An Israeli official says that since Israeli-Palestinian violence
has continued, the initial 7-day period of Powell's new cease-fire time line has
not yet begun. Today, the IDF directs machine gun fire on residential
areas of Silwad; bars Palestinians fr. exiting Qalqilya; begins bulldozing 100s
of dunams of Palestinian land n. of Jerusalem for a new 300 m. settler bypass
road; blocks/digs trenches across the Bayt Rima+Abud road, roads leading to
Jinin fr. the south; sets up a new checkpoint outside Tulkarm. Jewish
settlers attempt to set up a new settlement site nr. al-Jamla, n. of Jinin;
continue leveling 200 dunams of land nr. Masha for a 70-unit expansion of Elkana
settlement. (HP, PMC 6/30; WT 7/1; HP 7/2)
Holding Syria responsible for the 6/29 Hizballah attack, Israeli
warplanes fire missiles at a Syrian radar station nr. Baalbek, Lebanon,
wounding 2 Syrian, 1 Lebanese soldier. The attacks sparks an exchange of rocket
fire btwn. Hizballah, IDF forces in Shaba` Farms, causing no
injuries. (AP, WT 7/1; MENA, RL 7/1 in WNC 7/2; MM, WP 7/2; IRNA, MENA 7/1,
Interfax, SA 7/2 in WNC 7/3; al-Safir 7/4, SA 7/5 in WNC 7/7)
Arafat, Peres meet for a 2d time in Lisbon. (WT 7/1; MM 7/3; MENA
7/3 in WNC 7/6; MM 7/5)
2 Palestinians killed.
The IDF overtly assassinates senior al-Qassam
Brigades mbr. Muhannad Tahir in Nablus, also killing a 2d Hamas mbr.
The IDF lifts closures in most areas for several hrs.; orders Palestinian
men ages 15+n55 in Amari r.c., Ramallah to surrender for questioning;
confiscates a mobile clinic transporting a heart patient to a Ramallah hospital,
arresting the patient, the driver; bulldozes Palestinian land in Bayt Lahia,
Dayr al-Balah, Shaykh Ajlin; arrests 2 Palestinian journalists working
for Reuters for filming international peace activists barring an IDF tank,
bulldozer fr. approaching a house in Nablus. The IDF dismantles
2 Jewish settlement enclaves built without Israeli permission; each has only
1 family in residence. (GS, HA, UPMRC 6/30; MM, NYT, WP, WT 7/1; NYT, WT 7/2)
The IDF reportedly transfers 10s of PA security
officers detained in the West Bank to Gaza through the Erez crossing at
dawn. Palestinian sources claim to have seen several other groups of PSF
officers brought into Gaza through the crossing in recent days and apparently
freed, suggesting that Israel is quietly implementing plans threatened
previously to "deport" to Gaza West Bank Palestinians suspected of plotting or
staging attacks on Israeli targets. (AYM 7/3 in WNC 7/8; AYM 7/4 in WNC 7/5)
(see 6/21)
In Lod, a bomb placed on a railroad
track explodes, lightly injuring 2 Israelis.
The IDF completes its redeployment fr. Bayt Hanun, opens Gaza’s main
north–south road to joint patrols with the PSF, removes many roadblocks
and checkpoints in n. Gaza. Israel
acknowledges that for several days, police have been escorting Jews on tours of
the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount, despite the government’s failure to
reach an agmt. on such visits with the Waqf; the holy site was closed to
non-Muslims after Sharon’s controversial visit to the site in 9/01 that
sparked the current intifada. Israeli authorities inform residents of
Bayt Iqsa, northwest of Jerusalem, that 14,000 dunams of their communal land
will be expropriated for construction of a new Jewish settlement to be
called Alona. (BBC, HA, MM 6/30; MM, WP 7/1; PR, WT 7/2; AYM 7/2, al-Quds
7/3, MENA 7/4 in WNC 7/10; PCHR 7/3; REU 7/4; PR 7/9; HA 7/14)
Dahlan, Gilad finalize details for an IDF redeployment fr.
