriculture Min. officials. The IDF also delivers military orders to several Palestinian families in Bayt Umar village nr. Hebron declaring 150 d. of village land as off-limits state-owned land; Jewish settlers fr. nearby Bet Ayn have repeatedly attempted to seize the same lands. (OCHA, PCHR 2/4)

In an interview with al-Jazeera, a BenGurion University doctoral student shares his dissertation research on Israel’s confiscation and destruction of Palestinian books during the 1948 war. The researcher estimates that Israeli authorities collected 10,000s of Arabic books from Palestinian homes and towns conquered during the war, selling or giving away around half of them and destroying some 27,000 others as a “security threat” to the new state. Hebrew University was given 1,000s of the texts, some 6,000 of which are available through the university library, while 1,000s others may be in the library’s warehouses, uncatalogued and inaccessible to the public. (al-Jazeera, YA 1/28)

In the morning, the Israeli air force drops leaflets over Gaza warning residents that they will be shot if they approach closer than 300 m to the Gaza border fence; a map showing the no-go zones places the southern villages of Abasan and Khuza within the no-go area. Claiming retaliation for the 1/5 IDF air strike that killed 2 of its mbrs., the PRCs fire at least 10 mortars toward the Kerem Shalom crossing (3 land inside Gaza), causing no damage or injuries. Israel shuts the Kerem Shalom crossing through 1/9 in response. Later, unidentified Palestinians fire an antitank weapon across the border at an IDF patrol operating inside Israel e. of Jabaliya, causing no damage or injuries; the IDF directs artillery fire (6 shells) at the launch site causing no injuries. Late in the day, unidentified Palestinians fire a manufactured Grad-type rocket that lands nr. Ashqelon, causing no damage or injuries. (IFM, YA 1/7; JP, NYT, WP 1/8; OCHA 1/13; PCHR 1/14)

Late in the evening, the IDF makes an incursion into n. Gaza to level land along the border fence n. of Bayt Lahiya to clear lines of sight; during the operation a “heavy explosion” and gunfire are heard; no casualties are reported and the IDF does not comment on the incident, suggesting that troops may have accidentally triggered an explosive device buried by Palestinian militants. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house raids nr. Hebron and in al-‘Arub r.c., Jenin town and r.c. (OCHA, PCHR 1/6)

Overnight, the IDF carries out air strikes on smuggling tunnels on the Rafah border in retaliation for the PFLP’s 12/31 Grad strikes, lightly injuring 4 Palestinians. Later in the day, after the Popular Resistance Committees (PRCs) fire at least 2 mortars toward the Kerem Shalom crossing (the IDF records 2, while the PRCs claim 5; only 1 lands inside Israel, causing no damage or injuries), the IDF carries out air strikes on an open area e. of Jabaliya in n. Gaza and on a farm in al-Qarara in s. Gaza, causing no damage or injuries. Of note: Israel permanently closes the Nahal Oz crossing, meaning that with the exception of the grain belt operating at Qarni crossing, Kerem Shalom will be the sole transit point for goods coming in and out of Gaza; all fuel shipments will also henceforth go through Kerem Shalom. In the West Bank, the IDF fires rubber-coated steel bullets, stun grenades, tear gas at stone-throwing Palestinians and nonviolent international (and, in the case of Bil‘in, Israeli) activists taking part in protests against the separation wall in Bil‘in (injuring 1 Palestinian) and Ni‘lin (injuring 2 Palestinians); prevents Palestinian and international activists fr. planting trees on Palestinian land declared a closed military zone by the IDF, confiscating the trees; patrols in al-‘Arub r.c. in the evening, stopping and questioning a group of Palestinian children, arresting 3 teenagers; conducts synchronized late-night house searches in 3 villages southwest of Jenin, making no arrests; later makes a raid on a 4th village in the same area, also making no arrests. Jewish settlers fr. Yakir nr. Salfit stone a Palestinian car driving on the road to Qalqilya, injuring 2 Palestinians. (YA 1/1; HA 1/2; OCHA, PCHR 1/6)

Some 1,000 international activists gather in Egypt in preparation for a 12/31 solidarity march to the Rafah border to mark the 1-yr. anniversary of Operation Cast Lead (OCL) and bring tens of thousands of dollars of humanitarian aid into Gaza, but Egypt vows to keep the border closed. French activists protest outside the French emb. in Cairo, while American activists visit the U.S. emb. Israel allows 3 container shipments of glass into Gaza for the first time since 6/07; says it will allow 3 containers of glass per day for 5 days a week for the next month (a total of 81 containers are allowed in as of 2/9, about 90 percent of what Israel had pledged). In the West Bank, Jewish settlers fr. Bet Ayn nr. Hebron attempt to force 2 Palestinian shepherds grazing their sheep on nearby Palestinian land to leave the area; when they refuse, 1 settler opens fire, hitting 1 shepherd in the shoulder; the IDF arrests both Palestinians while they are receiving medical care from paramedics. (NYT, PCHR 12/30; OCHA, PCHR 1/6; OCHA 2/11)

