The Palestine Chronology

In the Gaza Strip, Egyptian troops open fire on Palestinian youth along the border e. of Rafah, killing 1 and arresting 3. In 2 separate incidents, Israeli soldiers stationed along the border fence (e. of Khan Yunis r.c. and e. of Jabaliya r.c.) open fire on stone-throwing Palestinians, moderately injuring 2. In the West Bank, Israeli settlers from the Adi Ad outpost throw stones outside Turmus ‘Ayya at 2 vehicles from the U.S. Consulate General in Jerusalem, causing light damage. IDF troops violently disperse Palestinian, Israeli, and international protesters at weekly demonstrations against Israel’s separation wall, settlements, and occupation in 3 villages nr. Ramallah (Bil‘in, Nabi Salih, and Ni‘lin), and 1 village nr. Qalqilya (Kafr Qaddum), where they arrest 1 Palestinian. In the evening, Israeli troops clash with stone-throwing Palestinians in a village nr. Ramallah, then impose a curfew on the village and arrest 1 resident. (AP, HA, MNA, TOI 1/2; IMEMC, MNA, YA 1/3; OCHA 1/15)

Senior Palestinian leaders meet in Ramallah and discuss resubmitting their res. to the UNSC since 5 new mbrs. joined the council on 1/1. PA Pres. Abbas meets with Jordanian officials about the timing of the resubmission. (TOI 1/3; DS 1/4)

DF troops on the n. Gaza border nr. Bayt Hanun open fire on Palestinian farmers who stray too nr. the border fence, seriously injuring 1. Palestinians fire 3 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries, bringing to 21 the number of rockets fired since the Gaza cease-fire went into effect on 11/26. In the West Bank, the IDF demolishes a Palestinian home in al-Walaja nr. Bethlehem; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Abu Dis, Jenin town and r.c., and nr. Bethlehem, Tulkarm; bars a Palestinian heart attack victim fr. crossing a checkpoint to reach a hospital in Nablus, allowing him to die. Following the 12/11 attack on Balusha’s car in Gaza City, Abbas deploys extra security forces under his command across the Strip, sparking an exchange of gunfire btwn. Fatah, Hamas mbrs. during a Fatah demonstration in Khan Yunis against the killings, leaving 4 Fatah mbrs. injured. Inside Israel, Israeli police demolish 4 homes in the unrecognized village of Um Mitnan in the Negev. (IMEMC, MM 12/12; OCHA, WP 12/13; PCHR 12/14)

Overnight, the IDF drops 2 quarter-ton bombs on a 3-story building in Gaza City in an attempt to assassinate chief Hamas bomb-maker Muhammad Dayif, 4 times previously the target of Israeli assassination since 2000, wounding Dayif, killing senior Hamas mbr. Nabil al-Salima,his wife and 7 children, wounding Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades n. Gaza cmdr. Ahmad al-Gander and at least 33 bystanders, seriously damaging 15 surrounding homes. At the same time, the IDF also expands Operation Summer Rains with a major incursion into central Gaza, sending 10s of tanks, APCs, armored bulldozers across the Kissufim crossing under helicopter and drone escort and moving troops north fr. positions nr. Abasan, cutting the Strip in half, ordering PA security forces to leave the area, shelling and bulldozing surrounding areas. During the day, the IDF reportedly kills at least 22 other Palestinians and wounds at least 14 in major gun battles nr. Dayr al-Balah in central Gaza and in air and artillery strikes around Dayr al-Balah and Khan Yunis; the PRC’s Salah al-Din Brigades Khan Yunis leader Hisham Abu Nusayra, a PA policeman are killed in separate air strikes in Khan Yunis and a police station in alQarara is hit. The IDF also bulldozes 65 d. of agricultural land, partially demolishes 8 Palestinian homes and a car, and occupies 10 Palestinian homes as military posts in Dayr al-Balah; withdraws fr. the Qarni industrial estate (held since 7/8), allowing humanitarian and commercial imports to resume, and from Dahaniyya airport (held since 6/28), allowing PA security forces to enter the airport and the Rafah crossing and around 1,000 displaced Palestinians (see 7/8) to return to their homes. Palestinians try to fire rockets fr. Gaza toward Kissufim, but they fall short, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF sends undercover units into Dura, Nablus to conduct arrest raids. A Palestinian militant dies of injuries received during the 7/7 IDF air strikes on Bayt Lahiya. (BBC, HA, IMEMC, NYT, OCHA, PCHR, WP, WT 7/12; NYT, PCHR, WP, WT 7/13; PCHR 7/20; NYT 7/21; B’Tselem 8/3)

