The IDF fatally shoots a Palestinian outside Tulkarm, saying the man fired on their post, causing no injuries; fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis, wounding an 8-yr.-old Palestinian among others; conducts arrest raids in Jenin, Nablus. Palestinians fire mortars at Gush Katif, causing no damage or injuries. (BBC, HA 7/1; JP, NYT, WP 7/2; PCHR 7/3; VOI 7/3 in WNC 7/10)

In Nazareth, Israeli bulldozers tear down the foundation of a mosque on a site adjacent to the Church of the Annunciation over the tomb of a Muslim saint. Muslims, Christians have disputed the construction of the mosque for 6 yrs. In 4/99, PM Ehud Barak gave formal permission for the project, sparking riots and bringing formal protests fr. the Vatican. In 3/02, Sharon ordered a halt to construction. (MM 7/1; MM, NYT, WT 7/2; JP 7/2 in WNC 7/10; JPI 7/11, 7/25)

Abbas, Sharon hold their 3d mtg. to discuss road map implementation; agree to establish 4 comms. to oversee release of Palestinian political prisoners, a halt to Palestinian incitement, security, trade. Sharon says that Arafat may travel to Gaza “as long as he stays there” and if he asks Israel’s permission. (HA, MM 7/1; AYM, MENA 7/1, Interfax, QA 7/2 in WNC 7/10; HA, MM, NYT, WP, WT 7/2; MM 7/4; JPI, MEI 7/11)

Israel releases 9 administrative detainees, all arrested during the 6/24 sweep of Hebron, as a goodwill gesture to the PA. The IDF redeploys to the outskirts of Bethlehem, turning security control over to the PSF; the IDF will continue to patrol Bayt Jala, control the area around Rachel’s Tomb (an especially high separation fence around the tomb reportedly is planned), but otherwise vows not to enter the town unless the PA is unable to prevent an imminent attack on Israelis fr. the city. The IDF confiscates 283 dunams of land s. of Khan Yunis, for a new settler bypass road for Morag; enters the offices of the Hebron Rehabilitation Comm. (HRC), orders all HRC reconstruction projects to halt (see Vitullo article in this issue); demolishes a Palestinian home in East Jerusalem; moves the Ganei Tal settlement fence east, bringing 4 Palestinian homes within the settlement’s zone of control. (HA, REU 7/2; MM, NYT, PCHR, WP, WT 7/3; al-Quds 7/7 in WNC 7/10; PCHR 7/10; MEI 7/11; HA 7/17)

Palestinian gunmen fire on Israeli construction workers building the separation wall nr. Tulkarm, lightly injuring 1 Israeli security guard; fire on an IDF patrol in Nablus, causing no injuries. A roadside bomb explodes along the separation wall nr. Qalqilya, causing no damage or injuries.

As gestures to the PA, Israel announces a halt to deporting families of West Bank Palestinian militants to Gaza; releases 34 Palestinian prisoners, including senior Gaza PSF official Sulayman Abu Mutlak, who was arrested in early 5/03 and is freed for lack of evidence. The IDF raids Qalqilya, arresting local AMB head Ibrahim Mansur, fatally shooting his aide Mahmud Shawar (reportedly 1st wounding him in the leg, then executing him with gunshots to the head); the AMB vows to respond within 24 hrs. The IDF also imposes a curfew on, conducts arrest raids in Tulkarm; fires on Palestinians waiting to cross a Khan Yunis checkpoint, wounding 1; bulldozes 8 dunams of Palestinian land nr. Dayr al-Balah. Sharon authorizes Israeli police to crack down on crime among bedouin in s. Israel. (HA, MM 7/3; MA, VOI 7/3, AYM 7/5 in WNC 7/10; NYT, WP, WT 7/4; NYT 7/6; MM 7/8; PR 7/9; PCHR 7/10)

Overnight, Palestinians fire an antitank rocket at Kefar Darom, wounding 4 Jewish settlers; the Palestinian resistance comms. (PRCs) and a Rafah-based Fatah offshoot called Abu Rish, neither of which agreed to the cease-fire, claim responsibility; meanwhile, the PSF arrests 4 PRC mbrs., an AMB mbr. in connection with the attack; the IDF shuts Gaza’s main north–south road for 6 hrs. to search for the assailants, without success. Abbas condemns the rocket attack and the 6/30 fatal shooting of a Bulgarian worker as “acts of sabotage.” The PSF also arrests 2 Palestinians in Khan Yunis on charges of firing mortars at Gush Katif on 7/1.

