1 Palestinian killed.
Israeli-Palestinian clashes continue. Another ailing Palestinian
dies en route to a Nablus hospital when her family's car is turned back fr. an
IDF checkpoint, forced to take a longer route to the hospital. A group of IDF
soldiers in the Israeli-controlled section of Hebron assault a 14-yr.-old
Palestinian whom they thought was making fun of him, beating him for 30
mins., leaving him unconscious. The IDF shells residential areas in Khan
Yunis and Rafah, nr. Netzarim settlement, along Gaza's Salah al-Din road
(destroying a Palestinian gas station); bulldozes 55 dunams of Palestinian
agricultural land in Bayt Lahia to build a new settler bypass road linking the
settlements of Dugit, Aley Sinai. (MEZ, WP 1/29; al-Ahram [Internet] 2/1;
LAW 2/3; ADM 2/5)
At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Arafat gives a speech condemning
Israel's military action against Palestinians. In Israel, Barak,
angry over Arafat's words, vows there will be no further talks with the PA
before elections. (AFP 1/28 in WNC 1/29; MM, NYT, WP, WT, YA 1/29; al-Quds
1/29 in WNC 1/30; NYT, WP 1/30; al-Quds 1/30 in WNC 2/1; AYM 1/30 in WNC
2/5; al-Nahar 2/1 in WNC 2/13) (see 1/27)
1 Palestinian killed.
IDF fires on residential areas of Dayr al-Balah, Nablus.
(JP [Internet], MM 1/28; NYT, WT 1/29; PCHR 1/30)
Israel's Internal Security M Uzi Landau presents to the
Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Comm. his ministry's new "Enveloping
Jerusalem" plan to ring West Jerusalem with barriers to prevent West Bank
Palestinians fr. entering. (HA, JP [Internet] 1/28; BBC, MM 1/29; MM, NYT, WT
1/30; WJW 1/31; CSM 2/6; JP 2/8) (see Quarterly Update)
A Palestinian driver crashes through an IDF
checkpoint on the Green Line nr. Qalqilya, injuring 1 soldier; commandeers a 2d
car fr. an Israeli couple; continues to Tel Aviv, where he hits, injures an
Israeli policeman and is fatally shot by security personnel and bystanders.
5 Palestinians killed.
The IDF sends tanks into Jenin, clashes with residents, killing 4
Palestinians, wounding 1 Palestinian journalist; 2 IDF soldiers
are also wounded. The IDF demolishes 7 Palestinian homes in Rafah,
2 in Balata r.c.; bulldozes Palestinian land nr. Jabaliya r.c.; fires on
stone-throwing Palestinians protesting the curfew in Nablus, killing 1
Palestinian; fires on residential areas of Tal al-Sultan. (AP, HA, PM 1/28;
LAW, PCHR 1/29)
Sharon and his Likud party win a landslide election victory
largely at the Labor party’s expense. Likud gets 38 seats (up fr. 19 in
the 2/01 elections; higher even than top projections, which figured Likud would
take 32 seats), Labor gets 19 seats (down fr. 25), Shinui comes in 3d
with 15 seats (up fr. 6), and the ultra-Orthodox Shas party gets 11 seats
(down fr. 17); Meretz, one of Israel’s clear-cut peace parties, gets 6
seats (down fr. 10); the far-right National Union party, not represented
in the last Knesset, gets 7 seats. Yisra’el Ba’Aliya party head Natan
Sharansky quits the Knesset, Meretz head Yossi Sarid resigns as party
chmn. in light of their parties’ poor showing. During the day, Israeli police
detain 4 Israeli Arabs for leading a 15-car caravan around the Galilee,
calling for an election boycott. Voter turnout was 68.5%--lowest in Israel’s
history. Sharon has 42 days to form a majority coalition. The new Knesset will
have 40 freshmen MKs. (HA, MM, WP 1/28; HA, MM, NYT, WP, WT 1/29; AYM,
al-Quds 1/29 in WNC 1/30; JP, MM, WJW, WP 1/30; JPI 1/31; PR 2/5; MEI 2/7;
MM 2/18)
Bush gives State of the Union address, focusing on Iraq; says
Saddam Hussein has missed his “final chance” by showing “utter contempt” for the
UN inspectors; claims Iraq is hiding and amassing weapons of mass destruction
(WMDs; including an active nuclear weapons program), deceiving inspectors,
aiding al-Qa`ida; says the U.S. seeks to work with an international
coalition to remove Hussein but will go it alone if necessary, adding that “The
liberty we prize is not America’s gift to the world; it is God’s gift to
humanity.” Regarding the Arab-Israeli conflict, he says only that the U.S. will
continue to work for a “secure Israel and a democratic Palestine.”
