The Palestine Chronology

In the Gaza Strip, IDF troops conduct a limited incursion nr. Jabaliya r.c. along the border fence. They level land and then withdraw, opening fire sporadically but causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts house searches and arrest raids in Hebron and 3 nearby villages, in 1 village each nr. Salfit and Bethlehem at night; patrols in al-‘Arub r.c. nr. Hebron in the afternoon, and in 1 village nr. Ramallah at night. (PCHR 9/19)

 U.S. Secy. of State John Kerry arrives in Jerusalem for a quick visit intended to brief Israeli PM Netanyahu on the Syrian situation, as well as discuss the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. After the meeting, Kerry admits that with regard to the peace process, “the road ahead is not easy” but is “worth traveling.” Kerry affirms in remarks to the media that “the threat of force is real” if Syria does not abide by the agreement. Meanwhile, 17 coalition MKs, including 5 dep. ministers, co-sign a letter for PM Netanyahu, urging him not to agree to any deal that involves handing over land to the PA. (HA, JP, WP 9/15)

Egyptian military spokesperson Ahmed Ali announces that the army has destroyed 152 tunnels on the Egypt-Gaza border since the end of 7/2013. Ali also says that 309 have been arrested so far during the Sinai offensive, with 100 Egyptian soldiers killed since the July coup (he did not give figures for number of militants killed). Ali also claims that there is some coordination between groups based in the Sinai and in the Gaza Strip, though does not name Hamas directly. Meanwhile, Egyptian naval forces open fire on Palestinian fishermen off the coast of the Gaza Strip nr. Rafah, arresting 2. (AFP, AP, HA, REU 15/9)

In the West Bank, the IDF conducts house searches and arrest raids in Qalqilya and 1 village nr. Hebron at night; patrols in 1 village nr. Qalqilya at night. Jewish settlers from Beit El nr. Ramallah throw stones at Palestinian vehicles, while in a separate incident, settlers uproot some 40 Palestinian olive trees in the s. Hebron hills. In East Jerusalem, Jerusalem municipality-owned bulldozers level lands to make a trench between Issawiyya village and French Hill settlement, at the request of the latter’s residents. (MNA 9/9; PCHR 9/12)

Palestinian official Nabil Shaath tells the media that U.S. Secy. of State Kerry had “guaranteed us in writing” that talks would start from the 1967 lines, with State Dept. spokesperson Marie Harf subsequently denying such a document. (NYT 9/9)

The EU announces a €52 million assistance package to help PA development schemes, such as municipal infrastructure projects and private sector-led economic initiatives. The aid is the final part of the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument assistance, with the total contributed to the Palestinians in 2013 now standing at €300 million. (MNA 9/9)

Russian FM Sergey Lavrov makes a statement calling for military action against Syria to be averted through a plan for the internationally coordinated destruction of Damascus’s chemical weapons’ arsenal. The dramatic intervention is welcomed as a possible breakthrough by Pres. Obama, who faces opposition in Congress and among the public to any U.S. military intervention. Democratic Senate leader Harry Reid postpones a scheduled test vote for lawmakers to assess the Russian plan. Syrian FM Walid Muallem welcomes the Russian proposal as a way of preventing “an American aggression.” (AFP, AP, REU 9/9)

The Egyptian military’s offensive in the Sinai continues, with security forces killing a further 9 militants and arresting 10 nr. Rafah. In 2 separate incidents in c. Sinai, gunmen open fire and wound 3 soldiers. In addition, Egyptian forces destroy 6 smuggling tunnels under the Egypt-Gaza border located n. of Rafah, with an Egyptian official claiming that more than 90% of the smuggling tunnels have now been destroyed. As part of the operation, Egypt’s military claims to have seized caches of weapons including a mortar belonging to Palestinian Islamic Jihad. (AFP, AP, MNA, REU 9/9)

In Gaza, the IDF makes an air strike on a concrete factory nr. Jabaliya r.c., killing 3 Palestinian employees, wounding a passerby; fires surface-to-surface missiles at the same site an hr. later as onlookers gather to view the damage, killing a Palestinian child, seriously wounding a 2d bystander; fires a missile at a group of Islamic Jihad mbrs. nr. the Bayt Hanun border, killing 1 Islamic Jihad mbr.; fires on another Islamic Jihad mbr. who approaches the border fence nr. al-Bureij r.c., wounding him; fires on Palestinian farmers working their field e. of Dayr al-Balah, wounding 1; bulldozes land inside the Gaza border n. of Bayt Lahiya; finds, demolishes 7 smuggling tunnels on the Gaza-Egypt border. Palestinians fire at least 4 rockets, 4 mortars fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries; the IDF responds with air strikes and surface-to-surface missile fire on the launch sites, causing no reported injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Tulkarm r.c., nr. Qalqilya. (IFM 11/4; OCHA 11/7; PCHR 11/8)

