174 / 15150 Results
  • November 27, 2016

    Off Gaza’s coast, Israeli naval forces open fire on Palestinian fishing boats nr. Bayt Lahiya, causing no damage or injuries. Along Gaza’s border, IDF troops arrest a Palestinian attempting to...

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  • January 21, 2009

    Israel announces the complete withdrawal of ground forces from Gaza. Israeli naval vessels direct heavy machine gun fire at beaches in n. Gaza, causing no reported injuries. Israel allows 118...

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  • January 4, 2009

    IDF ground forces backed by naval and air support continue to enter Gaza overnight, with troops taking up positions across n. Gaza (from which most Palestinian rockets have been fired),...

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  • July 26, 2008

    In the West Bank, the IDF makes a major daytime raid into Hebron, surrounding 4 Palestinian homes, bulldozing surrounding areas, directing tank shells and heavy machine gun fire on the buildings,...

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  • June 15, 2008

    In Gaza, Palestinians fire 2 rockets toward Israel, causing no damage or injuries; the IDF directs heavy machine gun fire across the border at the launch site, causing no reported injuries. In the...

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  • May 21, 2008

    In Gaza, the IDF makes an air strike on an empty car in Jabaliya r.c. owned by a member of Hamas’s Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades (IQB) in an apparent assassination attempt, destroying the car,...

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  • November 20, 2007

    In Gaza, IDF bulldozers, tanks level land at al-Qarara nr. Khan Yunis. Palestinians nr. al-Bureij r.c. fire 4 mortars toward Israel, but all fall inside the Gaza border. Palestinians nr. Rafah...

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  • November 19, 2007

    In Gaza, an ailing 8-yr.-old Palestinian boy dies when the IDF denies permission to transport him through the Erez crossing to an Israeli hospital despite his having the proper Israeli permits....

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  • November 1, 2007

    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...

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  • October 31, 2007

    The IDF occupies strategic high points inside the Gaza border nr. Bayt Lahiya, firing surface-to-air missiles at a group of armed Palestinians (missing them, causing no damage or injuries) and on...

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  • October 28, 2007

    To increase pressure on Hamas, Israel announces that it will begin curtailing fuel shipments to Gaza by up to 11% and that it has permanently closed the Sufa crossing (closed on 10/26 and 10/27...

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  • October 16, 2007

    Overnight, the IDF launches major arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus, clashing with armed Palestinians, killing local AMB leader Basim Abu Saria and a 71-yr.-old Palestinian man,...

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  • October 6, 2007

    In Gaza, the IDF sends bulldozers into the Qarni industrial zone to erect sand berms; Palestinians fire anti-tank missiles at the troops, who respond with heavy machine gun fire; no injuries are...

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  • August 25, 2007

    In Gaza, 2 armed Palestinians representing the Fatah-linked al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade (AMB) and the Popular Resistance Comms. (PRCs; an umbrella group including mbrs. of all factions) infiltrate the...

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  • June 3, 2007

    In Gaza, Hamas fires mortars at the IDF post at Erez crossing, wounding 4 IDF soldiers. In the West Bank, the IDF raids Jenin, exchanging fire with Palestinian gunmen, killing Muhammad Farhati,...

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  • May 22, 2007

    The IDF expands military operations in Gaza, making at least 7 air strikes on Hamas, ESF, and PA General Intelligence targets in Gaza, targeting 4 suspected arms caches and 3 other sites (...

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  • February 13, 2007

    IDF troops on the n. Gaza border shoot, wound a Palestinian farmer who strays nr. the border fence n. of Bayt Lahiya. AMB mbrs. fire an RPG at an IDF observation post on the Gaza border e. of Gaza...

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  • January 31, 2007

    IDF troops on the Gaza border east of Bureij r.c. fire on, arrest 3 unarmed Palestinian teenagers who stray nr. the border fence. IDF troops stationed in the Erez industrial zone fire on armed...

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  • July 26, 2006

    The IDF expands Operation Summer Rains overnight, sending 50 tanks, troops back into n. Gaza in and around Gaza City, engaging in intense clashes with and conducting air strikes on Palestinian...

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  • October 28, 2004

    IDF undercover units assassinate senior AMB mbr. Ibrahim Issa in Qalqilya. The IDF continues operations in Jenin town and r.c., firing on stone-throwing youths, searching homes. Late in the...

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  • October 11, 2004

    In n. Gaza, the IDF shells residential areas of Jabaliya; expands its incursion into Bayt Lahiya, killing 1 armed Palestinian in an air strike, directing heavy machine gun fire at residential...

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  • October 10, 2004

    In n. Gaza, the IDF conducts an air strike on a warehouse in Jabaliya r.c., destroying it and 3 adjacent Palestinian homes, killing a Palestinian bystander; shells a group of Palestinians in...

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  • August 14, 2004

    The IDF shells, directs heavy machine gun fire at residential areas of Brazil r.c., Khan Yunis, Rafah (wounding 1 woman inside her home); sends troops into Balata r.c., Nablus under cover of...

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  • March 13, 2003

    The IDF fatally shoots 2 armed Jewish settler guards in a friendly Žre mishap, mistaking them for Palestinian gunmen; fatally shoots 6 wanted Hamas mbrs. in a raid on Tamun in what may be an...

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  • November 10, 2002

    The IDF pulls back to the outskirts of Jenin, ending its 2-wk.-old Operation Vanguard (see 10/25); bulldozes 8 Palestinian homes in Rafah; directs shells, heavy machine gun fire at residential...

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  • November 5, 2002

    The IDF makes an incursion into Rafah r.c., demolishing 3 Palestinian homes, directing shells and heavy machine gun fire at residential areas, killing 2 Palestinian teenagers, injuring 12 others (...

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  • October 30, 2002

    IDF commandos ambush, assassinate wanted PA intelligence officer Ayid Mansur outside his home in Nablus. The IDF fatally shoots 1 Palestinian nr. the new security wall in Zita; raids a makeshift...

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  • October 26, 2002

    The IDF continues operations in Jenin, arresting 10s of Palestinians; fires live ammunition at stone-throwing Palestinians in Brazil r.c., killing a 13-yr.-old Palestinian boy; directs tank, heavy...

