1 Palestinian killed.
A previously unknown Jewish settler group, the Brigade of Gilad and
Shalhavet (named for 2 settlers killed during recent fighting) claims
responsibility for ambushing a Palestinian car, killing 1 Palestinian,
wounding 3. Jewish settlers also bulldoze Palestinian land in al-Sawiya
village, nr. the settlements of Shilo and Aley; vandalize Palestinian property
in Bayt Dajan, Bayt Furik. The IDF bulldozes Palestinian land in Abud; sets up
5 new observation towers on the Nablus+nQalqilya road. For the 3d day, IDF
troops surround the homes of 30 Palestinian families nr. Kefar Darom
settlement, bulldozing land, destroying electricity and water connections, and
placing sand barricades and barbed wire, apparently to pressure them to evacuate
so a buffer zone can be created around the settlement. (HP, IDF Radio, MM 6/13;
WP, WT 6/14; WJW 6/21; MEI 6/29)
Tenet holds a final mtg. in Tel Aviv with Israeli, PA security
officials to set a timetable for implementing the cease-fire, which goes
into effect when the mtg. concludes, and to agree on initial steps to be taken
within 48 hrs. Follow-up mtgs. will be held by a new trilateral security
comm., directed by a CIA official. The PA says it received "a clear U.S.
pledge that the U.S. will commit itself to implementing the recommendations of
the Mitchell Comm. in their entirety," that the EU provided similar
assurances. Hamas, Islamic Jihad denounce the plan, vow to
continue the intifada. (MM, NYT, WP 6/13; AYM, MENA 6/13 in WNC 6/14; MM, NYT,
WP, WT 6/14; AYM, HJ, DUS, QA, al-Quds, SA 6/14 in WNC 6/15; NYT 6/16;
al-Quds 6/21 in WNC 6/22) (see Peace Monitor)
A Palestinian sniper wounds a settler
nr. Ofra settlement.
2 Palestinians killed.
The IDF completes its withdrawal to the outskirts of Ramallah;
conducts arrest raids in Anabta, Bayt Furik; shells residential areas of Khan
Yunis, wounding 7; demolishes a Palestinian home in Hebron; bulldozes 17
dunams of agricultural land in Absan nr. the Gaza-Israel border. In Silwan in
East Jerusalem, Israeli special forces raid a Palestinian home, killing
1 Palestinian, wounding another. A Palestinian heart attack victim
dies when his ambulance is barred fr. crossing an IDF checkpoint to reach
a hospital. (LAW 6/13; UPMRC, WP 6/14; LAW, PCHR 6/19; New Haven Register
7/3)
Bush confers with Saudi FM Prince Saud al-Faisal, who holds
separate talks with VP Cheney, National Security Adviser Condoleeza
Rice. (MM, NYT, WP, WT 6/14) (see Quarterly Update)
1 Palestinian killed. 1 Israeli killed.
The IDF assassinates Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades mbr. Fuad Lidawi,
firing missiles at his car as he drives in Gaza City, wounding 28 bystanders
(including 11 children); later fires missiles at a warehouse in Gaza City that
allegedly contains Qassam missiles, 50 yds. fr. the home of Shaykh Yasin.
The IDF blows up a cave in Dayr Ghassana (see 5/24), burying 3 wanted
Palestinians, leaving them for dead; local residents dig out, save the men;
in retaliation, the IDF raids, vandalizes the village medical clinic. A
Palestinian dies of injuries received in the IDF’s 6/12 assassination of Abu
Srour and Taha, bringing that toll to 7. The IDF also demolishes 1 Palestinian home
in Dura, 1 in Hebron; bulldozes 3 dunams of land in Dayr al-Balah; places a
curfew on, conducts arrest raids in Bayt Sahur; fires on residential areas of
Rafah. (AFP, HA 6/13; NYT, WP, WT 6/14; VOI 6/14 in
WNC 6/17; HP 6/16; PR 6/14; LAW, PCHR 6/19)
An AMB gunman fires on an IDF
patrol nr. Karmela Menashe settlement, outside Jenin, fatally shooting 1 IDF
soldier, wounding 2. Palestinians also fire a Qassam rocket at Sederot, damaging
a house but causing no injuries. In Umm al-Fahm, 100,000s of Israeli Arabs attend a rally in support of
Islamic Movement mbrs. arrested by Israel on 5/13. (HA 6/13).