Bethlehem, which they set to begin on 7/2. (HA 6/30; HA, NYT, WP 7/1)
Nr. Nablus, AMB gunmen ambush, fatally shoot
a Bulgarian who works at a nearby Jewish settlement; the AMB has
not signed on to the Hamas–Islamic Jihad–Fatah cease-fire.
1 Palestinian killed.
The IDF continues operations in Bayt Hanun, fatally shooting an
alleged Hamas mbr., bulldozing roads. The IDF also bulldozes 15
Palestinian homes, 15 dunams of land nr. Khan Yunis; conducts arrest raids
and house searches in, fires on residential areas of Nablus. The Israeli High Court rules in favor of 7 village councils n.
of Jerusalem that a 30 km separation wall segment violates Palestinians’
rights, recommends that the IDF come up with a revised route.
(BBC, HA, JTA, MM, REU 6/30; MA, VOI, VOP 6/30 in WNC 7/2; MM, NYT, PCHR, WP, WT
7/1; al-Quds 7/1 in WNC 7/9; MM, NYT 7/2; MM 7/7; HA, PCHR 7/8; MEI 7/9)
Palestinians
fire a mortar at a Jewish settlement in Gaza, causing light damage but no
injuries.
The IDF declares Gaza settlements closed military zones so that
they may bar and remove from them any nonresident Israelis protesting
disengagement, then evicts 150 right-wing Israeli disengagement protesters
(mostly West Bank settlers, many aligned with the outlawed Kach movement) fr. an
abandoned hotel in s. Gaza that they have been occupying for 1 mo.; detains,
handcuffs for several hrs. 2 Israeli journalists covering the evictions.
The IDF sends troops into Balata r.c., Nablus after Palestinians stating
they are mbrs. of the AMB–Ayman Juda Brigade falsely claim to have
captured 2 IDF undercover soldiers who entered the city; troops clash with
stone-throwing Palestinians who confront them (leaving 7 Palestinians, 1 IDF
soldier injured), detain and beat 2 Palestinian journalists covering the
incursion; the AMB, Islamic Jihad deny involvement. The IDF
fires on residential areas of Dura; demolishes 3 Palestinian homes in
Hebron, 3 in Yatta, all bordering Jewish settlements; occupies 2 Palestinian
homes nr. Tulkarm, 1 in Jenin as observation posts; conducts arrest raids, house
searches in Aida r.c., Bayt Fajjar, Hebron. An Israeli naval vessel fires
on a Palestinian fishing boat off Gaza, wounding 1 fisherman. Jewish settlers
fr. Gush Katif attack Palestinian traders, farmers waiting nr. the Tuffah
checkpoint n. of Gaza City; the IDF intervenes, disperses the settlers. Nr.
Nablus, 5 Jewish settlers fr. Yitzhar throw stones at a Palestinian taxi.
(BBC, WAFA, XIN 6/30; VOI, VOP 6 /30 in WNC 7/2; IMEMC, NYT, WP, WT
7/1; HA 7/3; OCHA, PR 7/6; PCHR 7/7)
Hamas fires a Qassam rocket at Neve Dekalim, causing no damage or
injuries.
2 Palestinians killed.
Overnight in Gaza, the IDF makes air strikes on at least 20 targets,
including PA Interior Min. offices (saying they were used to plan terrorist
attacks), buildings used by the AMB and Hamas,an ESF training camp, a PA
intelligence office, several roads, and open areas; continues to shell n. Gaza,
to break the sound barrier over the Strip; conducts arrest raids in Rafah. The
only reported casualties are 1 Islamic Jihad mbr. killed in an air strike on a
rocket launching site in Rafah, 3 Palestinian gunmen (AMB or Islamic Jihad)
wounded nr. Jabaliya r.c., and 7 Palestinian bystanders (including 5-yr.old
Palestinian girl) wounded in shelling of n. Gaza. Israel also revokes the
residency rights of Hamas-affiliated PA Jerusalem Affairs M Khalid Abu ‘Arafa
and Change and Reform PC mbrs. Muhammad Abu Tir, Ahmad Attoun, Muhammad Totah
(detained on 6/28–29), giving them 30 days to appeal or renounce their positions
within the PA. In the West Bank, the IDF sends an undercover unit into
Nablus, surrounding a cemetery, fatally shooting 1 Palestinian teenager,
wounding and arresting a 2d Palestinian, arresting 2 others, firing on stone-
throwing youths who confront the troops, wounding 31; also raids an Islamic
charity in Nablus, confiscating a computer, files; conducts additional arrest
raids in and around Nablus, in Jenin. IDF Central Command head Maj. Gen. Ya’ir
Naveh says that the main crossing between Jerusalem and Bethlehem is now closed
to Palestinians who hold Israeli IDs (including 237,000 East Jerusalem
residents), enforcement (which reportedly is irregular at present) may be
expanded to other crossings into the West Bank soon. (HA, IMEMC, MM, PCHR, WP,
YA 6/30; OSC, XIN 6/30 in WNC 7/1; IMEMC, NYT, WP 7/1; VOP 7/1 in WNC 7/2; PCHR
7/6)
The PRCs fire at least 3 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no
damage or injuries.
