3 Palestinians killed.
Israeli-Palestinian clashes abate slightly overall, but
increase around Bayt Jala, the Jewish enclave in Hebron. During the day, 1
Palestinian is killed, 3 are wounded, 2 others die of injuries received
earlier. The IDF continues to shell areas of Bayt Jala, damaging several
homes and injuring several Palestinians. The IDF bulldozes large tracks
of olive groves nr. Netzarim Junction, Nisanit settlement. IDF rocket
attacks are reported nr. Rafah. (PCHR, MM 10/23; LAW, MM, NYT, WT 10/24;
Globes [Internet] 10/25; JT 10/25 in WNC 10/30; MEI 10/27)
Barak, Sharon open talks on forming a coalition
government. (MA [Internet], MM, NYT 10/23; MM, NYT, WP, WT 10/24; JT 10/24 in
WNC 10/25; WJW 10/26; MEI 10/27; al-Quds 10/28 in WNC 11/1; JP 11/3)
The National and Islamic Higher Comm. for the Follow-up of
the Intifada (NIHC)--an umbrella group separate fr. the PA, representing all
the Palestinian nationalist and Islamist factions--issues its 1st leaflet.
Palestinians in al-Maghazi refugee camp in Gaza stage a small demonstration
denouncing Arab leaders for the weak Arab League statement on 10/22. (HJ
10/23 in WNC 10/25)
Morocco severs ties with Israel, shutting its
trade office in Tel Aviv, Israel's trade representation in Rabat. In London,
7,000 people stage a march in solidarity with the Palestinians. (MM, UPI
10/24; MM 10/25; MEI 10/27; MM 11/3) (see 10/13)
4 Palestinians killed.
IDF soldiers fatally shoot 3 Palestinians in Tulkarm; a 4th
Palestinian dies of injuries received on 10/22. Heavy shelling, machine gun
fire is reported in Bethlehem, Tulkarm.
The IDF sends bulldozers, under cover of heavy machine gun fire, into
Bayt Hanun; reinforces troops around Khan Yunis; bulldozes land in al-Qarara,
demolishing 1 home, 1 workshop. (AP, MEZ 10/23; NYT, PCHR 10/24; AYM 10/24 in
WNC 10/25)
In separate mtgs. with Bush and Powell, Peres rejects
the U.S. demand for Israel's immediate withdrawal fr. PA-controlled areas. (AFP,
AP, MM 10/23; NYT, WP 10/24; MA 10/24 in WNC 10/25)
In Bethlehem, Christian and Muslim
religious leaders lead 6,000 Palestinians in a peace procession and
prayer service, calling on Israel to evacuate the city. In Nablus, 1,000s of
Palestinians attend the funeral of assassinated Hamas mbr. Halawih.
1 Palestinian killed.
The IDF moves troops back into Jenin, after withdrawing to the
outskirts of the city on 10/18; fires on Palestinian farmers in Jenin; bulldozes
18 Palestinian homes (15 in Jiftlik, 1 in `Ayn Bayt al-Ma’ r.c., 1 in
Balata r.c., 1 in Rafah, 1 in Salim); bars a Palestinian heart attack
victim fr. crossing and IDF checkpoint to reach a hospital for 2 hrs., allowing
him to die; raids 2 homes in Hebron, sets fire to residents’ belongings. IDF
commandos raid Balata r.c., arrest 2 Palestinians, leave behind their van,
booby trapped with explosives; the van later explodes, injuring 10 Palestinians.
With the IDF’s pledge of protection, Palestinian residents of Yanun
return to their homes (see 10/18). The PA complains that btwn. 9/4 and
10/16, the IDF has taken 750 single-bed truckloads, 250 double-bed
truckloads of sand out of Gaza for use in construction projects inside Israel.
