In retaliation for
the killing of a settler on 8/7, the IDF places a curfew on `Ayn Bus,
Jama'in; shells a Force 17 post, a PA military intelligence post
in Salfit and a Force 17 office in Asira, destroying the buildings but causing
no injuries. The IDF also directs shells, heavy machine gun fire at
residential areas of Asira, Jericho; tightens closures on Khan Yunis, Qalqilya,
Rafah; reinforces troops around al-Mahatin, Qalqilya; bulldozes 10 dunams of
agricultural land in al-Qarara. (AP, HP 8/8; WP 8/9)
A Palestinian suicide bomber detonates a device at an IDF
checkpoint in the West Bank, injuring 3 IDF soldiers.
1 Palestinian killed.
The IDF conducts arrest raids in Bayt Lahia, detaining
9 Palestinians, fatally shooting 1 Palestinian bystander; bulldozes 5
Palestinian homes (1 Bayt Jala, 2 Bethlehem, 1 Hebron, 1 Jenin); fires tear
gas, live ammunition at the funeral procession for Hamas's Hamdan (assassinated
on 8/7), seriously injuring a 15-yr.-old boy. (NYT 8/8; NYT, WP, WT 8/9; PCHR
8/15, 8/16)
In Washington, PA officials Erakat, Economic M
Mahir al-Masri, Yahya open several days of talks with senior
administration, CIA, USAID officials. (WT 8/8; NYT, WP, WT 8/9; WT 8/10; AYM
8/10 in WNC 8/11, 8/12; NYT, WP, WT 8/11; AYM 8/11 in WNC 8/12; MM 8/12; NYT
8/13; WT 8/14)
4 Palestinians killed.
IDF troops raid Askar r.c., accompanied by 4 armored personnel
carriers, 14 military jeeps, 2 armored bulldozers, and 2 helicopters; surround
the apartment building where wanted Hamas mbrs. Hamis Abu Salam, Fayiz
al-Sadar live, sparking a fire fight that leaves at least 1 of the
Palestinians, 1 IDF soldier dead; shell the 4-story building by
helicopter, destroying it; the body of the 2d Palestinian is found in the
rubble. The attack, which Hamas considers an assassination, sparks
demonstrations in Askar; the IDF fires live ammunition, rubber bullets, tear gas
at the crowds, killing 1 Palestinian, wounding 6; a Palestinian,
overcome by teargas, dies at a hospital. Israel indicts
2 Jewish settlers, arrested on 7/17, on charges of transporting
explosives, membership in a “Jewish terror cell.” (AFP, BBC, HA, MM 8/8; VOI,
XIN 8/8, MENA, al-Quds 8/10 in WNC 8/12; NYT, WP, WT 8/9; AYM 8/10 in WNC
8/14; PCHR 8/14)
Nr. Jenin, 3 Palestinian gunmen
fire on an IDF outpost, are wounded and arrested.
Hizballah, retaliating for the 8/2 car bombing, fires mortars,
antitank rockets at an IDF post in the disputed Shaba` Farms area of the
Golan. Israel responds by shelling Hizballah positions by plane,
artillery. No injuries are reported in the exchange. (BBC, HA, MM 8/8; NYT, WP,
WT 8/9; Islamic Republic News Agency 8/10 in WNC 8/12)
Overnight, the IDF sends troops, military vehicles into Rafah,
demolishing 3 Palestinian homes, firing on residential areas. The IDF
also sends troops into al-Qarara under heavy shelling, injuring 4 Palestinians,
bulldozing 5 dunams of land; expels to Gaza fr. Jericho a Palestinian woman
married to a Jericho resident, their 2 children, arguing that her Gaza
residency card means that she has been living in the West Bank illegally. (XIN
8/8; PCHR 8/12)
1 Palestinian killed.
The IDF begins dismantling observation posts around Gaza settlements,
replacing them with armored vehicles and tanks in preparation for disengagement;
sends troops into Nur al-Shams r.c., searches homes, fires on stone-throwing
youths who confront them, killing 1 Palestinian bystander, wounding at
least 1; fires tank shells at a graveyard in Khan Yunis where Palestinian
reportedly were preparing to launch a mortar, causing damage but no injuries;
fires on residential areas of Rafah; conducts arrest raids in `Azun, Balata
r.c., Dura, al-Khadir; occupies a house in Silat al-Dahir, turns it into an
observation post; patrols in Nablus. (FT, IMEMC, UNIS, XIN 8/8;
FT, HA, IMEMC, JP, NYT, PRCS, WT 8/9; OCHA, PR 8/10; PCHR 8/11)
The IDF begins delivering letters to the roughly 1,600 Jewish
settler families in the Gaza Strip and 4 West Bank settlements slated for
removal under disengagement, giving them until 8/15 to evacuate their homes and
receive full compensation; those remaining on 8/17 will be forcibly removed,
will not be allowed to return to collect their belongings (which will be packed
and shipped by the IDF), will not receive full compensation. (HA 8/8; NYT 8/9)
Palestinian gunmen loyal to Fatah
head Qaddumi kidnap 2 foreign UN workers, their Palestinian
driver in Khan Yunis to pressure the PA to secure the release of
Fatah mbr. Farah (arrested 8/7); the PA security forces storm the home of
a local AMB cmdr., exchange fire with the kidnappers (2 kidnappers, 1
bystander are injured), free the 3 captives unharmed; Farah remains in custody.