7 Palestinians killed.
The IDF makes 7 air
strikes on Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets in Gaza, assassinating 3 senior Islamic Jihad cmdrs.
(Raed Ghannam, Ziyad Ghannam, Muhammad al-Ra`i) and wounding 7 bystanders in a strike on a car in Khan Yunis, killing
another 4 Palestinians and wounding 2 in a strike on an alleged weapons depot
in al-Maghazi r.c., and striking the same site later in the day, heavily damaging 6 nearby homes, wounding 1 bystander.
(NYT, WP, WT 7/1; OCHA 7/4; PCHR 7/5)
Palestinians fire several rockets
fr. Gaza into Israel, lightly injuring 1 Israeli, damaging 1 home and 2 other
buildings. In Bureij r.c., a Hamas mbr. is injured when explosives he is
handling detonate prematurely.
Israeli forces injured three Palestinians in the south of the Hebron Governorate. The Israeli army also detained a
Palestinian family in the village of Deir Abu Mash'al near Ramallah and used their home as a military outpost. (IMEMC ,
WAFA)
Israeli forces arrested eight Palestinians in the cities of Nablus and Jericho. Two people were arrested during dawn
raids in Jenin and the nearby Ta'nak village. Israeli troops, backed by at least seven jeeps and three armoured
personnel carriers, entered Bethlehem and arrested two Palestinians. (Ma'an News Agency, WAFA)
The Knesset approved a bill which mandated a national referendum or a two-thirds Knesset majority vote prior to a
withdrawal from any territory under Israeli control. The bill refers to areas over which Israel claims full
sovereignty, such as the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem, while the West Bank does not fall into this category. The
bill, approved in its first reading by a majority of 65 votes to 18, stipulates that if the Government approves the
ceding of land, the decision has to be brought before the Knesset and, if it is approved by the Knesset, that a
referendum will be held within 180 days. However, if a withdrawal is supported by at least 80 Knesset members, the
matter will not be brought to a referendum. (Haaretz, IMEMC, The Jerusalem Post, Ynetnews)
Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot reported that the Israeli Foreign Ministry had instructed a number of officials not to
visit Spain, as an international arrest warrant had been issued against them on suspicion of committing war crimes
against Palestinians. The instructions came after a Spanish human rights organization filed a case against Israeli
officials involved in the assassination of senior Hamas member Salah Shehade six years ago, which killed 16
Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. The list included former Defense Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer and former Chief of
Staff Moshe Ya'alon, as well as former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. The newspaper said that Foreign Minister Tzipi
Livni would ask the Spanish authorities to revoke the case. (Ynetnews, Xinhua)
In Ramallah, PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad signed an agreement with the World Bank for an electric utility management
project as well as water and wastewater projects worth $29 million. Half of the money was earmarked for the Gaza Strip.
