Timeline Palestine (D) 2011 - 2015
Return to home
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 1,
Jawaher Abu Rahma (36), a Palestinian woman, died one day after
allegedly inhaling massive amounts of tear gas fired by the Israeli
military at a West Bank demonstration. On Jan 20 Israel's military
said Rahma was the victim of a medical error and was not killed by
tear gas.
   (AFP, 1/3/11)(AP, 1/20/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 2, Israel's PM
Netanyahu said that he's ready to sit down with the Palestinian
president for continuous one-on-one talks until they reach a peace
deal. Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian at a checkpoint near
the West Bank city of Nablus. Palestinian security sources said
Mohammed Daraghmeh was trying to pass through the checkpoint on his
way to work at a West Bank settlement and a row broke out with
troops when they refused him passage.
   (AP, 1/2/11)(AFP, 1/2/11)(AFP, 1/3/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 3, In Lebanon Ahmed
Yamani (86), one of the founders of the radical Popular Front for
the Liberation of Palestine, died in Beirut after a stroke. The PFLP
was launched by the late Palestinian leader George Habash in
December 1967, six months after the Arabs lost the West Bank, Gaza
Strip and Syria's Golan Heights to Israel.
   (AP, 1/4/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 5, Israeli troops
killed two Palestinians along the Israel-Gaza border. Troops opened
fire at two men trying to cross the border fence into Israel.
   (AP, 1/6/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 7, Chile recognized
Palestinian statehood, joining other South American nations in a
push for Palestinians and Israelis to keep negotiating toward a
lasting peace in the Middle East.
   (AP, 1/8/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 7, Israeli troops
mistakenly shot and killed Omar Kawasmeh, a 65-year-old Palestinian
man, during a predawn raid to arrest a Hamas militant in the West
Bank. The raid targeted one of six Hamas fighters released from
prison a day earlier by the Western-backed Palestinian Authority. 5
of the freed militants, including the target of the raid in which
the man was killed, were arrested overnight.
   (AP, 1/7/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 8, Israeli soldiers
shot and killed a Palestinian who tried to throw explosives at a
West Bank checkpoint. A mortar attack from Gaza wounded 2 Thai
workers in southern Israel.
   (AP, 1/8/11)(SSFC, 1/9/11, p.A5)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 9, Israeli organizers
said at least 165 professors have declared a boycott against a
contentious Israeli college in the West Bank, deepening an internal
rift in Israel over the expansion of West Bank settlements. They
said Ariel University Center is an "illegal settlement" intended to
prevent Palestinians from establishing an independent state.
Bulldozers demolished a wing of the Hotel Shepherd in Jerusalem to
make way for a new Israeli enclave in the heart of a Palestinian
neighborhood.
   (AP, 1/9/11)(Econ, 1/15/11, p.50)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 10, Israeli troops
shot dead a Palestinian farmer (65) in the northern Gaza Strip.
   (AFP, 1/10/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 11, An Israeli
military court extended the jail term of Palestinian activist
Abdullah Abu Rahma by 16 months. Rahma has already served over a
year in prison for organizing protests against Israel's security
barrier.
   (AP, 1/11/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 11, The Palestinian
Hamas movement in Gaza urged militants to halt their attacks, saying
that continued violence would only invite Israeli reprisals. An
Israeli airstrike killed a person riding a motorcycle in the Gaza
Strip.
   (AP, 1/11/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 13, A Palestinian
minister said Gaza's Hamas rulers will ensure a truce on rocket fire
against Israel is protected, a day after militant factions agreed to
a period of calm.
   (AFP, 1/13/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 13, Guyana recognized
Palestinian statehood, joining a string of other South American
nations in a push for Palestinians and Israelis to negotiate a peace
deal.
   (AP, 1/13/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 14, An Israeli
newspaper reported that the army is to begin collecting weapons from
Jewish settlers as a result of the calm in the West Bank and over
fears they may be used against Palestinians.
   (AFP, 1/14/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 16, Israeli
authorities said they are moving ahead with a new proposal to build
1,400 apartments in a contested part of Jerusalem, enraging
Palestinians who denounced the plan as another settler land grab.
   (AP, 1/16/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 18, Palestinians
welcomed Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to the West Bank.
Medvedev gave a political boost to the Palestinians, backing their
claim to east Jerusalem as a capital and their demand that Israel
must freeze all settlement construction before peace talks can
resume.
   (AP, 1/18/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 18, Israeli forces
killed a Palestinian on the Gaza border after militants set off a
bomb.
   (AP, 1/19/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 20, A Palestinian man
opened fire at an Israeli guard post in the West Bank and soldiers
returned fire, killing him.
   (AP, 1/20/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 21, Dozens of
Palestinians, enraged by France's sympathy for an Israeli soldier
held by Gaza militants, ambushed the French foreign minister's
motorcade in the Gaza Strip, pelting it with eggs and hurling a shoe
that narrowly missed hitting her.
   (AP, 1/21/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 24, Palestinian
protesters smashed windows and sprayed graffiti outside the
headquarters of the Al-Jazeera TV channel in the West Bank.
Al-Jazeera the previous evening had aired what it said were leaked
documents showing that Palestinian leaders agreed to deep
concessions on two of the thorniest issues in negotiations with
Israel: Jerusalem and the fate of Palestinian refugees.
   (AP, 1/24/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 24, Israel's foreign
minister confirmed that he has drawn up a plan for the creation of
an interim Palestinian state with temporary borders in the absence
of a full peace agreement.
   (AP, 1/24/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 24, Peru joined a
growing number of South American countries in recognizing an
independent and sovereign Palestinian state. The decision does not
recognize Palestine's borders pre-dating the Six-Day War of 1967.
Peru also recognized Israel's indisputable right to exist without
any threats to its people.
   (AP, 1/24/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 25, Ireland said it is
upgrading its diplomatic relations with the Palestinian territories
in recognition of progress being made by the Palestinian Authority.
The decision recognizes Ireland's long-standing support for
Palestinian statehood, but does not involve any recognition of a
Palestinian state.
   (AP, 1/25/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 28, An Israeli settler
shot and critically wounded a Palestinian teenager in the West Bank,
in the second such shooting in two days. The teenager from the
village of Beit Safa was shot in the head during a clash with
settlers near the city of Hebron.
   (AP, 1/28/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 1, The Palestinian
Cabinet in West Bank said it would hold long-promised municipal
elections "as soon as possible."
   (AP, 2/1/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 1, Suriname’s
President Desi Bouterse expressed his country's support for
Palestinian national rights and the establishment of an independent
Palestinian state, the latest Latin American country to do so.
  Â
(www.israel-palestinenews.org/2011/02/surinam-recognizes-palestinian-state.html)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 7, In Israel Jerusalem
officials pushed forward plans to build new Jewish housing in an
Arab neighborhood in the city's eastern sector, drawing swift
condemnation from Palestinians who see it as encroaching on land
they seek for a future state.
   (AP, 2/7/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 8, The Palestinian
Authority set long-overdue local council elections for July 9 in
both the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the government spokesman said.
The rival Hamas government that rules Gaza promptly rejected the
move.
   (AP, 2/8/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 9, Israeli aircraft
overnight carried out retaliatory airstrikes in the Gaza territory
after militants launched rockets into Israel on Feb 8. The
airstrikes lightly wounded 8 Palestinians.
   (AP, 2/9/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 10, India and Pakistan
announced they would resume wide-ranging peace talks that were
frozen after the 2008 terrorist attacks in the Indian city of
Mumbai, which were blamed on Pakistan-based militants.
   (AP, 2/10/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 14, Palestinian PM
Salam Fayyad dissolved his Cabinet in an emergency meeting in what
appeared to be a gesture inspired by unrest rocking the Arab world.
This gave him six weeks to name a new Cabinet.
   (AP, 2/14/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 14, In Israel
Jerusalem's municipal council approved the construction of 120 new
homes in the Jewish settlement neighborhood of Ramot in occupied
east Jerusalem.
   (AFP, 2/14/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 17, Israeli forces
shot dead three Palestinians along the tense border with the Gaza
Strip before dawn. Soldiers fired on the men after they were spotted
planting an explosive device in a no-go zone along the border
between 2 and 3 am.
   (AP, 2/17/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 18, The Obama
administration vetoed a UN Arab-backed Security Council resolution
that would have condemned Israel for continuing to build Jewish-only
settlements in the West Bank.
   (AP, 2/19/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 19, Dirar Abu Sisi
(42), a Palestinian engineer, went missing "under unknown
circumstances" after boarding a train in the Ukraine city of Kharkiv
bound for the capital Kiev. The UN refugee agency later confirmed
his wife's fears that he is being held in prison by the Israeli
secret service. Sisi's Ukrainian wife, Veronika (32), alleged the
Israeli secret service Mossad carried out the abduction in order to
sabotage a key electric power plant in the Hamas-controlled Gaza
Strip where he worked as a senior manager.
   (AP, 3/10/11)
 2011      Feb 20, Palestinian
PM Salam Fayyad angrily denounced the US veto of a United Nations
resolution condemning Israel's West Bank settlements and offered to
form a unity government with the rival Hamas militant group.
   (AP, 2/20/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 21, The Palestinian
Center for Human Rights said that five male hairdressers were
interrogated in Gaza and forced to sign declarations that they
wouldn't work in women's salons.
   (AP, 2/21/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 23, Israeli tank fire
wounded 11 people in the Gaza Strip, including at least six
militants. The military said it opened fire after the militants
detonated a bomb targeting a passing Israeli patrol near the border
and then fired mortars at the soldiers.
   (AP, 2/23/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 26, Israeli warplanes
bombed militant training camps in the Gaza Strip for a second time,
wounding four people, including a toddler. The raids came after
pre-dawn strikes against two other training camps of the hardline
Islamic Jihad group.
   (AFP, 2/26/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 27, A rocket fired
from the Gaza Strip hit Israeli territory, raising Israel's alert
level but causing no damage or casualties.
   (AFP, 2/27/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 28, Hamas moved
swiftly to break up a small demonstration in Gaza City where people
called for Palestinian reconciliation. Hamas police arrested a
protest organizer, seizing a tape from a German TV crew showing a
security official slapping the man.
   (AP, 3/1/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 28, Israeli police
demolished two structures at an unauthorized West Bank outpost. This
was followed by new hints from PM Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel
could soon be forced to curb construction in the settlements.
   (AP, 3/1/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb, Palestinian Hossam
al-Ruweidi (24) was killed during an attack in central Jerusalem by
four Jewish youths. In 2012 one of the youths (16) was sentenced to
eight years in jail.
   (AFP, 7/13/12)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 1, Suspected Jewish
settlers smashed the windows of 7 Palestinian cars and threw a fire
bomb at a Palestinian house in the West Bank.
   (AP, 3/1/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 2, Jerusalem officials
approved new housing for Jews in the heart of an Arab neighborhood,
infuriating Palestinians who see the growing Jewish presence in the
city's war-won eastern sector as undermining their aspirations to
statehood. Israel closed the Karni Crossing east of Gaza City citing
security concerns. This left only the Kerem Shalom checkpoint for
commercial crossing.
   (AP, 3/2/11)(SFC, 3/3/11, p.A2)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 7, Palestinian
president Mahmud Abbas travelled to Britain for a one-day visit to
discuss the stalled peace process with Israel.
   (AFP, 3/7/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 8, Palestinian women
took to the streets to call for unity and an end to the Israeli
occupation in a series of rallies called to mark International
Women's Day.
   (AP, 3/8/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 8, Israeli PM Benjamin
Netanyahu vowed that Israeli troops would remain on the border
between Jordan and the West Bank under any future peace deal with
the Palestinians.
   (AFP, 3/8/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 11, An Israeli family
of five, Ehud and Ruthy Fogel, their two young children and a baby,
were knifed to death as they slept at the Itamar West Bank
settlement. In September Hakim Awwad (18) was sentenced to five
consecutive life sentences for the slayings. On Oct 4 an army
statement said Amjad Awwad (19), a cousin of Hakim Awwad, has
confessed to involvement in the slayings.
   (AP, 3/12/11)(AFP, 10/4/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 13, Israel said it has
approved the building of 300 to 500 apartments and settler homes.
They would take place in major West Bank settlement blocs that
Israel expects to hold on to in any final peace deal.
   (AP, 3/13/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 15, Palestinian
president Mahmud Abbas proposed holding elections "as soon as
possible" in order to end the divide within the national movement.
Thousands of Palestinians thronged major squares in the Gaza Strip
and the West Bank to deliver an impassioned appeal to their leaders
to end the long-running feud that has divided the Palestinian people
between two rival governments.
   (AFP, 3/15/11)(AP, 3/15/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 15, The Israeli navy
intercepted an Egyptian-bound ship carrying a large delivery of
weapons off the Mediterranean coast, saying the arms had been sent
by Syria to Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip. PM Netanyahu
said the source of the weaponry was Iran.
   (AP, 3/15/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 15, Uruguay said it
has joined a string of South American nations in recognizing an
independent Palestinian state.
   (AP, 3/16/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 16, Dozens of Hamas
police and security forces entered Gaza City's Al Azhar university
and began beating up students heading out for a protest.
   (AFP, 3/16/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 16, Israeli aircraft
fired rockets at a Hamas training ground in the Gaza Strip, killing
two militants from the Islamist group.
   (AFP, 3/16/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 19, Palestinian
militants in Gaza fired 54 rockets into Israel, the heaviest barrage
in two years. A Hamas official was killed and four civilians were
wounded when Israel hit back with tank fire and air strikes. The
Israeli army opened fire on two men who were spotted moving
suspiciously toward a frontier "no-go" zone. The bodies of Salah Abu
Attwa and Imad Faraj, both 17, were found the next day.
   (AP, 3/19/11)(AFP, 3/20/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 20, Palestinian
militants fired a rocket into southern Israel, while Israeli troops
killed two Palestinians in a fresh wave of violence along the
volatile border with Gaza.
   (AP, 3/20/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 22, The Israeli
military struck a series of Palestinian militant targets in the Gaza
Strip, damaging smuggling tunnels and suspected weapons sites.
Palestinian officials said 19 people were wounded. The shelling
killed 3 children and their uncle and wounded 13 other family
members as they played soccer in a backyard.
   (AP, 3/22/11)(SFC, 3/23/11, p.A2)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 23, The Israeli
parliament approved a pair of laws that critics said were
discriminatory and aimed against the country's Arab minority, who
made up roughly one-fifth of Israel's 7.7 million people. A bomb
exploded at a bus stop in central Jerusalem, killing a British
woman, Mary Jean Gardner (59), and wounding 38 people. Two Grad
rockets slammed into the Israeli city of Beersheva, as Gaza
militants vowed to strike deep into the Jewish state after raids
killed 8 Gazans.
   (AP, 3/23/11)(AFP, 3/23/11)(SFC, 3/24/11,
p.A5)(SFC, 3/25/11, p.A3)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 23, South Africa’s
University of Johannesburg voted to sever ties with Israel's
Ben-Gurion University, acting on calls from hundreds of South
African academics and intellectuals for an academic boycott in a
growing campaign to isolate Israel for its attacks on Palestinians
in Gaza. It will end a 25-year relationship on April 1, but
professors can continue to work individually with Ben-Gurion.
   (AP, 3/24/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 24, Israeli aircraft
struck the Gaza Strip in response to militant rocket and mortar
attacks, stoking concerns that a grave new round of hostilities will
fill the vacuum left by an impasse in Israeli-Palestinian
peacemaking. At least 10 rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip.
   (AP, 3/24/11)(SFC, 3/25/11, p.A3)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 25, A Palestinian was
shot and wounded by Israeli police after he injured a soldier in the
West Bank.
   (AP, 3/25/11)
 2011      Mar 25, Israel
deployed its newly developed "Iron Dome" rocket defense system for
the first time to defend its southern communities from attacks by
Gaza militants after a bloody week of Palestinian strikes and
Israeli reprisals.
   (AP, 3/25/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 26, Gaza militants
fired over 50 mortar shells into southern Israel. One rocket damaged
a house.
   (SSFC, 3/27/11, p.A2)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 27, Israel deployed a
cutting-edge rocket defense system on the outskirts of Beersheba.
“Iron Dome” is expected to be fully operational in a matter of
months. Israeli aircraft struck a Palestinian rocket squad in the
Gaza Strip, killing two militants as the military activated a new
defense system to shoot down incoming rockets.
   (AP, 3/27/11)(SFC, 3/28/11, p.A2)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 29, India and Pakistan
agreed to set up a "terror hotline" to warn each other of possible
militant attacks, a move to build trust as the two nuclear foes get
their peace process back on track. India and Pakistan said they have
agreed to host Indian investigators looking into the 2008 Mumbai
terror attacks blamed on Pakistan-based militants.
   (AFP, 3/29/11)(AP, 3/29/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 30, An Israeli
aircraft attacked a pair of Palestinian militants riding on a
motorcycle in the Gaza Strip, killing one and wounding the other.
   (AP, 3/30/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 2, Israeli aircraft
killed 3 Palestinian militants who were planning to abduct Israelis
over the upcoming Jewish festival of Passover.
   (AP, 4/2/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 4, An Israeli court
indicted Dirar Abu Sisi, a Palestinian engineer captured on Feb 19
in Ukraine, on charges he was a senior Hamas operative who developed
sophisticated rockets for the Islamic militant group.
   (AP, 4/4/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 4, Israel asked
Facebook to pull down a page with 350,000 “fans” calling for “the
third Palestinian uprising.” Facebook at first refused, but took the
page down a day later.
   (SSFC, 4/10/11, p.F9)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 4, In the northern
West Bank Juliano Mer-Khamis, a well-known actor and theatre
director born of Jewish and Arab parents, died when a gunman opened
fire on his car in the Jenin refugee camp as he was driving home
with his infant son and the babysitter.
   (AFP, 4/5/11)(Econ, 4/16/11, p.92)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 5, Palestinian
authorities said Mohammed Shalha (21) was killed by Israeli fire
along Gaza's volatile border. Relatives of Shalha said he was
collecting gravel along the border. The Israeli military said the
man was armed, and that soldiers opened fire after spotting him.
   (AP, 4/5/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 6, Israeli aircraft
attacked two targets in the Gaza Strip, wounding four people, among
them a pregnant woman. A group of prominent Israelis, many of them
former defense chiefs, launched a new peace plan calling for the
establishment of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.
   (AFP, 4/6/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 6, Human Rights Watch
criticized Palestinian security forces in the West Bank and Gaza
Strip for what it said was an increase in attacks on local
journalists, including arbitrary detentions and abuse.
   (AP, 4/6/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 7, Israeli tanks
quickly retaliated after an anti-tank missile fired from the Gaza
Strip struck a school bus in southern Israel, wounding two people,
including one child. The critically injured boy (16) died of his
wounds on April 17. The missile attack came hours after Israel
carried out a series of airstrikes against tunnels it says are used
by militants to smuggle weapons under the Egyptian border and carry
out attacks. The tank fire killed a 50-year-old man and wounded 7
other people.
   (AP, 4/7/11)(SFC, 4/18/11, p.A2)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 8, Israeli aircraft
and ground forces struck Gaza, killing 9 Palestinians including 5
militia fighters, in a surge of fighting sparked by a Palestinian
rocket attack on an Israeli school bus the day before.
   (AP, 4/8/11)(SFC, 4/9/11, p.A3)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 9, Palestinian
militants fired over 30 rockets at southern Israel. Israeli
warplanes killed 5 militants in the Gaza Strip.
   (SSFC, 4/10/11, p.A4)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 10, A Palestinian
official said Israel and militant groups in Gaza have agreed to a
truce, as cross-border violence abated.
   (Reuters, 4/10/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 11, Israel’s PM
Benjamin Netanyahu asked a government panel to put off final
approval of 2,500 new apartments in east Jerusalem.
   (AP, 4/11/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 12, Four Palestinians
suffocated while trying to repair a Gaza smuggling tunnel hit in an
Israeli airstrike last week. Human rights groups say about 160
workers have been killed in the tunnels over the past three years.
   (AP, 4/13/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 14, Britain's Guardian
newspaper published a statement by the co-authors of a scathing UN
report on Israel's conduct during its 2008-2009 offensive in Gaza.
They said they stand by their work, hitting back at critics who've
pushed to have its findings withdrawn after the report's lead
author, Richard Goldstone, aired doubts about one of its central
conclusions.
   (AP, 4/14/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 15, Italian activist
Vittorio Arrigoni (36) was found hanged in a Gaza apartment just
hours after he was abducted by an al-Qaida-inspired group. Hamas
soon arrested 4 people in connection with the killing, and sought
others.
   (AP, 4/15/11)(AP, 4/16/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 17, Israel announced
the arrests of two Palestinian teenagers in the deadly March 11
stabbings of a West Bank settler family. Hakim Awad (17) was
arrested on April 5, and Amjad Awad (18), taken into custody on
April 10. They said they are cousins, and that five other
Palestinians have been arrested as suspected accomplices.
   (AP, 4/17/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 18, Hamas police
besieged a house in Gaza where al-Qaida-inspired militants
implicated in the slaying of Italian activist Vittorio Arrigoni were
holed up, trading gunfire with the suspects after they refused to
surrender. Two Salafists were killed in the shootout.
   (AP, 4/19/11)(Econ, 4/30/11, p.50)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 20, Prominent Israeli
intellectuals and artists came out in favor of creating a
Palestinian state based on the 1967 line marking the West Bank. Gaza
Strip and east Jerusalem. 47 signatories to a statement released
today called for an Israeli pullout from the West Bank.
   (AP, 4/20/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 21, French President
Nicolas Sarkozy hosted Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas in Paris as
Europe reflects more and more openly on the prospect of recognizing
an independent Palestine.
   (AFP, 4/21/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 24, A Palestinian
policeman opened fire at a group of Israelis who had come to pray at
a Jewish holy site in the West Bank without authorization, killing
one and wounding four. Hours later, Jewish settlers attacked
Palestinian cars south of Nablus, setting fire to one after its
passengers fled and stoning passing vehicles before Israeli soldiers
dispersed them.
   (AP, 4/24/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 27, Rival Palestinian
groups said they reached an agreement on reuniting their governments
in the West Bank and Gaza after years of bitter infighting that
weakened them politically and caused the deaths of hundreds in
violent clashes and crackdowns since. Israel swiftly rejected the
prospect.
   (AP, 4/27/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 28, Egypt's new
foreign minister, Nabil al-Araby, said that the closure of the key
Rafah border crossing with the Palestinian Gaza Strip was about to
end, calling the decision to close the crossing "a disgusting
matter" in an interview with Al-Jazeera.
   (AP, 4/29/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 29, An Egyptian
soldier of the border guard unit was killed in an exchange of
gunfire with tunnel smugglers near the border with Gaza.
   (AFP, 4/29/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â May 1, Israel's finance
minister said Israel is suspending the transfer of Palestinian tax
and customs fees to the Palestinian Authority (PA) until it is sure
the money will not reach Hamas.
   (AFP, 5/1/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â May 3, A top Palestinian
negotiator said 15 smaller factions, including militant Islamic
groups, have thrown their weight behind a reconciliation deal ending
a four-year rift between the movement's main groups, Hamas and
Fatah.
   (AP, 5/3/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â May 4, Rival Palestinian
factions Fatah and Hamas proclaimed a landmark, Egyptian-mediated
reconciliation pact signed in Cairo aimed at ending their bitter
four-year rift. Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal said that his Islamist
movement would work to achieve the "Palestinian national goal" of a
sovereign state on the Gaza Strip and West Bank. Gaza's Hamas rulers
executed a man convicted of collaborating with Israel. His execution
was the 11th in Gaza since Hamas violently wrested control of the
territory in June 2007.
   (AP, 5/4/11)(AFP, 5/4/11)(AP, 5/5/11)(Econ,
5/7/11, p.51)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â May 9, The Palestinian
Authority said it had not been able to pay salaries for the first
time since 2007 because of Israel's decision to halt the transfer of
funds it collects on its behalf.
   (Reuters, 5/9/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â May 13, Palestinian teen
Milad Said Ayyash was fatally wounded after being shot and wounded
near a Jewish settler enclave in east Jerusalem. New clashes erupted
in the disputed city ahead of Palestinian commemoration of their
uprooting more than six decades ago.
   (AFP, 5/14/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â May 13, In Jordan heeding
a call from Palestinian Facebook organizers, several hundred
Jordanians took to the streets of the capital demanding a sovereign
Palestinian state and that refugees be given the right to return
home.
   (AP, 5/13/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â May 15, Israeli troops
clashed with Arab protesters along three hostile borders, leaving at
least 12 people dead and dozens wounded in an unprecedented wave of
violence marking the anniversary of the mass displacement of
Palestinians surrounding Israel's establishment in 1948. Israeli
gunfire killed two protesters and wounded dozens as civilians
crossed from Syria onto the annexed Golan Heights, raising tensions
between Damascus and the Jewish state. 10 of the dead were
Palestinian refugees living in Lebanon.
   (AP, 5/15/11)(AFP, 5/15/11)(AP, 5/16/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â May 16, The Israeli
military blocked a Malaysian anti-war group's ship from reaching the
Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. The Malaysian group, the Perdana Global
Peace Foundation, said its ship was fired at when it tried to reach
Gaza. The military denied firing at the ship.
   (AP, 5/16/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â May 19, A US federal judge
awarded $300 million in punitive damages in each of two suicide
bombings blamed on Iran and Iranian-backed Islamic groups. One
ruling came on behalf of the family of Alan Beer, a US citizen who
was killed in Jerusalem in 2003 in the bombing of a bus by the
Iran-backed organization Hamas. The other was made to American
citizen Seth Haim, his father and his brother. They were injured in
the 1995 bombing of a bus in the Gaza Strip by the Iranian-supported
Shaqaqi Faction of the Palestine Islamic Jihad.
   (AP, 5/19/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â May 20, Two young
Palestinians were moderately wounded in Gaza when Israeli troops
opened fire at a protest near the border fence.
   (AFP, 5/20/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â May 21, Palestinian
officials said that Israel's dismissive response to President Barack
Obama's new Mideast peace proposal proves there's not enough common
ground for meaningful negotiations.
   (AP, 5/21/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â May 21, Masked
Palestinians shot dead Omar Helwan (32) of Beit Dajan village. The
West Bank man was suspected of spying for Israel. This was the
second such killing in the occupied territory this month.
   (Reuters, 5/21/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â May 22, Anti-settlement
NGO Peace Now reported that Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has
approved the construction of 294 new homes in Beitar Ilit settlement
on the occupied West Bank.
   (AFP, 5/22/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â May 25, Egypt decided to
end its blockade of Gaza by opening the only crossing to the
Hamas-ruled Palestinian territory on May 28, easing the isolation of
1.4 million Palestinians there.
   (AP, 5/25/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â May 28, The Arab League
endorsed a Palestinian bid to seek recognition at the United Nations
of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders. The announcement
came after an Arab ministerial meeting in Qatar.
   (AP, 5/29/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â May 28, Egypt lifted a
four-year-old blockade on the Gaza Strip's main link to the outside
world, bringing relief to the crowded territory's 1.5 million
Palestinians but deepening a rift with Israel since the ouster of
President Hosni Mubarak earlier this year.
   (AP, 5/28/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â May 31, Egypt’s
transitional government imposed a quote of no more than 400
passengers a day for crossing into Egypt at Rafah. A blacklist of
5,000 Gazans, who would not be allowed to cross, was reinstated.
   (Econ, 6/4/11, p.58)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â May 31, The Israeli
military said it has arrested a dozen Palestinian militants in
nighttime raids around Jenin in the West Bank. The suspects were
linked to Islamic Jihad, which has targeted Israeli civilians in
suicide bombings and other deadly attacks.
   (AP, 5/31/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 4, Egypt shut its
border crossing with Gaza for the first time since opening it on a
routine basis last month. Angry Palestinians stormed the gates in
protest. An Egyptian security source said the terminal was shut for
maintenance and may reopen in a day.
   (Reuters, 6/4/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 5, Israeli troops
opened fire across the Syrian frontier to disperse hundreds of
pro-Palestinian protesters who stormed the border of the
Israeli-controlled Golan Heights. Syrian state television said 20
people were killed by the Israeli Defense Forces. Israelis said only
10 demonstrators were killed near Kuneitra when their own Molotov
cocktails triggered border anti-tank mines.
   (AP, 6/5/11)(Reuters, 6/5/11)(AFP, 6/5/11)(SFC,
6/6/11, p.A2)(Econ, 6/11/11, p.54)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 13, As the Palestinian
Authority prepared for diplomatic talks in Cairo, dissension broke
out between the two factions in the government, Hamas and Fatah,
over choosing a leader for their unity government. Palestinian
Authority president and leader of Fatah Mahmoud Abbas has been
unable to persuade Hamas to accept his choice to lead the unity
government, Salam Fayyad. While Fayyad, the current prime minister
of the PA, is considered a moderate and is acceptable to western
countries, Hamas regards him negatively, accusing him of trying to
close down Hamas’ institutions and being too co-operative with
Israel.   Â
          Â
(NYT, 6/13/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 16, Palestinian
foreign minister Riyad al-Malki urged Spain and the rest of the EU
to recognize a Palestinian state with borders from before the 1967
Six Day War.
   (AFP, 6/16/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 22, An Algerian court
sentenced a 28-year-old Palestinian to four years in jail for
possession of a banned substance used to make explosives. The
defendant had been arrested by security services last year in
possession of 300 grams of mercury fulminate and crystal rocks.
   (AFP, 6/22/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 22, In Turkey Hamas
chief Khaled Meshaal held talks with Turkish officials on efforts to
achieve Palestinian unity during a two-day visit to Istanbul.
   (AFP, 6/22/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 23, Ibrahim Aaraj was
arrested by Gaza narcotics squad officers. On June 27 the Gaza-based
Palestinian Center for Human Rights said it feared Ibrahim Aaraj
might have been tortured while in custody at the Nusseirat refugee
camp and called for an inquiry into his death. Since Hamas wrested
control of Gaza in 2007, eight people have died in police custody
under questionable circumstances.
   (AP, 6/27/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 24, Palestinian
protesters rammed a bulldozer into a contested barrier near the
village of Bilin, days after the Israeli army said it would finally
comply with a court order and reposition the fence.
   (AP, 6/24/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 26, Israel began
tearing down a section of its contentious West Bank separation
barrier near Bilin village that has come to symbolize Palestinian
opposition to the enclosure. Two Palestinians, and five in the
nearby village of Naalin, have died and hundreds others have been
wounded since the Bilin protests began in 2005.
   (AP, 6/26/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 27, The Israeli
government dropped a threat to issue lengthy deportation orders
against journalists aboard a Gaza-bound flotilla. Israel's security
cabinet ordered the navy to stop an international aid flotilla from
breaching a naval blockade on the Gaza Strip but to avoid clashes
with activists on board.
   (AP, 6/27/11)(AFP, 6/27/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 28, Pro-Palestinian
activists, who plan to breach Israel's sea blockade of the Gaza
Strip, said that they had increased security around their docked
flotilla after an alleged act of sabotage on one of the vessels in a
Greek port. Organizers said hostile divers had cut the propeller
shaft of one of the flotilla’s 10 ships.
   (AP, 6/28/11)(SFC, 6/28/11, p.A2)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, The Israeli
military razed the West Bank settlement outpost of Ramat Migron,
prompting clashes with youths that resulted in two arrests. The
makeshift settlement, outpost established without Israeli government
permission, has been razed several times since 2009.
