In Ramallah, senior Fatah mbr. Ashraf Bardawil is injured when a bomb
in or nr. his car explodes; IDF helicopters are hovering over the area at
the time, raising speculation it was an assassination attempt. The IDF
also arrests Majdi Alawna, a senior PA liaison official with Israel in Nablus,
on charges of sabotaging cooperation with Israel. Nr. Ramallah, IDF
troops fire rubber bullets to disperse a crowd of Palestinians protesting
the closure of the Ramallah+nBirzeit road, injuring 6. Jewish
settlers set fire to Palestinian fields, grain storage units in Hawara, Jit.
Israel allows shipments of food, fuel into the West Bank, Gaza for the
1st time since the 6/1 bombing. Another Israeli injured in the 6/1 Tel
Aviv bombing dies, raising the toll to 21. (HA, MM, REU 6/5; MM, PMC, WP 6/6;
WJW 6/7)
Palestinian
stone-throwers seriously injure a Jewish settler baby nr. Nablus.
17 Israelis killed.
In response to Meggido car bomb, the
IDF sends tanks, helicopters into Jenin, declaring the area a closed
military zone, imposing a curfew, conducting house-to-house searches; makes
raids on Hebron, Qalqilya, Tulkarm; continues operations in Nablus. Late in the
evening, the IDF sends tanks, troops into Ramallah, imposes a curfew,
declares the area a closed military zone, shells Arafat's offices in what
remains of the PA compound; bulldozers pile debris in front of the headquarters'
exits; Arafat, who is inside, is not harmed. (AP, CNN, LAW, MM 6/5; AFP,
Interfax, XIN 6/5 in WNC 6/6; MM, NYT, WP, WT 6/6; GS 6/7; QA 6/7 in WNC 6/10;
MEI 6/14)
American PR firms representing Israel urge the Israeli government
not to respond to the Meggido bombing for 24 hrs. so that the U.S.
newspapers, TV news programs would open with pictures of the bombing, victims'
funerals rather than IDF retaliatory attacks. (MM 6/7)
In light of the economic downturn since the intifada began, the Knesset
passes (74-28) an amendment to the National Insurance Law (1995) applying a 4%
cut to all child allowance payments, an additional 20% cut in amounts paid to
parents of children without a relative serving in the IDF (i.e., mostly
Israeli Arabs). (Adalah press release 6/6)
Polls show that Reps. Earl Hilliard (D-AL) and Cynthia McKinney (D-GA),
both 5-term incumbents, are struggling to win renomination this yr., largely
because of their statements critical of the U.S.'s pro-Israel policy.
Their challengers are highlighting their own strong support of Israel, tapping
large Jewish donors. The races are creating Black-Jewish tensions in
Congress, as Hilliard and McKinney are African American, most of the Jewish
money donated to the rival campaigns is fr. outside the candidates' home states.
(WP 6/6; AP 6/26; WJW 6/27; WT 7/2)
Mubarak arrives in Washington, reportedly carrying a proposal for Bush to
support recognition of a Palestinian state in early 2003, with permanent status
talks to be completed within 3 yrs. thereafter. (MM, WP 6/5; MM 6/6, MM 6/7)
An Islamic Jihad suicide bomber marking the 35th anniversary of the
1967 war detonates a large car bomb nr. a bus in Meggido, killing 14
IDF soldiers, 3 Israeli civilians, wounding 38.
3 Palestinians killed.
The IDF lifts the curfew on Jenin, leaving none of the 8 main
Palestinian cities under curfew for the 1st time in recent memory, though
closures and checkpoints remain in place; conducts arrest raids in Hebron; fires
on residential areas of Khan Yunis, Rafah; demolishes 6 Palestinian homes
in Rafah. After dark, the IDF raids a house in Tulkarm, fatally shooting
wanted Hamas mbrs. `Adil Abu Zaytun and Hani Kharyush in what may be an
assassination, arresting a 3d. A Palestinian dies of injuries received on
5/27. (HA 6/5; HA, MM, NYT 6/6; Gulf Times 6/7 in WNC 6/10; LAW, PCHR
6/12)
The IDF raids, occupies a Palestinian home in Dayr al-Balah; raids
Balata r.c., firing on houses, stone-throwing youths who confront the troops;
shells residential areas of Rafah; conducts arrest raids nr. Hebron, Nablus.
Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba severely beat a 14-yr.-old Palestinian
girl in Hebron. (XIN 6/6; PCHR 6/10)
The IDF fires on a group of Palestinian teenagers who stray close to
the fence around Gaza's Neve Dekalim settlement, injuring 1; demolishes a
Palestinian home, several farm buildings in Yatta; raids a dental clinic in
Hebron, arrests the director, questions the staff, summons local Palestinians
for questioning; conducts arrest raids in Tulkarm, exchanging fire with wanted
Palestinians, detaining 3, wounding 1. (AP 6/5; PR 6/8; PCHR 6/9; al-Ahram 6/10)
Armed AMB mbrs. occupy the PA
Interior Min. offices in Nablus to protest the ministry's failure to provide
them protection, salaries; 1 AMB mbr., 1 PA security officer are injured in
scuffles outside the complex; the stand-off ends when the PA reportedly agrees
to their demands.
3 Palestinians killed.
Overnight, a senior mbr. of Hamas’s Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades is killed in
Jabaliya r.c. when a large bomb goes off nr. his home; no group takes
responsibility. The IDF makes an air strike on a car driving in n. Gaza,
assassinating PRC mbrs. Imad Asaliyya, Majdi Hammad, wounding 2 PRC mbrs. in the
car, 2 bystanders; sends bulldozers, tanks 200 m into Gaza nr. Bureij r.c. to
level land for the construction of a cement wall along the n. Gaza border; sends
an undercover unit into ‘Anabta nr. Tulkarm in a car with Palestinian license
plates to raid a cafe and arrest 11 Palestinians; demolishes 2 Palestinian
homes nr. Jenin, 1 nr. Jericho, 1 nr. Nablus; patrols in Maithalun, stopping
Palestinians for random ID checks; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and
around Nablus, in Tulkarm, and nr. Bethlehem, Jenin (firing on residential
areas); issues military orders confiscating 600 d. of Palestinian land s. of
Tulkarm, isolated btwn. the separation wall and the Green Line, for “security
purposes”; accompanies an Israeli Archaeological Authority team into Battir nr.
Bethlehem to conduct a test dig in the center of the village in search of Jewish
historical remains. (MM 6/5; NYT 6/6; OCHA 6/7; PCHR 6/8)
Gunmen affiliated with Hamas raid a Palestinian TV station
in Khan Yunis, damage equipment, accusing the station of supporting Fatah at
Hamas’s expense; the Hamas leadership denies the attack was authorized by the
group.
In Gaza, the IDF bulldozes Palestinian land
nr. al-Maghazi to improve lines of sight. The
Israeli navy fires on Palestinian fishermen off the coast of Rafah, forcing them back to shore. In the West Bank,
the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in Qabatya (firing rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas at
schoolchildren, prompting stone throwing; more IDF gunfire that leaves 8 Palestinians, including 6 children, wounded).
(OCHA 6/6; NYT, WP, WT 6/6; PCHR 6/7)
Abbas convenes a special
PC session to mark the 40th anniversary of the 1967 war and Israeli
occupation, warning Palestinians that internal fighting undermines their
national aspirations. While Israel does not officially mark the day, some 300 Israeli peace activists in
Hebron protest the occupation, exchanging words
with 30 Jewish settlers holding a counterdemonstration.
In Gaza, Hamas, Fatah mbrs. exchange fire nr. Qarni crossing, leaving several wounded. Unidentified
gunmen raid the Gaza City offices of the Palmedia
press agency, stealing a computer, TV editing equipment; no group claims
responsibility.
