3 Palestinians killed.
In Gaza, 3 bedouin women are killed by IDF shelling. FM
Peres says the IDF may have fired at the wrong target when responding to
gunfire on Netzarim settlement, an adjacent IDF post. The IDF also
bulldozes Palestinian land in Dayr al-Balah. (CNN
6/9; HP, NYT, WP, WT 6/10; HA, MM, NYT, WP 6/11; DUS, HJ 6/11 in WNC 6/12; MEI
6/15)
Israeli, PA security officials present their written responses to the
U.S. draft cease-fire plan to the U.S. emb. Meanwhile in Cairo, Tenet
briefs Mubarak on his mtgs. with the sides to date. Burns
continues to meet with Israeli, PA political officials. (WP, WT 6/10)
Palestinians fire rocket
grenades at IDF tanks in Rafah, causing no injuries; launch at least 7 mortars
at Gush Katif settlement bloc, damaging 1 building, injuring 1 Thai worker.
1 Palestinian killed.
Late in the evening, the IDF sends 10s of tanks, troops back into
Amari r.c., Ramallah in a massive incursion to bulldoze buildings damaged in
early attacks and conduct arrest raids, surround Arafat's headquarters,
impose curfews, conduct house-to-house searches; 1 Palestinian is killed.
The IDF also makes late-night arrest raids in Hebron, Qalqilya, Tulkarm.
In Gaza City, the PSF arrests Islamic Jihad leader Shaykh Abdallah
Shami for plotting the 6/5 bombing. (LAW, MM, NYT, WP, WT 6/10; MEI 6/14)
Sharon arrives in Washington; meets with Pentagon, National Security
Council officials. (WP 6/10)
Arafat appoints a new "transitional" EA. Among the new mbrs. are
Maj. Gen. `Abd al-Razzaq Yahya, named interior M to oversee security
reforms, and respected IMF economist Salam Fayyad, named finance M to
oversee economic reforms. (BBC 6/9; HA, MM, NYT, WP, WT 6/10; AFP, MENA, QA 6/10
in WNC 6/11; HA, JP, WP 6/11; MENA, SA 6/11 in WNC 6/12; PR 6/12; SA 6/13 in WNC
6/14; MEI 6/14; al-Nahar 6/16 in WNC 6/17; QA 6/18 in WNC 6/19)
2 Palestinians killed.
The IDF dismantles 5 unauthorized settlement outposts (all of
them uninhabited), announces plans to remove another 9 (only 4 of them
inhabited); more than 100 Jewish settlers try to bar soldiers fr.
removing a water tower at 1 unpopulated site. Meanwhile, the IDF
demolishes 13 Palestinian homes in Bayt Hanun, 1 in the Old City of
Hebron; fatally shoots 2 Palestinians allegedly attempting to infiltrate
Netzarim settlement; fires on residential areas of Bayt Hanun; raids, imposes a
curfew on Tulkarm; conducts arrest raids in Balata r.c., Dayr al-Balah.
Jewish settlers harass Palestinians in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of
Shaykh Jarrah. Israeli police round up 1,370 Palestinians laborers
working inside Israel without permits. (HP 6/9; XIN 6/9 in WNC 6/12; NYT, WP, WT
6/10; PR 6/11; JP 6/11 in WNC 6/13; LAW, PCHR 6/12)
2 Palestinians killed.
In Bayt Hanun, the IDF shells residential areas, occupies a vacated
Palestinian home as an observation post, clashes with suspected Hamas mbrs,
wounding 2 and mortally wounding 1 Palestinian, bars ambulances fr.
reaching him, allowing him to bleed to death. The IDF also fatally shoots
a wanted AMB mbr. in a raid on Jenin; occupies a vacant Palestinian
home in Shaykh Ajlin nr. Gaza City as an observation post, bulldozes 10
dunams of surrounding land; fires on residential areas of Nablus, Rafah;
conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem, Hebron, Jenin, Ramallah,
and in Nablus, Qalqilya, Tulkarm, Wadi al-Silqa. Jewish settlers fr.
Yitzhar steal a herd of sheep fr. local Palestinians; when Israeli
police intervene to secure the sheep and return them to the Palestinians,
the settlers attack and beat the Palestinians; Israeli police call in
reinforcements, arrest 5 settlers. (VOI, VOP 6/9 in WNC 6/11; PCHR 6/10; VOI
6/10 in WNC 6/12; PCHR 6/17)
The IDF temporarily detains, roughs up 9 PA security officers
in Hebron; sends troops into Tulkarm, fires on residential areas, wounding 1 in
response to gunfire at a Palestinian wedding. 15 militant Jewish settler
families take over a vacant Gaza hotel in Neve Dekalim settlement, threaten
to use it as a base to resist disengagement implementation. (WT 6 /10; VOP 6/10 in WNC 6/11; NYT 6/12; PCHR 6/16)
PA security
forces cracking down on the carrying of weapons in public stop 2
Palestinian Resistance Comm. (PRC) mbrs. driving in Gaza, fire on their car
when they refuse to get out and permit a search, and instead drive away; 1 PRC
mbr. is wounded.
