The Palestine Chronology

IDF conducts air strikes on 2 cars in Gaza City, assassinating 4 PRC mbrs. and wounding 1 bystander in one case, and wounding Islamic Jihad spokesman Khadir Habib and 3 bystanders in the other. Later, Palestinians fire 5 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries; in response, the IDF fires artillery shells at n. Gaza areas, carries out 2 air strikes on a n. Gaza access road, wounding 2 Palestinians. During the day, the IDF also conducts arrest raids in and around Jenin, in Nablus (reportedly finding a Qassam rocket, explosives in the search of a Hamas building). Late in the evening, the IDF makes air strikes on the Bayt Lahiya home of a PRC leader, injuring a relative, and on an Islamic Jihad charity in Rafah, causing damage but no injuries; conducts an air strike on an agricultural school in Bayt Hanun, injuring 1 Palestinian; launches 4 air strikes on open areas of n. Gaza, causing no damage; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Tulkarm and nr. Bethlehem, Hebron, Nablus, Ramallah. Israel approves construction of 200 new housing units in Ma’ale Adumim settlement and 40 in Ariel Brakha, Nokdim. A group of AMB mbrs.storms the Fatah headquarters in Gaza, demanding jobs; exchanges fire with another group of Fatah mbrs. who drive them away, leaving 3 wounded. (BBC, HA, IMEMC, JAZ, REU, YA 12/14; DS, JAZ, NYT, PCHR, PMC, WP, YA 12/15; PLO press release 12/21; PCHR 12/22)

Palestinian gunmen representing the AMB, Islamic Jihad, the PRCs fire on a Jewish settler vehicle nr. Gaza’s Kissufim crossing, killing 2 Israeli civilians (visiting Jewish settler relatives), wounding 4; IDF soldiers at the crossing return fire, killing 2 Palestinians; 2 soldiers are wounded in the exchange. Israel says it captured an AMB mbr. who infiltrated Israel fr. Gaza with an 11 lb. bomb, with plans to carry out a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv; arrested a 2d Palestinian accomplice in Jaffa (with an Israeli ID card, married to an Israeli Arab). An IDF drone fires 2 missiles at a group of armed Palestinians nr. Bayt Lahiya, causing no injuries, in what may be an assassination attempt. The IDF also sends troops into Sa’ir nr. Hebron, fires on stone-throwing Palestinians who confront the troops, seriously injuring 1 bystander; fires on residential areas of Rafah; severely beats a Palestinian at a flying checkpoint nr. Salfit; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Balata r.c., villages around Jenin. Jewish settlers fr. Ramat Yishai attack, vandalize a Palestinian home in Hebron. Palestinian groups linked to Fatah, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine fire rockets at Gush Katif, causing no damage or injuries. An armed Palestinian in fatigues raids the Rafah apartment of 4 American International Solidarity Movement workers, forces 1 of them (a 75-yr.-old man) into a car with 3 other masked Palestinians, holds him at a local school for 1 hr. before releasing him unharmed; no reason is given. (HA, IMEMC, PCHR, PRCS, WP, WT, XIN 7/24; NYT 7/25; OCHA, PR 7/27; PCHR 7/28)

The IDF raids Qabatya nr. Jenin to arrest wanted Islamic Jihad cmdr. Marawa Khalil (also reported as Murwa Kamil), exchanges gunfire with him, attracting a mob of stone-throwing Palestinians; in the ensuing 90-min. clashes, Khalil and an unarmed Palestinian bystander are fatally shot, 9 Palestinians (including at least 3 bystanders) and 1 IDF soldier are wounded, Khalil’s house is demolished; 100s of Palestinians later march in Jenin, protesting the IDF operation and calling for revenge. In retaliation for the raid, Islamic Jihad fires mortars at Gaza’s Ganei Tal settlement, hitting a greenhouse and killing 2 Palestinian and 1 Chinese laborer, wounding 5 Palestinians. In further response to 6/6 events in Jerusalem, Hamas fires 3 Qassam rockets at Sederot and several mortars at Gaza settlements, causing light damage, no injuries; Israeli FM Silvan Shalom blames Hamas for “trying very hard to undermine our efforts to move toward peace with the Palestinian Authority.” The IDF also fatally shoots an Arab (identity unknown, carrying Egyptian bank notes) who tries to scale the Rafah border fence; fires a missile at Palestinian resistance mbrs. in Bayt Hanun, causing no damage or injuries; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron. (PRCS 6/7; MENA, VOP, XIN 6/7 in WNC 6/8; NYT, OCHA, PR, WP, WT 6/8; VOP, XIN 6/8 in WNC 6/9; PCHR 6/9; al-Ahram 6/10; PR 6/15)

