1 Palestinian killed.
Israeli-Palestinian clashes continue at the same lower
rate as they have since 10/12, causing no fatalities. 1 Palestinian dies
of injuries received earlier. The IDF begins digging trenches, installing
barricades at crossing points btwn. Israeli-, PA-controlled areas. The PA
reportedly arrests 34 Hamas mbrs. in the West Bank, Gaza. (LAW 10/15;
Gulf News [Internet], Khalij Times [Internet] NYT 10/16)
Hizballah announces it has taken a 4th IDF soldier
hostage. The IDF confirms that Col. Elhanan Tennenbaum (res.) was in
Switzerland on business when he "disappeared on his own initiative on
personal circumstances a wk. ago." (ADM, REU, WP 10/15; MM, NYT, WT 10/16; MM
10/17; MA 10/17 in WNC 10/18; Daily Star [Internet] 10/19; MEI 10/27)
2 IDF soldiers are lightly wounded by gunfire across the
Jordanian border. (WP 10/15)
In Sydney, Australia, a rally in support of the
Palestinians turns violent when 20+n50 of the 2,500 protesters attempt to storm
the U.S. consulate. Rally organizers quickly get the crowd under control
and the demonstration disperses without police intervention. Other
pro-Palestinian rallies are held in Madrid, San Diego,
Washington. (AFP 10/15 in WNC 10/16)
1 Palestinian killed.
The IDF withdraws fr. Palestinian areas of Hebron, vandalizing
several homes, cars before leaving. The National Union+nYisrael Beitunia bloc
(led by Tourism M Rehavam Ze'evi, Infrastructure M Avigdor Lieberman)
quits the governing coalition in protest, leaving Sharon with control of 76 of
the Knesset's 120 seats. As troops withdraw, Jewish settlers attempt to
storm the vacated Palestinian neighborhoods, also vandalize several homes and
shops, but are halted by soldiers, who arrest 21 (all released later in the
day). The IDF also eases passage through roadblocks in a handful of
areas, including Ramallah, and expands fishing areas off Gaza, in keeping with
cease-fire steps. (HA, MM, WP, WT 10/15; AFP, MM, NYT, WP,WT 10/16; MA 10/16 in
WNC 10/17; LAW 10/17)
Meanwhile, however, Hamas mbr. Hamad Marshud is killed when a
flechette device, apparently planted by the IDF, explodes in a car outside his
Nablus office. The State Dept. reiterates the U.S.'s strong opposition to
Israel's assassination policy. The IDF also maintains closures on
most West Bank, Gaza areas; surrounds, seals Bayt Umar; conducts arrest raids in
Dayr Istya; begins building a bridge to link the Gaza settlements of Gush Katif,
Kissufim, confiscating 150 dunams of Palestinian land; hands eviction orders to
250 tradesmen at a market area nr. Tulkarm; conducts arrest raids in Bayt Surik,
Dayr Istya. Nr. Ramallah, armed Jewish settlers bar Palestinians
farmers fr. reaching their olive groves, firing on them, beating them,
burning cars. In Jerusalem, Israeli authorities raid the offices of
several Palestinian lawyers, architects; search, photograph, destroy
company files. (HP 10/15; MENA 10/15 in WNC 10/16; HP, NYT, WP, WT 10/16; LAW,
WT 10/17)
In London, Arafat meets with British PM Tony Blair, who calls
for the creation of a "viable Palestinian state, as part of a negotiated and
agreed settlement, which provides peace and security for Israel." (AP, NYT
10/15; London Press Association, MENA, SA 10/15 in WNC 10/16; MM, NYT, WP, WT
10/16; AN, MENA 10/16 in WNC 10/17)
1 Palestinian killed.
Ben-Eliezer says Israel may pull forces out of Hebron by 10/18 if
the situation there remains calm. The IDF fatally shoots a Palestinian
in Tulkarm; conducts arrest raids, partially destroys a Palestinian home
in Jenin; demolishes a Palestinian home in Qabatya; occupies, searches a
hospital in Yatta for 5 hrs. Israeli police detain, question
Jerusalem's chief Muslim cleric Shaykh Ikrima Sabri regarding an interview
with a Dubai-based newspaper in 6/02 in which he allegedly "incited violence" by
saying he did not see any religious prohibition against suicide bombings. Sabri
denies making the comment, is freed after several hrs. Israeli police
also raid a Palestinian home in Jerusalem's Old City; detain, question, release
1 Palestinian. (XIN 10/15 in WNC 10/16; LAW, NYT, PCHR, PM, PR, WP, WT 10/16;
MENA 10/16 in WNC 10/17; REU 10/22)
