In response to Hebron fightings, the IDF seals, places a curfew on the Palestinian section of
Hebron, bulldozes Palestinian land s. of Hebron; Jewish settlers place
more caravans at a new illegal outpost site nearby. Jewish settlers also
place caravans on Palestinian land nr. Qalqilya, attack Palestinian cars in Wadi
al-Juz, cut off water to Palestinian villages nr. Halmish settlement. A gunfight erupts nr. Neve
Dekalim settlement, wounding an 11-yr.-old Palestinian. The IDF tightens
closures on Qalandia, Tulkarm; confiscates 20 dunams of Palestinian land nr.
Qalqilya; bulldozes Palestinian land in Tulkarm; continues to impose curfews on
Bayt Lahia, Bayt Lid, Safarin. Shin Bet announces that 11 days ago, it
captured Aziz Salha, who has confessed under interrogation to being
involved in the murder of 2 IDF reservists in Ramallah on 10/12/00. (PMC 6/25;
AP, HP, MM, WP, WT 6/26; MA 6/26 in WNC 6/27; MM 6/27; JP 7/6; WP 7/7)
Fmr. U.S. senator George Mitchell, head of the Mitchell Comm., recommends
that in order to move the cease-fire forward, Israel should immediately
implement a full settlement freeze, the U.S. should invite Arafat
to the White House. Meanwhile, in Israel, DM Ben-Eliezer says Israel
plans to remove 15 illegal settler outposts that have been set up since
the al-Aqsa intifada began, noting that they are a danger to security and cannot
be defended adequately. (HA, HP, MM, WT 6/26; MA 6/26 in WNC 6/27; MM, WT 6/27;
WJW 6/28)
In Hebron, a Fatah sniper, retaliating for the Jawabiri assassination
on 6/24, shoots and wounds a 7-yr.-old Jewish settler, sparking a
firefight in which 12 Palestinians, 4 IDF soldiers are wounded.
Palestinians fire on a settler bus nr. Jerusalem.
5 Palestinians killed.
Before dawn, the IDF sends troops into Palestinian areas in and around
Hebron, storming the local PA headquarters, demolishing 1 building in the
compound, killing 4 PSF officers, wounding 7, arresting around 200. With
the reoccupation of Hebron, 700,000 West Bank Palestinians are under
24-hr. curfew. Curfews are lifted for several hrs. in Bethlehem, Jenin,
Qalqilya, Ramallah, Tulkarm. The IDF also makes an incursion into Araba,
shooting and seriously wounding an 8-yr.-old Palestinian girl; conducts arrest
raids in Rafah, demolishing 2 Palestinian homes completely, 3 partially;
fatally shoots a Palestinian who allegedly threw a grenade at an IDF post
nr. Qarni crossing, causing no damage or injuries; halts an ambulance
transporting 2 wounded Palestinians to a Ramallah hospital, forcing the driver,
1 patient to exit the ambulance for a search. (LAW, UPMRC, WP, WT 6/25; LAW,
NYT, PRCS press release, WP, WT 6/26; MM, PCHR 6/27)
Israel begins broadcasting an Arabic language satellite channel.
(MEI 6/28; MM 7/10)
4 Palestinians killed.
The IDF assassinates wanted Hamas mbr. Akram Abu Sarhana,
firing missiles at his taxi as he drives nr. Khan Yunis; of the 4 others in the
taxi, 1 Palestinian woman is killed, another wanted Hamas mbr.
Muhammad Siyam (possibly the primary target) and 2 other passengers are
wounded; around 10 other bystanders are injured; Israel claims the Hamas mbrs.
were en route to stage an attack. In Bayt Hanun, 2 Hamas mbrs. are
killed, an IDF soldier is wounded in an exchange of gunfire. The IDF
also demolishes 5 Palestinian homes in Rafah; conducts arrest raids,
house searches in Dayr al-Balah, al-Qarara. Based on an intelligence tip,
Israeli police in Kafr Qasim arrest 2 West Bank tanzim mbrs.
carrying a 5-lb bomb, apparently on their way to Petah Tikva to stage an attack.
Israel says it will begin having fmr.
South Lebanon Army (SLA) mbrs. patrol on buses to prevent Palestinian
attacks, arguing that the SLA mbrs. “have special abilities that will help in
the identification and apprehension of potential suicide bombers.” (HA, MM 6/25;
HA, MM, NYT, PCHR, WP, WT 6/26; PCHR 7/3)
Palestinians fire a Qassam rocket at Sederot, fire on a Jewish
settler vehicle nr Nablus, fire 5 mortars at settlements in Gaza,
causing no damage or injuries.