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  • October 17, 2002

    The IDF directs shells, heavy machine gun fire at residential areas of Rafah r.c., killing 6 Palestinians (including 2 women, 2 teenagers, a 9-yr.-old girl) and wounding 50; the IDF says it was...

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  • September 26, 2002

    IDF helicopters fire 2 missiles 2 cars in Gaza City in its 4th attempt to assassinate most-wanted Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades mbr. Muhammad Dayif; 2 Hamas mbrs. are killed, Dayif escapes with...

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Off Gaza’s coast, Israeli naval forces open fire on Palestinian fishing boats nr. Bayt Lahiya, causing no damage or injuries. Along Gaza’s border, IDF troops arrest a Palestinian attempting to cross into Israel nr. Bayt Lahiya. They do not inform his family, who will spend the next 2 days searching for him. (The Israeli govt. will release a statement on 12/28 announcing that the man is a Hamas military operative. His family will deny the report, asserting that he has no affiliation with Hamas and that he is mentally unstable.) In the West Bank, IDF troops arrest 7 Palestinians during late-night raids in and around Hebron, Bethlehem, and Ramallah; and patrol nr. Qalqilya and Hebron. Israeli settlers assault a Palestinian returning from work s. of Jerusalem. He suffers serious injuries, and the settlers flee the scene. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces arrest 7 Palestinians during late-night raids in Silwan, Qalandia r.c., and Qatanna. (MNA 11/27; JP 11/30; PCHR 12/1; HA 12/28; MNA 12/29)

Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) fighters in Syria launch mortars at IDF troops patrolling along the border in the Israeli controlled Golan Heights, causing no injuries. The IDF returns fire, bombing a car armed with a heavy machine gun. 4 ISIS fighters are reportedly killed. Late at night, Israeli fighter jets launch air strikes on an abandoned facility in the Syrian Golan Heights causing damage. (HA, JP, YA 11/27; JP, TOI, YA 11/28)

Israel announces the complete withdrawal of ground forces from Gaza. Israeli naval vessels direct heavy machine gun fire at beaches in n. Gaza, causing no reported injuries. Israel allows 118 truckloads of goods into Gaza. Hamas mbrs. reportedly begin rounding up alleged collaborators with Israel, including Fatah mbrs. In the West Bank, the IDF sends undercover units into Qabatya to ambush and arrest local Islamic Jihad leader Salah Kmail, and into Qiffin nr. Tulkarm to raid a carpentry shop, arresting Islamic Jihad mbr. Omar Daoud; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Bethlehem, Jenin and nr. Salfit, Tulkarm; fires on Palestinians demonstrating against OCL in Bayt Umar nr. Hebron, wounding 2; fires rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas, percussion grenades at Palestinian, Israeli, international activists taking part in a nonviolent demonstration against the separation wall in Ni‘lin (injuring 11 Palestinians, including 5 children). (AP, HA, MM, REU 1/21; IDF Radio, IHY, MM, NYT, PCHR, WP, WT, YA 1/22; NYT 1/23; JP, MM 1/26; PCHR 1/29)

IDF ground forces backed by naval and air support continue to enter Gaza overnight, with troops taking up positions across n. Gaza (from which most Palestinian rockets have been fired), surrounding Gaza City, retaking the former Netzarim settlement site nr. the Gaza coast south of Gaza City, and bifurcating the Strip into e. and w. (cutting a swath roughly from the Qarni and Nahal Oz crossings to Netzarim on the coast, driving 1,000s of residents from Juhur al-Dik, al-Mughraqa, and al-Zahra’ with heavy artillery and tank fire), but not entering dense urban areas.

Combat notes: IDF-Palestinian ground fighting is described as “fierce,” characterized by heavy IDF artillery fire and heavy Palestinian sniping and mortar fire. Because the IDF stays out of built-up areas, there are few reports of close-quarter combat or heavy exchanges of gunfire. While ground troops concentrate in the north, Israeli air strikes and naval bombardment focus equally on the north and south, hitting more tunnels on the Rafah border and targeting Hamas leaders for assassination. (The IDF claims to assassinate Hamas rocket cmdr. Hussam Hamdan and IQB and long-range rocket cmdr. Muhammad Hilu in Khan Yunis, senior IQB mbr. Muhammad Shalbush in Jabaliya, but there is no independent confirmation.)

The IDF reports hitting 45 sites and carrying out 40 air strikes during the day, striking a produce market in Gaza City, several mosques, a medical building and 3 mobile clinics in Shati’ r.c. run by a Danish charity, homes of at least 4 Hamas mbrs. (most of whom have gone into hiding), and suspected weapons depots across Gaza. Target areas include Abasan, Bayt Hanun, Bayt Lahiya, al-Bureij r.c., Dayr al-Balah, Gaza City (al-Daraj, Tal al-Hawa, al-Tuffah, al-Yarmuk, al-Zaytun), Jabaliya, Juhur al-Dik, Khan Yunis, al-Mughraqa, al-Nasser (n. of Rafah), Rafah, Shati’ r.c., al-Shuka, al-Zahra’. After dark, IDF troops conduct door-to-door searches on the outskirts of Gaza City.

Palestinians fire 29 rockets (including at least 12 Grads) and 5 mortars into Israel, hitting Ashdod, Ashqelon, Netivot, Ofakim, and Sederot; 1 house in Sederot is damaged and 1 Israeli woman lightly injured. 

At least 47 Palestinians (including 4 paramedics) are killed and 400 wounded (including 3 paramedics) during the day; 1 IDF soldier is killed, 1 is seriously wounded in a heavy exchange of gunfire nr. Jabaliya; 15 IDF soldiers are wounded (3 seriously) by Palestinian mortar fire inside Gaza. The UN and Palestinian medical workers estimate the Palestinian toll to have reached at least 507 dead, 2,400 injured. The Israeli toll stands at 5–6 killed, more than 40 injured.