4 Israelis killed.
The IDF sends troops back
into Brazil r.c., fatally shooting 1 Palestinian, searching and occupying
homes, bulldozing land, demolishing a number of houses, shelling residential
areas; arrests a Palestinian woman who attempts to stab a soldier at a
Tulkarm checkpoint; conducts arrest raids in Bethlehem; fires on residential
areas of Khan Yunis, Tulkarm; imposes a curfew on Nablus, escorts 100s of
ultra-Orthodox Jews on a pilgrimage to Joseph’s Tomb. Israel
orders another 3 West Bank Palestinian administrative detainees expelled
to Gaza (see 10/14). An Israeli Arab dies of injuries received in the
10/4 Haifa bombing, bringing that toll to 21. (BBC, HA, MM, PR, PRCS 10/15; XIN
10/15, al-Ra’i 10/16 in WNC 10/18; AP, HA, MM, NYT, PCHR, WP, WT 10/16;
MM, WP 10/17; AYM 10/18 in WNC 10/25; PR 10/22; WJW 10/23; JPI, MEI 10/24; JPI
10/31)
Unidentified Palestinians detonate a roadside bomb outside Erez
crossing as a U.S. emb. convoy (carrying the cultural attaché, en route
to interview Fulbright scholarship candidates) passes, destroying 1 of 4 armored
cars, killing 3 U.S. security officers, wounding 1 U.S. diplomat; the
convoy passes along a route and at a time a CIA detail involved in monitoring
road map progress usually passes through the area, despite mos. of warnings fr.
the PA of the dangers of routine movements, conspicuous bodyguards.
AMB, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Resistance Comms.
(PRC) deny responsibility, though a phone call to the press claims the
attack on the PRCs’ behalf. After this 1st successful targeted attack against
Americans by Palestinians, the U.S. for the 1st time discloses that in 6/03 a
roadside bomb went off nr. a CIA vehicle in Gaza, causing damage but no
injuries. Palestinians also detonate a smaller roadside bomb nr. an IDF
convoy in Gaza, injuring 3 IDF soldiers.
4 Palestinians killed.
Ramadan begins; the IDF restricts access to Jerusalem for
Friday prayers. The IDF shells Jabaliya r.c. fr. the surrounding hills to
the east; carries out an air strike on the camp, killing 1 Hamas mbr.,
2 AMB mbrs; fatally shoots a 65-yr.-old Palestinian woman eating
dinner in her Jabaliya home. In the evening, the IDF withdraws troops to
the periphery of most n. Gaza population centers, formally ending Operation
Days of Penitence. The UN estimates that during the 17-day operation,
the IDF killed 114 Palestinians, demolished as many as 95 Palestinian homes,
leveled more than 1,000 d.; Palestinian Center for Human Rights puts the
figures at 112 Palestinians killed, 87 houses demolished, 839 d. leveled. The
IDF says that soldiers killed a number of AMB, Hamas, Islamic Jihad military
cmdrs. and destroyed a number of factories and workshops where Qassams could be
made, that Palestinians fired 14 Qassam rockets fr. the area during the
17-day period. Palestinians fire 2 Qassams at Sederot today, causing no damage.
Late in the evening, the IDF bulldozes another 3 Palestinian homes,
2 stores in Bayt Hanun. The IDF also shells residential areas of Rafah;
conducts arrest raids in Nablus; arrests 2 Jewish settlers who attack
Palestinians harvesting olives outside Hebron. Jewish settlers fr. Shilo
nr. Ramallah attack Palestinians harvesting olives in neighboring al-Mughayyir;
IDF soldiers observe but do not intervene. (BBC 10/15; IDF Radio,
VOI, VOP 10/15 in WNC 10/19; NYT, WP, WT 10/16; HA, NYT 10/17; B’Tselem press
release 10/18; PR 10/20; PCHR 10/21; MEI 10/22)
1 Israeli killed.
The IDF continues arrest raids, house searches in Bayt Rima, as well
as in Bani Na`im and al-Dahariyya nr. Hebron; rounds up 10s of Palestinians
working illegally in Jerusalem. An IDF soldier dies of injuries received
in an AMB ambush nr. Nablus on 1/7/05. Jewish settlers fr. Itamar
vandalize 2 Palestinian homes in Bayt Furik, fire in the air to intimidate the
residents. (IDF press release, IMEMC 10/15; PCHR 10/20)
Israel receives a gift of 300 police dogs fr. an unnamed U.S.
