2 Palestinians killed.
The IDF sends tanks into PA-controlled Hebron fr. 3 directions
to destroy 5 Force 17 posts, wounding 9 Palestinians. Armed Jewish
settlers occupy a Palestinian building in the city, fire on Palestinians,
wounding 1. In Bethlehem, Israeli undercover agents kidnap
senior Islamic Jihad mbr. Mahmud Hamdan. (MM, WP 7/16; MM 7/17; AP 7/21;
al-Haq press release 7/23)
During Sharon's address opening the Maccabiah Games, 8 Jewish women
silently stand and hold signs saying "War Criminals" and "Stop Ethnic
Cleansing." They are beaten by other Israeli spectators, removed by
Israeli police, arrested, charged with "improper behavior," and released.
The women also distribute a leaflet at the games denouncing Israeli actions.
(Bat Shalom press release, HP 7/17; MEI 7/27) (see Doc. C???)
In Cairo, Peres, Arafat meet after holding separate talks with
Pres. Mubarak on the deteriorating Israeli-Palestinian situation. Peres
warns Arafat that Israel will not hold back if there is another major bombing.
(ITAR-TASS 7/15 in WNC 7/16, 7/17; MM, WT 7/16; MM 7/19; MENA 7/19 in WNC 7/23)
The Israeli cabinet approves construction of new communities in a
vacant Negev area of Halutza Sands, bordering the southeast corner of the Gaza
Strip, that the previous government had considered giving to the PA in a
land-swap deal as part of a final status agmt. (NYT, WP, WT 7/16)
Inside Israel, 2 Palestinians are killed while they are
allegedly preparing a bomb nr. the stadium where the Maccabiah Games are
scheduled to open today.
2 Palestinians killed.
In Qalqilya, IDF soldiers chasing curfew breakers toss
stun grenades into a building, sparking a fire that kills 1 Palestinian.
The IDF fatally shoots a 2d Palestinian during an arrest raid in
Bayt Lahia; bulldozes 4 dunams of Bayt Lahia farmland nr. Dugit settlement;
raids the Ramallah offices of the largest Palestinian Internet service provider,
PalNet, disabling email, Internet access; conducts house-to-house searches in
Hebron. (UPMRC, WT 7/16; LAW, PCHR 7/17; LAW 7/19)
In Alexandria, Ben-Eliezer confers with Mubarak,
reportedly presents a "Gaza First" plan, which has not been endorsed by
Sharon. Mubarak also meets with PA Local Government M Saeb Erakat;
there is no evidence that Ben-Eliezer and Erakat meet. (MM 7/15; MENA 7/15, QA
7/16 in WNC 7/17; MM, NYT, WT 7/16; WT 7/17; JPI 7/26; MM 7/29)
1 Israeli killed.
Israel says it will
release Irishman Morgan, whom it confirms is not a Real IRA mbr.
The IDF fires on cars traveling on the main north–south road in Gaza,
apparently to halt traffic for passage of a Jewish settler convoy fr. Gush
Katif. More than 40 Israeli tour guides file suit in Israeli court
against the PA for earnings lost because of intifada violence. (BBC, HA,
JTA, MM, WP 7/15; AFP 7/15 in WNC 7/18; NYT, PR, WP, WT 7/16; MM, NYT 7/17; MM
7/18; PCHR 7/24)
An East Jerusalem Palestinian fatally stabs an Israeli on
promenade in Tel Aviv, wounds 2 others, is wounded and captured by police; a
statement faxed to Reuters takes responsibility in the name of the AMB,
but AMB spokesmen say the group was not involved.