   (AFP, 6/29/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 30, Organizers of a
pro-Palestinian flotilla that will try to break Israel's sea
blockade of the Gaza Strip accused Israel of sabotaging a second
ship.
   (AP, 6/30/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 1, Greece announced it
was banning vessels heading to Gaza from leaving Greek ports and
escorted back to shore American protesters on a boat bound for the
Gaza Strip.
   (AP, 7/1/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 5, Israeli Defense
Minister Ehud Barak called off the impending transfer of the remains
of 84 Palestinian militants from an Israeli grave site to the West
Bank — just hours after the military confirmed the planned handover.
Israeli aircraft fired at Gaza militants about to launch rockets at
Israel, killing two.
   (AP, 7/5/11)(SFC, 7/6/11, p.A4)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 7, An Israeli tank hit
a roadside bomb that was planted by Palestinian militants along the
border with the Hamas-run Gaza Strip. A soldier was slightly injured
in the incident.
   (AP, 7/7/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 8, Scores of
pro-Palestinian activists trying to reach Tel Aviv, as part of a
coordinated protest, were blocked at European airports. 6 activists
who managed to land were deported as Israel moved to defuse the mass
arrival envisioned by organizers.
   (AP, 7/8/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 12, Israeli air raids
hit what the military called two "weapons manufacturing sites" in
northern Gaza.
   (AFP, 7/16/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 13, Israeli soldiers
killed Ibrahim Sarhan (21), a member of Hamas, during a raid on a
northern West Bank refugee camp. He was shot dead as he emerged from
a mosque and tried to flee during an Israeli arrest operation in
Al-Fara camp. Israeli jets bombed two sites in Gaza, wounding one
woman, after Palestinians fired three rockets into southern Israel.
Israeli aircraft targeted three tunnels, two used for smuggling in
southern Gaza and one "used for terrorist activity" in the north of
the Palestinian territory.
   (AFP, 7/13/11)(AFP, 7/16/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 14, Israeli jets
struck three targets in Gaza, moderately wounding four Palestinians.
   (AFP, 7/16/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 15, Some 1,000
Israelis and Palestinians gathered in east Jerusalem for a protest
march to support the Palestinian bid for United Nations recognition.
   (AFP, 7/15/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 16, Israeli aircraft
struck Gaza overnight for the fourth time in as many days, wounding
a militant who was about to fire a rocket.
   (AFP, 7/16/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 17, A spokesman for
the Hamas-run medical services in the Gaza Strip, said 4 children
and 3 adults suffered moderate injuries in air strikes in the
northern Beit Hanun area. Israel denied it had carried out any such
raid.
   (AFP, 7/17/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 18, Israel put out
bids to build 336 apartments in Jewish settlements in the West Bank,
a new blow to international efforts to get Israelis and Palestinians
back to peace talks after months of deadlock over settlement
construction.
   (AP, 7/18/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 19, Israeli naval
commandos seized control of a French ship attempting to break
Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip, reporting no resistance during
the takeover in international waters. 16 people, including
pro-Palestinian activists from France, Canada and Sweden,
journalists and three crew members, were aboard the Dignity
al-Karama, a French-based ship.
   (AP, 7/19/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 26, Gaza's Hamas
government executed two Palestinians convicted of spying for Israel.
   (AP, 7/26/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 28, Palestinian police
raided the West Bank home of a rival of President Mahmoud Abbas. The
raid targeted Mohammed Dahlan, a former security chief in the Gaza
Strip who was expelled from Fatah in June because of his repeated
criticism of the president. Police arrested 23 guards and
assistants, and confiscated 16 guns, a computer and two vehicles.
   (AP, 7/28/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 1, Israeli soldiers
shot dead 2 Palestinian stone throwers overnight in the Qalandiya
refugee camp in the West Bank. Moatassem Adwan (22) and Ali Khalifa
(23) were killed by soldiers as they carried out arrests in the
camp.
   (AFP, 8/1/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 2, The Israeli
military said it has slapped restraining orders on 12 Israeli
settlers, accused of setting fire to Palestinian mosques,
property and vehicles, limiting their movement in the West Bank.
Israel’s Supreme Court ordered the government to remove the largest
unauthorized settlement outpost in the West Bank.
   (AP, 8/2/11)(SFC, 8/3/11, p.A2)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 4, An Israeli a prison
services spokeswoman said Israel is to free 770 Israeli and
Palestinian prisoners due to overcrowding. They included Hassan
Yusef, a founder of the Islamist movement Hamas. Israel's air force
carried out 3 night time raids on the Gaza Strip, wounding 3 people.
The Israeli army said they had targeted 3 tunnels and an operations
base in the central Gaza Strip and a fourth target in the south in
response to rocket fire.
   (AFP, 8/4/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 6, Hamas security
forces in the Gaza Strip detained two members of a Salafist
organization called Al-Tawfid wal Jihad, an Islamist group suspected
of firing rockets at Israel. (AFP, 8/6/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 7, Rival Palestinian
groups Fatah and Hamas opened talks in Egypt aimed at implementing a
reconciliation agreement struck in May.
   (AFP, 8/7/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 11, Israeli media said
Dirar Abu Sisi, a Gazan engineer snatched from Ukraine, has told
Israeli interrogators that he headed a Hamas military academy to
rebuild Hamas fighting capabilities after a devastating war with
Israel. Hamas has denied that Abu Sisi had any connection to the
organization.
   (AFP, 8/11/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 12, The US warned it
would cut $100 million in American aid money if Hamas continues its
"unwarranted audits" of local American nonprofit organizations in
the Gaza Strip.
   (AP, 8/13/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 13, Ihab Ghussein, a
spokesman for Gaza's Hamas rulers, said foreigners must now obtain
visas to enter the Gaza Strip.
   (AP, 8/13/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 15, Israel was
reported to have approved the building of 277 apartments in the
Jewish settlement in Ariel, the deepest one inside the West Bank,
defying international criticism of continued construction on land
the Palestinians claim for a state.
   (AP, 8/15/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 16, Israeli aircraft
struck 5 targets in the Gaza Strip, killing 1 militant and wounding
4 other Palestinians in retaliation for rocket fire on southern
Israel the previous evening. Another Palestinian was killed as he
approached the Gaza border.
   (AP, 8/16/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 18, In southern Israel
assailants armed with heavy weapons, guns and explosives launched
three attacks in quick succession near the border with Egypt's Sinai
Peninsula, killing 8 people and wounding about a dozen more. Israeli
security forces tracked down some of the assailants and are engaged
in an ongoing gunbattle with them. 3 Egyptian security personnel
died as a result of the gunbattles. 2 more died from wounds the next
day. Israel responded hours after the border attack with an
airstrike in Gaza that killed five members of the Palestinian group
that Israel said was behind it, an organization known as the Popular
Resistance Committees. The dead included the group's leader.
   (AP, 8/18/11)(AP, 8/19/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 19, Gaza militants
launched barrages of rockets deep into Israel. Israeli aircraft
struck targets in the Palestinian territory in the aftermath of the
deadliest attack against Israelis in three years. Hamas said two
children, 3 and 13, were killed in the Israeli strikes.
   (AP, 8/19/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 21, Palestinian
militants in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip bombarded southern Israel
with rockets and mortars and Israel hit back with an airstrike.
Israeli troops also rounded up 50 Hamas activists in the West Bank
in a sweeping overnight raid. Gaza militants agreed to a cease-fire
with Israel to stop three days of violence.
   (AP, 8/21/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 22, Palestinian
militants in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip fired rockets and mortar
shells into southern Israel, despite an unofficial truce meant to
defuse days of escalating violence.
   (AP, 8/22/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 24, Israeli aircraft
killed a militant from Gaza's Islamic Jihad faction before dawn.
They later targeted two militants who had fired two mortars at
Israel shortly before. Israeli air strikes on Gaza killed 4 people
Palestinians including 2 Islamic Jihad militants.
   (AP, 8/24/11)(AFP, 8/25/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 25, Israeli air
strikes on Gaza killed 2 Palestinians. Over the last 24 hour period,
Gaza militants fired 19 rockets and mortars into southern Israel,
lightly injuring an infant.
   (AFP, 8/25/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 26, Israel said it is
allowing Jewish settlers to expand a building in Hebron, one of the
West Bank's most volatile cities. Hebron is holy to Muslims and
Jews. Today, more than 600 Jews live there in fortified enclaves
amid 170,000 Palestinians. Gaza militants called their second truce
in less than five days in an attempt to keep more than a week of
hostilities with Israel from escalating.
   (AP, 8/26/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 29, A Palestinian
attacker (21) wounded 7 Israelis, one critically, near a Tel Aviv
nightclub early in the day, hitting a police checkpoint with a
stolen taxi and then stabbing others.
   (AP, 8/29/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 5, The Israeli
military razed three buildings before dawn in Migron, an
unauthorized West Bank settlement outpost, and clashed with settlers
who reject a Supreme Court ruling ordering the enclave to be
dismantled.
   (AP, 9/5/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 7, Israel’s Shin Bet
security service said security forces have arrested Hamas militants
accused in a March 23 bombing that killed British woman Mary Jean
Gardner and wounded dozens of civilians. A Palestinian militant from
the Islamic Jihad faction was killed by an explosion in a car in
central Gaza. Another militant in the car was badly wounded. Islamic
Jihad said the car was hit by an Israeli airstrike. The Israeli
military denied involvement.
   (AP, 9/7/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 8, Palestinians
officially launched their campaign to join the United Nations as a
full member state, saying they would stage a series of peaceful
events in the run-up to the annual gathering of the UN General
Assembly later this month.
   (AP, 9/8/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 19, Israeli settlers
in the West Bank set fire to dozens of acres of farm land and cut
down some 500 olive, fig and almond trees near the villages of
Einabous and Deir Istiya.
   (AP, 9/20/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 21, Thousands of
flag-waving Palestinians rallied in towns across the West Bank to
show support for their president's bid to win UN recognition of a
Palestinian state as the US pledged to block the Palestinians, if
necessary by a veto in the UN Security Council.
   (AP, 9/21/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 21, President Barack
Obama publicly pushed for the Palestinians to drop a statehood bid
as he addressed the UN General Assembly.
   (AP, 9/21/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 21, French President
Nicolas Sarkozy called on the United Nations to admit Palestine as a
non-member state, upgrading its status as a simple observer but
opposing a Palestinian bid for full membership.
   (AFP, 9/21/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 23, Palestinians
calling for UN recognition of a Palestinian state clashed with
Israeli soldiers in the West Bank, just hours before their
president, Mahmoud Abbas, was to deliver his widely anticipated
request to the world body.
   (AP, 9/23/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 26, Undercover Israeli
police officers arrested Ahmed Abu Atoun, a Hamas lawmaker who had
been hiding in the Red Cross' office in east Jerusalem for the past
year. Lawmaker Mohammed Abu Teir was taken into custody earlier this
month after venturing out of the compound.
   (AP, 9/26/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 27, Israel's
government granted the go-ahead for construction of 1,100 new
housing units in occupied east Jerusalem, raising already heightened
tensions fueled by last week's Palestinian move to seek UN
membership.
   (AP, 9/27/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 28, Dozens of
Palestinian olive trees were destroyed in an attack near the city of
Hebron in what local residents called an act of revenge carried out
by settlers.
   (AFP, 10/1/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 1, Israeli settlers
from Yitzhar, near Nablus, invaded Palestinian olive groves in the
West Bank and uprooted 200 trees around the villages of Hawwara and
Ein Nabus.
   (AFP, 10/1/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 1, Francois Abu Salem
(b.1951), a French actor and director and long-time West Bank
resident, died in Ramallah. He was the co-founder of the El-Hakawati
Theatre Company, which later grew into the Palestinian National
Theatre, in east Jerusalem.
   (AFP, 10/2/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 2, Israel’s PM
Benjamin Netanyahu's office said Israel "welcomes the Quartet's call
for direct negotiations between the parties without preconditions"
but said it has unspecified "concerns" about the proposal. The plan
by the Quartet of Mideast mediators calls for the resumption of
talks and a deal within a year.
   (AP, 10/2/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 3, Palestinian
officials said that the US has suspended two West Bank development
projects worth $81 billion after Congress froze finding to dissuade
Palestinians from seeking UN recognition of an independent state.
   (SFC, 10/4/11, p.A2)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 3, In northern Israel
arsonists torched a mosque in an Arab village, setting off protests
by residents who clashed with police. Graffiti sprayed at the site
suggested Jewish radicals, suspected in other recent mosque fires,
were involved.
   (AP, 10/3/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 5, A one-day
Palestinian teachers' strike closed 238 UN-run schools in the Gaza
Strip and escalated long-simmering tensions between the territory's
Hamas rulers and the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).
   (AP, 10/5/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 8, Palestinian leader
Mahmud Abbas arrived in El Salvador from the Dominican Republic on
the latest stop of a Latin American tour to round up support for UN
recognition of a Palestinian state. He was to meet with the local
Palestinian community later in the day ahead of a meeting the next
day with Salvadoran President Mauricio Funes.
   (AFP, 10/9/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 10, In the Gaza Strip
at least one person has been killed in an explosion along the
northern border with Israel. Israeli army officials believed the
blast was set off by two militants who were trying to plant a bomb.
   (AP, 10/10/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 11, Palestinian leader
Mahmud Abbas, on a Latin American swing to drum up support for his
bid to gain UN state recognition, failed to secure support from
Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos. Abbas continued on to
Venezuela to meet with Pres. Chavez.
   (AFP, 10/12/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 11, Israel and Hamas
announced that Sgt. Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier abducted to
Gaza five years ago, would be swapped for about 1,000 Palestinians
held by Israel and accused of militant activity. The next morning
the Israeli Cabinet endorsed the Egyptian-brokered deal in a 26-3
vote. Shalit was expected to return via Egypt by Oct 19.
   (AP, 10/11/11)(AP, 10/12/11)(AFP, 10/13/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 13, A Hamas official
said that close to 200 of the 450 Palestinians to be freed in the
first phase of a swap for a captured Israeli soldier will not be
allowed to return to their homes in the West Bank, Gaza or east
Jerusalem, suggesting a substantial number may face deportation.
   (AP, 10/13/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 16, Israel released
the names of the first 477 Palestinian prisoners to be exchanged for
Staff Sgt. Gilad Schalit.
   (SFC, 10/17/11, p.A4)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 18, Israeli soldier
Gilad Schalit emerged from more than five years in Hamas captivity,
surrounded by Hamas militants with black face masks and green
headbands who handed him over to Egyptian mediators in an exchange
for 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.
   (AP, 10/18/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 25, South Africa threw
its weight behind Palestine's bid to become a full member of the
United Nations and called on the international body to settle the
bid quickly.
   (AFP, 10/25/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 26, Talks between
envoys of the international peacemaking Quartet and Israeli and
Palestinian officials in Jerusalem ended with a pledge to introduce
"comprehensive proposals" but no deal on new peace talks.
   (AFP, 10/27/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 27, Israeli police
said vandals have cut down 20 olive trees belonging to a Palestinian
family in Jerusalem, with a note at the scene implying it might have
been a Jewish extremist act against Arabs.
   (AFP, 10/27/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 29, Israeli aircraft
killed 5 Palestinian militants from the Islamic Jihad group whom it
says were responsible for recent rocket attacks on Israel. Field
commander Ahmed Sheikh Khalil was killed as militants were preparing
to launch more rockets at Israel. Palestinians fired 10 rockets into
Israel in the early hours of the morning, and Israeli aircraft
targeted six militant sites in Gaza. 9 militants and an Israeli
civilian were killed altogether in some of the worst violence in the
area in months.
   (AP, 10/29/11)(AP, 10/30/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 30, An Israeli
aircraft struck a pair of Palestinian militants, killing one man and
wounding a second in a new eruption of violence that raised the
death toll in a weekend of rocket attacks and airstrikes to 11. The
Islamic Jihad militant group said it was ready to halt its attacks
if Israel would halt its air strikes.
   (AP, 10/30/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 31, The Palestinians
were admitted to UNESCO as full members in a vote at the UN cultural
body's general assembly in Paris. The resolution was adopted by 107
countries, 14 countries voted against and 52 abstained, bringing
member states to 195.
   (AFP, 10/31/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 31, Israeli aircraft
struck the southern Gaza Strip targeting rocket-launching militants.
Palestinian officials reported that two men were found dead in the
area. The Israeli military said its aircraft attacked a squad that
had just fired a rocket into Israel.
   (AP, 10/31/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 31, Israeli Committee
Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) submitted complaints to three UN
Special Reporters, demanding they launch an investigation into the
legality of Israel's policy in the eastern sector of Jerusalem,
which it occupied in 1967 and later annexed, a move never recognized
by the rest of the world. The group's report "No Home, No Homeland"
accuses Israel of making it almost impossible for Palestinians to
obtain building permits.
   (AFP, 11/1/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 1, Israeli troops in
Ramallah rearrested Hassan Yusef, a senior Hamas official overnight,
along with his son. Yusef was freed on August 4 as part of a mass
release of Israeli and Palestinian prisoners due to overcrowding. He
had six weeks left of his sentence.
   (AFP, 11/1/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 1, Hackers from around
the world attacked Palestinian servers, cutting Internet service
across the West Bank and Gaza, one day after the Palestinians won
full membership of UNESCO.
   (AFP, 11/6/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 3, Palestinians said
Israel has carried out its threat to suspend transfer of tax
payments totaling some $100 million to the Palestinians Authority to
protest this week's admission of Palestine to the United Nations'
cultural agency. 2 Palestinian men were reported killed in clashes
with Israeli forces.
   (AP, 11/3/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 4, Israeli naval
vessels intercepted two protest boats on their way to Gaza to try to
break Israel's blockade. Commandos boarded the Irish-flagged Saoirse
(Freedom) and the Canadian ship Tahrir (Arabic for Liberation) in
international waters off Gaza before the navy escorted them to the
port of Ashdod.
   (AP, 11/4/11)(AFP, 11/5/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 5, Israel freed six of
27 passengers and crew who were aboard two ships intercepted by its
navy while trying to breach the Jewish state's blockade on the
Hamas-run Gaza Strip. The six released included an Israeli Arab, two
Greek crewmen and three journalists -- from Egypt, Spain and the
United States. Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip killed an
Islamic Jihad militant and wounded three other Palestinians.
   (AFP, 11/5/11)(AFP, 11/6/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 7, The Israeli
military opened fire at a group of militants planting explosives
along Gaza's border with Israel. Gaza health officials said tank
shrapnel wounded three Palestinians, one of whom was in critical
condition.
   (AP, 11/7/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 7, Officials said US
lawmakers have lifted a hold on nearly $200 million in aid to the
Palestinians that had been suspended in response to the Palestinian
bid for full UN membership.
   (AFP, 11/7/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 8, The Palestinian
foreign minister admitted for the first time there is not enough
support in the UN Security Council for recognition of a Palestinian
state.
   (AP, 11/9/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 9, Israeli warplanes
raided the Gaza Strip after a rocket was fired at southern Israel.
Three Palestinian cars were set ablaze overnight in the West Bank
village of Beit Omar near Hebron and a house sprayed with graffiti.
Hardline Jewish settlers have adopted what they call a "price tag"
policy under which they have attacked mainly Palestinians and their
property in response to Israeli government measures against
settlements.
   (AFP, 11/9/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 14, Israeli Cabinet
ministers decided to hold on to some $100 million in taxes owed to
the Palestinians, an official said, despite warnings from Israel's
Defense Ministry that the measure could threaten the stability of
the Palestinian government in the West Bank. A Hamas naval policeman
was killed and 7 others wounded in an Israeli airstrike on their
building in the northern Gaza Strip.
   (AP, 11/14/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 15, India and Pakistan
agreed to normalize two-way trade, signifying a gradual thaw in
relations between the two bitter rivals.
   (AP, 11/15/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 16, Israel's domestic
security agency Shin Bet said in a statement that Israeli forces
have arrested four Palestinians accused of attacks against Israelis,
including shooting at an army patrol. Israel allowed the first
truckloads of a rare shipment of construction materials into
Gaza to allow the reconstruction of 10 privately owned factories.
   (AFP, 11/16/11)(SFC, 11/17/11, p.A2)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 19, Israeli researcher
Dror Etkes said 375 acres from the Palestinian village of Bardaleh
have been annexed to the Israeli Kibbutz Meirav.
   (AP, 11/19/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 21, Jordan's King
Abdullah II paid a rare visit to the West Bank to show support for
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
   (AP, 11/21/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 23, The Palestinians
signed a document finally giving them a voice within the vast UNESCO
system, bringing pride across the Arab world yet hobbling the
agency's pro-democracy projects around the globe. Last month's
decision by the Paris-based UN education and cultural organization
to give Palestine membership triggered an immediate funding cutoff
by the US that will force UNESCO to scale down literacy and
development programs in countries like Iraq, Afghanistan or the new
nation of South Sudan.
   (AP, 11/23/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 24, Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas and Khaled Mashaal, chief of the Islamic
militant Hamas, said they significantly narrowed differences and
opened a new page in relations in reconciliation talks in Cairo.
   (AP, 11/24/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 24, Israeli ministers
decided, for the time being, to maintain a freeze on the transfer of
tens of millions of dollars in tax monies to the Palestinian
Authority. This followed hours after Palestinian president Mahmud
Abbas held top-level talks with Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal at which
they announced a new era of "partnership."
   (AFP, 11/25/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 26, Palestinian
militants in the Gaza Strip fired a Qassam rocket into the Eshkol
region of southern Israel. The attack only damaged a farm
outbuilding.
   (AFP, 11/26/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 27, Palestinian
officials said they will not be able to pay the next round of public
sector salaries due to Israeli sanctions.
   (SFC, 11/28/11, p.A2)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 28, Israeli settlement
watchdog Peace Now said Israel has approved construction of more 119
homes in the West Bank settlement of Shilo, a move likely to bring
fresh international condemnation.
   (AFP, 11/28/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 30, Israel announced
that it would release tens of millions of dollars of tax funds owed
to the Palestinians, ending a standoff that the Palestinians say has
caused grave damage to their fragile economy.
   (AP, 11/30/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 7, Israeli warplanes
hit targets east of Gaza City, killing one militant and injuring
another two, with the military saying they were planning to fire
rockets across the border.
   (AFP, 12/8/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 8, An Israeli strike
killed 2 Gaza militants. Israel said one of them, Issam al-Batsh,
had planned a deadly bombing in Eilat in 2007. The Israeli military
said the two men had also been planning another attack on southern
Israel by infiltrating from the Sinai peninsula.
   (AFP, 12/8/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 9, An Israeli
airstrike against a Hamas target in Gaza killed a Palestinian
civilian and his son (12). Palestinian Mustafa Abelrazek al-Tamimi
(28) was critically wounded when he was hit in the face by a tear
gas canister fired by Israeli troops at a rally in the West Bank.
Tamimi had been throwing stones and died of his injuries the next
day. Gaza militants fired twelve rockets at Israel.
   (AP, 12/9/11)(AFP, 12/9/11)(AP, 12/10/11)(AFP,
12/10/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 10, Israeli warplanes
attacked Gaza and militants fired four rockets at southern Israel in
return.
   (AP, 12/10/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 11, A Palestinian
father and his daughter were wounded in an Israeli air strike on
Gaza City.
   (AFP, 12/11/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 12, The Efrat
settlement mayor said Israel's government has approved 40 new houses
to replace trailers at the West Bank settlement, drawing criticism
from Palestinians. The trailers at the site, known as Givat Hadagan,
were put up without authorization.
   (AP, 12/12/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 12, Dozens of Jewish
settlers broke into an army base in the West Bank and lit fires,
damaged vehicles and threw stones at a senior officer, just hours
after another group took over an abandoned building in a closed
military zone on the border with Jordan. The settlers were
reportedly protesting the planned evacuations of unauthorized
settlement outposts.
   (AP, 12/13/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 13, The Palestinian
flag was raised for the first time above a UN agency, the UNESCO
headquarters in Paris, in a diplomatic victory won despite stiff
resistance from the US and Israel.
   (AFP, 12/13/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 15, Iceland formally
recognized the Palestinian state at a ceremony in Reykjavik,
becoming one of the few Western European countries and NATO members
to do so.
   (AFP, 12/15/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 15, Suspected Israeli
vandals set fire to a mosque in the West Bank and defaced it with
Hebrew graffiti a day after a similar arson attack on a Jerusalem
mosque. Suspicion fell on Jewish extremists widely assumed to be
behind stepped-up violence against Palestinians and the Israeli
military.
   (AP, 12/15/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 16, In Gaza a man died
from heavy machine gun fire on the border between the Gaza Strip and
Israel. An Israeli military spokeswoman said soldiers on patrol in
the area heard explosions, and a tank responded with gunfire toward
"suspicious locations." Family members identified the victim as
Nafez Nabhein (35), a Bedouin civilian from the Bureij refugee camp.
   (AP, 12/16/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 18, Israel released
hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, the second and final phase of a
swap with Gaza Hamas militants that brought home an Israeli soldier
after five years in captivity.
   (AP, 12/18/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 20, Palestinian
foreign affairs minister Riyad Al Maliki signed a free trade
agreement with the Mercosur trade group during the organization's
presidential summit in Uruguay.
   (AFP, 12/20/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 22, The rival
Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas took an important step toward
reconciliation, announcing plans for the Islamic militants to join
the umbrella group that has overseen two decades of on-and-off peace
talks with Israel. Israeli officials reacted with alarm to the
emerging agreement.
   (AP, 12/22/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 27, Israeli strikes
overnight killed a Palestinian and wounded 10 others, as the
military struck what it described as "global jihad" targets who were
planning cross-border attacks on southern Israel from the Egyptian
Sinai.
   (AFP, 12/29/11)(AFP, 12/30/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 28, The US State Dept.
said Congress has freed up a little more than 20 percent of $187
million in US assistance to the Palestinians that had been frozen
over the Palestinian bid for UN membership.
   (AP, 12/29/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 29, Palestinian
militants fired two rockets at southern Israel, after Israeli
warplanes attacked "terror sites" overnight inside the Gaza Strip.
   (AFP, 12/29/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 30, Israel said its
warplanes killed a senior jihadist militant in Gaza thwarting a
rocket fire attempt. Palestinians said that Moamen abu-Daff, known
locally as a fundamentalist Islamic Salafi militant, was killed in a
raid east of Gaza City that also wounded another man.
   (AFP, 12/30/11)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â James Carroll authored
Jerusalem, Jerusalem: How the Ancient Ignited Our Modern World.”
   (SSFC, 3/13/11, p.G7)
2011Â Â Â Â Â Â Ilan Pappe authored “the
Forgotten Palestinians: a History of the Palestinians in Israel.”
   (Econ, 5/28/11, p.89)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 2, Israeli and
Palestinian negotiators headed to Jordan for their first
face-to-face meeting in nearly 16 months, although both sides
stressed it did not mark a renewal of talks.
   (AFP, 1/2/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 3, Israel's Yitzhak
Molcho and Palestinian Saeb Erekat met in Jordan in the presence of
envoys from the US, Russia, the EU and the UN. The Palestinian
president threatened to take "new measures" against Israel if a
much-anticipated meeting in Jordan fails to bring about a resumption
of peace talks. There were no significant breakthroughs but both
sides agreed to continue the dialogue.
   (AP, 1/3/12)(SFC, 1/4/12, p.A3)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 11, A Hamas official
in Gaza said the militant group has sentenced a local Palestinian to
death for collaborating with Israel. 3 cars were torched and
graffiti was sprayed on a mosque in the northern West Bank, in the
latest apparent "price tag" attack.
   (AP, 1/11/12)(AFP, 1/11/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 11, Israel's Supreme
Court upheld a controversial law that bans most Palestinians who
marry Israelis from living inside the Jewish state.
   (AP, 1/12/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 12, Israeli rights
groups and parliamentarians criticized a court ruling upholding a
law that prevents Palestinians married to Arab Israelis from
obtaining Israeli citizenship or residency. Israel troops demolished
an unauthorized settler outpost made up of 10 wooden huts in the
southern West Bank.
   (AFP, 1/12/12)(AFP, 1/12/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 14, Masked Hamas
police beat and detained members of the Gaza Strip's tiny Shiite
community during the religious commemoration of Arbaeen. Gaza's
Shiites are believed to number several dozen, a minuscule minority
among a population of 1.6 million people who are overwhelmingly
Sunni Muslim.
   (AP, 1/17/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 15, UN chief Ban
Ki-moon, speaking in Beirut, called for an end to Israeli occupation
of the Palestinian territories, saying the illegal building of
settlements worked against a two-state solution. Ban Ki-moon also
demanded that Syria's president stop killing his own people.
   (AFP, 1/15/12)(AP, 1/15/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 16, A hacker network
that claims to be based in Saudi Arabia paralyzed the websites of
Israel's stock exchange and national airline. El Al Israel Airlines
took down its website after hacker OxOmar, who has been linked to
the Saudi group, warned that both sites would be targeted by allied
pro-Palestinian hackers.
   (AP, 1/16/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 16, Britain's deputy
prime minister Nick Clegg accused Israel of carrying out "deliberate
vandalism" by continuing to build settlements on land the
Palestinians hope will form part of a future state.
   (AP, 1/16/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 18, Israeli forces
attacked a group of suspected Palestinian militants believed to have
been planting a bomb along Gaza's border with the Jewish state.
Palestinian officials said two people were killed and two wounded.
Relatives of the dead men said they were setting traps for birds
near the buffer zone.
   (AP, 1/18/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 19, Israeli forces
arrested three Palestinians overnight as they tried to enter Israel
from the southern Gaza Strip. Israeli forces clashed with angry
settlers during the demolition of a settlement outpost on the
Jerusalem-Jericho road.
   (AFP, 1/19/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 19, Thailand said that
it has recognized a Palestinian state, in a move hailed by
Palestinian leaders eager to boost their international standing amid
a stalemate with Israel.
   (AFP, 1/20/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 21, An Israeli air
strike targeted Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip who were
laying explosives near the border.
   (AFP, 1/21/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 23, Israeli police
arrested 2 lawmakers from the militant Palestinian party Hamas after
hiding for over a year inside a Red Cross compound in Jerusalem.
Khaled Abu Arfa and Mohammed Totah had sought refuge in the compound
on July 1, 2010, to escape Israeli arrest.
   (AP, 1/23/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 24, Israel carried out
several airstrikes overnight in Gaza that the Israeli military said
targeted an arms factory and three tunnels. A rocket fired from the
Gaza Strip landed in southern Israel, causing no damage or injuries.
The Israeli military arrested MP Abdul Jaber Fuqaha overnight from
his home in Ramallah, the fifth Hamas official to be arrested by
Israeli forces in the past five days.
   (AP, 1/24/12)(AFP, 1/24/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 26, Some 300
Palestinians in Tulkarem protested against price hikes and a recent
income tax increase imposed by PM Salam Fayyad.
   (AP, 1/26/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 27, The UN called on
Israel to immediately halt the destruction of Palestinian homes in
the West Bank after reporting a dramatic rise in demolitions in the
past year.
   (AFP, 1/28/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 29, In Jordan Hamas
chief Khaled Meshaal met with King Abdullah II on his first official
visit since his 1999 expulsion, calling the trip a "new good start"
towards better ties with the kingdom.
