1 Palestinian killed.
The IDF says it averted a major bombing in Haifa, arresting 2
Islamic Jihad mbrs. The IDF also enters Brazil camp to demolish at
least 1 house and fires on residents with live ammunition, injuring 10; shells,
briefly enters Khan Yunis, exchange gunfire with Palestinians, leaving 1
Palestinian dead; tightens the closures on Bethlehem, Qalqilya (cutting
phone lines to the town), Ramallah. (HP 8/17; NYT, WT 8/18; AP, HP,
WT 8/19; LAW 8/22)
An Egyptian delegation led by Osama Baz, senior adviser to Egyptian pres.
Husni Mubarak, holds its 4th and last day of mtgs. with U.S. officials,
including Secy. of State Colin Powell, National Security Adviser (NSA)
Condoleeza Rice. Baz says the sides exchanged ideas on "certain
arrangements" for enabling implementation of the Mitchell Comm. recommendations
but would not discuss details until they had studied each other's proposals.
(United Press International 8/17; MENA 8/27, MENA, al-Quds 8/18, MENA
8/19 in WNC 8/20; NYT, WP 8/18; WP 8/19; al-Quds 8/19, MENA 8/20 in WNC
8/21; HA 8/21; MM 8/22; al-Musawwar 8/24 in WNC 8/27) (see Peace Monitor
in JPS 121)
Palestinians throw 2 hand grenades at
an IDF post nr. Jinin, causing no damage.
1 Palestinian killed.
The IDF conducts arrest raids in Hebron, occupying 1 Palestinian home
as an IDF post; fires shells at a farm nr. Jabaliya r.c., killing a number of
animals. The IDF suddenly reimposes the curfew on Tulkarm, opens fire on
a number of Palestinians caught outside on their way home fr. food shopping,
causing 1 Palestinian to have a heart attack; bars ambulances fr.
reaching him, allowing him to die. (NYT, WT 8/18; AN 8/19 in WNC 8/21; LAW, PCHR
8/21; PCHR 8/26)
The IDF begins construction of 2 permanent, fortified military posts
in the PA-controlled section of Hebron, on 10 dunams (4 dunams = 1 acre)
of confiscated land in Abu Sunayna, 40 dunams of confiscated land on Junaydi
Hill. The IDF also begins easing the closure on Nablus; shoots, wounds a
mentally handicapped Palestinian when he strays too near the Dugit settlement
fence; bulldozes a Palestinian home in Balata refugee camp (r.c.);
conducts arrest raids in Hebron, Jaba’, Nablus; fires on Palestinians in Bayt
Furik (wounding 6), Khan Yunis; arrests 5 Israeli Arabs in Silwan for
allegedly attempting to set up an East Jerusalem branch of the Palestinian
Authority (PA) Preventive Security Force (PSF). (HA, MM 8/18; PCHR 8/21)
PA-Israeli security talks regarding expanding PA security control fr.
Bethlehem and parts of Gaza to Jericho and Qalqilya fall apart over Israel’s
refusal to remove checkpoints around the cities or give the PA control over the
sole entry point to Qalqilya. Plans for further talks on 8/18 are canceled. (MM,
NYT, WP, WT 8/18; MA, al-Quds 8/18 in WNC 8/20; MM 8/19; al-Quds
8/19 in WNC 8/21)
Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade
(AMB) gunmen fire on a Jewish settler vehicle nr. Yitzhar settlement,
lightly wounding 1 woman.
3 Palestinians killed.
The IDF continues operations in Nablus, conducting house searches,
firing on stone-throwing youths, fatally shooting a 9-yr.-old Palestinian
sitting on the stoop of his home. The IDF also fatally shoots 2
al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade (AMB) mbrs. laying a roadside bomb outside Gaza’s
Atzmona settlement; demolishes 3 Palestinian homes in Brazil r.c.;
directs heavy machinegun fire at residential areas of Rafah; conducts arrest
raids, house searches in Dahaysha r.c. nr. Bethlehem and nr. Khan Yunis,
Qalqilya, Ramallah; raids the offices of the National Society in Dahaysha r.c.,
arresting 3 employees, confiscating computers, sparking clashes with local
Palestinians, wounding 5. The Israeli Housing Min. issues tenders for
construction of 1,001 new housing units in 4 Jewish settlements (Ariel,
214; Beitar Ilit, 604; Karnei Shomron, 42; Ma’ale Adumim, 141). (HA, MM 8/17;
VOP 8/17 in WNC 8/19; MM, NYT, PCHR, PR, WP, WT 8/18; PCHR, WJW 8/19; MM 8/20,
8/23; MEI 8/27)
