The IDF fires a shell at a Palestinian
vehicle in Khan Yunis, injuring 5 Palestinians. The IDF also directs heavy
machine gun fire at residential areas of Bayt Sahur, Silat al-Dahir; bulldozes
Palestinian land nr. Salfit; places a closure on Bayt Furik; tightens the
closure on Dayr Istya, Qalqilya; sets up new blockades, checkpoints around Azun,
Nablus, Qalqilya. Jewish settlers raise 10s of trees in Dayr Balut, cut
of running water to 6 Palestinian villages nr. Nablus. (AFP [Internet],
HP 6/29; HP, NYT, WP 6/30)
Around 100 Israeli, international peace activists attempt to reach the
Palestinian village of al-Khadir, nr. Bethlehem, where they have planned
to set up a "peace camp" with local Palestinians to protest ongoing
Israeli violence. The activists are halted outside the village by the IDF,
which says the area is a closed military zone, although settlers passes
unimpeded. When the activists set up a nonviolent roadblock to settler vehicles,
Israeli police arrest the organizers, forces the others onto their busses and
back to Tel Aviv. Inside al-Khadir, 150 Palestinian participants also
demonstrate, but the IDF disperses them with gunfire, wounding 4, and imposes a
curfew. (Gush Shalom press release 6/29)
On the sidelines of a conference in Lisbon, Arafat, Peres hold
talks on maintaining the cease-fire. (RTP Internacional TV [Lisbon] 6/30 in WNC
7/2; AFP [Internet], NYT, WT 7/1; MM 7/2, 7/5)
Palestinians fire up to 6 mortars, several grenades at an IDF post
in Gaza, causing no damage. Around 1,000 Palestinian
demonstrators clash with IDF soldiers at a checkpoint outside al-Bireh.
Another serious clash is reported in Tulkarm.
Hizballah fires rockets at an IDF post in Shaba` Farms, injuring 2
soldiers. Israel sends warplanes into Lebanese air space 5+n6 times. (Daily
Star [Internet] 6/30; al-Safir 6/30 in WNC 7/2; WT 7/1: MM, WP, WT
7/2; al-Safir 7/4, SA 7/5 in WNC 7/7; MEI 7/13)
1 Palestinian killed.
The IDF enters Halhul; lifts curfews for several hrs. in all areas to
allow Palestinians to resupply, students to take their final exams. In Nablus,
Palestinian boy with asthma dies fr. inhaling tear gas. Israeli DM
Benjamin Ben-Eliezer says he plans to dismantle 20 Jewish settlement
enclaves built without permission, which are too small and remote to be
protected; at least 9 are uninhabited. (IDF press release, PRCS press release
6/29; HA, WT 6/30; MM, WP 7/1; WJW 7/11)
The IDF conducts arrest raids in al-Bireh, Ramallah. (PM 6/30; PCHR
7/3)
Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad formally announce cease-fires
against all Israelis everywhere for a minimum of 3 mos. The DFLP,
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) say they will abide by
the truce. Hrs. after the announcement, the IDF begins redeploying fr.
Bayt Hanun. (AYM 6/29, AYM, al-Quds, SFR 6/30, AFP, MENA, QA, al-Ra’i
7/1, AYM, MENA, NHR, SFR 7/2, AYM, HA, SFR 7/3, MA 7/4 in WNC 7/10; HA, MM, NYT,
WP, WT 6/30; PR 7/2; AYM 7/5 in WNC 7/11; MEI 7/11)
2 Palestinians killed.
In Bayt Hanun, the IDF fatally shoots a 15-yr.-old
Palestinian standing on a roof; bulldozes a main road through the town; a
Hamas mbr. is killed when a roadside bomb he is planting detonates
prematurely. The IDF also expands Bayt Hanun operations to include
Jabaliya r.c.; fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis, Rafah; conducts house
searches, arrest raids nr. Bethlehem, Hebron, Nablus, Qalqilya. Jewish
settlers uproot Palestinian trees along the road leading to their
unauthorized settlement outpost of Ma’ale Shomron nr. Qalqilya. A Palestinian
teenager dies of injuries received on 6/20. (VOI, VOP 6/29 in WNC 7/1; MM,
NYT, PR, WP, WT 6/30; PCHR 7/1)
Despite continuing IDF operations in Bayt Hanun, Palestinians
fire 5 Qassam rockets fr. the area at Sederot, lightly injuring 1
Israeli.
