Timeline Israel 1996-2004
Return to home
1996 Jan 6, In
Gaza Yehiyeh Ayyash, a Hamas bomb-maker known as "the engineer" was
assassinated by an explosives-rigged cellular phone. The operation was
attributed to Israel.
(SFC, 4/2/98, p.A12)(SFC, 3/23/04, p.A11)
1996 Feb 25, In separate attacks 2
Palestinian suicide bombers blew up a bus in Jerusalem and a soldiers
hitchhiking post in the coastal city of Ashkelon. 23 Israelis were
killed, as well as 2 Americans and a Palestinian. More than 80 people
were wounded. Hamas took responsibility.
(WSJ, 3/6/96, p. A-15)(G&M, 7/31/97, p.A8)
1996 Feb 26, An Arab American
drove a rental car into a Jerusalem bus stop and killed one Israeli
while wounded 23. The driver appeared to be acting on his own but Hamas
took responsibility.
(G&M, 7/31/97, p.A8)
1996 Feb, A military cooperation
agreement was signed between Israel and Turkey. The agreement allows
for joint military training, exchanges between military academies and
participation of observers in each other’s exercises.
(SFC, 4/13/96, p.A-10)
1996 Mar 3, Israel declared
all-out war on the militant group Hamas after a bus bomb in Jerusalem
killed 19 people, including the bomber, the third such suicide attack
in eight days.
(WSJ, 3/4/96, p. A-1)(AP, 3/3/01)
1996 Mar 4, A suicide bomber blew
himself up outside a Tel Aviv shopping center, killing 13 people in the
fourth deadly attack in nine days.
(WSJ, 3/5/96, p. A-1)(AP, 3/4/01)
1996 Mar 10, Hezbollah guerrillas
launched a wave of bomb and rocket attacks on Israeli troops in south
Lebanon.
(AP, 3/10/01)
1996 Mar 21, A suicide bomber
killed himself and 3 Israeli women in Tel Aviv.
(G&M, 7/31/97, p.A8)
1996 Mar 30, Hezbollah guerillas
fired 30 Katyusha rockets across the Lebanon border into northern
Israel. Israel responded by shelling 15 Shiite Muslim villages.
(WSJ, 4/1/96, p.A-1)
1996 Mar, Israel was to have
pulled out of Hebron, but postponed the move after a series of
Palestinian suicide bombings.
(SFC, 12/25/96, p.A10)
1996 Apr 11, Israeli aircraft
attacked a Hezbollah command center in Beirut in retaliation for recent
rocket attacks on northern Israel.
(WSJ, 4/12/96, p.A-1)
1996 Apr 14, Israel's four-day-old
military campaign against Hezbollah guerrillas continued, with aircraft
bombarding guerrilla strongholds in Beirut and southern Lebanon,
provoking guerrilla vows to turn northern Israel into a "fiery hell."
(AP, 4/14/97)
1996 Apr 18, A base at Qana,
Lebanon, manned by Fijian UNIFIL troops was shelled by Israel and led
to 75 (revised to 106) civilian deaths. A later UN investigation found
the remains of 15 Israeli shells that indicated a targeted assault.
Israel called the attack an "unfortunate mistake."
(WSJ, 4/19/96, p.A-1)(SFC, 5/7/96, p.A-8)(AP,
4/18/97)(AP, 7/26/06)
1996 Apr 22, After 11 days of
focusing on Hezbollah guerrillas, Israeli warplanes turned to a new
target in Lebanon, attacking the heavily fortified base of the Popular
Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
(AP, 4/22/97)
1996 Apr 25, US Sec. of State
Warren Christopher helped produce a cease-fire between Israel and the
Hezbollah guerillas in Lebanon. In the “April Understanding” Israel,
Lebanon, France, Syria and the US agreed that Lebanese and Israeli
civilians would not be targeted in Hezbollah’s drive to end Israel’s
occupation.
(WSJ, 5/6/96, p.A-13)(SFC, 7/31/06, p.A7)
1996 Apr 26, After 16 days of
bloodshed, Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas pledged to end the worst
fighting in the Mideast in three years, agreeing to a US-brokered truce.
(AP, 4/26/01)
1996 Apr, The 16-day Grapes of
Wrath offensive against pro-Iran Lebanese militia was waged.
(SFC, 12/13/96, p.B1)
1996 May 3, A preliminary UN
report says that Israel fired knowingly on a southern Lebanon UN
compound on April 18 after pro-Iranian guerrillas sought refuge in the
area.
(SFC, 5/4/96, p.A-8)
1996 May 5, Israel and the
Palestinians began the final stage of their peace talks in Taba, Egypt.