Humanitarian notes: The Israeli FMin. announced a new joint office of the FMin. and Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, called the Humanitarian Affairs Coordination Center (HACC), to coordinate humanitarian organizations operating on aid transfers to the Strip. The UN reports that shortages of fuel, electricity, and water are worsening. Gazan hospitals report drastic shortages of anesthesia, surgical equipment, heaters, spare parts. (AP, BBC, IDF, JAZ, National Public Radio, OCHA, REU, WT 1/4; IDF, IFM, NYT, RFM, UNOSAT, WP, WT 1/5; BBC 1/6; IFM, PCHR 1/8; WP 1/27)

In the West Bank, the IDF fatally shoots 1 Palestinian demonstrator who attempts to climb the separation wall nr. Qalqilya; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in al-Arub r.c. nr. Hebron, nr. Jenin. Israel’s High Court rules that the IDF may seal 2 floors of the home of the East Jerusalem Palestinian who killed 8 students at the Mercaz HaRava yeshiva in Jerusalem in 3/6/08, even though the gunman was killed during the attack and sealing the home would serve only to punish his extended family; another floor of the home will not be sealed because it is being rented to an unrelated family. (PCHR 1/8)

In the West Bank, the IDF makes a major daytime raid into Hebron, surrounding 4 Palestinian homes, bulldozing surrounding areas, directing tank shells and heavy machine gun fire on the buildings, demanding the surrender of a wanted Hamas mbr. inside, also firing on stone-throwing Palestinians protesting the operation, wounding a 13-yr.-old boy; the operation is ongoing by the end of the day. The IDF also patrols in, fires on residential areas of Bayt Umar, then fires on stone-throwing youths who confront them, wounding 4, arresting 5; conducts daytime arrest raids, house searches in Jalazun r.c. nr. Ramallah and similar nighttime operations in and around Nablus, nr. Hebron. In Gaza, Hamas-led police launch a major crackdown on Fatah in response to the 7/25 bombings, arresting 10s of Fatah supporters and searching several Fatah offices (including those of PLO Exec. Comm. mbr. Zakariya al-Agha and PC mbr. Ziad Abu ‘Amr), while IQB mbrs. toss grenades at the home of a Gaza City Fatah leader (causing no reported injuries) and set up roadblocks across the Strip; 2 Hamas mbrs. wounded in the 7/25 beach bombing die. (WT 7/27; OCHA, PCHR 7/30)

In Gaza, Palestinians fire 2 rockets toward Israel, causing no damage or injuries; the IDF directs heavy machine gun fire across the border at the launch site, causing no reported injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Dahaysha r.c.; issues a military order confiscating 356 d. of Palestinian land e. of Tubas for construction of an IDF training facility. Unidentified gunmen fire on a group of Hamas-affiliated policemen outside a police office in Gaza City, causing no injuries. Hamas-affiliated police make a 2d attempt to arrest a wanted Fatah mbr. in al-Bureij r.c. (see 6/12), but are again attacked by neighbors and Fatah supporters and are forced to retreat. (OCHA 6/18; PCHR 6/19)

Israeli, Syrian negotiating teams open a 2d round of indirect peace talks in Istanbul. (MM 6/16; AFP, MM, NYT 6/17)

In Gaza, the IDF makes an air strike on an empty car in Jabaliya r.c. owned by a member of Hamas’s Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades (IQB) in an apparent assassination attempt, destroying the car, damaging surrounding homes, causing no reported injuries; sends tanks, troops into areas southeast of Gaza City to bulldozes 200 d. of olive groves. IDF troops on the n. Gaza border shell an alleged rocket-launching site w. of Bayt Lahiya in n. Gaza, injuring 2 Palestinian children (ages 4, 17) and damaging a house. IDF troops on the s. Gaza border direct heavy machine gun fire towards residential areas of Abasan, wounding 1 Palestinian inside his home. The Israeli navy fires on Palestinian fishing boats off the n. Gaza coast, causing no reported injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF raids, searches a store in Yatta nr. Hebron, arresting the owner and confiscating a computer; chases and detains 17 Palestinian children who throw stones at an IDF post outside al-Arub r.c. nr. Hebron, questioning and releasing 12, arresting 5; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Jenin. The IDF also demolishes a Palestinian home in East Jerusalem, displacing a family of 7. Jewish settlers fr. Itamar nr. Nablus seize an area of Palestinian land and begin leveling work for construction of a new settler-only bypass road. Jewish settlers angry over the removal of an IDF roadblock nr. Hebron demonstrate, block Palestinian traffic. Israel’s Housing min. issues tenders for construction of 286 new settlement housing units in Beitar Ilit nr. Bethlehem. A Palestinian teenager injured during the IDF’s 4/11/08 raid on al-Bureij r.c. dies (see Chronology in JPS 148). (PCHR 5/22; OCHA 5/28; PCHR 5/29)

Israeli police hold a press conference to announce serious new corruption and financial impropriety allegations against Israeli PM Ehud Olmert (see Quarterly Update for details). (NYT, WP, WT 5/22; NYT 5/23; MM 6/12; NYT, OCHA, WP, WT 5/28)

Israel, Syria, Turkey announce that Israel and Syria have been holding “serious and continuous” indirect peace talks through Turkish mediators since 2/07; high-level Israeli and Syrian negotiating teams are in Istanbul taking part in a preliminary round of indirect negotiations. (IFM 5/21; NYT, WP, WT 5/22; NYT 5/23; MM 6/12)

Lebanese political figures holding national unity talks in Doha formally announce that they have reached a comprehensive agmt. ending their 18-mo. political standoff and paving the way for Gen. Michel Suleiman’s election as pres, including agmts. on redistricting Beirut, an electoral law, and allotment of cabinet seats that will give Hizballah veto power over major decisions. (MM, NYT, WP 5/21; MM, NYT, WP, WT 5/22)