An IDF aircraft fires 2 missiles at a well in Bayt Hanun, destroying
it. Around 40 Jewish settlers fr. Tal Yam outpost in Gaza (see 6/27)
chanting "Death to Arabs" occupy 2 Palestinian homes in al-Mawasi, throw stones
at Palestinians and IDF soldiers nearby, severely beat 1
Palestinian in what observers describe as a near lynching (the incident, caught
on video by an Israeli cameraman, is described by Sharon on 6/30 as "a
barbaric, wild, and heartless act"); an Israeli reporter pulls the critically
injured Palestinian to safety; the IDF arrests the settlers, evicts them fr. the
area. The IDF fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis, wounding 2
Palestinians; raids, occupies 2 Palestinian homes in al-Til as observation
posts; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Aida r.c. and nr. Bethlehem,
Hebron, Tulkarm. Israeli police arrest around 150 Israeli disengagement
protesters who attempt to block roads across Israel during rush hour,
causing limited tie-ups. (AFP, XIN 6/29; VOI 6/29 in WNC 6/30; BBC, PCHR,
Palestine News Network, WP, XIN 6/30; HA 7/2; JP 7/2 in WNC 7/3; UPI, YA 7/3;
NYT 7/5; OCHA, PR 7/6; PCHR 7/7; NYT 7/15)
The AMB, Islamic Jihad, the PRCs take
joint responsibility for firing 2 mortars at Netzarim, causing no damage
or injuries. During the day, Palestinians fire 10s of rockets, at
least 1 mortar at Gaza settlements, lightly injuring 1 foreign worker in
Gush Katif.
1 Israeli killed.
Overnight, the IDF stages scores of arrest raids across the West Bank
detaining 64 senior Hamas political officials, including 8 PA cabinet mbrs. and
26 PC mbrs., plus 23 senior Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades mbrs. Haniyeh, Siyam, PA
FM Mahmud Zahhar remain free. (100s of Palestinians in Jenin, Ramallah, Tulkarm
hold marches, sit-ins to protest the Israeli arrest of PA legislators.) Israel
says the arrest campaign has been planned for wks., with the government securing
Atty. Gen. Menachem Mazuz’s authorization and arrest warrants far in advance of
the Kerem Shalom attack on 6/25. In Gaza, the IDF shells 2 electricity
transformers and open areas of n. Gaza, cutting all electricity to n. Gaza and
wounding 1 Palestinian civilian; makes air strikes on 2 electrical shops in Khan
Yunis, a Hamas training camp outside Khan Yunis, a car carrying 4 Islamic Jihad
mbrs. in Gaza City, wounding 3 bystanders in the Gaza City incident; fires at
least 30 shells at areas around Khan Yunis, wounding 1 Palestinian farmer;
conducts house searches in al-Shuka nr. Rafah; intermittently breaks the sound
barrier to harass the Gaza population. During the
day, the IDF makes an air strikes on targets in s. Gaza and on a car driving in
Gaza City in an attempt to assassinate an Islamic Jihad mbr., who escapes
lightly wounded; shells n. and s. Gaza, lightly wounding at least 3
Palestinians. In the evening, Olmert, Peretz order the IDF to
suspend plans to send the Givati Brigade into n. Gaza overnight as planned in
light of requests fr. Egypt to allow its envoys in Gaza more time to secure
Shalit’s release. Meanwhile in the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids,
house searches (unrelated to the arrest of PA officials) in Hebron, and in and
around Ramallah, Salfit; raids 6 Islamic charities and schools nr. Hebron, Jenin
and in Bethlehem, Tulkarm, confiscating computers, files; issues military orders
confiscating 25 d. of Palestinian land nr. Hebron for construction of the
separation wall. (HA, IFM, IMEMC, JAZ, MM, NYT, WP, WT, YA 6/29; AFP, MENA, OSC,
PSCT, VOI, VOP 6/29 in WNC 6/30; CSM, HA, MM, NYT, PCHR, WP, WT 6/30; OSC, PSCT,
YA 6/30 in WNC 7/1; al-Ayyam 7/1 in WNC 7/2; HA, PCHR 7/6; PCHR 7/27)
In response to Israel’s military
escalation, the PRC mbrs. overnight kill a Jewish settler teenager they reported
they kidnapped on 6/27; the IDF finds his body buried nr. Ramallah. AMB, Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Islamic
Jihad, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) mbrs. also fire at
least 6 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing light damage to a farm.
Palestinian militants (thought to be Hamas) blow a hole in the Gaza-Egypt border
fence; cordons of PA security forces,Egyptian border guards prevent most
Palestinians fr. crossing through, though the militants who set the bomb
reportedly escape into Egypt.