1 Palestinian killed.
The IDF assassinates wanted senior Hamas mbr. Malik al-Din,
fatally shooting him as he emerges fr. his Hebron home to surrender; tightens
restrictions on Palestinians traveling the Tulkarm–Nablus road nr. Einav
settlement; demolishes a Palestinian home in Khan Yunis, fires on
residential areas of Jenin, Tulkarm r.c., Rafah, Yibna nr. Hebron; conducts
arrest raids, house searches in Bayt ‘Awa nr. Hebron. Bethlehem, al-Bireh,
Dahaysha r.c., Jenin, Nablus, Ramallah, Tulkarm, Yatta. (MA 7/15; MA, VOI, VOP
7/15, VOP 7/16 in WNC 7/21; PR 7/21; PCHR 7/22)
8 Palestinians killed.
Citing retaliation for the death of an Israeli woman on 7/14, the IDF
launches overnight missile strikes on 4 sites in Gaza: a Hamas cultural
center in n. Gaza, 2 sites Palestinians have used to launch rockets in s. Gaza,
and a metal workshop (alleged weapons factory) in central Gaza; at least 2
Palestinians are injured. Later in the day, an IDF drone fires a missile
at a car driving in Gaza City, assassinating 4 Hamas mbrs. (Sabir Abu
Assi, `Assim Abu Ras, Amjad Arafat, `Adil Haniyeh), wounding more than 12
bystanders; an IDF helicopter and ground troops fire 3 missiles at a car driving
in Salfit, assassinating 3 wanted Hamas mbrs. (Muhammad Ayyash, Samir
Dawahqa, Muhammad Mar'ai); an IDF helicopter fires at 3 Palestinians firing
mortars at Gush Katif, injuring them. In clashes in Salfit after the
assassinations, the IDF fatally shoots a stone-throwing Palestinian
teenager. The Israeli strikes mark the definitive end of the 2/8 cease-fire;
Hamas announces that it is considering massive retaliation. Israel
blames Abbas for failing to crack down on militant groups. The IDF
also continues operations in and around Tulkarm; conducts arrest raids, house
searches nr. Bethlehem, Hebron, Jenin, Nablus. A Jewish settler seriously injures a
Palestinian teenager in a hit-and-run incident in Hebron. Jewish settlers
fr. Ramat Yishai throw stones, bottles at Palestinian homes in Hebron and at a
Palestinian teenager, lightly injuring him. An Israeli court sentences an
East Jerusalem Palestinian to 5 mos. in jail for joining Force 17
in 2000, calling it a "severe crime"; says at least 80 "Jerusalem Arabs" have
been indicted on similar charges since 9/00. (IMEMC, JTA, NYT, UNIS, WP, YA
7/15; VOI 7/15 in WNC 7/15; Interfax, ITAR-TASS, JP, MENA, VOI, VOP, XIN 7/15 in
WNC 7/16; HA, IMEMC, NYT, PRCS, REU, WP, WT, YA 7/16; VOP 7/16 in WNC 7/17; HA
7/17; OCHA, PR 7/20; PCHR 7/21)
Overnight, PA police
searching for Hamas gunmen clash again with Hamas mbrs., this time in
Gaza City, leaving 2 Palestinian children dead; during the clash, Hamas
mbrs. destroy a PA armored personnel carrier with rocket-propelled grenades,
burn a police station and a PA office building; Hamas, Fatah
quickly convene an emergency mtg. to defuse tensions. Palestinians fire a
barrage of at least 19 rockets and 10s of mortars at Neve Dekalim,
lightly injuring 2 settlers, damaging 5 houses; 1 shell hits an industrial zone
in the Negev, sparking a fire.
