The Palestine Chronology

In an apparent assassination attempt in Gaza, suspected Fatah gunmen fire on Haniyeh’s 10-car convoy, set fire to 1 PA security vehicle, causing no injuries. In Gaza, the IDF sends troops into Bayt Hanun, seals the town, demolishes a workshop, a coffee shop before withdrawing; sends troops into Khan Yunis, fatally shooting 1 Palestinian, demolishing 2 Palestinian homes, bulldozing 6 d. agricultural land. A 15-yr.-old Palestinian is injured when he accidentally detonates unexploded IDF ordnance nr. Dayr al-Balah. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in Hebron. On the last Friday of Ramadan, Israel allows 180,000 West Bank Palestinians into Jerusalem to worship at al-Aqsa Mosque. 100s of Palestinians denied entry scuffle with IDF soldiers and border police nr. Bethlehem, who fire tear gas, stun grenades. Fatah, Hamas mbrs. exchange fire in Bayt Hanun, wounding 3 Palestinians. In Khan Yunis, a Fatah mbr. is kidnapped, shot, wounded by unidentified gunmen. (NYT, WP, WT 10/21; OCHA 11/1; PCHR 11/2)

In Gaza, the IDF makes an overnight arrest raid into Um al-Nasir nr. Rafah, surrounding a home, exchanging gunfire with wanted Palestinians, firing tank shells at the house, killing 1 wanted Palestinian, 1 female bystander (allowing her to bleed to death over 4 hrs., barring an ambulance fr. reaching her) in what may be an assassination, wounding another 8 Palestinians, demolishing 13 Palestinian homes before withdrawing; shells shepherds tending a flock nr. Jabaliya r.c., killing 3 Palestinian teenagers. A 13-yr.-old Palestinian boy is injured when he accidentally detonates unexploded IDF ordnance in al-Maghazi r.c. Palestinians fire 4 rockets into Israel, causing damage but no injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF sends undercover units into Dayr Abu Sa’if nr. Jenin in a car with Palestinian license plates, arresting 3 farmers working in a field, quickly releasing 2; patrols in, fires tear gas at residents of Tubas; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Jenin town and r.c. and in Nablus, Tulkarm (firing on residential areas, cutting phone service, damaging an electricity transformer) and nearby Bala’a (firing live and rubber-coated steel bullets, percussion grenades, tear gas at stone-throwing youths, wounding 10s of Palestinians). The Israeli Housing Min. approves construction of 164 new settlement housing units in 3 West Bank settlements (Ariel 88; Alfe Menashe 56; Karnei Shomron 20). (PCHR 9/21; NYT, WP 9/22; OCHA 9/27; PCHR 9/28)

In Gaza, the IDF makes 3 air strikes destroying a Palestinian home in al-Shuka, after warning residents and neighbors to leave; later sends troops into al-Shuka, firing on residential areas, rounding up all males over age 13 for ID checks, searching homes, holding 50 Palestinians for several hrs. of interrogation, eventually arresting 3 before withdrawing. In the West Bank, the IDF sends undercover units into Burkin nr. Jenin in a car with Palestinian license plates, arresting a wanted Islamic Jihad mbr.; patrols, searches businesses, conducts random ID checks in various areas of Hebron and nearby Halhul; patrols in, fires percussion grenades, tear gas, and rifles on residential areas of al-Zababda; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Dahaysha r.c. nr. Bethlehem, nr. Jenin. Palestinian gunmen raid WAFA press agency offices in Gaza City, beating a reporter, vandalizing equipment, accusing WAFA of biased news coverage in favor of Abbas, Fatah; no group takes responsibility. Armed, masked Jewish settlers fr. Suissa severely beat a 79-yr.-old Palestinian outside Hebron. (NYT, OCHA 9/20; PCHR 9/21)

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz acknowledges that Hizballah has fully abided by the cease-fire and that Israel had detected no significant resupplying of weapons and missiles fr. Iran, Syria. By this date, 4,950 new UNIFIL soldiers fr. France, Italy, Spain and 10,000 Lebanese troops have been deployed in s. Lebanon. Meanwhile, UN relief coordinator in Lebanon David Shearer says that Israel left behind at least 350,000 unexploded cluster bomblets in s. Lebanon, stating that “the outrageous fact is that nearly all of these munitions were fired in the last three to four days of the war.” (NYT, WP, WT 9/20)

