Egyptian pres. Mubarak flies to Paris to consult with
Pres. Chirac on PA-Israeli final status talks, Syrian-Israeli
track. (MM 9/4; MENA 9/5 in WNC 9/7; al-Musawwar 9/8 in WNC 9/14)
CIA Dir. George Tenet arrives in Israel fr. Cairo for 2
days of consultations with Barak, Arafat advisers on security and
the peace process in advance of Clinton's mtgs. with Arafat, Barak at the UN
millennium summit in New York. (MM 9/1)
U.S. special envoy Ross, back in the region, holds
separate mtgs. with Arafat, Barak, and PA negotiators Erakat,
Dahlan. (MM 9/1; WT 9/3)
A PA military court sentences Hamas mbr. Abu Hanud
to 12 yrs. for forming, arming military cells. (LAW, NYT, WP, WT 9/2; WJW 9/7;
HJ 9/7 in WNC 9/12; JP, MM 9/8) (see 8/26)
2 Palestinians killed.
In Gaza, top PA intelligence official, Col. Taysir Khattab, is killed
when a remote-controlled bomb in his car explodes--an apparent Israeli
assassination; his bodyguard is seriously injured. A bomb in a taxi in Tulkarm
kills 1 Palestinian woman, injures 4; no one claims responsibility. The
woman reportedly is the wife senior tanzim leader Ahmad Tabuk, who
is currently held in a PA jail. (LAW 9/1; AP, NYT, WP, WT 9/2; AKH 9/3,
al-Quds 9/5, SA 9/6 in WNC 9/7)
In Durban, 6,000 international NGOs close 5 days of mtgs. on
preventing racism, held on the sidelines of the WCAR. Their closing
statement calls Israel a "racist, apartheid state," calls on Israel to
end its "systematic perpetration of racist crimes," including segregation,
separation, dispossession, restricted land access. (SAPA 9/1, 9/2 in WNC 9/4; WP
9/3; MM 9/5; MM 9/5; AKH 9/5 in WNC 9/7; LAW 9/6)
5 Palestinians killed.
The IDF fatally shoots 4 Palestinians nr. Hebron; the IDF
initially claims it ambushed armed "terrorists" attempting to infiltrate Kiryat
Arba settlement, later admits the men were unarmed and shot 2 mi. fr. any
settlement. Israeli pres. Moshe Katsav orders an investigation into the
spate of IDF attacks on unarmed Palestinian civilians since 8/28. The IDF
also shells a fuel station, electricity generator in Rafah, cutting electricity
to parts of the city; fires on residential areas of Jenin; conducts arrest raids
in Anza (nr. Jenin), al-Farah r.c. A 5th Palestinian dies of injuries
received on 8/24. (MM, NYT, PM, WP 9/2; LAW, PCHR 9/4; HA, MEI 9/13)
2 Palestinians killed.
The IDF assassinates Hamas mbr. Khadir al-Husary, firing
missiles at his car as he drives through Gaza City, also killing 1
Palestinian bystander, wounding 3 Hamas mbrs. traveling with Husary, at
least 20 bystanders. The IDF also sends troops back into Nablus to
enforce the curfew there; fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis (wounding 1).
(HA, MM, NYT, WP, WT 9/2; JP 9/2 in WNC 9/5; PCHR 9/4)
After nearly 3 yrs. of investigation, Israel’s Or Commission issues
its report on the use of force by Israeli police against Israeli Arabs
during the 10/00 riots in the wake of the outbreak of the intifada (13 Israeli
Arabs were killed). The commission finds that police used excessive force,
covered up their actions, refused to investigate civilian deaths, and treated
Israeli Arabs as their “enemies.” (HA, MM, NYT, WP, WT 9/2; YA 9/2 in WNC 9/5;
MM, WP 9/3, 9/4; JP 9/5 in WNC 9/9; MEI 9/12)
Some 800 al-Quds University students hold a peaceful sit-in nr. the site
where the separation wall will cut through their campus.
The IDF conducts a major 1-day incursion into Khan Yunis called
Operation Long-Distance Vision to “destroy the terrorist infrastructure” nr.
Neve Dekalim, ordering 100s of Palestinians to flee their homes and evacuate the
area, firing missiles fr. helicopters (wounding at least 6 Palestinians and
damaging a hospital), blowing up 2 vacant 5-story apartment buildings and 1
Palestinian home (wounding at least 10 Palestinians, rendering homeless at
least 141). Citing security reasons, the IDF bars UNRWA head Peter
Hansen fr. leaving Gaza through the Erez crossing; UNRWA condemns the
incident as “unprecedented.” The IDF also imposes a curfew on Hebron;
searches houses nr. Bethlehem, Ramallah. (MENA 9/1 in WNC 9/3; PCHR, WP 9/2; VOI
9/2 in WNC 9/4; VOP 9/5 in WNC 9/7; PR 9/8)
The IDF shoots, wounds 2 Palestinians nr. the evacuated Gush Katif
settlement bloc; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and nr. Hebron.