3 Palestinians killed.
Overnight, the IDF pulls troops out of central Gaza; makes air strikes on the
PA Economics Min. offices in Gaza City (causing no injuries), a factory in Gaza
City (killing 1 Palestinian, wounding at least 9), a bridge nr. Bureij r.c.;
fatally shoots an unarmed Palestinian who strays close to the
Kissufim crossing. Palestinians fire several rockets into Israel, causing no
damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids,
house searches nr. Hebron. A Palestinian dies of injuries received during the
IDF’s 7/6 failed assassination attempt on Zubaydi and Sadi. (NYT, WP 7/15; NYT
7/16; PCHR 7/20)
The IDF escalates its attacks on Lebanon, completing the naval blockade of
the coast; making air strikes on Hizballah offices, homes of Hizballah leaders
and a senior Hamas official; hitting scores of civilian infrastructure targets,
particularly in pro-Hizballah neighborhoods in s. Beirut and s. Lebanon, and
roads and bridges in e. and n. Lebanon (including destroying the last bridge on
the Beirut–Damascus highway), also destroying numerous gas stations, fuel depots
(including hitting Jiyeh terminal for a 2d day, creating a major oil slick), a
major power plant s. of the capital; shelling ports in Amshit, Batrun, Beirut,
Juniyah, Sidon, Tripoli, and Tyre and hitting a radar installation in the new
Manara lighthouse in Beirut to disable Lebanon’s coast radar defenses. At least
16 Lebanese civilians are killed in an air strike on a civilian convoy fleeing
Marwahin village in s. Lebanon after Israel warned residents to evacuate,
bringing the estimated death toll since the start of the crisis to 92 Lebanese
killed and at least 250 wounded, almost all of them civilians. Hizballah fires
some 90 Katyushas at n. Israel during the day, hitting Tiberias for the 1st
time, as well as Carmiel and Nahariya, lightly injuring at least 11 Israelis.
Italy begins evacuating its citizens fr. Lebanon; Britain, France, the U.S. say
they have plans to do the same. (HA, NYT, WP, WT 7/16; NYT 7/29; WP 8/1; NYT 8/3)
In the West Bank, Israeli
intelligence summons, arrests 2 Palestinians in Hebron. Jewish settlers fr. Otniel continue work to set up a
new outpost on land seized on 7/14. (HA, NYT, WT 7/16; OCHA 7/18; PCHR 7/19; NYT
7/22; OCHA 7/25)
In a bid to help Abbas, Israel removes 178 AMB mbrs. fr. its wanted list (75% of AMB mbrs.
wanted, including AMB Jenin leader Zakariya Zubaydi) after they sign pledges
to cease all actions against Israel and hand over their weapons to the PA. In Gaza, Palestinians fire 2 RPGs at
an IDF unit patrolling the border fence nr.
al-Bureij, missing the target, causing no damage or injuries; fire 4 mortars
at IDF troops e. of Bayt Hanun, causing no damage or injuries. Around 50 Palestinian
merchants hold a sit-in at the Erez crossing to protest Israel’s continued closure.
PA employees recently cut from the
PA salary rolls by Abbas begin an open-ended sit-in
strike in Gaza City’s Unknown Soldier’s Park. On the intra-Palestinian front, the ESF raids the Gaza City homes
of at least a dozen Army of Islam mbrs., arresting 12, all connected to the powerful Daghmash clan. A
Palestinian man
dies in a Gaza City hospital after being interrogated by the IQB.
The IDF arrested seven Palestinians affiliated with Hamas in Nablus. Among the detained were three members of the
Nablus municipal council. (AP, Haaretz, IDF, The Jerusalem Post, Xinhua)
In Beit Fajjar, a town south of Bethlehem, the IDF conducted a military operation, occupying several buildings
before detaining four Palestinians. (Ma'an News Agency)
The IDF made incursions into Jenin and patrolled the area without making any arrests. (Ma'an News Agency)
The IDF detained three Palestinians in a military operation in Qalqilya. (Ma'an News Agency)
Quartet Representative Tony Blair cancelled his visit to Gaza where he was scheduled to visit a sewage treatment
plant. Matthew Doyle, a spokesperson for Mr. Blair, said that a "specific security threat" was the reason behind the
cancellation, but said that the envoy "hoped to visit Gaza again in the future". Haaretz quoted anonymous sources as
saying that the Shin Bet had warned Mr. Blair that "Palestinian terror organizations were planning to attack him", but
did not specify who posed the alleged threat. A Hamas spokesperson denied there were any security threats against Mr.
