U.S. Pres. George W. Bush phones Israeli PM Ariel Sharon to offer
his condolences for recent Israeli casualties, to stress the importance of
avoiding further escalations. Sharon says he is trying to ease the economic
blockade on the Palestinians (see 8/14, 8/15), but adds that Israel will
continue to protect its citizens, including via assassinations, which he terms
"preventive actions." Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Force (IDF) tightens
the closures on Nablus, Qalqilya, Ramallah; bulldozes Palestinian agricultural
land around Itamar settlement. Jewish settlers stone a Palestinian taxi
passing Shilo settlement nr. Nablus, causing the car to crash, killing the
driver, injuring 6 passengers. Elsewhere, settlers take over small West Bank
settlement of Sanur, abandoned by residents when the al-Aqsa intifada began,
converts an old mosque into a synagogue; fire on Palestinian farmers nr Itamar,
injuring 5. In an apparent assassination attempt, Palestinian Ibrahim
al-Habisha is critically injured when his cell phone explodes, 5 bystanders
are lightly injured. The IDF directs shells, heavy machine gun fire
at residential areas of Hebron. (HA 8/16; MA 8/16 in WNC 8/17; HP, NYT, WP, WT
8/17; PMC 8/18)
Palestinians fire 2 mortars at Morag settlement in
Gaza, causing no damage.
The Israel Defense Force (IDF) continues to reoccupy 7 Palestinian
towns (Bethlehem, Hebron, Jenin, Nablus, Qalqilya, Ramallah, Tulkarm) and impose
24-hr. curfews on most population centers, tight restrictions on movement
through out the West Bank, Gaza. The IDF demolishes 5 Palestinian
homes (2 Anabta, 1 Bayt Hanun, 2 Jenin); conducts arrest raids nr. Hebron.
(NYT, WT 8/17; LAW, PCHR 8/21; PCHR 8/26)
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) conducts arrest raids in Qalqilya
targeting the Islamic Jihad; maintains closure on Nablus, which has been
in place since the 8/12 suicide bombings. (AN 8/18; PCHR 8/21)
4 Palestinians killed.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) fires missiles at 4 Palestinians
allegedly preparing to fire a Qassam rocket fr. Bayt Hanun into Israel, killing
2; continues large-scale operations (dubbed Operation Full Court Press) in
Nablus that began on 8/7, imposing a curfew, fatally shooting a Palestinian
standing on his roof, firing on stone-throwing Palestinians who confront the
troops; blows up 3 residential buildings housing 13 Palestinian families
(76 individuals) in Rafah; fires on residential areas of Brazil refugee camp
(r.c.), Khan Yunis, Rafah; bulldozes 2 wells, a commercial building in Bayt
Hanun; conducts arrest raids, house searches in villages outside Hebron, Jenin,
Ramallah. Late in the evening, the IDF sends troops into Bayt Hanun,
orders Palestinians to evacuate several homes nr. Erez Crossing, searches and
digs around homes for several hrs. looking for tunnels. A Palestinian dies of injuries received earlier. (AP 8/16; PRCS press release, WP, WT 8/17; PR 8/18; PCHR 8/19)
Islamic Jihad
fires 2 mortars at Gaza's Gush Katif settlement as a solidarity gesture
with the Palestinian prisoners (on hunger strike since 8/15), causing no damage
or injuries.
At midnight local time, the grace period runs out for Jewish settlers in
Gaza to withdraw voluntarily in compliance with Israeli PM Ariel Sharon's
disengagement plan; at least 50% of the estimated 8,500 settlers have
already left, including all settlers fr. Dugit (est. 1990, pop. 70, size 245
dunams [d.; 4 d. = 1 acre].), Nisanit (est. 1980, pop. 1,100, size 1,610 d.),
Pe'at Sadeh (est. 1989, pop. 110, size 935 d.), Rafiah Yam (est. 1984, pop. 130,
size 574 d.), Shalev (est. 2001, pop. 50). Gaza and the n. West Bank remain
closed military zones to Israelis for the duration of disengagement (see 6/30,
8/15). Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers prepare to forcibly remove
the settlers who remain and the estimated 5,000 disengagement protesters
(mostly West Bank settler youth) who snuck into the Strip. Meanwhile in Gaza,
the IDF searches Palestinian homes nr. Bayt Lahiya, in Wadi al-Silqa;
occupies a Palestinian home in Dayr al-Balah as an observation post. Jewish
settlers fr. Gaza's Gush Katif bloc, burn animal food storage bins in
al-Mawasi. In the West Bank, the IDF detains, beats a
16-yr.-old Palestinian who throws stones at troops outside Tulkarm; conducts
arrest raids, house searches in villages around Hebron and in Qabatya nr. Jenin;
demolishes an animal farm outside Hebron for construction of the separation
wall; occupies 1 Palestinian home nr. Hebron, 1 nr. Tulkarm as observation
posts. Jewish settlers fr. the West Bank settlement of Homesh (to be
evacuated under disengagement) occupy, vandalize 2 Palestinian homes nearby; the
IDF removes them. (BBC, IMEMC, XIN 8/16; PR 8/17; PCHR 8/18)
In Khan Yunis, 1,000s of Hamas supporters rally to celebrate
the pending disengagement.