11 Palestinians killed.
After Palestinians fire 5 rockets into Israel (causing no damage or
injuries), the IDF shells n. Gaza from land, sea, and air, hitting the Bayt
Lahiya beach where families are picnicking, killing at least 8 Palestinians,
wounding 32; the IDF suspends shelling, orders an investigation; Hamas’s
Izzeddin al- Qassam Brigades say they would end their 16-mo. cease-fire to
avenge the deaths. The IDF also makes air strikes on a car driven in n. Gaza by
PRC mbrs. who allegedly had just fired a rocket into Israel, killing 3 PRC men;
on a car driven by Islamic Jihad mbrs. in Jabaliya r.c. who allegedly were on
their way to launch a rocket, wounding 2; on 2 cars driven by Izzeddin al-Qassam
Brigades mbrs. in Gaza City, wounding 3. In addition, the IDF patrols in
Tulkarm; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus, Tulkarm. (NYT, WP 6/10; IFM 6/11; MM, NYT 6/12; MM 6/14; PCHR 6/15;
MM 6/16; OCHA 6/21; MA 6/25 in WNC 6/26)
In
Gaza City, 10,000s of Palestinians attend the funeral of PRC leader Samhadana,
assassinated on 6/8.
2 Palestinians killed.
The IDF continues operations in Shuka, bulldozing 33 d. of Palestinian land,
exchanging fire with local Hamas mbrs., leaving 1 Hamas mbr. dead. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts
arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron and in Jenin town and r.c., Tulkarm. Jewish settlers fr. Hebron severely
beat a Palestinian teenager nr. the
Ibrahimi Mosque/Tomb of the Patriarchs; an ambulance sent to the scene is
barred by the IDF, stoned by settlers; the IDF arrests the teenager.
Separately in Hebron, Jewish settlers fr. Ramat Yishai severely beat a
9-yr.-old Palestinian. (IFM, NYT, WP, WT 6/10; NYT 6/11; OCHA 6/13; PCHR 6/14)
The Lebanese army escalates
attacks on FI, sending special forces and armored personnel carriers into areas
around Nahr al-Barid r.c. to root out FI mbrs., increasing tank, artillery shelling of FI positions inside the
camp to the highest level to date. FI replies
with mortar and sniper fire. The army reports 6 soldiers killed, more than 40 wounded during the day. FI
reports 4 mbrs. killed, 6 wounded. At least 60 FI mbrs., 49 soldiers, 20 civilians are thought to have been
killed
since fighting began on 5/20, but figure for casualties inside the camp cannot
be confirmed. (WP, WT 6/10)
Four Islamic Jihad and AMB gunmen in an armored jeep marked “TV” and “press,” carrying RPGs
and supported by mortar
fire, break through the Gaza border fence nr. the Kissufim crossing, engage IDF troops for 2 hrs. in what Islamic
Jihad describes as an attempt to capture a
2d IDF soldier (Cpl. Gilad Shalit was captured in 6/06 and is still being held);
1 Palestinian is killed.
Palestinians detonate a roadside bomb
nr. an IDF tank
n. of Bayt Hanun, causing no injuries.
In Rafah, Fatah, Hamas mbrs. exchange heavy
fire (including mortars, RPGs) for several hrs., leaving 2 Palestinians dead, 38 injured. In Bayt Hanun,
unidentified gunmen shoot, wound an NSF mbr.
