4 Palestinians killed.
The IDF fires on residential areas of Hebron. (HA, MM 8/21; HA, LAW, MM, NYT,
WP, WT 8/22; al-Quds 8/22, QA, SA 8/23 in WNC 8/24; MM 8/23; AYM 8/23 in
WNC 8/27; JP 8/31)
Late this evening, Israeli-Palestinian violence escalates sharply,
further dimming prospects for a German-led cease-fire initiative. IDF
undercover units ambush, kill a Palestinian planting a roadside bomb
outside a Jewish settlement nr. Nablus, then open fire on Palestinians
attempting to retrieve the body, killing another 3, wounding 3. (LAW 8/22; NYT,
WP, WT 8/23; MEI 8/21; LAW 8/22; AYM 8/23, AN 8/26 in WNC 8/27)
After talks with German FM Fischer, Arafat says he is prepared
to hold cease-fire talks with Peres. Fischer also meets with Sharon,
recommends that Peres and Arafat meet in Berlin.
A small bomb explodes in West Jerusalem, causing no injuries; when
Israeli police search the area, they find a much larger unexploded bomb.
The Popular Army Front+nReturn Battalions claims responsibility.
1 Palestinian killed.
Israeli police announce that they have broken up a Hamas cell
operating in East Jerusalem that allegedly was responsible for the 7/31/02
Hebrew University bombing; say they have arrested 15 Palestinians in East
Jerusalem, Ramallah connected to the cell but only identify 5, 4 whom have
Jerusalem ID cards. The IDF shells residential areas of Khan Yunis, sends
20 tanks and bulldozers in to blow up 2 Palestinian homes, damaging 10
others, bulldozing the surrounding area, killing 1 Palestinian, injuring
6; conducts arrest raids in Jenin, detaining 3 Palestinians, blowing up their 3
cars, damaging 4 nearby homes; conducts arrest raids in Hebron, occupying an
empty 3-story building as an IDF post. Israeli security denies entry to
52 French peace activists at Ben-Gurion Airport as part of Israel's
ongoing effort to halt foreigners fr. making solidarity visits to Palestinians.
Israel allows the group to enter after the French government intervenes,
reminding Israel that the group was invited by an MK. (HA, LAW, MM, PCHR,
REU 8/21; AFP 8/21 in WNC 8/22; MM, NYT, WP, WT 8/22; RFI 822 in WNC 8/23; PCHR
8/26; WJW 8/29; HA 10/2)
3 Palestinians killed.
The IDF assassinates senior Hamas political leader and spokesman
Ismail Abu Shanab, firing 5 missiles at his car as he drives through Gaza
City, also killing 2 bodyguards, wounding at least 19 bystanders.
The IDF also imposes curfews on all Palestinian cities; continues operations in
Nablus, where tanks and troops have entered the heart of the city, demolishing 1
Palestinian apartment, raiding and evacuating the staff of a medical
clinic for 6 hrs.; sends 5 bulldozers, 100 special forces units into Nazlat
Issa, nr. the Green Line, to demolish at least 7 Palestinian homes, 115
shops, 2 factories, several warehouses; demolishes 3 Palestinian homes
in Jenin, 2 in Hebron (including the home of the 8/19 bomber); shells
residential areas of Khan Yunis; conducts arrest raids in Qabatiyya.
The IDF arrests a Hebron settler for alleged membership in a Jewish militant
group. (BBC, HA, MM, PCHR, PM 8/21; MA, MENA, al-Quds, VOI, XIN, YA 8/21
in WNC 8/23; XIN 8/21, AYM, JP, QA, al-Quds, al-Ra’i, SA 8/22, JT,
al-Quds 8/24 in WNC 8/26; HA, MM, NYT, WP, WT 8/22; WT 8/23; PR 8/27;
PCHR 8/28; MEI 9/12)
After IDF assassinations in Gaza, Hamas, Islamic Jihad declare the cease-fire officially over. Palestinians fire 12 mortars at Gush Katif, 5 Qassam rockets
at s. Israel, damaging 2 buildings but causing no injuries.