   (AFP, 1/29/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Palestinians tried
to block the UN chief from entering the Gaza Strip and flung shoes
at his armored convoy, the second day of Ban Ki-moon's mission to
the region to keep informal peace talks alive.
   (AP, 2/2/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Some 1,000
Palestinians, some calling on premier Salam Fayyad to quit, marched
in the West Bank city of Hebron in protest at his austerity plans.
   (AFP, 2/4/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 6, Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas took a decisive step toward reconciliation
with the Islamic militant Hamas, agreeing to head an interim unity
government that would prepare for elections in the West Bank and
Gaza Strip. Israel’s PM Netanyahu condemned the deal, saying it
would be impossible to reach peace with a government that includes
Hamas.
   (AP, 2/6/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 8, The Palestinian
Hamas parliamentary bloc in the Gaza Strip came out against the
latest reconciliation deal with rival Fatah, headed by Pres. Abbas.
The 31 Gaza lawmakers said the deal is illegal. Hamas risked losing
jobs and influence in Gaza under the deal, which was signed in Qatar
this week by Abbas and the exiled Hamas leader, Khaled Mashaal.
   (AP, 2/8/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 9, In Israel Khader
Adnan (33), an imprisoned member of a Palestinian militant group,
has waged a hunger strike for almost two months, trying to draw
attention to Israel's military justice system and its treatment of
detainees who can be held without charge for lengthy periods.
   (AP, 2/9/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 12, Israeli airstrikes
killed Abdelkareem Abu Zeituneh (71), an orchard security guard in
the Gaza Strip. The Israeli military said in a statement that
aircraft targeted tunnels and a weapons factory in response to
rocket fire on southern Israel.
   (AP, 2/12/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 12, Iran’s Supreme
Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told Hamas’ Ismail Haniyeh that Iran
would always stand by the Palestinian resistance against Israel and
warned him against compromisers. Pres. Ahmadinejad said it was
Iran’s duty to stand by the Palestinians.
   (SFC, 2/13/12, p.A3)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, Palestinian police
said a truck lost control in slick, rainy weather and barreled into
a school bus in the West Bank, killing at least seven children and a
teacher.
   (AP, 2/16/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 18, A Palestinian
official in Gaza said Egypt has promised to provide diesel fuel for
the Gaza Strip's sole power plant, which went down Feb 14 after
running out of fuel.
   (AFP, 2/18/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 19, Israeli police
arrested 13 Palestinians in the grounds of Jerusalem's flashpoint
Al-Aqsa mosque complex after police and tourists visiting the site
were stoned.
   (AFP, 2/19/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 21, Palestinian
prisoner Khader Adnan (33), a member of the Islamic Jihad militant
group, agreed to end his 66-day hunger strike after reaching a deal
with Israel that will free him in April.
   (AP, 2/21/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 22, Israel gave
preliminary approval to a plan to build 600 new homes in a
settlement deep inside the West Bank, a move that drew rebukes from
the United Nations and Palestinians.
   (AP, 2/22/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 24, Israeli warplanes
launched an early morning strike at a Gaza target, hours after
Palestinian militants fired two rockets at southern Israel.
Palestinian Talat Ramia (25) was shot and killed as he hurled
exploding fireworks at Israeli forces in al-Ram.
   (AFP, 2/24/12)(AP, 2/25/12)(AP, 2/29/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 25, Dozens of
Palestinian youths clashed with Israeli forces in a Jerusalem
suburb, the second day of violent confrontations in the holy city.
   (AP, 2/25/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 29, Israeli troops
raided two private Palestinian TV stations before dawn, seizing
transmitters and other equipment. The military said one of the
outlets, al-Watan TV, is a pirate station whose frequencies
interfered with legal broadcasters and aircraft communications.
   (AP, 2/29/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 5, Mohammed Abu-Awad
(19), a Palestinian man throwing rocks at solders, had his skull
smashed by a tear gas canister fired by an Israeli soldier in the
West Bank town of Bir Zeit. Abu-Awad was in critical condition.
   (AP, 3/5/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 8, A Palestinian was
shot dead by Israeli troops after stabbing an Israeli soldier in
Yatta village in the southern West Bank. Some 50 Palestinian women
demanding the release of Hana Shalabi, a hunger-striking detainee,
clashed with Israeli troops in the West Bank. On March 29 Shalabi
agreed to end her hunger strike following an agreement with Israeli
authorities under which she will be exiled to the Gaza Strip.
   (AFP, 3/8/12)(SFC, 3/9/12, p.A2)(AFP, 3/29/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 9, An Israeli
airstrike struck a vehicle in Gaza. The airstrike tore apart the
blue sedan of militant commander Zuhair al-Qaissi and killed his
son-in-law, Mahmoud Hanini, himself a top PRC commander. Another
low-ranking Gaza militant also died. Al-Qaissi was the commander of
the militant group behind the abduction of Gilad Schalit. Hours
later Israeli military killed two more militants that it said were
about to launch rockets. Gaza militants in response unleashed a
barrage of rockets toward Israel's southern border communities. Some
three dozen were fired.
   (AP, 3/9/12)(AFP, 3/9/12)(AP, 3/10/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 10, Israeli aircraft
killed 15 militants in 10 airstrikes overnight. So far, militants
have fired more than 95 rockets. The Israeli military said its air
defense systems intercepted some 25 rockets before they landed.
   (AP, 3/10/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 11, Israeli war planes
carried out four strikes, killing three people, including a school
boy and a 60-year-old man who medics said was a civilian. Israeli
Defense ministry figures said that militants had fired 124 rockets
at Israel since March 9, including 68 Qassams and 44 longer-range
Grads. In response the air force carried out 26 air raids, 15 of
which targeted militants who were in the act of firing on Israel.
   (AFP, 3/11/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 12, Israeli airstrikes
killed three Palestinian civilians and two militants in the Gaza
Strip and Palestinian rocket squads barraged southern Israel in
escalating fighting that defied international truce efforts. Masked
members of Islamic Jihad's military wing demanded Israel cease fire
first and stop targeting militants.
   (AP, 3/12/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 13, Israel halted its
airstrikes against Gaza Strip militants and rocket fire from the
Palestinian territory ebbed as an Egyptian-mediated cease-fire
ending 4 days of clashes appeared to be taking effect. At least 24
Palestinians, including at least four civilians, died in
cross-border fighting since March 9.
   (AP, 3/13/12)(SFC, 3/13/12, p.A2)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 14, A Palestinian boy
accidentally struck by a bullet when militants fired in the air
during a funeral died of his injuries. The boy was marching in the
funeral procession for a Gaza militant on March 12 when he was
struck in the head by an errant bullet.
   (AP, 3/14/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 15, Israeli aircraft
and Gaza rocket squads traded strikes across the border as the
Israeli prime minister blamed Iran for the violence from the
Palestinian territory. A female Israeli soldier was stabbed on
Jerusalem's light rail, and police apprehended a Palestinian suspect
at a Jerusalem crossing into the West Bank.
   (AP, 3/15/12)(AFP, 3/15/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 18, Israeli troops
wounded a six-year-old Palestinian boy when they opened fire east of
the town of Rafah.
   (AFP, 3/18/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 19, A UN report said
Israeli settlers have taken over dozens of natural springs in the
West Bank, limiting or preventing Palestinian access to much-needed
water sources.
   (AFP, 3/19/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 22, A dispute between
Egypt and Gaza's Hamas government has produced the worst energy
crisis here in years: Gazans are enduring 18-hour-a-day blackouts,
fuel is running low for hospital backup generators, raw sewage pours
into the Mediterranean Sea for lack of treatment pumps and gas
stations have shut down. The Gaza power plant shut down on Feb. 10
and has been mostly offline since.
   (AP, 3/22/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 25, The Palestinian
Prisoners' Club reported that around 30 Palestinian prisoners have
taken up hunger strikes across the Israeli prison system. The club
said Israel is holding some 700 members of the Palestinian security
services, along with 27 Palestinian lawmakers, 24 of them from
Hamas.
   (AFP, 3/25/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 26, Israel cut working
relations with the UN Human Rights Council and said it will bar a UN
team from entering Israel or the West Bank for a planned
investigation of Jewish settlements.
   (AP, 3/26/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 27, An Israeli army
game caused a melee at a home in the West Bank village of Rammun. 3
brothers including Rashad Shawakha, stood to defend their home.
Rashad was wounded by two intruders posing as Arabs ands died of his
wounds on April 2.
   (AFP, 6/24/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 30, Thousands of
Palestinian demonstrators clashed with Israeli troops at Qalandia
checkpoint in the West Bank as hundreds more gathered by Jerusalem's
Old City to mark Land Day. This annual event commemorates the deaths
of six Arab Israeli protesters at the hands of Israeli forces during
mass demonstrations in 1976 against plans to confiscate Arab land in
northern Israel. Protester Mahmoud Zaqout (21) was killed at the
border in Gaza.
   (AFP, 3/30/12)(SFC, 3/31/12, p.A3)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 1, Three Palestinian
children were found dead in a fire in their room caused by a candle
being used due to lack of electricity in Gaza.
   (AFP, 4/1/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 1, The top Palestinian
envoy to the US awarded longtime American journalist Helen Thomas
for taking a stand against the Israeli occupation. Her May 2010
comments against the Israeli occupation forced her into retirement
and were denounced by the White House and her press corps
colleagues.
   (AP, 4/3/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 2, The Israeli
military ordered dozens of Jewish settlers to evacuate a three-story
building they occupied last week in Hebron, the West Bank's most
volatile city, saying they had entered it without receiving approval
from defense authorities. Israel's Supreme Court threw out an appeal
by a Palestinian family seeking to block construction of Jewish
settler homes on a site owned by the family for generations
   (AP, 4/2/12)(AFP, 4/3/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 3, The Palestinian
Authority government in the West Bank agreed to supply Gaza with
fuel purchased from Israel for so long as the Hamas-controlled Gaza
electricity authority pays for it.
   (AFP, 4/4/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 3, Dozens of Jewish
settlers ignored a deadline to evacuate an illegally occupied West
Bank house in Hebron, as the government remained silent on whether
they would be allowed to stay.
   (AP, 4/3/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 4, Fuel began arriving
in Gaza under a new deal between the territory's Hamas government
and the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.
   (AFP, 4/4/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 4, Israeli PM Benjamin
Netanyahu said he will seek to legalize three settler outposts,
Bruchin, Sansana and Rechelim, established illegally in the West
Bank. He also said that he would also seek a way to avoid the
demolition of a fourth outpost, Ulpana. Israeli security forces
evicted dozens of Jewish settlers from a building that they
illegally took over in the West Bank city of Hebron.
   (AFP, 4/4/12)(AP, 4/4/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 6, The Israeli army
closed the West Bank border for the first two days of the Passover
holiday, which began today at sundown.
   (AFP, 4/6/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 7, Gaza's Hamas rulers
executed three men in dawn hangings. All three were charged with
murder and charges against one included spying for Israel.
   (AP, 4/7/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 8, Militants in Gaza
fired two rockets into Israel a day after Israeli airstrikes injured
two Palestinians in the coastal territory. The rockets did not cause
injuries.
   (AFP, 4/8/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 15, Israel barred 40
pro-Palestinian activists who had flown in for a "Welcome to
Palestine" campaign as hundreds more would-be protesters were
stranded at airports across Europe.
   (AFP, 4/15/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 17, Hundreds of
Palestinian prisoners held by Israel launched a hunger strike,
protesting their conditions and demanding an end to detentions
without trial. Some 3,500 prisoners refused meals on "Prisoners'
Day," and 1,200 of them said they would continue with an open-ended
hunger strike. Khader Adnan, who didn't eat for 66 days, was set to
be freed today as part of a deal reached with Israel.
   (AP, 4/17/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 18, Israeli police
evicted Palestinian families from two homes in East Jerusalem. They
had lost a court case last month to retain their property in Beir
Hanina, one of the city’s largest Arab communities.
   (SFC, 4/19/12, p.A2)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 21, The EU missions in
Jerusalem and Ramallah condemned the recent eviction of a
Palestinian family from its east Jerusalem home, ahead of its
inhabitation by Jewish settlers.
   (AFP, 4/21/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 22, The Israeli
Prisons Service said at least 1,350 Palestinian prisoners being held
in Israeli jails are observing an open-ended hunger strike, after
another 150 inmates began refusing food.
   (AFP, 4/22/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 24, Israel legalized
three unsanctioned West Bank settler outposts and was trying to save
another, infuriating the Palestinians as the chief American Mideast
envoy was in the region laboring to revive peace efforts.
   (AP, 4/24/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 24, Israel's Supreme
Court rejected an appeal by a Palestinian prisoner who has been
refusing food for more than seven weeks to protest being held
without charge. Hassan Safdi (31) was arrested on June 29, 2011 and
has been held without charge under a procedure called administrative
detention, which means a prisoner can be held for renewable periods
of up to six months.
   (AFP, 4/25/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 28, US officials said
that $147 million in aid programs to Palestinians has been restored.
The money had been frozen as a penalty for a Palestinian UN
membership bid.
   (SSFC, 4/29/12, p.A4)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â May 5, Israeli officials
said 10 Palestinian prisoners participating in a mass hunger strike
in Israeli jails have been placed under medical supervision as their
conditions worsened. They were among 1,500 to 2,500 Palestinian
prisoners on hunger strike to demand better conditions and an end to
detention without trial.
   (AP, 5/5/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â May 9, Palestinian
Airlines resumed operations, starting with biweekly flights between
El-Arish and Marka Airbase in the Jordanian capital of Amman. The
new route means Gazans no longer have to travel to Cairo, some 350
km (215 miles) from their territory, to board planes.
   (AFP, 5/27/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â May 14, Palestinian
prisoners on hunger strike agreed with Israel to end their fast in
return for improved conditions.
   (AFP, 5/14/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â May 14, Aid groups said in
a report that Israel demolished dozens of Palestinian homes, water
cisterns and farm buildings built with European funds in 2011, and
over 100 such structures are currently at risk.
   (AFP, 5/14/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â May 16, The top
Palestinian anti-corruption campaigner said Mohammed Rashid, the
shadowy financial adviser of the late Yasser Arafat, is being sought
on suspicion he stole millions of dollars in public funds. Rashid
became Arafat's top financial adviser when the Palestinian Authority
was established, following interim peace deals with Israel.
   (AP, 5/16/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â May 17, Israeli tanks
fired into the Gaza Strip, wounding seven Palestinians and leaving
two of them in critical condition. The army said tank fire had been
directed at "terrorists."
   (AFP, 5/17/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â May 19, Israeli soldiers
stood by as settlers shot at Palestinians during stone-throwing
clashes between hardline Yitzhar settlers and Palestinian villagers
from Asira al-Qibliya near Nablus. Video showed live fire hitting
one stone-thrower in the head.
   (AFP, 5/21/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â May 21, Palestinian
security forces arrested 10 members of the Islamic Jihad in the
Jenin refugee camp.
   (AFP, 5/21/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â May 31, Israel handed over
to the Palestinian government the remains of 91 militants who had
been killed while carrying out suicide bombings and other attacks in
an effort to renew long-stalled peace talks.
   (AP, 5/31/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â May, Israeli Shin Bet
agents, backed by the army and police, arrested an armed PFLP cell
that was preparing to kidnap Israelis for use as bargaining chips to
secure the release of Palestinian prisoners. This was only made
public on August 20.
   (AFP, 8/20/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 1, A Palestinian
militant sneaked into Israel at the border separating the Hamas-run
Gaza Strip and southern Israel, opening fire on Israeli troops and
killing one soldier. The troops fired back, killing the infiltrator.
   (AP, 6/1/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 4, The Israeli
military carried out air strikes on Gaza overnight, injuring one
Palestinian, after a rocket was fired at southern Israel. Hundreds
of young settlers began marching from a West Bank outpost to
Jerusalem to protest over plans to raze five homes built on private
Palestinian land in Ulpana.
   (AFP, 6/4/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 6, Israel's Supreme
Court rejected an attempt by hardliners to prevent the demolition of
an illegal West Bank outpost. It had already said the Ulpana outpost
is illegal because it was built on private Palestinian land and
ordered the outpost's five buildings taken down by July 1. Israeli
officials announced the government would build 850 apartments in
various West Bank settlements. Israeli aircraft struck two targets
in the Gaza Strip, wounding at least two men.
   (AP, 6/6/12)(AFP, 6/6/12)(AP, 6/7/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 7, The Palestinian
anti-corruption court convicted Mohammed Rashid, the fugitive
moneyman of the late leader Yasser Arafat of siphoning off millions
of dollars in public funds, sentencing him in absentia to 15 years
in prison.
   (AP, 6/7/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 14, Forty three
international aid groups and 7 UN agencies urged Israel to open
Gaza's borders, saying its border blockade violates international
law and indiscriminately harms Gaza's 1.6 million people. Today
marked the fifth anniversary of the imposition of the blockade.
   (AP, 6/14/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 15, Envoys from the
Middle East Quartet (the United States, United Nations, European
Union and Russia) met in Brussels amid calls from the Palestinians
to step up action to halt continuing Israeli settlement activity.
   (AFP, 6/15/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 17, Two Palestinians,
Anwar Abed Rabbo (35) and Naim al-Najjar (29), were shot dead by an
Israeli truck driver after they tried to steal his vehicle in the
south Hebron Hills.
   (AFP, 6/17/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 18, Israel carried out
air strikes on northern Gaza, killing four Palestinians in two
sorties over Beit Hanun. Three other people were also wounded. Hours
earlier a group of militants, who sneaked across the Egyptian
border, killed an Israeli civilian sparking a firefight which left
at least two gunmen dead.
   (AFP, 6/18/12)(AFP, 6/19/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 18, In Lebanon 2
Palestinians were killed in clashes with the army at refugee camps
that also left several people wounded, including soldiers.
   (AFP, 6/18/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 19, The bodies of two
Palestinian teenagers were recovered by medics after an early
morning Israeli air strike in Deir al-Balah. The Israeli military
confirmed that 11 rockets had hit southern Israel since midnight.
Unknown attackers set fire to a West Bank mosque and sprayed it with
Hebrew graffiti, in an incident that bore the hallmarks of an attack
by extremist Jewish settlers.
   (AFP, 6/19/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 20, An Israeli air
strike near Gaza City killed Moamen al-Adam (14). His father was
also seriously wounded, and two other people were said to be in
moderate condition. An earlier air raid killed Hamas militant Ghaleb
Ermilat (21), whom Israel said was a "global jihad operative" who
was behind a deadly ambush along the Israeli-Egyptian border, which
killed one Israeli civilian earlier this week.
   (AFP, 6/20/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 20, Israel's
government said 30 Jewish families have consented to leave the
Ulpana enclave, an unauthorized West Bank settler outpost,
suggesting their court-ordered evacuation can proceed peacefully.
   (AP, 6/20/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 21, Palestinian
militants fired 12 rockets from Gaza into Israel for a fourth
consecutive day, despite an announcement by Hamas it had agreed to a
truce with Israel. Another was intercepted by the Iron Dome
anti-rocket defense system. Palestinians recovered the bodies of two
militants from a tunnel damaged on June 19 by an Israeli air strike
on Gaza.
   (AFP, 6/21/12)(AFP, 6/22/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 22, Palestinians in
the Gaza Strip fired two rockets that hit Israel, as a truce
declared by the Islamist Hamas ruling the enclave entered its second
day.
   (AFP, 6/22/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 23, Israeli airstrikes
killed at least 3 Palestinian men and a boy (6), as Palestinian
rocket attacks on Israel wounded one person and damaged a school in
Sderot. Gaza militants fired over 30 rockets and mortar shells,
bringing the week's rocket tally to more than 150.
   (AP, 6/23/12)(SSFC, 6/24/12, p.A8)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 26, Israel began the
evacuation of the Ulpana outpost, an illegal West Bank settlement,
after persuading dozens of residents to leave the enclave without
violence.
   (AP, 6/26/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 26, Visiting Russian
Pres. Putin spoke at the end of a visit to the biblical West Bank
town of Bethlehem, with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas by his
side. Putin praised his Abbas for what he said was a "responsible"
position in negotiations with Israel, frozen for nearly four years,
and said Russia has no problem recognizing a Palestinian state.
   (AP, 6/26/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 28, The Hamas movement
ruling the Gaza Strip presented a video documentary in which alleged
Palestinian collaborators with Israel confess having aided the
killings of senior Hamas and Fatah members.
   (AFP, 6/28/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 1, An Israeli military
court sentenced Ibrahim Hamed, a former military leader of Hamas, to
54 life sentences after convicting him of ordering the killing of
dozens of Israelis. The army said he was convicted last week of
responsibility for a long list of suicide attacks which brought
about the deaths of 46 Israelis and the wounding of more than 400
Israelis.
   (AFP, 7/1/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 2, A spokesman said
the Palestinian self-rule government has detained some 200 people,
including security officers, in recent weeks in the biggest
crackdown on illegal weapons in the West Bank in five years.
   (AP, 7/2/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 4, Palestinians sought
an international probe into the death of former president Yasser
Arafat after an investigation showed he may have been poisoned with
polonium.
   (AFP, 7/4/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 6, Israel's
immigration police were granted the power to remove foreigners
without permits from the occupied West Bank. Last month, the
immigration police began a nationwide crackdown on the estimated
60,000 illegal African migrants living in Israel.
   (AFP, 7/13/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 6, The UN Human Rights
Council set up a 3-person panel to probe Jewish settlements in the
occupied Palestinian territories, a move that further irked Israel
which said it will bar its access to the sites of inquiry.
   (AFP, 7/7/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 7, An explosion
injured five Palestinian children in the central Gaza Strip, a
hospital said, blaming Israeli tank fire. Witnesses said, however,
that there were no Israeli tanks in the area at the time and that
the explosion might have been caused by an old bomb.
   (AFP, 7/7/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 9, Palestinian
militants in Gaza fired a rocket which crashed into an uninhabited
area of southern Israel without causing casualties or damage. The
Israeli air force carried out an air raid on the Gaza Strip
overnight, in retaliation for a Palestinian rocket attack.
   (AFP, 7/10/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 10, Israel released
Mahmoud Sarsak (25), a member of the Palestinian national soccer
team. He had been held for three years without formal charges and
pushed for his freedom with a hunger strike of more than 90 days.
   (AP, 7/10/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 12, A Palestinian
militant, Mahmud al-Hiqi (27), from the ruling Hamas movement was
killed and two others wounded in an Israeli air strike on eastern
Gaza City.
   (AFP, 7/12/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 13, Israeli troops
killed a Palestinian when they opened fire at him near the border in
the northern Gaza Strip. Israeli border police killed a man and
wounded another who had tried to cross the Egyptian border into
Israel.
   (AFP, 7/13/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 16, A senior
Palestinian official, Osama Mansour, suspected of embezzling public
funds fell to his death from the third-floor kitchen window of a
West Bank security compound where he was being interrogated.
   (AP, 7/16/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 23, Egypt's ambassador
to the West Bank Yasser Othman said transiting Palestinians can
enter Egypt for 72 hours to arrange their own travel. A Palestinian
official in Cairo said more easing of restrictions are being
negotiated.
   (AP, 7/23/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 27, Israel's Supreme
Court delayed by at least 3 weeks the scheduled evacuation of the
unauthorized West Bank Migron outpost that has become a symbol of
settler defiance.
   (AP, 7/27/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 28, Israeli troops
arrested Abdallah Harouf (24), a member of the Islamic Jihad
militant group, at his home in the West Bank city of Nablus. Local
residents said that four other people were also arrested.
   (AFP, 7/28/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 29, Mit Romney visited
Israel and met with PM Benjamin Netanyahu, Pres. Shimon Peres, and
Palestinian Authority PM Salam Fayyad.
   (SFC, 7/30/12, p.A6)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 30, In the West Bank
Nancy Zaboun, a 27-year-old mother of three, had her throat slashed
in Bethlehem after seeking a divorce from her abusive husband of 10
years. Zaboun's husband could face life in prison if convicted.
   (AP, 8/1/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 1, Palestinian sources
said Ayman al-Shufra, a militant with the armed wing of Gaza's
ruling Hamas movement, died in Gaza City after the car he was
travelling in exploded.
   (AFP, 8/1/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 5, A Palestinian man
was killed and another wounded in an Israeli drone strike on Rafah
in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli army confirmed the strike, naming the
wounded man as Ahmed Said Ismail, who "was among those responsible
for the execution of the terror attack adjacent to the Israel-Egypt
border, in which an Israeli civilian was killed, on June 18, 2012."
   (AFP, 8/5/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 5, A key meeting of
Non-Aligned Movement ministers which was to have taken place in the
West Bank was cancelled after Israel denied five of them entry.
Foreign ministers from the 13 countries belonging to NAM's Palestine
Committee were to have signed the so-called "Ramallah Declaration"
in support of a Palestinian bid to upgrade their UN status from
observer to non-member state.
   (AFP, 8/5/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 8, Egypt's state
television reported the military killed 20 militants in
unprecedented air strikes. Egypt said the attackers who killed 16
Egyptian soldiers had help from Gaza. In response Egypt closed its
border crossing and shut down hundreds of smuggling tunnels. Gazans
said the sealing of their territory following a weekend attack by
Islamic militants has sent prices soaring and is leaving hundreds of
medical patients stranded.
   (AFP, 8/8/12)(AP, 8/8/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 14, Egypt opened its
border with Hamas-ruled Gaza for a 3-day period ahead of a major
Muslim holiday this weekend, but imposed tight restrictions on who
can travel and did not say whether it would resume normal border
operations. From its side, Hamas also temporarily prevented access
to the illegal underground tunnels in a show of goodwill toward
Egypt.
   (AP, 8/14/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 16, Unknown assailants
firebombed a Palestinian taxi in the West Bank leaving 6 people
wounded. Israel’s PM Benjamin Netanyahu later vowed to bring the
people responsible for the firebombing to justice. The Israeli
military has counted 196 Palestinian firebomb attacks and six
shooting incidents in the first half of 2012.
   (AP, 8/21/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 17, The ruling
Palestinian militant group Hamas, said a member of its armed wing,
Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, died when a bomb he was guarding
exploded accidently.
   (AFP, 8/17/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 17, In Israel a mob of
Jewish teens beat a Palestinian unconscious in downtown Jerusalem.
Seven people, aged 13 to 19, were arrested in connection with the
assault on Jamal Julani (17).
   (AP, 8/21/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 23, Israel's foreign
ministry summoned South Africa's envoy to formally protest
Pretoria's decision to place "Occupied Palestinian Territory" labels
on goods from Jewish settlements.
   (AFP, 8/23/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 25, Egyptian security
officials said military engineers have blocked 120 tunnels used for
smuggling to and from the Gaza Strip since the start of operations
in the neighboring Sinai Peninsula.
   (AFP, 8/25/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 26, An Egyptian
security official says Egypt has reopened its passenger terminal
with the Gaza Strip and resumed normal operations there after nearly
three weeks of disruption following a deadly attack on Egyptian
soldiers by Islamic militants.
   (AP, 8/26/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 26, Israeli
authorities refused entry to about 100 pro-Palestinian activists,
including 3 Americans, attempting to cross overland to the West Bank
from Jordan.
   (AP, 8/26/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 28, French sources
said prosecutors have opened a murder enquiry into Palestinian
leader Yasser Arafat's 2004 death near Paris following claims he may
have died of polonium poisoning.
   (AFP, 8/29/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 28, Nine Israeli
teenagers, eight of them minors, were charged with taking part in an
Aug 17 violent hate attack on Palestinian Jamal Julani (17) from
east Jerusalem that left him in critical condition.
   (AFP, 8/28/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 29, Israeli troops
fired warning shots into the air near the border in central Gaza. A
42-year-old Gazan woman was in critical condition after being shot
in the area east of the central town of Deir al-Balah.
   (AFP, 8/29/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 30, Palestinian
religious authorities announced sweeping reforms of divorce laws
making it easier for a woman to end her marriage. The changes would
no apply in Gaza.
   (SFC, 9/1/12, p.A3)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 1, Israel launched
airstrikes at training camps in the Gaza Strip wounding 2
Palestinians.
   (AFP, 9/1/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 2, In Gaza Ehab Abu
al-Nada (17) died four days after setting himself alight in
desperation over financial problems.
   (AFP, 9/3/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 2, Israel completed
evacuation of the large unauthorized West Bank settlement of Migron,
culminating years of legal wrangling.
   (AP, 9/2/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 4, Hundreds of
Palestinians demonstrated in West Bank cities against the high cost
of living, directing their anger at prime minister Salam Fayyad.
   (AFP, 9/4/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 5, An Israeli
airstrike killed four Palestinian militants as they were preparing
to fire rockets at nearby southern cities.
   (AP, 9/6/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 6, Dozens of
Palestinian taxi drivers snarled traffic in several West Bank cities
to protest rising fuel prices and the government's refusal to allow
them to raise fares.
   (AP, 9/6/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 6, Israeli soldiers
and aircraft hit Palestinian militants planting explosives along the
border with Gaza. 3 men were reported killed.
   (AP, 9/6/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 8, Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas says that government employees will not
receive full salaries this month because donor countries have not
delivered promised aid.
   (AP, 9/8/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 9, Dozens of
Palestinian truck drivers blocked the main streets of the West Bank
city of Ramallah to protest rising prices.
   (AP, 9/9/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 10, Palestinian
protests against the high cost of living have turned violent in the
West Bank city of Hebron. The violence lasted for about an hour
before it was brought under control. There were no reports of
injuries.
   (AP, 9/10/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 12, Dozens of
Palestinians in the Gaza Strip burned American flags and chanted
"Death to America," protesting an American film that mocks the
Muslim Prophet Muhammad.
   (AFP, 9/12/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 24, Palestinian
officials said Khaled Mashaal, the supreme leader of the Palestinian
Islamic militant group Hamas, has decided to step down, clearing the
way for the movement to choose a new head for the first time.
   (AP, 9/24/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 3, Human Rights Watch
said that Hamas security forces in the Gaza Strip commit rampant
abuses against Palestinian prisoners. The report titled “Abusive
Systems” noted beatings with metal clubs and rubber hoses, mock
executions and arbitrary arrests, and urged the Islamic militant
group to swiftly reform its criminal justice system.
   (AP, 10/3/12)(SFC, 10/4/12, p.A2)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 7, Israel targeted two
men in an airstrike into southern Gaza, killing one and wounding the
other.
   (AP, 10/8/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 7, A boat left Naples
and aiming to reach Gaza in mid-October in the latest attempt to
break Israel's naval blockade. It carried items such as cement,
basketballs, musical instruments and theater lighting equipment.
   (AP, 10/8/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 8, Militants of Hamas
and Islamic Jihad fired some 30 rockets toward Israel's
southern border following Israel’s airstrike the previous evening.
Israel's military launched around 20 tank shells and an airstrike,
mostly toward targets around the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis.
   (AP, 10/9/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 13, An Israeli
airstrike killed two people in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli military
says one is Hisham Saidani (43), a member of a faction of the
ultraconservative Salafi trend believed to have ties to al-Qaida.
Militants on jihadi websites identified the other dead man as Ashraf
Sabah (37), leader of another al-Qaida inspired group, Ansar
al-Sunnah.