Israeli soldiers shot a young Palestinian in the feet near the village of Beit Ummar, near Hebron, Israeli sources
reported. The Israeli military said that he had thrown a Molotov cocktail at an Israeli position. (Ma'an News Agency)
The family of captured IDF Cpl. Gilad Shalit received a new letter from him as a result of former US President Carter's
efforts, Israel's Channel 10 TV reported. (Haaretz)
Arab League Secretary-General Amre Moussa, on a two-day visit to Slovenia, told a joint news conference with Slovenian
Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel in connection with the EU-US Summit to be held in Slovenia, "I trust there will be a
serious discussion about the prospects of peace in the Middle East and on whether it will be possible as promised to
have a Palestinian State by the end of the year … Israel does not seem ready to give anything or enter into a deal … I
think one of the important steps to face is for Fatah and Hamas to close ranks, and this is our task to achieve." (AFP)
Britain's Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, visited the Occupied Palestinian Territory as part of a Middle East trip
that also included Israel. The Minister met local officials in Jenin and later met with PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad
and Head of the Palestinian megotiating team Ahmed Qureia. (AFP)
A poll conducted by the Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research suggested that PA President Abbas would win
52 per cent of the vote if elections were held now, up from 46 per cent in March. Another poll conducted by the Near
East Consulting Company said that 73 per cent of Palestinians trusted President Abbas. (DPA, Haaretz, Reuters)
"Contacts between Gaza and the Egyptian side are persistent in order to reach a deal allowing the opening the Rafah
crossing for three days a week," said Ihab al-Ghussein, a spokesman for Hamas. (Xinhua)
PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said that Israel had delayed transferring PA tax revenues used to pay 160,000 civil
servants and members of the security services. He added, "Much has been said on this topic. Anonymous Israeli officials
have linked it to the letter I sent to the European Union about the Israeli request for closer ties." (AFP, AP, The
Jerusalem Post, Ma'an News Agency)
A Palestinian was killed when a smuggling tunnel collapsed in Rafah underneath the border between Egypt and the Gaza
Strip. (Ma'an News Agency)
Israeli security forces ordered a Palestinian to demolish his own home in the Old City of Jerusalem. Muhammad Ghosheh said the Israeli police threatened him with a NIS 100,000 ($25,125) fine if he did not comply. PA Minister of Jerusalem Affairs, Hatem Abdul Qader, denounced the demolition as a crime in defiance of US and international pressure. He said that the “occupation municipality” rejected all Palestinian applications for building permits in the Old City but granted permits to Israeli settlers. (Ma’an News Agency)
Israel banned a top PLO official from travelling to the United Nations Asia and Pacific Meeting on the Question of Palestine that began in Indonesia on 8 June. Abdul Rahim Mallouh, a member of the PLO Executive Committee and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine was to represent PA President Abbas. “I denounced in the most definite terms the Israeli practices of which you were a victim as yet another example of the arbitrary policies of the occupying Power in the Palestinian Territory under its control,” wrote Paul Badji, Chairman of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. (Ma’an News Agency)
US Special Envoy for Middle East Peace George Mitchell is visiting Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory. He has met Israeli President Shimon Peres and Defense Minister Ehud Barak, and will meet Prime Minister Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman and also hold talks with PA President Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad later in the day. Mr. Mitchell reasserted that a two-State solution was the “only viable political solution.” He said that “Israelis and Palestinians have a responsibility to meet their obligations under the Road Map,” stressing the need for a settlement freeze in the West Bank. (BBC, aljazeera.net)
Asharq Al-Awsat reported that during the Egyptian delegation's visit to Washington on 26 May, the US had briefed Egyptian Intelligence Chief Omar Suleiman, and Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit, on what Egyptian sources described as "a plan to end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict within two years on the basis of a two-State solution." Washington then called for a swift response from the Arab side. The source informed Asharq Al-Awsat that "the US officials also informed the Egyptian delegation that they had notified Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu of the plan during his recent visit to Washington, and they had called on him to provide a response within six weeks." The source added that the Egyptian political leadership sensed that US President Obama was extremely serious about achieving peace in the Middle East, and that the only obstacle to this was the inter-Palestinian division. Egypt therefore had decided to consult with a number of Arab leaders in order to heal the Palestinian rift as soon as possible. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Forty-one Members of the European Parliament from 15 countries entered Gaza to foster dialogue with the residents of the area and observe the destruction and devastation from the Israeli war in Gaza. Palestinian spokesperson at the Rafah crossing Adel Zu’rub said a Qatari delegation and a UN Special Rapporteur on Disability of the Commission for Social Development were due in Gaza later today. (Ma’an News Agency)
Justice Richard Goldstone, head of the Human Rights Council-mandated independent fact-finding mission to probe alleged rights abuses and violations of international law during the recent conflict in Gaza, said the UN investigation was unlikely to lead to prosecutions because of the lack of a court to hear cases. Mr. Goldstone said he hoped the publication of the mission’s report would trigger other UN bodies’ action. (AP, BBC, The Jerusalem Post)
Egyptian mediators held talks with a Hamas delegation headed by Political Bureau Chief Khaled Mashaal about national dialogue. “Egypt and Arab countries believe the Palestinian internal division has to end in order to get a stronger US involvement in the peacemaking with Israel,” a Palestinian official said. (AFP DPA, Reuters)
The French company Veolia which was supposed to operate the rail project to connect Jerusalem with settlements in the West Bank decided to withdraw from the project. According to Omar Barghouti of the Global Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Campaign, the withdrawal was the result of years of hard work, causing Veolia to lose around $7 billion in contracts in Europe. Veolia also faced a French lawsuit, filed by a pro-Palestinian group demanding that the court annul the business agreement as it violated international law. (IMEMC)