5 Palestinians killed.
Before dawn the IDF moves troops into Gaza en masse to begin the
forcible evacuation of Jewish settlers and disengagement protesters who
have not yet left, begins demolishing settler homes in n. Gaza. By the end of
the day, evacuations of Bedolah (est. 1986, pop. 220, size 1,456 d., hrs. to
evac. 6), Ganei Tal (est. 1979, pop. 350, size 2,050 d., hrs. to evac. 11),
Kerem Atzmona (est. 2001, pop. 24, hrs. to evac. 6), Morag (est. 1972, pop. 220,
size 1,300 d., hrs. to evac. 7), Tal Katifa (est. 1992, pop. 60, size 183 d.,
hrs. to evac. 5) are completed; most residents of Gadid leave voluntarily.
Settlers in Atzmona agree to evacuate voluntarily by 8/21, those in Netzarim by
8/22. Settlers who have not arranged their evacuation with the government will
be housed temporarily in hotels, mobile homes: e.g., more than half of
Morag's settlers take up temporary residence in the West Bank settlement of
Ofra; Israel's Jerusalem municipality temporarily houses 1,000 Neve
Dekalim settlers who have left voluntarily in a Jerusalem hotel. Generally
there is little strong resistance; the IDF optimistically says it hopes
that the evacuations could be completed within days instead of wks., as earlier
estimated. During the day, some scuffles btwn. soldiers, settlers are reported;
in some areas settlers set fire to tires and in garbage bins to prevent soldiers
fr. entering settlements; at least 2 settlers set fire to their homes before
leaving. In Morag, a female IDF soldier is stabbed with a syringe,
lightly injured by a disengagement protester. (In total, 13 Israeli
soldiers and police are lightly injured during the day.) Gaza settlers and
protesters also attack Palestinians: some 200 Kefar Darom settlers
rampage through nearby Palestinian areas, set fire to a Palestinian house; 20
Neve Dekalim settlers march through al-Mawasi, spread nails on roads to
damage Palestinian cars, try to provoke Palestinian residents (the IDF
intervenes, removes the settlers); other Jewish settlers fire on
Palestinian homes, vandalize Palestinian greenhouses in the same area. The
IDF also demolishes a Palestinian home, conducts arrest raids in
al-Mawasi. Some disengagement protests in Israel turn
violent: a disengagement protester tosses a grenade at an IDF checkpoint
in s. Israel, wounding 5 IDF soldiers; a female settler fr.
Keddumim in the West Bank sets fire to herself during a demonstration in
Netivot, is seriously injured. In the West Bank, a Jewish settler fr.
Shvut Rachel steals a gun fr. an Israeli security guard at the industrial area
of Shilo settlement, fires on Palestinian workers, killing 4 Palestinians,
wounding 1. Sharon denounces the attack as "Jewish terror";
Palestinian Authority (PA) PM Mahmud Abbas calls on Palestinian factions to
maintain calm, refrain fr. retaliation. At Sanur (to be evacuated under
disengagement), 600 Jewish settlers hold an antidisengagement rally. The
IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron and in Nur
al-Shams refugee camp (r.c.), Tulkarm. Also in Hebron, 4 bedouin children
herding goats are injured when they accidentally trigger an unexploded IDF
phosphorus shell; the IDF says it uses the shells only in training. A
9-yr.-old Palestinian dies of injuries received when she accidentally
triggered unexploded IDF ordnance nr. Karmil. (Arutz 7, BBC, HA, IMEMC, NYT,
REU, USA Today, WP, WT, YA 8/17; Voice of Israel, VOP 8/17 in WNC 8/18;
BBC, HA, NYT, PCHR, WP, WT 8/18; MENA 8/18 in WNC 8/19; NYT 8/20; PCHR, PR 8/25;
IMEMC 9/22; HA 11/10)
Meanwhile, Palestinians in Khan Yunis begin returning to their
homes on the edge of town facing the settlements, which they had fled since the
start of the intifada in 9/00 because of IDF gunfire. Islamic Jihad mbrs.
in some 50 boats, carrying banners and weapons, hold a seaborne victory parade
off Gaza to celebrate disengagement.