In Gaza, IDF bulldozers, tanks level land at al-Qarara nr. Khan Yunis. Palestinians nr. al-Bureij r.c. fire 4 mortars toward Israel, but all fall inside the Gaza border. Palestinians nr. Rafah fire 3 mortars toward Kerem Shalom crossing, causing no damage. In both cases, the IDF responds with heavy machine gun fire, causing no reported damage or injuries. Palestinians detonate a roadside bomb nr. an IDF patrol inside the Israeli border nr. Kissufim base, causing no injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in Tulkarm and nr. Hebron, Jenin, Qalqilya, Ramallah. (OCHA 11/21; PCHR 11/22)

In Gaza, an ailing 8-yr.-old Palestinian boy dies when the IDF denies permission to transport him through the Erez crossing to an Israeli hospital despite his having the proper Israeli permits. The IDF fires on several al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade (AMB) mbrs. attempting to infiltrate the border nr. Bayt Lahiya, killing 2 AMB mbrs.; raids Khan Yunis, firing on residential areas and then exchanging fire with Palestinian gunmen who confront them, killing 1 Palestinian (possibly armed), seriously wounding 1 Palestinian civilian, moderately wounding 2 gunmen. Palestinians fire 8 mortars at IDF bulldozers sent into the Erez industrial zone to level land; the IDF responds with heavy machine gun fire; no injuries are reported. Palestinians fire 2 rockets fr. n. Gaza into Israel, causing damage at a cemetery but no reported injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Tubas, partially demolishing a Palestinian home, firing on stone-throwing youths who confront the troops, wounding 9. Jewish settlers fr. Yitzhar nr. Nablus ambush, stone a Palestinian taxi driving nearby, heavily damaging the car but not injuring the driver. AMB gunmen protesting the upcoming Annapolis summit fire on a Jewish settler vehicle nr. Keddumim settlement outside Qalqilya, killing 1 settler. The Israeli High Court rules that the 3/07 purchase by Israelis of a Palestinian house overlooking Kiryat Arba settlement in Hebron was illegal, stating that Israeli police may evict Jewish settlers who have since occupied the site. (IFM 11/19; PCHR 11/20; OCHA 11/21; PCHR 11/22, 11/29)

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)

The IDF occupies strategic high points inside the Gaza border nr. Bayt Lahiya, firing surface-to-air missiles at a group of armed Palestinians (missing them, causing no damage or injuries) and on a car carrying a local Islamic Jihad military cmdr., wounding him in an apparent assassination attempt; conducts bulldozing operations inside the Gaza border nr. Bayt Lahiya; continues operations in al-Shuka. Islamic Jihad mbrs. fire an RPG at an IDF patrol inside the Israeli border nr. al-Bureij r.c., missing the target and causing no injuries; the IDF responds with heavy machine gun fire, killing 1 Islamic Jihad mbr. Egyptian border police detain 3 PRC mbrs. who entered Egypt through a tunnel under the Rafah border. In the West Bank, the IDF imposes a roundthe-clock curfew on ‘Azun nr. Qalqilya after Palestinian youths throw stones at Jewish settler vehicles, causing no injuries; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Nablus and neighboring Balata r.c., nr. Ramallah. Unidentified gunmen fire on Abbas’s residence in Ramallah, causing damage but no injuries. (PCHR 11/1; OCHA 11/7; PCHR 11/8)

To increase pressure on Hamas, Israel announces that it will begin curtailing fuel shipments to Gaza by up to 11% and that it has permanently closed the Sufa crossing (closed on 10/26 and 10/27 for the weekend), leaving Kerem Shalom (fully controlled by Israel) the sole crossing point for goods and humanitarian aid. (Officially the government calls the move “self-defense.”) Israel says that it will allow into Gaza “the minimum amount of food and medicines necessary to avoid a humanitarian crisis.” In Gaza, the IDF shoots, wounds a Palestinian fisherman laying nets on the Bayt Lahiya coast; sends troops into al-Shuka, where they exchange tank and heavy machine gun fire with armed Palestinians firing RPGs, leaving 1 Hamas mbr., 1 IDF soldier dead, 2 IDF soldiers wounded; conducts land-leveling operations inside the Gaza border nr. Dayr al-Balah, firing on residential areas, causing no reported injuries. Palestinians fire an RPG at an IDF jeep patrolling the Gaza border e. of al-Maghazi r.c., missing the target, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus, nr. Bethlehem, Hebron, Jenin, Ramallah. Jewish settlers fr. Itamar nr. Nablus harass Palestinians harvesting olives nearby; the IDF intervenes, forcing the settlers to leave. In Gaza City, some 300 PA workers stage a peaceful sit-in to protest nonpayment of their salaries. (NYT, WP, WT 10/29; OCHA 10/31; PCHR 11/1)

Overnight, the IDF launches major arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus, clashing with armed Palestinians, killing local AMB leader Basim Abu Saria and a 71-yr.-old Palestinian man, wounding 8 Palestinians (2 gunmen, 1 cameraman for the German press agency, and 5 bystanders, including a woman and a child); during the operation, the IDF blows up an apartment in a 4-story complex, damaging 2 other apartments, 10 nearby buildings, 4 cars, 7 electricity relays, 3 water pipes, displacing 3 Palestinian families (20 persons). Also in the West Bank, the IDF sends troops into Anabta nr. Tulkarm, firing on stone-throwing youths who confront them, wounding 1; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem, Hebron and in al-Bireh, Jenin town and r.c., Ramallah. In 2 separate incidents nr. Nablus, Jewish settlers attack Palestinians harvesting olives; the Palestinian DCO contacts its IDF counterpart, which removes the settlers; 1 Palestinian is injured. In Gaza, the IDF bulldozes 3 d. of Palestinian olive groves nr. Qarni crossing; Palestinians fire 3 mortars at the troops, who respond with heavy machine gun fire; no injuries are reported. (NYT, OCHA 10/17; PCHR 10/18)

In Gaza, the IDF sends bulldozers into the Qarni industrial zone to erect sand berms; Palestinians fire anti-tank missiles at the troops, who respond with heavy machine gun fire; no injuries are reported. The IDF also sends troops into al-Qarara nr. Khan Yunis, where they exchange fire with local Palestinians, causing no reported injuries. The IDF, armed Palestinians trade machine gun and mortar fire across the border e. of al-Maghazi, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF ambushes, arrests 3 Palestinians driving in Birzeit nr. Ramallah (their political affiliation is not reported); conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron and in Qalqilya, Qabatya nr. Jenin. (OCHA 10/10; PCHR 10/11)