In Cairo, Mubarak and Netanyahu hold a 3-hr. mtg. to discuss the peace process. Afterward, Egyptian FM Ahmad Abu al-Ghayt publicly praises Netanyahu for raising new ideas for advancing the peace process. (NYT 12/30; HA 12/31; AFP, al-Dustur 1/5)

The Lebanese army directs symbolic anti-aircraft fire at 4 Israeli warplanes that violate Lebanese air space in s. Lebanon. (WT 12/30)

Israel announces approval of 692 new settlement housing units in East Jerusalem (Har Homa, Neve Ya’acov, Pisgat Ze’ev); the EU, U.S., and PA criticize the move. IDF troops make a brief incursion into Gaza n. of Bayt Hanun to level land along the border fence to clear lines of sight. Israeli naval vessels fire on Palestinian fishing boats approaching the boundary of the permitted fishing zone, wounding 1 Palestinian. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late night arrest raids, house searches in Bil‘in and nr. Nablus. (PLONAD 12/28; NYT, WP, WT 12/29; PCHR 12/30; WJW 12/31; OCHA 1/6)

Israeli naval vessels intercept a Palestinian fishing boat that approaches the boundary of the permitted fishing zone off the Bayt Lahiya coast, damaging the boat, forcing the fishermen to jump into the sea, and then detaining them, taking them to Ashdod port in Israel for several hrs. of questioning, before releasing them to Gaza. A smuggling tunnel under the Rafah border collapses, killing 3 Palestinians. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron, Nablus. In East Jerusalem, Palestinians in Silwan report that during the previous wk., Israeli workers and archeologists resumed work on 2 archeological tunnels under the city leading to the al-Aqsa Mosque (see Quarterly Update in JPS 154). A group of right-wing Jews breaks into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound to hold prayers marking Hanukkah, but Waqf officials ask Israeli police to intervene, and police remove them peacefully. Jewish settlers in East Jerusalem celebrating Hanukkah attack a number of Palestinian shops and residents in the Old City; Israeli security forces observe but do not intervene. The PASF crackdown on Hamas mbrs. in the West Bank winds down today, with the UN reporting at least 80 and as many as 300 detained. The Israeli High Court rules that a 2007-imposed ban on family visits by Gazans to Palestinians held in Israeli jails is valid. (OCHA, PCHR 12/16; PCHR 12/23; HA 12/31)

In the West Bank, the IDF conducts synchronized late-night house searches in 4 villages south and west of Jenin, arresting only 1 Palestinian; conducts other late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem, Qalqilya. Palestinians in Yasuf receive Israel’s chief rabbi Yona Metzger, who requested permission to make an official visit to condemn the 12/11 arson and vandalism attack on the village mosque by Jewish settlers. In Gaza, 10,000s of Palestinians rally to mark Hamas’s 22d anniversary. In the West Bank, the PA security forces (PASF) begin rounding up Hamas mbrs. to prevent anniversary rallies there. (NYT, WP, WT 12/15; OCHA, PCHR 12/16; WJW 12/17)

The IDF conducts military exercises in the Golan Heights. Meanwhile, IDF troops on the n. Gaza border make a brief incursion to detain 2 Palestinian teenagers scavenging for scrap metal from destroyed buildings nr. the border fence n. of Bayt Hanun, holding them for 12 hrs. of interrogation before releasing them. Israel allows Gazans to export 1 truckload of carnations (30,000 flowers), marking the first exports permitted since 4/27/09. In the West Bank, the IDF raids Khirbat Tana village, located in area C northeast of Nablus and w. of Mehola settlement, early in the morning, searching several homes and confiscating 4 tractors, stating the area is a closed military zone (see Quarterly Update for details). The IDF also shuts the Shavei Shomron checkpoint on the Jenin–Nablus route for road repair work that is expected to take 9 mos.; the closure creates long delays for Palestinians traveling between Jenin and the s. West Bank. Jewish settlers fr. Revava northwest of Salfit brutally beat a 13-yr.-old Palestinian child; the IDF evacuates the child to an Israeli hospital. (NYT 12/11; OCHA, PCHR 12/16)

Some 10,000 Jewish settlers protest the 10-mo. settlement freeze outside Netanyahu’s Jerusalem residence. Also in Jerusalem, Palestinians in Shaykh Jarrah report that in the previous wk., Jewish settlers have slashed the tires of 19 Palestinian vehicles in the neighborhood. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Balata r.c. nr. Nablus and Ramallah. The Israeli High Court rejects a petition by a Palestinian student at Bethlehem University that challenged her deportation from the West Bank to Gaza in 10/09 because her legal address was in Gaza and she did not have an Israeli permit to live in the West Bank. (NYT, PCHR, WP 12/10; OCHA, PCHR 12/16)