(NYT, WP, WT 1/29; MM 1/30; MA 1/30 in WNC 1/31; MEI 2/7)
9 Palestinians killed.
The IDF makes a major predawn raid into Gaza City, targeting
Palestinians who have stepped up attacks on Netzarim settlement in recent wks.,
sparking clashes that leave 5 Palestinian gunmen (4 Islamic Jihad mbrs.,
1 Hamas mbr.), 4 Palestinian bystanders dead, 7 Palestinians (including
an ambulance driver) wounded; The IDF also
demolishes 3 Palestinian homes nr. Hebron, 1 in al-Qarara; searches
homes, bulldozes 1 dunam of land in al-Qarara. In coordination with the IDF,
PSF officers resume patrols in West Bank cities. (MM, PCHR 1/28; VOP 1/28 in
WNC 1/30; BBC, HA, LAW, NYT, PCHR, WP, WT 1/29; WP 2/11; PCHR 2/12)
Hamas fires 2 Qassam rockets at
Netzarim in response to IDF attack in
Gaza, causing no damage or injuries.
2 Palestinians killed.
After the PA security forces complete their deployment in Gaza, the
IDF announces that, in light of ongoing PA cooperation, it has issued
orders to stop all "offensive operations" in Gaza, to scale back operations in
the West Bank, and to remove an unspecified number of roadblocks in the West
Bank to ease Palestinian movement, saying it will only conduct assassinations if
there is immediate threat of an attack and only with the "explicit
authorization" of IDF Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon. Meanwhile, the IDF
fatally shoots a Palestinian who strays into a closed military zone nr.
Kissufim crossing; fires on Palestinians conducting a nonviolent march
protesting construction of the separation wall, wounding 1; conducts
arrest raids, house searches in `Ayn Bayt al-Ma’, Yatta. An
11-yr.-old Palestinian boy injured when he accidentally triggered unexploded
IDF ordnance on 1/25 dies. (MM 1/28; MA, VOI, VOP 1/28 in WNC 1/29; NYT, WP
1/29; VOP 1/29 in WNC 1/30; OCHA 2/2; PCHR 2/3)
Palestinians
fire 4 mortars at Gush Katif, causing no damage or injuries.
The IDF halts and blows up a Palestinian vehicle nr. Qalqilya, without
giving a reason; conducts arrest raids in and around Hebron (occupying 1 home as
an observation post), nr. Bethlehem, Jenin, and Ramallah, and in Aida r.c., Nur
al-Shams r.c. (firing on residential areas), Tulkarm (firing on residential
areas). (HA 1/28; NYT, WP, WT 1/29; PCHR 2/2)
Some 20,000 Fatah mbrs. angry over their election defeat stage
marches, rallies across Gaza; Fatah mbrs. also temporarily take over the
PC buildings in Gaza City, Ramallah calling for the Fatah leadership to resign;
some 2,000 Fatah mbrs., some armed, march trough Nablus, 500 march in
Hebron, and 100s rally outside the Muqata in Ramallah, making the same demand.
Hamas gunmen ambush, wound 2 PA policemen in Khan Yunis,
apparently in retaliation for a clash that left a Hamas mbr. wounded on 1/27.
Palestinian farmers in Gaza dump rotting produce at the Qarni crossing to
protest Israel's closing of the export point despite its pledge to the
U.S. to keep it open on "an urgent basis" (Israel sealed the crossing on 1/14
citing intelligence reports that a tunnel was being dug nearby; PA security
forces have been looking for a tunnel without success, and Israel won't say
where intelligence indicates the tunnel may be); Palestinians export tens of
millions of dollars of produce through Qarni during this time of yr.