In Gaza’s Shati` r.c., PSF officers attempt to arrest 4 PRC mbrs. responsible for rocket fire on 7/3, sparking an exchange of gunfire that leaves 1 PRC mbr. dead, 3 under arrest, at least 1 PSF officer and 1 PRC mbr. wounded. Palestinians fire a mortar and an antitank rocket at a Jewish settlement in Gaza, causing no damage or injures. (NYT, WT 7/6; PCHR 7/10)

The IDF fires on residential areas of Dayr al-Balah; bulldozes 14 dunams of land nr. Rafah. Shin Bet produces a list of 100 Palestinian prisoners, out of the more than 5,500 (some say up to 8,000) currently held, that it says could be freed without harming Israeli security. (NYT 7/6; PCHR 7/10)

In s. Gaza, 3 Palestinians apparently planting a roadside bomb trigger the device, killing 1, wounding the other 2.

Israel approves the entry to Israel of 1,500 Palestinian workers, 1,500 Palestinian merchants fr. the Bethlehem area. The Israeli cabinet votes (13-9, with 1 abstention) to release some 300 Palestinian prisoners in the coming days; most will be administrative detainees who are children under age 18 or women over 60; none will be mbrs. of Hamas, Islamic Jihad; each prisoner’s case will be reviewed by a monitoring comm. The PA says that the release would be too small to generate support for Abbas. Meanwhile, the IDF halts, searches an ambulance at a checkpoint nr. Qalqilya, arrests a seriously ill Palestinian patient being transported to the hospital for emergency surgery. (MM, NYT 7/7; VOI 7/7, HJ 7/9 in WNC 7/11; NYT 7/8; AYM 7/8 in WNC 7/10; PR 7/9; PCHR, WJW 7/10; MEI, PRCS 7/11; JPI 7/18)

Mofaz holds what he describes as “very positive” talks with Dahlan regarding further transfers of cities to PA control. Dahlan warns that if Israel blanketly excludes all prisoners fr. Palestinian opposition groups fr. release, it would undermine Abbas. Mofaz reportedly says that Israel agrees in principle to the PA rebuilding, reopening Gaza airport.

In Gaza City, PA workers begin whitewashing graffiti praising Palestinian militants as part of the road map’s requirements to halt incitement. The PA announces that as of 7/7 it will ban the firing of guns at wedding celebrations, confiscating guns of violators; will begin inspecting cars for licenses and ownership, reportedly in an effort to confiscate and return vehicles stolen fr. Israel.

The IDF begins construction of a permanent fence in the Old City of Hebron separating the Ibrahimi Mosque/Tomb of the Patriarch fr. the Palestinian-controlled section of the city; shoots, wounds a Palestinian “acting suspiciously” in Tulkarm; fires on Palestinians who reportedly attack an IDF outpost in s. Gaza, wounding 1; conducts arrest raids in Jenin, detaining 15 Palestinians, including a local Islamic Jihad leader. (BBC, MM, NYT, WT 7/8; MM, NYT, PR, WP 7/9; SFR 7/9 in WNC 7/12; PCHR 7/10; JPI 7/18)

The PSF says it has released 9 PRC mbrs. recently arrested after the comms. agreed to abide by the Hamas–Islamic Jihad cease-fire. Late in the evening, an Islamic Jihad suicide bomber detonates a device in a home in Kfar Yavetz, in central Israel nr. the West Bank, killing 1 Israeli; a statement by Islamic Jihad’s Jenin cell says it has broken the cease-fire since Israel has not complied with requirements to free all Palestinian prisoners, but senior Islamic Jihad officials, including chief spokesman in Gaza Muhammad al-Hindi, say the attack was not coordinated with the group’s leadership, which reaffirms its adherence to the cease-fire. Unidentified Palestinians fire on, detonate a roadside bomb nr. workers building Israel’s separation wall nr. Qalqilya, causing no injuries. In separate incidents, the PSF arrests 3 Palestinians nr. the Gaza border with Israel.