Before dawn, Hizballah launches a crossborder attack on Israel, dubbed Operation True Promise, firing rockets across the Blue Line into n. Israel as a diversion; sending fighters in to n. Israel to attack an IDF patrol btwn. Zarit and Shetula, capturing 2 IDF soldiers, killing 3 soldiers, wounding 2. The IDF sends troops into Lebanon to search for the missing soldiers, where an IDF tank hits a mine, killing 4 IDF soldiers and marking Israel’s 1st ground incursion into Lebanon since its 5/00 withdrawal. (An 8th IDF soldier is killed, 2 others are wounded in Lebanon late in the evening as they try to recover the remains of the 4 tank occupants.) The IDF also launches air strikes and directs heavy artillery, tank fire on some 40 Hizballah positions, roads, bridges, power stations in s. Lebanon, killing at least 2 Lebanese civilians, 1 Lebanese soldier, wounding at least 10. The Lebanese government requests that UNIFIL broker a cease-fire, but Israel says a cease-fire would be contingent upon return of the captured soldiers. Hizballah leader Shaykh Hasan Nasrallah says the group plans to hold the 2 soldiers for the release of 3–4 Lebanese held by Israel. During the day, IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz calls up a reserve infantry division for deployment to the n. Israel border and sends the Israeli navy into Lebanese waters, threatening a massive invasion of Lebanon; makes air strikes on a Palestinian guerrilla base s. of Beirut. (BBC, HA, IFM 7/12; HA, IFM, NYT, WP, WT 7/13; UNIS 7/14)

Overnight and during the day, the IDF continues to expand its presence in n. Gaza, entering populated areas for the 1st time since disengagement, meeting strong resistance fr. Palestinians, who use RPGs, rifles, roadside bombs and fire 8 rockets toward Israel (only 4 land inside Israel, causing no damage or injuries). The IDF uses air strikes, artillery, tanks, and gunfire as well as bulldozes fields, roads, and open areas to widen the n. Gaza buffer zone; the clashes, mostly concentrated in Bayt Lahiya but also in s. Gaza, leave at least 24 Palestinians (many reportedly Hamas mbrs., but also including at least 2 children), 1 IDF soldier (hit by friendly fire) dead and wound some 80 Palestinians (nearly a third of them children), 1 IDF soldier. The IDF also bulldozes areas around Khan Yunis, demolishing 3 Palestinian homes; opens Erez and Qarni crossings for several hrs. for the movement of international aid workers, humanitarian goods. Palestinian gunmen also fire on an al-Jazeera TV car in Bayt Hanun, believing it to be an IDF undercover unit, wounding the driver, 1 journalist. In the West Bank, the IDF sends undercover units into a memorial service in Jenin r.c. for an AMB mbr. killed on 7/5, attempts to assassinate the AMB’s n. West Bank cmdr. Zakariya Zubaydi and local Islamic Jihad leader Mahmud al-Sadi, fatally shooting 2 Palestinian teenagers, wounding 18; Sadi, Zubaydi escape. The IDF also raids an Islamic charity nr. Hebron; demolishes a Palestinian home nr. Jerusalem; patrols in ‘Anabta nr. Tulkarm; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Nablus, nr. Hebron and Qalqilya; issues military orders confiscating 45 d. of land along settler bypass road 60 nr. Hebron for construction of a military base nr. the separation wall. Jewish settlers fr. Suissa set fire to a Palestinian home; the IDF prevents firefighters fr. reaching the area. Israeli police arrest 5 senior Hamas mbrs. in East Jerusalem for illegally helping Change and Reform PC mbrs. conduct Hamas affairs in the city. (IMEMC, OCHA, NYT, WT, YA 7/6; NYT, PCHR, WP, WT, YA 7/7; HA, NYT, WP 7/8; PCHR 7/13)

