Israeli-Palestinian violence continues. IDF tanks demolish 2
PSF outposts on the Ramallah+nBirzeit road, shell and destroy another PSF
post nr. Beitunia. (LAW 8/6)
The IDF enters Khan Yunis, fires on residential areas,
bulldozes land; raids Wadi Burkin, demolishing a Palestinian home,
arresting 2 Palestinians; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Jenin;
bulldozes land in Beitunia; directs heavy machine gun fire at residential areas
of Bayt Lahia. Jewish settlers attack Palestinian home in Hebron,
setting 2 rooms on fire. (LAW, PCHR 7/31)
On the eve of Sharon’s 7/28 mtg. with Bush in Washington, the
IDF removes 6 West Bank checkpoints (3 outside Bethlehem, 2 outside
Ramallah, 1 outside Hebron), in most cases adding roving checkpoints nearby to
search cars, slowing traffic considerably; pledges to release 100 Palestinian
prisoners. The IDF also bulldozes a greenhouse, some land in Rafah. (AYM
7/27 in WNC 7/31; MM, NYT, WP, WT 7/28; MM 7/29; UN Office for the Coordinator
of Humanitarian Affairs press release 8/5; PCHR 8/7)
2 Palestinians killed.
In the predawn hrs., the IDF sends troops, military vehicles,
helicopters into Gaza City, occupies and searches several buildings, sparking
heavy clashes with Palestinians, killing 1 armed Palestinian, 1
bystander; withdraws later in the morning. In ongoing operations in Bayt
Hanun, the IDF raids, severely damages a school, bulldozes additional
land. The IDF also fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis, severely
injuring a Palestinian inspecting the remains of his demolished home; bulldozes
7 Palestinian homes in Khan Yunis, 1 in Tulkarm; fires on residential
areas of Tulkarm r.c.; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Ramallah and in
Nablus, Tubas. The Israeli Agriculture Min. orders the planting of 72,000
olive trees around West Bank Jewish settlements so that “ownership of the trees
will be in Jewish hands only and would prevent transfer of lands to Palestinian
hands in the future.” (PM 7/27; NYT, PR, YA 7/28; PCHR 7/29)
Qurai` rescinds his 7/17 resignation after Arafat orders the PC
to refer corruption cases to the PA general prosecutor for possible legal
action and promises (without a timetable) to permanently consolidate security
forces into 3 bodies, give the PM more authority over PA police. (SA, VOP 7/27
in WNC 7/29; MM, NYT, PR, WP, WT 7/28; DUS 7/28, AYM 7/29 in WNC 8/3; WJW 7/29;
AYM 8/6 in WNC 8/10)
1 Palestinian killed.
The IDF sends helicopters, tanks, bulldozers into Jenin to arrest
wanted Islamic Jihad mbr. Hamza Kakur, sparking clashes in which
IDF soldiers fatally shoot a Palestinian stone thrower and wound at least
6 Palestinians; Palestinian gunmen wound 2 IDF soldiers; Kakur is
arrested. The IDF fires on Palestinian motorists waiting at a checkpoint
outside Khan Yunis, seriously injuring 1; fires on residential areas of Naqura
and Sebastia nr. Nablus; demolishes 3 Palestinian homes in al-Khadir. (PR, XIN 7/27; HA, PCHR, PRCS 7/28; PR 8/3; PCHR 8/4)
The Knesset votes (59–12) to grant citizenship to Palestinians
married to Israelis only if the Palestinian men are over age 35 and the
Palestinian women are over age 25. The decision replaces an emergency measure
(in place since 3/03, set to expire on 7/31) banning all Palestinians fr.
becoming Israeli citizens under family reunification, but writes into law
limitations previously considered temporary. The Knesset also passes
(54–15) the so-called "intifada law" that limits Palestinians' right to sue the
state for damages incurred during the intifada to traffic incidents involving
IDF soldiers, physical injuries received while in military detention. (HA 7/28;
PR 8/10)
The PA hangs a Palestinian given the death penalty for murder (see
6/12).