Jewish organization. The IDF says that the dogs will be used during
raids on houses of wanted Palestinians. (XIN, YA 10/15)
The IDF shells Bayt Hanun, cutting its electricity. In the West Bank, the IDF
conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus (targeting the AMB),
in Hebron and Bethlehem. In Khan Yunis, a Palestinian is killed when explosives
he is handling detonate prematurely. (OCHA 10/18; PCHR 10/19)
IDF troops
on the Gaza border e. of Gaza Valley fire on Palestinian farmers who stray nr.
the border fence, seriously wounding 1. In the West Bank, the IDF sends undercover units into Qalqilya in 5 cars with Palestinian license plates
in search of wanted Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades mbr. Yahiya Abu Awad
(who is not found), surrounding several homes, demolishing 1 Palestinian
home, searching another, firing on stone-throwing Palestinians who confront
them, seriously wounding 1; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around
Jenin, and nr. Hebron, Ramallah, Salfit (imposing a curfew and firing on
Palestinian children returning from school, wounding 3). (OCHA 10/17; PCHR
10/18)
The ESF demolishes 2
smuggling tunnels under the Rafah border.
IDF troops arrested three youths, two of them brothers, in Bethlehem, according to security sources. Two Palestinians were arrested in the area of Nablus. (WAFA, Ynetnews)
Some 100 persons organized by the Coalition of Women for Peace protested in front of Damoun prison near Haifa where two Palestinian girls, Salwa and her cousin Sara, both aged 16, were held in administrative detention, without charge or trial. According to the attorney representing both girls, Israeli security services described them as "dangerous, based on classified information". Apart from initial interrogation at the time of arrest, neither girl had been questioned since. The administrative detention of both girls was extended for an additional three months last week. There are currently some 600 Palestinians in administrative detention in Israel, some 15 of who are minors. (Haaretz)
At a meeting in Amman with UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Robert H. Serry, King Abdullah II of Jordan said that halting all Israeli settlement activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory was crucial. He stressed the importance of ensuring momentum to reach a comprehensive settlement to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, leading to the establishment of an independent Palestinian State. The King reiterated the need for the UN to help create the appropriate environment in coordination with concerned parties to help Palestinians and Israelis achieve tangible progress in the Middle East. (WAFA)
Nimr Hammad, an aide to PA President Abbas said that previous bilateral meetings with Hamas had been "ineffective" and only worsened the division between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. He said that a Hamas-Fatah meeting was unlikely to take place and that Fatah had agreed to a comprehensive dialogue that included all the Palestinian factions. Meanwhile PA officials reiterated their demand for a transitional Palestinian Government composed of independent Palestinian figures. Mr. Hammad said the transitional coalition should include internationally-recognized figures that would be able to travel between the West Bank and Gaza. He said that the new government should work to lift the siege of the Gaza Strip. Once a government was formed, Mr. Hammad said, stage two of the transition would begin, including a restructuring of the Palestinian security forces with help from Arab States. He said if Hamas refused to reform its own forces in Gaza it would "create a crisis." Hamas leader Ahmad Yousif, however, said that any government would inevitably be formed of figures close to both Hamas and Fatah, but the names of the ministers would not be known until the moment of the agreement. Mr. Yousif rejected the suggestion that the transitional government's program would be the same as Mr. Abbas' and the PLO's, saying all those issues would be discussed at a three-way meeting between Hamas, Fatah, and the Egyptian mediators on 25 October. (Ma'an News Agency)
The spokesman of Islamic Jihad's Al-Quds Brigades stated that the armed faction reserved the right to end the ceasefire with Israel but would consider Palestinian consensus on the matter. (IMEMC)
The 119th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union admitted the Parliament of Palestine as a full-fledged member. (www.ipu.org)
An agreement was signed in Rome between the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs/Directorate General for Cooperation and the regional administration of Tuscany for the implementation of "Support for Children of the Palestinian Territories - Medicine at the Service of Peace", an initiative to which Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini had made a personal commitment during his visit to the Palestinian Territory in July 2008. The €5.7 million project would be carried out by two NGOs: Israel's "Peres Center for Peace" in Tel Aviv and Palestinian "Panorama" in Ramallah. The initiative aimed at direct medical collaboration between Palestinians and Israelis at the non-governmental level. The intention was to make it possible for seriously ill Palestinian children to be treated in the most advanced healthcare facilities in Israel. (www.esteri.it)