Overnight, the IDF launches Operation Summer Rains, sending ground troops into s. Gaza; retaking the Dahaniyya airport area as a base, demolishing 5 Palestinian homes and bulldozing land to improve lines of sight, and blowing up 3 bridges to control movement between the Rafah and Gaza City environs; conducting 7 air strikes on Gaza’s only electricity plant nr. Gaza City and 6 transformer stations, wounding 2 Palestinians, blacking out 45% of the Strip, and leaving Gaza fully dependent on electricity fr. Israel); shelling open areas of s. Gaza; repeatedly breaking the sound barrier over the Strip. The IDF’s elite Givati Brigade deploys outside n. Gaza, prepared to enter if rocket attacks resume. Midafternoon, IDF artillery begins shelling n. Gaza for the 1st time since the 6/9 incident that killed 8 Palestinians. After Palestinians fire 2 rockets into Israel in response (causing no damage or injuries), the IDF warns n. Gaza residents to evacuate the area, with Olmert saying that IDF operations will escalate until Shalit is released. In a warning to Syrian pres. Bashar al-Asad and Hamas’s Damascus-based leadership, the Israeli air force makes overflights of Asad’s residence in Latakia (where he is believed to be staying) and along the Syrian coast. Meanwhile, Palestinians fire 6 more rockets toward Israel, but all land inside Gaza, causing no damage or injuries. The AMB says it has kidnapped a 62-yr.-old Israeli man fr. Rishon Letzion, inside Israel, who has been missing since 6/26; issues a statement threatening to target Israeli embassies abroad. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in Iktaba nr. Tulkarm; raids a Fatah office in al-Bireh, confiscating computers, arresting 3 Palestinians; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Tulkarm, nr. Hebron. In Khan Yunis, 2 Palestinian children are killed when they accidentally detonate unexploded IDF ordnance. In West Jerusalem, around 100 ultra-Orthodox Jews attack a tour group of 50 pro-Israel Christians for wearing shirts saying “love your neighbor as yourself”; Israeli police intervene to stop the attack but make no arrests; 3 tourists, 1 police officer are injured. (AP, BBC, B’Tselem press release, HA, IFM, IMEMC, ITV, MM, NYT, PCHR, REU, Voice of the Arabs [Cairo], WP, WT, YA 6/28; OSC 6/28 in WNC 6/30; BBC, CSM, HA, IMEMC, MM, NYT, REU, WP, WT 6/29; Globe, PCHR 6/29; HJ 7/1 in WNC 7/1; see also AFP, MENA, PSCT 6/27 in WNC 6/28; OCHA 6/30; PCHR 7/6; REU 7/11)

The IDF closes Qarni crossing for 2 days; closes the Kerem Shalom crossing for the day; shells Bayt Lahiya (wounding a Palestinian outside his home, damaging several homes); raids a PA police station in Tamun, confiscating a guard’s gun; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Madama nr. Nablus, ordering all of the village residents to gather the local school for ID checks. At the request of Jewish settlers fr. Suissa, the IDF beats and forcibly removes a Palestinian farmer and his 6-yr.-old son fr. their nearby farm land. Some 50 masked PA policemen (AMB mbrs.), firing in the air, block a main Gaza road in Khan Yunis, briefly seize a government building to protest a 2-wk. delay in their 3/06 salaries. A Palestinian bystander wounded in the 4/7 IDF assassination of PRC cmdr. Abu al-‘Aynayn dies of his injuries. (HA, IMEMC, XIN 4/15; WP, WT 4/16; PCHR 4/20; OCHA 4/23)