IDF troops on the n. Gaza border nr. Bayt Hanun shoot, wound 2 Palestinians
who stray nr. the border fence while trapping birds. In the West Bank, the IDF
conducts arrest raids, house searches in Qalqilya, nr. Jenin; begins
construction of a new fence around Karmi’el, Ma’on settlements nr. Hebron that
will confiscate around 1,000 d. of Palestinian land to create territorial unity
btwn. the 2 settlements. (MM, NYT, WP, WT 1/29; OCHA 1/31; PCHR
2/1; AIC 2/13)
In Gaza City, Hamas-Fatah violence continues for a 6th
day, leaving an ESF officer, 3 Hamas mbrs. dead, and 8 ESF mbrs. injured; among
the incidents, a bomb explodes outside the home of a Dahlan bodyguard (causing
no injuries), Hamas mbrs. fire mortars and antitank rounds at the
Fatah-controlled PA police headquarters. Other clashes are reported in and
around Khan Yunis, nr. Jabaliya, and in Bayt Hanun. Several Palestinians are
also kidnapped during the day in Hamas-Fatah rivalries: Fatah’s Brig. Gen.
Sayyid Shaban, head of the PA National Security Forces in central Gaza (quickly
released); senior Hamas cmdr. Ashraf Firwana; 2 teenage children of a Fatah
col.; a senior Fatah official; a Fatah municipal official. A Fatah mbr. dies of
injuries received in the latest round of intra-Palestinian fighting. Fighting
also spreads to Nablus, where Fatah mbrs. kidnap, quickly release several Hamas
mbrs. In Jabaliya r.c., PFLP mbrs., Islamist parties hold a sit-in to protest
the ongoing Palestinian violence. In Ramallah, AMB mbrs. kidnap, kill an alleged
Palestinian collaborator with Israel.
1 Palestinian killed.
Under pressure fr. Israel and the U.S.
to stop the flow of Palestinians across the Rafah border, Egypt deploys
100s of police and plainclothes intelligence officers along the border. Hamas
mbrs. help Egyptian security forces string bales of razor wire across
breaches in the wall; begin coordinating border-crossing operations (e.g.,
searching travelers, checking IDs) with Egyptian forces. In the West Bank, the IDF
troops raid Bethlehem, surround the home of a wanted Islamic Jihad mbr.,
and demand his surrender, firing on the house and surrounding residential area
to prevent journalists fr. approaching (detaining several), killing 1
Palestinian teenager, wounding 5 other bystanders; when troops begin to
demolish the home, the wanted man surrenders. The IDF also conducts
arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron and Tulkarm, nr. Nablus and
Ramallah, and in Balata r.c., al-Bireh, East Jerusalem. (OCHA, WT 1/30; PCHR
1/31)
Israeli aircraft bombed smuggling tunnels under the Gaza-Egypt border in Rafah. (AP, Ma'an News Agency)
Israeli warplanes bombed the area near the border in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. Witnesses said the warplanes fired missiles at the As-Salam
district of Rafah in addition to a local metal workshop allegedly used to manufacture homemade projectiles that were fired into Israel. The strike came hours
after another Qassam fired by Gaza militants hit the Eshkol region in the western Negev. There were no reports of injuries. (Haaretz, Ma'an News Agency)
The Israeli military arrested 14 Palestinians during overnight raids in Bethlehem and Hebron, and the village of Beit Suweif. (Ma'an News Agency)
Israeli forces imposed a curfew on Zabuba village west of Jenin and seized eight Palestinians, security sources said. (Ma'an News Agency)
France summoned Israel's ambassador to protest after Israeli troops had fired warning shots as European diplomats, including France's Consul-General, were
blocked at Gaza's Erez border crossing, the Foreign Ministry said. (AFP)
Israel reopened commercial crossings into the Gaza Strip, the PA told Ma'an News Agency. Israel allowed in 110 trucks, 82 of which were carrying
humanitarian aid, through the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Gaza. (Ma'an News Agency)
UNRWA food aid was being distributed to 900,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip in the aftermath of Israel's military offensive in the territory, Director
of Gaza Operations John Ging said. All employees of the PA had been included because "they are not getting the cash for their salaries, therefore they
are not able to buy the food." (AFP)
The number of buildings in Israeli settlements in the West Bank grew in 2008, with 1,257 constructed, a 60 per cent increase compared to 2007, Peace Now
reported. In a study, the Peace Now movement also found that 261 new structures were built by settlers in West Bank outposts. Some 39 per cent of the new