1 Palestinian killed.
The IDF sends troops back into Nablus and neighboring Balata r.c.,
blowing up a metal workshop, conducting house searches, shooting and seriously
wounding 1 Palestinian. The IDF also fatally shoots a mentally
handicapped Palestinian who strays into a closed military zone outside
Nussayrat r.c.; sends bulldozers into al-Qarara nr. Khan Yunis under cover of
heavy shelling to level houses previously demolished, tear up roads leading to 3
residential neighborhoods; fires on residential areas of Rafah. 10s of Jewish
settlers in Hebron break windows, attempt to set fire to furniture in
several Palestinian homes, destroy a water pumping station and a generator; the
IDF observes but does not intervene. (AFP 8/21; PCHR 8/26)
The IDF resumes disengagement in Gaza, completing the evacuation of
Aley Sinai (est. 1983, pop. 407, size 488 d., hrs. to evac. 8), Atzmona (est.
1982, pop. 646, size 882 d., hrs. to evac. 8), Katif (est. 1985, pop. 404, size
2,000 d., hrs. to evac. 6) during the day; disengagement protesters who had
moved back into Dugit in recent days are also removed. Atzmona settlers
leave willingly when troops arrive. Katif settlers set up burning
barricades at the entrance to their settlement but leave willingly after holding
a final prayer service. In Aley Sinai, 30 remaining settler families leave
willingly, but 200 disengagement protesters resist, forcing soldiers to remove
them. The IDF also begins dismantling settler homes in Dugit, Nisanit,
Pe'at Sadeh. The Israeli cabinet approves (16–4) the next phase of
disengagement for withdrawal fr. 4 West Bank settlements; the last residents of
2 of these, Ganim (est. 1983, pop. 172) and Qadim (est. 1983, pop. 169),
evacuated voluntarily by 8/15. Sanur settlers complete handover of their
weapons to the IDF. Outside Sanur, 100s of masked settlers scuffle with
IDF soldiers, puncture tires of IDF vehicles; around 50 of them
attempt to set fire to several nearby Palestinian homes. A Jewish settler
fr. Alfe Menashe shoots, wounds a Palestinian outside his home, nr. a bypass
road nr. Qalqilya. Meanwhile, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house
searches nr. Bethlehem, Hebron, Jenin. (HA, IMEMC 8/21; IMEMC, NYT, WT, XIN, YA 8/22; PCHR 8/25)
A Palestinian gunman shoots, wounds an IDF soldier nr. Neve
Dekalim. In Gaza City, at least 200 armed
al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade (AMB) mbrs. surround the PC headquarters, demanding
jobs, accusing PA officials of corruption; they disperse when PA security
forces intervene.
3 Palestinians killed.
The IDF sends troops into Gaza City to arrest a wanted Palestinian,
bulldozing 13 d. of agricultural land belonging to his family, exchanging fire
with armed Palestinians, wounding 2; conducts an air strike destroying the home
of an Islamic Jihad mbr. in Gaza City, allegedly used as a weapons depot,
damaging 2 nearby homes, causing no casualties. (The IDF sends the owners a cell
phone text message in advance to warn them to evacuate.) The IDF conducts an air
strike destroying the home of a senior Hamas mbr. in Rafah, damaging 5 nearby
homes and an Islamist charity (the IDF phones the residents to warn them to
evacuate); fires shells at, kills 3 Islamic Jihad mbrs. attempting to cross the
Gaza border fence nr. al-Qarara. In Khan Yunis, 4 Palestinians, including 2
children, are injured when they accidentally trigger unexploded IDF ordnance. In
the West Bank, the IDF sends undercover units into Azun to arrest several wanted
al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade (AMB) mbrs.; conducts arrest raids, house searches in
and around Nablus, in Jericho, and nr. Bethlehem, Hebron, Jenin. A Jewish
settler fr. Haggai injures 2 Palestinian children in a deliberate hit-and-run
nr. Hebron. (WP 8/22; OCHA 8/23; PCHR 8/24; PMG 9/1)
Israel declares that all reservists have been pulled out of Lebanon, leaving
8,000– 10,000 regular troops in place, waiting for the deployment of an expanded
UN force. During the day, the IDF shoots, wounds 3 Hizballah mbrs. who approach
them in a “threatening manner” (within their rights under the UN-brokered
cease-fire; there is no return fire); continues overflights of Lebanon. (AP
8/21; NYT, WP, WT 8/22; NYT 8/23)
In Gaza, 3 Palestinians are wounded in clashes btwn. rival
groups of PA security force officers.