With Abbas and Olmert making little headway on a joint statement for the Annapolis summit, Rice returns to the region for a 3-day visit to press the parties to begin implementing their outstanding road map obligations to build mutual confidence and momentum for the upcoming summit. The U.S. has still not issued formal invitations, and the admin. is widely expected to push the meeting off until later in 11/07. (IFM 11/4; NYT, WP 11/5; NYT 11/6)

In Gaza, the IDF withdraws fr. al-Shuka, ending a 3-day arrest and bulldozing operation, having wounded 2 Palestinians, demolished 2 Palestinian homes; fires a tank shell at Palestinians collecting scrap metal nr. the n. Gaza border, wounding 6; makes 2 air strikes on suspected rocket-launching sites nr. Bayt Hanun, damaging an UNRWA school; sends bulldozers and tanks to uproot trees and level land to clear lines of sight nr. the Erez crossing, firing on residential areas of nearby Bayt Hanun, causing no reported injuries; conducts similar bulldozing operations along the border e. of Jabaliya r.c. and Rafah; demolishes 7 smuggling tunnels on the Gaza-Egypt border. Palestinians fire 9 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing light damage but no injuries; the IDF responds with air strikes, heavy machine gun, tank, surface-to-surface missile fire on launch sites across Gaza, wounding 10 Palestinians. In the West Bank, the IDF makes an overnight incursion into ‘Azun nr. Qalqilya, imposing a curfew, firing on residential areas, wounding 2 Palestinian children (ages 13, 14) before withdrawing late in the morning; raids, searches, occupies 3 Palestinian homes in Hebron, citing the need to protect local settlers; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus. In Hebron, unidentified assailants set fire to a PA security forces vehicle. (NYT 11/2; OCHA 11/7; PCHR 11/8)

In Gaza, the IDF sends troops back into s. Gaza to search for a reported tunnel on the Gaza-Egypt border, cuts power to Rafah, makes an air strike on a building in Gaza City that allegedly holds a weapons cache; makes air strikes destroying 2 Palestinian homes in n. Gaza after phoning residents (at least 1 of them an AMB mbr.) to warn them to evacuate, also destroying 1 home nearby; shells residential areas of n. Gaza without warning (hitting 4 Palestinian homes, injuring 3 Palestinians), al-Shuka (wounding 2 Palestinians); temporarily occupies the Erez industrial zone, withdrawing after nightfall; sends bulldozers into southeastern Khan Yunis to raze 100 d. of agricultural land. UNRWA reports that it is housing in its schools some 1,200 Palestinians who have fled n. Gaza to escape IDF shelling. In the West Bank, the IDF sends undercover units into Nablus to assassinate local Islamic Jihad military cmdr. Hani Uwayjan, a Palestinian civilian with him; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Hebron, Qalqilya; patrols in, fires on residential areas of Jenin, wounding 1 Palestinian. A Palestinian civilian wounded by IDF fire in Gaza City on 7/27 dies. (NYT, PCHR, WP, WT 7/30; PCHR 8/3)

The IDF keeps up intensive air and artillery strikes across Lebanon, targeting the Beirut–Damascus highway (closing the Syrian border crossing for the 1st time since 7/12; though the road is used primarily by civilians trying to flee the country and aid workers bringing in humanitarian assistance, Israel claims it targeted the road to prevent arms smuggling), killing at least 6 Lebanese civilians, wounding 2 UNIFIL monitors. During the day, the IDF withdraws troops fr. Bint Jubayl, claiming to have destroyed Hizballah’s elaborate network of tunnels and storage areas, but continues air and artillery strikes and keeps troops in the area, saying they could be sent back in at any time. Hizballah fires at least 90 rockets into Israel. Israel allows military planes delivering aid fr. Egypt, Jordan, the UAE to land at Beirut airport; a warship fr. Turkey brings medical supplies into Beirut port; a U.S. naval catamaran brings blankets, tarps, medical kits; aid workers in Lebanon complain that it is still too dangerous to transport aid supplies, that the IDF still requires convoy-by-convoy approval to move the aid to hard-hit areas. (NYT, WP, WT 7/30)