The IDF fires on residential areas of Rafah, wounding a 9-mo.-old
baby; razes a Palestinian home, 65 dunams of agricultural land in
al-Qarara; bulldozes 1.5 dunams of citrus trees, a telephone network in Dayr
al-Balah; fires tear gas, live ammunition at Palestinian, Israeli, international
peace activists protesting against the separation wall nr. Qalqilya,
injuring a Palestinian cameraman working for Agence France-Presse and a South
African protester, arresting an American; conducts arrest raids, house searches
in Askar r.c., Bethlehem, Husan, Jenin town and r.c., al-Mughraqa, Qalqilya,
Ramallah, Yatta. The IDF also begins removing 40 earthen mounds, gates
blocking Palestinian roads in the West Bank, easing Palestinian movement
slightly; flying roadblocks, checkpoints at the entrances to towns and
villages—the main barriers to Palestinians’ free movement—will remain. (XIN
6/13; PCHR 6/17)
The IDF imposes a curfew on, patrols in al-Khadir; conducts arrest
raids, house searches in and around Hebron, in Issawiyya in East Jerusalem;
raids, searches a school in Bayt Jala late in the evening. (VOP 6/13 in
WNC 6/14; PCHR 6/16)
Palestinians
fire 4 mortars at Gush Katif, causing no damage or injuries.
12 Palestinians killed.
During the day, the IDF
launches an air strike at a minibus traveling in downtown Gaza City,
assassinating 2 Islamic Jihad mbrs. (Shawqi al-Saiqali, Hamad Wadiya); 7 minutes
later, as medics and crowds gather at the scene, the IDF makes a 2d air strike
on the site, killing 4 Palestinian medics, 5 Palestinian bystanders, wounding
32; IDF chief of staff Dan Halutz says, “We are saddened by the deaths of these
innocent Palestinians but hold absolutely no responsibility for them.” The IDF
also occupies a Palestinian home in Jenin as a sniper post, then assassinates
AMB mbr. Muhammad al-Wahish with a bullet to the chest (the target of an
assassination attempt earlier in 2006); fires across the border on a funeral
procession in Jabaliya r.c., wounding 3 Palestinian teenagers; conducts arrest
raids, house searches in and around Jenin and nr. Bethlehem, Hebron, Nablus. In
addition, the IDF claims that its investigation of the 6/9 explosion on the Bayt
Lahiya beach that killed 8 Palestinians was not caused by Israeli fire but by a
Palestinian land mine; Palestinians and a Human Rights Watch senior military
analyst dispute this based on the crater pattern, shrapnel at the scene,
injuries of the wounded. Jewish settlers fr. Avraham Avino settlement vandalize
several Palestinian homes in Hebron. Jewish settlers fr. Ma’on settlement beat
several Palestinian farmers working their fields in Yatta, outside Hebron,
pouring toxic substances onto their agricultural land, setting fire to 1,500 sq.
m. of crops. (MM, NYT, PCHR 6/13; IFM, NYT, WP, WT 6/14; PCHR 6/15; MM 6/16; Guardian,
HA, Independent 6/17; OCHA, REU 6/21)
A Lebanese, Mahmud Rafih, confesses to running a network for Mossad, killing
asenior Islamic Jihad mbr. on 5/26. (WP 6/14; MM 6/16; XIN 6/17; MM 6/20; SFR
6/21)
Overnight, 10,000s of Hamas supporters rally outside the PC building in
Ramallah in solidarity with the Hamas-led government. In Nablus, Hamas mbrs. rally against Fatah rampages in Ramallah on
6/12.
1 Palestinian killed.
The IDF conducts
arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem, Nablus and in Hebron, Qalqilya (where undercover units exchange fire with
armed Palestinians, killing 1
Palestinian gunmen; troops return hrs. later, fire on stone-throwing youths
who confront them, wounding 13 Palestinians). (AP, BBC, OCHA 6/13; NYT, PCHR, WP, WT 6/14; PCHR 6/21)
In Beirut, a car bomb kills anti-Syrian
lawmaker Walid Eido in an apparent assassination, also killing his son, 2 bodyguards, 6
bystanders and injuring 11; no group claims responsibility. Eido
was a close ally of assassinated Lebanese PM Rafiq Hariri, strongly supported
creation of an international tribunal to try suspects in the Hariri assassination.
Meanwhile, heavy fighting btwn. the Lebanese army, FI continues at
Nahr al-Barid r.c., leaving at least 2 Lebanese soldiers dead. Israel steps up overflights of Lebanese
territory, further raising tensions. (BBC, NYT, WP, WT 6/14; DS 6/14 in WNC 6/15)
Heavy Fatah-Hamas
fighting continues in Gaza, leaving at least 21 Palestinians dead, 64 wounded. The dead include 2 local UNRWA
workers caught in the crossfire, prompting the agency to suspend all but emergency food, medical provision.