The IDF sends undercover units into Ramallah’s central shopping district, where they arrest Islamic Jihad’s Qalqilya military leader Muhammad Shubaki; when the unit is confronted by armed militants and stone-throwing protesters, the IDF sends in uniformed reinforcements that clash with the Palestinians, leaving 1 PA General Intelligence officer, 3 bystanders dead, at least 35 Palestinians and 1 IDF soldier wounded. The IDF also sends bulldozers, tanks, jeeps 200 m inside the Gaza border nr. Bureij r.c. to level land for ongoing construction of a cement wall along the n. Gaza border; raids the municipal offices in Maithalun nr. Jenin, removes the Palestinian flag fr. the building, fires tear gas; patrols in Farkha nr. Nablus (firing on residential areas), Kafr Dan; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus, in Bethlehem, and nr. Hebron, Jenin. In central Gaza, PSF chief for central Gaza Nabil Hudud dies when a bomb rigged to his car explodes; no group claims responsibility; Fatah and Hamas gunmen, however, exchange fire outside Gaza’s Shifa Hospital after Hudud’s body is brought in. In Khan Yunis, unidentified gunmen kidnap, shoot 3 Hamas mbrs., killing 1; no group claims responsibility; Hamas accuses the PA security forces. (AFP, Guardian, HA, NYT, PCHR, Palestine Monitor [Internet], WP 5/25; OCHA, PCHR 6/1)

The IDF opens Gaza’s Sufa commercial crossing (closed since 5/17); shells Bayt Hanun, Bayt Lahiya, injuring a 12-yr.-old Palestinian; sends troops into Hebron to surround the Polytechnic University campus, firing percussion grenades, tear gas and arresting 7 students; sends undercover units into Tamun nr. Jenin in a car with Palestinian license plates to arrest 3 Palestinians; sends troops into Tubas nr. Jenin, firing on stonethrowing youths who confront them; patrols in, fires on residential areas of Nablus; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Tulkarm and nr. Hebron, Jenin, Nablus. Israeli DM Amir Peretz authorizes the expansion of the “jurisdictional area” of 4 West Bank Jewish settlements, often the prelude to construction of new settlement neighborhoods: Givat Ze’ev nr. Jerusalem (to be expanded by 60 dunum [d.; 4 d. = 1 acre].); Beitar Ilit nr. Bethlehem (to be expanded by 400 d.); Oranit, just over the Green Line nr. Kefar Saba; Maskiyot, in the Jordan Valley, where Israel plans to relocate the 40 settlers evacuated fr. Shirat Hayam settlement in Gaza. Jewish settlers fr. Ma’on nr. Hebron attack Palestinian school children being escorted to school by the IDF, injuring 2. PA security forces find, dismantle a 150-lb roadside bomb planted along the motorcade route of Internal Security Service dir. gen. Rashid Abu Shibak, who was appointed by Abbas to the new position on 4/6 in a bid to wrest control of the security forces away fr. Interior M Siyam; no group takes responsibility, but Fatah officials hint that Hamas is to blame, note that the PRCs have previously fired on his home. In reaction, 100s of Fatah mbrs. rally in Gaza City in support of the PA security forces, offering to volunteer their services to counterbalance Siyam’s new volunteer force. Overnight, a previously unknown group calling itself the al-Qa‘ida Organization of the State of Palestine claims responsibility for the 5/20 attack on Abu Rajab in a statement on the Internet. (MM, NYT 5/22; OCHA 5/24; see also MA 5/20 in WNC 5/21; PCHR, PNN 5/25)

Palestinian gunmen fire on an IDF post in Hebron, wounding 2 soldiers; the IDF returns fire, killing a Palestinian bystander. The IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in Balata r.c., fires on residential areas of Jenin r.c. and town. Jewish settlers fr. Avraham Avino rampage through Palestinian areas of Hebron, damaging Palestinian property, threatening residents. Jewish settlers fr. Beitar Ilit severely beat a 75-yr.-old Palestinian farmer working his land in Husan. Jewish settlers fr. Yitzhar attack, vandalize Palestinian homes in Ourif nr. Nablus; the IDF intervenes to fire tear gas at Palestinians who attempt to fend off the settlers. Hamas mbr. Hamad Adah dies of injuries received in the 7/15 IDF air strike on Gaza City that assassinated 4 other Hamas mbrs. (AFP, IMEMC, PRCS 7/22; OCHA 7/27; PCHR 7/28)

