Israel's Internal Security M Uzi Landau says Sharon is escalating
Israel's response to Palestinian unrest and may resort to "all-out" combat if
violence continues apace. The IDF sends bulldozers into Rafah to demolish
several greenhouses; tanks covering the bulldozers fire several shells. The IDF
also shells a PSF post in Qalqilya; conducts arrest raids in Aqraba,
Nablus. (Globes 5/17 in WNC 5/18, 5/21;
WP, WT 5/18; PCHR 5/24; LAW 5/25)
Palestinians fire several mortars at Jewish settlements in
Gaza, hitting 1 home but causing no injuries.
4 Palestinians killed.
In a predawn incursion, the IDF sends 20 tanks and armored personnel
carriers (APCs) into Jenin r.c., arrests at least 24 wanted Palestinians; when 1
wanted Hamas mbr. is not found, the IDF burns down his family home.
Troops also enter Jenin city, arrest al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade (AMB) leader
Kamal Abu al-Wafa. After troops withdraw to the outskirts of Jenin r.c. and
town, a Palestinian is killed when he accidentally triggers an unexploded
IDF shell in Jenin r.c. The IDF fatally shoots an AMB mbr.
allegedly attempting to infiltrate Dugit settlement; makes a brief incursion
into Nablus and Askar r.c., firing antitank missiles, heavy machine guns at
stone-throwing Palestinians, wounding 5, killing a 7-yr.-old Palestinian boy
in his yard. Nr. Baqa` al-Gharbiyya, soldiers shoot at a car driving "in a
suspicious manner" nr. an IDF convoy, wounding an Israeli Arab woman; bar
her transportation to a hospital, allowing her to bleed to death. (NYT, WP, WT
5/18; AYM 5/18 in WNC 5/20; LAW 5/22)
2 Palestinians killed. 2 Israelis killed.
The IDF continues operations in Bayt Hanun, fatally
shooting an Islamic Jihad mbr., wounding 24, bulldozing land, firing on
residential areas; demolishes 7 Palestinian homes in Rafah refugee camp
(r.c.), 2 in al-Mughraqa; bulldozes 120 dunams (4 dunams = 1 acre) of
Palestinian agricultural land in Khan Yunis. The IDF also fires flares e.
of Khan Yunis, staring a fire in a wheat field; bars Palestinian firefighters
fr. reaching the area, allowing 32 dunams to burn. In Hebron, Jewish settlers
beat a pregnant Palestinian, causing her to suffer a miscarriage; set
fire to a Palestinian home. (NYT, WP 5/18; MM 5/19; PR 5/21; LAW, PCHR 5/22; NYT
5/30)
Despite the Hebron bombing, new Palestinian Authority (PA) PM Mahmud
Abbas, Israeli PM Ariel Sharon meet in Jerusalem regarding the
road map, marking their 1st meeting and the 1st senior-level PA-Israeli
talks since 9/26/00. Sharon says he cannot accept the road map but offers to
redeploy the IDF from 1 (unnamed) West Bank Palestinian city and fr. n. Gaza in
exchange for a commitment to crack down on militant groups. (NYT, WP, WT 5/18;
MM 5/19; AYM 5/20 in WNC 5/23; NYT, PR 5/21; HA 5/23; al-Musawwar 5/23 in
WNC 5/27; HA 5/28; MEI 5/30)
A Hamas suicide bomber detonates a device in Hebron, killing 2
Jewish settlers. Nr. Qalqilya, 2 Palestinian gunmen infiltrate a
settlement, wound 2 Jewish settlers before being killed; no group takes
responsibility.
1 Palestinian killed.
The IDF seals Rafah as the 1st step in what the government says will
be a major military offensive against Palestinian militants, dubbed Operation
Rainbow. Tanks, armored personnel carriers, armored bulldozers, helicopters,
troops ring the city, firing on any traffic attempting to enter or exit. Many
residents nr. the Philadelphi Route evacuate their homes, taking their
belongings with them. IDF troops also fire on the area to encourage Palestinians
to leave. In Gaza City, the IDF fires missiles at offices of Fatah,
the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, causing damage but
no reported injuries. The IDF also imposes a curfew on Silwad nr.
Ramallah, fires on stone-throwing youths, killing 1 Palestinian; conducts
arrest raids, house searches in Balata r.c. nr. Nablus, Bethlehem, Yatta nr.