Israel’s blockade of Gaza enters its 6th mo., allowing
no goods or people out (except for very limited medical emergencies) and letting
only limited food and fuel supplies and a handful of diplomats and international
aid workers in; Palestinians are receiving on average 6–8 hrs./day of
electricity and 2–3 hrs./day of water after Israel’s bombing of Gaza’s sole
generator on 6/28. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) continues Operation Summer
Rains, which began on 6/28 after the capture
of an IDF soldier in a Palestinian cross-border raid fr. Gaza on 6/25, making
occasional ground incursions into Gaza, maintaining troops at the Dahaniyya
airport site outside of Rafah. In Gaza, the IDF launches air strikes, destroying
a empty Palestinian home in Gaza City, causing no injuries; sends at least 50
armored vehicles into the outskirts of Bayt Hanun, firing on residential areas,
bulldozing large areas of agricultural land, ordering residents of 15 houses to
surrender for ID checks, arresting 2 before withdrawing across the border. Also
in Gaza, 1 Palestinian is killed, 3 are injured when they apparently prematurely
detonate explosives they are handling. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in Azun
nr. Qalqilya (firing on stone-throwing youths who confront them, wounding 2),
Fahma nr. Jenin (firing on residential areas, damaging homes), Jenin town and
refugee camp (r.c.; wounding 1 Palestinian), al-Khadir nr. Bethlehem (firing on
residential areas); conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron, Salfit. (PCHR 8/17; OCHA 8/23; PCHR
8/24)
Two days after an Israel-Hizballah cease-fire went into effect ending 34 days
of war (Israel dubbed its offensive Operation Change of Direction, the Lebanese government reaches a compromise agreement
with Hizballah under which only the army will be allow to “carry weapons” s. of
the Litani (allowing Hizballah to store weapons nr. the border with Israel) and
the Lebanese cabinet votes to order the army to prepare to deploy across s.
Lebanon (a precondition for an Israeli withdrawal). The UN estimates that since
8/14, more than 200,000 Lebanese have returned to their homes and 60,000 have
returned fr. Syria, leaving more than 700,000 still internally displaced. The
Lebanese government now puts the comprehensive toll at 1,152 Lebanese killed and
some 3,700 wounded, with numbers expected to rise as more bodies are recovered.
(UN Information Service, WP 8/16; NYT, WP, WT 8/17)
In
Khan Yunis, a 14-yr.-old Palestinian boy is killed in crossfire btwn. Hamas
Executive Support Force (ESF) mbrs., Fatah gunmen.
In the West Bank, Israel Defense Forces
(IDF) soldiers conduct arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron;
patrol in and around Jenin. In Gaza, where Israel has completely sealed borders
to all but humanitarian aid since Hamas’s 6/15/07 ouster of Fatah, 3 Hamas mbrs. are injured when rocket-propelled grenades
(RPGs) they are handling explode prematurely. (NYT 8/17; OCHA 8/22; PCHR 8/23)
The Hamas-dominated Executive
Support Force (ESF) detains pro-Fatah Palestinian Authority (PA) Atty.
Gen. Ahmad Mughami when he returns to Gaza, which he had fled during the
6/07 intra-Palestinian clashes, and orders him to stay away fr. his offices;
Mughami refuses to resign, is released.
The IDF arrested three Palestinians and beat a number of others, including local journalists, during an anti-wall demonstration in Dir Al-Ghusun, in the northern part of the West Bank. (Ma'an News Agency)
The IDF arrested two Palestinians at two different checkpoints near Nablus. (Ma'an News Agency)
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak met PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad in Tel Aviv. An Israeli Defense Ministry statement said that Mr. Barak and Mr. Fayyad had discussed "diplomatic and security issues" including economic projects in the West Bank and the activities of the Palestinian security services. According to Palestinian media, Mr. Barak pledged that Israel would remove checkpoints, open key roads and grant more permits for Palestinians seeking work in Israel. A statement from Mr. Fayyad's office said the PA Prime Minister had insisted that Israel should have halted settlement construction and ceased military raids into the West Bank in pursuit of alleged Palestinian militants. Furthermore the statement said that Mr. Fayyad also repeated Palestinian demands for the release of Marwan Barghouti. (AFP, AP, Ma'an News Agency)
Saeb Erakat, Head of the Negotiations Affairs Department of the PLO, said that he doubted that the recent Israeli proposal published in the Israeli media on reaching a peace settlement with the Palestinians was "serious". Mr. Erakat also said that "the reports are just trial balloons that Israel pops from time to time in order to lay the blame on the Palestinian side (for the failure of talks)". (Xinhua)