The IDF seals the West Bank, Gaza until 4/24 for the Passover holiday; bars Palestinian traffic on the main north–south Gaza road for the day; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Ramallah and in Balata r.c. (exchanging fire with Palestinians, wounding 2), Dahariyya nr. Hebron, Jenin (targeting Islamic Jihad mbrs.) and nearby Araba, Saida nr. Tulkarm; fires rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas at Palestinian, international activists nonviolently protesting the separation wall nr. Ramallah, injuring 4 Palestinians, 2 internationals. Palestinians detonate a roadside bomb nr. an IDF patrol nr. the Qarni crossing, lightly injuring 3 soldiers. In Gaza City, 100s of PA police officers loyal to Civil Affairs M Muhammad Dahlan gather outside police headquarters in a show of force, to protest Abbas’s plans to forcibly retire some mbrs. of the security services. (AP 4/22; OCHA 4/27; PCHR 4/28)

Overnight, Hamas, the PRCs reportedly fire another 45 mortars, 30 rockets at Jewish settlements in Gaza (lightly damaging 1 house) and the Negev in retaliation for the deaths of 3 Palestinians on 4/9. The IDF arrests Fatah mbr. Firas Tanbur in Nablus on charges of planning a terrorist attack on behalf of Hizballah; Palestinians confront soldiers with stones during the raid; soldiers respond with rubber-coated steel bullets and tear gas, injuring 10. The IDF also raids, searches an elementary school in, imposes a curfew on al-‘Asa’sa nr. Jenin; fires on stonethrowing Palestinians nr. Nablus; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem, Hebron, Jenin; occupies a Palestinian home in Ramallah as an observation post; sends troops into Aida r.c. to break up a nonviolent protest against threats by Revava to attack al-Aqsa mosque. Some 3,000 Israeli police bar a rally at the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif by Revava attended by only 50 rightwing Israelis. Israel reports that Egypt recently arrested a Fatah Hawks mbr. on charges of smuggling Strela surface-to-air missiles into Gaza. (HA, MM, NYT 4/11; XIN 4/12; OCHA, PR 4/13; MM, PCHR 4/14)

IDF troops in Hebron beat, temporarily detain 7 unarmed PA traffic policemen in the Bab al-Zawiyya district in the Palestinian sector of the city, claiming they were in a prohibited area (see 3/29), beat 3 of the policemen; fire live ammunition, tear gas at Palestinians who attempt to intervene, causing no injuries; fire on residential areas. The IDF also raids, searches a house in East Jerusalem, arresting 1 Palestinian; patrols inside Tamun nr. Jenin, randomly checking Palestinian IDs; uproots 100 olive trees in Bil‘in for construction of the separation wall. For the 2d day, a Jewish settler fr. Kiryat Arba shoots, wounds a Palestinian farmer working his nearby field. A Palestinian Resistance Comm. (PRC) gunman shoots, seriously wounds a Jewish settler working in a greenhouse in Morag settlement, claiming the act is in retaliation for recent Israeli violations of the unofficial truce. Palestinians detonate a roadside bomb nr. an IDF patrol in Rafah, causing no damage or injuries. Hamas complains that the PA has recently fired a number of teachers working in PA schools who are Hamas supporters. (AFP, IMEMC, YA 4/5; HA, NYT, OCHA, WT 4/6; PCHR 4/7)

The IDF shoots, wounds, then beats a Palestinian in Hebron for no apparent reason; sends troops into Nablus, erects checkpoints, searches several Palestine Red Crescent Society ambulances; conducts arrest raids in al-Tawani nr. Hebron, Tubas, Yatta; fires steel-coated rubber bullets, tear gas at Palestinians, Israelis, international peace activists conducting a nonviolent demonstration against the separation wall in Bil‘in, injuring an Israeli. (OCHA 4/6; PCHR 4/7)

The IDF attempts to break up a Land Day demonstration nr. Tulkarm, sparking clashes in which 1 Palestinian is injured; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Dayr al-Ghusun, Tubas nr. Jenin uproots 1,500 olive trees nr. Hebron for construction of the separation wall; fires steel-coated rubber bullets, tear gas at Palestinians conducting a nonviolent demonstration against the separation wall in Nazlat Issa nr. Tulkarm, wounding 1 Palestinian. Jewish settlers fr. Ramat Yishai, escorted by IDF soldiers, occupy a Palestinian home in Hebron, throw the contents of the home into the street, also rampage through the area damaging several other Palestinian homes. Jewish settlers fr. Ma’on and Suissa settlements attack 3 Palestinians working on their lands in nearby Yatta. (IMEMC 4/2, 4/3; OCHA 4/6; PCHR 4/7)