(AP, 5/5/97)
1996 May 13, David Boim (17), an
American, was standing at a bus stop in the West Bank with fellow
yeshiva students when two Palestinian terrorists drove by in a car,
shot him in the head, and killed him. In 2004 a US court awarded his
parents $156 million against US-based Muslim activists. In 2007 a
federal appeals court overturned the judgement.
(www.danielpipes.org/article/334)(SFC, 12/29/07,
p.A3)
1996 May 17, Israeli troops shot
and arrested Hassan Salameh. He was accused of organizing 3 bombings
this year that killed 43 and wounded 91. His family lives in the Gaza
Strip and claimed to have no idea of their sons activities.
(SFC, 5/21/96, p.A-11)
1996 May 29, Israelis voted for
the first time to choose a prime minister directly. The Nat’l.
Religious Party went from 6 to 10 seats in parliament, the Shas, a
strictly Orthodox party of Sephardic Jews, also went from 6 to 10
seats. The United Torah Judaism, an ardently Orthodox party of
Ashkenazi Jews retained its 4 seats. Benjamin Netanyahu, Likud party
leader, won the Prime Ministership over Prime Minister Shimon Peres in
a very close election.
(WSJ, 5/24/96, p.A-1)(SFC, 5/30/96, p.A8)(AP,
5/29/01)
1996 May 31, Israeli warplanes
attacked a Hezbollah base in eastern Lebanon in retaliation for an
ambush that killed four Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon.
(SFC, 5/31/96, A16)
1996 Jun 9, This marks
Independence Day and this year marks the 3000th anniversary of
Jerusalem.
(SFC, 6/3/96, p.A19)
1996 Jun 10, Hezbollah guerrillas
killed 5 Israeli soldiers and wounded 6 in a dawn ambush in south
Lebanon.
(SFC, 6/10/96, p.A1)
1996 Jun 18, Netanyahu was
inaugurated as Israeli Prime Minister.
(MC, 6/18/02)
1996 Jun 24, Netanyahu’s
government approved another Jewish neighborhood in East Jerusalem.
(SFC, 6/25/96, p.A10)
1996 Jun 26, Palestinian
guerrillas ambushed Israeli soldiers in the Jordan Valley. They killed
3 and wounded 2.
(SFC, 6/27/96, p.A10)
1996 Jun, Netanyahu promised the
Orthodox that his government would pass legislation affirming that only
Orthodox rabbis can perform conversions in Israel.
(SFC,10/15/97, p.C2)
1996 Jun, Yaron Ungar, an American
citizen, and his Israeli wife, Efrat, were killed as they drove home
from a wedding in Israel. In 2003 a US federal judge ruled the
Palestinian militant group Hamas must pay more than $116 million for
murdering two Jewish settlers near the West Bank seven years ago. The
lawsuit was filed in 2000 by David Strachman, a Providence attorney
designated by an Israeli court to manage their estate.
(AP, 7/3/03)
1996 Jul 2, Israeli planes
rocketed a Palestinian guerrilla base in Lebanon. The base belonged to
the Palestinian National Liberation Organization, a pro-Syrian group
under Col. Abu Musa, that split from the Fatah movement of Yasser
Arafat in the 1980s.
(SFC, 7/3/96, p.C3)
1996 Jul 10, In a tough speech to
the US Congress laying out conditions for Mideast negotiations, Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demanded that Syria and the
Palestinians stop terrorists from attacking Israel.
(AP, 7/10/97)
1996 Jul 15, 135,000 settlers live
in the West Bank and 5,000 live in Gaza. About 160,000 Israelis live in
east Jerusalem, captured from Jordan in 1967 and then annexed. New
settlements were being planned.
(SFC, 7/15/96, p.A10)
1996 Aug 27, Israeli police tore
down a youth center in Jerusalem’s Old City saying that it was
illegally built with money from Arafat’s Palestinian Authority.
(SFC, 8/28/96, p.A8)
1996 Aug 27, Yair Rosenbloom
(1944-1996), songwriter and composer, died of cancer. He composed the
Song to Peace sung by Prime Minister Rabin just before his
assassination.
(SFC, 8/30/96, p.E5)
1996 Sep 4, Israeli Prime Minister
Netanyahu met with Palestinian leader Arafat and agreed to pursue a
peace settlement.
(WSJ, 9/5/96, p.1)
1996 Sep 12, Israel lost 12
commandos in southern Lebanon.
(SFC, 5/24/00, p.A15)
1996 Sep 25, Violence began in
Jerusalem when Israelis opened a tunnel along the west wall of the old
city in opposition to Palestinian sentiments. Seven Arabs were killed.