Israel deports 2 Palestinian prisoners who hold Jordanian passports
to Jordan. Inside Israel, some
70 ultra-Orthodox Jews attack, severely beat a Druze man
harvesting his vineyard in Bayt Jan in the upper Galilee; 100s of Druze
come to the scene and clash with the Jews, leaving 4 injured; Israeli police
intervene, separate the groups. (IMEMC 9/1; HA 9/2; PCHR 9/8)
The IDF sends undercover units into Tulkarm in a car with Palestinian license
plates to arrest a wanted Palestinian; patrols in, fires on residential areas of
Jenin town and r.c., as well as in Kafr Dan and Kafr Ra’i nr. Jenin; conducts
arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron. (PCHR 9/7)
The IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron, in Balata r.c. and Nablus. (NYT 9/2; OCHA 9/5; PCHR 9/6)
In Gaza, 1,000s of Hamas supporters
rally at the Rafah border crossing to protest its continued closure by Israel;
when the demonstrators attempt to break through the Rafah crossing to reach
Egypt, ESF mbrs. fire into the air to disperse the crowd, killing 1 Palestinian teenager, wounding several. In Gaza City, a bomb destroys an ESF vehicle parked outside the home of a senior ESF cmdr., causing no injuries; Hamas
blames Fatah, which denies involvement.
Egypt closed the Rafah crossing after allowing 4,545 Palestinians and Egyptians to cross, including 3,437 who entered Egypt and 1,108 Palestinians who headed for the Gaza Strip, according to an Egyptian official. (AFP)
Israeli troops shot and critically wounded a mentally disabled Palestinian in the face with three rubber bullets, during an overnight raid in the village of Bi'lin in the West Bank. (AFP, AP)
Three children and one adult participating in a demonstration against the construction of the separation wall in Bi'lin were injured by live bullets. (Ma'an News Agency)
Israeli forces arrested a Palestinian boy, 15, at the Huwwara checkpoint, south of Nablus, after he reportedly attempted to stab a soldier. Local sources in the village of Beita, home of the boy, denied reports that he had been carrying a knife. (Ma'an News Agency)
The Israeli Government had decided to allow Palestinians to visit the Al-Haram Al-Sharif (Temple Mount) in East Jerusalem during the month of Ramadan, an IDF statement said. Married Palestinian men, aged 45 to 50, and married Palestinian women, aged 30 to 45, with special permits from the Israeli authorities, would be able to attend Friday prayers. Palestinian men over the age of 50 and women over the age of 45 would have free access. (Xinhua)
Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas sent a letter to Egypt expressing his intention to end the Palestinian internal political crisis, according to Mr. Abbas' office. In the letter, Mr. Abbas said that Palestinian national dialogue, with all the factions participating, must start with the goal of forming national unity, paving the way for holding early presidential and parliamentary elections. (Xinhua)
Raed Rajab, Deputy Director of the Palestinian Petroleum Agency said that the amount of cooking gas that Israel allowed into the Gaza Strip had increased recently. He said, "If the occupation forces did not close the crossing point two days last week, we would have felt the increase." Palestinians, traditionally, consumed more cooking gas during the month of Ramadan. (Xinhua)
Israeli forces released Noura Al-Hashlamoun, 37, from Israeli custody after serving 26 months in prison and after 27 days of a hunger strike. She was arrested on 19 June 2006 and had been under administrative detention without trial or charges. Her husband has been detained since September 2006, accused of being affiliated with Islamic Jihad. They have six children, aged 3 to 14. (Ma'an News Agency)
Israeli Foreign Ministry Director Aharon Abramovich met with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit in Cairo to discuss the peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. Mr. Aboul Gheit said that Israel "should show understanding of the need to strengthen Palestinian infrastructure and improve Palestinian living conditions. (AFP)
Senior leaders of two Palestinian groups arrived in Cairo for talks with Egyptian mediators on means of ending the current intra-Palestinian crisis. The Secretary-General of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Nayif Hawatmah, would present a paper to mediators on the issue. Earlier in the day, the head of the Palestinian Popular Struggle Front, Samir Ghawshah, also arrived in Cairo. (Xinhua)
An official Palestinian population census published by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics showed that the Palestinian population in the West Bank had grown to 2,350,000. The census did not include the population in the Gaza Strip, whose recent figure was placed at around 1.5 million. (imra.org.il, www.pcbs.gov.ps, Xinhua)