Overnight, the IDF stages scores of arrest raids across the West Bank detaining 64 senior Hamas political officials, including 8 PA cabinet mbrs. and 26 PC mbrs., plus 23 senior Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades mbrs. Haniyeh, Siyam, PA FM Mahmud Zahhar remain free. (100s of Palestinians in Jenin, Ramallah, Tulkarm hold marches, sit-ins to protest the Israeli arrest of PA legislators.) Israel says the arrest campaign has been planned for wks., with the government securing Atty. Gen. Menachem Mazuz’s authorization and arrest warrants far in advance of the Kerem Shalom attack on 6/25. In Gaza, the IDF shells 2 electricity transformers and open areas of n. Gaza, cutting all electricity to n. Gaza and wounding 1 Palestinian civilian; makes air strikes on 2 electrical shops in Khan Yunis, a Hamas training camp outside Khan Yunis, a car carrying 4 Islamic Jihad mbrs. in Gaza City, wounding 3 bystanders in the Gaza City incident; fires at least 30 shells at areas around Khan Yunis, wounding 1 Palestinian farmer; conducts house searches in al-Shuka nr. Rafah; intermittently breaks the sound barrier to harass the Gaza population. In response to Israel’s military escalation, the PRC mbrs. overnight kill a Jewish settler teenager they reported they kidnapped on 6/27; the IDF finds his body buried nr. Ramallah. During the day, the IDF makes an air strikes on targets in s. Gaza and on a car driving in Gaza City in an attempt to assassinate an Islamic Jihad mbr., who escapes lightly wounded; shells n. and s. Gaza, lightly wounding at least 3 Palestinians. AMB, Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Islamic Jihad, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) mbrs. also fire at least 6 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing light damage to a farm. Palestinian militants (thought to be Hamas) blow a hole in the Gaza-Egypt border fence; cordons of PA security forces,Egyptian border guards prevent most Palestinians fr. crossing through, though the militants who set the bomb reportedly escape into Egypt. In the evening, Olmert, Peretz order the IDF to suspend plans to send the Givati Brigade into n. Gaza overnight as planned in light of requests fr. Egypt to allow its envoys in Gaza more time to secure Shalit’s release. Meanwhile in the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches (unrelated to the arrest of PA officials) in Hebron, and in and around Ramallah, Salfit; raids 6 Islamic charities and schools nr. Hebron, Jenin and in Bethlehem, Tulkarm, confiscating computers, files; issues military orders confiscating 25 d. of Palestinian land nr. Hebron for construction of the separation wall. (HA, IFM, IMEMC, JAZ, MM, NYT, WP, WT, YA 6/29; AFP, MENA, OSC, PSCT, VOI, VOP 6/29 in WNC 6/30; CSM, HA, MM, NYT, PCHR, WP, WT 6/30; OSC, PSCT, YA 6/30 in WNC 7/1; al-Ayyam 7/1 in WNC 7/2; HA, PCHR 7/6; PCHR 7/27) 

Hamas, the Fatah Hawks (Fatah’s armed wing, which has not staged an attack on an Israeli target since the 1st intifada) take joint responsibility for detonating a massive bomb underneath an IDF checkpoint on the Gaza-Egypt border, killing 5 IDF soldiers, wounding at least 10; armed Palestinians exchange fire with IDF soldiers attempting to remove the wounded, leaving 1 Palestinian attacker dead. The IDF imposes a curfew on Talluza nr. Nablus; shells an elementary school in Khan Yunis, injuring 7 children; fires on, detains crew mbrs. of 2 Palestinian fishing boats off the Gaza coast; fires on stone-throwing Palestinians in al-Fara‘a r.c.; shells residential areas, bulldozes 24 d. of agricultural land and 8 greenhouses nr. Khan Yunis; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Askar r.c., Hebron. Palestinian shepherds herding nr. ‘Aqraba nr. Nablus severely beat a Jewish settler fr. Itamar settlement who attempts to steal their sheep; other Palestinians alert police, who intervene, detain several Palestinians. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba settlement in Hebron throw stones, bottles at Palestinian houses nr. the Ibrahimi Mosque/Tomb of the Patriarchs (IMEMC, WP 12/12; JAZ, MENA, VOI 12/12 in WNC 12/14; MM 12/13; JAZ 12/13 in WNC 12/15; HA, MM, PR 12/15; AYM 12/15 in WNC 12/18; PCHR 12/16; PR 12/22)