Resulting riots left 69 Palestinians dead along with 16 Israelis.
(SFC, 9/26/96, p.A10)(AP, 9/25/97)(Econ, 2/17/07,
p.48)
1996 Oct. 1, Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat met at
the White House.
(AP, 10/1/97)
1996 Nov 1, Nahum Kurman, the
security chief of a Jewish settlement, was charged for killing
11-year-old Palestinian, Hilmi Shousha. Kurman claimed the boy fell and
banged his head. He was sentenced in 2001 to 6 months of community
service and a $17,000 fine.
(SFC, 11/2/96, p.C1)(SFC, 1/24/01, p.A13)
1996 Nov 19, Two Israeli border
policemen were arrested after a videotape showed them beating and
kicking Palestinian laborers.
(SFC, 11/20/96, p.C2)
1996 Dec 11, A mother and son were
killed and 5 others wounded when Palestinian militants raked a
settler’s car with gunfire in the West Bank. The Popular Front for the
Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a Damascus based faction that opposed
the PLO’s peace with Israel was blamed. It was the 28th anniversary of
the PFLP.
(SFC, 12/12/96, p.C2)(SFC, 12/13/96,
p.B2)
1996 Dec 18, Palestinian police
arrested 3 members of a militant group that killed 2 Jewish settlers on
Dec 11.
(WSJ, 12/19/96, p.A1)
1996 Dec 26, A top army official
said that the focus of military training in 1997 will be to prepare for
a possible war with Syria.
(WSJ, 12/27/96, p.A1)
1996 David Bankier (1947-2010),
prominent Israeli Holocaust scholar, authored "The Germans and the
Final Solution: Public Opinion Under Nazism."
(AP, 2/28/10)
1996 The documentary film
“Fragments * Jerusalem,” won the won a special prize at the Jerusalem
Int’l. Film Festival. It was made over 10 years by director Ron Havilio.
(SFEC, 4/12/98, DB
p.55)(www.havilio.com/jerusalem/index.php)
1996 Ariel Sharon was named the
infrastructure minister in the Netanyahu government.
(SFC, 10/10/98, p.A8)
1996 Instant messaging was created
by the Israeli company Mirabilis.
(SSFC, 7/6/03, p.E3)
1997 Jan 1, An off-duty Israeli
soldier, Noam Friedman, with a history of mental problems opened fire
on a crowded vegetable market in Hebron, wounding 5 [7] people and
touching off a stone-throwing demonstration by angry Palestinians.
(SFC, 1/1/97, p.A1)(AP, 1/1/98)
1997 Jan 7, The Hebron Protocol or
Hebron Agreement began and was concluded from January 15 to January 17,
1997 between Israel, represented by PM Benjamin Netanyahu, and the
Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), represented by PLO Chairman
Yasser Arafat, under the supervision of US Secretary of State Warren
Christopher, for redeployment of Israeli military forces in Hebron.
Palestinian authorities gained control of 80% of Hebron.
(SFC, 12/4/08, p.A27)
1997 Jan 7, The Jerusalem Prize
for literature was awarded to Spanish author Jorge Semprun (b.1923).
His works include "The Long Voyage," "Literature for Life," and the
screenplays for the Costas Gavras films "Z" and "The Confession."
(SFC, 1/9/96, p.E3)
1997 Jan 8, Warplanes were sent on
2 raids to Lebanon after a Katyusha rocket hit northern Israel.
(WSJ, 1/9/97, p.A1)
1997 Jan 9, A pair of pipe bombs
were exploded in Tel Aviv and 13 people were injured.
(SFC, 1/10/96, p.A14)
1997 Jan 14, The US mediated an
agreement was reached on Hebron. Palestinian police would be allowed to
carry limited-range weapons in buffer zones between them and Jewish
settlers. Israel committed to reopening a central road and Palestinian
market.
(USAT, 1/15/97, p.9A)(SFEC, 10/25/98, p.A17)
1997 Jan 15, The Israeli cabinet
approved the Hebron accord 11-7. The Palestinian cabinet approved the
accord by a wide margin.
(WSJ, 1/16/97, p.A1)
1997 Jan 16, Israeli soldiers
dismantled their military headquarters in Hebron, marking the beginning
of the end of Israel's 30-year-old rule in the West Bank city. A 5th of
the city where 500 militant settlers live will maintain a force of some
2,500.
(SFC, 1/17/97, p.A12)(AP, 1/16/98)
1997 Jan 27, Israeli soldiers
removed 45 Bedouin families of the Jahalin Bedouin tribe from land east
of Jerusalem that they had occupied for decades due to the expansion of
the Maale Adumim Jewish settlement.
