The Palestine Chronology

In Gaza, 3 unidentified Palestinians are injured when explosives they are handling detonate accidentally. Later, 2 Palestinian children are injured when they accidentally trigger UXO. (OCHA 10/8)

In the West Bank, the IDF raids houses in al-Shuyukh nr. Hebron, arresting 3 Palestinians (2 of whom are quickly released); patrols in Izbat al-Tabib nr. Qalqilya, detaining and violently beating 3 Palestinians; conducts late-night raids, house searches nr. Hebron, Nablus, Jenin, and in ‘Ayn alSultan r.c., arresting 10 Palestinians (including 1 teenager); imposes a half-day curfew in Wadi al-Shajana nr. Hebron. (PCHR 10/8)

As the quarter opens, Israel’s near total blockade of Gaza enters its 21st month, since Hamas’s takeover of Gaza in 6/07. Israel continues to bar exports fr. Gaza, strictly limit imports, and ban all but VIPs and emergency medical cases fr. transiting the border. Imports include limited commodities and enough staple goods and fuel for electricity, emergency services, and cooking to preclude a humanitarian crisis, but are insufficient to meet daily needs, adequately maintain basic services, or repair the heavy damage fr. Israel’s 23-day assault on Gaza, Operation Cast Lead (OCL), which ended on 1/18/09. Today, Palestinians fire 2 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) respond with 2 air strikes on tunnels on the Rafah border, causing no injuries. In Bayt Lahiya, 1 Palestinian scavenging scrap metal is killed, 4 are injured when they accidentally trigger unexploded IDF ordnance (UXO). In the West Bank, the IDF bulldozes 20 olive trees on a plot of Palestinian land on the s. border of Ni‘lin, declaring it a closed military zone; conducts synchronized late-night arrest raids, house searches into Tulkarm, neighboring Nur Shams refugee camp (r.c.), and 5 nearby villages; conducts similar late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem, Hebron; closes a gate in the separation wall nr. Dahiyat al-Barid (located btwn. the separation wall and the Green Line nr. Jerusalem), forcing villagers to travel 1–2 hrs. through the Qalandia crossing to access the rest of the West Bank. The Israeli government authorizes the confiscation of 1,700 dunams (d.; 4 d. = 1 acre) of Palestinian land in the villages of al-Ma‘sara, Umm Salamuna, and Wadi al-Nas nr. Bethlehem for expansion of Efrat and Gush Etzion settlements (2,500 new housing units, increasing the settler population there fr. 9,000 to 30,000). (Mideast Mirror 2/16; NYT, WP 2/17; OCHA 2/18; PCHR 2/19; OCHA 2/24)

Israeli naval vessels seize 9 Palestinian fishing boats off the Bayt Lahiya coast, detaining 9 fishermen for questioning, releasing them in the evening. In the West Bank, the IDF makes an afternoon raid into al-Til nr. Nablus, arresting 1 Palestinian; fires tear gas, skunk spray at Palestinian, Israeli, international peace activists taking part in a nonviolent demonstration against the separation wall in Bil‘in, wounding 1; fires rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, international peace activists taking part in a similar nonviolent demonstration in Ni‘lin, injuring 3; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus and nr. Jenin. Jewish settlers fr. Beit HaShalom and Kiryat Arba attack Palestinians and vandalize Palestinian homes in Wadi al-Nassara; the IDF observes but does not intervene. A Palestinian is killed when he accidentally triggers unexploded IDF ordnance (UXO) in a field nr. Jenin. The Ramallah-based, Fatah-led Health Workers’ Union calls on PA health providers in Gaza to strike to protest the acting Hamas government; this strikes continues through the end of the quarter. (OCHA 9/3; PCHR 9/4)