In Gaza, 2 armed Palestinians representing the Fatah-linked al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade (AMB) and the Popular Resistance Comms. (PRCs; an umbrella group including mbrs. of all factions) infiltrate the Israeli border, open fire with automatic weapons at the IDF post at Erez crossing, lightly wounding 2 soldiers before being shot dead. The IDF directs heavy machine gun fire at Palestinian homes in al-Shuka, makes several air strikes on the area during the day, wounding 1 Palestinian. Hamas mbrs. detonate a roadside bomb under an IDF vehicle patrolling the Gaza border nr. alShuka, causing no injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF sends undercover units into Jenin in cars with Palestinian license plates, ambushing and assassinating Islamic Jihad mbrs. Ala’ Sorour and Mustafa Atiq, wounding 3 other Islamic Jihad mbrs.; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Jenin town and r.c., nr. Hebron. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba in Hebron attack a Palestinian home in an area previously targeted by settlers for confiscation. The IDF forcibly removes some 100 Jewish settlers who reoccupied the vacant Homesh settlement site earlier in the day. (IFM, WT 8/26; OCHA 8/29; PCHR 8/30)

In Gaza, Hamas fires mortars at the IDF post at Erez crossing, wounding 4 IDF soldiers. In the West Bank, the IDF raids Jenin, exchanging fire with Palestinian gunmen, killing Muhammad Farhati, cmdr. of a joint AMB–Islamic Jihad squad called Belt of Fire; conducts additional arrest raids, house searches in Jenin and nr. Bethlehem, Tulkarm; bars members of the Temporary International Presence in Hebron (TIPH) fr. patrolling nr. the Ibrahimi Mosque/Tomb of the Patriarchs. In Gaza, a Haniyeh bodyguard is kidnapped by Fatah’s elite Force 17 mbrs., who hold him for 7 hrs., beat him, shave off his eyebrows and beard, shave the number 17 into his hair. In Gaza City, 50 PA TV employees protest threats by a little-known group, Swords of Truth, to its female anchors accused of “destroying Islamic culture” by appearing on broadcasts unveiled and wearing makeup. (WT 6/3; NYT 6/4; OCHA 6/6; PCHR 6/7; NYT 6/9)

Exchanges of fire intensify btwn. the Lebanese army, FI at Nahr al-Barid r.c. In ‘Ayn al-Hilwa r.c. nr. Sidon, Jund al-Sham mbrs. attack soldiers surrounding the camp after hearing news of the death of its senior mbr., Abu Raid, in Nahr al-Barid; 1 soldier, 2 Jund al-Sham mbrs. are wounded in the fighting, which involves heavy machine gun, automatic weapon, and RPG fire. (NYT, WP, WT 6/4; WT 6/5)

The IDF expands military operations in Gaza, making at least 7 air strikes on Hamas, ESF, and PA General Intelligence targets in Gaza, targeting 4 suspected arms caches and 3 other sites (including PA Interior Min. offices in Rafah), injuring 16 Palestinians, damaging at least 25 Palestinian homes; sending tanks and bulldozers into the Strip to level agricultural land e. of Bayt Hanun; directing heavy machine gun fire at a rocket launching site in n. Gaza; conducting arrest raids in Khuza’a nr. Khan Yunis. Late in the evening, the IDF sends troops into Khan Yunis to conduct arrest raids and house searches. Palestinians fire 9 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, lightly wounding 2 Israelis. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus, nr. Bethlehem, and in Hebron, Jericho, Jenin, Qalqilya. Jewish settlers vandalize Palestinian vehicles in East Jerusalem. A Hamas mbr. is fatally shot by suspected Fatah mbrs. in Khan Yunis. (OCHA, WP 5/23; PCHR 5/24; OCHA 5/30)

Heavy clashes btwn. the Lebanese army, FI at Nahr al-Barid r.c. continue for a 3d day. In Tripoli, a lone FI suicide bomber, still hiding from the police crackdown on 5/20, detonates a device when police close in on his location, killing only himself. Later in the afternoon, the Lebanese army halts its shelling of Nahr al-Barid r.c. in response to a shaky, undeclared cease-fire by FI, prompting some 10,000 Palestinians to flee. Palestinians in ‘Ayn al-Hilwa r.c. and Rashidiyya r.c. demonstrate against the army’s heavy shelling of Nahr al-Barid. (Independent, REU 5/22; DS, LBC, MENA, al-Sharq al-Awsat, al-Safir 5/22 in WNC 5/23; NYT, WP, WT 5/23)

IDF troops on the n. Gaza border shoot, wound a Palestinian farmer who strays nr. the border fence n. of Bayt Lahiya. AMB mbrs. fire an RPG at an IDF observation post on the Gaza border e. of Gaza City, causing no damage or injuries; the IDF directs heavy machine gun fire in return, killing 1 AMB mbr. The Israeli navy fires on the Gaza beach nr. Bayt Lahiya, wounding 1 Palestinian. In the West Bank, the IDF demolishes 11 bedouin homes nr. 3 Jewish settlements southwest of Jenin; bulldozes 38 d. of Palestinian olive, almond trees nr. Nablus; raids the offices of the al-Ihsan Charitable Society in Hebron, confiscating files, computer discs; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron and in Nur al-Shams r.c. nr. Tulkarm, Tulkarm r.c. The PA fires 470 mbrs of the security forces (at least 150 fr. the Presidential Guard; the remainder fr. Force 17, Military Intelligence, the PSF) for “mutinous behavior”. Today, 10s of fired security officers stage a sit-in outside the PC offices in Gaza to demand that the PA rescind their dismissals. (Jerusalem Post 2/13; OCHA 2/14; PCHR 2/15; OCHA 2/21)

