Israel's Housing Min. reports that Jewish settlement
construction is up 96% during the 1st half of 2000 as compared to the 1st
half of 1999. Since Barak took office in 7/99 work has begun on 1,384 new
settlement housing units in Jerusalem, 540 elsewhere. (MM 9/12)
Lebanese living along the blue line report that the
IDF has moved new missile batteries into n. Israel since the Lebanese
elections ended on 9/3. (al-Nahar 9/12 in WNC 9/14; MM 9/14 in WNC 9/18)
In Cairo, Arafat briefs Mubarak on the latest
developments in the peace process. (MENA 9/11 in WNC 9/14; CSM, NYT 9/12)
3 Palestinians killed. 2 Israelis killed.
Hopes for an Arafat-Peres mtg. fade as Israel steps up its attack on
Jinin. Before dawn, IDF tanks encircle the town, cut electricity, shell
residential areas of Jinin and a nearby refugee camp, killing 2 Palestinians.
A 3d Palestinian is fatally shot when the IDF opens fire on a taxi
in Gaza. The IDF also shells areas of Gaza City, hitting 2 factories, a
PSF office. Israel's Jerusalem Municipality demolishes 3 Palestinian
homes in Bayt Hanina, issues demolition orders for another 5 houses. (AP,
BBC, LAW, MM, NYT, WP 9/11; MEZ, NYT, WP 9/12; LAW 9/20; MEI 9/28)
In the U.S., as many as 20 hijackers commandeer 4 commercial
jets bound from east coast airports to California. Minutes apart, 2 planes hit
the World Trade Center (WTC) in New York City, destroying the twin towers
and killing 1,000s of people. Within an hr., the 3d plane hits the
Pentagon in Washington, killing up to 200 people, and the 4th plane crashes
in w. Pennsylvania, killing all aboard. Bush vows retaliation, saying,
"We will make no distinction between those who committed these acts and those
who harbored them." Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), a mbr. of the Senate
intelligence comm. claims that the U.S. intercepted reports by associates of
Saudi dissident Osama Bin Laden saying they had hit 2 targets; another
intelligence official says, however, that the information was not so definitive.
Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the
PA, Hamas, Afghanistan's ruling Taliban immediately condemn
the attacks. (ATL, MENA 9/11 in WNC 9/12; JT 9/11, DUS, ITAR-TASS, JT, QA,
al-Quds, al-Ra'i 9/12 in WNC 9/13; HP, MM, NYT, PR, WP, WT 9/12; AFP,
HA, WJW 9/13; WP 9/15; MENA 9/16 in WNC 9/17; JP 9/21; JP, MEI 9/28)
Palestinian snipers fatally shoot 2 IDF soldiers
nr. Tulkarm.
The IDF makes a major incursion into Bayt Hanun, raiding houses,
mosques, civilian institutions; damaging service networks, agricultural land,
houses; detaining several Palestinians. The IDF conducts house-to-house
searches in, shells residential areas of al-Maghazi r.c., demolishing 2
Palestinian homes, detaining 6 Palestinians. (PCHR 9/11)
PC mbrs. continue highly critical debate on the new EA. Just
before the vote of confidence is held, Arafat announces that he has
accepted the EA's resignation. (HA, JP, MM, NYT, WP 9/12; al-Quds
9/12, AN 9/13, QA 9/14 in WNC 9/16; MM, WT 9/13; Le Monde 9/14 in WNC
9/19; PR 9/18; JPI 9/20; MEI 9/27; CSM 10/1)
In response to the 9/9 suicide bombings, Sharon’s security cabinet
declares Arafat “a complete obstacle” that Israel will “work to remove .
. . in a manner, and at a time of its choosing.” In Ramallah, the IDF
tightens restrictions on Palestinian movement; occupies the PA Culture Min.
building, overlooking Arafat’s headquarters; flies low-level sorties over
Arafat’s compound. In response, 1,000s of Palestinians surround Arafat’s
headquarters to provide him protection. The IDF also demolishes 16
Palestinian homes in Rafah, 2 in Hebron, 2 in Ramallah; fires on residential
areas of Khan Yunis; conducts arrest raids in Hebron. (AFP, HA, MM, REU 9/11;
AFP, JP, XIN 9/11 in WNC 9/12; MENA 9/11 in WNC 9/13; MM, NYT, WP, WT 9/12; AFP,
ATL, ITAR-TASS, Palestine Satellite Channel Television, QA, al-Quds, VOP,
XIN 9/12, AN, ATL, IRNA, MENA, al-Quds 9/13, HA, IRNA, JT, MA, MENA, YA
9/14 in WNC 9/16; MM, NYT, WP 9/13; PR 9/17; PCHR 9/18; JPI, MEI 9/26)
1 Palestinian killed.
The IDF pulls troops out of n. Gaza, ending a 4-day operation that
left 8 Palestinians dead, 100 wounded, 10,000s without electricity or water, 50
Palestinian homes demolished or severely damaged. The IDF further
restricts Palestinian movement in the n. Jordan Valley; imposes curfews on Asira
and Qussin nr. Nablus; fires on residential areas of Tulkarm r.c. and town;
conducts arrest raids, house searches in al-Duha nr. Bethlehem, Hebron, Iktaba
nr. Tulkarm, Silwad; detains a Palestinian paramedic at a checkpoint outside
Tulkarm for several hrs. A
Palestinian dies of injuries received earlier. (HA, JP, MENA 9/11 in WNC
9/14; WP 9/12; PRCS 9/13; PR 9/15; PCHR 9/16)
Palestinians fire 2 mortars at Netzarim
settlement in s. Gaza, damaging 1 house, lightly injuring 2 soldiers.