   (AP, 10/14/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 14, Israeli aircraft
struck militants planning a rocket attack in the Gaza Strip. The
airstrikes killed three more militants.
   (AP, 10/14/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 20, Palestinians held
local elections. Fatah was expected to win as Hamas boycotted the
vote. Voters choosing new local councils in the West Bank rebuffed
candidates from Pres. Abbas' Fatah movement in five of the 11 main
towns.
   (SFC, 10/20/12, p.A2)(AP, 10/21/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 21, Israel's PM
Netanyahu vowed on to continue building in east Jerusalem, despite
objections from Palestinians who claim the territory as capital of
their hoped-for state.
   (AP, 10/21/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 22, Israeli aircraft
struck the northern Gaza Strip, killing two Palestinian militants,
after mortar attacks targeted Israeli troops earlier in the day.
   (AP, 10/22/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 23, The emir of Qatar,
Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, received a hero's welcome in Gaza,
becoming the first head of state to visit the Palestinian territory
since the Islamist militant Hamas seized control of the coastal
strip five years ago.
   (AP, 10/23/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 24, Gaza militants
pummeled southern Israel with over 60 rockets and mortars. Israeli
airstrikes in return killed two Palestinians in a sharp escalation
of violence following a landmark visit to the coastal territory by
the leader of Qatar. Two foreign workers in Israel were critically
wounded in the rocket fire, and a number of militants were injured
in the Israeli air attacks.
   (AP, 10/24/12)(SFC, 10/25/12, p.A5)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 28, An Israeli
airstrike strike into the Gaza Strip killed one Palestinian man and
wounded another. Five rockets and mortars had struck southern Israel
by early morning.
   (AP, 10/28/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 29, Israeli aircraft
struck a Palestinian rocket launching pad and an unidentified
militant activity site in the Gaza Strip, in response to persistent
rocket and mortar fire from the coastal territory. The Shin Bet said
that 30 Hamas members were arrested near Ramallah, the West Bank's
administrative center.
   (AP, 10/29/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 6, A spokesman for
Hamas said the Syrian government has sealed its offices in Damascus,
finalizing the break between the Islamic militant group and its
former patron.
   (AP, 11/6/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 5, The Israeli
government announced that it was accepting bids from contractors to
build the homes in two Jewish enclaves in east Jerusalem, Ramot and
Pisgat Zeev. It also reopened bidding for 72 homes in Ariel, deep
inside the West Bank.
   (AP, 11/6/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 8, An
explosives-packed tunnel under the Gaza-Israel frontier blew up in
what the Israeli military called an attempt by Palestinian militants
to kill or kidnap soldiers. This set off a cycle of violence
including Israeli airstrikes   .
   (AP, 11/11/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 10, Palestinian
militants fired an anti-tank missile at an Israeli jeep patrolling
the border with Gaza and the Israelis fired back into the
Palestinian territory, killing four civilians. Later in the day some
25 Palestinian rockets rained on southern Israel, though they caused
no injuries or damage. 2 more Palestinians were killed as Israel
responded with an airstrike and tank fire.
   (AP, 11/11/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 11, Israeli aircraft
struck the Gaza Strip, killing a Palestinian man, as militants
bombarded the Jewish state with rockets and mortars in a fierce
second day of fighting.
   (AP, 11/11/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 12, Palestinian
militants in Gaza launched 10 rockets into southern Israel by
midday, including one that struck the yard of a house. The barrage
ramped up pressure on the Israeli government to stage a large-scale
operation aimed at stopping the persistent attacks.
   (AP, 11/12/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 13, One Israeli
airstrike and one Gaza rocket were fired today. A Gaza militant died
of wounds sustained in an Israeli airstrike from two days earlier.
   (AP, 11/13/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 14, An Israeli
airstrike killed Ahmed Jabari, commander of the military wing of
Gaza's Hamas rulers. More than 65 rockets landed in southern Israel.
Israel hit the Gaza Strip with more than 50 airstrikes. Hamas police
said airstrikes hit targets in Gaza City, Khan Younis and Rafah. A
total of 15 Palestinians, including 7 civilians, were killed and
more than 100 people wounded, according to Palestinian officials.
Among the dead were 3 children. A March 6, 2013, UN report said Omar
al-Masharawi, age 11 months, was killed by an errant Palestinian
rocket.
   (AP, 11/14/12)(AP, 11/15/12)(AP, 3/11/13)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 15, Militants in the
Gaza Strip pounded southern Israel with over 180 rockets, killing
three people in Kiryat Malachi as the Israeli military pressed
forward with a second day of intense air raids and naval attacks on
militant targets.
   (AP, 11/15/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 16, Gaza militants
targeted Tel Aviv for a 2nd day. Israeli aircraft targeted rocket
launching operations of Gaza militants, but offered to suspend its
offensive in the Gaza Strip during a brief visit by Egypt's premier.
   (AP, 11/16/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 16, Thousands of
Egyptians protested against Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip as
Egypt's PM Hesham Kandil visited the Palestinian enclave in a
symbolic show of support for the territory's Hamas rulers.
   (AP, 11/16/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 17, Israel bombarded
the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip with nearly 200 airstrikes, widening a
blistering assault on Gaza rocket operations to include the prime
minister's headquarters, a police compound and a vast network of
smuggling tunnels. Ten people, including eight militants, were
killed and dozens were wounded in the various attacks.
   (AP, 11/17/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 18, An Israeli envoy
held talks with Egyptian officials on a ceasefire in his country's
offensive on Gaza. Militants continued their barrage of rocket fire,
firing more than two dozen at Israel. Palestinian medical officials
said at least 11 civilians, including women and young children, were
killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City. The deaths brought to
66 the number of Palestinians killed in Israel's Gaza offensive,
including 32 civilians.
   (AP, 11/18/12)(Reuters, 11/18/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 19, Israeli aircraft
struck crowded areas in the Gaza Strip, driving up the Palestinian
death toll to 94 and devastating several homes belonging to one
clan. Hamas fighters have fired hundreds of rockets into Israel in
the current round of fighting, including 75 today. The new
airstrikes came as Egypt was trying to broker a cease-fire, with the
help of Turkey and Qatar.
   (AP, 11/19/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 20, Israeli aircraft
battered the headquarters of the bank Hamas set up to sidestep
international sanctions on its rule. A Palestinian rocket struck the
outskirts of Jerusalem. Diplomats from across the world raced across
the region to negotiate a cease-fire to end relentless Israeli
airstrikes and Palestinian rocket attacks. An Israeli airstrike
killed two Al-Aqsa TV journalists in their car. Masked gunmen
publicly shot dead six suspected collaborators with Israel at a
large Gaza City intersection.
   (AP, 11/20/12)(AP, 11/21/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 21, A bomb exploded
aboard an Israeli bus near the nation's military headquarters in Tel
Aviv, wounding 27 people, delivering a major blow to diplomatic
efforts to forge a truce to end a week of fighting between Israel
and Gaza's militant Hamas rulers. The Tel Aviv bombing came after a
night of more than 30 Israeli airstrikes over Gaza. The attacks
brought to 144 the number of Palestinians killed since Israel
launched its offensive on Nov 14. In Dec, 2013, Mohammed Mafarja
(19) pleaded guilty to charges that included attempted murder. On
Mar 10, 2014 he was sentenced to 25 years in prison for planting the
bomb on behalf of Hamas.
   (AP, 11/21/12)(Reuters, 3/10/14)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 21, Egypt’s President
Mohammed Morsi mediated a cease-fire between Israelis and
Palestinians to end eight days of fierce fighting. The cease-fire
deal included agreement to open all border crossings with the Gaza
Strip, including with Egypt.
   (AP, 11/22/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 21, Iran’s
semiofficial ISNA news agency reported that Iran has supplied Hamas
in Gaza with the technology to "quickly" produce longer-range
missiles on their own without needing direct shipments.
   (AP, 11/21/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 22, Hamas leaders in
Gaza declared victory over Israel on Thursday, and thousands of
flag-waving supporters rallied in celebration as the battered
territory entered its first day of calm under an Egyptian-brokered
truce.
   (AP, 11/22/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 22, The top leader of
Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood denounced peace efforts with Israel and
urged holy war to liberate Palestinian territories.
   (AP, 11/22/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 22, In Syria a bomb
blast in a Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus killed four people
and seriously wounded a member of a faction that has backed
President Bashar Assad.
   (AP, 11/23/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 23, Israeli troops
fired to push back Gaza crowds surging toward Israel's border fence
with the Hamas-ruled territory, killing one Palestinian and wounding
19 in the first violence since a truce between Israel and Hamas took
hold a day earlier.
   (AP, 11/23/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 24, Gaza residents
said that Israel has eased some border restrictions as part of its
truce with the Palestinian territory's Hamas rulers, allowing
farmers to visit land near its security fence and letting fishermen
head further out to sea.
   (AP, 11/24/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 24, Israel's Shin Bet
internal security arrested Azzam Mashahara, a Palestinian man of
East Jerusalem, for relaying information to Hezbollah guerrillas in
Lebanon about sensitive government sites, including parliament.
   (AP, 11/25/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 27, Yasser Arafat's
political heirs opened his grave in Ramallah and foreign experts
took samples of the iconic Palestinian leader's remains as part of a
long-shot attempt, eight years after his mysterious death, to
determine whether he was poisoned.
   (AP, 11/27/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 27, France announced
that it plans to vote in favor of recognizing a Palestinian state at
the UN General Assembly this week.
   (AP, 11/27/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 29, The United Nations
endorsed an independent state of Palestine, giving sweeping
international backing to their demands for sovereignty over lands
Israel occupied in 1967. Only nine, including the US, of 193
General Assembly members voted against it.
   (AP, 11/30/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 30, Israel responded
swiftly to UN recognition of a Palestinian state, revealing it will
build 3,000 more homes for Jews on Israeli-occupied lands that the
world body overwhelmingly said belong to the Palestinians.
   (AP, 12/1/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 2, Israel roundly
rejected the UN endorsement of an independent state of Palestine,
announcing it would withhold more than $100 million collected for
the Palestinian government to pay debts to Israeli companies.
   (AP, 12/2/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 4, Israel said it is
moving forward with plans for two major settlement projects in east
Jerusalem, even as a senior Palestinian official warned that his
government could pursue war crimes charges if Israel doesn't halt
such construction.
   (AP, 12/4/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 7, Khaled Mashaal, the
exiled Hamas chief, broke into tears as he arrived in the Gaza Strip
for his first-ever visit. Mashaal had left the West Bank as a child.
He leads the Islamic militant movement from Qatar.
   (AP, 12/7/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 12, Israel's
paramilitary border police force in Hebron shot and killed Mohammed
Suleima (17) after he brandished a gun that later turned out to be
fake.
   (AP, 12/13/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 13, Thousands of
Palestinians marched through the streets of Hebron, chanting
anti-Israel slogans and waving green Hamas flags during a funeral
procession for a teenager killed by Israeli troops a day earlier.
   (AP, 12/13/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 16, Palestinian PM
Salaam Fayyad called for a boycott of Israeli products to protests
Israel’s withholding $100 million in taxes owed to the Palestinian
Authority.
   (SFC, 12/17/12, p.A2)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 19, A Jerusalem
municipal official said Israel is pressing forward with construction
in a new east Jerusalem settlement, part of a series of new building
plans that have drawn worldwide rebuke, including from its closest
ally, the United States.
   (AP, 12/19/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 20, In Syria days of
intense fighting in a Palestinian refugee camp subsided and some of
the more than 100,000 residents who fled the violence in the capital
Damascus began to trickle back.
   (AP, 12/20/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 23, Israeli forces
fired at and seriously wounded two men east of Deir al-Balah in the
central Gaza Strip.
   (AP, 12/23/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 29, An Egyptian
security official said that thousands of tons of building materials
such as cement and steel are crossing into the Palestinian Gaza
Strip, which had previously been under a strict blockade.
   (AP, 12/29/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 30, The Israeli
military began allowing shipments of gravel to Gaza's private sector
because the Israeli attacks on Hamas' military operations in
November cowed the militant group into quiet.
   (AP, 12/31/12)
2012Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 31, The West Bank
Deputy Health Minister said an outbreak of the H1N1 swine flu has
killed 9 people.
   (SFC, 1/1/13, p.A2)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 1, Clashes began in
the northern West Bank after Israeli forces dressed as merchants
arrested one man. Regular forces then entered the town of Tamoun,
and men began hurling rocks at them to prevent other arrests. At
least 10 Palestinians were wounded.
   (AP, 1/1/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 3, Palestinian
officials said Israeli undercover troops broke into a West Bank
house in a failed arrest raid near Jenin, igniting a violent protest
and signaling that Israeli-Palestinian security coordination may be
in trouble.
   (AP, 1/3/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 4, Leaders of the
Palestinian Fatah party led tens of thousands of supporters in a
mass rally in the Gaza Strip, the first such gathering for the
largely secular party in the territory since the rival Islamist
Hamas seized power there in 2007. Hamas condoned the demonstration.
   (AP, 1/4/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 6, Palestinian Pres.
Mahmoud Abbas ordered his government to officially change the name
of the Palestinian Authority to "State of Palestine."
   (AP, 1/6/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 8, Palestinian
factions in Syria called for a cease-fire after fighting flared at a
refugee camp in the capital, Damascus. 5 people were killed on
Yarmouk Street, four of them when a shell exploded and the fifth in
sniper fire.
   (AP, 1/8/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 9, The fiercest winter
storm to hit the Mideast in years brought a rare foot of snow to
Jordan, caused fatal accidents in Lebanon and the West Bank, and
disrupted traffic on the Suez Canal in Egypt. At least eight people
died across the region.
   (AP, 1/9/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 11, The Israeli
military shot and killed one Palestinian near the border fence with
Gaza. In the West Bank activists pitched tents to protest Israeli
plans to build a large Jewish settlement on a key route through the
territory.
   (SFC, 1/12/13, p.A2)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 13, Palestinian
protesters who pitched tents at a strategic West Bank site to
protest plans to build a Jewish housing project there were evicted
early today. PM Netanyahu pledged to move ahead with construction of
a new Jewish settlement in the area.
   (AP, 1/13/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 15, The Israeli
military shot dead a 17-year-old Palestinian near the West Bank
separation barrier. The Israeli military said he had breached the
barrier, which separated soldiers from protesters.
   (AP, 1/15/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 24, More than 3,000
Palestinian teenagers graduated from the ruling Hamas militant
group's first high school military training program in the Gaza
Strip, displaying mock weapons, crawling commando-style on the
ground and taking up fighting positions for thousands of cheering
supporters.
   (AP, 1/24/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 29, In Syria Musa
Maragha (86), a hard-line Palestinian military commander who
rebelled against leader Yasser Arafat to form his own rival party,
died in Damascus. Maragha was better known by his nom de guerre,
"Abu Musa."
   (AP, 1/29/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 30, Israel said it is
transferring some $100 million in last month’s tax revenues to the
Palestinian Authority that were frozen last year.
   (AP, 1/30/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 31, A UN panel called
for Israel to immediately halt all settlement activity in
Palestinian territory and withdraw all settlers. The panel said
Israel’s settlements have clearly violated the Geneva Conventions.
   (SFC, 2/1/13, p.A5)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 2, Israeli troops
fired tear gas and stun grenades at rock-throwing Palestinian
protesters as soldiers tried to dismantle an encampment near Burin
that activists set up in the West Bank to protest Israeli building
restrictions.
   (AP, 2/2/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 4, Israeli forces
arrested 20 members of the Palestinian militant group Hamas,
including three lawmakers, in a raid in the West Bank.
   (AP, 2/4/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 9, Israeli troops
drove some 100 Palestinian activists out of an illegal tent camp
they had set up near the city of Hebron in the southern West Bank.
The operation marked the fifth time in the past month Israeli forces
broke up a Palestinian encampment.
   (AP, 2/9/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 10, The Israeli
government gave final approval for construction of 90 new homes in a
West Bank settlement, a move that could cause tensions with the US
ahead of President Obama's visit to the region.
   (AP, 2/11/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 10, Acclaimed Spanish
writer Antonio Munoz Molina said he will accept the prestigious
Jerusalem Prize, an Israeli award given to authors, despite calls
from pro-Palestinian activists to boycott the Jewish state.
   (AP, 2/10/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 15, Palestinian
demonstrators clashed with Israeli soldiers at a West Bank rally
held in support of Samer Issawi (35), who has been on an on-again,
off-again hunger strike for several months as he serves time for
alleged terror activity.
   (AP, 2/15/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 15, Swedish
photographer Paul Hansen won the 2012 World Press Photo award for
newspaper Dagens Nyheter with a Nov 20 picture of two Palestinian
children killed in an Israeli missile strike being carried to their
funeral.
   (AP, 2/15/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 18, Palestinians
blocked roads and held marches across the West Bank to protest the
fate of thousands of their countrymen held in Israeli jails and
demand the release of four detainees on hunger strike. Israel is
holding some 4,500 Palestinians for charges ranging from throwing
stones to undertaking deadly militant attacks.
   (AP, 2/18/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 19, Palestinian
protesters clashed with Israeli soldiers at a rally in support of
four imprisoned Palestinians on hunger strike, as hundreds of
inmates said they were refusing food for the day in solidarity with
the fasting inmates.
   (AP, 2/19/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 19, Gaza Strip's Hamas
government and local smugglers accused Egypt of flooding
cross-border tunnels with sewage water in order to halt a thriving
smuggling trade. Egyptian engineers began flooding the tunnels in
late January.
   (AP, 2/19/13)(Econ, 3/9/13, p.41)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 19, Israeli PM
Benjamin Netanyahu added his first coalition partner as he works to
build a new government. Former Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni will
serve as justice minister in the next Israeli government, in charge
of peace efforts with the Palestinians.
   (AP, 2/19/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 21, Hundreds of
Palestinian protesters clashed with Israeli security forces, hurling
rocks and burning tires at a West Bank demonstration to show
solidarity with Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
   (AP, 2/21/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 22, Hundreds of
Palestinians in Hebron and elsewhere in the West Bank threw rocks at
Israeli soldiers who responded with tear gas. Palestinian emergency
services said dozens were treated for tear gas inhalation and rubber
bullet wounds. Mohammed Asfour (22) was struck in the head by a
rubber-coated bullet in the West Bank and died of his wounds on
March 7.
   (AP, 2/22/13)(AP, 3/7/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 23, Some 150
Palestinian villagers and 25 Jewish settlers clashed in the northern
West Bank village of Kusra, wounding one demonstrator who protesters
say was shot in the stomach. The clashes began when a group of
Jewish settlers chased a Palestinian farmer and his family off land
in the village.
   (AP, 2/23/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 23, Palestinian Arafat
Jaradat (30) died while under Israeli custody at Megiddo Prison. His
family alleged Jaradat was mistreated by the Shin Bet, saying he was
healthy at the time of his arrest last week. Israeli officials said
Jaradat died of an apparent heart attack and denied he was beaten or
subjected to any treatment that could have led to his death. A
Palestinian doctor present at the autopsy said marks on Jaradat’s
body indicated torture.
   (AP, 2/24/13)(SSFC, 2/3/13, p.A4)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 24, Palestinians
called for an international investigation of Israel's treatment of
detained Palestinians, after a 30-year-old Palestinian died in
custody and a hunger strike by four other inmates sparked a week of
West Bank protests.
   (AP, 2/24/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 26, Gaza militants
fired a rocket into Israel for the first time in three months. It
landed south of Ashkelon with some damage to a road.
   (AP, 2/26/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 1, Palestinians
clashed with Israeli troops during rallies across the West Bank in
support of hunger-striking Palestinian prisoners and against
Israel's security barrier.
   (AP, 3/1/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 1, Ayman Abu-Sufian
(40) a Palestinian man, died in Palestinian custody in the West Bank
two days after being detained on assault charges. Authorities there
launched an investigation.
   (AP, 3/2/13)(SSFC, 3/3/13, p.A5)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 3, The West Bank
Palestinian finance minister Nabil Qassis announced his resignation
in a show of frustration over the government's widening budget
deficit. Qassis told reporters that the Palestinian Authority's 2013
budget deficit is expected to reach $1.4 billion.
   (AP, 3/3/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 4, Israel launched a
pair of "Palestinian-only" bus lines in the West Bank. It was
presented by the government as a goodwill gesture, assailed by
critics as racism and welcomed by Palestinian riders.
   (AP, 3/4/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 5, A UN aid agency
canceled the Gaza marathon after the Palestinian territory's
militant Hamas rulers banned women from participating in the annual
sporting event.
   (AP, 3/5/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 8, Israeli police
entered a hilltop site in Jerusalem, known to Jews as the Temple
Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, where the Al-Aqsa
Mosque stands, to disperse hundreds of Palestinians who were
throwing rocks.
   (AP, 3/8/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 12, Israeli troops
shot to death Mahmoud Titi (25), a Palestinian man, after he
and others hurled rocks and firebombs at them near Hebron in the
West Bank.
   (AP, 3/12/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 16, In Jordan a bus
carrying Palestinian pilgrims overturned and crashed into a trailer
on a highway near the Israeli border, killing 15 people. 32 pilgrims
were injured.
   (AP, 3/16/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 17, Ayman Sharawneh
(53), a freed Palestinian prisoner, was given a hero's welcome in
the Gaza Strip after ending his hunger strike in an Israeli jail and
agreeing to a plea bargain that will confine him to the Hamas-run
territory for the next 10 years.
   (AP, 3/17/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 17, Palestinian
lawmaker Mariam Farhat (64), aka “the mother of martyrs,” died in a
Gaza hospital of health complications including lung ailments and
kidney failure. She had lost three sons in militant activities
against Israelis.
   (AP, 3/17/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 21, Palestinian
militants in Gaza launched at least two rockets into southern Israel
as US President Barack Obama met with Palestinian officials in the
West Bank on the second day of his Mideast tour. The Israeli
military closed a Gaza border crossing and restricted Palestinian
fishermen in the territory in response to the rocket attacks.
   (AP, 3/21/13)(AP, 3/22/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 24, A senior
Palestinian official rejected the idea of a partial Israeli
settlement freeze as a way of restarting peace talks.
   (AP, 3/24/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 25, Israel's
government said it will resume transferring tax revenues to the
Palestinian Authority.
   (AP, 3/25/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 28, A West Bank
appeals court upheld a one-year prison term for Mamdouh Hamamreh, a
Palestinian journalist who had a photo on his Facebook page that
authorities claimed portrayed President Mahmoud Abbas as a traitor.
   (AP, 3/28/13)(SFC, 3/29/13, p.A2)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 28, Israel fully
reopened its border crossings with the Gaza Strip that were closed
following militant rocket fire during President Barack Obama's visit
to the region last week.
   (AP, 3/28/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar, Hamas' military wing
Izz ad-Din al-Qassam bulldozed part of the ancient Anthedon Harbor,
a site designated of historic value by the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), in order
to make room for the group's terrorist training.
   (http://tinyurl.com/cjyqtrt)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 1, Palestinian
militant group Hamas re-elected longtime leader Khaled Mashaal (56)
in a vote held in Cairo. He ran unopposed in the vote, winning the
support of a majority in Hamas' Shura Council which has about 60
members.
   (AP, 4/2/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 1, Gaza's
Hamas-controlled parliament announced a new law requiring separate
classes for boys and girls in public and private schools from the
fourth grade rather than the current 7th grade. The education law
also bars male teachers from teaching in girls' schools. It will go
effect at the start of the new school year in September.
   (AP, 4/1/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 2, Israeli prison
guards fired tear gas to quell disturbances in cell blocks after
Palestinian prisoners protested following the news of a fellow
inmate's death of cancer. Maysara Abu Hamdiyeh (64), who died
earlier today, was serving a life sentence for his role in a foiled
attempt to bomb a busy cafe in Jerusalem in 2002.
   (AP, 4/2/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 3, Palestinian
militants launched several rockets into southern Israel, as Israeli
aircraft struck targets in the Gaza Strip in the heaviest exchange
of fire between the sides since they agreed to an internationally
brokered cease-fire in November. Israeli forces shot and killed a
teenage Palestinian protester during a clash in the West Bank.
   (AP, 4/3/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 4, Thousands of
Palestinians took to the streets in the West Bank in a show of
outrage over the deaths of two Palestinian protesters killed in
clashes with Israel and a third Palestinian who died of cancer in an
Israeli prison. In Gaza, militants fired a rocket that landed in
southern Israel, causing no casualties.
   (AP, 4/4/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 4, The UN says it is
shuttering all its food distribution centers in the Gaza Strip after
dozens of people stormed one of its compounds to protest the
suspension of cash assistance to thousands of families.
   (AP, 4/5/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 4, Palestinian police
began apprehending young men from various parts of Gaza, taking them
into custody, then cutting their hair while in detention. Some were
mocked and beaten.
   (AP, 4/8/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 5, Israel forces took
Mohammad Khalek (14) into custody. 8 assault-rifle wielding soldiers
shackled and blindfolded the boy as his five siblings watched. The
military said Mohammad hurled rocks at Israeli vehicles on April 2
and at Israeli forces on several occasions. On April 17 the
Palestinian-American teenager was sentenced to two weeks in prison
for throwing rocks at Israeli forces.
   (AP, 4/11/13)(AP, 4/17/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 8, Israel shut a
crossing with Gaza after rockets were fired from the Hamas-ruled
territory at the Jewish state on the day it commemorated the
Holocaust.
   (AP, 4/8/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 9, The United Nations
reopened food distribution centers in Gaza that closed last week
following a violent protest at a UN compound.
   (AP, 4/9/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 11, Palestinians laid
the groundstone in the West Bank town of Birzeit of what organizers
say will be the world's largest museum devoted to their history.
   (AP, 4/11/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 11, Human Rights Watch
condemned Gaza's Hamas rulers for failing to investigate the public
slayings (Nov 20,2012) of seven Palestinian men accused of
collaborating with Israel.
   (AP, 4/11/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 13, Palestinian PM
Salaam Fayyad resigned, leaving the Palestinians without one of
their most moderate and well-respected voices just as the US began
launching a new push for Mideast peace.
   (AP, 4/14/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 23, Israel and
Palestine agreed to renewed involvement by UNESCO in the Old City of
Jerusalem.
   (SFC, 4/24/13, p.A2)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 23, Palestinian
prisoner Samer Issawi (33), who refused food for eight months, ended
his hunger strike after a deal was reached with Israeli authorities
for his early release. Issawi was sentenced in 2002 to 26 years in
prison for his role in a series of shooting attacks targeting police
cars and students at Jerusalem's Hebrew University.
   (AP, 4/23/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 25, Israel shot down a
drone as it approached its northern coast from neighboring Lebanon,
raising suspicions that the Hezbollah militant group was behind the
infiltration attempt.
   (AP, 4/25/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 27, Israel was hit by
rockets fired from the Gaza Strip by Islamic militant group Hamas.
They exploded in open areas with no injuries.
   (AP, 4/28/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 28, Israel said it has
responded to rockets fired the previous evening from the Gaza Strip
with airstrikes on sites used by Islamic militant group Hamas.
Israel also responded to the rocket fire by closing the Kerem Shalom
crossing with Gaza.
   (AP, 4/28/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 29, Arab League
delegates in Washington, DC, proposed a revised peace plan based on
a 2002 peace initiative that would allow some Jewish settlements on
occupied land to remain part of Israel.
   (Econ, 5/11/13, p.41)(http://tinyurl.com/p7qtvph)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 30, A Palestinian
stabbed a settler to death at a bus stop near Ramallah. Evyatar
Borowsky (31), a father of five, was killed by a knife-wielding
Palestinian at a hitchhiking post in Samaria.
   (AP, 5/1/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 30, An Israeli
aircraft attacked a motorcycle in Gaza, killing Haitham Mishal, who
the military said was a top militant in a shadowy
al-Qaida-influenced group who had been involved in the April 17
rocket attack on southern Israel.
   (AP, 4/30/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â May 6, China’s Pres. Xi
Jinping met with Palestinian Pres. Mahmoud Abbas in Beijing and
urged dialogue in Middle East peace negotiations.
   (Econ, 5/11/13, p.52)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â May 7, Two prominent
Israeli activist groups said PM Netanyahu has stopped approving new
construction in West Bank settlements.
   (AP, 5/7/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â May 7, A spokesman for the
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command
(PFLP-GC) said President Assad's regime has given the militant group
the go-ahead to set up missiles to attack Israel in the wake of
recent Israeli airstrikes on the Syrian capital.
   (AP, 5/7/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â May 8, Israel gave
preliminary approval to build nearly 300 housing units in a West
Bank settlement, bringing a Palestinian rebuke and possibly
complicating US efforts to relaunch Mideast peace talks.
   (AP, 5/9/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â May 14, Palestinian Fatah
official Azzam al-Ahmed said Fatah and Hamas have agreed to form a
national unity government.
   (SFC, 5/15/13, p.A2)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â May 15, Violence erupted
as the Palestinians held an annual day of mourning and protests over
the displacement of Palestinians following Israel's creation in
1948. Police say Jewish worshippers inside the Old City of Jerusalem
were attacked during the unrest.
   (AP, 5/16/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â May 16, Israeli police
temporarily barred Israeli Jews and tourists from entering the most
hotly contested Jerusalem holy site following Palestinian
demonstrations.
   (AP, 5/16/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â May 17, In Egypt dozens of
disgruntled border policemen forced the closure of the main crossing
point into the Gaza Strip to protest the abduction of their
colleagues by suspected militants.
   (AP, 5/17/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â May 30, Israel's Housing
Ministry said it has given the final go-ahead for the construction
of 300 new homes in a Jewish settlement in east Jerusalem.
   (AP, 5/30/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 2, Palestinian Pres.
Mahmoud Abbas appointed Rami Hamdallah to replace Salam Fayyad.
Hamdallah was tasked with forming a new government of technocrats,
not politicians. Fayyad had frequently clashed with Abbas and was
seen as being too independent.
   (AP, 6/2/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 20, Rami Hamdallah,
the new Palestinian prime minister, submitted his resignation to
President Mahmoud Abbas, after two weeks on the job, because of a
conflict over authority.
   (AP, 6/20/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 22, The militant
Islamic group Hamas that rules Gaza executed two men whom it accused
of passing intelligence to Israel. Raed Jundiyeh, an Islamic Jihad
militant wanted by Hamas for the kidnapping of a Gaza resident, was
shot in the head by Hamas police as he resisted arrest. Jundiyeh
died the next day.
   (AP, 6/22/13)(SFC, 6/25/13, p.A3)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 24, Israeli aircraft
pounded targets in the Gaza Strip after rockets were fired at Israel
from the territory. A total of six rockets were fired at Israel
overnight. Israeli police said that vandals slashed the tires of 21
cars in an Arab neighborhood of east Jerusalem. The vandals also
scribbled slogans on nearby walls.
   (AP, 6/24/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 30, The family and
Israeli layer of a Palestinian from the Gaza Strip, who vanished
while visiting Egypt this month, said Wael Abu Rida (35) was under
arrest in Israel for alleged security offences. Israel's Public
Defender's Office said it had received Abu Rida's case on June 22
and assigned him a lawyer.
   (AP, 6/30/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 1, Israel announced a
crackdown against Jewish ultranationalists who vandalize Palestinian
property, saying they were tantamount to terrorists and their
attacks could fan sectarian violence.
   (AP, 7/1/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 2, Israeli soldiers
shot dead Moataz Sharawneh (19), a Palestinian, during a
confrontation in the occupied West Bank.