Hebron; demolishes 3 Palestinian homes nr. Hebron for construction of the
separation wall; evacuates the unauthorized settlement outpost
Mitzpe Yitzhar nr. Nablus; arrests an Israeli Arab fr. Um al-Fahm for
allegedly plotting with Hamas to stage attacks inside Israel. (AFP, HA,
MM, WP 5/17; VOI, VOP 5/17 in WNC 5/19; NYT, PCHR, WP, WT 5/18; PR 5/19; PCHR
5/20; JPI, MEI 5/28)
Overnight, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in Dura and
Sammu`; in the morning, stone-throwing youths confront the troops, the IDF
responds with live ammunition and teargas, causing no serious injuries. IDF
undercover units conduct arrest raids in Bethlehem. (HA, IMEMC 5/17;
PCHR 5/19)
Palestinians fire a
mortar at an IDF post in Gaza, causing no damage or injuries.
3 Palestinians killed.
The IDF opens the Qarni crossing (closed 5/13) for exports only but closes
the Sufa crossing; sends undercover units in a car with Palestinian license
plates into Nablus in a predawn raid, besieging a Palestinian house, fatally
shooting 2 Islamic Jihad mbrs. in an hrs.-long exchange of gunfire, wounding and
arresting a 3d, and causing a 78-yr.-old Palestinian bystander to suffer a fatal
heart attack, occupying a home as an observation post; conducts arrest raids,
house searches in ‘Ayn Bayt al-Ma’ refugee camp (r.c.) nr. Nablus, Jenin town
and r.c. and nr. Bethlehem, Hebron, Ramallah. (HA, MM, Palestine Media Center 5/17;
JP, MM, NYT, PCHR, WP, WT 5/18; HA, NYT 5/19; HJ, MA 5/20 in WNC 5/21; PCHR
5/25)
The PA Interior Min. begins
deploying Interior M Said Siyam’s new 3,000-mbr. volunteer security force, the
Executive Support Force (ESF), in Gaza. The ESF is made up of members of the
Palestinian resistance (largely from Hamas, around one-sixth from the Popular
Resistance Comms. [PRCs]). For the 2d day, a Hamas mbr. is killed in a drive-by
shooting in Gaza City; no group claims responsibility. In Ramallah, 100s of
government workers protest the PA’s failure to pay wages. Discount Bank, the
last Israeli bank doing business with the PA, announces that it will sever its
ties with Palestinian banks in 3–6 mos.
10 Palestinians killed.
The IDF makes at least 6
air strikes on Gaza, killing 9 Palestinians, wounding 10s. Air strikes
target an ESF barracks outside the Interior Min. (killing 1 ESF mbr., wounding at least 21 Palestinians,
including at least 10 bystanders); a civilian
car (apparently mistaken for a Hamas vehicle) driving nr. Rafah, killing 2 Palestinian children, wounding their
father, 2 siblings; a trailer used to
house ESF mbrs. guarding Interior Min. spokesman Khalid Abu Hilal’s home, killing 1 ESF mbr., wounding 4;
a Hamas base e. of Gaza City nr. Qarni, killing 4 Hamas mbrs., 1 bystander and wounding 4 Hamas mbrs., 2
bystanders; a car in Gaza City, in an apparent attempt to assassinate Izzeddin al-Qassam
Brigades (IQB) cmdr. Imad Shabanah and a 2d senior Hamas mbr., wounding them, 4 bystanders. The
IDF reoccupies an area of prime Palestinian
agricultural land northeast of Bayt Hanun and northwest of Bayt Lahiya to
expand its n. Gaza buffer zone, declaring the area off limits to Palestinians
farmers, leveling land; deploys an artillery battery on the n. Gaza border, shelling areas nr. Bayt Lahiya and in
Jabaliya r.c. (targeting Islamic
Jihad mbrs.), causing no injuries; sends tanks into n. Gaza to conduct
“limited ground operations” to halt Palestinian rocket fire, occupying buildings in Bayt Lahiya, and later Bayt Hanun
and Jabaliya r.c. (The U.S.
supports Israel’s “right to defend itself.”) A Palestinian teenager is injured
in Jabaliya r.c. when he accidentally triggers unexploded IDF ordnance
(IDF UXO). In the West Bank. The IDF conducts arrest raids,
house searches in and around Salfit, Tulkarm (firing on stone-throwing Palestinians who confront them, wounding 2) and
in Hebron
(also raiding a wedding in Hebron, interrogating celebrants and arresting 3), Nablus; sends troops to patrol in Bayt
Fajjar nr. Bethlehem, firing on residential areas and
stone-throwing youths who confront the troops, killing 1 Palestinian teenager, wounding a 2d. (AP, HA, REU 5/17; IFM, NYT, WP, WT 5/18; PCHR 5/21; OCHA 5/23; PCHR 5/24)
Palestinians fire at least 17 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, wounding several Israelis and damaging a
synagogue, high school, and industrial building. (The Israeli DMin. evacuates 900 residents fr. Sederot,
where most rockets have hit, taking them for a “weekend respite” at a recreation center in
Netanya; about half of the town’s 24,000 residents have left.)
