The IDF attempts to assassinate Fatah tanzim mbr. Ahmad
Bisharat in Jinin, phoning him to set up a bogus mtg., attempting to shoot
him when he leaves his home. The IDF also shells residential areas of
Beitunia, Khan Yunis; fires on a taxi parked at an IDF checkpoint, seriously
wounding a Palestinian infant. Jewish settlers fire on a Palestinian bus
nr. Pisgat Ze'ev, injuring 2 Palestinians; stone a car nr. Hebron, causing an
accident that kills the Palestinian driver. (al-Quds 8/18 in WNC
8/21; HP 8/19; LAW 8/22)
The IDF temporarily lifts the curfew on Hebron; shells residential
areas of Khan Yunis, destroying 1 Palestinian home; bulldozes 3
Palestinian homes s. of Nablus; conducts arrest raids in Khan Yunis,
Karabatha Bani Harith, Rafah (taking 8 Palestinians to Morag settlement for
interrogation); temporarily detains, beats, confiscates the camera of
Palestinian journalist for Reuters. Israel's National Religious Party
(NRP) reports that 4 new settler bypass roads are under construction in the
West Bank. (Hatzofe 8/18 in WNC 8/20; LAW, PCHR 8/21; PCHR 8/26)
In Tel Aviv, Israeli DM Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, PA Interior M `Abd
al-Razzaq Yahya agree on implementation of Ben-Eliezer's Gaza First plan: the IDF is to withdraw fr.
parts of Gaza and fr. Bethlehem within 48 hrs.; the PA is to take control of
security in areas evacuated; if calm is maintained, Israel would extend the
arrangement to Hebron. Israel makes no promises to halt assassinations, arrest
raids, home demolitions; the PA makes no promises to make preventive arrests of
mbrs. of opposition groups. (XIN 8/18 in WNC 8/20; MM, NYT, WP, WT 8/19; AFP 8/19, AYM 8/20 in WNC
8/21; MM 8/21; al-Quds 8/21 in WNC 8/22, 8/23; MM 8/22; MA 8/25 in WNC
8/26; JPI, MEI 8/30)
National unity talks among the 12 Palestinian
factions making up the National and Islamic Higher Coordinating Comm. of the
Intifada (NIHC) reportedly continue in Gaza.
The IDF arrests 3 Palestinians fr. Hebron on charges of selling
weapons, IDF maps, IDF uniforms to militant groups; demolishes 3 Palestinian
homes in Jabal Mukabir in East Jerusalem; fires on curfew breakers in
Badraw, nr. Ramallah, injuring several; fires on residential areas of Jenin.
(HA 8/19; PCHR 8/21)
Palestinians fire a mortar at Gush Katif settlement, open fire on IDF
post nr. Nablus and Tulkarm, causing no damage or injuries.
5 Palestinians killed.
The IDF launches a predawn air strike on the home of wanted Hamas
mbr. Ahmad Jabari in Gaza City, assassinating 2 Hamas mbrs. and 1
Islamic Jihad mbr. (all relatives of Jabari), killing 2 bystanders,
wounding 7; Jabari is moderately wounded. The IDF lifts the curfew on all
of Nablus, except the Old City and al-`Ayn r.c.; seals al-Fara' r.c. nr. Nablus,
patrolling streets, firing on stone-throwing youths who confront the troops;
fires missiles at 2 workshops in Gaza City (alleged to be weapons factories),
destroying both but causing no injuries; demolishes 2 Palestinian homes,
4 shops in Rafah; fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis, Rafah; raids,
confiscates equipment and files fr. a charitable association nr. Bethlehem;
conducts arrest raids, house searches in Dahaysha r.c., Nablus, Qalqilya; begins
bulldozing a 350 dunams (d.; 4 d. = 1 acre) nr. Qalqilya for construction of the
separation wall. Jewish settlers fr. Pduel raze olive trees, place barbed wire around a plot
of Palestinian land outside Salfit. Some 60 internationals, 20
Palestinians who began a Freedom March along the separation wall
route to protest the walls construction in Zababda nr. Jenin on 7/30 arrive at
their destination, Jerusalem, a day ahead of schedule. (NYT, PCHR, WP 8/18; PCHR
8/19, 8/25)
Palestinians fire 2 Qassam rockets at
Gaza's Neve Dekalim settlement, lightly injuring 2 Jewish settlers; detonate a
roadside bomb by an IDF tank in Gaza, causing some damage but no injuries.