   (AP, 7/2/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 7, Gaza's Hamas
authorities said they have broken up a counterfeiting ring that had
printed millions of dollars worth of fake Israeli currency.
Authorities uncovered the ring last week.
   (AP, 7/7/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 19, In Israel Wael Abu
Rida, a Palestinian secretly held by Israel after he vanished during
a visit to Egypt last month, was indicted on terrorism charges.
Authorities did not say how and where he was detained.
   (Reuters, 7/19/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 26, Israel blocked the
EU from aiding tens of thousands of Palestinians in the West Bank,
in retaliation for an EU ban on financial assistance to Israeli
organizations in the occupied territories.
   (Reuters, 7/26/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 28, Israel approved
the release of 104 Arab prisoners in a move intended to facilitate
the restart of peace talks with the Palestinians and end nearly
three years of diplomatic standstill.
   (Reuters, 7/28/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 29, Israeli and
Palestinian teams flew to Washington to end five years of diplomatic
stalemate and prepare for a new round of Mideast peace talks, though
optimism was in short supply after two decades of failed attempts to
reach a deal.
   (AP, 7/29/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 30, In Washington DC
Israeli and Palestinian negotiators wrapped up an initial two days
of talks in a US-brokered effort that Sec. of State John Kerry hoped
would end their conflict. Negotiators agreed to meet again in two
weeks to start substantive negotiations. Talks had been on hold for
nearly three years
   (Reuters, 7/30/13)(SFC, 7/31/13, p.A2)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 4, The Israeli Cabinet
expanded its list of West Bank settlements eligible for government
subsidies, a decision that came just days after the resumption of
long-frozen peace talks and drew quick Palestinian condemnation.
   (AP, 8/4/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 7, Israel gave
preliminary approval for the construction of more than 800 new homes
in Jewish settlements on occupied West Bank land where Palestinians
seek statehood.
   (Reuters, 8/8/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 10, Israeli troops
killed a Palestinian who crossed in from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip,
fearing he was a security threat though he proved to be unarmed.
   (Reuters, 8/10/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 11, Israel's housing
minister gave final approval for building nearly 1,200 new
settlement apartments on lands the Palestinians want for their
state.
   (AP, 8/11/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 12, Israel named 26
Palestinian prisoners to be freed this week under a deal enabling
US-backed peace talks to resume. Palestinians said these have been
undermined by newly announced plans to expand Israeli settlements.
   (Reuters, 8/12/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 13, Palestine’s PM
Rami Hamdallah accepted a request by Pres. Abbas to remain on the
job, weeks after announcing his resignation.
   (AP, 8/13/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 14, Israeli and
Palestinian negotiators reconvened for US-brokered peace talks in
Jerusalem amid little fanfare and low expectations.
   (Reuters, 8/14/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 20, Israeli soldiers
shot dead a Palestinian and wounded two others during a raid in the
Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank. Security forces
arrested a suspected militant in Jenin and, after being attacked
with live fire, home-made bombs and rocks, shot back. Kareem Abu
Sbaih (19) died of his wounds on Aug 31.
   (Reuters, 8/20/13)(Reuters, 8/31/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 23, An Egyptian
official said the country's border crossing with Gaza, which was
closed after a deadly attack on policemen this week, has reopened,
but will be open only for four hours every day because security
concerns remain high in Sinai.
   (AP, 8/24/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 26, Palestinian
negotiators called off a planned round of peace talks after Israeli
soldiers killed 3 protesters during clashes following an arrest raid
in the West Bank.
   (AP, 8/26/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 6, Israeli police
fired stun grenades at Palestinian protesters after Friday prayers
in Jerusalem's Old City, arresting 15 of them after youths threw
stones at Israeli security forces.
   (AFP, 9/6/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 17, Israeli soldiers
shot dead a 20-year-old Palestinian militant during a raid on the
Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank. Islam al-Tubas, a
member of Islamic Jihad, was shot as he tried to flee arrest and
after Palestinians shot and threw firebombs.
   (Reuters, 9/17/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 18, Egypt partially
reopened its border crossing with the Gaza Strip, a week after it
was closed in response to a deadly attack on an Egyptian military
headquarters near the frontier.
   (Reuters, 9/18/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 20, A Palestinian
lured an Israeli soldier to a village in the West Bank and killed
him with the intention of trading the body for his jailed brother.
Nidal Amar (42) was arrested the next day and confessed to the
killing.
   (AP, 9/21/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 22, A Palestinian
border officials said Israel is now allowing construction materials
for private builders into the Gaza Strip for the first time in six
years.
   (SFC, 9/23/13, p.A2)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 22, Israeli Sergeant
Gabriel Koby (20) died in hospital after sustaining gunshot wounds
in the southern West Bank city of Hebron.
   (AFP, 9/23/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 27, Israeli troops
clashed with stone-throwing protesters in Hebron as Palestinians
marked the 13th anniversary of their 2nd uprising against Israeli
occupation.
   (SFC, 9/28/13, p.A2)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 30, Israeli soldiers
shot dead a Palestinian near the border fence between Israel and the
Gaza Strip.
   (Reuters, 9/30/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 2, Masked executioners
in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip hanged a man who was convicted of
stabbing to death an acquaintance over money, ignoring protests by
human rights activists who say the territory's legal system is
flawed.
   (AP, 10/2/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 3, Palestinian
farmers, after a long court battle, reclaimed land they lost to an
Israeli settlement in the 1970s. Israel had dismantled Homesh and
three other West Bank settlements in 2005, in connection with a
wider withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, but refused to let the
original Palestinian landowners return.
   (AP, 10/3/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 9, In Israel residents
of Jaloud, a Palestinian village in the West Bank, said masked
Jewish settlers burst into a school, vandalized cars and torched
olive trees during a rampage that forced schoolchildren to remain
locked in classrooms to keep safe.
   (AP, 10/9/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 11, Suspected
Palestinian militants bludgeoned to death retired army colonel Sarya
Ofer in the third killing of Israelis in the West Bank within as
many weeks. Three suspects were arreted the next day.
   (AFP, 10/11/13)(AFP, 10/13/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 11, The Egyptian coast
guard rescued 72 Palestinians, 40 Syrians and 4 Egyptians when a
boat carrying illegal migrants and Syrian refugees sank off Egypt's
northern coast. 12 people died.
   (Reuters, 10/11/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 13, Israel displayed
what it called a Palestinian "terror tunnel" running into its
territory from the Gaza Strip and said it was subsequently freezing
the transfer of building material to the enclave.
   (Reuters, 10/13/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 13, In a report
published by The Lancet Swiss radiation experts confirmed they found
traces of polonium on clothing used by Yasser Arafat (d.2004)
supporting the possibility the Palestinian leader was poisoned.
   (AFP, 10/14/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 15, Israel's military
destroyed a second tunnel dug from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip
into Israel. The military said the tunnel was packed with explosives
and stretched dozens of meters (yards) into Israel.
   (AP, 10/15/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 19, Hamas, its Gaza
Strip stronghold cut off by the new military-backed government in
Egypt, called upon rival Palestinian Pres. Mahmoud Abbas to end
their six-year schism and form a unity government.
   (Reuters, 10/19/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 22, Israeli troops
killed Mohamed Aatzi, an Islamic Jihad militant said to be behind
the 2012 bombing of a Tel Aviv bus. The Palestinian radical movement
confirmed his death.
   (AFP, 10/22/13)(SFC, 10/22/12, p.A2)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 27, Israel agreed to
free 26 long-serving Palestinian prisoners as part of a US-brokered
deal that led to the resumption of peace talks.
   (SFC, 10/28/13, p.A2)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 28, Israeli warplanes
raided the northern Gaza Strip after militants fired rockets over
the border. Israel readied to free a new batch of long-term
Palestinian prisoners.
   (AFP, 10/28/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 30, Israel released 26
long-serving Palestinian prisoners, the second batch of 104 inmates
who are to be freed in line with commitments to US-brokered peace
talks. Israel announced plans to build 1,500 new homes in east
Jerusalem, the part of the city claimed by the Palestinians.
   (AFP, 10/30/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 31, Palestinian
security sources said Israel's army arrested four suspects from the
Islamic Jihad movement overnight, in the second such arrest
operation this week. A Palestinian rock thrower was killed as
Israeli troops entered Qabatiya in northern West Bank.
   (AFP, 10/31/13)(SFC, 11/1/13, p.A2)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 31, Israel’s Haaretz
newspaper reported the government is planning to move ahead with
another 3,360 new settler homes in the West Bank, quoting an MP from
the ruling rightwing Likud party.
   (AFP, 10/31/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 1, Hamas said a
shortage of fuel halted the production of electricity across the
Gaza Strip.
   (AFP, 11/1/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 1, An Israeli air
strike killed 3 militants in the Gaza Strip after an overnight clash
that killed a fourth Palestinian gunman and wounded five Israeli
soldiers. The Israeli military said its aircraft targeted a tunnel
used by militants to facilitate attacks on Israelis.
   (Reuters, 11/1/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 5, Israeli and
Palestinian officials said the three-month-old peace talks pressed
on them by Washington are going nowhere.
   (Reuters, 11/5/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 7, Israeli forces
killed a Palestinian near Jerusalem. Police said Anas al-Atrash (23)
was shot dead when he ran at an officer with a knife at a checkpoint
between the West Bank.
   (AFP, 11/8/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 7, Swiss scientists
confirmed that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat ingested lethal
radioactive polonium before his death in 2004 and had high levels of
it in his body that could not have been accidental. Palestinian
officials have alleged from the start that Israel poisoned Arafat.
   (AP, 11/7/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 11, Hamas marine
forces in Gaza foiled an attempt by residents to smuggle a car from
Egypt, signaling a new area of illicit trade as the Egyptian army
cracks down on border tunnels.
   (Reuters, 11/11/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 12, Settlement
watchdog Peace Now said Israel plans to build 20,000 new settler
homes in the West Bank. PM Netanyahu publicly forced Housing
Minister Uri Ariel, who had approved the plans, to back down after
drawing US condemnation for a settlement project the Palestinians
warned would end a fragile peace process
   (AFP, 11/12/13)(AFP, 11/13/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 13, Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas said his peace negotiators had resigned over
the lack of progress in US-brokered statehood talks clouded by
Israeli settlement building.
   (Reuters, 11/13/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 13, The Gaza-based
Palestinian Center for Human Rights said Hamas has arrested and
tortured dozens of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip over the past few
weeks on political grounds. One of the blockaded enclave's largest
waste water treatment plants stopped for lack of fuel.
   (AFP, 11/13/13)(Reuters, 11/14/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 13, Israeli
soldier Eden Atias (19) died after a Palestinian youth (16)
stabbed him on board a bus in the north of the country.
   (AP, 11/13/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 14, Israeli aircraft
bombed two rocket launchers in the Gaza Strip, hours after
Palestinian militants had fired mortars into Israel.
   (Reuters, 11/14/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 25, Israel approved
plans to build more than 800 settler homes on occupied land, in a
move Palestinians said was aimed at venting Israeli anger toward a
historic deal Western powers have struck with Iran over its nuclear
program.
   (Reuters, 11/25/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 30, An Israeli
policeman shot dead a Palestinian in the town of Petah Tikva near
Tel Aviv after he tried to attack the arresting force. A
paramilitary Border Police unit was searching for Palestinians who
did not have a permit to stay in Israel when one of them tried to
stab a policeman.
   (Reuters, 11/30/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 1, A senior
Palestinian source said security forces have arrested 20 Salafists,
after a Gaza-based group affiliated with Al-Qaeda confirmed it was
operating in the West Bank for the first time. The source denied
that any of those arrested in the northern part of the
Israeli-occupied West Bank had ties to the global jihadist group set
up by the late Osama Bin-Laden.
   (AFP, 12/2/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 3, French experts
released findings that ruled out the poisoning theory of Yasser
Arafat and went in the sense of a natural death. This differed
significantly from those of Swiss scientists, who said last month
their research offered some support for the suggestion Arafat was
killed by polonium poisoning.
   (AFP, 12/4/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 7, A Palestinian boy,
Wajih Wajdi Al-Ramah (15), died of a gunshot wound in the occupied
West Bank. His father and two friends blamed Israeli troops guarding
a nearby settlement for the shooting. The father said the boy had
left a grocery store when he was shot from the nearby settlement,
about 300 meters away.
   (Reuters, 12/8/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 9, Representatives of
Israel, Jordan and the Palestinians signed a "historic" agreement to
link the Red Sea with the shrinking Dead Sea. The agreement was
signed at the World Bank in Washington, water will be drawn from the
Gulf of Aqaba at the northern end of the Red Sea.
   (AFP, 12/9/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 14, Rescue workers
evacuated more than 5,000 Gaza Strip residents from homes flooded by
four days of heavy rain, using fishing boats and heavy construction
equipment to pluck some of those trapped from upper floors.
   (AP, 12/14/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 16, European Union
foreign ministers pledged "unprecedented" amounts of political,
financial and security support for Israel and the Palestinians if
they come to a peace agreement.
   (AP, 12/16/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 17, The European Union
said it has warned Israel against any new West Bank settlement
construction following an upcoming Palestinian prisoner release,
saying it will be held responsible for any resulting failure of the
ongoing peace talks.
   (AP, 12/17/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 18, The Israeli army
shot dead a Palestinian man and wounded others in clashes that
erupted following military activity in the northern West Bank.
   (AFP, 12/18/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 18, Iyad Sarraj (70),
an award-winning Palestinian psychiatrist and human rights
campaigner who championed peace with Israel, died in an Israeli
hospital overnight of cancer.
   (AFP, 12/18/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 19, The Israeli
military killed a Palestinian gunman during an arrest raid in the
West Bank.
   (AP, 12/19/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 21, Israeli soldiers
shot and wounded a Palestinian man in the southern Gaza Strip.
Witnesses said the shooting happened when several young Palestinians
who were hunting birds approached the security fence separating the
territory from Israel and came under fire. Israel said terrorists
had attempted to conceal an explosive device in order to attack IDF
soldiers.
   (AFP, 12/21/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 24, Israeli air and
ground forces launched a series of attacks on targets across the
Gaza Strip, killing a young girl and wounding 10 in response to the
deadly shooting of an Israeli civilian by a Palestinian sniper.
Palestinian officials reported at least 16 Israeli attacks.
   (AP, 12/24/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 26, A Russian probe
into the 2004 death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat said it has
found no trace of radioactive poisoning.
   (AP, 12/26/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 27, Lack of fuel from
Israel brought Gaza's lone power plant to a halt, days after it was
fired back to life following a seven-week shutdown.
   (AFP, 12/27/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 27, An Israeli
official said Israel plans to build 1,400 homes in its settlements
in the occupied West Bank and will announce the projects next week
after releasing a group of Palestinian prisoners.
   (Reuters, 12/27/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 29, The Gaza Strip's
only power plant returned to life after Israel resumed fuel
deliveries.
   (AFP, 12/29/13)
2013Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 31, Israel freed 26
Palestinian prisoners, days before US Secretary of State John Kerry
was due back in the Middle East to press the two sides to reach a
framework peace deal. This release was the third of four groups to
go free.
   (Reuters, 12/31/13)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 1, In Prague Jamel
al-Jamal (56), the Palestinian ambassador to the Czech Republic,
died in a blast that occurred when he opened an old safe that had
been left untouched for more than 20 years. An investigation found
illegal weapons at the Palestinian embassy complex.
   (AP, 1/1/14)(AP, 1/3/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 2, A Palestinian man
(85) died after inhaling tear gas fired by the Israeli army to
disperse local protesters landed in his home in the occupied West
Bank.
   (Reuters, 1/2/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 3, A Palestinian
youth, identified as Adnan Abu Khater (16), died of his wounds after
he was shot a day earlier by Israeli soldiers near the border fence
in the northern Gaza Strip.
   (AFP, 1/3/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 3, Israeli war planes
carried out a series of strikes in the Gaza Strip, shortly after a
rocket from the enclave struck the Jewish state.
   (AFP, 1/3/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 6, Hamas PM Ismail
Haniya reached out to West Bank rivals Fatah saying its members
would be allowed back into Gaza, in efforts to promote Palestinian
reconciliation.
   (AFP, 1/6/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 6, Israel gave final
approval for building 272 new apartments in two isolated West Bank
settlements as US Sec. of State John Kerry wrapped up his latest
mediating mission in the region.
   (SFC, 1/7/14, p.A3)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 8, Gaza's Hamas
government freed seven imprisoned Fatah members, as part of efforts
to mend relations between the Islamist movement and its West
Bank-based Palestinian rival.
   (AFP, 1/8/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 8, An Islamic Jihad
militant was killed near Gaza City in what medics and family said
was an Israeli drone strike.
   (AFP, 1/8/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 8, Dutch pension asset
manager PGGM, one of the largest in the country, said it was
divesting from five Israeli banks because they finance Jewish
settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.
   (AFP, 1/8/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 9, Palestinians threw
rocks at a West Bank hotel, shattering windows and breaking up a
meeting of Israeli and Palestinian peace activists. Residents of
Palestinian refugee camps burnt tires and closed roads in the
Israeli-occupied West Bank in protests stemming from a month-long
strike by the UN agency that operates the camps.
   (AP, 1/9/14)(Reuters, 1/9/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 10, Israel announced
plans to build 1,400 new homes in Jewish settlements in the West
Bank and east Jerusalem, territory the Palestinians claim for their
future state.
   (AP, 1/10/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 12, In the Israeli
occupied West Bank at least 50 people were hurt in a clash between
Palestinian police and residents of the Jalazoun refugee camp
protesting against a strike in a UN aid agency that has paralyzed
services.
   (Reuters, 1/12/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 15, Suspected Jewish
extremists torched the entrance to a mosque in the West Bank, in an
apparent revenge attack for Palestinians beating and detaining
Israeli settlers last week.
   (AFP, 1/15/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 16, Israeli air
strikes in the Gaza Strip overnight wounded a woman and four
children, with Israel saying it had struck in retaliation for rocket
fire.
   (AFP, 1/16/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 17, The Israeli army
fired live rounds and tear gas at protesters near the border fence
in the Gaza Strip, wounding two Palestinians. Troops fired at some
300 demonstrators who were protesting against Israel's destruction
of farmland for its 300-meter buffer zone.
   (AFP, 1/17/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 18, In Morocco the
Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Committee of Muslim nations ended talks and
urged the international community to put pressure on Israel to stop
building Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.
   (AFP, 1/19/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 18, In Syria food aid
entered the besieged Yarmuk Palestinian refugee camp for the first
time in four months. The delivery of food followed reports that
dozens of people in the camp in southern Damascus have died of
hunger and lack of medical care.
   (AFP, 1/18/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 19, Two Palestinians
were hurt, one critically, in an Israeli air strike on Gaza City.
The Israel military said it had targeted Ahmad Saad, a senior
Islamic Jihad militant.
   (AFP, 1/19/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 20, Canada’s PM
Stephen Harper said the staunch Israeli ally would provide
additional financial support for the West Bank, as he met
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas in Ramallah.
   (AFP, 1/20/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 21, It was reported
that Israel's government has approved plans to build 381 new homes
in a settlement near annexed east Jerusalem.
   (AFP, 1/21/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 22, An Israeli air
strike killed 2 Palestinians including one militant in northern
Gaza. Israel blamed one of them for firing rockets across the border
during former Israeli PM Ariel Sharon's funeral last week.
   (Reuters, 1/22/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 22, Israel moved
forward with plans for 261 new homes in two settlements located deep
in the occupied West Bank. The plans included 256 housing units in
Nofei Prat settlement, between east Jerusalem and Jericho, and
another five in the sprawling Ariel settlement in the north.
   (AFP, 1/22/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 23, Hamas accused
Twitter of censorship as an account of its armed wing has been
suspended by Twitter administrators.
   (AFP, 1/23/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 24, Israeli forces
shot dead Bilal Samir Oweida (20) and wounded another man in the
Gaza Strip. The Israeli army said a group of Palestinians had
entered "a prohibited area" in northern Gaza where they damaged the
security fence, hurled rocks and rolled burning tires at IDF (Israel
Defense Forces).
   (AFP, 1/24/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 24, A Syrian activist
group said 63 people have died since last June in the besieged
Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp from a lack of food and medicine.
   (AP, 1/24/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 26, An Israeli court
extended by two days the detention of two Palestinian men it
suspects of planning to bomb the US Embassy in Tel Aviv under
instructions from al-Qaida.
   (AP, 1/26/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 26, Israel said it
will allow the entry of about 1,000 tons of cement and building
materials to the Gaza Strip for storm damage restoration and other
projects of UN agencies.
   (AFP, 1/26/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 27, Israeli troops
shot and seriously wounded a Palestinian man (34) close to the Gaza
side of the border. Soldiers opened fire after a blast which
occurred as a military vehicle passed on the Israeli side of the
border fence. Israeli authorities demolished four Palestinian homes
in annexed east Jerusalem that had been built without construction
permits.
   (AFP, 1/27/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 29, Israeli soldiers
north of Ramalla shot dead Mohammad Mubara (19), a Palestinian from
the Jalazun refugee camp. Eye-witnesses said Mubarak was not armed,
and had been harassed by soldiers who made him remove his clothes.
   (AFP, 1/29/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 30, England-based
Oxfam confirmed accepting US actress Scarlett Johansson's decision
to step down, saying her promotion of Israeli drinks firm
SodaStream, which has a factory in a settlement east of Jerusalem,
was "incompatible" with her role at the international aid agency.
   (AFP, 1/30/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 3, A Palestinian
official accused Jewish settlers in the West Bank of attacking olive
groves belonging to Palestinians and uprooting some 1,700 seedlings.
   (AP, 2/3/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 5, Israel's Jerusalem
municipality approved building plans for 558 new homes in the
occupied West Bank, land that the Palestinians want for a future
state.
   (Reuters, 2/5/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 7, Aid agencies
working in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem expressed alarm
at a spike in Israeli demolitions of Palestinian property coinciding
with renewed US-backed peace negotiations.
   (Reuters, 2/7/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 9, A Palestinian
militant was in critical condition after an Israeli air strike on
central Gaza that the army said targeted a "key" figure responsible
for cross-border rocket fire.
   (AFP, 2/9/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 9, Israel denied entry
permits to some 50 Palestinian medical patients from the Gaza Strip
because the words "State of Palestine" was on the letterhead of
their application.
   (Reuters, 2/12/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 12, A municipal
planning committee advanced a plan to build a Jewish seminary in the
heart of an Arab neighborhood of east Jerusalem, triggering angry
Palestinian accusations that Israel was undermining already troubled
Mideast peace efforts.
   (AP, 2/12/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 13, Israeli soldiers
shot and killed a Palestinian and wounded another in the Gaza Strip.
Relatives said Ibrahim Mansour (26) was collecting gravel to sell
from his donkey cart when he was shot dead. The Israeli military
said soldiers fired at Palestinians tampering with Israel's border
security fence.
   (Reuters, 2/13/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 16, A spokesman for
Gaza's Hamas rulers said that the Islamic militant group will oppose
any international force in a future Palestine, adding a new
complication to US-brokered peace efforts.
   (AP, 2/16/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 24, Hamas authorities
said Gaza police have arrested family members over the deaths of two
Palestinian teenage girls, one of them the victim of a suspected
"honor" killing.”
   (AF P, 2/24/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 27, Israeli forces
opened fire and killed Muataz Washaha (24), a Palestinian they were
seeking to arrest in the occupied West Bank, after the man had
barricaded himself inside his house.
   (Reuters, 2/27/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 28, An Israeli
aircraft hit a suspected rocket launch site in the north of the Gaza
Strip late today.
   (AFP, 3/1/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 1, Israeli troops
close to the border shot dead Amena Atiyyeh Qdeih (57), a mentally
ill Gazan woman, near to the southern city of Khan Yunis.
   (AFP, 3/1/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 1, Japan pledged more
than $200 million in aid to help the Palestinian Authority, as
representatives in Indonesia from 22 nations reiterated their
support of the Palestinians' quest for their own state.
   (AP, 3/1/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 4, An Egyptian court
ruled to ban activities of the Palestinian militant group Hamas in a
move likely to fuel tension between Cairo's military-backed
government and the Islamic group that rules the neighboring Gaza
Strip.
   (AP, 3/4/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 5, The Israeli navy
seized a ship in the Red Sea that was carrying dozens of advanced
Iranian-supplied rockets made in Syria and intended for Palestinian
guerrillas in the Gaza Strip.
   (Reuters, 3/5/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 9, The Arab League
endorsed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's rejection of Israel's
demand for recognition as a Jewish state, as US-backed peace talks
approach a deadline next month.
   (Reuters, 3/9/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 10, Israeli soldiers
shot and killed a Palestinian judge from Jordan in an altercation at
a crossing point between Jordan and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
The Israeli military said Raed Alaa el-Deen Za'eiter (Raed Zeiter)
had tried to seize a soldier's gun at the Allenby bridge.
   (Reuters, 3/10/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 11, Israel expressed
its regret over the death of Jordanian judge Raed Zeiter (38) while
he was making his way to the occupied West Bank. He was shot a day
earlier by Israeli soldiers after an altercation at the Allenby
Bridge crossing.
   (Reuters, 3/11/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 11, An Israeli air
strike killed 3 militants of the Al-Quds Brigades in the southern
Gaza Strip. The air strike came just hours after an unmanned
aircraft of the sort Israel uses for surveillance and missile
strikes crashed in the same area, just east of Khan Yunis.
   (AFP, 3/11/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 11, Israel’s PM
Benjamin Netanyahu ruled out any deal with the Palestinians unless
they recognize Israel as the Jewish state and give up their
refugees' right of return.
   (AFP, 3/11/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 12, Palestinian
militants fired at least 25 rockets at Israel, but there were no
immediate reports of casualties.
   (AFP, 3/12/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 13, Israeli warplanes
pounded 29 Palestinian targets in the Gaza Strip in response
to heavy Palestinian rocket fire into the Jewish state as Gaza
militants resumed rocket fire. Israel’s defense ministry shut down
the Kerem Shalom goods crossing into southern Gaza following rocket
fire over the border.
   (AFP, 3/13/14)(AP, 3/13/14)(AFP, 3/16/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 13, Egypt brokered a
ceasefire aimed at ending a flare-up of rocket attacks from Gaza on
Israeli towns and Israeli air strikes in the Palestinian enclave.
   (Reuters, 3/13/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 14, Gaza militants
fired a rocket at Israel after two days of intense exchanges. It
exploded in southern Israel but caused no damage or injuries.
   (AP, 3/14/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 15, The Gaza Strip's
only power plant shut down due to a lack of fuel from Israel, which
closed a goods crossing after militant rocket attacks.
   (AFP, 3/15/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 16, Israel allowed the
resumption of diesel deliveries into Gaza, a day after the
territory's sole power plant stopped working due to a lack of fuel.
   (AFP, 3/16/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 19, Israel's Jerusalem
municipality approved building plans for 184 new homes in two Jewish
settlements in the occupied West Bank.
   (AP, 3/19/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 19, Israeli troops
shot dead Palestinian teenager Yussef Sami Shawamreh (15) in the
southern West Bank.
   (AFP, 3/19/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 21, Israeli soldiers
shot and wounded two Palestinians in the Gaza Strip near the border
as two instigators attempted to climb over the security fence.
   (AFP, 3/21/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 22, Israeli forces
shot and killed Hamza Abu Alhija (24), a wanted Hamas Islamist
militant, and two other militants dead in a raid on a home in the
West Bank town of Jenin.
   (Reuters, 3/22/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 23, Tens of thousands
of Palestinians rallied in Gaza to show support for their Islamist
Hamas government, which has long been at loggerheads with Israel but
is now shunned by Egypt as well. The rally was intended to
commemorate 3 top Hamas leaders, including founder Sheikh Ahmed
Yassin, who was assassinated by Israel a decade ago.
   (Reuters, 3/23/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 26, Israeli navy ships
opened fire on two suspected Palestinian smuggling boats off the
Gaza coast. Both vessels sank after an explosion following the
shooting.
   (AP, 3/26/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 27, Israel said it
will allow into the Gaza Strip construction materials and electric
equipment to help build a Turkish-sponsored hospital, in a possible
sign of improving ties with Ankara.
   (Reuters, 3/27/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 28, A Palestinian
official said Israel will not free the final batch of prisoners they
had been expecting alongside US-brokered peace talks. Israeli
cabinet members had warned they would block the final release,
anticipated for the end of March, if the Palestinians refused to
extend the talks beyond their April 29 deadline.
   (AFP, 3/28/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 29, Egypt reopened the
Gaza Strip's land border after a 50-day closure, but only for three
days and then just for special cases.
   (AFP, 3/29/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 2, Palestinian foreign
minister Riyad al-Malki said he has delivered requests for
membership of several UN agencies, as part of a move that shook a
fragile Middle East peace process.
   (AFP, 4/2/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 4, Israeli military
aircraft struck militant targets in the Gaza Strip hours after
Palestinians there fired rockets at Israel.
   (AP, 4/4/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 6, Israeli warplanes
attacked several sites in the Gaza Strip, hours after a rocket from
the Palestinian enclave hit the Jewish state.
   (AFP, 4/6/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 10, An Israeli
official said Israel would stop the tax money transfers in
retaliation for the Palestinians pushing to sign up for more
recognition from international agencies and treaties. Israel
collects about $100 million a month in taxes for the Palestinians.
   (AP, 4/11/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 11, The Swiss
government said the Palestinians can join the Geneva Conventions
governing the rules of war and military occupations, twenty-five
years after they made their first bid for membership.
   (AP, 4/11/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 14, A Palestinian
woman died after reportedly inhaling tear gas used by Israeli troops
at Ayda refugee camp near the West Bank city of Bethlehem, but the
military denied any involvement. An Israeli man was killed and his
wife and son wounded as they drove through the West Bank en route to
a Passover meal.
   (AFP, 4/15/14)(AP, 4/15/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 16, Dozens of
Palestinians were wounded in clashes with Israeli police that
erupted when Jerusalem's flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound was
opened to Jewish visitors.
   (AFP, 4/16/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 20, Israeli police
arrested 16 Palestinians at one of Jerusalem's most revered and
politically sensitive holy sites as they dispersed protesters
opposed to any Jewish attempts to pray there.
   (Reuters, 4/20/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 21, Seven rockets
fired from the Gaza Strip landed in southern Israel during the
Jewish Passover holiday, drawing retaliatory air strikes from the
Israeli army.
   (Reuters, 4/21/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 23, The Gaza-based
Islamist group Hamas and President Mahmoud Abbas's Palestine
Liberation Organization (PLO) agreed to implement a unity pact.
Hamas had freed 10 Fatah prisoners ahead of the meeting as a
goodwill gesture.
   (AP, 4/22/14)(Reuters, 4/23/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 24, The Israeli
government said it was suspending negotiations with the
Palestinians, breaking off nine months of talks brokered by US Sec.
of State John Kerry. Israel said it would not negotiate with a
Palestinian government backed by Hamas.
   (SFC, 4/25/14, p.A3)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 26, Palestinian Pres.
Mahmoud Abbas signaled that he remains committed to troubled
US-backed peace talks, saying that any unity government agreed with
the militant group Hamas would recognize Israel.