The IDF bulldozes 100 dunams of land southwest of Rafah; detains 4 ISM mbrs. at a “peace camp” set up in Arraboni as a nonviolent demonstration against construction of the separation wall; fires on Palestinian residential areas nr. Morag settlement; conducts arrest raids in Hebron, Ramallah. (HA, ISM press release 7/9; PCHR 7/10)

Palestinians fire a mortar at Gush Katif settlement, causing no damage or injuries.

IDF undercover units raid a house in Burkin, arrest wanted tanzim cmdr. Iyad Shalayish, fatally shooting his brother and critically wounding his sister-in-law, who live next door, when they come to the window to see what is going on. The IDF also detains, interrogates for 9 hrs. at a local Jewish settlement 3 Palestinian children (ages 10, 11) caught throwing stones nr. Nablus; conducts arrest raids in Ramallah. Shin Bet says it has recently arrested 4 senior Islamic Jihad mbrs. in West Bank raids. Jewish settlers stone a Palestinian car driving nr. Hebron, seriously injuring the driver. (HA, PR 7/9; VOI 7/9 in WNC 7/11; NYT, PCHR, WT 7/10; PR 7/16)

The IDF issues order for the confiscation of 424 dunams of land n. of Tulkarm (for construction of the separation wall), 100s of dunams of land in al-Khadir (reportedly to expand Ofra settlement); tightens roadblocks around Jenin, Nablus, Ramallah; fires on a PSF post in Rafah, causing no injuries; fires on residential areas of Dayr al-Balah; demolishes a Palestinian home in Rafah; conducts arrest raids in Hebron. Jewish settlers scuffle with IDF soldiers attempting to evacuate an unauthorized settlement outpost nr. Nablus. A Palestinian boy is hit and killed by a Jewish settler driving nr. Nablus. (AP, HP, ISM press release 7/10; NYT, PMC 7/12; PR 7/16; PCHR 7/24)

In Dayr al-Ghasun, Palestinians, accompanied by ISM volunteers, for the 1st time attempt to gain access to farmland newly cut off by Israel’s separation wall to plant fall crops, but the IDF denies them passage; the wall cuts off 500 farmers fr. 3,000 dunams of village crop land. Nr. Nablus, the IDF arrests 6 ISM mbrs. who remove 2 earthen roadblocks barring Palestinian traffic on a local road. Palestinians rally in Khan Yunis to call for Israel’s release of Palestinian prisoners.

The IDF captures 4 Palestinians attempting to sneak into Israel to work, wounding 2; demolishes a Palestinian home in Rafah. Armed Jewish settlers halt, search an ambulance outside Nablus.

Some 3,000 Palestinians attend a Hamas rally in Jabaliya r.c., demanding Israel’s immediate release of Palestinian prisoners; Hamas warns that the cease-fire will not hold unless Israel is more forthcoming with concessions. In what the PSF terms a “misunderstanding,” Dahlan’s bodyguards shoot, wound a Hamas mbr. they thought was about to shoot at Dahlan’s car driving nr. Erez crossing. In response, some Hamas mbrs. set fire to PA cars outside a Gaza City PSF office. In the evening, the PSF sets up roadblocks nr. Gush Katif and Kefar Darom settlements, nr. Khan Yunis and confiscates several weapons found in vehicle searches, which began on 7/7 (see 7/6 announcement above). (HA, MM, PRCS 7/11; HA, JP, NYT, WT 7/12; al-Quds 7/13 in WNC 7/16; PM 7/15; PCHR 7/24)

The IDF arrests a suspected Real Irish Republican Army (Real IRA) mbr. at a checkpoint outside Ramallah, alleging that he came to the West Bank to provide explosives training to militant Palestinians; fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis (wounding 1 woman in her home), Rafah; conducts arrest raids in Bayt Furik. Jewish settlers establish a new unauthorized outpost nr. Nablus. (BBC, NYT, WP, WT 7/14; VOI 7/14 in WNC 7/16; PM 7/15; MM 7/18; PCHR 7/24)

