The Palestine Chronology

The last U.S. combat troops pull out of Iraq 2 wks. ahead of Obama’s 12/31/11 target date; 1,000s of U.S. diplomats and contractors remain in the country, as well as 150 U.S. soldiers tasked to train Iraqi security forces. (National Public Radio, REU 12/18; NYT 12/19)

Israel frees 550 Palestinian prisoners in the 2d stage of the swap that freed IDF Cpl. Gilad Shalit in 10/2011; 41 are released to Gaza, more than 500 to the West Bank, a few to East Jerusalem and Jordan. Under the terms of the deal, Israel picked which prisoners to free and picked mostly Fatahaffiliated West Bankers as a gesture to Abbas; none are mbrs. of Hamas or Islamic Jihad or were involved in killing or wounding anyone; Palestinians complain that “many of those being released were due to get out within months anyway. . . . If Israel had wanted to make a real good-will gesture, the list would have been totally different.” (NYT, WP 12/19)

Stone-throwing Palestinian youths clash with IDF at the Beitunia checkpoint where some of the Palestinian prisoners freed by Israel are released, leaving 10s of Palestinians and 1 IDF soldier injured. Elsewhere in the West Bank, the IDF patrols in Jenin in the morning and in 3 villages nr. Jenin, Qalqilya, and Salfit in the evening (firing tear gas at stone-throwing youths in Jenin); makes a brief incursion into Qalqilya where they set up 2 checkpoints, detain 2 PA security forces officers for several hours, and summon 1 Palestinian for questioning. Jewish settlers block a Palestinian road nr. Moshe Zouhar settlement outpost nr. Qalqilya. Israeli naval vessels fire on Palestinian fishing boats off the Gaza City shore, detaining 1 boat and questioning 4 Palestinians (3 are released, 1 is sent to Israel for an unrelated medical issue). Gaza’s Interior Min. drops requirements for Gazans to register in advance of leaving Gaza through the Rafah crossing. The Israeli Housing Min. published tenders for construction of 1,028 Jewish settlement units in East Jerusalem (500 in Har Homa, 348 in Beitar Ilit, and 180 in Givat Ze’ev). The Gaza Central Drug Store receives an urgent shipment of medicine and supplies fr. the West Bank, enough to replenish its stores for several weeks (see 12/6/12). (HA 12/18; NYT, WP 12/19; PCHR 12/22; OCHA 12/23)

IDF chief of staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz announces that in light of the dramatically increasing number of covert foreign operations Israel has undertaken in the past year, the Israeli DMin. has formed a new operational branch called the Depth Corps specifically to handle special operations “deep in enemy territory.” The new branch (separate fr. the existing Northern, Southern, and Central Commands) will be headed by former special operations commander Maj. Gen. Shai Avital and will pull and coordinate resources fr. the military’s various elite commando units on an ad hoc basis, depending on the mission. While Israel does not confirm or deny covert operations abroad, media reports over the past year have indicated that Israel has carried out operations in Sudan (targeting arms traffic to Hizballah and Hamas), Iran, Lebanon, and Syria. According to HA, since most recent covert ops have targeted Iran, IDF insiders often refer to the Depth Corps as “Iran Command.” (AFP, IHY 12/16; HA 12/18; JPI 2/10)

During a regular security briefing to the Knesset, IDF chief of staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz says that Israel may need to strike Gaza if rocket fire continues, stating that Israel would initiate an operation before it would allow itself to be “dragged into” one. Later in the day, unidentified Palestinians fire 2 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, damaging an empty kindergarten but causing no injuries. Late at night, the IDF carries out 2 air strikes (warplane and drone) targeting a smuggling tunnel on the Rafah border and a group of armed Palestinians nr. Jabaliya, causing no injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF demolishes 4 Palestinian homes n. of Jericho; patrols in al-Bireh and 3 villages nr. Ramallah during the day; conducts late-night house searches nr. Nablus, confiscating computers but making no arrests. Taking inspiration from the U.S. civil rights movement of the 1960s, 6 Palestinian peace activists, dubbed the Freedom Riders, board an Israeli commuter bus linking the West Bank Jewish settlements with Jerusalem and are arrested at an IDF checkpoint outside the city. The Israeli Housing Min. launches a major advertising campaign selling 277 subsidized apartments in Ariel settlement nr. Salfit, 743 in Ramot and 130 in Har Homa settlement in Jerusalem, and 164 in Mod’in nr. Ramallah, as well as leasing 213 plots of land zoned for construction in Efrat settlement nr. Bethlehem, 207 in Mod’in, 168 in Har Homa, and 18 in Pisgat Ze’ev in Jerusalem. (JP, WP 11/16; PCHR 11/17; OCHA 11/18)