Blair and accused Israel of pressuring the Quartet envoy to cancel his visit which "would have meant the failure of the
siege on Hamas in the Gaza Strip". UNRWA Director in Gaza John Ging said that he was "very disappointed" by the
cancellation. (AP, DPA, Haaretz, The Jerusalem Post, Reuters, Ynetnews)
More than 100 Israelis set up camp in an abandoned military base in the West Bank town of Beit Sahur in what
Palestinian media described as an attempt to establish a settlement outpost. The area surrounding the military base was
designated to become a hospital funded by CARE International. Hani Al-Hayek, the mayor of Beit Sahur, said that he had
discussed the situation with the IDF and expected that the would-be settlers would be evicted. (Ma'an News Agency)
The International Committee of the Red Cross warned that herders in the West Bank were facing an "acute water
shortage" and were on the "brink of an emergency". The Red Cross said that the problem was caused by natural factors
such as three successive years of drought and frost during last winter as well as Israeli imposed restriction of
movement that limited the access to water. An Israeli Defence official said that restriction of movement was necessary
due to "security threats" and that the problem was caused by drought and Palestinian population growth. (IRIN)
In a statement, the international non-governmental organization Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE)
called on Israel to stop the demolition of homes as a means of collective punishment as it violated international law.
In particular, COHRE criticized statements made by high-ranking Israeli officials claiming that the demolition of homes
belonging to families of suspected terrorists in East Jerusalem was permissible by law, when the opposite was true.
(www.cohre.org)
French Minister for Foreign and European Affairs Bernard Kouchner called for a "European Road Map" to help bring
peace to the Middle East. "We do not have sufficient weight when it comes to the peace process," Mr. Kouchner, whose
country holds the EU Presidency, told members of the European Parliament in Brussels. "We propose to our friends the
Foreign Ministers and to you [lawmakers] to define a Road Map that we could draw up in the first months of the French
[EU] Presidency," he said. He added, "It's not about making proposals contrary to the Americans, nor contrary to
anyone… [The change of US leadership] will be the moment to propose a form of partnership that will take more account
of the symbolic, and real, weight of the European Union… We will have to propose this particular Road Map to our
American friends… This is about giving European foreign policy its rightful place." (AFP)
The chairman of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, Paul Badji,
announced that the Government of Chile had agreed to host a Latin American and Caribbean meeting in support of Israeli
-Palestinian peace. The meeting is scheduled to take place in Santiago in mid-December 2008. (Reliefweb)
PA President Abbas met Malta's President Edward Fenech-Adami during his two-day visit to the country. Mr. Abbas told
the President that apart from supporting the Palestinian cause, Malta had always spoken to other parties, particularly
the EU, in favour of the rights of the Palestinians. He also thanked the President for the plan to open a Maltese
Embassy in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. President Fenech-Adami expressed his Government's support of the
Palestinian cause, mentioning, in particular, that Malta had held the position of the Rapporteur of the Committee on
the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People since 1975. "We have always retained this position
because we have always believed that, despite our small size, Malta can help the Palestinian people who have suffered,
and are still suffering, so much," the President said. Mr. Abbas was to meet with Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi later
in the day. (AFP, www.timesofmalta.com)
The Italian Government announced that it had contributed €300,000 to aid the International Committee of the Red
Cross in "urgent humanitarian assistance for the population of the Palestinian Occupied Territory facing health, food,
water and shelter emergencies". (Reliefweb)
The Israeli military detained 12 Palestinians during raids in the West Bank. (IMEMC, Ma’an News Agency)
The Breaking the Silence group, made up of veteran Israeli troops, said in a report that Israeli soldiers in the Gaza war had been told to shoot first and worry about the consequences later and used Palestinian civilians as human shields. The testimony of some 30 soldiers, all unnamed, showed that the massive destruction wreaked on the Gaza Strip was “a direct result of IDF policy,” said the group. One said, “To every house we close in on, we send the neighbour in.” Another said his commander had told him of instances when “the force would enter while placing rifle barrels on a civilian’s shoulder, advancing into a house and using him as a human shield.” Instructions received before battle led to trigger-happy soldiers, civilian deaths and massive destruction in Gaza, soldiers said. “No one said ‘kill innocents.’ But the instruction was that for the army, anyone there is suspect and should be taken down,” one said. “I understood … that it’s better to shoot first and ask questions later,” said another. (AFP, www.breakingthesilence.org.il)