The IDF attempts to assassinate wanted Palestinian Resistance Comm. (PRC) leader Jamal Abu Samhadana, firing a missile at his car as he drives in Gaza, wounding him, 2 bodyguards, 1 bystander; fatally shoots a Palestinian who enters a closed military zone nr. the Gaza-Egypt border; fires a missile at the Bayt Lahiya home of AMB cmdr. Mahmud al-Madhun in an attempt to assassinate him; bulldozes 50 d. of land in Khan Yunis; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Kafr Khalil nr. Qalqilya, Nablus, Tulkarm r.c.; sends troops into al-Qarara to patrol; temporarily detains PA presidential candidate Bassam Salhi at a checkpoint into Jerusalem, saying he does not have a permit to enter the city to campaign. Israeli contractors guarded by Jewish settlers fr. Tzofim nr. Qalqilya uproot 117 olive trees in nearby Jayyus for creation of a new settlement enclave to be called North Tzofim. A Palestinian dies of injuries received in a 4/21/04 IDF raid on Gaza City. (HA, JAZ 12/9; JAZ, VOP 12/9 in WNC 12/11; HA, JAZ, NYT, WP 12/10; VOP, YA 12/10 in WNC 12/14; PRCS 12/15; PCHR 12/16; MEI 12/17)

The IDF fires shells at a group of Palestinians that enters a closed military zone nr. the Gaza-Egypt border, killing 4 Palestinians, arresting 2 (1 of whom later dies in an Israeli hospital); demolishes a Palestinian home in East Jerusalem; bulldozes several bedouin tents and shacks in Bir Nabala northwest of Jerusalem for construction of the separation wall; raids a PA Health Min. clinic in Bethlehem; fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis; conducts arrest raids in Bayt Rima, Burkin nr. Jenin, Qarawat Bani Zayd. The IDF detains and beats PA presidential candidate Mustafa Barghouthi and his bodyguards at a checkpoint into Jenin, preventing him fr. campaigning in the city; the IDF disputes the account, says Barghouthi refused to show ID, was never hit, was finally allowed to pass when he showed ID. Palestinians fire an antitank rocket into Gaza’s Nisanit settlement, causing no damage or injuries. (AP, PM 12/8; VOI, VOP 12/8 in WNC 12/10; PCHR, WP 12/9; JAZ, VOI, VOP, YA 12/9 in WNC 12/11; NYT 12/10; NYT 12/11; WP 12/12; PR 12/15)

Abbas, Qurai‘ meet with Lebanese pres. Emile Lahoud, PM Omar Karami, parliamentary speaker Nabih Birri in Beirut, marking the 1st visit by the Palestinian leadership to Lebanon since Arafat withdrew to Tunis in 1982. Abbas, Qurai‘ visit Shatila r.c., Sidon, and Rashidiyya r.c. (a Fatah stronghold) where they are greeted by 1,000s of refugees, pledge to uphold the right of return. They do not visit nearby ‘Ayn al-Hilwa r.c. (AFP, WT 12/8; VOP 12/8 in WNC 12/10; AP 12/9; al-Quds, VOP 12/9 in WNC 12/11; NYT 12/13; Daily Star, alNahar, al-Safir 12/13 in WNC 12/16; PR 12/15)

The IDF sends troops into Salfit, raids Prisoners’ Support Society offices, confiscates files and a computer, vandalizes furniture; raids offices, confiscates documents of 2 cultural societies in Bethlehem, Qarawat Bani Hassan; conducts arrest raids, house searches in al-Bireh, Haris and nearby Nablus, al-Mughraqa, Qalqilya, Tulkarm r.c.; shells agricultural areas of al-Qarara. The IDF platoon cmdr. responsible for the deliberate shooting of a 13-yr.-old Palestinian girl in Gaza on 10/5/04 is indicted on charges of misuse of a firearm, ordering subordinates to lie about the shooting, violation of military regulations. Palestinians fire 6 mortars at a Jewish settlement in s. Gaza, 5 mortars at an IDF post on the Gaza-Egypt border, causing no damage or injuries. (XIN 11/22; VOI 11/23 in WNC 11/25; PCHR 11/25; WP 11/28)