The IDF conducts arrest raids in Askar r.c., Balata r.c., Nablus; raids, searches, interrogates the employees of a flour mill in al-Qarara; fires on residential areas of Rafah. Some 40,000s Jewish settlers gather in Gaza’s Neve Dekalim settlement to protest Sharon’s disengagement plan; during the rally, Palestinians fire 2 rockets, 3 mortars toward the settlement, lightly wounding 2 IDF soldiers. Jewish settlers fr. Karnei Shomron uproot 300 Palestinian olive trees nr. the settlement. (JAZ, XIN 4/27; NYT, PCHR, WP, WT 4/28; VOP 4/28 in WNC 4/28; WP 4/29; OCHA, PCHR 5/5)

An 11-yr.-old Palestinian girl is fatally shot in a Rafah school yard. Palestinians say the gunfire came fr. an IDF post outside a nearby Jewish settlement, but the IDF denies this, claming that the girl was hit by gunfire fr. local Palestinians who were celebrating their return fr. the Hajj; residents say no such celebrations were taking place. In retaliation, Hamas fires 6 mortars, 6 Qassam rockets at Jewish settlements in Gaza, causing damage but no injuries. Islamic Jihad fires 3 rockets at Netzarim, causing no damage or injuries. The IDF bulldozes at least 800 d. of agricultural land outside Yatta, apparently to turn the land over for Jewish settlers’ use; begins bulldozing Palestinian land in al-Ram northwest of Jerusalem on a settler bypass road. (VOI 1/31 in WNC 2/1; MM, NYT, WP, WT 2/1; PR 2/2; PCHR 2/3)

Sharon orders the IDF to intensify operations against Palestinian militants and to act “without restrictions, I emphasize, without restrictions” to halt “terrorism,” stating that Abbas is “not lifting a finger” to stop attacks on Israelis. The IDF withdraws fr. Gaza City (having bulldozed a total of 80 d., wounding at least 13 Palestinians since 1/15) but continues targeted operations in the outskirts of the city; shells Khan Yunis, damaging 1 Palestinian home, then firing on the family when they emerge to check the damage, killing a Palestinian mother and son, wounding the father, saying soldiers fired on suspicious “figures gathering information about IDF troops” in the area; separately fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis, hitting Nasser Hospital; fires on residential areas of Balata r.c., Rafah; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Abasan nr. Khan Yunis, Hebron, Husan, Ithna, Saida. Hamas fires 3 mortars at an IDF post in Gaza, 1 Qassam rocket at Gadid settlement, causing no damage or injuries. Palestinian gunmen fire on an IDF patrol in Jenin, wounding 4 soldiers. (AFP, HA, JAZ, VOI, VOP, YA 1/16, MENA 1/17 in WNC 1/20; NYT, WP, WT 1/17; JTA 1/18; HA, OCHA 1/19; PR 1/20; PCHR 1/27)

The IDF fires on residential areas of Rafah; shells residential areas of Bayt Hanun; conducts arrest raids nr. Bayt Lahiya. Hamas fires a Qassam rocket fr. Gaza at the IDF’s Nahal Oz base inside Israel, wounding 12 IDF soldiers. 2 AMB mbrs. attempt to raid an IDF post at the Bayt Hanun crossing in n. Gaza, are shot dead. A Palestinian fires grenade, a rifle at IDF soldiers at the Erez checkpoint, causing damage but no injuries before being shot dead. (MM, PR, REU 1/5; IMEMC, NYT, PCHR, WT 1/6; PCHR 1/13)

The IDF fires tank shells at Palestinians harvesting strawberry fields outside Bayt Lahiya, killing 7 Palestinian children (ages 10–17) wounding at least 2 adults, 5 children; fires on Palestinians working agricultural land southeast of Gaza City, killing 1 Palestinian, wounding 5; fires on residential areas of Brazil r.c., Rafah; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron, and in Bethlehem, al-Fawwar r.c., Silwad, ‘Anin nr. Jenin, Qalqilya, Rafah. Hamas fires 2 Qassam rockets fr. Khan Yunis at nearby settlements and fr. n. Gaza at Sederot, injuring 2 Israelis. (FT, IMEMC 1/4; VOI, VOP 1/4 in WNC 1/6; MM, NYT, PM, PR 1/5; IDF Radio, al-Quds, VOI, YA 1/5 in WNC 1/7; PCHR 1/6; MEI 1/7)