Hamas
continues concentrated attacks on Fatah security posts, consolidating its hold
over n. Gaza, Gaza City (except for the presidential compound and major
security compounds), several refugee camps (Bureij, al-Maghazi, Nussayrat), and Khan Yunis and villages to the east;
taking control of Gaza’s main north–south
road. Many Fatah and PA forces loyal to Abbas reportedly abandon their
positions during the day, some surrendering to Hamas gunmen, others destroying their posts so they would not fall into
Hamas hands; at least 1 NSF
battalion runs out of ammunition (other PA units reports shortages); 40 PA
presidential guardsmen working the Gaza crossing flee across the border to
Egypt. Both factions have set up an estimated 200 checkpoints across the
Strip, searching vehicles and detaining or shooting mbrs. of rival factions.
Major incidents of the day include Hamas’s forced evacuation and
demolition of the PSF headquarters in Khan Yunis (killing 5 PSF officers, wounding 10) and the main police
station in Gaza City; attack on, occupation of an apartment
complex home to Fatah’s Gaza spokesman Mahir Mikdad and many Fatah officials, killing 8 of Mikdad bodyguards.
After dark, Hamas fires mortars at several Fatah posts in Gaza City. Meanwhile, 10s of Gaza City residents
demonstrate for the factions to end
fighting; unidentified gunmen fire on the crowd, killing 1 Palestinian. In the West Bank, AMB mbrs. raid
an Islamic film production company in Nablus, kidnap 10 employees, and take them to Balata r.c., exchanging fire with
Hamas
gunmen, causing no reported injuries.
3 Palestinians killed.
Israeli forces arrested a 28-year-old Palestinian from Hebron. (Ma'an News Agency)
Three members of the Izz ad-Din Al-Qassam Brigades (Hamas' military wing) were killed and two others injured in an
Israeli air strike against a group of militants near a mosque in the Jabalya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip.
(Ma'an News Agency)
Israeli Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz characterized the Cabinet's decision to continue indirect ceasefire talks
with Hamas as problematic, adding that Hamas should be asking Israel for calm, rather than the other way around. He
said, "We needed to change our policies regarding the Gaza Strip a year ago when the Hamas rose to power. Today, we are
a year late and we still have not reached the right decision." After a day of heavy shelling from the Gaza Strip the
previous day, defense officials said that Israel would persevere with talks but that the IDF might step up operations
in response to the attacks. (Haaretz, Ynetnews)
Israel confirmed plans to build 1,300 more apartments in East Jerusalem settlements. Interior Ministry spokesperson
Sabine Hadad said the new apartments were approved for construction in the ultra-Orthodox "Ramat Shlomo" settlement to
help alleviate a "housing shortage" in Jerusalem. PA Negotiator Saeb Erakat said, "We condemn this project, which
reveals the Israeli Government's intention to destroy peace." (AP)
An Israeli human rights group, B'Tselem, released a video showing what it said were Israeli settlers attacking a
Palestinian family as they tended their sheep in the West Bank. The attack on 8 June near the "Susia" settlement by
four masked men in the southern West Bank left an elderly Palestinian couple and their nephew wounded from blows to the
head, face and hands. (AP, BBC)
The European Commission has allocated €24 million ($37.7 million) to address the urgent humanitarian needs of the most
vulnerable Palestinians. More than 1.5 million Palestinians in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria
would benefit from the humanitarian aid. (http://europa.eu)
Hamas confirmed that the members of its military wing who had died in the massive explosion in Beit Lahiya in the
northern Gaza Strip a day earlier were making last-minute preparations for a "special mission." Earlier, Hamas had
blamed Israel and reacted with heavy rocket fire on the western Negev. (BBC, Haaretz, Ynetnews)
Israeli warplanes had fired missiles at the tunnel area in Rafah, injuring four Palestinians, sources said An Israeli military spokesperson’s statement said the strikes were "in response to the continuous firing of rockets and mortar shells at Israeli southern communities from the Gaza Strip. (Ma’an News Agency)
Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu met with Defense Minister Barak and President Peres for consultations about his address at Bar-Ilan University. During the consultations, Messrs Barak and Peres pressed the Prime Minister to announce his acceptance of the Road Map and his willingness to recognize a Palestinian State with security limitations. (Haaretz)
A homemade projectile was fired by an unknown group from the Gaza Strip, landing in a field in the western Negev region of Israel. (Ma’an News Agency)
Prime Minister Salam Fayyad awarded former US President Jimmy Carter the Palestine International Award for Excellence and Innovation, 2009. Mr. Fayyad said, “President Jimmy Carter, who deserves all the honour, is a good man who knows the question of Palestine and its history. I thank Mr. Jimmy Carter for what he said, and which affirms his humanity which we celebrate today”. (WAFA)