The IDF raids Budrus nr. Ramallah, fires on residential areas, sparking clashes that leave 2 Palestinians injured; sends troops into Salim with military orders to occupy a Palestinian home as an IDF post for 1 mo., confining the 16 family mbrs. to 1 floor; conducts arrest raids, house searches in ‘Azun; fires rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas at a nonviolent Palestinian demonstrations against the separation wall in Bil‘in (injuring 1 Palestinian), Dayr Ballut nr. Nablus (wounding 2 Palestinians). Palestinians complain that 100s of people were unable to attend Friday prayers at Hebron’s Ibrahimi Mosque because of prolonged IDF checks at the newly installed electronic gates surrounding the site (see 3/13, 3/24). A Palestinian is injured in an explosion in Gaza City, reportedly while preparing a bomb; 3 Palestinians are injured in a similar incident in Khan Yunis. Some 20 Jewish settlers fr. Yitzhar settlement nr. Nablus rampage through the nearby village of Asira, breaking windows, throwing stones, beating a 50-yr.-old Palestinian woman; when IDF troops come to Yitzhar later in the day to investigate, some 150 settlers throw stones, clash with troops; later in the evening settlers attack Palestinian homes again, causing damage but no injuries; Yitzhar officials say the attackers were “a number of boys” who had gotten drunk for Purim. Jewish settlers fr. Otniel nr. Hebron detain 3 Palestinian women, 4 children cultivating olives on their nearby land; hold them at the settlement for 5 hrs., until PA security officials intervene with the IDF to secure their release. Jewish settlers fr. Ramat Yishai rampage through Palestinian areas of Hebron for 3 hrs., damaging Palestinian homes but causing no injuries. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba throw stones and bottles at 2 Palestinian homes in Hebron, threaten to burn them. Jewish settlers fr. Ma’on attack 10s of Palestinians, 4 international peace activists helping Palestinians clean up poisoned feed that the settlers spread on Palestinian land nr. Yatta on 3/22. (HA 3/26; OCHA 3/30; PCHR 3/31)

The IDF imposes a curfew on Allar nr. Tulkarm, raids and occupies a girls school and 4 Palestinian homes as observation sites, detains 10s of Palestinians for interrogation; also conducts arrest raids, house searches in ‘Azun nr. Qalqilya, Dahariyya nr. Hebron; closes checkpoints into East Jerusalem before Friday prayers, fires tear gas and percussion grenades to disperse Palestinians waiting to cross; beats a Palestinian farmer tilling his land nr. the separation wall in Dayr al-‘Asal nr. Hebron; fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis; fires rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas at a nonviolent Palestinian demonstration against the separation wall nr. Bil‘in, seriously injuring a Palestinian, lightly injuring a foreign journalist with the Associated Press. Some 40 Jewish rabbinical students club, stone 8 Palestinian laborers working legally at Nachliel settlement, seriously injuring at least 5; Israeli police intervene but the settlers escape; police sources say the 8 Palestinians were “almost lynched.” Jewish settlers fr. Brakha settlement nr. Nablus ambush, beat, seriously injure a Palestinian truck driver passing the settlement. 10s of Jewish settlers fr. Halamish settlement occupy a plot of nearby Palestinian land housing the water spigots controlling the water supply to the settlement and nearby Palestinian villages. PA security officers seal a smugglers’ tunnel in Rafah; some Palestinians confront the officers with stones, causing no injuries; 1 Palestinian is arrested. (HA, MM 3/18; VOP 3/19; AYM 3/20; OCHA 3/23; PCHR 3/24)

Ma’ariv 3/18 reports that that the financial officer of the Greek Orthodox Church, Nikolaos Papadimas, who has power of attorney for Greek Orthodox Patriarch Irineos, recently signed a secret deal, without Irineos’s permission, to sell the church’s Omar Bin Khattab Square property in the Old City of Jerusalem to Jewish investors fr. abroad and then fled the country with his family, depositing $1.5 m. in a Tel Aviv bank account. The square is a valuable commercial area inside the Jaffa Gate, where 3 prominent Palestinian hotels and a number of shops are located. Irineos denies that he gave permission for the sale, meaning that, by church bylaws, the sale is void. (JAZ, MA, al-Quds, VOP 3/19 in WNC 3/28; HA, VOP 3/23; AP 3/24; NYT 3/25; PR 3/30; al-Quds, VOP 4/3 in WNC 4/4; NYT 4/4; Independent 5/10; HA 5/15; PR 5/18)