At a signing ceremony with David Craig, the World Bank's Director for the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Mr. Fayyad said
that implementing the projects would require Israel to lift the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip and reopen the border
crossings. (Reuters)
The Palestinian Ambassador to Egypt, Nabil Amr, said the Egyptian Government was to reopen the Rafah border crossing
with the Gaza Strip for two days to allow hundreds of people stranded on both sides to cross. The reopening would begin
on 1 July and all Palestinians who needed medical treatment would be allowed into Egypt, as well as those with
residency permits in Egypt or elsewhere, Mr. Amr said in Cairo. (AP)
Speaking to Al-QudsRadio, senior Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Zahhar said that his organization had been encouraged by
Israel's decision to trade a Lebanese prisoner for the bodies of two Israeli servicemen. He said Hamas would work "to
release people Israel accused of having blood on their hands like Samir Kuntar. We have to take advantage of this to
release our prisoners." (AP)
At the African Union Summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, PA President Abbas said that the peace negotiation between the
Palestinians and Israel had achieved little progress while Israel continued its hostile practices against the
Palestinians, including the building of settlements and the continuing siege. Secretary-General of the League of Arab
States Amre Moussa called on African leaders to stand firmly in opposition to Israeli settlement expansion. Mr. Moussa
said that the "Palestinian-Israeli dispute is getting more complicated and the peace process relaunched at the
Annapolis conference is heading toward failure due to Israel's policies which aim at sabotaging all chances for peace."
(WAFA, Xinhua)
The Deputy head of the Federation of Gas Distributors in the Gaza Strip, Mahmoud al-Khizindar, said that Israel was
still not allowing minimum levels of fuel into the Gaza Strip, despite the pledges made within the framework of the
ceasefire. No automotive gasoline had been delivered for the previous two days. So far, 200,000 litres of automotive
diesel fuel, 250,000 litres of industrial diesel for the Gaza power plant and 100 tons of cooking gas had been
delivered. According to Mr. al-Khizindar, those shipments fell short of the minimum needed to maintain normal civilian
life. (Ma'an News Agency)
The head of the European Union Border Assistance Mission, Lt.-Gen. Pietro Pistolese, said that although the Rafah
crossing was opened from time to time for humanitarian reasons, this did not constitute an official opening of the
crossing. He added that several issues needed to be addressed before the crossing could be opened and that he did not
see it permanently reopening "in a short time." (IMEMC, Ma'an News Agency, The Jerusalem Post)
The Swedish Prime Minister said in a statement that, according to the new strategy adopted by the Government,
Palestinian priorities and the Palestinian Reform and Development Plan would serve as guidelines for Swedish
development assistance. (WAFA, www.sweden.gov.se)
The Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem said that the West Bank was facing a severe water crisis for which
Israel was partly to blame owing to its unfair distribution of water resources and also because of the 2008 drought.
The NGO said that Israeli settlers received more than three times as much water as Palestinians and that Palestinians
living in the northern West Bank received one third of the minimum per capita water needs as recommended by the World
Health Organization. (AP, BBC, btselem.org, The Jerusalem Post, WAFA)
A Qassam rocket was fired at a field near kibbutz Miflasim in the western Negev. No injuries or damage were reported.
(Haaretz, The Jerusalem Post, Ynetnews)
Speaking before a group of over 20 European ambassadors at Jerusalem's King David hotel, Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu said that he had complete confidence in Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman who was fully committed to peace and security, a day after it had been reported that French President Nicolas Sarkozy had told him to "get rid" of Mr. Liberman during his visit to Paris last week. The Foreign Ministry on its part responded to the report by criticizing the French President for his "intolerable intervention in internal Israeli affairs.” (Haaretz)
Missile-firing Israeli drones unlawfully killed at least 29 Palestinian civilians during the Gaza war, according to a report issued by Human Rights Watch, citing six alleged strikes by remote-controlled aircraft. The human rights organization based its findings primarily on debris from Israeli-made Spike missiles. Marc Garlasco, Human Rights Watch's senior military analyst, cited Palestinian witnesses who said they had seen or heard the unmanned aircraft. Despite having advanced surveillance equipment, drone operators failed to exercise proper caution as required by the laws of war in verifying their targets were combatants, said the report. As a response, the IDF asserted that all Israeli combat actions “conform to international law, as do the weapons and munitions used.” (www.hrw.org)