The Gaza-based Palestinian Center for Human Rights reports that Gaza’s Hamas-run Interior Min. has started requiring Palestinians wishing to exit Gaza to obtain an exit permit from the ministry’s new Office of Travel Registration, with Hamas-affiliated police already enforcing the order on Palestinians exiting through the Erez crossing, but notably not at the Rafah crossing. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem, Hebron (in 1 case severely beating several family members and allegedly stealing money and gold from 1 family). Jewish settlers fr. Efrat nr. Bethlehem burn at least 50 newly planted Palestinian olive trees in nearby Umm Salamuna village. (OCHA 12/9; PCHR 12/10)

IDF troops on the Gaza border nr. Erez crossing open fire at a group of Palestinians hunting birds nr. the border fence, wounding 1 Palestinian. Later, IDF troops on the Gaza border nr. Bayt Hanun open fire on Palestinian farmers working their land nearby, wounding 1 of them. The IDF also makes a brief incursion into n. Gaza to level land along the border fence to clear lines of sight. (OCHA 11/20; PCHR 11/19)

IDF troops on the c. Gaza border e. of Gaza Valley open fire on 7 Palestinians nr. the border fence, killing 1 Palestinian teenager and wounding another, then enter Gaza to detain the entire group. The IDF claims they were engaging in hostile activity, a charge local Palestinians deny. (NYT, WP 11/14; PCHR 11/19; OCHA 11/20; OCHA Humanitarian Monitor 11/09)

In the West Bank, the IDF completes construction of a segment of the separation wall along bypass road No. 55 nr. Qalqilya, completely isolating Azun village and separating the farmers in the village fr. at least 1,300 d. of their land; fires live ammunition at Palestinian and international activists taking part in a nonviolent demonstration against the separation wall in Ni‘lin (injuring at least 2 Palestinians); fires rubber-coated steel bullets, sound bombs, tear gas at Palestinian activists, some of whom throw stones at IDF troops, taking part in a demonstration against the separation wall in Bil‘in (10s suffer fr. tear gas inhalation). Jewish settlers fr. Avraham Avino occupy a Palestinian commercial building on al-Sahla street in the old city of Hebron for several hrs. to conduct religious ceremonies. (MNA 11/14; PCHR 11/19; OCHA 11/20)

To mark the Muslim holiday ‘Id al-Adha, Israeli officials allow the import of 3,000 cattle to Gaza. (WJW 11/12; JPI 11/19)

In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night raids, house searches in and around Hebron, in Jericho and Tubas, and nr. Ramallah, arresting 11 Palestinians (including 1 teenager). (PCHR 11/12)

In East Jerusalem, Israeli authorities paste demolition orders on the walls of 15 Palestinian homes in the ‘Ayn al-Luza, alBustan (in Silwan), and Yemen quarters of the Old City. Although residents of the houses are given 20 days to appeal the demolitions, the notices are back-dated 18 days. Elsewhere in Silwan, Israeli forces demolish 1 Palestinian home and deliver a demolition order to the Old Town Women Society, which provides aid to at least 70 Palestinian families. (OCHA, PCHR 11/12; PCHR 11/19)

In response to escalating tensions in East Jerusalem, 1,000s of Palestinians attend a rally in Gaza organized by Hamas calling for another intifada. (WT 10/6)

In the West Bank, the IDF arrests a Palestinian by the separation wall nr. Azun Atma; conducts late-night raids, house searches in and around Nablus and nr. Jenin, arresting 2 Palestinians. (PCHR 10/8)

Israeli-Palestinian tensions in Jerusalem remain high following the 10/4 clashes. Although Israel deploys 1,000s of additional police in and around the Old City and IDF helicopters and drones monitor fr. above, some significant clashes are reported in and around the city. At a checkpoint at the entrance of Shu‘fat r.c., Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian who stabbed an Israeli soldier in the neck; IDF troops then enter Shu‘fat r.c., fire sound bombs and tear gas, and arrest 8 more Palestinians (all under the age of 18, 2 under the age of 13). At Qalandia checkpoint, Israeli security forces fire rubbercoated steel bullets, tear gas, sound bombs at 10s of Palestinian protesters. In Ras alAmud neighborhood, Israeli security forces arrest 13 Palestinians for stone-throwing. Israeli authorities also seal off 2 Arab neighborhoods adjacent to the Old City and bar men under the age of 50 fr. entering alAqsa Mosque. At least 7 Palestinians are wounded in clashes during the day. Israel releases 2 Palestinians detained at crossings into Jerusalem on 10/4 but bars them fr. entering Jerusalem for 90 days. (WT 10/6, PCHR 10/8)

A complaint filed by Israeli human rights organization Yesh Din results in the arrest of an IDF soldier on charges of beating the Bil‘in Coordinator of the Public Committee against the Wall and Settlement during a late-night raid on 9/15. (OCHA Humanitarian Monitor 10/09)