6 Palestinians killed.
In Gaza, the IDF makes an air strike
on a group of armed Islamic Jihad mbrs. nr. the n. Gaza border fence, killing 3 Islamic Jihad mbrs.; makes an air strike on 2 Hamas mbrs. nr. the border barrier
e. of Gaza City, killing 1 Hamas mbr., wounding 1; makes an air strike
on an Islamic Jihad training site nr. Rafah, wounding 1 Islamic Jihad mbr.; fires
a tank shell at 2 Palestinian children (ages 9, 12) nr. a site
previously used to launch rockets, killing them (the IDF claims that militants
often use children to retrieve rocket launchers, so they were a viable target).
(OCHA,WP 8/22; PCHR 8/23)
Palestinians fire 3 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing light damage but no injuries. In Bayt Hanun, a Palestinian is injured when
explosives he is handling detonate prematurely. Hamas takes over management
of the Rafah Labor Association, formerly headed by Fatah.
A Palestinian suffered serious wounds to the head when Israeli forces opened fire during a protest against Israel's separation wall in Bi'lin, medics and witnesses said. Clashes broke when demonstrators hurled rocks and Israeli security forces fired rubber-coated bullets and tear gas. (AFP)
Israeli military sources reported that soldiers had arrested an unarmed Palestinian who had infiltrated into Israel from the Gaza Strip. The same day, Israeli sources reported that 122 Palestinians, who were in Israel illegally, were transferred back into the Palestinian Territory. (Haaretz, IMEMC)
Israeli troops invaded the city of Jenin in the northern West Bank and the nearby Burkin village and arrested two persons. In Bi'lin village, two Palestinians, Said Amira, 22 year old and Abdullah Abed Al Kareem, 17 years old, were detained. Israeli soldiers arrested a total of eight persons in Nablus, Jenin, Tulkarm and Bethlehem. (IMEMC)
Extremist Israeli settlers damaged 20 graves in the Ma'man Allah cemetery, outside the Old City of Jerusalem, which is the oldest and largest in the region. (Ma'an News Agency)
Israeli Minister for Foreign Affairs, Tzipi Livni said that "time was against the moderates" looking to reach a peace agreement. Ms. Livni stated that "Now most Israelis understood that having two States in the lands comprising historic Palestine is an Israeli interest." She added that a Palestinian uprising could re-ignite if the international community piled too much pressure on the sides to paper over their differences and rush into an agreement on statehood. (AFP, Haaretz)
Jordan's Foreign Minister, Salah Bashir, summoned the Israeli Ambassador to protest against plans for excavation and construction work near the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem. MP Mohammed Abu Hdeib, head of the committee on international affairs of the parliament's lower house, after meeting Mr. Bashir, said, "Israel plans excavations near Al-Mughrabi Gate (of the compound) and wants to build a bridge there, violating the 1994 peace treaty with Jordan and international treaties". (AFP)
Israeli Prime Minister Olmert and Defence Minister Barak decided to reroute the separation fence in an area near Jerusalem, to ensure that the fence did not encroach on Palestinian land. The State Prosecutor notified the High Court of Justice of the Government's decision, which demanded that the fence near "Ma'aleh Adumim" be moved westward, to allow 4,000 dunums of Palestinian land to remain untouched. The decision was made in response to two petitions against the planned fence route. (Haaretz)
An IDF spokesman said that soldiers had been instructed to remove concrete blocks and a checkpoint at Bir Nabala near Ramallah in the West Bank. The move came ahead of a planned visit by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Tawfiq Nabali, the head of the Bir Nabala village council, said that the checkpoint had restricted the movement of more than 50,000 Palestinians living in 15 villages near Ramallah. (Haaretz, Ma'an News Agency)
Seven Palestinian factions called for the immediate commencement of a comprehensive national dialogue to end the internal Palestinian crisis. The call came from a recent meeting of the Palestinian Popular Struggle Front, Fatah, Fida, the Palestinian Arab Front, the Arab Liberation Front, the Palestinian Liberation Front, and the National Initiative and Popular Struggle Front. (Ma'an News Agency)