Egypt closed the Rafah crossing with Gaza after a three-day opening, according to a Hamas source. Reports from the International Movement to Open the Rafah Border, which had dozens of Palestinian and international activists camped out for at least 18 days at the crossing protesting its closure, said they had witnessed hundreds of Gazans being turned away despite holding proper paperwork. (Ma’an News Agency)
Israel’s Defense Minister Barak would be meeting in New York with US Special Envoy for Middle East Peace George Mitchell in an effort to find an appropriate solution to the issue of settlement construction. Prime Minister Netanyahu, Mr. Barak, Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman and Ministers Dan Meridor, Benny Begin and Moshe Ya'alon, had met in Jerusalem the previous day to agree on a position to be presented to Mr. Mitchell. Israel would reportedly freeze all settlement construction, except for projects that had already started, and would require US guarantees on the future of the peace process. (Haaretz)
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband deplored Israel's decision to approve the construction of 50 new homes in the “Adam” settlement. “Settlements are illegal under international law and they are a major blockage to peace in the Middle East on the basis of a two-State solution,” Mr. Miliband told Parliament. “This is the worst possible time for new settlements to be initiated or for construction to be started,” he added. (Ma’an News Agency, Reuters)
It was revealed that at least 1,000 Palestinian male and female prisoners in Israeli jails who were ill suffered from chronic and serious illnesses and that their health had been deteriorating as a result of negligence by the Israeli prison authorities. (www.ppsmo.org)
Spain's National Court decided to drop an investigation launched by one of its judges into a July 2002 IDF air strike on the apartment of a suspected Hamas militant, Saleh Shehadeh, in Gaza. The explosion destroyed the building and killed 14 other people, most of them women and children. The majority of the panel of 18 judges opposed the probe on the ground that Israel was already investigating the attack. (AP)
Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Gabriela Shalev filed a harsh complaint with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon over a report on the protection of civilians in armed conflicts published by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, describing it as “selective and political” … alleging that it “completely ignores the context in which Israel’s defensive actions were taken, while it made no mention of Israel’s extraordinary efforts to avoid civilian casualties”. Ms. Shalev wrote that she sincerely hoped that future reports in the name of the Secretary-General would avoid politically charged semantics, accusations and omissions. (Haaretz, Ynetnews)
Former Deputy National Security Adviser and currently senior fellow for Middle Eastern Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations Elliot Abrams said that “despite fervent denials by Obama Administration officials, there were indeed agreements between Israel and the United States regarding the growth of Israeli settlements in the West Bank”. Mr. Abrams validated the Israeli Government’s claim that then-Prime Minister Sharon and former President Bush had come to an agreement that would allow for some degree of growth within existing settlements. However, former US Ambassador to Israel Daniel Kurtzer said that there were no understandings on settlement growth between the US and Israel. (Haaretz, The Jerusalem Post, Ynetnews)
PA Minister for Jerusalem Affairs Hatem Abdul Qader confirmed that he had tendered his resignation. Mr. Qader told Reuters that his Ministry typically needed $5,000 to $15,000 in legal costs to fight an Israeli demolition order and “homes are being demolished because we cannot pay for court appeals.” Prime Minister Fayyad has so far refused to accept Mr. Qader’s resignation. (Ma’an News Agency, Reuters)
In Ramallah, PA President Abbas met with PLC speaker Abdel-Aziz Dweik, recently released from prison by Israel, making him the highest-ranking Hamas official he had publicly met with since the 2007 takeover of Gaza. At the meeting Mr. Abbas discussed the 11,000 Palestinians in Israel’s jails, stressing this issue was a top priority. (Ma’an News Agency)
Activists from the Free Gaza Group, who were sailing from Cyprus to Gaza on the Spirit of Humanity boat carrying humanitarian aid, were intercepted 60 km from Gaza by at least five Israeli warships. The group said in a press release that the Israel Navy had threatened to open fire and began blocking their GPS, radar and navigation systems, unless they turned back. “This is an outrageous violation of international law against us. Our boat was not in Israeli waters, and we were on a human rights mission to the Gaza Strip,” declared Cynthia McKinney, a former US Congresswoman, who was on the boat. Yigal Palmor, Israel's Foreign Ministry spokesman, said that the boat's declared destination was Port Said in Egypt and that “if it changes course and tries to go to Gaza or declares that it intends to do so, the Navy can take action.” (DPA)