Citing incidents in Khan Yunis today and on 8/7, the ICRC suspends
operations in Gaza to protest the lack of security.
The IDF closes the Qarni crossing, Nahal Oz pipeline for the day; fires
across the Israeli border at a group of children in a bedouin village nr. Bayt
Lahiya, wounding 1. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house
searches in Balata r.c., Hebron, Jenin (firing on stone-throwing youths who
confront the troops, wounding 5); patrols in Tubas, firing on stone-throwing
Palestinians who confront them, wounding 3. (PCHR 8/10)
Israel announces that it will evacuate to s. Israel within 24 hrs. some
15,000 Israelis from the north who cannot afford to leave on their own,
suggesting that the IDF intends a major escalation against Lebanon. In Lebanon,
the IDF continues air and artillery strikes, hitting targets in s. Beirut, s.
Lebanon (including killing 13 Lebanese in Ghaziyya s. of Sidon), the Biqa‘
Valley. Ground offensives also continue in s. Lebanon, with heavy clashes
reported in Aytrun, Bint Jubayl (where the IDF claims to have killed 30
Hizballah mbrs.), Dibil (where 1 IDF soldier is killed), Labuna (where 2 IDF
soldiers are killed); another 2 IDF soldiers are killed elsewhere and 23
wounded. Hizballah fires 160 rockets into n. Israel, hitting Acre, Fazouta,
Ma’alot, Nahariya, Safad, Tiberias. The WHO warns that if within 5 days Israel
does not provide safety guarantees for oil tankers bringing fuel shipments to
Lebanon (see 8/1), 60% of hospitals in Lebanon will “simply cease to function.”
(BBC, Marketplace 8/8; BBC, HA, NYT, WP, WT 8/9)
4 Palestinians killed.
In Gaza, the IDF
exchanges fire with armed Palestinians nr. the n. Gaza border fence, killing 2
Hamas mbrs.; fatally shoots an ESF officer nr. the Erez crossing, a
mentally handicapped Palestinian who strays nr. the border fence e. of
Dayr al-Balah. In the West Bank, the IDF demolishes 1 Palestinian home,
confiscates a mobile home in Jiftlik nr. Jericho; conducts arrest raids, house
searches in and around Nablus (exchanging fire with Palestinian gunmen, leaving
1 IDF soldier injured) and nr. Bethlehem, Hebron, Qalqilya. The IDF also
demolishes a Palestinian home in East Jerusalem. (NYT, PCHR 8/9; OCHA
8/15; PCHR 8/16)
The Israeli army invaded at dawn the West Bank cities of Jenin, Nablus and Tulkarm. In Jenin, the target was the home of leading Islamic Jihad activist Ash-Sheikh Qasem al Sa'di, which was searched and ransacked before he was taken away blindfolded. Two persons described by the Israeli army as "wanted" were taken for interrogation: one from Tulkarm and one from the nearby town of Shweika. (IMEMC, Ma'an News Agency)
The Gaza Strip is suffering from a severe shortage of Israeli shekels, the currency used in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as a result of the Israeli authorities not allowing sufficient reserves of shekels to enter the Gaza Strip and also because Israeli businesses that deal with Gaza would only trade in shekels. A bank source indicated that banks in Gaza needed between 70 and 100 million shekels in order to resolve the Palestinian salary crisis. It was announced that Israel would allow banks to transfer 72 million shekels ($20 million) to the Gaza Strip in order to ease the shortage of banknotes. This was intended to pay this week's salaries of the Palestinian Authority's work force in the Gaza Strip. The money was expected to arrive in Gaza on 11 August. (Haaretz, Ma'an News Agency, Ynetnews)
Palestinian medical sources reported that the number of patients in the Gaza Strip who have died as a result of not being able to leave for medical treatment had risen to 233 after six persons died in the last 24 hours at the Rafah border crossing with Egypt. They were suffering from heart disease, kidney failure, cancer and leukaemia. (IMEMC, Ma'an News Agency)