Armed Israeli settlers descended on a Palestinian home under construction near Tulkarm, ransacking the building and destroying construction equipment. (Ma’an News Agency)
A Palestinian human rights group, the Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, described Israeli mistreatment of Palestinian female prisoners in a report sponsored by the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), saying the women prisoners were held in Israeli prisons and detention centres designed for men which did not respond to female needs. “[Pregnant detainees] do not enjoy preferential treatment in terms of diet, living space or transfer to hospitals. … Pregnant prisoners are also chained to their beds until they enter delivery rooms and shackled once again after giving birth,” the group said. (AFP)
Quartet Representative Tony Blair told The Jerusalem Post that Israeli and Palestinian officials continued to meet at a technical and expert level to move economic projects forward, even though there were currently no high-level political negotiations. Mr. Blair, who had met with Defence Minister Ehud Barak, Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Ya'alon and Regional Development Minister Silvan Shalom, declared that there was some improvement in terms of security and economic cooperation. He also reasserted the necessity to ease the movement restrictions in the West Bank. (The Jerusalem Post)
The Washington Post reported that Hamas leaders Bassem Naim and Mahmoud Al-Zahhar had held talks last month in Geneva with former US Ambassador to Israel Thomas Pickering and former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, in an attempt by the Obama Administration to gauge Hamas’ positions on various issues. State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said that the US Administration’s stance regarding Hamas had not changed, requiring the movement to accept the Quartet’s conditions. (www.thewashingtonpost.com)
In a speech at the 15th summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in Sharm el-Sheikh, PA President Abbas said, “We are pro serious negotiations. Yet, flexibility on our side never means concession of our national principles. There will be no solution without Jerusalem, refugees and all final status issues.” Regarding Palestinian national dialogue, he said, “We hope … to reach an agreement that brings unity to the Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and, thus, get rid of Israel’s pretext to evade their commitments.” (WAFA)
The 200-strong convoy of ultra-Orthodox Jews from Neturei Karta crossed into Gaza from Egypt in 50 vehicles carrying medical aid and humanitarian goods for children. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh met with the group and declared that Hamas’ “problem is with the occupation, that stems from the Zionist ideology and its desire to disperse all the Palestinians.” (Ma’an News Agency, Ynetnews)
The International Monetary Fund said the West Bank economy could strengthen significantly this year if Israel continued to ease restrictions on Palestinian trade and movement in the territory. A Summary of Findings by the IMF Mission to the West Bank and Gaza said the economy in the West Bank could grow by as much as 7 per cent in 2009. It predicted a 3 per cent inflation rate. “This would represent the first significant improvement in living standards in the West Bank since 2006,” said Oussama Kanaan, the IMF’s representative in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. “However, if the relaxation of Israeli restrictions does not continue in the remainder of the year, real GDP per capita would decline further in 2009, along the same trend started in 2006,” he said in a statement. In the Gaza Strip, poverty and unemployment will deepen unless Israel relaxes its blockade of the territory, he added. The IMF put unemployment at about 20 per cent in the West Bank and 34 per cent in the Gaza Strip. (Reuters)
Estonia’s Foreign Ministry said that the first part of the Ministry’s development aid project for introducing the Palestinian Authority to Estonia’s experiences in developing e-Governance had concluded earlier this week. Foreign Minister Urmas Paet said, “Using up-to-date information and communication technology solutions will help with establishing essential e-services for citizens, and this will help the establishment of good and transparent governing standards.” The project will continue in September with 20 director-level PA officials coming to Estonia for a week of training at the e-Governance Academy. (www.mfa.ee)