This day in the History of the 2nd Intifada

March 28 2001

6 Palestinians killed. 2 Israelis killed.

Israeli-Palestinian clashes continue, leaving a total of 6 Palestinians, 2 Israelis dead. This evening, after the Arab summit ends, Sharon orders air, land, sea strikes against Force 17 targets in Dayr al-Balah, Jabaliyya, Khan Yunis, Rafah, Ramallah, killing 3 Palestinians, injuring 62. Nr. Beitunia, a Palestinian woman is shot dead by IDF troops. In Rafah, a Palestinian boy is killed when he triggers unexploded IDF ordnance. The IDF reinforces its troop presence around Abu Sunayna in Hebron with 8 tanks, 15 troop carriers, numerous military jeeps and 3 new outposts; shells residential areas in Nablus; confiscates 28 dunams of Palestinian land in Beitunia to expand an IDF post; bulldozes Palestinian land in Mount Jarzim, Wadi Silqa. Israel issues demolition orders for 19 Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem for construction of the "ring road" linking the Jewish settlements around Jerusalem; 658 dunams of Palestinian land is slated to be bulldozed for the project. Jewish settlers attack Palestinians and their property in Bayt Furik, Hebron, Silat Dahir. Settlers fr. Ma'ale Adumim, Kefar Atsion reportedly move into the Israeli controlled section of Hebron to reinforce settlers there. In Hebron, the PSF arrests a local Fatah mbr. for the 3/26 shooting that killed a settler baby. (BBC, CNN, HP, MM, REU 3/28; AFP, ATL 3/28 in WNC 3/29; MM, NYT, WP, WT 3/29; AFP, Interfax, MENA, al-Quds 3/29 in WNC 3/30; LAW, MM, WP 3/30; MA, MENA, al-Safir 3/30 in WNC 4/2; MM 4/3; JP, MEI 4/6; al-Quds 4/15 in WNC 4/16; WP 4/23; al-Ahram [Internet] 4/26)

The Arab League summit closes. Arab states approve a $240 m. emergency aid for the PA over the next 6 mos. (MM 3/28; HJ 3/28 in WNC 3/29; MM, NYT, WP 3/29; JT 3/29 in WNC 3/30; HJ 3/29 in WNC 4/3; al-Ra'i 3/30, Star 3/31, JT 4/1 in WNC 4/2; JP, MEI 4/6; al-Quds 4/10 in WNC 4/12) (see Peace Monitor)

A Palestinian suicide bomber detonates a nail bomb at a bus stop just inside Israel, nr. Qalqilya, killing 2 Israelis, wounding 4. Hamas, and a previously unknown group named the Popular Army Front+nReturn Battalions claim responsibility. Israeli sappers disarm bombs in the Israeli cities of Petah Tikva, Netanya.

March 28 2002

5 Israelis killed.

The IDF closes main roads across Gaza, cutting the Strip into 3 sections. Sharon convenes his cabinet to discuss the escalating Palestinian attacks. U.S. Secy. of State Colin Powell phones Sharon to urge against exiling Arafat. The cabinet agrees to "totally isolate" Arafat, calls up 20,000 IDF reserves in preparation for a major assault. (HA 3/28; XIN 3/28 in WNC 3/29; MM, NYT, REU, WP, WT 3/29; NYT 3/30; WT 4/1; MEI 4/5; WP 5/6)

The Arab summit unanimously adopts the Saudi initiative, pledges $480 m. aid to the Palestinians, urges against a U.S. attack on Iraq. (CNN 3/28; al-Quds, XIN 3/28 in WNC 3/29; HA, NYT, WP, WT 3/29; al-Majallah 3/30 in WNC 4/1; HA 4/4; MEI, MM 4/5)

A Hamas gunman infiltrates Elon Moreh settlement, kills 4 Jewish settlers. 1 Israeli injured in the 3/27 Netanya attack dies. The PSF arrests senior Hamas, Islamic Jihad mbrs. in Bethlehem, Hebron, Nablus, Ramallah. Arafat issues an urgent appeal for an unconditional cease-fire.

March 28 2003

2 Palestinians killed.

The IDF conducts arrest raids in Khan Yunis (fatally shooting 1 Palestinian), Tulkarm r.c. (fatally shooting a 2d Palestinian); bulldozes 20 dunams of land in, fires on residential areas of Rafah. Israel also reinforces its security presence in East Jerusalem, fearing demonstrations against the war in Iraq after Friday prayers; 30,000 protest in Gaza city, smaller rallies are held in West Bank towns, but nothing is reported in East Jerusalem; the IDF fires on demonstrators nr. Qalandia, wounding 2. (HA 3/28; PR 4/2; PCHR 4/3)