The IDF closes the Qarni crossing (reopened on 10/9); begins construction of a 6-m.-high concrete wall 15 m inside the n. Gaza border (see 9/18); conducts arrest raids in and around Hebron (targeting Hamas), Nablus, Yatta. Jewish settlers fr. Elkana beat, chase off a Palestinian family harvesting their olive trees nr. Salfit. AMB mbrs. briefly kidnap an American journalists, British photographer in Khan Yunis, giving no reason; Fatah secures their quick release unharmed. (AFP, IMEMC 10/12; IMEMC, NYT, WP, WT 10/13; PCHR 10/20; OCHA 10/31)

The IDF begins dismantling observation posts around Gaza settlements, replacing them with armored vehicles and tanks in preparation for disengagement; sends troops into Nur al-Shams r.c., searches homes, fires on stone-throwing youths who confront them, killing 1 Palestinian bystander, wounding at least 1; fires tank shells at a graveyard in Khan Yunis where Palestinian reportedly were preparing to launch a mortar, causing damage but no injuries; fires on residential areas of Rafah; conducts arrest raids in ‘Azun, Balata r.c., Dura, al-Khadir; occupies a house in Silat al-Dahir, turns it into an observation post; patrols in Nablus. Palestinian gunmen loyal to Fatah head Qaddumi kidnap 2 foreign UN workers, their Palestinian driver in Khan Yunis to pressure the PA to secure the release of Fatah mbr. Farah (arrested 8/7); the PA security forces storm the home of a local AMB cmdr., exchange fire with the kidnappers (2 kidnappers, 1 bystander are injured), free the 3 captives unharmed; Farah remains in custody. Citing incidents in Khan Yunis today and on 8/7, the ICRC suspends operations in Gaza to protest the lack of security. (FT, IMEMC, UNIS, XIN 8/8; FT, HA, IMEMC, JP, NYT, PRCS, WT 8/9; OCHA, PR 8/10; PCHR 8/11)

The IDF begins delivering letters to the roughly 1,600 Jewish settler families in the Gaza Strip and 4 West Bank settlements slated for removal under disengagement, giving them until 8/15 to evacuate their homes and receive full compensation; those remaining on 8/17 will be forcibly removed, will not be allowed to return to collect their belongings (which will be packed and shipped by the IDF), will not receive full compensation. (HA 8/8; NYT 8/9)

The IDF fires on residential areas of Rafah, killing 1 Palestinian; opens fire in Nur al-Shams r.c., killing 1 Palestinian teenager, wounding 5 after a Molotov cocktail is thrown at a passing IDF jeep fr. the area; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem, Jenin and in ‘Azun, Hebron, Khan Yunis, Tulkarm; occupies 3 houses in Jenin, Hebron, Tulkarm as observation posts; bulldozes a grove of Palestinian olive trees in Bayt Surik nr. Jerusalem; arrests 5 Palestinian farmers working their fields nr. the separation wall around Qalqilya nr. ‘Azun, releasing 3 after questioning, holding 2. In response to the 8/4 Shafa ‘Amr killings, AMB gunmen fire on a Jewish settler vehicle in the West Bank, wounding 2 settlers. Jewish settlers fr. Ma’on attack, beat 4 Palestinian farmers working their nearby fields. Palestinian gunmen fire on the International Comm. of the Red Cross (ICRC) headquarters in Khan Yunis, causing damage but no injuries. The PA security forces arrest Khan Yunis Fatah official and Qaddumi spokesman Sulayman al-Farah on suspicion of building a local militia; Farah earlier announced that Qaddumi ordered his office to set up a 1,500-man force to help the PA maintain law and order in Gaza during disengagement (see 7/16). (IMEMC, UPI 8/7; NYT 8/8; HA, NYT, WT 8/9; OCHA, PR 8/10; PCHR 8/11)

The IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in Hebron, Jenin; bulldozes 5 d. of olive trees in Kafr Qadim nr. Qalqilya; confiscates 8 d. of land outside Nablus to expand a buffer around an IDF post. A rocket fired by Palestinians at Gush Katif bloc hits a Palestinian house in Khan Yunis, killing 1 Palestinian child, wounding a 2d. A mortar fired by Palestinians at an IDF post in Gaza injures 1 IDF soldier. After an NIHC mtg. in Gaza, the PA, Palestinian factions announce that all factions have reaffirmed their pledge to observe a cease-fire, will remove all armed forces fr. the streets (except those of the PA security forces), will halt provocations and incitement. Israel agrees to renew contacts with the PA regarding coordination on the disengagement, which were suspended following the 7/12 suicide bombing. (IMEMC 7/21; NYT, WT, XIN 7/22; OCHA, PR 7/27; PCHR 7/28)