The IDF, PSF launch a joint search for a missing Israeli taxi driver feared kidnapped by Palestinians seeking a prisoner swap. The IDF fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis, wounding a woman in her home; conducts arrest raids in Ramallah. Jewish settlers in Hebron attack Palestinians, occupy a Palestinian home and surrounding land. (BBC, WP 7/14; PM 7/15; PR 7/16; PCHR 7/24)

Hamas, Islamic Jihad issue a joint statement saying that they will not surrender their weapons; they argue that they agreed to a cease-fire to support national unity efforts, a PSF attempt to disarm them would go against unity efforts, removing the basis of the cease-fire agmt. Abbas says he will not order the PSF to disarm the militant groups, though PA police will confiscate unlicensed weapons found during inspections of vehicles at PSF checkpoints. In Ramallah, 10s of Palestinian refugees attack, lightly injure Palestinian pollster Khalil Shikaki, vandalize his office to prevent him fr. holding a press conference to release data showing that while 95% of refugees polled wanted Israel to recognize the right of return, only a minority (10% overall; 23% in Lebanon, 13% in the occupied territories, 5% in Jordan) percentage would want to return to their homes in what is now Israel, 54% overall would accept monetary compensation in lieu of return. (HA 7/13; JP, NYT, WP, WT 7/14; PR 7/16; MM 7/28)

The IDF imposes a curfew on Ramallah in its search for an Israeli taxi driver missing since 7/13; the Palestinian prisoners association calls on whoever is holding the man to release him. The IDF also fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis, Rafah; fires on a PSF post nr. Khan Yunis, causing damage but no injuries; bulldozes a tent, 2 rooms of a home, a bird farm s. of Khan Yunis. The BBC reports that Irishman John Morgan, arrested by the IDF on 7/12, is a journalist and peace activist; Israel acknowledges that he may not be a Real IRA bomb maker, but contends that he is “involved with terrorist organizations in the territories.” (Guardian, HA, MM 7/14; BBC, HA, NYT, PM, WP, WT 7/15; PCHR 7/24)

Israel says it will release Irishman Morgan, whom it confirms is not a Real IRA mbr. The IDF fires on cars traveling on the main north–south road in Gaza, apparently to halt traffic for passage of a Jewish settler convoy fr. Gush Katif. More than 40 Israeli tour guides file suit in Israeli court against the PA for earnings lost because of intifada violence. (BBC, HA, JTA, MM, WP 7/15; AFP 7/15 in WNC 7/18; NYT, PR, WP, WT 7/16; MM, NYT 7/17; MM 7/18; PCHR 7/24)

An East Jerusalem Palestinian fatally stabs an Israeli on promenade in Tel Aviv, wounds 2 others, is wounded and captured by police; a statement faxed to Reuters takes responsibility in the name of the AMB, but AMB spokesmen say the group was not involved.

The IDF locates missing Israeli taxi driver Eliyahu Goral, bound but unharmed, in a house in Beitunia; says he was seized in East Jerusalem, the victim of a robbery gone awry, not a kidnapping by militant Palestinians. The IDF fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis, Rafah. (HA, MM, NYT, PR, WP, WT 7/16; PCHR 7/24)

The IDF says that a 21-km section of the separation wall around the n. and s. of Jerusalem should be completed by the end of 7/03. The IDF sends tanks, troops into Ramallah, occupying buildings surrounding Arafat’s headquarters, conducting searches, withdrawing after 2 hrs.; fires on residential areas of Rafah, wounding 1 woman; places a curfew on Tulkarm; bulldozes 2 Palestinian homes in Bayt Rima. Shin Bet arrests 2 Jewish settlers on charges of “security crimes against Palestinians,” places a gag order on the case. (HA, PMC 7/17; HA 7/18; WT 7/19; MM 7/21; JP 7/23 in WNC 7/25; PCHR 7/24)

Israeli police acknowledge that they have begun letting obviously religious Jews (e.g., wearing kippas) join tours of the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif; say this is part of a gradual process to reinstate the status quo before the 9/00 Sharon visit to the site that sparked the al-Aqsa intifada. (HA 7/18; HA, MM 7/22)

The IDF fires at a Palestinian farmer who attempts to plant agricultural land previously bulldozed by the IDF, damaging his tractor, forcing him off the land.