Meanwhile, a new
Hamas-Fatah cease-fire significantly reduces
violence in Gaza, though at least 6 Palestinians are killed in clashes
during the day. The dead include a Hamas mbr. kidnapped, executed by Fatah; a
Hamas mbr. killed by a Fatah sniper; 4 Hamas supporters killed, 14 wounded when Fatah forces ambush a funeral for 2 ESF
mbrs. killed on 5/16. Hamas
mbrs. also attack PA national security forces (NSF) and PSF headquarters
in n. Gaza. With the PA security forces unable to guarantee his security, Abbas delays plans to go to Gaza today
to discuss the interfactional fighting.
Israeli Public Security Minister Avi Dicter told Israel Radio that Israel must destroy Hamas arsenal, saying it was almost on par with that of a sovereign State. In a separate interview, the outgoing Air Force Chief, Maj. Gen. Eliezer Shkedi, said that in a future war, Israel would come under heavy rocket attack, including from Hamas. (AP)
President Bush told a news conference after meeting PA President Abbas in Sharm el-Sheikh: "I told the President that I am absolutely committed to working with him and his negotiators, as well as the Israelis, to get a State defined… The President and his team are committed to peace. They stand squarely against those who use violence to stop the peace process." Mr. Abbas said: "We are very delighted that the President is following all the details of everything and every discussion that is taking place in the Palestinian negotiations, as well as issues in the region." (www.whitehouse.gov)
Abu Obeida, a spokesman for Hamas' military wing, said: "I think the occupation cannot carry out a wide ground operation in the Gaza Strip but it can shell the houses from the sky and cause casualties." He added that Hamas was prepared for any Israeli military escalation. Abu Ahmad, the spokesman for the Islamic Jihad's armed wing, said that it was ready to "face any aggression or new invasion against the Gaza Strip… There is an attempt to build pressure on the Palestinian resistance and terrify it," he said. (Xinhua)
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu landed in Washington ahead of a meeting with US President Obama as aides minimized speculation that their differences over Middle East peace process would cause conflict. The Prime Minister’s National Security Adviser, Uzi Arad, told reporters in Washington: “We are confident that a sense of pragmatism and the desire for progress will drive the discussion and what will decide the issue, are the practicalities of the matter and not the rhetoric.” White House spokesman Robert Gibbs had told reporters that the meeting would not be “as contentious” as some expected. (AP)
Egyptian police recovered a body from the rubble of a collapsed tunnel used to smuggle goods into the Gaza Strip, a security official said. Earlier, police found 500 kg of explosives and a weapons cache near the border with the Gaza Strip, another security official told AFP. (AFP)
The US and the EU were united in their demand that Israel and the Palestinians negotiate a two-State solution to their conflict, Henri Guaino, a senior advisor to French President Nicolas Sarkozy, said. "We are on exactly the same wavelength. The positions of Europe, France, and the United States have never been so close," he said. (AFP)
Jordan's King Abdullah II urged the resumption of negotiations towards a two-State vision in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict during a meeting with the Israeli President Shimon Peres, the Royal Court reported. The meeting was conducted on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum. "During today's meeting, Peres set forth his vision for regional economic development as a catalyst for the peace process,” the statement said. (DPA)
Palestinian militants attacked Israeli troops with two remote-controlled bombs north of the Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun, witnesses said. The army retaliated with tank fire without causing casualties, they said. Two groups, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad and the Palestine Liberation Front claimed responsibility. (AFP)
Hamas had rejected the idea of forming a joint Palestinian security force in the Gaza Strip that would not also operate in the West Bank. Salah al-Bardawil, spokesman for Hamas' parliamentary bloc, said any agreement on the formation of a new security force would have to apply to all the occupied territories. "There has been agreement in principle on the formation of a common force from the two factions to work in the Gaza Strip until the elections [which should be held] before next 5 January," senior Fatah official Nabil Sha’ath had been quoted as saying by the official Egyptian news agency MENA following talks in Cairo. (AFP)
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak announced that he would deny Knesset members from the right-wing National Union faction permission to tour Palestinian areas in Hebron to protest the easing of restrictions on Palestinians. However, the Knesset members would be permitted to enter the Cave of the Patriarchs (Al-Haram Al-Ibrahimi). (Ynetnews)