   (Reuters, 4/26/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 27, Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas called the Holocaust "the most heinous
crime" of modern history and expressed his sympathy for the victims,
a rare acknowledgment by an Arab leader of Jewish suffering during
the Nazi genocide.
   (AP, 4/27/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 27, The Palestine
Liberation Organisation's central council adopted a plan to pursue
attempts to join 60 United Nations bodies and international
agreements.
   (AFP, 4/28/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 29, A
Palestinian-built protest boat, Gaza's Ark, which was preparing to
run Israel's naval blockade of the territory, was badly damaged in
an explosion that organizers blamed on Israel.
   (AFP, 4/29/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 29, Washington's
deadline for reaching a peace deal between Israel and Palestine
expired today with the sides bitterly divided.
   (AFP, 4/29/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â May 4, Israeli police
looking for evidence linked to a recent attack on a mosque were
mobbed overnight by around 100 demonstrators at the at Yitzhar West
Bank settlement.
   (AFP, 5/4/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â May 5, Palestinian Pres.
Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal met in Qatar and
agreed to move forward with a reconciliation deal between their
rival movements.
   (SFC, 5/6/14, p.A2)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â May 6, Israel marked its
66th Independence Day. In the north some 10,000 protesters, many
waving Palestinian flags, joined a rally to remember 530 villages
from which some 760,000 people fled or were expelled following the
creation of the Jewish state in 1948.
   (AFP, 5/7/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â May 7, The Hamas-run
government of Gaza Strip said it has relaxed a ban on Palestinian
newspapers published outside the enclave as a gesture of
reconciliation to rival group Fatah after their unity deal last
month.
   (Reuters, 5/7/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â May 15, Israeli troops
shot dead two Palestinian teens, Nadim Nuwara (17) and Muhammad Abu
Thahr (16), in a West Bank clash that erupted after Palestinians
marked their uprooting during the Mideast war over Israel's 1948
creation.
   (AP, 5/15/14)(Reuters, 6/12/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â May 25, Pope Francis
landed at Israel's international airport, kicking off the final leg
of his Holy Land pilgrimage. Pope Francis invited the Israeli and
Palestinian presidents to come to the Vatican to pray for peace.
   (AP, 5/25/14)(Reuters, 5/25/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â May 27, Rival Palestinian
factions Fatah and Hamas agreed on the make-up of a national unity
government in the most significant step yet toward healing their
seven-year rift.
   (Reuters, 5/27/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â May 28, Israeli soldiers
raided the offices of a Palestinian newspaper in the West Bank city
of Ramallah, ordering them to stop printing publications by the
Islamist movement Hamas.
   (AFP, 5/28/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â May 29, Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas asked PM Rami Hamdallah to head a new
national unity government which will bring together the feuding
Hamas and Fatah parties.
   (Reuters, 5/29/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 2, President Mahmoud
Abbas swore in a Palestinian unity government, taking a major step
toward ending a crippling split with his Hamas rivals, but also
setting the stage for new friction with Israel and possibly with the
West.
   (AP, 6/2/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 3, Israeli troops shot
dead Alaa Odeh (30), a Palestinian who the military said had opened
fire and wounded a soldier at a checkpoint in the occupied West
Bank. Odeh's family was quoted as saying in media reports that he
was at the checkpoint awaiting a delivery of phones.
   (Reuters, 6/3/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 5, Israel's housing
ministry said it was advancing plans for nearly 1,500 new settlement
housing units in the West Bank and east Jerusalem in response to the
formation of a Palestinian unity government backed by the Islamic
militant group Hamas.
   (AP, 6/5/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 6, Israeli police
raided the east Jerusalem studios of Palestine TV and briefly
detained three staff for questioning. Police reportedly suspected
Palestine TV of broadcasting "incitements to violence."
   (AFP, 6/6/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 8, Gaza's Health
Ministry said a Palestinian fisherman (51) died from wounds he
suffered after his boat was shot at by Israeli forces two weeks ago.
   (AP, 6/8/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 8, Israeli and
Palestinian presidents met in an unprecedented prayer meeting with
Pope Francis at the Vatican. Francis hoped the gesture will
"re-create a desire, a possibility" of eventually relaunching the
Middle East's stalled peace process.
   (Reuters, 6/8/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 12, Israeli teens Eyal
Yifrah (19), Gilad Shaar (16), and Naftali Fraenkel, a 16-year-old
with dual Israeli-American citizenship, disappeared in the West
Bank. Israel blamed Hamas, which has praised the kidnapping, but has
not taken responsibility for it.
   (AP, 6/25/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 13, Israel's military
said its soldiers are searching the West Bank after three Israeli
teenagers were reported missing.
   (AP, 6/13/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 15, Israeli troops
arrested some 80 Palestinians, including dozens of members of Hamas,
in an overnight raid in the West Bank as PM Benjamin Netanyahu
accused the Islamic militant group of kidnapping three teenagers who
went missing nearly three days ago.
   (AP, 6/15/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 16, Israeli armed
forces swept through half a dozen Palestinian towns and arrested
more Hamas officials, expanding a search for three teenagers into a
crackdown on the Islamist group accused of abducting them.
   (Reuters, 6/16/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 17, Israel’s security
cabinet agreed to make more arrests, put up roadblocks and turn
Palestinian houses into military observation posts to increase
pressure on Hamas for the kidnapping of three youths after they left
their religious school in a Jewish settlement on June 12.
   (Reuters, 6/17/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 18, Israel tightened
its grip on the West Bank, arresting another 65 people, as
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas lashed out at those behind the
disappearance of three Israeli teenagers.
   (AFP, 6/18/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 19, Israeli forces
traded gunfire with Palestinians in the fiercest street battles in
the occupied West Bank since a search began for three Israeli
teenagers missing for a week. 30 "terror suspects" were detained in
the West Bank, bringing to 280 the number of Palestinians taken into
custody over the past week.
   (Reuters, 6/19/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 20, Israeli soldiers
killed Mohammed Dudin (15), a Palestinian boy, in clashes during
West Bank raids. 3 other Palestinians were seriously wounded by army
gunfire during raids in four towns and refugee camps, as a search
for three Israeli teens feared abducted in the territory entered its
second week.
   (Reuters, 6/20/14)(AP, 6/20/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 20, The United Nations
cultural agency listed the Palestinian village of Battir as a World
Heritage site in danger, raising hopes among residents that this
will protect their community against Israel's West Bank separation
barrier.
   (AP, 6/21/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 21, The Israeli
military arrested 10 Palestinians and said that some 1,350 sites in
the West Bank had been searched so far and more than 330
Palestinians detained in response to three missing teenagers.
   (Reuters, 6/21/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 22, Israeli soldiers
in Nablus fired at stone-throwing Palestinians overnight, killing
Ahmad Famawi (26). In Ramallah, the Islamic Jihad militant group
said one of its members was killed by Israeli gunfire.
   (Reuters, 6/22/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 23, Israel's army said
it has detained another 37 Palestinians overnight as it searched for
three missing teenagers and extended a crackdown on the Hamas
Islamist group it accuses of kidnapping them.
   (Reuters, 6/23/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 23, Israeli
authorities announced the arrest of an alleged Hamas operative for
involvement in the deadly shooting of an Israeli police officer in
the West Bank over the Passover holiday in April.
   (AP, 6/23/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 25, A rocket fired by
Palestinian militants toward Israel exploded in the northern Gaza
Strip, killing a 3-year-old Palestinian girl and wounding three
other people.
   (AP, 6/25/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 25, In Israel dozens
of Palestinian prisoners ended their 63-day-long hunger strike after
reaching a deal with Israeli prison authorities.
   (AP, 6/25/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 25, Israeli troops
searching for three teenagers it says were kidnapped a fortnight ago
by Hamas militants, arrested 17 Palestinians in the West Bank
overnight. The arrests included a Palestinian MP.
   (AFP, 6/25/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 26, Some 40,000 public
servants hired by Hamas went on strike in Gaza in a pay dispute that
could test the resilience of the new Palestinian government.
   (Reuters, 6/26/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 26, Israel’s Shin Beit
security services released the names of two Hamas militants it
believes were involved in the kidnapping two weeks ago of three
Israeli teenagers. Suspects Marwan Qawasmeh and Amar Abu Aisha were
known to be missing since the day of the kidnapping.
   (SSFC, 6/29/14, p.A4)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 27, An Israeli air
strike on a car in the Gaza Strip killed two Palestinians, hours
after a bomb exploded near troops manning Israel's security fence.
   (AFP, 6/27/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Israeli aircraft
attacked at least six militant targets in the Gaza Strip, hours
after rockets fired from the Palestinian territory set a factory in
Israel on fire.
   (Reuters, 6/29/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 30, Palestinian
militants fired at least 14 rockets into southern Israel, damaging
two homes but causing no injuries.
   (AP, 6/30/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 30, Israeli military
found the bodies of teenagers Eyal Yifrah (19), Gilad Shaar (16) and
Naftali Fraenkel (16), under a pile of rocks north of Hebron. They
were abducted on June 12 while hitchhiking home from the Jewish
seminaries, where they were studying near the West Bank city of
Hebron. Troops set off explosions in the family homes of the alleged
abductors in Hebron.
   (AP, 7/1/14)(Reuters, 7/1/14)(SFC, 7/1/14, p.A2)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 1, Israeli aircraft
struck 34 targets across Gaza overnight after more than 20 rockets
were fired into Israel since late Jun 29 from the Palestinian
territory. A Palestinian from the militant group Hamas was shot dead
when he threw a grenade at forces carrying out an arrest raid in the
West Bank.
   (AP, 7/1/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 2, In East Jerusalem
Mohammed Abu Khdeir (16) was approached by a car early today and
forced inside before it sped off. His body was later found in a
Jerusalem forest. President Mahmoud Abbas accused Israeli extremists
of killing him. An autopsy showed that Khdeir was burned to death.
On Nov 30, 2015, a Jerusalem court convicted two Israeli youths in
the grisly killing. The court delayed the verdict for Ben David
(31), the third and chief suspect in the killing.
   (AP, 7/2/14)(AP, 7/5/14)(AP, 11/30/15)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 4, Israeli police
clashed with Palestinian protesters in Jerusalem as thousands of
people converged on a cemetery for the burial of Mohammed Abu Khdeir
(16). Palestinians say he was killed by Israeli extremists in a
suspected revenge attack. Palestinian militants fired at least six
rockets and mortars at Israel, two of which exploded prematurely
inside Gaza.
   (AP, 7/4/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 5, Clashes between
Israeli police and Palestinian protesters spread from Jerusalem to
Arab towns in northern Israel following the funeral of an Arab
teenager who Palestinians say was killed by Israeli extremists in a
revenge attack. Militants fired 15 rockets and mortar rounds, two of
which targeted the southern city of Beersheva some 40 km (25 miles)
from the Palestinian territory.
   (AP, 7/5/14)(AP, 7/6/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 6, Israeli authorities
announced the arrests of six Jewish suspects in the death of
Palestinian teenager Muhammed Abu Khdeir, who was abducted and
killed last week. Israel aircraft targeted 10 terror sites in the
central and southern Gaza Strip, including concealed rocket
launchers and a weapon manufacturing facility in response to rocket
attacks.
   (AP, 7/6/14)(AFP, 7/6/14)(SSFC, 7/13/14, p.A4)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 7, An Israeli official
said three suspects (ages 29,17,17) in the July 2 vigilante-style
killing of Palestinian teenager Mohammed Abu Khdeir have confessed
to the crime.
   (AP, 7/7/14)(Reuters, 7/14/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 7, Militants in the
Gaza Strip unleashed dozens of rockets on southern Israel late
today, setting off air raid sirens and forcing hundreds of thousands
of Israelis to stay indoors as the military rushed more forces to
the border and warned that even heavier fighting looked likely. 8
Palestinian militants were killed in fighting, the highest death
toll yet. Among the dead were 6 Hamas militants who Israel said were
killed in an accidental blast in a tunnel packed with explosives.
   (Reuters, 7/7/14)(AP, 7/8/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 8, Israel launched
Operation Protective Edge in response to rocket attacks by Hamas.
Israeli warplanes pounded Gaza with more than 50 strikes early today
after Hamas militants fired scores of rockets over the border.
Palestinian officials said at least 10 people, including two
children, were killed in the attacks from air and sea.
   (AFP, 7/8/14)(AP, 7/8/14)(Econ, 7/11/15, p.45)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 9, Israel stepped up
its offensive “Operation Protective Edge” on the Hamas-run Gaza
Strip, pummeling scores of targets. Militants continued to fire
rocket salvos deep into Israeli territory, and Israel mobilized
thousands of forces along the Gaza border ahead of a possible ground
operation. Palestinian officials said Israel’s offensive has killed
at least 38 people over the last two days. By August 1 some 17,000
homes were destroyed.
   (AP, 7/9/14)(Reuters, 7/9/14)(SSFC, 7/13/14,
p.A4)(Econ, 7/11/15, p.45)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 10, Israel
dramatically escalated its aerial assault targeting hundreds of
Hamas sites in the Gaza Strip as Palestinians reported the strikes
also hit a home and a beachside cafe, raising the total number of
people killed in this week's offensive to at least 85 including 25
today.
   (AP, 7/10/14)(AFP, 7/10/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 10, Egypt opened its
Rafah border crossing to Gaza to receive wounded Palestinians as
Israel pounded the enclave with air strikes.
   (AFP, 7/10/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 10, UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said it is more urgent than ever to
avoid another Israeli-Palestinian war and is urging both leaders to
show statesmanship and agree to an immediate cease-fire.
   (AP, 7/10/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 11, The Palestinian
death toll from Israel's massive air campaign in Gaza topped 100
people as rockets fired by militants reached deeper into Israel.
   (AP, 7/11/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 12, Israel widened its
air assault against the Gaza Strip's Hamas rulers. An Israeli
warplane flattened the home of Gaza police chief Taysir al-Batsh and
damaged a nearby mosque as evening prayers ended, killing at least
18 people. Today’s air strikes killed 22 as the death toll from the
five-day offensive rose to 127.
   (AP, 7/12/14)(AFP, 7/12/14)(AP, 7/13/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 13, Israel briefly
deployed ground troops inside the Gaza Strip for the first time as
its military warned northern Gaza residents to evacuate their homes,
part of a widening offensive that has killed more than 160
Palestinians.
   (AP, 7/13/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 14, The Israeli
military said it downed a drone launched by Gaza militants, the
first time it encountered an unmanned aircraft since the start of
its offensive last week. New Israeli airstrikes pushed the death
toll from Israeli airstrikes to at least 175. Fighting continued as
two Israeli airstrikes struck the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis,
killing 4 Palestinians. A 21-year-old Palestinian was killed during
confrontations with Israeli soldiers in the West Bank village of
Samoa.
   (AP, 7/14/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 14, Israel agreed to
an Egyptian truce plan, proposed late today. Under it, a 12-hour
period of de-escalation was to begin at mid-morning July 15. Once
both sides agree to halt hostilities, they would negotiate the terms
of a longer-term truce.
   (AP, 7/15/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 15, An Egyptian truce
proposal for the conflict in Gaza quickly unraveled, after the
Islamic militant Hamas rejected the plan. Gaza militants fired
scores of rockets at Israel and Israel responded with more than a
dozen air strikes. Aid agencies warned that hundreds of thousands of
Gazans were without water after air strikes wrecked the water and
sewage system. The whole strip was threatened with a water crisis.
Local officials in Gaza said the death toll had risen to 192.
   (AP, 7/15/14)(Reuters, 7/15/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 15, An Israeli
civilian was killed by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, the first
Israeli fatality in more than a week of fighting with Palestinian
militants.
   (Reuters, 7/16/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 16, Hundreds of
Palestinian families, fled, as Israel intensified airstrikes on
Hamas targets. 4 Palestinian children were killed and one was
critically wounded on a Gaza beach by a shell fired by an Israeli
naval gunboat. The Palestinian death toll in nine days of fighting
rose to 207, with some 1,450 wounded. On the Israeli side, one man
was killed and several people wounded since the fighting erupted on
July 8.
   (AP, 7/16/14)(Reuters, 7/16/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 17, Israeli tank fire
killed three people in southern Gaza moments before a
humanitarian truce began at 0700 GMT. The Israeli army said it had
foiled a "major terror attack" by a group of 13 militants who
managed to enter southern Israel by tunnel and were seen heading
towards Sufa kibbutz near the fence. Palestinian militants fired a
rocket at Israel just as a five-hour UN humanitarian cease-fire
expired.
   (AFP, 7/17/14)(AP, 7/17/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 17, A Jerusalem court
indicted a 29-year-old and two 16-year-olds in the death of Mohammed
Abu Khdeir (16) whose charred body was found after he was reported
kidnapped on July 2.
   (AP, 7/17/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 17, Israel launched a
ground operation late today aimed at destroying tunnels and halting
rocket fire by the enclave's Hamas rulers.
   (AP, 7/18/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 18, Palestinian
president Mahmud Abbas reached out for French help to lobby Hamas's
regional allies to influence it into accepting a truce with Israel.
France has asked Qatar, which has close links with Hamas, to use its
influence with the Palestinian Islamist group to reach a ceasefire
in the conflict in Gaza.
   (AFP, 7/19/14)(Reuters, 7/18/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 18, The Israeli
military announced its first casualty since the start of a ground
operation in Gaza, where health officials said 19 Palestinians have
been killed since the ground operation began a day earlier. The
Israeli military said it killed 14 militants in different exchanges
of fire. 267 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the
fighting.
   (AP, 7/18/14)(AFP, 7/18/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 19, Israel pounded
Hamas rocket launchers, uncovered more than a dozen cross-border
tunnels and engaged in gunbattles with Palestinian militants on the
second day of its open-ended ground operation in Gaza, as the
Palestinian death toll there topped 310.
   (AP, 7/19/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 19, Egyptian soldiers
in north Sinai prevented an aid convoy of activists from reaching
the Rafah border crossing with the embattled Palestinian Gaza Strip.
   (AFP, 7/19/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 19, French police
clashed with thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters who defied a
ban on a Paris demonstration over the Israeli offensive in Gaza.
   (AP, 7/19/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 20, Israel widened its
ground offensive, sending more troops into Gaza after demolishing
more than a dozen Hamas tunnels and intensifying tank fire on border
areas. The first major ground battle in two weeks exacted a steep
price with 65 Palestinians and 13 Israeli soldiers killed and
thousands of terrified Palestinian civilians forced to flee the
Shijaiyah neighborhood of Gaza City. In all, at least 432
Palestinians have been killed and more than 3,000 wounded in the
past two weeks. The overall death toll on the Israeli side rose to
20, including 18 soldiers. Doctors said a son, daughter-in-law and
granddaughter of senior Hamas leader Khalil al-Haya were killed
early today when their house was hit by a tank shell in Gaza City.
   (AP, 7/20/14)(AFP, 7/20/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 20, Israel and Hamas
agreed to observe an immediate two-hour humanitarian ceasefire in
Gaza's Shejaiya neighborhood, halting a blistering bombing campaign
in the area. A building in southern Gaza was reportedly hit by an
Israeli airstrike this evening, killing 25 members of the same
family.
   (AFP, 7/20/14)(AP, 7/21/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 20, Palestinian
Islamist militant group's armed wing reportedly seized Israeli
soldier Shaul Alon in heavy fighting on the Gaza border. The next
day Hamas spokesman Abu Ubaida displayed Alon's photo ID and serial
number but showed no image of him in captivity.
   (Reuters, 7/21/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 21, UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and US Secretary of State John Kerry
headed to Cairo to try to end two weeks of Israel-Hamas fighting
that has killed at least 508 Palestinians and 20 Israelis and
displaced tens of thousands of Gaza residents.
   (AP, 7/21/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 21, Six Palestinians
with German citizenship were among the people killed when an
airstrike caused a Gaza high-rise apartment building to partially
collapse. An Israeli shot dead Mahmud Shawamreh (21), a Palestinian
who had been throwing stones at his car north of Jerusalem in the
West Bank.
   (AP, 7/22/14)(AFP, 7/21/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 22, Israel bombed five
mosques, a sports stadium and the home of the late Hamas military
chief in the Gaza Strip. An Israeli soldier was killed in fighting
in southern Gaza, raising the number of Israeli troops confirmed
dead to 27. Israel’s military said Sgt. Oron Shaul is dead, but that
his body is missing. He was among seven soldiers in a vehicle that
was hit by an anti-tank missile in Gaza over the weekend. Hamas'
claimed earlier this week that it had captured an Israeli soldier.
The Gaza Health Ministry said at least 609 Palestinians have been
killed in Gaza.
   (AP, 7/22/14)(AFP, 7/22/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 22, A Hamas rocket
exploded near Israel's main airport, prompting a ban on flights from
the US and many from Europe and Canada as aviation authorities
responded to the shock of seeing a civilian jetliner shot down over
Ukraine. The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) banned flights
to Tel Aviv for at least 24 hours.
   (AP, 7/22/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 23, Israeli forces
pounded Gaza, meeting stiff resistance from Hamas Islamists and
sending thousands of residents fleeing. US Secretary of State John
Kerry said on a visit to Israel ceasefire talks had made some
progress. Gaza's Health Ministry said 18 Palestinians were killed
today, many of them in the southern town of Khan Younis.
   (Reuters, 7/23/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 24, Fighting in the
Gaza Strip pushed the Palestinian death toll to nearly 750 as
Israeli tank fire and pre-dawn assaults killed 35 people. Israeli
forces shelled a UN-run school sheltering Palestinians killing at
least 15 more people. 10,000 demonstrators marched in solidarity
with Gaza near the Palestinian administrative capital Ramallah. One
was shot dead and 200 wounded when Israeli troops opened fire.
   (Reuters, 7/24/14)(Reuters, 7/26/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 24, President Francois
Hollande announced an 11-million-euro ($14.8 million) aid package to
the besieged Gaza Strip.
   (AFP, 7/24/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 25, Eight Palestinians
were killed in incidents near the West Bank cities of Nablus and
Hebron. Both sides agreed to a 12-hour humanitarian ceasefire set to
begin on Saturday morning.
   (AP, 7/25/14)(Reuters, 7/26/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 25, Israeli aircraft
struck 30 houses in the Gaza Strip early today, killing Salah
Hassanein, a leader of the militant Islamic Jihad group, and two of
his sons. Gaza officials said Israeli strikes killed 27 people. They
put the number of Palestinian deaths in 18 days of conflict at 819,
most of them civilians. US Secretary of State John Kerry pressed
regional leaders to nail down a Gaza ceasefire. The dead also
included 34 Israelis, among them 32 soldiers, and a Thai worker.
   (AP, 7/25/14)(Reuters, 7/25/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 26, Palestinians in
the Gaza Strip poured into the streets on to recover their dead and
stock up on food supplies after a 12-hour humanitarian truce agreed
by Israel and Hamas took hold on the 19th day of their conflict.
Hospital officials said 85 bodies have been found after the guns
fell silent at 8 a.m.
   (Reuters, 7/26/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 26, Israeli troops
shot dead two Palestinian teenagers in continuing West Bank protests
over Israel's Gaza military campaign.
   (AFP, 7/26/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 26, In France
Pro-Palestinian protesters clashed with police in central Paris when
thousands of marchers defied a ban by French authorities to rally
against Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip.
   (Reuters, 7/26/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 27, Israel’s cabinet
voted to extend a truce until midnight at the request of the UN, but
called it off when Hamas launched rockets into Israel during the
morning. Palestinian medics said at least 10 people had died in the
wave of subsequent strikes that swept Gaza. Fighting subsided in
Gaza after Hamas Islamist militants said they backed a 24-hour
humanitarian truce, but there was no sign of any comprehensive deal
to end their conflict with Israel.
   (Reuters, 7/27/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 27, Egypt's army said
it has destroyed 13 more tunnels connecting the Sinai Peninsula to
the Gaza Strip, taking to 1,639 the overall number it has laid waste
to.
   (AFP, 7/27/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 27, The UN Security
Council agreed on a statement calling for "an immediate and
unconditional humanitarian cease-fire" in the Gaza war between
Israel and Hamas.
   (AP, 7/27/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 28, Israel eased its
offensive in the Gaza Strip and Palestinian rocket fire from the
enclave declined sharply in a 24 hour truce to mark the Muslim
holiday of Eid. Palestinian cross-border attacks killed 10 Israeli
soldiers.
   (Reuters, 7/28/14)(Reuters, 7/29/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 29, Israel unleashed
its heaviest air and artillery assault of the Gaza war, destroying
key symbols of Hamas control, shutting down the territory's only
power plant and leaving at least 128 Palestinians dead. Israel
flattened the home of Hamas Gaza leader Ismail Haniye and pounded
dozens of other high-profile targets in the enclave.
   (Reuters, 7/29/14)(AP, 7/30/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 30, Israeli shelling
killed 111 Palestinians including 17 who died in a strike on a
crowded market place and another 16 at the UN school in Jabalya
refugee camp, Gaza's biggest refugee camp. An Israeli military
spokeswoman said militants had fired mortar bombs from the vicinity
of the school and troops shot back in response. 3 Israeli soldiers
were killed by a booby trap detonated as they uncovered a tunnel
shaft.
   (Reuters, 7/30/14)(Reuters, 7/31/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 31, Israel said it
would not pull troops from Gaza until they finish destroying a
network of cross-border tunnels, despite sharp United Nations
criticism over the Palestinian civilian death toll.
   (AFP, 7/31/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 31, US Secretary of
State John Kerry and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced a
72-hour truce in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the most
ambitious attempt so far to end more than 3 weeks of fighting.
   (AP, 8/1/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 1, Israel declared a
Gaza ceasefire over and killed more than 50 Palestinians in renewed
shelling, saying militants had breached the truce shortly after it
began. Some 150 people were killed and 220 wounded by Israeli
shelling after militants attacked soldiers searching for tunnels
near the southern town of Rafah killing 3 soldiers including 2nd
Lieutenant Hadar Goldin (23), who was initially reported captured.
Israeli forces killed 2 Palestinians in clashes in the occupied West
Bank.
   (Reuters, 8/1/14)(Reuters, 8/2/14)(AP,
8/3/14)(Reuters, 8/4/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 1, Egypt told the
Islamic Jihad it is delaying talks on a long-term Gaza ceasefire
after Israel revealed one of its soldiers may have been captured.
   (AFP, 8/1/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 2, Israel signaled it
was winding down the 25-day-old Gaza war unilaterally, saying it
would not attend Egyptian-hosted negotiations for a new truce and
giving Palestinians who had fled fighting in one northern town the
all-clear to return. Gaza's mostly civilian death toll rose to
1,669. Israel said its Iron Dome interceptor shot down rockets
launched at the cities of Tel Aviv and Beersheba.
   (Reuters, 8/2/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 2, President Abdel
Fattah al-Sisi said an Egyptian truce plan provides a "real chance"
to end the Gaza conflict, stressing the need for its speedy
implementation.
   (AFP, 8/2/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 3, An Israeli air
strike killed 10 people and wounded about 30 others in a UN-run
school in the southern Gaza Strip. Earlier today Israeli shelling
killed at least 30 people in Gaza. The Israeli army said that more
than 55 rockets had been fired today from Gaza at Israel. The
fighting pushed the Gaza death toll given by Palestinian officials
to 1,770, most of them civilians. Israel has confirmed that 64
soldiers have died in combat, while Palestinian rockets have also
killed 3 civilians in Israel.
   (Reuters, 8/3/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 4, In a predawn air
strike, Israel killed Danyal Mansour, a senior commander of Islamic
Jihad, a Palestinian group fighting alongside Hamas, just hours
ahead of a seven-hour truce announced by Israel. 10 Palestinians
were reported killed in Israeli strikes throughout the Gaza Strip.
Palestinians and Israel accused each other of breaking a seven-hour
ceasefire intended to allow humanitarian aid into the battered Gaza
Strip soon after it came into force. A Palestinian killed an Israeli
and overturned a bus with a construction vehicle and a gunman
wounded a soldier in attacks in Jerusalem.
   (AP, 8/4/14)(Reuters, 8/4/14)(AFP, 8/4/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 4, Palestinian groups
including envoys of Hamas and Islamic Jihad held their first formal
meeting in Cairo with Egyptian mediators hoping to secure a durable
ceasefire with Israel after more than three weeks of fighting.
Israel declined to send its envoys.
   (Reuters, 8/4/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 5, Israel pulled its
ground forces out of the Gaza Strip and started a 72-hour ceasefire
with Hamas mediated by Egypt as a first step towards negotiations on
a more enduring end to the month-old war. Israel sent officials to
join talks in Cairo to cement a longer-term deal during the course
of the truce. Gaza officials say the war has killed 1,867
Palestinians, most of them civilians. Israel says 64 of its soldiers
and three civilians have been killed since fighting. Some 19,000
homes in Gaza were destroyed and by May of 2015 none had been
rebuilt.
   (Reuters, 8/5/14)(Econ., 4/25/15, p.47)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 6, A Gaza truce was
holding as Egyptian mediators pursued talks with Israeli and
Palestinian representatives on an enduring end to a war that has
devastated the Hamas Islamist- dominated enclave.
   (Reuters, 8/6/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 8, Israeli warplanes
struck targets in retaliation for dozens of Palestinian cross-border
rocket attacks. A 10-year-old boy was killed and 11 people wounded
in the airstrikes. The Israeli delegation in Cairo returned to
Israel. Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian teenager amid
widespread protest across the West Bank against the Israeli military
campaign in the Gaza Strip.
   (AFP, 8/8/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 8, In Jordan tens of
thousands celebrated the "Gaza victory" in the war against Israel,
at a rally organized by the Islamist opposition as hostilities
between Israel and Palestinian militants resumed.
   (AFP, 8/9/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 9, Israeli warplanes
kept up a punishing campaign of air strikes over Gaza, killing 5
Palestinians as militants fired rockets into Israel and ceasefire
talks in Cairo stalled.
   (AFP, 8/9/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 9, In NYC a sea of
Palestinians and their sympathizers lined Manhattan streets,
marching to the UN and shouting that Israel's response to missile
attacks was genocide that took children's lives.
   (AP, 8/9/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 10, Israel said it
would not return to Egyptian-mediated ceasefire talks as long as
Palestinian militants in Gaza kept up cross-border rocket and mortar
fire. Israeli air strikes and shelling killed 3 Palestinians in
Gaza, including a boy of 14 and a woman.
   (AP, 8/10/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 10, Under Egyptian
auspices a fresh 72-hour ceasefire, effective as of midnight, was
announced between Israel and Hamas.
   (AFP, 8/10/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 11, Palestinian
militant Zacharia Akra (24) was shot dead early today in an exchange
of fire with Israeli troops in the northern West Bank.
   (AFP, 8/11/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 13, Israeli ordnance
exploded in Gaza, killing 5 people including Italian journalist
Simone Camilli and his Palestinian translator Ali Shehda Abu Afash,
as bomb experts tried to disable a missile on the last day of a
72-hour truce. Israel and Hamas agreed to extend a temporary
cease-fire for five days.
   (AFP, 8/13/14)(SFC, 8/14/14, p.A6)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 14, Israel and
militants in Gaza held their fire after a new truce got off to a
shaky start, with night-time Palestinian rocket fire followed by
Israeli air strikes.