3 Palestinians killed.
In Gaza, the IDF fatally shoots a deaf Palestinian working a field nr. the
Gaza border e. of al-Bureij r.c.; shells residential areas of Bayt Hanun;
conducts air strikes on a workshop in Gaza City, destroying it, damaging 2
nearby homes, wounding 2 bystanders. In the West Bank, the IDF issues military
orders confiscating 10s of dunams (d.; 4 d. = 1 acre) of Palestinian land s. of
Tulkarm. Late in the evening in the West Bank, the IDF closes all crossings to
Jerusalem; raids al-Ubidiyya nr. Bethlehem, fatally shoots wanted Islamic Jihad
mbrs. ‘Uqla Shanayta, Khalid Shanayta in an apparent assassination; conducts
arrest raids, house searches in Askar r.c., neighboring Nablus, Yatta nr.
Hebron. (PCHR 8/24)
Early in the morning, the IDF begins withdrawing fr. areas of s. Lebanon,
giving UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) control. (The IDF does not confirm
how many troops are in Lebanon, though at the peak, observers estimated there
were as many as 30,000.) Soon after, the Lebanese army begins deploying troops
s. of the Litani. In Naqura, 2 Lebanese children are killed when they
accidentally detonate unexploded bomblets fr. an Israeli cluster bomb; UN
deminers say they have identified 10 locations in s. Lebanon where the IDF used
cluster bombs and may pose similar hazards for civilians, saying the 10 sites
could be the “tip of the iceberg.” Beirut airport received its 1st commercial
flight since it was bombed on 7/13; hopes to be able to resume normal service
within a wk. (NYT, WP, WT 8/17; NYT, WP, WT 8/18)
4 Palestinians killed.
In Gaza, Palestinians begin
experiencing longer blackouts resulting fr. fuel shortages since Israel closed the Nahal Oz pipeline on 8/15. Hamas volunteers undertake a clean-up
campaign in Khan Yunis, where municipal sanitation workers have been on strike
over salary issues. The IDF makes an air strike on an Islamic Jihad
rocket-launching site nr. Bayt Lahiya in n. Gaza, causing no injuries. A
10-yr.-old Palestinian boy is injured when a Palestinian rocket fired
fr. Gaza toward Israel hits a Palestinian home nr. Bayt Hanun, nr. the n. Gaza border. In the West Bank, the IDF kills 2 Islamic Jihad mbrs. in
an exchange of fire nr. Jenin; sends troops into Kafr Dan nr. Jenin to patrol, firing on stone-throwing youths who confront them, killing a 14-yr.-old Palestinian boy, prompting an exchange of gunfire with Palestinian resistance mbrs. that leaves 1 armed Palestinian
dead, 7 Palestinians wounded; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and
around Nablus (firing on residential areas, wounding a Palestinian woman in her
home), in Qalqilya, nr. Hebron; fires rubber-coated steel bullets, percussion grenades, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, international activists taking part in
the weekly nonviolent demonstration against the separation wall in Bil`in, injuring 5. (BBC 8/17; NYT 8/19; OCHA 8/22; PCHR 8/23)
The IDF arrested three Palestinians in Asira, south of Nablus. (Ma'an News Agency)
An Israeli military court released on bail Jamal Amira, the father of the girl who documented the shooting of a blindfolded Palestinian man in Bi'lin. The judge said that the prosecution "lacked evidence". (Haaretz, Ynetnews)
Israel authorities reopened Kerem Shalom, a commercial crossing into Gaza as part of the ceasefire agreement with Hamas. The opening of the crossing could increase the inflow of food into the Gaza Strip as its capacity was greater than the Sufa crossing which was previously used. (Xinhua)
Prime Minister Olmert's Cabinet passed a proposal to release 150-220 Palestinian prisoners. A spokesperson for Mr. Olmert said that the release was "a gesture of goodwill meant to show the Palestinians that they can win the release of prisoners through peaceful means". PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad welcomed the decision, but said that Israel should release even more of the Palestinian prisoners they hold. (AFP, AP, www.btselem.org, DPA, Haaretz, The Jerusalem Post, Ma'an News Agency, Xinhua)
A rocket fired from The Gaza Strip hit a field in the Western Negev Desert without causing any damages or injuries. (Haaretz, Ma'an News Agency, Ynetnews)