IDF troops on the Gaza border east of Bureij r.c. fire on, arrest 3 unarmed Palestinian teenagers who stray nr. the border fence. IDF troops stationed in the Erez industrial zone fire on armed Palestinians who approach their post, causing no injuries. Palestinians detonate a roadside bomb nr. an IDF unit patrolling the Gaza border fence nr. Khan Yunis, causing no damage or injures; the IDF unit retaliates with heavy machine gun fire into Gaza, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF sends an undercover unit into Nablus in a car with Palestinian license plates to arrest a wanted Palestinian, wounding 1 bystander, then firing on stone-throwing Palestinians who confront the troops, wounding a 14-yr.-old Palestinian boy; demolishes a Palestinian home in the old city of Nablus; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus (blowing up the 2d story of a Palestinian home), in al-‘Arub r.c., and nr. Bethlehem, Hebron, Tulkarm. Fatah mbrs. fire on Hamas mbrs. in Bayt Lahiya, wounding 1. Unidentified gunmen shoot, wound a Force 17 officer in Gaza City. Suspected Fatah mbrs. set fire to the car of a Hamas mbr. in Khan Yunis. (PCHR 2/1; OCHA 2/7; PCHR 2/8)

The IDF expands Operation Summer Rains overnight, sending 50 tanks, troops back into n. Gaza in and around Gaza City, engaging in intense clashes with and conducting air strikes on Palestinian gunmen, leaving at least 7 Hamas mbrs., 5 Islamic Jihad mbrs., 9 civilians dead, at least 57 Palestinians wounded, bulldozing wide tracts of land. In at least 3 incidents in Jabaliya r.c., the IDF phones Hamas mbrs. warning them to evacuate their houses, then conducts air strikes destroying the homes. The IDF also closes the Qarni crossing. Palestinians fire 13 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, lightly injuring 1 Israeli in Sederot. In the West Bank, the IDF sends undercover units in a car with Palestinian license plates into Kafr Qadim nr. Qalqilya, surrounds a home, evacuates and checks residents, demolishes the home, arrests 1 Palestinian, injures 1; bars a Palestinian heart attack victim fr. crossing a checkpoint to reach a Qalqilya hospital, allowing him to die; patrols, searches cars in Yatta nr. Hebron; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron, and in al-Fara‘a r.c. nr. Jenin, Nablus. In Rafah, a Palestinian is killed in an exchange of fire btwn. PA security forces, armed Palestinians. Israeli security sources reveal that Israeli-Canadian citizen Falah, arrested on 7/8 and held without access to a lawyer, was detained for photographing a military antenna nr. Ras al-Naqura, alleging that he was sent “to photograph and report where rockets have landed in Israel,” noting that he visited Beirut, Tehran within the last 2 yrs.; Falah, who was arrested before Hizballah’s 7/12 cross-border raid and the firing of rockets into Israel, said the photos were for academic purposes, he did not know the antenna was military, and his trips to Lebanon, Iran were public knowledge. (REU, NYT, WP 7/26; NYT, WP, WT 7/26; PCHR 7/27; OCHA 8/2; PCHR 8/3)

The IDF faces intense fighting in s. Lebanon, where some 100 Hizballah mbrs. ambush an elite IDF Golani Brigade unit in Bint Jubayl, pinning them down for 1 hr. under a heavy barrage of mortars, antitank rounds, RPGs, and small-arms fire before they could return fire, killing 8 IDF soldiers, wounding at least 22; the IDF estimates that it killed around 20 Hizballah mbrs. A 9th IDF soldier is killed, 5 are wounded by antitank fire in clashes nr. Maroun al-Ras. Meanwhile, the IDF continues air strikes nr. Beirut and in s. Lebanon, including hitting an Amal command center and the Hizballah headquarters in Tyre. In Anjar nr. the Syrian border, a truck carrying emergency food, medical supplies donated by the UAE (see 7/18) is hit, killing the Syrian driver. Hizballah fires around 150 rockets into Israel, striking Carmiel, Haifa, Jish, Safad, Tiberias. Israel allows 2 Jordanian military transports carrying humanitarian aid to land at Beirut airport, though it still will not provide safety guarantees for trucks transporting the supplies southward on the coastal highway or across the border fr. Syria, where relief goods for 20,000 people have been stockpiled. The UN moves 5 convoys of supplies (containing wheat, soap, diapers, water purification tablets, medical kits) to the south on 5 routes approved for one-time use by the IDF. (NYT, WP, WT 7/27)

IDF undercover units assassinate senior AMB mbr. Ibrahim Issa in Qalqilya. The IDF continues operations in Jenin town and r.c., firing on stone-throwing youths, searching homes. Late in the evening, IDF troops in Jenin r.c. shoot, critically wound a Palestinian teenager for no apparent reason, bar his transportation to a hospital, and take him into custody, where he dies. The IDF also directs heavy machine gun fire at residential areas of Khan Yunis, fatally shooting a 7-yr.-old Palestinian girl walking to school; fires on residential areas of Dayr al-Balah, Rafah; fire on stone-throwing youths in Nablus; demolishes 6 Palestinian homes, bulldozes 15 d. nr. Rafah, leaving 131 people homeless; conducts arrest raids, house searches in ‘Ayn Bayt al-Ma’ r.c., Dahaysha r.c., al-Khadir. Palestinians fire mortars at Morag, wounding 5 Jewish settlers. Jewish settlers fr. Pdu’el harvest olives on nearby Palestinian land to which Palestinian farmers have been barred access by the IDF; Jewish settlers fr. Otniel harvest, damage Palestinian olive trees nr. Yatta; Jewish settlers fr. Avi Gayel outpost attack Palestinians harvesting olives nr. Qawawis nr. Yatta. The IDF also halts construction of a Palestinian apartment building nr. a settler bypass road outside Bayt Sahur, claiming the apartment complex (which has been under construction with Israeli permits since 1994, is home to 250 residents) is not within the Bayt Sahur municipal boundaries and is therefore illegal. ( JTA 10/28; VOI, VOP, YA 10/28, VOI 10/29 in WNC 10/30; PRCS 10/30; WP 10/29; PM 11/1; PCHR 11/4)