(LAW, PCHR 10/23; AYM 10/23 in WNC 10/28; NYT, WT 10/24; HA 11/15)
The Knesset rejects (23-51) a proposed bill that would ban fr. the
parliament any party trying to incite the expulsion of Palestinians,
Israeli Arabs. (AFP 10/23)
U.S. Asst. Secy. of State William Burns arrives in Jerusalem to
meet with Israeli, PA officials regarding a U.S. draft road map;
presents the PA with the draft for the 1st time (see 10/16). (HA, MM, PR 10/23;
HA, MM, NYT 10/24; MM, NYT, WT 10/25; AYM 10/25, 10/26 in WNC 10/28; WP 10/26;
MEI 11/8)
5 Palestinians killed. 3 Israelis killed.
The IDF fatally shoots a Palestinian at a checkpoint in s. Gaza
after he opens fire on a car carrying Jewish settlers, wounding 3;
fatally shoots a mentally handicapped Palestinian who strays too close to
Aley Sinai settlement; conducts arrest raids in Ramallah.
2 Palestinians die of injuries received in the 10/20 IDF attack on
Nussayrat r.c., bringing that toll to at least 10. Israel issues
tenders for construction of 333 new housing units in West Bank Jewish
settlements. Jewish settlers attack Palestinian cars, property in
Hebron. (HA 10/23; VOP 10/23 in WNC 10/25; AFP, HA, MM, NYT, WP 10/24; VOP
10/24, MENA 10/26 in WNC 10/28; NYT, WT 10/25; NYT 10/26; HA, MM 10/27; MM
10/28; AYM 10/28 in WNC 10/30; PR 10/29; PCHR 10/30; MEI 11/7)
Late in the evening,
2 Palestinian gunmen (1 Hamas, 1 Islamic Jihad) infiltrate
an IDF barracks at Netzarim settlement, fatally shooting 3 IDF soldiers,
wounding 2 before the Hamas mbr. is shot dead, the Islamic Jihad mbr. escapes. Palestinians also fire
a Qassam rocket at the Negev, causing no damage or injuries. In Tulkarm,
the AMB executes 2 Palestinians suspected of providing Israel with
information used to assassinate an AMB mbr. on 10/4.
2 Palestinians killed.
The IDF fires a missile fr. a drone at a group of wanted Palestinians
in Khan Yunis, killing Islamic Jihad mbrs. and brothers Omar and Ziad Abu
Mustafa, wounding at least 3 in an apparent assassination; fires on a
funeral procession in Khan Yunis, wounding 2 teenagers; sends troops into Balata
r.c., fires on residential areas, then fires on stone-throwing youths who
confront the troops, wounding a 10-yr.-old Palestinian bystander; conducts
arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem. (JAZ, NYT, WP, WT, XIN 10/24; PR
10/27; PCHR 10/28)
Arafat, who continues to suffer the flu and complain of stomach pain,
is visited by a 2d team of Tunisian doctors who perform an endoscopy, a
biopsy, and blood tests that come back negative for cancer. The doctors second
the Egyptian team’s 10/19 diagnosis. (MENA, VOI 10/23 in WNC 10/26; CNN 10/24;
JAZ, VOP 10/25 in WNC 10/27; MM 10/26; JAZ, MENA, VOP 10/26 in WNC 10/28; BBC,
HA 10/28)
The IDF erects 2 observation towers, a military post on the Gaza
border east of Khan Yunis nr. Khuza' (cf. 9/8, 10/4); allows the PA to
open the Rafah crossing for 48 hrs. to allow Palestinians making the hajj to
leave for Saudi Arabia; conducts wide-scale arrest raids and house searches in
Bayt Furik, Hebron, Ramallah, Tulkarm (also imposing a curfew). The IDF
reportedly has recently started using a nonlethal crowd dispersal method, firing
tightly packed mini bean bags at protesters demonstrating against the separation
wall in Bil`in. (AFP 10/23; HA, PCHR 10/27; OCHA 10/31)
6 Palestinians killed.
In Gaza, the IDF steps up operations in Bayt Hanun and Bayt Lahiya, sending
undercover units to attack a family gathering, assassinating senior PRC cmdr.