2 Palestinians killed.
In Gaza, the IDF
bulldozes Palestinian land nr. the Qarni industrial zone along the border n. of
Bayt Hanun. In the
West Bank, the IDF fatally
shoots 1 Palestinian in Nablus before ending a 3-day operation there; bars
an ambulance fr. transporting a Palestinian seriously injured in a car
accident through a checkpoint to reach the nearest hospital in East Jerusalem
because he did not have a permit to enter the city, allowing him to die; conducts
arrest raids, house searches in Qabatya and nr. Bethlehem, Hebron; fires
rubber-coated steel bullets, percussion grenades, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, international activists attending
the weekly nonviolent protest against the separation
wall in Bil`in, injuring 1. (OCHA 7/4; PCHR 7/5)
Nr. Tripoli, Lebanese
soldiers fire on Palestinian refugees who attempt to cross an army
checkpoint while staging a protest march toward Nahr al-Barid, seeking to
return to their homes. Local Lebanese youths also beat marchers. At
least 3 Palestinians are killed, up to 50 wounded. (NYT, WP, WT 6/30)
Palestinians fire 7 mortars at IDF troops operating
n. of Bayt Hanun, causing no injuries; fire 4 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries.
1 Palestinian killed.
Israeli troops shot dead 18-year-old Muhammad Nasser Sa'id Daraghmah and arrested another Palestinian in the northern
West Bank town of Tubas. Opening fire on stone-throwing teenagers, Israeli troops shot Mr. Daraghmah eight times,
witnesses said. Mr. Daraghmah, a Fatah member, had been arrested two years ago and had served more than a year in
Israeli jails. (Ma'an News Agency)
Thirteen Palestinian, Israeli and international demonstrators were injured when Israeli soldiers confronted a peaceful
anti-separation wall demonstration in the West Bank village of Bi'lin, west of Ramallah. Dozens of others suffered from
tear gas inhalation. (Ma'an News Agency)
Israel reopened three of its border crossings with the Gaza Strip. An Israeli military spokesman said that the Sufa
commercial crossing, the Nahal Oz fuel-transfer depot and the Beit Hanoun (Erez) border terminal for travellers had
resumed operations with some restrictions in force. Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said that movement across the
commercial crossings was still very slow and that there had been no change at all, at least as at that moment.
(Reuters)
Hamas official in charge of agriculture in the Gaza Strip Mohammad Ramadan Al-Agha said that the IDF was shooting at
Gaza's farmers whenever they went to their land near the borders. Mr. Al-Agha asked Egypt to affirm the seriousness of
the incidents as breaches of the truce. (Ma'an News Agency)
Hamas security officials in the Gaza Strip arrested Mohammed Abu Irmana, the spokesman for the Al-Aqsa Martyrs
Brigades, which had claimed responsibility for a rocket attack on Israel in violation of a truce, his brother Adham
said. Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Zahhar said his organization would arrest violators of the truce and confiscate their
weapons. (AFP, Haaretz)
Hamas PLC member Ahmed Bachar said that his organization would not recognize Mahmoud Abbas as PA President after 9
January 2009. The statement was made in response to a resolution passed by a special judicial panel under which Mr.
