In the West Bank, 2,000 Palestinian refugees fr.
Balata camp march in support of the right of return, in memory of the 18th
anniversary of the Sabra-Shatila massacre in Lebanon. 300 Palestinian
refugees in Dahaysha camp hold a similar rally, after which 50 youths clash
with IDF troops guarding Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem, leaving 2
Palestinians injured. (AP, REU 9/16; JT [Internet], HA [Internet] 9/17)
In Washington, 4,000 supporters of the Palestinian
refugees' right of return stage a rally outside the White House. (REU 9/16;
WP 9/17)
2 Palestinians killed. 1 Israeli killed.
Bush prepares the U.S. for a long, sustained "war on terrorism."
Admin. officials say they are considering lifting the 25-yr.-old ban on U.S.
involvement in foreign assassinations, loosening restrictions on FBI
surveillance and detention of foreigners. Iran, Hizballah spiritual
leader Shaykh Fadlallah denounce the 9/11 attacks. (NYT, WP, WT 9/17; WP
9/18; MM 10/4)
The IDF announces that it is establishing an 18-mi.-long "closed
military area," or buffer zone, along the Green Line btwn. Jinin and
Tulkarm (see Peace Monitor). In response to the 9/15 DFLP shooting, the IDF
sends tanks into Bayt Hanun, al-Qarara, and Ramallah, shelling residential areas
while helicopters fire missiles; 2 Palestinians and 1 IDF soldier
are killed, 26 Palestinians and 1 IDF soldier are wounded before Israeli forces
withdraws fr. areas A 4 hrs. later. In al-Qarara, the IDF confiscates 200
dunams of Palestinian land for a new settler bypass road to Gush Katif (see
9/12), confiscates a Palestinian home as an military post. The IDF
also conducts an arrest sweep in Ramallah. (AFP, LAW, WP, WT 9/16; HP, NYT, PMC,
WP, WT 9/17; NYT, WP, WT 9/18)
Arafat says he is ready to hold talks with Israel "any time, any place,"
but Sharon says he will only allow cease-fire talks to resume after 48
hrs. without a Palestinian attack. Sharon reiterates Israeli support for
the U.S. effort to build a coalition but is "not prepared to pay the
price" if it involves concessions to the PA. Arafat publicly
reiterates his call on Palestinians to adhere to a cease-fire. (al-Quds
9/16, XIN 9/17 in WNC 9/18; MM 9/17; NYT, WT 9/18; AFP 9/18 in WNC 9/19; NYT
9/19; ATL 9/19 in WNC 9/20; MM 9/20; AYM 9/22 in WNC 9/26; MEI 9/28)
1 Palestinian killed.
The IDF fatally shoots an Egyptian man visiting Gaza at a
checkpoint nr. Gush Katif settlement; the IDF claims he threw grenades at
soldiers, Palestinians say he was a passenger in a taxi. The IDF
bulldozes another 20 dunams of agricultural land nr. Kefar Darom (see 9/14,
9/15); fires tank shells at an ambulance nr. Nablus, damaging the vehicle. (HA, WP 9/17; PCHR 9/18; PCHR 9/20)
In
Bayt Lahia, AMB, Hamas stage a rally against recent IDF incursions
in the area.
1 Palestinian killed.
The IDF assassinates senior Hebron Islamic Jihad mbr. Ahmad Abu
Dush, surrounding his home, fatally shooting him after he emerges and throws
down a rifle, then firing missiles at his home, believing another Islamic
Jihad mbr. may be inside, demolishing it. The IDF also demolishes 2
Palestinian homes in Rafah, 1 in Nur al-Shams r.c.; fires on residential
areas of Khan Yunis. (AFP, HA 9/16; PR, WP 9/17; PCHR 9/18)
1 Palestinian killed.
The IDF seals Jenin, Tulkarm; divides Tulkarm into 3 separate areas;
fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis; conducts arrest raids nr. Ramallah and
in al-Khadir, Nablus, Salfit, Surif, Yatta. A Palestinian prisoner
dies in Israeli custody. (VOP, XIN 9/16 in WNC 9/18; NYT, WP, WT 9/17; QA, VOI,
YA 9/17 in WNC 9/21; PR 9/22; PCHR 9/23)
Palestinians fire 3
mortars at Jewish settlements in Gaza, causing no damage or injuries. Masked
gunmen thought to be AMB mbrs. ambush senior PA security official
Brig. Gen. Muhammad Batrawi, the Arafat-appointed financial comptroller of
the security forces in Gaza, hold him in Nussayrat r.c. for 3 hrs., release him
unharmed. In Khan Yunis, 20 armed AMB mbrs. occupy the local Labor Min.
office for 2 hrs., demanding jobs for the unemployed.