2 Palestinians killed.
The IDF continues its major raid on Nablus, fatally shooting 2
Palestinians who confront troops, injuring at least 18; bulldozes 2
Palestinian homes, 34 dunams nr. Rafah. (MM 6/25; NYT, WT 6/26; PCHR 7/1)
The IDF conducts arrest raids in Dahaysha r.c., nr. Bethlehem and
Hebron, targeting Islamic Jihad mbrs., detaining at least 14; Islamic
Jihad leaders reiterate the group's commitment to maintain calm despite
Israeli attempts to provoke it. The IDF also withdraws fr. 3 Palestinian
schools in Hebron that it has occupied as observation posts for 4 yrs. Jewish
settlers fr. Beit Haggai nr. Hebron put caravans on a new unauthorized
outpost nearby, throw a grenade at a Palestinian home in Hebron, injuring a
13-yr.-old Palestinian girl. (BBC, HA, JAZ, REU 6/25; VOI, VOP 6/25 in WNC 6/26; VOP 6/26 in
WNC 6/27; QA 6/27 in WNC 6/28; OCHA 6/29; PHRC 6/30)
PA police cordon off areas of Jenin
searching for, exchanging gunfire with, ultimately arresting 10 Palestinians
wanted in connection with the attack on PC mbr. Hindi's car on 6/23; no injuries
are reported.
2 Palestinians killed. 2 Israelis killed.
In response to the palestinian capture of israeli soldier, Israel shuts all
crossings into Gaza (including forcing the closing of the Rafah crossing by
barring EU monitors fr. entering Gaza through Kerem Shalom, leaving as many as
3,000 Palestinians stranded on the border inside Egypt, and some 400 medical
patients awaiting treatment abroad stranded on the Gaza side); shuts off fuel
supplies to Gaza; bars Palestinian fishermen fr. going out to sea; tightens
restrictions on Palestinian movement at checkpoints and roadblocks across the
West Bank. During the day, the IDF also conducts arrest raids, house searches in
and around Nablus (firing on a clearly marked al-Jazeera TV vehicle, causing
damage but no injuries), and nr. Hebron, Jenin (firing on stone-throwing youths
who confront the troops, wounding 2), Qalqilya. (AFP, HA, IFM, YA 6/25; MENA,
OSC, VOI 6/25 in WNC 6/26; AFP, AP, CSM, JP, MM, NYT, WP, WT, YA 6/26; WT 6/27;
NYT, OCHA 6/28; PCHR 6/29; NYT 7/8)
Before dawn, 8 Palestinian gunmen dressed in IDF uniforms sneak across the s.
Gaza border into Israel using a tunnel, attack an IDF border post nr. Kerem
Shalom with grenades, rifles, antitank rockets, killing 2 IDF soldiers, wounding
4, capturing 1 (IDF soldier Cpl. Gilad Shalit, apparently wounded in the
exchange) in what they call Operation Dispel Illusion; 2 Palestinian gunmen are
killed by retaliatory fire; the IDF sends tanks, bulldozers a half-mile inside
Gaza to search for the captured soldier, the tunnel; several groups including
Hamas’s Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades, the PRCs, and a previously unknown group,
the Army of Islam, jointly claim the attack as retaliation for the IDF’s 6/8 Abu
Samhadana assassination; Abbas, some Hamas political leaders call for the
captured IDF soldier’s immediate release.
In the West Bank, the IDF
conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron, Nablus and in Balata r.c.,
Tubas. (NYT,
WP 6/26; OCHA 6/27; PCHR 6/28)
The Palestinian groups holding IDF soldier Gilad Shalit
release a video of him to mark the anniversary of his capture in a raid 1 yr.
ago in which he urges the Israeli government to agree to a swap of Hamas
prisoners for his release. The Army of Islam issues a new video of
kidnapped BBC correspondent Johnston warning that he would be killed if
an attempt were made to free him by force. AMB mbrs. stage marches in
Bayt Ula and Tarqumiyya nr. Hebron in support of Abbas’s emergency government.