Arafat’s condition stabilizes overnight, but he remains critically ill. Doctors, speculating that he may have a potentially fatal blood disorder, order his transport to Paris for further tests. (BBC, HA, MM 10/28; ATL, HA, JAZ, MENA, PSCT, VOI, VOP 10/28 in WNC 10/30; NYT, WP, WT 10/29; PR 11/3)

In n. Gaza, the IDF shells residential areas of Jabaliya; expands its incursion into Bayt Lahiya, killing 1 armed Palestinian in an air strike, directing heavy machine gun fire at residential areas, occupying several Palestinian homes. Elsewhere in Gaza, the IDF makes a 3d attempt (see 8/26) to assassinate Islamic Jihad military cmdr. Muhammad Khalil, firing a missile at his home in Rafah, wounding 4 bystanders; exchanges gunfire with armed Palestinians in Dayr al-Balah, killing 1 Palestinian; fires on residential areas in Khan Yunis. In the West Bank, the IDF demolishes a Palestinian home, conducts arrest raids, fires on stonethrowing youths in Nablus. Armed Jewish settlers fr. Yitzhar attack Palestinians harvesting their olive groves in Asira, shooting and wounding 1 Palestinian, scuffling with others until the IDF separates the sides. (HA, MEZ, XIN 10/11; VOI, VOP 10/11 in WNC 10/13; NYT 10/12; PR 10/13; PCHR 10/14)

In n. Gaza, the IDF conducts an air strike on a warehouse in Jabaliya r.c., destroying it and 3 adjacent Palestinian homes, killing a Palestinian bystander; shells a group of Palestinians in Jabaliya, killing 2 Palestinians, wounding 1; fires missiles into Bayt Hanun (killing 1 Palestinian), Bayt Lahiya (injuring 3). A Palestinian dies of injuries he received in Jabaliya on 10/1. Elsewhere in Gaza, the IDF raids Dayr al-Balah, fatally shooting 1 armed Palestinian, wounding 7 bystanders, bulldozing 40 d.; shells, directs heavy machine gun fire residential areas of Khan Yunis, wounding a student in his classroom, causing significant damage to (but no serious injuries in) the al-Nasser Hospital maternity ward, a home, a mosque. In the West Bank, the IDF arrests 3 armed Jewish settlers fr. Tapuach for setting fire to a Palestinian olive grove, firing guns in the air, attacking Palestinians who arrive to put out the blaze, lightly injuring several Palestinians. A Jewish settler attacks an Orthodox Armenian religious procession in Jerusalem’s Old City, spitting in the face of Deputy Arch Bishop Nurhan, tearing off his cap and cross (breaking the 17th century relic), making religious insults. (VOI, VOP 10/10 in WNC 10/12; AFP 10/10, VOP 10/11 in WNC 10/13; HA, MEZ 10/11; HA 10/12; PR 10/13; PCHR, WT 10/14; NYT 10/19)

The IDF shells, directs heavy machine gun fire at residential areas of Brazil r.c., Khan Yunis, Rafah (wounding 1 woman inside her home); sends troops into Balata r.c., Nablus under cover of shelling, fires on stone-throwing youths who confront the troops, wounding 6; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Hebron, Yatta. A 13-yr.- old Palestinian dies of injuries received during the 8/8–9 IDF raid on Rafah. A newspaper runs an ad signed by 144 prominent Palestinians, demanding government reform, new elections. More than 100 unemployed Palestinian university graduates temporarily occupy a PA building in Gaza, demanding the PA find them jobs. Jewish settlers fr. Ramat Yishai throw stones at, lightly injure a 15-yr.-old Palestinian in Hebron. (HA, WT 8/14; WP 8/15; PR 8/18; PCHR 8/19)

The IDF fatally shoots 2 armed Jewish settler guards in a friendly Žre mishap, mistaking them for Palestinian gunmen; fatally shoots 6 wanted Hamas mbrs. in a raid on Tamun in what may be an assassination; demolishes 3 Palestinian homes in Saida; conducts predawn arrest raids in Azariyya, Nablus, Qabatiyya. A Palestinian gunman shoots, wounds 2 Jewish settlers in East Jerusalem, escapes. The IDF arrests 2 Jewish settlers for seriously beating a Palestinian shepherd nr. Nablus; raids a house in a West Bank settlement, confiscating percussion and smoke grenades, flares, ammunition (including heavy machine gun bullets) stolen fr. the IDF. (HA, REU 3/13; VOI 3/13 in WNC 3/14; HA, MM, NYT, WP, WT 3/14; MA 3/14 in WNC 3/17; HA, NYT 3/15; PR 3/19; PCHR 3/20)

The IDF pulls back to the outskirts of Jenin, ending its 2-wk.-old Operation Vanguard (see 10/25); bulldozes 8 Palestinian homes in Rafah; directs shells, heavy machine gun fire at residential areas of Khan Yunis, al-Qarara, al-Rabwat al-Gharbiyya, Rafah, Tal al-Sultan; bulldozes 7 dunams of land s. of Khan Yunis. Just inside Israel nr. Hadera, an IDF patrol halts a suspicious Palestinian vehicle; the 2 occupants, apparently en route to stage a suicide bombing, detonate an explosive device in the car, killing themselves. In the same area late in the evening, an AMB gunman sneaks into a kibbutz in n. Israel, fires on residents, killing 5 Israelis before escaping. (GS, MEZ, MM, PM, NYT, WP, WT 11/11; Interfax 11/11 in WNC 11/12; MM, WP 11/12; LAW, PCHR 11/13)

The IDF makes an incursion into Rafah r.c., demolishing 3 Palestinian homes, directing shells and heavy machine gun fire at residential areas, killing 2 Palestinian teenagers, injuring 12 others (ages 14+n72); holds an amublance transporting an ill child at an army checkpoint for 90 mins. (the child eventually reaches the hospital); bulldozes 66 dunams of land s. of Khan Yunis. additional land nr. the Egyptian border with Rafah. 4 Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem plead guilty to direct involvement in a series of bombings in the city, including the 7/31/02 Hebrew University attack. (LAW, PCHR, PR, WP, WT 11/6; PRCS press release 11/10)