Mbrs. of the AMB’s Jenin faction pull Jenin mayor Haidar Irshayd fr. his car, beat and kidnap him, alleging he is corrupt and has collaborated with Israel, demanding the PA put him on trial; they release Irshayd after receiving a call fr. an aid to Arafat. Meanwhile, Dahlan announces that the PSF has begun “a large-scale campaign” to bring security to Gaza; the DFLP reports that the PSF has arrested 2 of its mbrs. (XIN 7/19 in WNC 7/22; NYT, WP, WT 7/20; MM 7/21; PCHR 7/24)

Abbas, Sharon meet in advance of their visits to Washington. Abbas demands Israel quickly redeploy fr. 2 more Palestinian cities, make a significant prisoner release, step up removal of unauthorized settlement outposts. Sharon says Israel will not do more until the PA begins to disarm, dismantle militant groups. (HA, MM, NYT, WP, WT 7/21; MM 7/22; MEI 7/25)

An Israeli is stabbed, wounded in Jerusalem, possibly by a Palestinian. Late in the evening, Islamic Jihad mbr. Rami Isleit is killed apparently when a roadside bomb he attempts to detonate nr. an IDF patrol outside Jenin malfunctions; no soldiers are injured. (HA 7/21; NYT 7/22; PR 7/23; PCHR 7/24)

The Knesset approves (47-27) Sharon’s decree authorizing the removal of all unauthorized settlement outposts constructed in the past 2 yrs. (NYT 7/22)

Israeli border police open fire on an Israeli Arab vehicle nr. the Green Line that they mistakenly believe to be a carload of “terrorists” infiltrating fr. the West Bank, killing 1 Israeli Arab, wounding 1. The IDF conducts arrest raids in Jenin (targeting Islamic Jihad). Israel’s Jerusalem police arrest 200 Palestinians fr. Hebron, Nablus for being in Shu`fat r.c., in East Jerusalem, without permits. A group of religious Jews on an Israeli police-escorted tour of the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif attempt to perform rituals there; Israeli police remove the group when Waqf guards attempt to intervene; Arafat calls the tours “provocative,” warns serious consequences may be unavoidable if Israel continues to permit such visits. (HA 7/22; HA, NYT, WP 7/23; PCHR 7/24)

The IDF conducts arrest raids in Hebron, but allows the HRC to resume work halted on 7/2. (ITV, VOI, YA 7/23 in WNC 7/25; PCHR 7/24; HA 7/25)

At the entrance to Shu`fat r.c., 4 Palestinian youths stab, lightly injure a Jewish settler on a bicycle.

The IDF conducts arrest raids in Hebron (targeting the AMB), Jenin (targeting Islamic Jihad), Ramallah (targeting the AMB). Israeli border police fatally shoot a bedouin driving in the Negev when he refuses orders to stop; the Israelis suspected him of transporting illegal workers fr. the occupied territories; 10s of angry local residents demonstrate, damage police cars, throw stones at police officers. Unidentified assailants attempt to assassinate PA military intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Musa Arafat, firing a rocket-propelled grenade at his office; the grenade misses, hits a prison, injuring 13 inmates. Israel announces that the Jewish settler population has increased by 5,415 during the 1st half of 2003. (HA, MM 7/24; AFP, WP 7/25; JP 7/27 in WNC 7/30; PR 7/30; PCHR 8/7)

An IDF soldier at a checkpoint opens machine-gun fire on a Palestinian vehicle for no reason, killing a 5-yr.-old Palestinian, wounding his 6- and 7-yr.-old sisters; the IDF says it was “an operational error.” The IDF imposes additional travel restrictions on residents of Gaza’s al-Mawasi area, where all Palestinians are already required to have special magnetic cards to enter or leave; new restrictions bar men ages 16–25 fr. entering or leaving the areas without prior coordination with the IDF, bars all residents fr. carrying objects across checkpoints (foodstuffs will be allowed in 2 days/wk., metal goods 1 day/wk), requires back-to-back hauling of goods (meaning trucks are offloaded at a crossing and goods loaded onto another truck on the opposite side). (MM 7/25; VOI 7/25 in WNC 7/29; NYT, WP 7/26; PR 7/30; PCHR 8/7; MEI 8/8)