The IDF begins dismantling 1 of its main posts in Khan Yunis in preparation for disengagement; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Aida r.c. and Wadi al-Silqa, around Hebron, nr. Qalqilya. Major Hamas-Fatah clashes erupt in Gaza City when PA preventive security force officers outside the force’s headquarters open fire on a car driven by an Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades mbr. Within the hr., Hamas political leaders, senior PA officials hold a press conference appealing for calm, say they are ready to put aside all differences and hold talks on improving relations. Hrs. later unidentified gunmen (some reports say Hamas mbrs.) fire on the Gaza City homes of PA police cmdr. Abu Shibak (see 6/10), Fatah Gaza head Abdallah Franji, Fatah Revolutionary Council mbr. Majid Abu Shammala, Force 17 head Faisal Abu Sharkh, PA security forces Col. Nabil Tamus, and the offices of leading Fatah mbr. Samir Masharawi and the PA preventive security forces headquarters; exchange gunfire with Abu Shibak’s and Franji’s bodyguards, leaving at least 7 Palestinians (at least 2 Franji bodyguards, 2 Abu Shibak bodyguards, 1 attacker) injured. In Jericho and Ramallah, 10s of Palestinians, including some political leaders and heads of organizations, organized by the National and Islamic Higher Committee for the Follow-up of the Intifada (NIHC) stage marches to demand that the PA take action to end lawlessness, support rule of law. A PA police officer dies of injuries received during the IDF incursion into Tulkarm on 7/13. In s. Israel, 1,000s of Israeli protesters observe a 3d and final day of demonstrations against disengagement. (AFP, IMEMC, PCHR, PR, REU, XIN 7/20; AYM 7/20 in WNC 7/21; NYT, PCHR, WP 7/21; OCHA 7/27; PCHR 7/28)

The IDF continues massing tanks, armored vehicles on the n. Gaza border; Sharon instructs security officials to take “all measures, without restrictions, in order to stop the wave of terrorism,” though his advisers suggest that any push into Gaza likely would not happen until after Condoleezza Rice’s visit on 7/22. An IDF sniper (reportedly firing fr. a nearby Jewish settlement) assassinates senior Hamas cmdr. Sa‘id Siyam (not Shaykh Sa‘id Siyam, the Hamas spokesman) outside his home in Khan Yunis. The IDF also lifts the curfews on Tulkarm and surrounding areas imposed on 7/13; fires missiles at a Palestinian vehicle in Bayt Lahiya, injuring 1 Hamas mbr., injured 2 bystanders in an apparent assassination attempt; fires on stone-throwing youths in Tulkarm, wounding 1; shells residential areas of Khan Yunis; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem, Ramallah and in ‘Azun, Hebron, Kafr Thuluth, Qalqilya, Saida nr. Tulkarm, Wadi al-Silqa. In retaliation, Hamas fires Qassam rockets into Neve Dekalim (hitting a house, injuring 6 settlers), Sederot (causing no injuries). Israel bars indefinitely all visits to Palestinian prisoners as punishment for the 7/12 Netanya bombing. A Palestinian injured in the IDF assassination of 3 Hamas mbrs. in Salfit on 7/15 dies. (HA, IMEMC, PRCS, XIN 7/17; VOI, VOP, YA 8/17, Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation 7/18 in WNC 7/18; NYT, WP, WT 7/18; XIN 7/18 in WNC 7/19; OCHA, PR 7/20; PCHR 7/21)