The Israeli cabinet votes (14–2) to complete disengagement without
demolishing 19 Gaza synagogues and to declare officially the end of military
rule in Gaza. In the evening, the IDF holds a flag-lowering ceremony in
Gaza, begins pullout of its 6 remaining battalions (5,000–6,000 troops), which
should be completed by dawn on 9/12. In the afternoon, the IDF fires on
Palestinians gathering nr. Khan Yunis to watch the final pullout, wounding 5. A
Jewish settler fr. Kiryat Arba injures a 24-yr.-old Palestinian woman, a
10-yr.-old Palestinian girl in a hit-and-run in Hebron. (BBC 9/11; NYT, WP, WT
9/12; PCHR 9/15)
In Gaza, an IDF drone fires missiles at a car driving in Rafah in an attempt
to assassinate an Islamic Jihad mbr., missing the car and damaging 2 houses but
causing no injuries. In an air strike, the IDF demolishes the home of a Hamas
mbr. in Gaza City, severely damages several surrounding homes, wounding 4
Palestinians; sends special forces in to al-Shuka, raiding a PA security office,
detaining 3 PA security officers for several hrs.; sends troops into Dayr
al-Balah reportedly in search of a smugglers tunnel, conducting arrest raids and
house searches, demolishing 1 Palestinian home, bulldozing 50 d. of agricultural
land and 2 wells but apparently not finding a tunnel. In the West Bank, the IDF
conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem, Hebron, Ramallah;
demolishes a poultry farm nr. Jenin to make way for the separation wall. A
Palestinian teenager is killed in a mysterious explosion nr. Ramallah. Rafah
begins receiving electricity fr. Egypt from a 5 MW electricity cable. (OCHA
9/13; PCHR 9/14)
The IDF responds to rocket strike with air strikes, shelling on suspected rocket-launching
sites in n. Gaza, hitting a home in Bayt Hanun, wounding 4 Palestinian children
and an adult. Palestinians retaliate by firing 7 mortars fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. The Israeli DMin. begins drafting
an assessment for DM Ehud Barak of the impact of cutting water, electricity, fuel services to Gaza. In the West Bank, the IDF demolishes 21
agricultural structures in Anata nr. Jerusalem for being too close to the separation
wall and a settler bypass road; conducts arrest raids, house searches in
and around Hebron and Nablus, nr. Jenin and Tulkarm; issues military orders
shutting the Ibrahimi Mosque/Tomb of the Patriarchs to Muslims for 5 days
during Ramadan so that Jewish settlers may celebrate concurrent Jewish
holidays. Jewish settlers fr. Avraham Avino, escorted by IDF
troops, occupy the roof of al-Aqtab Mosque (seized by the IDF in 1994 after the
Ibrahimi Mosque/Tomb of the Patriarchs shooting), begin construction on it to expand
their outpost. (IFM, NYT, WP, WT 9/11; NYT, OCHA, WP, WT 9/12; PCHR 9/13; OCHA 10/19)
Islamic Jihad and the PRCs in n. Gaza take joint responsibility for a
predawn rocket strike on the IDF’s Zikim base nr. the Gaza border that
hits a tent full of sleeping soldiers, critically wounding 1, seriously wounding 2, moderately wounding 7, marking the highest casualty toll in a rocket
strike to date; another 60 soldiers are lightly injured or treated for shock.
In Jabaliya r.c., Hamas mbrs. occupy the home of the
Fatah-affiliated PA prisoners’ affairs minister, who fled to Ramallah.
Israeli forces seized nine Palestinians, including three minors, from Bi'lin and Ramallah. (Ma'an News Agency)
A group of settlers from "Talmon" clashed with Israeli soldiers at an IDF position in the West Bank, a military spokesman said. Israel's Public Radio said that the settlers were angry that troops had seized construction materials that were to be used to build a new outpost. (AFP)
A survey published by PalTrade and financed by the World Bank concluded that the commercial movement of goods through Gaza-Israel crossing points was very slow. The survey showed that 83 per cent of the goods allowed into Gaza during September were food products. (Xinhua)
Israel had been fencing off the settlements located to the east of the separation wall, to create buffer zones which are blocking Palestinian access to thousands of acres of lands, a B'Tselem report stated. These obstacles had been erected either independently by settlers, or by the Israeli military as part of the "Special Security Area" plan. (www.btselem.org)
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told reporters: "We have strongly supported the Annapolis process with its ambitious goal of a comprehensive peace by the end of 2008 – a peace that will encompass the reality of two States, Palestine and Israel, living in peace and security. The meetings I will host on the margins of the General Assembly offer an opportunity to assess the situation and chart a way ahead. There will be meetings of the Quartet and the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee as well as an iftar for Arab Leaders." (UN News Centre)
John Ging, UNRWA Director of Operations in the Gaza Strip, told reporters: "A fair political solution enables the Palestinians to get their rights in work, travel and all other rights given in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights… We deal with the political conflict and the solution should be political, not only humanitarian." (Xinhua)
Two Palestinians died in the tunnels underneath the Rafah border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt. (Ma'an News Agency)
The Mayor of Tubas, a city in the northern West Bank, signed an agreement with the United Nations Development Programme to distribute $70,000 worth of food and Ramadan meals to needy families in the town. (Ma'an News Agency)