The IDF beats, fractures the hand of a Palestinian cameraman working for a
European news agency covering nonviolent demonstrations against the
separation wall in Bil`in; imposes a curfew on, searches houses in Zabbuba
nr. Jenin; conducts arrest raids, house searches in al-`Aza r.c., Kafr Qaddum,
Sa'ir nr. Hebron. (IMEMC 9/16; WP, WT 9/17; PCHR 9/22)
The PA begins deploying 100s of security forces along the Gaza border.
At the abandoned site of Neve Dekalim, 1,000s of masked, heavily armed Hamas
gunmen hold a victory parade celebrating disengagement.
The IDF sends troops into the Erez industrial zone, bulldozes 30 Palestinian
and Israeli factories and workshops that have stopped operating since the IDF
closed the crossings following disengagement; shells areas around Bayt Lahiya,
wounding 1 Palestinian inside her home. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in villages around Jenin (firing on
stone-throwing youths who confront them, wounding 1); conducts arrest raids,
house searches in and around Bethlehem and in Hebron, Nablus. (WT 9/17; WP 9/18; OCHA
9/20; PCHR 9/21; WP 9/26)
Palestinians fire several rockets fr.
Gaza toward Israel, 1 of which lands in Bayt Hanun, injuring 2 Palestinian
girls. Palestinians
attack 5 West Bank churches (including 3 in Nablus, 1 in Tubas, 1 in Tulkarm)
with fire bombs, gunfire in protest of Pope Benedict’s 9/12 supportive reference
to a 14th century Byzantine text stating that Muhammad had brought things “only
evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he
preached” and the Vatican’s statement today that the pope “regrets that certain
passages of his address could have sounded offensive.”
3 Palestinians killed.
In Gaza, the IDF withdraws troops
fr. al-Fakhari, ending an arrest campaign that began on 9/15, temporarily detaining 4 Palestinians, arresting 3 others. In the West Bank, the IDF sends troops into Jabal Juhan
nr. Hebron to break up an armed clash between 2 Palestinian clans and impose a
curfew, later firing on mbrs. of 1 clan who violate the curfew, killing 1 Palestinian, wounding 4; sends troops into Ramallah, firing on stone-throwing
youths who confront them, mortally wounding a 16-yr.-old Palestinian, denying access to an ambulance (he subsequently bleeds to death); denies an ailing
Palestinian with a valid permit for medical treatment permission to cross a
checkpoint to reach a Jerusalem hospital, allowing him to die; conducts arrest
raids, house searches in al-Arub r.c. nr. Hebron, Bethlehem, Jenin town and r.c. (OCHA
9/19; PCHR 9/20)
An IDF tank operating inside Gaza nr. the Sufa crossing triggers a roadside bomb, causing damage but no injuries. Palestinians
fire 2 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries; the IDF
dispatches helicopters to fire on the Bayt Hanun launch site, causing no reported injuries.
In Rafah, unidentified assailants detonate a bomb outside the home
of a prominent local Fatah mbr., causing damage but no injuries.
IDF troops arrested seven Palestinians in various parts of the West Bank, including Jenin, Ramallah, Bethlehem and Hebron, Palestinian security sources said. Meanwhile, the Israeli forces wounded two Palestinian youths near the "Beit El" settlement in the northern West Bank. The Israeli sources said that the two threw Molotov cocktails at a post of the settlement guards. (Xinhua)
Israeli military bulldozers dug up large areas of agricultural land planted with potatoes in the Qishda neighbourhood of Tubas in northern West Bank. An irrigation network was also destroyed in the area. (Ma'an News Agency)
At least 11 Palestinians were killed, including 2 children, and 40 others wounded in clashes between Hamas forces and members of the Doghmush clan in Gaza City, Palestinian security officials said. The fighting erupted when Hamas forces moved to arrest three members of the Doghmush family accused of shooting a police officer the previous day. (AFP)
Prominent Hamas leaders were re-elected when thousands of Hamas members voted in a secret internal ballot in the Gaza Strip, signalling no change in policy, a Hamas official said about last month's vote, citing security considerations for the decision to keep it secret. Officials in the group said that some veteran leaders had lost seats on the Shura Council to younger candidates but senior figures like Ismail Haniyeh, Mahmoud Al-Zahhar and Saeed Siyam were re-elected to the Council and the Political Bureau. (Haaretz)