3 Palestinians killed. 1 Israeli killed.
IDF troops killed a young Palestinian and injured two others in the Jabal Johar area of Hebron. According to the
Israeli army, the armed Palestinians were exchanging gunfire in a clan fight near an Israeli settlement in the city.
(Ma'an News Agency)
Three Palestinians were seriously injured when Israeli forces opened fire on them in Beit Ummar, north of Hebron.
Hospital officials said that 16-year-old Tareq Jamal Abu Maria was undergoing surgery to remove three bullets after
having been shot in the chest and stomach. (Ma'an News Agency)
IDF troops arrested seven Palestinians in Nablus and the Balata refugee camp and two in Tulkarm. Meanwhile, in the town
of Khadr, near Bethlehem, the IDF arrested Salwa Saleh, 16, and three other Palestinians from Shawawra village,
security sources said. (WAFA)
Khalil Sokkar, 27, was killed and 29 other Palestinians injured in a series of Israeli air strikes and ground attacks
in the Beit Hanoun area in the northern Gaza Strip. Eyewitnesses said that Mr. Sokkar was on his way to rescue two
injured civilians. Israeli forces raided eastern Rafah; no injuries were reported. Israeli forces withdrew from the
town of Khuza'a, east of Khan Yunis, leaving a number of Palestinians injured. (AP, Ma'an News Agency)
Prime Minister Olmert told journalists, "The way it looks now, we are closer to a military operation in Gaza than we
are to any other type of arrangement." Defense Minister Ehud Barak said: "The military operation is closer than ever,
and it will precede the ceasefire". (AFP, AP, Haaretz, Ma'an News Agency)
In a television interview before his meeting with the House of Commons International Development Select Committee,
Quartet Representative Tony Blair said, "What we need to do is to get a period of calm, to get a ceasefire in Gaza,
progressively to start reopening the crossings, start to get proper humanitarian help through and then build our way
back out of this to a situation where the people of Gaza can be helped and secondly, and very importantly, the
situation in Gaza does not disrupt other possibilities of progress". His said his view of the situation had been
transformed as he recognized the vital importance of the situation on the ground to enable constructive political
dialogue. (Haaretz)
An Israeli was killed and four others were wounded when Palestinians in the Gaza Strip fired a mortar shell into
Kibbutz Nir Oz in the western Negev. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack. Not long after the mortar strike,
Palestinian doctors said that a 4-year-old girl was killed and her mother wounded when an Israeli aircraft targeted a
group of militants in the southern Gaza Strip but missed them. (Haaretz)
1 Palestinian killed.
A Palestinian was killed by Israeli troops in a weekly protest held by Palestinian and foreign activists against the separation wall in the village of Ni’lin. Witnesses say troops had fired tear gas and rubber bullets at rock-throwing demonstrators. (AP, Haaretz)
The IDF announced that Israel had lifted restrictions at two checkpoints in the West Bank. Crossing number 422, east of Qalqilya, and the Hableh roadblock, had been opened to allow Palestinians’ travel to and from surrounding villages, according to the military’s statement. (Reuters, The Jerusalem Post)
A senior US Administration official told The Jerusalem Post that Washington and Israel “can find an arrangement that works” on the settlement issue. He went on to say that anonymous officials in Israel and the US had made “heated” and not always credible comments. “We're working this through, consistent with the relationship between strong allies,” he added. Israeli officials, speaking on conditions of anonymity, said that Israel would not halt construction in settlements even after the US President's explicit call to do so, to accommodate growing families. (AP, The Jerusalem Post)
Head of the Independent fact-finding mission sent by the Human Rights Council, Justice Richard Goldstone declared. “We had hoped to have public hearings … in southern Israel and in the West Bank but because of the refusal by Israel to cooperate with the mission, we are not able to fulfill that hope.” Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh met with Mr. Goldstone and insisted on “the importance of sending these war criminals to court and judging them for their crimes.” (AFP, Ma’an News Agency)