The Fatah Central Comm. votes (13– 0, with 2 mbrs. not voting) to nominate PLO head Mahmud Abbas as the party’s candidate in the upcoming PA presidential elections, slated for 1/9/05; calls on the PA to hold legislative elections before mid-2005. (XIN 11/22; JAZ 11/22 in WNC 11/24; MM, WP 11/23; QA 11/23 in WNC 11/25; PR 11/24; al-Ahram 12/3; BBC 12/10)

U.S. Secy. of State Colin Powell ends a 2-day trip to Israel, Ramallah to discuss ways to accelerate the peace-making process and revitalize the Palestinian economy. He presses the sides to do everything possible to ensure that the maximum number of Palestinians, including those in East Jerusalem, are able to participate in the PA presidential elections on 1/9/05. Sharon says he will consider withdrawing troops fr. population centers, will do all he can to facilitate Palestinian movement during voting. (NYT, REU, WP, WT 11/22; JAZ, VOI, VOP 11/22 in WNC 11/24; al-Arabiyya TV 11/22 in WNC 12/25; MM, NYT, WP, WT 11/23; WP 11/28; MEI 12/3)

IDF operations in Gaza City continue until early morning, destroying much of the central market, 13 workshops, and 6 Palestinian homes, injuring 10s of Palestinians. Soon after troops pull out, Hamas fires 6 Qassam rockets into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. Israel DM Mofaz says that the government is considering a full military reoccupation of Gaza. Nr. The IDF also shells “suspicious figures” nr. the Egypt-Gaza border, killing a 50-yr. old. Palestinian outside his home, a 7-yr.-old Palestinian playing in an open field, seriously wounding his 5-yr.-old brother; demolishes a Palestinian home nr. Hebron. This evening the IDF places a “total closure” on the West Bank and Gaza, confining Palestinians to their towns, villages under curfew until the morning of 1/29, after the 1/28 Israeli elections. The Shomron military court sentences an Islamic Jihad mbr. to 17 consecutive life sentences for participation in a 6/02 bombing at Megiddo Junction. (HA, LAW, WP 1/26; HA, MM, NYT, WP 1/27; LAW, PCHR, PR 1/29; MEI 2/7)

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Powell says that Israel must do more to ease the Palestinian humanitarian situation, offer the Palestinians more than a "phony state diced into a thousand different pieces"; that a Palesitnian state must be a “real state.” (HA 1/26; al-Quds 1/27 in WNC 1/29; MM 1/28)

The IDF fatally shoots 2 armed Hamas mbrs. attempting to cross the border fence into Israel; fatally shoots a Palestinian farmer who strays too close to Gush Katif settlement; fatally shoots a mentally ill Palestinian who approaches an IDF patrol nr. the Egypt-Gaza border; shells residential areas of Khan Yunis; sets up barricades, digs trenches around al-Naqura, occupies 1 Palestinian home as an outpost, further hindering travel btwn. Nablus and Jenin, Tulkarm; bulldozes 5 dunams of olive trees nr. Arrabe; conducts arrest raids in Arrabe, Bethlehem, Jenin, Ramallah. Israel announces that Palestinians may resume bus service btwn. West Bank towns for the first time since the start of the al-Aqsa intifada. Buses will operate fr. 6:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., will only transport passengers to the crossing point outside the next city (e.g., a Palestinian would have to take 5 buses to travel the 40 mi. fr. Jenin to Ramallah). (NYT, WP 12/17; LAW, NYT, PCHR, PR 12/18; TJT 12/19; JT 1/1)

The PA continues to close Hamas offices, says it has arrested over 180 Palestinians since 12/2. Israel says it is not enough; more senior mbrs. of Hamas, Islamic Jihad and individuals on Israel's most-wanted list must be apprehended. The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) says it will not adhere to Arafat's cease-fire call. Palestinians toss a grenade at an IDF post on the Gaza-Egypt border, causing no injuries; the IDF directs heavy machine gun fire at residential areas of Rafah in response. The IDF also fires on a PSF post nr. Jenin, wounding 1 PSF officer. (LAW, NYT, PCHR, WP 12/19; MM, WJW 12/20)