An elderly Palestinian farmer was seriously injured near Khan Yunis when Israeli troops stationed on the border of
south-east Gaza opened fire at Palestinians who were working on their land. Islamic Jihad threatened to renew rocket
fire after the shooting. "We will respond to every Zionist violation at a suitable time," said Islamic Jihad spokesman
Abu Hamza. (Haaretz, Ma'an News Agency, Xinhua)
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak ordered the closure of all the crossings into the Gaza Strip. Hamas spokesman Taher
Nunu said the closure was a "clear violation of the calm" and called on Egypt to intervene. (AP, DPA, Haaretz, Ma'an
News Agency, Reuters)
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had invited Palestinian negotiators to the US to discuss and evaluate the
Israeli-Palestinian peace process, Saeb Erakat, Head of the Negotiations Affairs Department of the PLO, said. According
to Mr. Erakat, the invitation, which had been sent to Mr. Ahmed Qureia, Head of the Palestinian negotiating team,
scheduled the visit for July. (Xinhua)
Popular Resistance Committees' spokesman Abu Mujahid told Ynetnews: "We demand the release of the prisoners who were
sentenced to long jail terms. Without their release, [IDF soldier] Shalit will remain in our hands for many years to
come." Hamas spokesman Abu Obeida said: "The ball is in the hands of the occupier. If they are interested in a deal,
they will have to agree with the terms." (Ynetnews)
Israeli troops seized more than seven “wanted” Palestinians in Nablus and the village of Bil'in, near Ramallah. Palestinian security services confirmed the detention of four young men, all from the Balata refugee camp. (Ma’an News Agency)
Israeli and Western sources said that the IDF would refrain from entering Bethlehem, Ramallah, Jericho and Qalqilya, except in cases where the army believed Palestinian militants were poised to attack Israelis. "The IDF will act as little as possible to allow the Palestinians to take more initiative and responsibilities over their own security," an Israeli security source said, referring to Palestinian forces that receive US and European-funded training and equipment. The source said: "As long as they take a step forward in responsibility, we will take a step back in controlling the area", adding, “But in circumstances of 'ticking bombs,' or a planned attack, Israel will not hesitate to enter and thwart the attack.” (Haaretz)
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu reiterated his demands that the future Palestinian State should be disarmed, and that Israel had the right to continue construction and expansion of existing settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. He claimed that this issue did not cause any demographical changes in the region. (IMEMC)
Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu met France's Prime Minister, Francois Fillon, and Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner. The latter reminded Mr. Netanyahu “of France's expectations concerning the peace process, which we want quickly restarted,” according to a statement from Mr. Kouchner's office ahead of the meeting. During the meeting, Mr. Netanyahu pressed his bid for a demilitarized Palestinian State. (AP)
Israel opened three crossing points into the Gaza Strip for limited shipments of goods and fuel, according to Palestinian border official Raed Fattouh. He said that approximately 117 truckloads of supplies would be allowed through the Kerem Shalom crossing and an unspecified amount of cooking gas and industrial fuel had been transferred through the Nahal Oz crossing. Truckloads of wheat and animal feed would also be allowed through the Karni crossing, he said. (Ma’an News Agency)
IDF bulldozers destroyed large areas of agriculture lands belonging to residents of Nahalin village near Bethlehem since 23 June. Some 35 acres planted with grapes and almond trees belonging to Palestinian farmers had been destroyed. (Palestine Press Agency)
Christian Peacemaker Teams in the south Hebron hills reported that Israeli settlers from the “Havat Ma’on” outpost called in Israeli police who arrested two young Palestinian shepherds tending their sheep near the village of Tuba. They were later released. (Ma’an News Agency)
Israeli Member of Knesset Mohammad Barakeh met with jailed Palestinian Legislative Council Member Marwan Barghouthi who informed him of the hard conditions of at least 17 Palestinians who were in solitary confinement and urged him to work on their cases. They also discussed the case of thousands of Palestinian detainees in Israeli prison facilities, and in particular the case of detained leaders. (Ma’an News Agency)
US President Obama decided to name veteran Middle East negotiator Dennis Ross as his special advisor on the Middle East, the Arab Gulf, Afghanistan, Pakistan and South Asia. (IMEMC, Ynetnews)
EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana said in an interview with Al-Ahram
that the European Union and the United States were on the same wavelength and working together to help relaunch the Middle East peace process, but that Israel and the Palestinians had to take decisive steps to make a solution possible. Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini also hailed the new unity between the Obama Administration and the EU on the Middle East peace process, saying that the two Powers were closer together than ever before on the issue.