March 28 2004

1 Palestinian killed.

The IDF allows Palestinian workers into the Erez Industrial Zone for the 1st time since 3/15, but keeps the Erez crossing sealed; fatally shoots wanted AMB mbr. Jamil al-Tal in his home nr. Hebron in an apparent assassination; blows up a Palestinian home in Bidiyya nr. Qalqilya; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Bethlehem, Dahaysha r.c., Tulkarm r.c., and nr. Hebron. (MENA 3/28 in WNC 3/30; NYT 3/29; PCHR 4/1, 4/8)

Israeli State Atty. Edna Arbel, Israel’s top prosecutor, recommends that Sharon be indicted on charges of accepting a bribe for his role in a 1999 deal under which prominent Israeli businessman and Likud activist David Appel paid about $100,000 to Sharon’s son Gilad Sharon (for “marketing advice”) and $580,000 to the Sharon family ranch in the Negev in exchange for Sharon (then FM) lobbying Greece in support of Appel’s project to build a Greek island resort; the project never came to fruition. If indicted, Sharon could be forced to step down as PM. (NYT, WP, WT 3/28; MM, NYT, WP, WT 3/29; NYT, WT 3/30; MM 4/6)

A PFLP gunman shoots, wounds an IDF soldier outside a Jewish settlement in Gaza.

March 28 2005

Overnight, the IDF makes a major raid into Jenin, sending in 30 military vehicles and helicopters, fires on residential areas, raids and searches Palestinian homes, detaining at least 9 Islamic Jihad mbrs. The IDF also shoots, wounds a Palestinian shepherd grazing his flock nr. the separation wall in Bayt `Awwa nr. Hebron; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Dahariyya, Fahma nr. Jenin (arresting 3 PA security officers), Jama`in and Kafr Qalil nr. Nablus (firing on residential areas, wounding 2 Palestinians inside their home), Surif, Za'atra nr. Hebron. (OCHA 3/30; PCHR 3/31; OCHA 4/6; al-Quds 4/23 in WNC 4/26)

In Gaza City, Fatah-affiliated lawyer Majid al-Jafari is moderately injured when an explosive charge planted underneath his parked car explodes; Jafari received death threats after recently announcing his independent candidacy for the local bar association; no group claims responsibility.

March 28 2006

Israel closes all Gaza crossing into Israel, reimposing the full seal on the territories (set on 3/11) for parliamentary elections; sends troops into al-Fawwar r.c. to conduct arrest raids and house searches, fires on stone-throwing youths who confront the troops, wounding 6; also conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron and in Bethlehem, Nablus, Tubas. Israeli security contractors guarding the separation wall nr. Jerusalem shoot, wound a Palestinian who strays too close to the wall. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba attack Palestinians, vandalize property in Hebron. Separately, Jewish settlers fr. Hebron attack Palestinian children on their way to school by a Palestinian road that passes near a settler- only bypass road. Inside Israel, 2 bedouin are killed in the Negev when they accidentally detonate an unexploded Palestinian rocket. (IMEMC, YA 3/28; VOP 3/28 in WNC 3/29; HA, MM, NYT, OCHA 3/29; PCHR 3/30; MM 4/7, 4/13, 4/21)

Israel holds parliamentary elections, with voter turnout at a relatively low 63%. The Kadima party, founded by Ariel Sharon and led by Ehud Olmert, wins 29 of the 120 Knesset seats (less than expected) compared to Labor with 19 seats, Likud (the biggest loser compared with its 38 seats last election) with 12, Shas with 12, Yisrael Beiteinu with 11, National Union–National Religious Party with 9, Pensioners’ Party with 7, United Torah Judaism with 6, Meretz with 5, and 3 Arab parties with a total of 10. (MM 3/28; HA, JP, MM, NYT, WP, WT 3/29; NYT, WT 3/30; WP 3/31; XIN, YA 4/3)

Islamic Jihad fires a Grad missile (an Eastern European rocket with a range greater than a Qassam but less than a Katyusha) fr. Gaza towards Ashkelon, which lands unexploded causing no damage or injuries.

The PC approves (71–36, with 2 abstentions) the Hamas-led cabinet. (NYT 3/29; XIN 3/28 in WNC 3/29)