IDF tanks and infantry begin massing on Gaza’s northern border in apparent preparation for a major incursion. The IDF continues operations in and around Tulkarm; conducts predawn missile strikes on 3 auto repair garages, machine shops in Gaza City, Khan Yunis thought to be weapons factories, injuring 3 Palestinians; conducts arrest raids targeting Hamas and Islamic Jihad mbrs. in Bethlehem, Hebron, Nablus, and Tulkarm, arresting 26 Hamas, 4 Islamic Jihad mbrs.; also raids, searches homes in Mughraqa; fires on a group of Palestinians trying to cross the closed Abu Huli crossing into Gaza, wounding 4; conducts patrols nr. Ramallah, Tulkarm and in Dahaysha r.c., Nablus (firing on residential areas), Qalqilya, Tubas nr. Jenin. Hamas fires 10 mortars, 8 Qassam rockets fr. Gaza at Sederot and Nisanit settlement (lightly injuring 7 settlers). In Gaza City, some 10,000 Hamas supporters attend the funeral of 4 Hamas mbrs. assassinated on 7/15. In Bayt Lahiya, Hamas gunmen shoot, wound a PA security officer. In Khan Yunis, Palestinian gunmen associated with a Fatah splinter group set fire to the newly opened offices of Fatah head Faruq Qaddumi, then fire on PA security forces posts in the area. In Ramallah, AMB mbrs. fire in the air, order stores to close to protest Palestinian deaths in recent days; PA security forces deploy in response, ordering stores to reopen. (HA, IMEMC, JAZ, REU, YA 7/16; VOI, VOP 7/16 in WNC 7/17; HA, JAZ, JP, NYT, WP, XIN 7/17; VOP 7/17 in WNC 7/18; OCHA, PR 7/20; PCHR 7/21)

Israel releases the leader of the Islamic movement in Israel Shaykh Ra’id Salah, arrested in 5/03, after serving a sentence for directing funds to West Bank and Gaza charities that allegedly support “terrorism”; his sentence was reduced by more than a yr. for good behavior. (REU 7/17; VOI 7/17 in WNC 7/18; JP 7/18 in WNC 7/19; PR 7/20)

An Israeli civilian security guard responsible for separation wall construction area outside Bayt Laqia fires on stonethrowing youths, fatally shoots a 15-yr.-old Palestinian working in his family’s vineyard nearby; the IDF bars an ambulance fr. reaching the area for 2 hrs. The IDF conducts arrest raids in Hebron and Jenin, targeting Islamic Jihad; fires on Palestinians holding a daily nonviolent protest against the separation wall nr. Bil‘in, critically wounding 1 Palestinian with a bullet to the head; fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis; arrests 2 Palestinian farmers working their land nr. Hebron for being too close to the separation wall; raids, occupies 2 Palestinian homes nr. Tulkarm as observation posts. The AMB detonates a roadside bomb nr. an IDF patrol in Rafah, injuring 4 IDF soldiers. Palestinians fire an antitank rocket at an IDF patrol nr. Neve Dekalim, causing no damage or injuries. (AFP, IMEMC 7/8; VOI, YA 7/8 in WNC 7/9; AFP, HA, NYT, WP, WT, XIN 7/9; HA 7/10; AYM 7/10 in WNC 7/11; OCHA 7/13; PCHR 7/14)

The IDF fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis, wounding an 8-yr.-old Palestinian; demolishes 5 Palestinian homes outside Nablus that were built without permits; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron. IDF soldiers escorting Jewish settlers to Joseph’s Tomb nr. Balata r.c. exchange gunfire with local Palestinians, leaving 1 AMB mbr. dead, 1 AMB mbr. and 1 bystander wounded. In Gaza, 2 Islamic Jihad mbrs. attempt to infiltrate Morag settlement, 1 is fatally shot by the IDF, 1 is wounded. In Gaza, a Jewish settler injures 3 Palestinians in a hit-and-run incident outside of Kefar Darom, local Palestinians race to the scene and IDF soldiers, other Kefar Darom settlers race to the driver’s defense, sparking clashes that leave 9 Palestinians injured, 2 seriously. In a separate incident in Gaza, a Jewish settler fr. Gadid injures a 57-yr.-old Palestinian farmer in a hit-and-run incident outside Khan Yunis. (XIN 7/6; VOP 7/6 in WNC 7/7; AFP, IMEMC, PCHR, PRCS 7/7; VOI 7/7 in WNC 7/8; ISM 7/12; OCHA 7/13; PCHR 7/14)