structures built in 2008 were built east of the separation wall. Moreover, said the report, not one of the unauthorized settler outpost in the West Bank were
evacuated, despite promises by the Israeli Government that it would clear them as part of its commitments under the Road Map. (www.peacenow.org.il)
Israel's Defense Ministry had concealed information showing widespread unauthorized construction in West Bank settlements, fearing the data could hurt the
country's international relations, Haaretz reported. The Haaretz report said construction in three out of every four settlements in the West
Bank was conducted without proper permits. In many settlements, it said, synagogues, schools and other buildings and infrastructure were built on private
Palestinian lands. (AP)
Apart from white phosphorus, the Israeli army had used flechette rounds in densely populated civilian areas of Gaza, Amnesty International said. The
organization joined the call by Human Rights Watch for the establishment of an independent, international commission of inquiry into possible violations of
the laws of war by both sides, which said that the Security Council or Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon should urgently take the necessary steps to achieve this.
(www.amnesty.org, www.hrw.org)
US Middle East Envoy George Mitchell held talks in Israel with Prime Minister Olmert and other security officials. He said afterwards a long-term Gaza
truce must be based on an end to weapons smuggling to Hamas and the re-opening of the territory's blockaded borders. Mr. Olmert told Mr. Mitchell that the
border crossings into the Gaza Strip would not reopen permanently unless the issue of captive IDF soldier Gilad Shalit were resolved. Mr. Mitchell said that
after finishing his consultations in the region and with the Europeans, he would report his conclusions on the next steps in the peace process to President
Barack Obama and Secretary of State Clinton. Mr. Mitchell planned to see PA President Abbas on 29 January. Western diplomats said he would not meet
officials of Hamas. (AP, Haaretz)
Quartet Representative Blair called for "a new strategy in Gaza," in remarks made in Cairo, and admitted that the international community's
approach to the territory had not worked. (DPA)
Gaza militants fired a rocket into the Negev; no casualties were reported. (Haaretz)
Hamas said it had fired three mortar rounds against an Israeli unit operating inside the Gaza Strip. Witnesses confirmed seeing mortar fire against four
Israeli tanks in the area. (AFP)
"Factions of the resistance reject the signing of a truce agreement before the opening of all crossing points, the lifting of the blockade and the
arrival of supplies," Hamas and seven other Palestinian groups said in a statement. A meeting of the factions also rejected "any regional or
security arrangement that would compromise the security of our people and of the resistance against Israel," the statement said. (Ma'an News Agency)
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh urged US President Obama to correct the "mistakes" of his predecessor, George W. Bush. "Palestine is the door
to the Muslim world," Mr. Haniyeh wrote in a letter to the President, "justice and freedom for Palestinians is the key that will open this
door." (AFP)
Hamas would recognize Israel if it withdrew to its pre-1967 borders, Marek Halter, a French writer, said after meeting Hamas Political Bureau Chief Khaled
Mashaal. "He told me that Hamas was prepared to recognize Israel on the lines of 4 June 1967. He told me so several times," he added. (AFP)
At a joint news conference with EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana in Ramallah, PA President Abbas said, "The
pursuit of colonization and expansion of settlements inside Palestinian territories shows that Israel has no desire for peace." He added: "Israel tried to
enshrine Palestinian divisions through its attack against Gaza in order to prevent the creation of an independent Palestinian State in the West Bank, the Gaza
Strip and (East) Jerusalem alongside the State of Israel." (AFP)
Hamas had accepted a plan to rebuild the Gaza Strip in which funds would be given to international agencies and kept out of the hands of the Palestinian
factions, Talal Abu Tharifa, a member of the central committee of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and a participant in the Cairo
negotiations, said. (Ma'an News Agency)