March 28 2007

1 Palestinian killed.

The IDF sends bulldozers into Gaza w. of Rafah to level land along the border fence. In the West Bank, IDF demolishes 3 Palestinian businesses, an animal pen in Barta‘a nr. Jenin; fires on stone- throwing Palestinian youths nr. the Qalandia checkpoint outside Jerusalem, seriously wounding 1 with a bullet to the head, lightly wounding 3 others; conducts arrest raids, house searches in ‘Askar r.c., Balata, Nablus, Tulkarm and nr. Hebron, Jenin r.c. (exchanging fire with AMB mbrs., killing 1 AMB mbr., wounding 2), Ramallah, Salfit. Israeli police in riot gear remove the remaining 450 right-wing Jewish settlers and activists fr. the Homesh settlement site (see 3/26). Jewish settlers stone Palestinian cars nr. Jit Junction nr. Qalqilya, injuring 1 Palestinian. Jewish settler teenagers in Hebron ambush, beat a 12-yr.-old Palestinian boy on his way home fr. school. Private Israeli security contractors working for Karme Tzur settlement nr. Hebron prevent Palestinian farmers fr. reaching their land nearby, beating 2, confiscating their equipment. Separately, Jewish settlers fr. Karme Tzur beat a Palestinian farmer working his land nearby. (REU 3/28; NYT, WT 3/29; WP 3/30; OCHA 4/4; PCHR 4/5; NYT 4/8)

When AMB, Islamic Jihad fire 9 rockets into Israel, causing no damage or injuries, the IDF shells n. Gaza for the 1st time since the 11/26 cease-fire went into effect, wounding 4 Islamic Jihad mbrs. preparing to fire a rocket into Israel, also killing 1 Palestinian bystander and wounding 2; Israel says the strike was not intended to signal a change of policy or an escalation.

In Jabaliya r.c., ESF mbrs. fire on a car of Fatah mbrs., causing no injuries. In Bayt Hanun, suspected Fatah gunmen fire on the car of a senior Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades mbr., seriously injuring him, his wife and 2 children, a bystander.

March 28 2008

1 Palestinian killed.

IDF troops inside Israel fatally shoot an armed Palestinian who approaches the s. Gaza border. The IDF also bulldozes 5 d. of Palestinian land inside the border fence nr. Wadi al-Silqa; later conducts arrest raids, house searches in Wadi al-Silqa, detaining 3 Palestinians. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night house searches in and around Nablus but makes no arrests; fires rubber-coated steel bullets, percussion grenades, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, international activists taking part in the weekly nonviolent demonstration against the separation wall in Bil`in (injuring 8, including 3 children). Jewish settlers fr. Efrat uproot 100 Palestinian olive trees to make way for new construction begun on 3/23. (OCHA 4/2; PCHR 4/3)

Palestinians stone Jewish settler vehicles nr. Ramallah, causing no injuries. In n. Gaza, 50,000 Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Fatah al-Yasir (an AMB offshoot) supporters hold a peaceful demonstration calling on the Arab League summit assembling in Damascus to find a way to break Israel’s siege of Gaza. In Jabaliya r.c., 2,000 Palestinians attend a rally organized by Islamic Jihad to call on Fatah and Hamas to form a unity government.

March 28 2009

Israeli forces entered the Tulkarm refugee camp and the nearby town of Dir Al-Ghusun in the northern West Bank. While in the area, troops handed out a number of interrogation orders to residents, according to witnesses. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israeli soldiers used tear gas to disperse some 50 demonstrators in Hebron's Old City protesting against the settlements and Israeli closures in the West Bank, the Israeli army and Palestinian witnesses said. Palestinian youths threw stones at Israeli troops. Video footage from the scene showed Israeli soldiers pushing demonstrators, including Israeli Arab lawmaker Mohammad Barakeh. Demonstrators said the protest was part of several events aimed at marking Land Day, the annual protest against Israel's appropriation of Arab-owned land in Galilee. (Reuters)

Israeli police reported that undercover Israeli police officers disguised as Palestinians were attacked by settlers in the West Bank. Police spokesman Dany Peleg said that the settlers threw stones at the officers and damaged a Palestinian vehicle, while two others attempted to run the police over near an outpost in the West Bank. (AFP)

A draft declaration drafted by Arab Foreign Ministers ahead of the Arab League Summit at Doha said that the Arab initiative would not be on the table for ever. "Arab commitment to this initiative is dependent on an Israeli acceptance of it," the declaration stated. It reiterated, however, that the peace initiative remains "a strategic Arab choice to achieve just and comprehensive peace." (AFP)

In an article published in The Washington Post, PA Chief Negotiator Saeb Erakat said that the Middle East peace process might not survive if the new Israeli Government led by Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu failed to accept a two-State solution, with the establishment of a viable and independent Palestinian State based on 1967 borders. He said, "The peace process lives on borrowed time …. with its credibility at stake, it will not survive another round of failed negotiations ─ and neither will the two-State solution." (The Washington Post)

Israeli Border Police seized 208 Palestinians living without permits in Israel and deported them to the West Bank. (Ma’an News Agency)

NEWS

Electronic Intifada:

MEDIA ENCLOSURE: http://electronicintifada.net/sites/default/files/2024-03/2._minutes_science_and_commercial_counsellors_meeting_-_25.01_redacted.pdf

MEDIA ENCLOSURE: http://electronicintifada.net/sites/default/files/2024-03/day_173.mp3

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