After failing to bring the right-wing National Uniton+nYisrael Beitunia faction into his coalition, Sharon dissolves the Knesset, calls early elections for 2/03. (HA, MM 11/5; al-Quds 11/5 in WNC 11/8; MM, NYT, WP, WT 11/6; MEI 11/8; MA 11/8 in WNC 11/12; MM 11/9; JPI 11/15)

IDF commandos ambush, assassinate wanted PA intelligence officer Ayid Mansur outside his home in Nablus. The IDF fatally shoots 1 Palestinian nr. the new security wall in Zita; raids a makeshift PSF jail in Tulkarm, arresting 6 PSF officers, 12 prisoners (the PSF officers, 9 prisoners are later released); conducts arrest raids, searches houses, blows up 2 Palestinian homes in Bayt Hanun; fires on residential areas, bulldozes 1 Palestinian home and part of a mosque in Brazil r.c.; conducts arrest raids, house-to-house searches, fires on residential areas in Askar r.c.; raids Qalandia r.c., detaining 50 Palestinians; directs shells, heavy machine gun fire at residential areas of Bayt Lahia, Gaza City, Rafah; bulldozes 17.5 dunams of Palestinian land s. of Khan Yunis. Some 40 prominent Israelis outraged by recent Jewish settler attacks on Palestinian olive pickers travel to the West Bank to participate in a Palestinian olive harvest. (GS, LAW, PCHR 10/30; PCHR, PR 11/6; MEI 11/8)

DM and Labor party head Ben-Eliezer resigns fr. the government hrs. before Sharon’s FY 2003 budget passes (67-45) in the Knesset, with all 25 Labor party MKs voting against. Afterward, the 5 other Labor Ms, including FM Shimon Peres, resign. (HA, MM 10/30; MM, NYT, WP, WT 10/31; JT 10/31 in WNC 11/1; al-Quds 11/2, MENA 11/3 in WNC 11/5; AYM 11/2 in WNC 11/8; JPI, MEI 11/8)

The IDF continues operations in Jenin, arresting 10s of Palestinians; fires live ammunition at stone-throwing Palestinians in Brazil r.c., killing a 13-yr.-old Palestinian boy; directs tank, heavy machine gun fire at residential areas of Rafah late in the evening, seriously injuring 3 Palestinians, demolishing 1 Palestinian home; occupies an apartment block in Hebron as an IDF post. AMB mbrs. kidnap, shoot 2 Palestinian women fr. Nablus thought to be collaborators with Israel; 1 woman dies, the other is injured. (WP, WT 10/27; LAW, PCHR 10/30)

The IDF directs shells, heavy machine gun fire at residential areas of Rafah r.c., killing 6 Palestinians (including 2 women, 2 teenagers, a 9-yr.-old girl) and wounding 50; the IDF says it was responding to Palestinian gunfire on an IDF bulldozer working build an observation tower with an overview of the camp, causing no injuries. The IDF also bulldozes 2.5 dunams of Palestinian land and an irrigation system nr. Tulkarm; conducts arrest raids in Tal; shells, destroys a closed Palestinian summer resort nr. Aley Sinai settlement. The IDF removes Jewish settlers, trailers fr. Havat Gilad; late in the evening, some 300 Jewish settlers retake the site. Settlers voluntarily leave a 2d enclave, allowing the IDF to dismantle it, bringing to 22 the number of enclaves removed in recent days. Jewish settlers assault Palestinians, Israeli peace activists attempting to harvest olives nr. Yasuf village; the IDF presses settlers to leave the area, allow harvesting to continue. Jewish setters nr. Hebron confiscate 90 dunams of Palestinian land. A PA security court sentences 1 Palestinian, a fmr. Hamas mbr., to death for collaborating with Israel. (REU 10/17; HA, MM, NYT, WP, WT 10/18; AFP, al-Quds 10/18 in WNC 10/21; WP 10/19; LAW, PCHR 10/23; MEI 10/25; JPI 11/8)

A fmr. U.S. defense official corroborates rumors that Israeli special forces recently conducted a covert reconnaissance mission in w. Iraq to determine Iraq's capacity to strike Israel with Scud missiles. Military analyst and fmr. Pentagon official Anthony Cordesman says that Baghdad is estimated to have only 12+n25 Scuds; by comparison, during the 1991 Gulf War, Iraq fired 39 Scuds at Israel alone. (WP 10/18) (see 9/29)

IDF helicopters fire 2 missiles 2 cars in Gaza City in its 4th attempt to assassinate most-wanted Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades mbr. Muhammad Dayif; 2 Hamas mbrs. are killed, Dayif escapes with moderate wounds, some 30 bystanders (including 15 children) are injured. The IDF intercepts an explosives-packed Palestinian car at al-Ram checkpoint nr. Tulkarm, allegedly en route to stage a car bombing in Jerusalem. In Kefar Labid nr. Tulkarm, IDF commandos conduct an arrest raid, prompting an exchange of gunfire that leaves senior Hamas mbr. Nashat Abu Jabara, 1 IDF officer dead; then demolish Abu Jabara's home. The IDF also arbitrarily imposes a curfew in Hebron then fires tear gas, rubber bullets at Palestinians in Hebron's market, killing a Palestinian infant; fatally shoots another Palestinian Gaza; demolishes 1 Palestinian home, bulldozes more than 60 dunams of agricultural land nr. Bayt Hanun; demolishes 1 Palestinian home in Qabatya; bulldozes 20 dunams of agricultural land nr. Bayt Lahia; directs shells, heavy machine gun fire at residential areas of Khan Yunis. Palestinian gunmen fire on a settler vehicle nr. Hebron, injuring 4 Jewish setters. Jewish settlers dedicate the new HaGefen neighborhood of 1,150 housing units in Beitar Ilit; the new enclave of Migron nr. Psagot, comprising 30 families. (AP, CNN, HA 9/26; HA, LAW, MM, NYT, PRCS press release, WP, WT 9/27; NYT 9/28; MM 9/30; QA 9/30 in WNC 10/1; LAW, PCHR, PR 10/2; PCHR 10/3; MEI 10/11)