Atta al-Shinbari in Bayt Hanun, sparking an exchange of gunfire that lasts
several hrs., killing another 5 Palestinians (including a PFLP mbr., 3
civilians), wounding 30. IDF officials warn of broader operations in Gaza in the
coming wks. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in
and around Jenin. (WP 10/24; OCHA 11/1; PCHR 11/2)
ESF, PSF mbrs. exchange fire in Rafah, wounding 1 Palestinian.
3 Palestinians killed.
The IDF makes an air strike on Gaza City, assassinating PRC leader and Interior Min. official Mubarak Hasanat;
bulldozes at least 150 d. of Palestinian citrus groves nr. Bayt Hanun, also demolishing a storehouse and fuel tank. The Israeli navy fires on Palestinian
fishing boats off the Bayt Lahiya coast, forcing them to return to shore. An
ailing 77-yr.-old Palestinian dies at the Erez crossing when the IDF
denies him transit to an Israeli hospital despite having the proper Israeli
permits. A Palestinian prisoner dies of
injuries sustained in the 10/22 riot in Israel’s Ketziot jail. (NYT, OCHA, WP 10/24; PCHR 10/25)
Palestinians
fire 8 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing damage but no injuries; the
IDF responds by shelling launching sites, causing no reported injuries.
PA security forces raid the home of a Hamas mbr. in Hebron, confiscating a computer, personal belongings.
1 Israeli killed.
A Palestinian stabbed and killed an 80-year-old Israeli settler and wounded a policeman in the settlement of "Gilo" near Bethlehem, Israeli police said. The Palestinian was seriously wounded by police fire. Israeli forces raided the town of Tuqu and called through loudspeakers on the family of the Palestinian to leave the house before it was demolished. Clashes ensued between the Israeli troops and the Palestinians, but no injuries were reported. (AFP, DPA, Haaretz, Ma'an News Agency, Reuters, Ynetnews)
The IDF arrested 12 Palestinians in the West Bank. The IDF arrested a Palestinian in Hebron. A gun and ammunition were seized, the IDF said. (Ma'an News Agency, Xinhua, Ynetnews)
Israeli President Shimon Peres, speaking at a meeting with Egypt's President Mubarak in Sharm el-Sheikh, said that while he did not "accept all of the [Arab Peace Initiative] and it needs to be negotiated further, its spirit is correct." The talks would focus on Egyptian attempts to broker a prisoner exchange, including the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. (AP, Reuters)
The Rafah crossing was opened for one hour to allow 67 Palestinian patients to cross back into Gaza from Egypt. (Ma'an News Agency)
The PA Ministry of the Economy and Public Works signed an agreement worth €13 million with Germany for the construction of a new industrial zone in Jenin. (Ma'an News Agency)
The World Bank said in a report on the economic effects of restricted access to land in the West Bank, that Israeli restrictions on the movement of people, access to natural resources and land use by Palestinians had stifled economic growth, caused land prices to escalate, and inhibited productive investment. Recurrent destruction of trees, private homes and public infrastructure, as well as the settlers' encroachments on private Palestinian land created a permanent state of insecurity further inhibiting Palestinian economic activity. (www.worldbank.org)
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) issued a statement saying: "In recent weeks, because of a standstill in cooperation between Palestinian authorities in Ramallah and Gaza, imports of essential medical supplies have been reduced to a trickle, thus aggravating an already critical situation". ICRC said that the situation was extremely worrying for several hundred severely ill patients, including children suffering from cystic fibrosis, who had not been able to take essential daily medicine for the past week. The statement also said that surgical operations had decreased by 40 percent and hospital admissions were down to 20 per cent as a result of the Gaza Strip health workers' strike. (www.icrc.org)
The PA Ministry of Prisoners' Affairs warned that Israel planned to approve new legal procedures that could deprive Palestinian prisoners of access to their families, which could be used as a bargaining chip during the negotiations over Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. (Ma'an News Agency)
The separation wall was displacing Palestinians from their homes at alarming rates, according to a report issued by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, finding that 3,880 households had been displaced as of June 2008; while 49,291 dunums of land had been confiscated. (www.pcbs.gov.ps)