Arafat, Peres meet at Gaza airport; issue a joint statement (see 9/20) restarting phased implementation of the Tenet cease-fire plan as the 1st step toward implementation of the Mitchell recommendations for resuming negotiations. A comm. led by Peres, PC speaker Qurai` is to oversee implementation. Arafat, Peres plan to meet in 1 wk. to assess progress. Israel also demands that the PA immediately arrest 108 wanted Palestinians. (AP, HA, JP [Internet], MM, WP 9/26; ATL, Interfax, ITAR-TASS, al-Quds, XIN 9/26 in WNC 9/27; MM, NYT, WP, WT 9/27; QA, al-Quds 9/27, MA 9/28, al-Quds 9/29, MA 9/30 in WNC 10/1; NYT 9/28; NYT 10/2; JP 10/5; MEI 10/12)

Meanwhile, a large bomb explodes at an IDF post on the Gaza-Egypt border, lightly injuring 3 soldiers. In response, the IDF shells residential areas of Rafah throughout the day, damaging homes; sends tanks and bulldozers into Rafah in an overnight operation in which soldiers demolish 14 Palestinian homes, killing 3 Palestinians, wounding 31. The IDF also opens fire on Palestinian demonstrators nr. Gaza airport, killing 1 Palestinian, wounding 9; shells residential areas of Hebron, Khan Yunis. This evening, as it does annually, Israel seals the West Bank and Gaza for Yom Kippur; the closure is to be lifted on 9/28. A PA court sentences 3 Palestinians to death for collaborating with Israel. (AFP, BBC, HA 9/26; AFP, HP, NYT, WP, WT 9/27; AFP, MM 9/28; MEI 10/12)

As Israeli-Palestinian clashes continue, 2 Jewish settler teenagers (1 of whom is a dual U.S.-Israeli citizen) are found beaten to death in a cave nr. Bethlehem; the pair have been missing since 5/8. Sharon calls the murders a "new escalation," blames the PA. The IDF detains 15 Palestinians for questioning. YESHA settlers council says the proper response is to accelerate settlement construction, declare Arafat an enemy of the state, bring down the PA. The IDF makes 4 incursions into PA-controlled territory: sending bulldozers covered by tanks into Rafah to demolish a Palestinian home, shell a PSF post; bulldozing Palestinian land nr. Gaza City; twice entering Bayt Hanun to bulldoze land, a PSF post. Hamas claims responsiblity for a roadside bomb on the Egypt-Gaza border that kills 2 Rumanian migrant laborers, wounds 1. Palestinians fire 2 mortars at Nissanit settlement in Gaza, causing no damage. (AP, MM 5/9; MM, NYT, PCHR, WP, WT 5/10; LAW, MM, NYT, WP, WT 5/11; WJW 5/17; MEI 5/18)

For the 1st time in 3 yrs., the Israeli government demolishes 2 bedouin homes in the Negev. (Mossawa Center press release 5/17) (see 4/26)

Palestinians protest Israeli delays in fulfilling promises by cutting its delegation to 3 and suspending 3 working groups (see 4/29). Faisal Husseini and Haydar 'Abd al-Shafi both boycott talks. Palestinians present U.S. with 10-point draft joint statement of principles on self-rule. Israel allows immediate return of 25 more Lebanon deportees, for a total of 126 (see 2/1); Palestinians reject offer. PLO is also displeased that Saudi Arabia has not yet honored its recent financial promises (see 4/19). (RMC, AFP 5/10 in FBIS 5/11; MM, WP 5/11; NYT 5/12; RJN 5/12 in FBIS 5/12)

UN Devt. Program (UNDP) releases report citing grave environmental damage in West Bank and Gaza Strip (MM 5/11)

Kuwait announces it is holding 16 suspects, mostly Iraqis, charged with attempting to assassinate former Pres. Bush during his visit 4/14-16. (MM 4/11)

IDF shoots 3 Hamas mbrs. dead in same Gaza-Egypt border region as those killed 4/8. (Qol Yisra'el 5/12 in FBIS 5/12; MM 5/12)

Palestinian radio reads letter from Chmn. Arafat to Islamic Jordanian MPs, "regretting" their "interference in national Palestinian affairs" in criticizing PLO return to peace talks in earlier letter to him. (Sanaa VOP 5/8 in FBIS 5/10)

IDF shoots dead 3 Hamas mbrs. at Gaza-Egypt border, as well as 1 Palestinian youth near Ramallah, West Bank. (WT 5/9; MM 5/12; Qol Yisra'el 5/12 in FBIS 5/12)