   (AFP, 8/14/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 18, Israeli troops
demolished the homes of Hussam Kawasme and Amar Abu Aysha, suspected
of the abduction and killing of three Israeli teenagers in the
occupied West Bank in June. Kawasme, a 40-year-old resident of the
West Bank city of Hebron, was arrested on July 11, but the other two
suspects remained at large.
   (Reuters, 8/18/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 18, In Cairo Israeli
and Palestinian negotiators agreed to a 24-hour ceasefire late
today.
   (AP, 8/19/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 19, A ceasefire in the
Gaza Strip collapsed, with Palestinian militants firing dozens of
rockets at Israel. Israel launched at least four air strikes across
Gaza and ordered its negotiating team back from truce talks in Cairo
after three rockets hit the country's south. One of the Israeli air
strikes killed the wife, Widad (27), and child, seven-month-old son
Ali, of Hamas military leader Mohammed Deif. Rescue workers the next
day pulled the bodies of a woman (48) and a boy (14) from the
rubble.
   (Reuters, 8/19/14)(AFP, 8/20/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 20, Israeli warplanes
continued to pound Gaza. News bloodshed pushed the Palestinian death
toll to more than 2,030 since July 8 with 67 people killed on the
Israeli side. Hamas said it fired two rockets at an Israeli gas
installation about 30 km (19 miles) off the coast of Gaza.
   (AFP, 8/20/14)(Reuters, 8/20/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 21, An Israeli air
strike in the Gaza Strip killed 3 senior Hamas commanders (Mohammed
Abu Shammala, Raed al-Attar and Mohammed Barhoum). Palestinian
health officials said 26 Palestinians, including 3 children, the
Hamas commanders and at least 2 other militants, were killed in
Israeli airstrikes.
   (Reuters, 8/21/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 22, Hamas executed 18
Palestinian men it had suspected of collaborating with Israel. A
four-year-old Israeli boy was killed by a mortar attack from Gaza.
   (AP, 8/22/14)(Reuters, 8/23/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 23, Egypt called on
Israel and the Palestinians to halt fire and resume peace talks, but
violence continued unabated with Israeli air strikes in the Gaza
Strip and Hamas militants firing rockets at the Jewish state. The
Israeli military said Palestinian gunmen had fired almost 500
rockets at Israel since the talks broke down and Gaza health
officials said 65 Palestinians had been killed in Israeli air
strikes since then. Israel took the Gaza war to a new level by
flattening a 13-storey apartment tower.
   (Reuters, 8/23/14)(Reuters, 8/24/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 24, Israel’s PM
Benjamin Netanyahu warned Palestinian civilians to leave immediately
any site where militants are operating. An Israeli strike on a car
killed Mohammed al-Ghoul, described by the Israeli military as a
Hamas official responsible for "terror fund transactions." In
another attack, a mother and her three children were killed when
their home was bombed in Jabalya refugee camp.
   (Reuters, 8/24/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 25, Egypt proposed a
new ceasefire that would open key crossings into Gaza where violence
reverberated with at least 8 Palestinians killed in Israeli air
strikes.
   (AFP, 8/25/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 26, Palestinian
officials said a Gaza ceasefire deal with Israel has been reached
under Egyptian mediation and a formal announcement of an agreement
was imminent. Israel bombed more of Gaza's tallest structures,
bringing down a 13-storey apartment and office tower and destroying
most of a 16-floor residential building. 6 Palestinians were killed
in other Israeli strikes. Israel's military said 70 rockets were
fired from Gaza and that one damaged a house in Ashkelon.
   (Reuters, 8/26/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 31, Israel announced
it will expropriate 400 hectares (988 acres) of Palestinian land in
the occupied West Bank, angering the Palestinians and alarming
Israeli peace campaigners.
   (AFP, 8/31/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 4, The Palestinian
Authority said rebuilding Gaza will cost $7.8 billion. Fighting
between Israel and the Islamist militant group Hamas in Gaza killed
over 2,100 Palestinians, most of them civilians, along with 64
Israeli soldiers and 6 civilians.
   (Reuters, 9/4/14)(Econ, 8/30/14, p.44)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 7, Scores of
Palestinians rioted in East Jerusalem after hearing that a youth
from their neighborhood had died of wounds suffered in a clash with
Israeli police last week. Mohammed Sinokrot (16) succumbed to a head
wound suffered during a protest a week ago but the circumstances of
how he sustained the wound were in dispute.
   (Reuters, 9/7/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 7, Avraham Mengistu,
an Israeli of Ethiopian descent in his late 20s, disappeared after
he "independently" crossed the border fence into the Gaza Strip. On
July 9, 2015, Israeli authorities announced that Mengistu was being
held by Hamas. Authorities said another Israeli citizen was also
being held in Gaza.
   (AP, 7/9/15)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 9, The Israeli navy
arrested four Palestinian fishermen and seized their boat. The
Israeli military said the two vessels involved were operating
outside of their permitted maritime limit.
   (AP, 9/9/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 14, In Israel scores
of veterans of elite intelligence unit 8200 rallied to its defense
after 43 comrades said they would no longer take part in its
"injustices" against millions of Palestinians.
   (AFP, 9/14/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 16, Israeli police
said they have arrested 22 Palestinians in annexed Arab east
Jerusalem overnight on suspicion of throwing stones and petrol
bombs, as three months of protests showed no let-up.
   (AFP, 9/16/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 22, In Egypt rival
Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah began reconciliation talks in
Cairo, one day ahead of negotiations with Israel on cementing the
Aug. 26 truce that ended a 50-day war in Gaza.
   (AP, 9/22/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 23, Israeli special
forces stormed a West Bank hideout and killed Marwan Qawasmeh (29)
and Amer Abu Aisheh (33), the two Palestinians suspected in the June
abduction and slaying of three Israeli teenagers.
   (AP, 9/23/14)(SFC, 9/24/14, p.A3)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 23, Egyptian-mediated
talks resumed in Cairo between Israel and the Palestinians on
cementing a ceasefire in Gaza.
   (Reuters, 9/23/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 24, In Israel clashes
broke out at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque compound as Palestinians
protested against Jews visiting the flashpoint holy site on the eve
of Jewish New Year.
   (AFP, 9/24/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 25, Palestinian
factions Hamas and Fatah, meeting in Cairo, reached an agreement by
which the unity government run by President Mahmoud Abbas would take
control of the Gaza Strip.
   (Reuters, 9/25/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 3, Sweden’s PM Stefan
Lofven said his new center-left government will recognize the state
of Palestine in a move that will make it the first major European
country to take the step.
   (Reuters, 10/3/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 5, Hundreds of
Palestinians from the Gaza Strip prayed at Jerusalem's most
important mosque, the first time Israel has allowed such visits from
the coastal enclave since the Hamas militant group overran the area
in 2007.
   (AP, 10/5/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 9, The Palestinian
unity government held its first ever meeting in the war-ravaged Gaza
Strip as its rival factions presented a common front ahead of a
major donors' conference.
   (AFP, 10/9/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 12, In Cairo, Egypt,
US Sec. of State John Kerry presided over a conference on peace in
the Middle East and announced an additional $212 million in US aid
to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Qatar said it would provide $1
billion in reconstruction assistance for Gaza, while fellow Gulf
Arab states Kuwait and United Arab Emirates promised $200 million
each. Germany also announced it would contribute 50 million euros
($63 million) to reconstruction efforts in Gaza.
   (Reuters, 10/12/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 13, The British House
of Commons in a symbolic move voted 274 to 12 in favor of
recognizing Palestine as a state.
   (SFC, 10/14/14, p.A2)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 13, UN Sec.-Gen. Ban
Ki-moon called on Israel to scrap plans to expand settlements in
East Jerusalem, which Palestinians want as the capital of a future
state, and urged both sides to return to peace talks.
   (Reuters, 10/13/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 14, Israel opened the
border to the first post-war truckloads of rebuilding material for
Gaza.
   (Reuters, 10/14/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 20, In Israel Abdullah
Abu Rahma, who spent 15 months behind bars for organizing weekly
demonstrations against Israel's separation barrier in the village of
Bilin, was convicted at Ofer military court near the West Bank city
of Ramallah for "interfering" with the work of a soldier.
   (AFP, 10/21/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 20, Palestinians
hurled Molotov cocktails at an apartment building in a flashpoint
east Jerusalem neighborhood just hours after it was taken over by
Jewish settlers.
   (AFP, 10/21/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 22, A Palestinian
motorist with a history of anti-Israel violence slammed his car into
a crowded train station in Jerusalem, killing a three-month-old baby
girl and wounding eight people. The driver got out of the car and
tried to flee before he was shot by a police officer.
   (AP, 10/23/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 24, Israeli troops
shot dead Orwa Hammad (17), a Palestinian teenager and US citizen.
The army said the youth had been about to hurl a petrol bomb at
Israeli motorists near the West Bank city of Ramallah.
   (AFP, 10/25/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 27, An official said
Israel has given the go-ahead for plans to build over 1,000 new
Jewish settler homes in annexed east Jerusalem.
   (AFP, 10/27/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 29, In Israel a gunman
on a motorcycle shot and seriously wounded American-born activist
Yehuda Glick (48) outside a conference promoting greater Jewish
access to Jerusalem’s Temple Mount.
   (AP, 10/30/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 30, Israeli police
raid killed Muataz Hijazi (32) in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Abu
Tor. Israel said the Palestinian was behind the attempt to gun down
hardline activist Yehuda Glick, who has lobbied for Jewish prayer
rights at the Al-Aqsa compound.
   (AFP, 10/30/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 30, Sweden’s PM Stefan
Lofven ignored Israeli protests and announced his country’s formal
recognition of a Palestinian state, becoming the first EU member in
western Europe to do so.
   (AFP, 10/30/14)(SFC, 10/31/14, p.A2)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 31, In southern Israel
rocket fired from Gaza hit the Eshkol area. Israel soon closed two
border crossings with Gaza in response.
   (AFP, 11/2/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 3, Israel approved
plans for some 500 new settler homes in occupied east Jerusalem.
Israeli police arrested at least 23 Palestinians in east Jerusalem
overnight and today, in the latest crackdown after months of violent
clashes in the city.
   (AFP, 11/3/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 3, Israel's parliament
passed a law aimed at limiting the practice employed in the past of
releasing Palestinians convicted of killing Israelis to promote
peace efforts.
   (Reuters, 11/4/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 4, About 20,000 civil
servants in the Gaza Strip went on strike to protest the Palestinian
unity government's refusal to pay military and security employees of
the Islamist movement Hamas.
   (AFP, 11/4/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 4, Israeli forces
demolished two Palestinian homes in an East Jerusalem neighborhood
saying they had been built without construction permits. The homes
were at the heart of clashes between Israeli police and Palestinian
protesters.
   (Reuters, 11/4/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 5, A Palestinian
rammed his car into pedestrians in central Jerusalem in the second
attack of its kind in two weeks, killing a police officer and
seriously wounding 13 others. The driver, shot dead by police, was
identified as Ibrahim Akari from East Jerusalem. Hamas claimed
responsibility.
   (Reuters, 11/5/14)(SSFC, 11/9/14, p.A4)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 5, In Israel Hamam
Masalmeh (23) a Palestinian from Beit Awwa in the southern West
Bank, hit three soldiers with his vehicle outside Al-Arub camp.
Masalmeh turned himself in the next day and claimed he had lost
control of his car.
   (AFP, 11/6/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 6, Israel allowed
Palestinian farmers to ship produce from the blockaded Gaza Strip to
the occupied West Bank, via Israeli territory, for the first time
since 2007.
   (Reuters, 11/6/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 7, Hamas announced the
creation of a "popular army" in the Gaza Strip, saying it was ready
for any future conflict with Israel, particularly over the
flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound.
   (AFP, 11/7/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 7, Israeli security
forces fought with Palestinian protesters in East Jerusalem and the
occupied West Bank over access to Jerusalem's holiest site. Around
15 small explosions targeted the homes and vehicles of Fatah
officials in Gaza, causing minor damage but no injuries.
   (Reuters, 11/7/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 10, Two Gaza fishermen
were wounded and four missing after the Israeli navy fired on two
boats off the coast.
   (AFP, 11/10/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 10, A young Israeli
woman, Dalia Lemkus (26) was killed and two other people were
wounded when a Palestinian stabbed them outside a West Bank
settlement. Hours earlier a Palestinian fatally stabbed a soldier at
a Tel Aviv train station. A suspect was arrested. On March 26 a
court sentenced Maher al-Hashlamoun, a member of Islamic Jihad from
the occupied West Bank city of Hebron, after previously convicting
him of murdering Lemkus.
   (Reuters, 11/10/14)(AFP, 11/10/14)(Reuters,
11/11/14)(AP, 3/27/15)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 11, Israeli troops
shot dead a Palestinian (21) during clashes in the occupied West
Bank.
   (Reuters, 11/11/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 12, Israeli
authorities gave preliminary approval for construction of 200 new
homes in a Jewish area of east Jerusalem, which the Palestinians
claim as their capital.
   (AP, 11/12/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 17, Palestinian bus
driver Youssef al-Ramouni (32) was found hanged in his vehicle in
Jerusalem, an incident that led to stone-throwing protests by
Palestinians suspecting foul play but which Israeli police, citing
autopsy results, termed a suicide.
   (Reuters, 11/17/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 18, Two Palestinians
armed with a meat cleaver and a gun killed 4 worshippers in a
Jerusalem synagogue before being shot dead by police. Hours later a
police officer died of his wounds. PM Netanyahu ordered authorities
to destroy the homes of the attackers.
   (Reuters, 11/18/14)(AP, 11/18/14)(SFC, 11/19/14,
p.A2)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 18, Spain’s parliament
overwhelmingly approved a symbolic resolution that recognizes a
Palestinian state.
   (SFC, 11/19/14, p.A2)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 19, Israel’s Jerusalem
municipality said it approved the construction of 78 new homes for
Jewish settlers in two neighborhoods of occupied Arab east
Jerusalem. The east Jerusalem home of a Palestinian Abdel-Rahman
al-Shalloudi, who carried out a deadly attack On Oct 22, was
demolished.
   (AFP, 11/19/14)(AP, 11/19/14)(Econ, 11/22/14,
p.41)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 23, Israeli forces
shot dead a Palestinian in the Gaza Strip near the border. Fadel
Mohammed Halawa (32) was killed in the incident, east of Jabalya
refugee camp. A relative said he had been searching for song birds,
which nest in trees near the Israeli border and command high prices
in Gaza markets.
   (Reuters, 11/23/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 26, Egypt opened the
Rafah border crossing for the first time in a month to allow
thousands of stranded Palestinians to return to the Gaza Strip. The
frontier remained closed in the other direction.
   (Reuters, 11/26/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 28, Israeli Foreign
Minister Avigdor Lieberman proposed that Arab citizens of Israel be
offered financial incentives to leave the country and relocate to a
future Palestinian state. An Italian man marching in support of
Palestinians in the northern West Bank was shot and seriously
wounded by Israeli forces.
   (Reuters, 11/28/14)(AP, 11/28/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov, Israeli forces
detained three Islamic State-inspired militants in the occupied West
Bank, the first known Palestinian cell linked to the Syria- and
Iraq-based insurgent group.
   (Reuters, 1/4/15)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov, Venezuela greeted the
first 119 Palestinian recipients of a medical school scholarship.
Eight months later about a third of the students had dropped out,
complaining the program lacks academic rigor. The students who
dropped out complained that their first year consisted only of
Spanish language lessons and indoctrination about Venezuela's
16-year-old socialist revolution.
   (AP, 7/16/15)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 2, France’s lower
house of Parliament in a non-binding vote (339-151) urged the
government to recognize a Palestinian state.
   (SFC, 12/3/14, p.A2)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 3, A Palestinian (16)
stabbed two Israelis in a supermarket in the West Bank before a
private security guard shot him. The guard shot the attacker in the
legs and police later arrested him.
   (AP, 12/3/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 10, Palestinian
minister Ziad Abu Ein (55) died shortly after an altercation with
Israeli border police in the West Bank during which one of the
policeman grabbed him by the neck. The Palestinians were attempting
to plant olive trees on land they claimed as theirs. Abu Ein, who
was convicted of killing two young Israelis in a bomb attack in 1979
and released as part of a prisoner swap in 1985, was a vocal
opponent of Israel's settlement building in the West Bank.
   (Reuters, 12/10/14)(Econ, 12/13/14, p.51)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 10, The Irish
Parliament adopted a nonbinding resolution supporting an independent
Palestine.
   (http://tinyurl.com/lkn9ehu)(SFC, 12/12/14, p.A2)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 12, In Israel some 100
Palestinians demonstrated outside the Ofer military prison near
Ramallah. Troops shot live bullets at their legs, wounding 10. In
Hebron youths clashed with soldiers and were also shot in the legs.
A Palestinian described as mentally unstable threw acid at a family
of Israelis who gave him a ride in the West Bank before being shot
and wounded.
   (AFP, 12/12/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 16, Israeli soldiers
shot and killed Palestinian Mahmoud Abdalla (20) as violence erupted
during an arrest operation in the West Bank. Palestinians in the
refugee camp of Qalandiya reportedly threw explosive charges and
opened fire at soldiers during the operation.
   (AP, 12/16/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 17, An EU court ruled
that the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas should be removed from the
EU terrorist list, saying the decision to include it was based on
media reports not considered analysis.
   (Reuters, 12/17/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 19, A rocket fired
from Gaza hit southern Israel. It fell on open ground without
causing casualties or damage.
   (AFP, 12/19/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 20, Israel's military
struck a Hamas site in the Gaza Strip in its first airstrike on the
Palestinian territory since this summer's war. This was in response
to a rocket fired from Gaza into southern Israel a day earlier.
   (AP, 12/20/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 21, Egypt opened the
Rafah border crossing for incoming passengers from the Gaza Strip
for the first time in almost two months. Rafah would open for two
days to allow Gazans with serious illnesses to travel to Egypt and
beyond for treatment and to allow foreign nationals and students to
travel.
   (Reuters, 12/21/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 23, An Israeli
official says the government is pumping millions of dollars into
Jewish settlements in the West Bank for public buildings and roads
ahead of national elections.
   (AP, 12/23/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 24, Israel launched an
air strike in southern Gaza and killed a Hamas militant after a
sniper attack on a patrol seriously wounded a soldier.
   (AFP, 12/24/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 24, Israeli
authorities gave final approval to the construction of 380 new
settler homes in two areas of annexed east Jerusalem.
   (AFP, 12/24/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 25, Officials said
Israel has given preliminary approval for the construction of 243
new homes on West Bank land that Israel annexed to Jerusalem, and
advanced plans for another 270 homes in the same area.
   (Reuters, 12/25/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 26, A Palestinian man
stabbed and lightly wounded two Israeli paramilitary border
policemen at the entrance to Jerusalem's Old City. On Nov 11, 2015,
Mussa Ajlouni (20) was jailed for 16 years after pleading guilty in
a plea bargain to two counts of attempted murder.
   (AP, 12/26/14)(AFP, 11/11/15)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 28, Hamas authorities
in the Gaza Strip prevented a group of Palestinian children who lost
parents in the July-August war with Israel from making a rare
goodwill visit to the Jewish state.
   (Reuters, 12/28/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 29, Israeli military
forces shot and killed a Palestinian who was throwing stones at
drivers in the West Bank.
   (AP, 12/29/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 30, The UN Security
Council rejected their motion to end Israeli occupation of the West
Bank and East Jerusalem and establish a Palestinian state by 2017.
   (AFP, 12/31/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 31, Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas signed on to 20 international agreements,
including the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court
(ICC), as a new avenue for action against Israel after the UN
Security Council rejected a resolution on ending the occupation.
   (AFP, 12/31/14)(Reuters, 1/1/15)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 31, Hamas civil
servants went on strike after the Palestinian government said it
would rehire thousands of Gaza staff who were laid off when the
Islamist movement seized power in 2007.
   (AFP, 12/31/14)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 31, Israeli police
arrested Palestinian girl Malak al-Khatib (14) on her way home from
school. A military court sentenced her in late January to two months
as part of a plea bargain in which she admitted to picking up a
stone to throw at Israeli cars. On Feb 14 she insisted after serving
a 45-day sentence that she had been unjustly imprisoned, saying she
was forced to sign a paper in Hebrew, which she does not understand.
   (AP, 2/14/15)
2014Â Â Â Â Â Â Ahron Bregman authored
“Cursed Victory: A History of Israel and the Occupied Territories.”
   (Econ, 7/12/14, p.74)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 2, Egyptian troops
opened fire on six Gazans who had illegally crossed into the
Egyptian Sinai, where the army has created a buffer zone to prevent
the movement of militants. Ashraf al-Qudra (17) was killed.
   (AFP, 1/3/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 3, Israel said it will
withhold critical tax revenue and seek ways to bring war crimes
prosecutions against Palestinian leaders in retaliation for
Palestinian moves to join the International Criminal Court (ICC).
   (Reuters, 1/3/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 6, An Israeli military
court handed three life sentences to Palestinian militant Hossam
Qawasme, convicted of organizing the June 12, 2014, kidnapping and
murder of three Israeli teenagers. Qawasme was also ordered to pay
250,000 shekels ($63,000/53,000 euros) in compensation to each of
the three families at a hearing near Ramallah.
   (AFP, 1/6/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 6, The Israeli
government said Qatar has expelled to Turkey Khaled Mashal, leader
of the Hamas militant group. An aide to Mashal said the claim was
wrong.
   (SFC, 1/7/15, p.A3)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 6, UN Sec. Gen. Ban
Ki-moon said the Palestinians will join the Int’l. Criminal Court
(ICC) on April 1.
   (SFC, 1/8/15, p.A5)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 8, Egypt’s military
said the army is doubling the size of a buffer zone along the border
with the Gaza Strip, an operation that will involve the destruction
of 1,220 more homes and the eviction of residents.
   (AP, 1/8/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 18, Dozens of
Palestinian protesters hurled eggs and shoes at the convoy of the
visiting Canadian foreign minister in a show of defiance toward
Canada's perceived pro-Israel stance.
   (AP, 1/18/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 20, In Israel a
knife-wielding Palestinian stabbed 11 morning commuters on and near
a bus, striking in the heart of Tel Aviv and reigniting fears of
continued violence ahead of Israeli elections in March. Police
identified the attacker as Hamza Mohammed Matrouk (23) from the West
Bank town of Tulkarem.
   (AP, 1/21/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 28, Dozens of
Palestinians attacked a UN compound in Gaza City following the world
body's suspension of an aid program for victims of last year's war
due to lack of funds.
   (AP, 1/28/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 30, Israel published
bids for the the building of 450 new housing units in West Bank
settlements.
   (SFC, 1/31/15, p.A2)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan 31, An Egyptian court
banned the armed wing of Palestinian group Hamas and listed it as a
terrorist organization, a ruling in keeping with a systematic
crackdown on Islamists by Pres. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
   (Reuters, 1/31/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jan, Israel's internal
security service caught 11 alleged Hamas fighters in the occupied
West Bank who planned attacks against Israelis. The group, from the
city of Hebron, was arrested by Shin Bet agents and troops.
   (AP, 2/23/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 1, Serbian officials
said they have granted citizenship to former Fatah strongman
Mohammed Dahlan, a key political rival of Palestinian President
Mahmoud Abbas, after he pledged millions of dollars in investments
from the Emirates, where he has lived in exile.
   (AP, 2/1/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 6, Hundreds of
Palestinians demonstrated outside Egypt's diplomatic mission in Gaza
City, to protest a Cairo court ruling designating Hamas's armed
wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, as a terrorist group.
   (AFP, 2/6/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 8, Israel's Supreme
Court ordered the government to demolish nine homes in the West Bank
Jewish settlement of Ofra, which were built on private Palestinian
land. Authorities have until 2017 to carry out the demolitions.
   (AFP, 2/9/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 24, In Israel
Bethlehem Governor Jebren al-Bakri said Jihad al-Jafari (19) was
shot and killed on the roof of his house in the Deheisha refugee
camp as he was watching an Israeli raid below.
   (AP, 2/24/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 27, An Egyptian senior
army officer was killed and another was injured when a cross-border
smuggling tunnel with the Gaza Strip collapsed after troops in Rafah
went into it to investigate.
   (AP, 2/27/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 27, Italian lawmakers
backed a non-binding resolution that encourages the government to
recognize Palestine as a state.
   (Reuters, 2/27/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 28, Palestinian Naji
Khaled Abu Sabla (21) was killed and his brother, Akram (18),
seriously wounded in an explosion of an unidentified device near the
Gaza Strip's abandoned airport.
   (AFP, 2/28/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Feb 28, An Egyptian court
listed the Palestinian group Hamas as a terrorist organization.
Another court sentenced the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood's top leader
Mohamed Badie and 13 others to life in prison while four members
received the death penalty. Two of those sentenced to death and
three sentenced to life were tried in absentia.
   (Reuters, 2/28/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 2, Israel said it has
busted an Israeli-Palestinian smuggling ring that funneled iron,
electronic equipment and other prohibited materials to Gaza,
bypassing Israel's stringent border security to help Hamas rebuild
its militant infrastructure following last year's war.
   (AP, 3/2/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 4, Israel said it will
double the amount of water provided to the Gaza Strip to relieve
excessive use of groundwater.
   (SFC, 3/5/15, p.A2)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 5, The Gaza Strip's
sole power plant has halted production overnight, following a
dispute with the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority over fuel
tax. Even with the plant running, Gaza suffers 12 hours of power
outages each day, and that is expected to increase to 18 hours after
the plant's shutdown.
   (AFP, 3/5/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 5, Suspected Jewish
extremists torched two cars and scrawled graffiti on a nearby wall
in a West Bank village before dawn.
   (AFP, 3/5/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 6, In Israel a
Palestinian assailant rammed his car into a group of Israeli
pedestrians near a police station in east Jerusalem, injuring four
officers and a bystander. He lunged at security guards with a knife
before being shot and wounded.
   (AP, 3/6/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 7, The Israeli navy
opened fire on boats off the coast of the Gaza Strip, killing one
Palestinian fisherman after four vessels had strayed from a six
nautical-mile fishing zone. The Israeli army opened fire after the
boats did not heed calls to halt.
   (Reuters, 3/7/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 9, Palestinian
security forces in the West Bank arrested dozens of members of the
Islamist movement Hamas.
   (AFP, 3/10/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 9, Egypt temporarily
opened a crossing with the Gaza Strip, allowing students, patients
seeking medical care and dual nationals to leave the territory for
the first time in nearly two months.
   (AP, 3/9/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 10, In Israel a statue
of a woman by a local artist in the West Bank settlement of Tekoa
was smashed by unknown people.
   (SSFC, 3/15/15, p.A6)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 12, Palestinian
farmers in Gaza exported produce to Israel for the first time since
the Jewish state imposed its blockade on the territory in 2006.
   (AFP, 3/12/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 22, Dozens of
Palestinians and foreign supporters protested in east Jerusalem's
walled Old City against the threatened eviction of a Palestinian
family to make way for Jewish settlers.
   (AFP, 3/22/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 27, Israel said it
will transfer Palestinian tax revenues that were being withheld as
punishment for a Palestinian application to join the Int’l. Criminal
Court.
   (SFC, 3/28/15, p.A2)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Mar 30, An Israeli
committee approved controversial plans for eventual construction of
2,200 Palestinian homes in occupied east Jerusalem, in the largest
such project since 1967.
   (AFP, 4/1/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 1, Palestine formally
joined the International Criminal Court, a move the Palestinians
hope could open the door to the possible prosecution of Israelis for
alleged war crimes.
   (AFP, 4/1/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 4, In Syria civilians
trapped in the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus fled to
safer areas amid intense shelling and clashes between Palestinian
armed factions and Islamic militants who took over most of the camp.
   (AP, 4/4/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 5, Palestinian Pres.
Mahmoud Abbas threatened to turn to the International Criminal Court
over Israel's refusal to fully release hundreds of millions of
dollars in tax monies owed the Palestinian Authority. He rejected an
Israeli transfer of millions because of deductions for utility debts
owed to Israel.
   (AFP, 4/5/15)(SFC, 4/6/15, p.A2)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 5, A Palestinian
official said around 2,000 people have been evacuated from the
Yarmouk refugee camp in Damascus after the Islamic State group
seized large parts of it.
   (AFP, 4/5/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 6, In Syria
Palestinian fighters clashed with Islamic State militants in the
heavily contested Yarmouk refugee camp in Damascus as a UN official
described the situation in the embattled camp as "beyond inhumane”
for some 18,000 residents.
   (AP, 4/6/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 8, A Palestinian
stabbed two Israeli soldiers near the West Bank settlement of Shilo
before he was killed by one of the soldiers.
   (AP, 4/8/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 9, A group of 14
Palestinian factions said they backed a joint military operation
with the Syrian government to expel Islamic State group jihadists
from the Yarmouk camp in southern Damascus.
   (AFP, 4/9/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 9, Gaza police seized
a work by famed street artist Banksy from a man who bought it for
$200 from a family that later said it was duped.
   (AFP, 4/10/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 10, Israeli troops
shot dead Ziad Awad (30), a Palestinian man in the West Bank, when
they opened fire to quell protests that erupted in Hebron after the
burial of Jaafar Awad (23), a cousin recently released from Israeli
jail.
   (AFP, 4/10/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 13, Human Rights Watch
slammed the alleged abuse of Palestinian children working on Israeli
settlement farms in the occupied West Bank in a 74-page report.
   (AFP, 4/13/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 14, Israel began
allowing Palestinian medical staff working in the country to enter
from the West Bank with their own vehicles, a first in 15 years.
   (AFP, 4/14/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 15, A Palestinian
driver rammed his car into a Jerusalem bus stop. Shalom Yohai Cherki
(26) died of his injuries the next morning. On April 27 Khaled
Kutina (37) from east Jerusalem was charged with murdering Cherki
and the attempted murder of Shira Klein (20).
   (AFP, 4/18/15)(AFP, 4/27/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 15, The Israeli
military arrested 29 Palestinians suspected of links to the militant
Hamas group in an overnight raid near Nablus in the West Bank.
   (AP, 4/15/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 15, In Syria local
fighters in a Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus advanced in
clashes with Islamic State militants two weeks after the extremist
group stormed the area in its deepest foray into the capital.
   (AP, 4/15/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 17, Protesters clashed
with Israeli troops in the northern West Bank during annual
demonstrations marking Palestinian Prisoners Day.
   (AFP, 4/17/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 18, Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas said that he has reached an agreement with
Israel in which essential tax revenues it collects for the
Palestinians will be transferred following a four-month freeze.
   (AP, 4/18/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 24, Israeli police
shot dead a knife-wielding Palestinian who attempted to stab
colleagues at an east Jerusalem checkpoint shortly before midnight.
Palestinian activists in Jerusalem named the dead teenager as Ali
al-Ghannam (17).
   (AFP, 4/25/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 25, In Israel a
Palestinian in Hebron attacked an Israeli police officer, stabbing
him several times in his head and chest. The officer was evacuated
to a hospital and was in stable condition. Other officers on the
scene opened fire on the assailant and killed him.
   (AP, 4/26/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Apr 28, Palestinian
Mohammed Yehya died at a hospital in the West Bank city of Nablus.
He was shot in the abdomen the previous evening after hurling rocks
at Israeli troops.
   (AP, 4/28/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â May 4, A bomb blast
targeted Hamas's security headquarters in Gaza City, after radical
Islamists issued a threatening message calling for the release of
prisoners.