Bush meets with Abbas; praises his efforts to halt violence, but says that the onus is on the PA to halt violence. (MM 7/25; NYT, WP, WT 7/26; al-Quds 7/26, 7/27 in WNC 7/29; MM 7/28; AYM 7/28 in WNC 7/31; PR 7/30; WJW 7/31; TJT 8/1 in WNC 8/5; MEI 8/8)

Jewish settlers stone 3 Palestinian homes in Hebron, breaking windows but causing no injuries; the IDF does not intervene. (PR 7/30; PCHR 8/7)

On the eve of Sharon’s 7/28 mtg. with Bush in Washington, the IDF removes 6 West Bank checkpoints (3 outside Bethlehem, 2 outside Ramallah, 1 outside Hebron), in most cases adding roving checkpoints nearby to search cars, slowing traffic considerably; pledges to release 100 Palestinian prisoners. The IDF also bulldozes a greenhouse, some land in Rafah. (AYM 7/27 in WNC 7/31; MM, NYT, WP, WT 7/28; MM 7/29; UN Office for the Coordinator of Humanitarian Affairs press release 8/5; PCHR 8/7)

The IDF fires rubber bullets, tear gas at some 200 Palestinians demonstrating against the separation wall w. of Jenin. (NYT, WP 7/29; PCHR 8/7)

The IDF fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis, Rafah. (PCHR 8/7)

Bush, Sharon meet in Washington. Bush urges Sharon to make gestures to bolster Abbas. Sharon pledges to free 540 Palestinian prisoners, remove a few road blocks, dismantle unauthorized settlement outposts; says he will not do more until the PA begins to dismantle militant groups; rejects Bush’s appeal to halt construction of the separation wall, but says he will slow construction deep in Palestinian areas and add more crossing points. (JP, MM 7/29; BBC, MM, NYT, PR, WP, WT 7/30; AYM, HJ 7/30, IDF Radio, JP, MA, VOI 7/31 in WNC 8/1; HA, WJW 7/31; MM 8/1; TJT 8/1 in WNC 8/5; JPI, MEI 8/8)

The IDF conducts arrest raids in Hebron (targeting Hamas, Islamic Jihad); fires on farmers working their fields nr. Khan Yunis, forcing them to leave; makes incursions in Nablus; sends troops into Ramallah to halt a marked al-Ayyam vehicle, arrests 4 Palestinian journalists; announces that it has arrested 3 PFLP mbrs. in recent days for plotting an attack on IDF forces in the West Bank. (AP 7/30; PCHR 8/7)

Dahlan, Mofaz discuss IDF redeployment fr. Jericho (where the IDF has no presence) and Qalqilya (encircled by the separation wall, with 1 IDF checkpoint providing entry, exit). Dahlan rejects the offer as hollow. (HA, IDF Radio, MA, MM, NYT, YA 7/31; VOI 7/31 in WNC 8/1)

Hamas, Islamic Jihad say their cease-fire may has to be reassessed if the U.S. fails to urge Israel to halt construction of the separation wall.

A Palestinian dies of injuries received earlier. Israel issues tenders for construction of 22 new housing units in Gaza’s Neve Dekalim settlement; since the beginning of 2003, Israel has issued 687 tenders for new settlement housing units. (HA, MM 7/31; NYT, WT 8/1; PCHR 8/7; AYM 8/7 in WNC 8/14)

The Knesset authorizes (53-25 with 1 abstention) a 1-yr. amendment of the citizenship law to deny citizenship, permanent residency status to Palestinians fr. the territories who marry Israeli citizens, forcing couples to live apart or leave Israel, preventing automatic citizenship of a child born of 1 Palestinian, 1 Israeli parent. Some 21,000 couples are affected. (HA, JP 5/27; PR 5/28; HA 6/18; MM 6/27; HA 7/30; HA, MM 7/31; JP 7/31 in WNC 8/1; NYT, WP 8/1; MM 8/4; AYM 8/4 in WNC 8/8; MM 8/5; WT 8/18)

The World Zionist Organization (WZO) plans 30 new Jewish settlements in the Galilee and Negev to offset the rapid bedouin and Israeli Arab growth rates there and “ensure that Israel remains a Jewish state.” (JTA 7/31)