The IDF demolishes 11 long-abandoned bungalows along the s. Gaza shore outside Shirat Hayam settlement being used by some 100 West Bank Jewish settlers who recently came to Gaza to block disengagement; the settlers scuffle with soldiers, break into a nearby Palestinian clinic, damage 12 d. of Palestinian crops and an irrigation network nearby; 1 IDF soldier is arrested, ordered jailed for 56 days for refusing to follow orders to carry out the demolition. The IDF also conducts arrest raids in, fires on residential areas of ‘Azun nr. Qalqilya; fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis; imposes a curfew on Saffa nr. Ramallah; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron, Bethlehem, Tulkarm; begins construction of a new separation wall segment northeast of Jerusalem nr. ‘Anata. In Rafah, 4 Palestinian children are injured when they trigger either a roadside bomb or unexploded IDF ordnance. A Palestinian stabs, wounds an IDF soldier in East Jerusalem, is arrested. A Jewish settler beats, injures a Palestinian man in Hebron; the IDF intervenes, arrests the settler. Another group of Jewish settlers fr. Beit Haggai beat 2 Palestinian employees of the Hebron Reconstruction Comm. doing work on local Palestinian homes. Jewish settlers fr. Avraham Avino in Hebron burn down a Palestinian shop, vandalize several others. A Jewish settler wounded in the 6/24 shooting outside Hebron dies. (HA, IMEMC, XIN 6/26; VOI 6/26 in WNC 6/27; NYT, WP, WT 6/27; PCHR 6/28; OCHA, PR, WP, WT, XIN 6/29; PHRC 6/30)

The IDF fatally shoots a Palestinian with a hearing problem who fails orders to halt nr. Hebron’s Ibrahimi Mosque/Tomb of the Patriarchs; fires on a Palestinian vehicle that passes an IDF post nr. Jenin, killing 1 Palestinian; tightens restrictions on Palestinian movement around Bayt Jala nr. Bethlehem; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron, Nablus. A Palestinian is killed in Khan Yunis when the rocket-propelled grenade he launches toward a Jewish settlement misfires. Nr. Gaza City, 2 AMB mbrs. are killed, 3 (including at least 1 Hamas mbr.) are injured allegedly when a roadside bomb they are planting explodes prematurely. In Ramallah, an unidentified masked gunman fatally shoots Palestinian journalist Samir Rantisi, an aide to fmr. PA Information M Yasir ‘Abid Rabbuh; the PA suspects a criminal motive, while the Rantisi family believes he was killed because he was involved in an investigation into certain corrupt PA officials. A Palestinian wounded during an attack on an IDF post nr. Mevo Dotan on 5/28 dies. (IMEMC, PRCS 5/29; XIN, YA 5/29 in WNC 5/30; IMEMC, JAZ, JP, NYT 5/30; OCHA 6/1; PCHR 6/2)

The IDF fires on Palestinian residential areas of Khan Yunis, wounding a 13-yr.-old Palestinian boy; fires on stone-throwing youths in Hebron, wounding 1 in the buttocks with live ammunition; shells a newly completed, uninhabited Palestinian home nr. Hebron, causing serious damage; conducts house searches in and around Hebron, interrogates residents aged 13–25 in Hebron’s Bab al-Zawiyya neighborhood. (IMEMC 5/25; PCHR 5/26; OCHA 6/1; PCHR 6/2)

The IDF begins removing equipment fr. its base in Gaza’s Neve Dekalim settlement in preparation for disengagement; conducts arrest raids in Bethlehem; bars an ambulance transporting a pregnant Palestinian woman in distress fr. crossing a checkpoint nr. Khan Yunis, forcing the woman to give birth and allowing the baby to die at the checkpoint; conducts house searches in al-Aza r.c., Bayt Jala, Bayt Tamar nr. Bethlehem. (BBC, IMEMC, REU 4/20; MM, NYT, PCHR 4/21; OCHA 4/27; PCHR 4/28)