7 Palestinians killed. 1 Israeli killed.
In Gaza, the IDF closes the Nahal Oz pipeline; shells areas nr. Gaza City,
killing at least 1 Palestinian militant, 1 Palestinian farmer working in her
field; shells areas nr. Bayt Hanun (killing 1 Palestinian child outside his
home, wounding 5 Palestinians), in al-Shuka; makes air strikes destroying 3
houses nr. Bayt Lahiya (killing 1 Palestinian bystander), in Bayt Hanun, Khan
Yunis (also destroying 2 adjacent homes). In Jerusalem, a Palestinian gunman
fires on Israeli police, wounding 2 before being shot dead. In the West Bank,
the IDF sends undercover units into Jenin r.c. in cars with Palestinian license
plates, surrounds a home, opens fire (wounding a Palestinian bystander in an
apartment building nearby), occupying several surrounding houses as sniper
positions, evacuates and checks IDs of residents, arrests 1 Palestinian, fires
on stone-throwing Palestinians who confront the troops, wounding 8 Palestinians
(including 2 journalists covering the incident for al-Jazeera, Reuters); patrols
in al-Bireh; begins construction of a new segment of the separation wall in Bayt
Jala that will cut Palestinians off fr. 5,000 d. of agricultural land and cut
off the access of Battir and Husan Nahalin villages to Bethlehem. The body of a
Jewish settler fr. Yakir missing since early in the morning is found in a
burnt-out vehicle nr. a West Bank Palestinian village; the AMB takes
responsibility for kidnapping, killing him. In Israel, Israeli police free dual
Israeli-Canadian citizen Falah after a Haifa District Court orders the police
and/or Shin Bet to file formal charges against him or let him go (see 7/26). A
Palestinian wounded during the 7/26 IDF raid on Kafr Qadim dies. A 2d
Palestinian dies of injuries received during IDF operations in Nablus on 7/19.
(OCHA 7/27; NYT 7/28; NYT 7/29; PCHR 8/3)
Israel’s security cabinet approves call-ups for up to 3 divisions of
reservists (15,000–30,000 reserves) for the war on Lebanon. The IDF makes some
180 air and artillery strikes on targets across Lebanon, including hitting radio
and TV relays in Amshit n. of Beirut, 3 trucks in the Biqa‘ Valley carrying
emergency food supplies to Beirut. Ground clashes continue in Bint Jubayl, 2
residential apartment buildings nr. an Amal headquarters in Tyre; a Lebanese
army base in n. Lebanon; roads, buildings in s. Lebanon and the Biqa‘ Valley,
including al-Khiyam, Kafr, Nabatiyya, Sidon, Tuffah, Riyaq, Zahleh. The IDF
broadcasts radio warnings to s. Lebanon residents that their villages would be
“totally destroyed” if rockets are fired fr. them. Hizballah fires some 110
rockets into n. Israel, wounding 7 Israelis and hitting an empty factory in
Haifa, also hitting sites in Carmiel, Nahariya Safad, Tiberias. (IFM 7/27; NYT,
WP, WT 7/28)
In the West Bank, the IDF
conducts arrest raids, house searches in Yabad nr. Jenin (seriously injuring a
13-yr.-old Palestinian boy in an accidental hit-and-run); patrols in Ramallah;
fires rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli,
international activists attending the weekly nonviolent protest against the separation
wall in Bil`in, injuring 2; forcibly removes Jewish settlers fr. the
Homesh settlement site. (OCHA 8/1; PCHR 8/2)
In Gaza, Islamic Jihad
detonates a roadside bomb nr. an IDF convoy patrolling inside Israel nr. Kerem Shalom crossing, causing no
injuries.
PA President Abbas condemned the fresh outbreak of violence in the Gaza Strip over the weekend, calling for an
independent inquiry into the bomb blasts. He said, "What happened in Gaza is extremely regretful and painful to us and
to our people. We don't accept it. Neither do we accept accusations and claims made directly by Hamas blaming Fatah and
its members for the Gaza blasts. We call for a committee made up of independent Palestinians to investigate the matter
and come to conclusions on the perpetrators of the attack. We will accept the outcome of the inquiry." (DPA)
At a meeting with Egyptian President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak, PA President Abbas appealed to a number of Arab countries
to consider dispatching troops to the Gaza Strip. He said that an Arab peacekeeping force could help "restore law and
order" to the Gaza Strip and pave the way for ending the Fatah-Hamas rift. Mr. Abbas said he had agreed with President
Mubarak to launch "reconciliation talks" with Hamas immediately and without preconditions. A senior Hamas official
rejected Mr. Abbas' initiative and warned that his movement would not allow soldiers from any country to enter Gaza.