   (AFP, 5/4/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â May 4, Israeli security
guards shot and wounded a Palestinian after he allegedly tried to
stab people waiting at a light railway station in east Jerusalem.
   (AFP, 5/4/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â May 6, Israel approved
construction of 900 settler homes in annexed east Jerusalem as PM
Benjamin Netanyahu pieced together a 5-party coalition government
that will include the far-right Jewish Home, which strongly backs
settlement building and opposes a Palestinian state. The coalition
will hold a parliamentary majority of just a single seat.
   (AFP, 5/7/15)(Reuters, 5/7/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â May 6, The Egyptian
military shot dead 3 Palestinian gunmen who infiltrated through a
smuggling tunnel in the Sinai town of Rafah. One policeman was
killed and five others wounded in clashes with supporters of ousted
Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in a Nile Delta city.
   (AFP, 5/6/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â May 8, A jihadist group
that recently emerged in the Gaza Strip claimed a mortar attack on a
base belonging to the Islamist Hamas movement in charge of the
blockaded territory.
   (AFP, 5/8/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â May 13, The Vatican said
it has concluded its first treaty that formally recognizes the State
of Palestine, with an agreement on Catholic Church activities in
areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority. It will be officially
signed by the respective authorities in the near future.
   (Reuters, 5/13/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â May 16, Pope Francis
praised Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as an "angel of peace"
during a meeting at the Vatican that underscored the Holy See's warm
relations with the Palestinians as it prepares to canonize Mariam
Bawardy and Marie Alphonsine Ghattas, two 19th century nuns from the
region.
   (AP, 5/16/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â May 20, Two Israeli
policewomen were injured in annexed east Jerusalem when they were
hit by a car driven by a Palestinian who was then shot dead.
   (AFP, 5/20/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â May 24, In Israel a
Palestinian man (19) stabbed two Israeli teenagers as they walked to
a holy site on the Jewish Shavuot holiday. Officers apprehended the
suspected attacker and the two boys were hospitalized.
   (AP, 5/24/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â May 26, Egypt reopened its
Rafah border crossing with Gaza for two days.
   (AFP, 5/26/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 2, A local Salafist
leader was shot dead in Gaza City during a confrontation with Hamas
security forces as tensions mounted between the Strip's Islamist
rulers and its extremist opponents.
   (AFP, 6/2/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 4, Israeli warplanes
struck multiple militant targets in the Gaza Strip early today in
response to Palestinian rocket fire, but nobody was injured
according to Palestinian security sources.
   (AFP, 6/4/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 5, Hundreds of
Israelis and Palestinians marched in support of a Susya, a West Bank
village slated for demolition, a plan they said epitomizes the
Israeli occupation. Israel's High Court ruled in May that Susya's
340 residents could be relocated and its structures demolished.
   (AFP, 6/5/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 5, A member of the
armed wing of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas died when a
smuggling tunnel collapsed in the Gaza Strip near the Israeli
border.
   (AFP, 6/5/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 6, An Egyptian court
quashed a February decision by another tribunal branding the
Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas a "terrorist" group.
   (AFP, 6/6/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 7, Israeli warplanes
struck Gaza early today for the second time in three days after
cross-border rocket fire by an Islamic extremist group which is
locked in a power struggle with Hamas.
   (AFP, 6/7/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 13, Egypt opened the
Rafah border crossing to allow Palestinians to travel in and out of
the Gaza Strip for the first time in three months.
   (Reuters, 6/13/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 14, An Israeli army
jeep struck and killed a Palestinian in the occupied West Bank, with
the military and locals giving conflicting accounts of the
circumstances.
   (Reuters, 6/14/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 14, Israel's cabinet
approved a proposed law that would enable authorities to force-feed
Palestinian prisoners who are on hunger strike, a practice opposed
by the country's medical association.
   (Reuters, 6/14/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 17, The Palestinian
unity government resigned in a deepening rift with Gaza as the
territory's de facto rulers Hamas held separate, indirect talks with
Israel.
   (AFP, 6/17/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 19, A Palestinian
opened fire on two Israeli men near a West Bank settlement, killing
Danny Gonen (25) and wounding his friend. On July 15 Shin Bet said
five Palestinians have been arrested in relation to the shooting and
that the alleged shooter, Mohammed Abu Shaheen, belonged to an armed
group linked to Fatah.
   (AFP, 6/19/15)(AP, 7/15/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 21, A Palestinian
stabbed and seriously wounded an Israeli border policeman outside
Jerusalem's Old City, with the officer managing to shoot his
attacker, leaving him in a very serious condition.
   (AFP, 6/21/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 22, An independent UN
commission released its report on Operation Protective Edge, finding
evidence that both Israel and Hamas committed war crimes during the
2014 summer war in the Gaza Strip.
   (SSFC, 6/28/15, p.A4)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 24, The Israeli
military carried out an airstrike on a rocket launching device in
the Gaza Strip after it was used by militants to fire on Israel.
   (AP, 6/24/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 26, Hamas authorities
ordered the closure of the offices of Jawwal, the only mobile phone
company operating in the Gaza Strip, accusing it of tax dodging.
   (AFP, 6/26/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 26, Israeli troops
shot and killed a Palestinian man after he opened fire at soldiers
at a military checkpoint in the West Bank.
   (AP, 6/26/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 26, The Vatican signed
a treaty with the "State of Palestine," saying it hoped its legal
recognition of the state would help stimulate peace with Israel.
Israel expressed disappointment.
   (AP, 6/26/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 29, Israel and the
Palestinians promised to investigate alleged war crimes committed by
their forces during the 2014 Gaza war. A Palestinian woman stabbed a
female Israeli soldier in the neck at a checkpoint between Jerusalem
and Bethlehem.
   (Reuters, 6/29/15)(AFP, 6/29/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 30, The
Hamas-appointed attorney general in the Gaza Strip shut down the
offices of the territory's only mobile-phone provider, saying the
company, Jawwal, had not paid its taxes.
   (Reuters, 6/30/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jun 30, A shooting near a
Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank wounded four Israelis,
sparking a manhunt.
   (AFP, 6/30/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 1, Israel's internal
security service said it has arrested 40 Hamas operatives working to
expand the militant Islamic group's reach in the West Bank.
   (AP, 7/1/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 3, Palestinian forces
arrested overnight around 100 Hamas members in the West Bank. An
official said they had intended to carry out attacks against the
Palestinian Authority (PA).
   (AP, 7/3/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 3, Israeli forces shot
and killed a Palestinian teenager in the occupied West Bank as he
and others hurled rocks and stones at an army vehicle.
   (SFC, 7/4/15, p.A4)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 8, A Palestinian
appeals court ruled in favor of maintaining parliamentary immunity
for Mohammed Dahlan (53), a rival to President Mahmoud Abbas. Dahlan
fell out of favor in 2011 and has been charged with corruption.
   (Reuters, 7/8/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 10, In Iran and Iraq
tens of thousands marched in Tehran and Baghdad in annual Quds
(Jerusalem) Day demonstrations in support of Palestinians. Saudi
Arabia this year joined arch-foe Israel as the target for
protesters.
   (AFP, 7/10/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 12, Israel released
Palestinian prisoner Khader Adnan (37). He had staged a 56-day
hunger strike which brought him near death in a protest against the
controversial procedure allowing detainees to be held indefinitely
without charge.
   (AFP, 7/12/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 19, Five
near-simultaneous explosions in Gaza targeted members of the armed
branches of Hamas and Islamic Jihad amid growing tensions between
the Palestinian territory's rulers and extremist opponents.
   (AFP, 7/19/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 21, Khalil Hizran, a
Swede of Palestinian descent, was arrested after flying into Tel
Aviv, and confessed under interrogation to working for Hezbollah. On
August 9 Hizran was indicted on three criminal counts.
   (Reuters, 8/9/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 22, In Israel Mohammed
Ahmed Alauna (21), a Palestinian man, died after he was shot by
Israeli troops during a clash near the town of Jenin.
   (AP, 7/22/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 23, A Palestinian man,
Falah Abu Maria, (53) was killed during a clash between Palestinians
and Israeli troops in the West Bank.
   (AP, 7/23/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 23, Reconstruction
began on the first homes in Gaza since the war with Israel last
summer destroyed some 11,900 homes and damaged some 140,000
dwellings.
   (SFC, 7/24/15, p.A2)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 25, The military wing
of Hamas opened its Gaza summer camp, aimed at providing basic
combat training for 25,000 Palestinians in the embattled strip.
   (AFP, 7/25/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 25, In southern
Lebanon Talal al-Urduni, a senior security official with the
mainstream Palestinian Fatah movement, died in a hail of gunfire
along with his bodyguard after they were intercepted by gunmen near
the Nidaa hospital in a neighborhood of the camp.
   (AP, 7/25/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 27, Israeli police
said Palestinian Mohammed Abu Latifa (19), wanted on suspicion of
planning a militant attack, fell to his death from a rooftop as he
fled from police in the occupied West Bank. A witness said Latifa
was shot dead and had not fallen off the roof.
   (Reuters, 7/27/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 29, Israel gave final
approval for plans to build 300 new homes in a Jewish settlement in
the occupied West Bank, announcing the move as it carried out a
court demolition order against two vacant apartment blocks at the
site.
   (Reuters, 7/29/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 31, Palestinian baby
Ali Dawabsheh (18 months) died and its parents were injured in a
fire started by Israeli settlers in the West Bank village of Doma.
Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon labelled the attack an act of
terrorism. The father of the toddler died August 8 from injuries he
suffered in the attack. The mother was buried on Sep 7 after she
died of her wounds overnight.
   (AFP, 7/31/15)(AFP, 8/8/15)(AFP, 9/7/15)(Econ,
8/8/15, p.40)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Jul 31, Israeli forces
shot Laith Khaldi (14) of the Jalazon refugee camp in the chest
during clashes near the Atara checkpoint. Khaldi died hours later in
hospital. A Palestinian man was killed and another wounded by
Israeli fire when they approached a security fence separating the
Gaza Strip from Israel.
   (AFP, 7/31/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 1, In Israel Laith
al-Khaldi (18) died of wounds after being shot by Israeli troops a
day earlier during a demonstration over the burning death of a
toddler in a fire set by suspected Jewish extremists. Al-Khaldi had
allegedly hurled a fire bomb at police.
   (SSFC, 8/2/15, p.A3)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 6, An explosion ripped
through a house in the southern Gaza Strip killing 4 people and
wounded dozens, but the cause of the blast was unclear.
   (AFP, 8/6/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 9, Israel arrested
several suspects in raids linked to the deadly firebombing of a
Palestinian home and placed alleged Jewish extremists Meir Ettinger
and Eviatar Slonim in a controversial form of detention without
trial.
   (AFP, 8/9/15)(SFC, 8/10/15, p.A3)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 13, A tent was torched
and Hebrew-language graffiti was sprayed at a Palestinian Bedouin
village in the occupied West Bank in what residents and an NGO said
was a suspected attack by Jewish extremists.
   (AFP, 8/13/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 14, In Israel
Palestinian detainee Mohammed Allan (30) was 60 days into his hunger
strike, launched in protest of his detention without charge in an
Israeli jail, when he slipped into unconsciousness. Allan was
arrested in November 2014 and was being held for his activities in
Islamic Jihad.
   (AP, 8/14/15)(AP, 8/15/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 15, Palestinian Rafiq
Taj (21) from Nablus was shot dead by Israeli forces after stabbing
a border policeman in the northern West Bank.
   (AFP, 8/15/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 17, Israel offered to
free Palestinian detainee Mohammed Allan (31), whose two-month
hunger strike has left him in a coma, but only if he goes abroad.
Allan’s lawyer immediately dismissed the offer. Doctors were using
artificial breathing equipment, fluids and vitamins to keep Allan
alive. On August 19 Israel’s Supreme Court suspended the detention
order against Allan after medical tests showed he had suffered brain
damage from the fast. On August 20 Allan ended his hunger strike.
   (AFP, 8/17/15)(SFC, 8/20/15, p.A2)(SFC, 8/21/15,
p.A3)(Econ, 8/22/15, p.41)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 17, A Palestinian man
was shot dead by Israeli police troopers after he stabbed and
lightly wounded one of them at a military checkpoint outside Nablus.
   (Reuters, 8/17/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 19, The UN said
typhoid has broken out among residents of the Yarmouk Palestinian
refugee camp in Syria.
   (Reuters, 8/19/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug 24, A strike by
Palestinian teachers and personnel in Gaza kept more than 200,000
children from returning to school for the new term, as the UN agency
that employs them struggled financially.
   (AFP, 8/24/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Aug, Egypt began digging
18 fisheries along the 9-mile border with Gaza to grow mullet fish
and shrimp and to make digging underground tunnels impossible.
   (SFC, 9/1/15, p.A3)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 3, The Israeli
military said its air force had attacked a Hamas military position
in the Gaza Strip overnight from which gunfire had hit homes in
southern Israel.
   (AFP, 9/3/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 8, The US State
Department announced that Hezbollah spokesman Samir Kuntar along
with Hamas military leaders Yahya Sinwar, Rawhi Mushtaha, and
Muhammed Deif had been added to the specially designated global
terrorists list.
   (AP, 9/8/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 9, Israel outlawed
"Mourabitoon" and "Mourabitaat," two grassroots Palestinian Islamist
groups involved in vocal protests at the flashpoint al Aqsa mosque
compound in Jerusalem against stepped-up visits by religious Jews.
   (Reuters, 9/9/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 10, The US Treasury
Department sanctioned four Hamas officials and financiers and a
Saudi Arabia-based company controlled by one of them for providing
financial support to the Palestinian militant group.
   (Reuters, 9/10/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 14, Israeli police and
Muslims clashed at Jerusalem's flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound
for a second straight day as Jews celebrated their new year and
protesters vowed to protect Islam's third-holiest site.
   (AFP, 9/14/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 15, Israeli forces
stormed Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque compound as they clashed with
Palestinians for the third day straight at the flashpoint site.
   (AP, 9/15/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 18, Palestinians
clashed with Israeli security forces in Jerusalem and the occupied
West Bank after the Islamist movement Hamas called for a "day of
rage" over tensions at the Al-Aqsa mosque site.
   (AFP, 9/18/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 19, Israel carried out
air strikes in the Gaza Strip after Palestinian militants there
fired rockets into southern Israel.
   (Reuters, 9/19/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 22, A Palestinian
militant (23) died overnight when a bomb he was trying to throw at
Israeli forces blew up near the West Bank city of Hebron. The
Islamic Jihad militant group named him as Diyaa Abdul Halim
Talahmeh, claimed him as one of its members and said he had been
shot dead by the soldiers. Hours later Israeli troops shot and
wounded a Palestinian woman (18) as she tried to stab a soldier. A
Palestinian witness the next day disputed the Israeli army's account
of her shooting.
   (Reuters, 9/22/15)(AP, 9/23/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 24, Israel approved
harsher measures to combat the practice of stone throwing amid a
recent surge in Palestinian violence. A Palestinian man died from
wounds after being shot by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank last
week.
   (SFC, 9/25/15, p.A2)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 27, Clashes erupted
between Palestinians and Israeli security forces at Jerusalem's
flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound, with further trouble feared in
the week ahead as Jews celebrate the Sukkot holiday.
   (AFP, 9/27/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 28, Palestinians
clashed with Israeli riot police after barricading themselves inside
a mosque at Jerusalem's most sensitive holy site, throwing firebombs
and rocks at officers outside during a major Jewish holiday.
   (AP, 9/28/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Sep 30, Israeli air raids
hit the Gaza Strip in response to a rocket fired from the
Palestinian enclave that was intercepted by the Iron Dome missile
defense system.
   (AFP, 9/30/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 1, In the West Bank a
drive-by shooting by suspected Palestinian gunmen killed a Jewish
settler couple driving home with their children near the Palestinian
village of Beit Furik.
   (AP, 10/2/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 3, Ten Palestinians
were wounded by Israeli fire in the West Bank during a raid by
troops hunting the murderers of a Jewish settler couple. A senior
Hamas official called on Palestinians to take up arms to "defend"
the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem after a rise in Jewish
visitors to the flashpoint site.
   (AFP, 10/3/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 4, Israel barred
Palestinians from Jerusalem's Old City as tensions mounted following
attacks that killed 2 Israelis and wounded a child. The Palestinian
Red Crescent said clashes with Israeli security forces and Jewish
settlers have left 77 Palestinians wounded from both live rounds and
rubber bullets over the past 24 hours. Israeli troops shot dead an
18-year-old Palestinian during clashes in Tulkarem in the West Bank.
   (AFP, 10/4/15)(AFP, 10/5/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 6, Israel demolished
the houses of two Palestinians involved in attacks last year,
reverting to a controversial measure it claims is a deterrent.
   (AFP, 10/6/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 7, A Palestinian woman
(18) stabbed an Israeli near a contested shrine in Jerusalem, and
was then shot and wounded by the injured man. A suspected
Palestinian militant stabbed and wounded an Israeli soldier,
snatched his gun and was then shot dead by special forces. PM
Benjamin Netanyahu canceled a visit to Germany because of the
precarious security situation.
   (Reuters, 10/7/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 8, In Israel an Arab
attacker stabbed four Israelis with a screwdriver before a soldier
shot and killed him amid fresh violence that prompted PM Netanyahu
to bar Cabinet ministers and lawmakers from the Al-Aqsa mosque, a
sensitive Jerusalem holy site at the heart of the latest tensions.
Altogether seven Israelis were stabbed in four separate incidents
across the country.
   (AP, 10/8/15)   (Reuters,
10/9/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 9, Israeli troops shot
dead 5 Palestinians in protests in Gaza. In southern Israel a Jewish
man stabbed and wounded four Arabs in Dimona in an apparent reprisal
attack for Palestinian violence. Hours later, a 14-year-old Jewish
boy was stabbed and wounded by a Palestinian in the Old City of
Jerusalem. A woman believed to be Palestinian tried to stab a guard
at a bus station in north Israel, and a Palestinian stabbed a
policeman near a Jewish settlement in the West Bank. The policeman's
attacker was shot dead.  Â
   (Reuters, 10/9/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 10, Israeli security
forces shot dead 2 Palestinians aged 12 and 15 in protests along
Gaza's border fence. The Palestinian Prisoner Club said Israeli
security forces have arrested approximately 400 Palestinians since
the October 1 outbreak of violence in the occupied West Bank and
annexed east Jerusalem. A Palestinian teen stabbed two Jews before
being shot dead by police by the Damascus Gate in east Jerusalem.
Hours later Palestinian Kafr A (19) stabbed two police officers at
the same location before being shot dead by security forces.
   (Reuters, 10/10/15)(AFP, 10/10/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 11, An Israeli air
strike in the Gaza Strip in response to rocket fire killed a
pregnant woman and her toddler. Palestinian Ahmed Sharake (13) was
killed during clashes in Ramallah.
   (AFP, 10/11/15)(AFP, 10/12/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 12, In Israel a
Palestinian identified as Mustafa al-Khatib (18) attacked a
policeman with a knife at an entrance to Jerusalem's Old City and
was shot dead by security forces. A female attacker stabbed an
Israeli policeman near the force's headquarters in Jerusalem and was
shot and wounded by the victim. Two "terrorists" stabbed two
Israelis in the east Jerusalem settlement of Pisgat Zeev, with one
attacker -- reported to be 16 years old -- killed and the other shot
and seriously wounded.
   (AP, 10/12/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 13, Palestinian men
armed with knives and a gun killed at least 3 people and wounded
several others in a string of attacks in Jerusalem and near Tel Aviv
on a "Day of Rage" declared by Palestinian groups. The leaders of
Israel's Arab community called for a commercial strike in their
towns and villages.
   (Reuters, 10/13/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 14, Israel started
setting up roadblocks in Palestinian neighborhoods in East Jerusalem
and deploying soldiers across the country to combat a wave of
Palestinian knife attacks. A "terrorist" attempted to stab a
security guard at an entrance to Jerusalem's Old City but was shot
before harming anyone.
   (Reuters, 10/14/15)(AFP, 10/14/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 16, Palestinians set
fire to a Jewish shrine in the occupied West Bank, believed to house
the tomb of Joseph. An attacker disguised as a journalist stabbed an
Israeli soldier. Violence also broke out in the Gaza Strip when
Palestinians approached the border fence with Israel. Two
Palestinians died after being shot by the Israeli military in the
Gaza Strip.
   (Reuters, 10/16/15)(AFP, 10/16/15)(SFC, 10/17/15,
p.A2)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 17, Four Palestinians
were shot dead and a fifth was wounded in attacks on Israelis in
east Jerusalem and the West Bank.
   (AFP, 10/18/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 18, Israel rejected a
proposal to send international observers to a flashpoint holy site
in a bid to calm unrest. At least four Israeli cities, including Tel
Aviv, temporarily banned Arab laborers from working in their schools
as they struggle to calm public fears fueled by the worst surge of
Palestinian street attacks in years. An attacker, who police said
was a Bedouin citizen of Israel, entered the heavily guarded station
armed with a pistol and shot dead a soldier before snatching his
rifle and opening fire on the crowd, wounding nine people.Â
Police shot the assailant dead. Eritrean migrant Mila Abtum died
after he was shot by a security guard and kicked by an angry Israeli
crowd that mistook him for a gunman.
   (AFP, 10/18/15)(Reuters, 10/18/15)(Reuters,
10/19/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 20, Israeli fire
killed Palestinian Ahmed al-Serhi (27) during clashes on the Gaza
Strip border. An Israeli soldier and a civilian were injured after a
Palestinian attempted to ram his car into a group of pedestrians in
the West Bank, then exited with a knife and was shot dead.
   (AFP, 10/20/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 21, An Israeli female
soldier (19) was wounded in a stabbing near a West Bank settlement
while the attacker was shot dead. Hours later five Israeli soldiers
were run over by a Palestinian driver in the West Bank. A Jewish
Israeli man (28) was shot and killed in a scuffle with Israeli
soldiers who suspected he was a Palestinian attacker. Two alleged
Palestinian attackers attempted to board a bus carrying children
west of Jerusalem, and stabbed an Israeli before being shot.
   (AFP, 10/21/15)(AP, 10/22/15)(AFP,
10/22/15)(SSFC, 10/25/15, p.A8)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 24, A Palestinian was
shot dead after he tried to stab an Israeli security guard at the
Jalameh border crossing.
   (Reuters, 10/24/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 24, In Jordan US
Secretary of State John Kerry and Palestinian President Mahmoud
Abbas met In Amman, and voiced hope they might find a way to ease
the Israel-Palestinian tensions but offered no details. Kerry will
also met King Abdullah of Jordan, who is custodian of the al-Aqsa
mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City.
   (AP, 10/24/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 25, A Palestinian
woman was shot dead while trying to knife Israeli border police and
two Israelis were wounded in attempted stabbings as PM Benjamin
Netanyahu agreed to install more security cameras at the flashpoint
Al-Aqsa mosque compound in a bid to defuse tensions.
   (AFP, 10/2515)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 26, Palestinian
teenager Saed al-Atrash (19) tried to stab an Israeli soldier in the
southern West Bank city of Hebron and was shot dead.
   (AFP, 10/2615)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 27, American-Israeli
educator Richard Lakin (76), wounded in a Palestinian stabbing and
shooting attack on a Jerusalem bus on Oct 13, died of his injuries.
His death raised to 11 the number of Israelis killed in Palestinian
attacks.
   (Reuters, 10/27/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 28, A Palestinian in
the occupied West Bank city of Hebron attempted to stab an Israeli
soldier and was shot dead.
   (AFP, 10/28/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 29, Israeli security
forces shot dead 2 Palestinian assailants in Hebron in the occupied
West Bank following knife attacks on Israeli soldiers.
   (Reuters, 10/29/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 30, A Palestinian (23)
stabbed and lightly wounded an American tourist in Jerusalem. The
assailant was shot and severely wounded. In Hebron hundreds of
youths lobbed stones, firebombs and burning tires at Israeli
soldiers who hit back with tear gas and rubber bullets. In Ramallah
a Palestinian hurled a Molotov cocktail at border guards and was
shot and wounded.
   (AFP, 10/30/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 30, The Palestinian
Health Ministry said an eight-month-old baby had died in the West
Bank as result of inhaling tear gas fired by the Israeli military in
the area.
   (Reuters, 10/31/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 30, Israel press
reported that the government has retroactively legalized some 800
homes in four settlements in the occupied West Bank. The decision
was taken two weeks ago.
   (AFP, 10/30/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Oct 31, Israeli security
forces shot and killed a Palestinian (18) who ran at them with a
knife in the occupied West Bank.
   (Reuters, 10/31/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 1, Israeli soldiers
shot dead a knife-wielding Palestinian who tried to stab them in the
West Bank city of Hebron.
   (AP, 11/1/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 2, A Palestinian teen
(19) from Hebron stabbed and wounded three Israelis near Tel Aviv
before being arrested. Two of the victims were in severe condition.
A Palestinian stabbed and wounded a 70-year-old man in northern
Israel before being shot by officers.
   (AP, 11/2/15)(AFP, 11/2/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 3, The Israeli
military raided the Palestinian Al Hurria radio station in the West
Bank and confiscated equipment it said was being used to broadcast
calls to attack Israelis.
   (AP, 11/3/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 4, A Palestinian
driver ran over and injured an Israeli border policeman near the
West Bank city of Hebron and was then killed by Israeli forces.
   (AFP, 11/4/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 5, A Palestinian
attempted to stab an Israeli at a junction in the occupied West Bank
and was shot.
   (AFP, 11/5/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 6, Israeli soldiers
shot and killed a female Palestinian motorist (73) who the military
said tried to run them over in the occupied West Bank. A
knife-wielding assailant wounded an Israeli civilian. The attacker
fled the scene and was being searched for. Israeli forces shot and
killed Palestinian Salame Abu Jamaa (23) during a protest east of
Khan Yunis. Back to back shootings in Hebron wounded three Israelis.
   (Reuters, 11/6/15)(SFC, 11/7/15, p.A4)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 8, A Palestinian
driver was shot dead after ramming his car into a bus stop near the
Jewish settlement of Tapuach in the West Bank, injuring four people.
A Palestinian woman stabbed a security guard near a West Bank
settlement and was shot by the victim.
   (Reuters, 11/8/15)(AFP, 11/8/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 10, Israeli security
guards shot dead a Palestinian who ran towards them with a knife
near Jerusalem's Old City, shortly after two Palestinian boys, aged
12-13, stabbed a guard on a tram nearby. One boy was seriously
wounded. Police said the other was taken into custody.
   (Reuters, 11/10/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 11, Dozens of
Palestinians were wounded in West Bank clashes with Israeli soldiers
on the anniversary of the death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
   (AP, 11/11/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 11, The European Union
backed the labelling of products from Israeli settlements, sparking
fresh tensions with a furious Israel, which said the move could harm
the peace process with the Palestinians.
   (AFP, 11/11/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 12, Israeli undercover
forces raided a hospital in the West Bank, shooting dead a
Palestinian during an attempt to detain another man suspected of
carrying out a stabbing. The raid was carried out to detain Azzam
al-Shalalda (27) who was suspected of stabbing an Israeli settler
two weeks ago in the West Bank.
   (Reuters, 11/12/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 13, A Palestinian
gunman killed an Israel father and his son near the Jewish
settlement of Otneil in the southern West Bank. In Hebron Israeli
troops shot dead a Palestinian involved in stone-throwing clashes. A
2nd Palestinian was killed in clashes near Ramallah.
   (Reuters, 11/13/15)(SFC, 11/14/15, p.A5)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 14, Israeli troops
razed the West Bank homes of four Palestinians accused of attacking
Israelis, pressing ahead with a controversial policy of punitive
demolitions after weeks of deadly unrest. In Hebron 19 Palestinians
were hospitalized after being shot in clashes with Israeli security
forces.
   (AFP, 11/14/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 16, Israeli forces
shot dead 2 Palestinians, ages 21 and 28, when heavy clashes erupted
during an operation to destroy the West Bank home of Muhammad Abu
Shaheen, a Palestinian who the army says fatally shot an Israeli
motorist this summer.
   (AFP, 11/16/15)(SFC, 11/17/15, p.A3)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 19, In Israel a
knife-wielding Palestinian man fatally stabbed 2 Israeli men in a
southern Tel Aviv office building before being apprehended. 3
people, including one Israeli, one Palestinian and an American, were
killed and six wounded in a shooting and vehicle attack in the West
Bank.
   (AP, 11/19/15)(SFC, 11/20/15, p.A4)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 21, The Israeli
military said it shut down the El-Khalil radio station in Hebron
overnight and confiscated equipment used to broadcast calls to
attack Israelis. Four Israelis were stabbed and wounded in the
country's south, while violence continued to roil the West Bank
ahead of US Secretary of State John Kerry's visit next week.
   (AP, 11/21/15)(AFP, 11/21/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 22, An Israeli woman
(20) was stabbed to death and 3 Palestinian attackers were killed in
a series of incidents in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. A
Palestinian driving a taxi attempted to ram into civilians in the
West Bank and charged at them with a knife before being shot dead.
   (Reuters, 11/22/15)(AFP, 11/22/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 23, A Palestinian
stabbed and killed an Israeli at a petrol station in the
Israeli-occupied West Bank and in Jerusalem two Palestinian girls
attacked and slightly wounded an elderly man with scissors before a
policeman shot them both, killing one.
   (Reuters, 11/23/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 25, A Palestinian
stabbed and critically wounded an Israeli soldier and was shot dead
by troops in the Israeli-occupied West Bank at a road junction near
a cluster of Palestinian villages and Jewish settlements.
   (Reuters, 11/25/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 26, Two Palestinians
were shot and killed in separate clashes with Israeli security
forces in the West Bank as Israel announced plans to strengthen a
fence near the flashpoint city of Hebron in an effort to contain a
two-month spate of violence.
   (AP, 11/26/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 26, Three Palestinians
were shot and killed in separate clashes with Israeli security
forces in the West Bank as Israel announced plans to strengthen a
fence near the flashpoint city of Hebron in an effort to contain a
two-month spate of violence.
   (AP, 11/26/15)(SFC, 11/27/15, p.A3)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Nov 29, A Palestinian
stabbed an Israeli police officer in Jerusalem before being shot
dead by security forces.
   (AP, 11/29/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 1, Two Palestinians
attempted to stab an Israeli soldier and a pedestrian in separate
attacks near Jewish settlements in the West Bank, but both attackers
were shot dead.
   (AFP, 12/1/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 2, Israel demolished
the home of a Palestinian who killed two officers and wounded
several others in an attack last year.
   (AP, 12/2/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 3, A Palestinian
stabbed and wounded an Israeli policeman near Jerusalem's Old City
before being shot dead.
   (AFP, 12/3/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 3, Egypt opened its
border with the Gaza Strip for the first time in months, drawing
thousands of Palestinians who crowded the Rafah border crossing in
hopes of leaving the coastal territory.
   (AP, 12/3/15)
2015Â Â Â Â Â Â Dec 3, Israeli authorities
said they had arrested a number of alleged Jewish extremists over
the July 31 firebombing of a Palestinian home that killed a toddler
and his parents in an attack that drew international condemnation.
   (AFP, 12/3/15)
Go to Palestine
2016
Go to
http://www.timelinesdb.com
Subject = Palestine
End of file.