Abbas' term would end in January 2010, which also coincides with the end of the PLC term. Palestinian Authority
officials said that an amendment had been added to the constitution upon Mr. Abbas' election, stating that the
President's term ran through the duration of the Parliament's. (Haaretz)
Ahmad Shweidih, Hamas official in charge of prisoners' affairs, said that Israel was disrespecting international norms
and treaties by continuing the detention of Palestinian lawmakers, which had lasted for two years. Mr. Shweidih said,
"Palestinian lawmakers are being detained as political hostages in order to blackmail the Palestinian people. There is
no legal motive for detaining them, and so Israel detains them under so-called administrative detention without charge
or trial." (Ma'an News Agency)
Israel will build 50 new homes in the “Adam” settlement to absorb Israeli settlers to be evicted from the unauthorized outpost of “Migron.” The plan, which had been approved by Defense Minister Ehud Barak in May, calls for the eventual construction of 1,450 homes in the “Adam” settlement. These 50 units had received final approval by senior Government officials but Peace Now Secretary-General Yariv Oppenheimer saw the report as confirming that all 1,450 units had received final approval. This plan “invalidates Barak's visit to the United States, and it would be better if he spared himself the disgrace,” MK Ophir Paz-Pines (Labour) said in a statement. (AFP, AP, Haaretz, Reuters, The Jerusalem Post, WAFA)
Israel would be open to a complete freeze of settlement building in the West Bank for three to six months as part of a broad Middle East peace initiative, The New York Times reported. Citing unnamed senior Israeli officials, the newspaper said the proposals also included a Palestinian agreement to negotiate an end to the conflict and confidence-building steps by major Arab nations. The newspaper reported the proposal would be taken to Washington by Israel's Defense Minister Barak, who planned to meet the following day with US Special Envoy for Middle East Peace George Mitchell. (The New York Times)
Israel's Jerusalem Municipality demolished a house on the Mount of Olives in East Jerusalem. Israeli police, who came to protect the bulldozers, clashed with the inhabitants of the house, bruising nine of them. Two women were hospitalized. The owner of the house, Samir Jum’a, said the demolition of the building housing 15 people came without any warning. (Palestine Press News Agency)
Dozens of Israeli settlers attacked the villages of Asira Al-Qibliya and Far’ata, southwest of Nablus, according to Ghassan Dughlus, the Palestinian official in charge of monitoring settlement activity. Settlers injured two Palestinians and destroyed agricultural fields. The IDF fired tear gas canisters towards Palestinian civilians. Settlers also ransacked two homes. (Ma’an News Agency)
Wastewater in the West Bank – from settlements, Jerusalem, and Palestinian communities – amounts to 91 million cubic meters a year, according to a report entitled “Foul Play: Neglect of Wastewater Treatment in the West Bank,” by the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem. Only 5-10 per cent of the sewage was treated, causing serious damage to the water supply and the environment. Most of the untreated sewage ended up in the Dead Sea. (WAFA, www.btselem.org)
PA President Abbas declared that resuming negotiations with Israel was conditioned on freezing all settlement activities and accepting the two-State solution, when laying the cornerstone of the Al-Rayhan residential suburb, north of Ramallah. “We declared to the Israeli side the consent of the Arab and Islamic countries to normalize relations, provided it withdraws from the Palestinian Territory and the Golan Heights and Sheba [Farms],” Mr. Abbas said, calling on each party to adhere to the Road Map and the agreements signed. (WAFA)
The Independent fact-finding mission sent by Human Rights Council and investigating alleged abuses during the Israeli war against Gaza, completed its first round of public hearings, after two days of testimonies from witnesses, victims and experts. “The aim of the public hearings was to let the face of human suffering be seen and to let the voices of the victims be heard,” said Justice Richard Goldstone, the head of the mission. He will compile the report in August. (WAFA, www.unog.org)
An opinion survey conducted by the Jerusalem Media and Communications Centre (JMCC) pointed to a decline in Hamas’ popularity. According to the poll, public support for Hamas in the West Bank and Gaza stood at 18.8 per cent, compared with 27.7 per cent in January 2009. Khader Khader, head of the media unit at JMCC, said that Hamas' popularity suffered from discontent in Gaza over Israel's ban on reconstruction aid, and over the slow-moving Palestinian unity talks. (Haaretz, Reuters, www.jmcc.org, Ynetnews)
ICRC released a report describing the 1.5 million Gazans as people “trapped in despair,” mainly due to the continuing Israeli blockade after its recent military offensive. Gazans lacked adequate housing and “the poorest residents in particular have exhausted their coping mechanisms and often have to sell off their belongings to be able to buy enough to eat,” said Antoine Grand, head of the ICRC sub-delegation in Gaza. Construction materials, such as cement or steel, were urgently needed to rebuild neighbourhoods hit by Israeli strikes. Basic hospital equipment was in short supply because hospitals and health clinics depended on the PA Ministry of Health in the West Bank and the supply chain often broke down due to poor cooperation. The ICRC stressed that the collapse of Gaza's economy had caused poverty to soar. (Haaretz, BBC, www.icrc.org)
Some 21 activists from 11 countries left Cyprus to sail to Gaza in defiance of the Israeli blockade. These human rights and solidarity workers from the Free Gaza Group were carrying on the small ferry “Spirit of Humanity” three tons of medical aid, children's toys, school materials, a water purifier, rehabilitation and reconstruction kits for 20 family homes, to pressure Governments and international relief groups to do more to rebuild Gaza. The group’s organizer, Ramzi Kysia, said that each passenger was also carrying a kilogram of cement and an olive tree sapling as a gesture of solidarity with Palestinians. The ferry was expected to reach Gaza the following day. (AFP, The Jerusalem Post, Palestine Press News Agency)