The Palestine Chronology

The White House announces that U.S. special envoy George Mitchell has submitted his resignation, effective 5/20 (the day Obama is to meet with Netanyahu at the White House). Secy. of State Clinton appoints Mitchell aide David Hale as interim special envoy. (NYT, WP 5/14)

In Jerusalem, Israeli police and settlement security guards outside Beit Yonatan in Silwan fire on stone-throwing Palestinian youths, seriously wounding a Palestinian teenager walking some distance away. Numerous clashes are also reported, particularly around East Jerusalem, as Palestinians demonstrate in commemoration of the Nakba. In the Jordan Valley, a Palestinian boy is injured when he accidentally triggers IDF UXO. Palestinians (sometimes accompanied by Israeli and international activists) hold weekly nonviolent demonstrations against the separation wall, land confiscations, and settlement expansion in Bil‘in, Ni‘lin, and Nabi Salih. IDF soldiers fire rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas, and stun grenades at the protesters, injuring 2 Palestinians (including 1 child) and 1 international activist; 2 Palestinians and 2 Israeli activists are arrested. (WP 5/15; PCHR 5/19; OCHA 5/20)

Heeding calls fr. Palestinian organizers on Facebook, 100s of Jordanians in Amman and 1,000s of Egyptians in Cairo rally after Friday prayers in support of Palestinian rights. (AP, DPA, Huffington Post 5/13)

In Cairo, reps. of 15 small Palestinian factions initial the national unity deal agreed by Fatah and Hamas on 4/27. Fatah and Hamas plan to sign the text on 5/4. (WP, WT 5/4)

In the West Bank, Jewish settlers illegally enter Nablus to pray at Joseph’s Tomb and refuse to leave, barricading themselves inside the tomb and sparking stone-throwing clashes with Palestinians. The IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Hebron, arresting Hamas-affiliated fmr. PC mbr. Issa alJabari. Palestinians report the arson of a mosque in Hawara nr. Nablus, blaming Jewish settlers. OCHA reports that since 4/27, 3 Gazan children have been injured when they accidentally triggered unexploded IDF ordnance (UXO). (WP 5/4; PCHR, WJW 5/5; OCHA 5/6)

In the West Bank, a Jewish settler opens fire on a group of Palestinian youths who throw stones at him as he passes nr. Iraq Burin village nr. Nablus, killing 1 Palestinian teenager. Jewish settlers fr. Yitzhar nr. Nablus set fire to a Palestinian car and vandalize a Palestinian home in the nearby village of ‘Ayn Abous. The IDF prevents Palestinian farmers guarded by solidarity activists (including PA officials and a rep. of the U.S. consulate) fr. reaching their agricultural land nr. Bet Ayn and Karme Tzur settlements nr. Hebron; patrols in 2 villages nr. Qalqilya, 1 nr. Jenin, and 1 nr. Tulkarm. In East Jerusalem Jewish settlers harass Palestinians in Silwan. In Gaza, 2 Palestinian brothers tending sheep nr. Shuka village accidentally trigger IDF UXO, killing 1 Palestinian boy and 2 sheep. (OCHA, WP 1/28; PCHR 2/3; OCHA 2/4)

More than 10,000 Yemenis rally in Sana’a and 1,000s in other cities around the nation, taking inspiration from antigovernment protests in Tunisia and Egypt. The government deploys riot police, but little violence is reported. Government spokesmen state that the regime “strongly respects the democratic right for a peaceful assembly.” Unlike Tunisia and Egypt, where demonstrations were spontaneous and broad based, those in Yemen seem to be made up mostly of students organized by opposition parties. While all protesters highlight poverty, corruption, and lack of jobs among their grievances, they seem divided on other key goals, with some prioritizing secession for the south and others calling on Pres. Saleh to resign after being in power for more than 30 yrs. (NYT, WP, WT 1/28)

In Tunisia, after a spike in violence in the week following Ben Ali’s departure on 1/14 (mostly involving desperate Ben Ali loyalists making a final attempt to reassert control) and days of low-level demonstrations (1,000 or fewer protesters) denouncing the high number of Ben Ali loyalists in the new interim government, demonstrations taper off. By this date, the interim government has reduced the curfew and released at least 1,800 political prisoners, with more to be freed soon. Today, a reshuffled interim government with the “clear mission” of guiding “a transition to democracy” is announced and begins work to redraft the constitution and prepare for elections in 6 mos. While most mbrs. of Ben Ali’s old cabinet have now stepped down, Ghannouchi retains his post as interim PM but vows he will not run in elections. (NYT 1/27, 1/28; NYT 2/14; see also NYT, WP, WT 1/17; NYT, WP, WT 1/18; NYT 1/19; WP 1/20; WT 1/21; WP 1/26)

In Gaza, 1 Palestinian is killed and 2 are injured when they accidentally trigger IDF UXO while scavenging for construction materials in Gaza City. Unidentified Palestinians fire a rocket fr. Gaza toward Israel, but it lands inside the Strip, killing 1 Palestinian civilian and wounding 2. IDF troops on Gaza border e. of Gaza City shoot and seriously wound a Palestinian farmer tending cows some 2,000 m fr. the border fence, well away fr. the no-go zone. Israeli naval vessels fire on Palestinian fishing boats off the Bayt Lahiya coast, forcing them to return to shore. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in 2 villages nr. Tulkarm during the day and in 2 villages nr. Jenin at night; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches, and extended patrols in Nabi Salih. (PCHR 1/27; OCHA 1/28)