In the morning, the IDF says that 70% of Gaza settlers have
been evacuated, most Gaza residents have not resisted the evacuation, most
protests and resistance are by West Bank settler youth (and some
American Jewish youth) who have come to Gaza in recent wks. to block the
withdrawal. During the day, the evacuations of Gan Or (est. 1983, pop. 350, size
1,692 d., hrs. to evac. 5), Kefar Darom (est. 1989, pop. 490, size 276 d., hrs.
to evac. 12), Kefar Yam (est. 1983, pop. 15, hrs. to evac. 3), Netzer Hazani
(est. 1973, pop. 460, size 250 d., hrs. to evac. 5), Neve Dekalim (est. 1983,
pop. 2,700, size 1,443 d., hrs. to evac. 35), Shirat Hayam (est. 2001, pop. 40,
hrs. to evac. 5) settlements are completed. An increasing number of settlers set
fire to their homes and to greenhouses as they leave to prevent them fr. being
turned over to Palestinians. For the 1st time, 1 armed resident in Kefar
Yam, 4 armed disengagement protesters in Shirat Hayam threaten to shoot
IDF soldiers if they follow orders to remove settlers, but only if soldiers fire
first; the incidents defuse without violence. Some Shirat Hayam residents also
throw rocks at Palestinians in Mawasi as they evacuate. In Kefar Darom, 65
resident families agree to leave, but as many as 2,000 outside protesters
refuse, many of them barricading themselves inside and on the roof of a
synagogue; for the 1st time during the disengagement, the IDF uses water
cannons against protesters and 2 IDF soldiers refuse to obey their
orders, are removed by fellow soldiers; 58 Israelis are injured in clearing the
synagogue, including at least 3 IDF soldiers, 27 border police (1 seriously when
he falls accidentally); protesters throw paint thinner at IDF Southern
Command chief Maj. Gen. Dan Harel, several soldiers. In Neve Dekalim, some
1,500 disengagement protesters hole up in 2 synagogues, refusing to leave
even after residents have voluntarily evacuated, but are eventually extracted.
Jewish settlers in s. Gaza spread nails along the coastal road in
al-Mawasi to prevent movement of Palestinian vehicles. The
IDF conducts arrest raids in al-Mawasi; fires on residential areas of Bayt
Lahiya, seriously injuring 1 Palestinian. In the West Bank, Jewish settlers
fr. Homesh and Sanur attempt to break into a Palestinian home in nearby Asa'sa
village; the IDF intervenes to stop them. Jewish settlers fr.
Keddumim throw stones at Palestinian shops, cars nr. Qalqilya. The IDF
also conducts arrest raids, house searches in Dura, nr. Tulkarm; confiscates 500
d. of agricultural land nr. Eli settlement nr. Nablus. In Israel,
disengagement protesters block roads nationwide. (AP, BBC, HA, Israeli
Radio, ITV 8/18; NYT, WP, WT 8/19; PCHR 8/25)
Meanwhile,
Palestinians fire a rocket at Netzarim (still inhabited), lightly
injuring an IDF soldier; 2 mortars at Gadid settlement (still inhabited),
3 mortars at Morag (evacuated) causing no damage or injuries. Palestinian
gunmen fire on IDF troops nr. Kefar Darom, lightly injuring 1.
1 Palestinian killed.
The IDF fires on several Palestinians grazing sheep nr. the Gaza-Israel
border nr. Bayt Lahiya (killing 1 Palestinian), on residential areas of al-Shuka
nr. Rafah (wounding 2). In the West Bank, the IDF continues to close all
crossings to Jerusalem; patrols in Tamun nr. Jenin; raids, searches an Islamist
charity nr. Hebron, confiscating files, computers. In Askar r.c., 2 Palestinians
are injured when they accidentally detonate unexploded IDF ordnance. Nr. Jenin,
3 Palestinians are killed when explosives they are handling detonate
prematurely. (OCHA 8/23; PCHR 8/24)
1 Palestinian killed.
IDF troops
on the central Gaza border fire on 3 unarmed Palestinians attempting to sneak
into Israel to find work, killing 1 Palestinian, arresting 2. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem; patrols in Nablus and neighboring `Ayn Bayt al-Maa refugee camp (r.c.). A 13-yr.-old Palestinian boy
is injured by unexploded IDF ordnance (UXO) nr. Tubas. (OCHA 8/22; PCHR
8/23)
Due to Israeli restrictions, Gaza had received less than 30 per cent of the cooking gas required for basic needs, according to Mahmoud Al-Khizinda, deputy of the federation of Gas Station Owners in the Gaza Strip. (Ma'an News Agency)
Israel allowed 10 truckloads of lumber into the Gaza Strip after Israeli authorities expanded the list of goods allowed to enter the territory. The deliveries of wood were the first in more than a year. (Xinhua)
Israel's ministerial committee overseeing the release of jailed Palestinians approved the Cabinet's list of about 200 prisoners to be set free in the West Bank. An Israeli official said that the prisoners would be released by 25 August. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was scheduled to meet with PA President Abbas on the same day. (AFP, Haaretz, Ma'an News Agency, Xinhua)
Representatives of five Palestinian factions agreed in a meeting in Gaza that a "comprehensive national dialogue," should begin to end the Palestinian internal political split. Leaders from Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Palestinian Peoples' Party attended the meeting. The parties agreed in principle on forming a government of national unity, holding new legislative and presidential elections on the basis of complete party representation, and the restructuring of Palestinian security forces along professional lines, as well as to reactivate the PLC and the PLO. They also called for an immediate halt to media incitement campaigns, arbitrary detentions and the release of all political detainees through forming a national committee with the participation of Fatah and Hamas in the West Bank and Gaza. (Ma'an News Agency)