To demonstrate some accountability in light of the Palestine Papers and to give Abbas the chance to strengthen his base in advance of elections, his cabinet resigns. Abbas immediately reappoints Fayyad as PM to form a new government. (NYT, WP 2/15)

Israel’s Jerusalem municipal authority approves 120 new housing units in Ramot settlement in East Jerusalem. Israeli authorities also bulldoze 1 d. of Palestinian fruit trees in Shaykh Jarrah neighborhood in East Jerusalem. Timed with the swearing-in ceremony of Israel’s new IDF chief of staff Benny Gantz, unidentified Palestinians fire a Qassam rocket fr. Gaza into Israel; coming after several days of relative calm on the Gaza border, Israel says it interprets the strike as a message fr. the Gaza factions that they will not “make life easy” for Gantz in his new position. IDF troops on the n. Gaza border fire warning shots at Palestinians scavenging for construction materials in the fmr. settlement sites, wounding 1. OCHA reports that Gaza hospitals have received 2 shipments of medical supplies fr. the PA Health Min. in Ramallah in recent days (see 1/18), reducing the number of supplies at zero stock fr. 183 to 150 (out of 480 essential items tracked). In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in 2 villages nr. Tulkarm, 2 nr. Ramallah, and 1 nr. Jericho, firing rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas, and percussion grenades at stone-throwing youths who confront them in 1 incident, causing no serious injuries; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem, Hebron, and Jenin. Jewish settlers fr. Halamish settlement nr. Ramallah uproot 12 olive seedlings in neighboring Nabi Salih. (JP, YA 2/14; PCHR, WJW 2/17; OCHA 2/18)

In light of domestic security concerns, Egypt seals its border with Gaza, causing almost all trade through the smuggling tunnels along the Rafah border to cease, sparking hoarding by Gazans. Hamas authorities assure the public that it has enough fuel and food stockpiled to last several days, warning merchants against hiking prices. OCHA however—noting that Israel continues to cut off all industrial fuel imports to Gaza for a 3d week making Gaza all the more reliant on smuggled fuel—expresses concern that fuel shortages will quickly become a problem, affecting the ability of municipal authorities to provide electricity, water, and sewage treatment. Meanwhile, Hamas officials in Gaza report that at least 8 Hamas mbrs. jailed in Egypt are among those freed during prisons breaks and rioting across Egypt in recent days; at least 2 have already returned to Gaza through smuggling tunnels on the Rafah border. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in a village nr. Tulkarm during the day; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Hebron and nr. Jenin and Qalqilya (warning the mayor of Jayyus that his house would be turned into an IDF post if stone-throwing at troops fr. the village continued). (AFP, MNA 1/30; PCHR 2/3; OCHA 2/4)

With major protests (10,000s) in Egypt continuing unabated and a “march of millions” called for 2/1, the Obama admin. calls on Mubarak to facilitate an “orderly transition” to a more representative government but does not explicitly call on him to resign, with Secy. Clinton stressing “we are not advocating any specific outcome,” but “it needs to be done immediately.” France and Germany issue similar statements. Joint Chiefs of Staff head Adm. Mike Mullen phones Egyptian military chief of staff Gen. Sami Anan to express “his appreciation for the continued professionalism of the Egyptian military” in refusing to engage protesters. Amid signs that Mubarak’s regime might really topple, Egypt’s organized opposition parties, including the Muslim Brotherhood, huddle for most of the day to discuss whether they could project a united front to provide direction and leadership to the popular protests, choosing opposition figure and fmr. IAEA head Muhammad El-Baradei (as a nonthreatening figure to the West) to represent the opposition in negotiations with the government over a transition and naming 10 persons they would delegate to an interim unity government. But when El-Baradei speaks in Tahrir Square in the evening, demonstrators reject him, saying the opposition parties do not represent them. Fearing that outside forces could begin smuggling weapons into the country to back an overthrow, Egypt seals the Gaza border indefinitely and, with Israel’s permission, moves 2 battalions (800 soldiers) into the Sinai for the 1st time since the 1979 peace treaty was reached, requiring the area to be a demilitarized zone. Israeli officials hold nearly around-the-clock strategy meetings to discuss the implications for Israel if Mubarak’s government falls, fearing that Mubarak’s overthrow could strengthen Hamas in Gaza and destabilize Jordan, but seeing Mubarak’s appointment of Suleiman, who has overseen Israeli-Hamas prisoner release talks, as a hopeful sign. Netanyahu orders officials to stay publicly silent as events play out. (MNA, NYT, WP 1/30; NYT, WP, WT 1/31)