Hamas arrested Mr. Omar al-Farra, Director of WAFA news agency in the Gaza Strip. Hamas also issued warnings to several
Palestinian journalists and media outlets against "favouring" Fatah in their coverage of the latest tensions. (The
Jerusalem Post)
The head of the Palestinian Water Authority, Shadad Ateli, said that many Palestinian homes had been without water for
hours, and sometimes days at a time. Israel controlled the water sources and under an interim agreement signed in 1995,
Palestinians received an allocated supply. Mr. Ateli said five years of drought had diminished supply, while the
Palestinian population had grown rapidly since then. He hoped that Palestinians would negotiate a better water deal in
a final peace agreement with Israel. (AP)
7 Palestinians killed.
IDF forces arrested four Palestinians in the West Bank. (www.idf.il)
The IDF ransacked the homes of Anas Addeik and Ibrahim Najim in the village of Huwwara after they were ordered them into the street. (Ma’an News Agency)
Israeli tanks and bulldozers entered an area east of the Bureij refugee camp in the Gaza Strip amid intensive gunfire. Agricultural land was bulldozed, but no injuries were reported. (Palestine Press News Agency)
The IDF established a mobile military checkpoint north of Ramallah, and stopped hundreds of Palestinian vehicles. Hours later, the soldiers withdrew. No detentions were reported. (Ma’an News Agency)
US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates arrived in Israel and met with Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu. During his visit, Mr. Gates was expected to discuss the settlements and the evacuation of outposts. (Haaretz, The Jerusalem Post)
According to an IDF Civil Administration report covering the first half of 2009, there were more than 300,000 residents living in settlements in the West Bank. As of 30 June, the settlements had 304,569 residents, an increase of 2.3 per cent since January. Most of the growth was in the religious communities, including the ultra-Orthodox settlements. The settlement of “Modi'in Ilit” gained 1,879 residents, a 4.5 percent increase, while “Beitar Ilit” gained 1,074 residents, a 3.1 per cent jump. (Haaretz)
Members of the Israeli rightist movements Land of Israel Faithful and Youth for the Land of Israel announced a large-scale operation to set up 11 new settlement outposts in the West Bank in the coming week. They said this plan was meant to commemorate “that night in 1946 when the Jewish community established 11 new positions in the Negev ahead of the land's partition,” in response to the British government's White Paper. A large group is planning to rebuild the “Nofei Yarden” outpost. Attorney Michael Sfard declared that the Yesh Din organization was planning to call on the Israeli police and the army to thwart the plan. (Haaretz, WAFA)
Rabbi Eric Yoffie, President of the Union of Reform Judaism, the largest Jewish denomination in the US, said the vast majority of American Jews back a settlement freeze. In a telephone interview with Haaretz, Mr. Yoffie said that at last week's White House meeting between US President Barack Obama and 16 Jewish leaders, “there wasn't a single person around that table - not one - who on substance supported settlement activity.” (WAFA)
US Middle East Envoy George Mitchell told PA President Abbas he was still working on a deal with Israel to halt settlement activity so peace talks could resume. “We are discussing the issue but we didn’t conclude an agreement yet with the Israelis,” a senior Palestinian official quoted Mr. Mitchell as saying over a working dinner with Mr. Abbas in Ramallah. Senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat issued a statement after the talks saying “the only way to return credibility to the peace process” was for all to honour their commitments. He said the Quartet must “play a constructive role in holding the parties accountable for honouring their commitments… The success of the peace process will depend on the effective ability of the Quartet to oversee and report on … both sides in carrying out their obligations.” (Reuters)
Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Oscar Fernandez-Taranco briefed the Security Council on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, saying the Secretary-General had joined the Quartet in underscoring that the only viable solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was one that would end the occupation and fulfil the aspirations of both parties for independent homelands for two peoples ─ Israel and an independent, contiguous and viable Palestine ─ living side by side in peace and security. (UN press release SC/9717)
The 17th International Media Seminar on Peace in the Middle East opened its two-day meeting in Rio de Janeiro under the title “Promoting Israeli-Palestinian Dialogue – a view from South America”. Kiyo Akasaka, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, urged Israelis, Palestinians and the wider international community, particularly journalists, to support the UN’s ongoing efforts to help the parties arrive at a just and lasting solution. (UN press release PAL/2118- PI/1900)
At least seven Palestinians were killed overnight when fuel exploded in a smuggling tunnel beneath the border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, Palestinian officials in Gaza said. (Reuters)