(DPA, Al-Ahram)
A European diplomatic source indicated that Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who also holds French citizenship, might be transferred to Egypt very soon as a first step towards a prisoner-swap deal mediated by Egyptian mediators who were said to still be working on a package of measures that could combine exchanges of prisoners, ceasefire arrangements, the easing of Israel’s blockade on Gaza and rapprochement between rival Palestinian factions. Shalit would remain in Egypt until the prisoner swap was carried out. The same day, UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband once again called on Hamas to release Shalit, on the third anniversary of his capture. He also repeated UK’s calls on Israel to reduce further the current restrictions on the Gaza crossings, to allow in aid, reconstruction materials, and commercial goods, and to permit the legitimate flow of people through the crossings. Mr. Miliband said that it was imperative to start a new cycle of hope in Gaza, so that all turn their back on violence and focus on building a safe and secure future. Also on 25 June, the International Committee of the Red Cross said it had approached Hamas a number of times in order to visit Shalit but that the result was unsatisfactory. Israeli officials played down reports that a deal were close with Hamas that would include the release of Shalit. (www.fco.gov.uk, Haaretz, IMEMC, Reuters)
Spanish legislators voted to change a law that allowed judges to indict foreigners, narrowing its scope to cases with a clear link to Spain. The reform would not be retroactive, allowing the continued prosecution of a dozen or so cases, including those against Israeli officials, under universal jurisdiction. Human Rights Watch said that it was “deplorable for the Spanish Government to capitulate to diplomatic pressure”. (The Jerusalem Post)
The Human Rights Council independent fact-finding mission would hold hearings in Gaza on 28 and 29 June and in Geneva on 6 and 7 July. “As it stands, we have not been given permission to hold the hearings in Israel,” a spokeswoman of the mission said. Though the hearings would be broadcast live to the public, she said that the mission would also accept testimonies of people affected by the conflict in southern Israel and Gaza in private settings, if they preferred to remain anonymous. The mission would fly Israelis to Geneva to hold another round of public hearings. Palestinians from the West Bank would also be able to go to Europe to testify. “This mandate is completely balanced. We will be looking at all sides,” the spokeswoman added. (DPA)
Palestinian militants opened fire on an IDF patrol near the Nahal Oz crossing into the Gaza Strip. There were no casualties among the Israeli troops, who returned fire. Israel subsequently closed the crossing. (Haaretz)
Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal dismissed the terms for a demilitarized State laid out by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu by saying that he had offered “mere self-governance under the name of a country”, while hailing what he described as “new language” towards Hamas by US President Obama which he described as the first step towards direct talks without preconditions. He also said that President Obama remained too sympathetic toward Israel, despite his pledge to work hard for the establishment of a Palestinian State and that Gen. Dayton’s force was the main obstacle to the success of Palestinian reconciliation talks. Mr. Mashaal added that the movement would cooperate with any international effort that would end the Israeli occupation but that the Palestinians would never accept any future recognition of Israel as a Jewish State and would not accept Jerusalem as a united capital under Israeli sovereignty. (BBC, Haaretz, IMEMC, Middle East Online, The Jerusalem Post, Ynetnews)
PA Minister for Public Works and Housing Mohammad Shtayyeh denounced “the systematic policy Israel is carrying out inside Jerusalem, including expelling its Palestinian residents”, the latest of which were home demolition orders in the Al-Bustan neighbourhood. He added that “we as Palestinians are facing Israel’s dangerous policies carried out inside Jerusalem and expressing denunciation of this escalation against the city”. (Ma’an News Agency)
Palestinians blocked Israeli settlers’ attempts to take control of a house in East Jerusalem. PA Minister of Jerusalem Affairs Hatem Abdul Qader said that he and a group of local residents, including a Fatah youth group, stood vigil in a house owned by Darwish Hjazi in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood, blocking settlers’ two attempts to overrun the house. (Ma’an News Agency)
Palestinian prisoners at the Ramon facility in Israel’s southern Negev signed an “accord of honour” in which they pledged to reject the "Israeli decision of wearing the orange costume that negatively affects the prisoners.” (Ma’an News Agency)
A team of Free Gaza activists, who had planned to set sail to Gaza, postponed their journey after Cypriot authorities did not give them permission to leave. Cypriot shipping officials cited inspection requirements as the reason for stopping the two vessels. The two ships carried construction materials and toys for children. (Reuters)
International music legend Leonard Cohen would perform in Ramallah two days after his upcoming performance in Israel. About 1,000 fans were expected to attend the concert, to be held on 26 September in the Palestinian city's Cultural Palace. (Haaretz)