The IDF fatally shoots 3 14-yr.-old Palestinians playing soccer nr. the Philadelphi Route in Rafah, alleging that the youths strayed into a closed military zone, were acting suspiciously, and may have been involved in arms smuggling. Hamas, the PRCs retaliate by firing 25 mortars at nearby Jewish settlements, causing no damage or injuries; Hamas, Islamic Jihad say the mortar fire is a 1-time response, not a declaration to the end of the truce; the PA sends a “strongly worded” letter of protest to Israel saying it views the IDF strike with the “utmost gravity”; the UNRWA also protests. The IDF fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis; searches a kindergarten in Hebron, holding 80 children in 1 room for more than 90 minutes; raids, searches an Internet caf´e in Qalqilya, interrogates clients, arrests 1; conducts arrest raids and house searches, fires on residential areas of Silwad nr. Ramallah; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Ithna nr. Hebron, Kafr Ni’ma nr. Ramallah. Jewish settlers fr. Ramat Yishai vandalize 4 Palestinian houses in Hebron, severely beat 2 Palestinian teenagers. A group of female Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba break the windows of a Palestinian house in Hebron. A Palestinian dies of injuries received on 1/9. (IMEMC 4/9; VOI 4/9, 4/10 in WNC 4/10; NYT, WP, WT 4/10; MM, PRCS 4/11; XIN 4/12; OCHA, PR 4/13; PCHR 4/14; MM 4/18; PR 4/20)

The U.S. group Yedidim, an alliance of 1,000s of Baptist churches and Jewish synagogues across the U.S., says it is preparing a series of protests in Gaza before and during Sharon’s Crawford visit to protest and block disengagement plans, stating “we are working right now to send thousands of people, thousands of Zionist Christians. We will go over there and stand in the Gaza Strip with our friends and see what they will do about evicting Americans.” Some 5,000 Christian Zionist plan to protest at Crawford on 4/11. (WT 4/9)

The IDF demolishes a Palestinian home in n. Jerusalem to make way for the separation wall; fires on Palestinians who halt their car and emerge to survey their agricultural land nr. Tulkarm (lightly injuring 1), takes them to the hospital only after 3 hrs. of questioning; shoots, wounds a Palestinian who strays nr. the separation wall nr. Qalqilya; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Hazma nr. Jerusalem, Tulkarm; conducts arrest raids Hebron, al-Qarara nr. Khan Yunis, Salim nr. Nablus, Sawahara nr. Jerusalem. Palestinians detonate a roadside bomb nr. an IDF patrol on the Rafah border, causing no injuries. For a 2d day, Jewish settlers fr. Ma’on shoot at, attack Palestinian shepherds grazing their animals nr. the settlement. Jewish settlers fr. Almatan nr. Qalqilya uproot 10s of olive trees, bulldoze Palestinian agricultural land in neighboring Kafr Thuluth. A Jewish settler injures an 8-yr.-old Palestinian girl in a hit-and-run in Hebron. A Palestinian dies of injuries received earlier. (IMEMC 3/14; OCHA 3/16; PCHR 3/17)

The IDF conducts arrest raids, searches in and around Hebron, targeting 6 Islamic charities, a development organization, and local Palestinian Prisoners’ Society offices, detaining 65 heads and board members of the institutions as well as local Islamic leaders and imams; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem and in Dura, Ithna, Salfit, Surif, Tulkarm; issues military orders confiscating 89 d. of land in al-Jib, 72 d. in Biddu, and 100s of d. fr. Bayt Duqqu and Bayt Ijza for construction of the separation wall northwest of Jerusalem. A Hamas mbr. infiltrates Ganei Tal settlement nr. Khan Yunis, fires at settlement guards (causing no injuries), is killed by return fire. Hamas fires 3 mortars, 3 Qassam rockets at Jewish settlements in Gaza, causing no damage or injuries. A 6-yr.-old Palestinian boy in Hebron is hit by an IDF jeep; soldiers take him to a hospital in Kiryat Arba settlement, but he is pronounced dead. (IMEMC 1/6; VOP 1/6 in WNC 1/11; OCHA, PR 1/12; PCHR 1/13)