(SFC, 1/28/97, p.A8)
1997 Jan 30, A roadside bomb in
southern Lebanon killed 3 Israeli soldiers.
(SFC, 1/31/97, p.A15)
1997 Feb 4, Two Israeli
helicopters collided at the Shaar Yeshuv kibbutz and 73 soldiers were
killed.
(WSJ, 2/5/97, p.A1)
1997 Feb 19, Leo Rosten (88),
writer, humorist (Joys of Yiddish), died.
(MC, 2/19/02)
1997 Feb 23, PM Netanyahu
hired a lawyer as he faced charges of participating in a deal to quash
corruption charges against Aryeh Deri, the leader of the religious Shas
party, in order to get the party’s support for the Hebron agreement.
(WSJ, 2/24/97, p.A1)(SFC, 2/25/97, p.a12)
1997 Feb 26, Israel's Netanyahu
cabinet approved the construction of 6,500 homes for Israelis in Arab
East Jerusalem.
(WSJ, 2/27/97, p.A1)(AP, 2/26/98)
1997 Mar 6, Israel approved
turning over 9% of the West Bank outside major towns to Palestinian
control.
(WSJ, 3/7/97, p.A1)
1997 Mar 16, In Beit Shemesh,
Israel, Jordan's King Hussein knelt in mourning with the families of
seven Israeli schoolgirls gunned down by a Jordanian soldier.
(AP, 3/16/98)(SFC, 2/6/99, p.A10)
1997 Mar 18, Construction began on
the disputed Jerusalem housing project.
(WSJ, 3/19/97, p.A1)
1997 Mar 21, In Tel Aviv, Israel,
a Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up on a terrace of an outdoor
restaurant and killed 3 Israeli women and injured 46.
(SFC, 3/22/97, p.A1)(AP, 3/21/02)
1997 Mar 22, Israeli troops fired
live ammunition at Arab protestors in Hebron and injured about 100
Palestinians.
(SFEC, 3/23/97, p.A13)
1997 Apr 16, Police in Israel
recommended indicting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for breach of
trust in an influence-trading scandal. Prosecutors later decided not to
pursue charges against Netanyahu, citing a lack of proof.
(AP, 4/16/98)
1997 Apr 17, In Israel Chaim
Herzog, former president (1983-1993), soldier, spymaster, barrister and
author, died at age 78 in Tel Aviv. His books included "The War of
Atonement," about the 1973 war, and "Israel’s Finest Hour," about the
1967 Six-Day war.
(SFC, 4/18/97, p.E2)(AP, 4/17/98)(MC, 4/17/02)
1997 Apr 20, Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu escaped indictment in an influence-peddling
scandal, with prosecutors saying they lacked evidence.
(AP, 4/20/98)
1997 Apr 25, In Israel soldiers
found the bodies of 2 teenage girls stabbed to death in the Wadi kelt
ravine near Jerusalem.
(SFC, 4/26/97, p.A12)
1997 Jun 16, Israeli soldiers
wounded 38 Palestinians in the 3rd day of protests at Hebron.
(WSJ, 6/17/97, p.A1)
1997 Jun 24, Prime Minister
Netanyahu survived a no-confidence vote in parliament through some last
minute deals.
(SFC, 6/25/97, p.A8)
1997 Jun 30, This day marked the
deadline on passage of a new law that withdraws recognition of
non-Orthodox conversions performed in Israel. Orthodox parties
threatened to withdraw from the government if the law was not passed.
(SFEC, 6/1/97, p.D1)
1997 Jul 1, Two Israeli soldiers
were injured by a pipe bomb and 15 Palestinians were wounded by rubber
bullets in Hebron in disturbances after an Israeli women, Tatiana
Susskin (25), distributed leaflets with the Prophet Mohammed depicted
as a pig stomping on the Koran.
(SFC, 7/2/97, p.A8)(SFC, 7/5/97, p.A10)
1997 Jul 14, A footbridge over the
Yarkon River collapsed while being crossed by the Australian delegation
to the 15th Maccabiah games. Two died immediately in the accident and 2
died later from complications possibly caused by the pollution in the
river. The games are held every 4 years for Jewish athletes. The bridge
was thrown up in less than a month with no blueprint or foundation. 5
Israelis were convicted in 2000 for criminal negligence. 4 officials
were sentenced to prison terms from 6-21 months.
(SFC, 8/11/97, p.A6)(SFC, 4/18/00, p.A10)(SFC,
6/6/00, p.A16)
1997 Jul 20, Palestinian security
forces arrested 4 Palestinian police officers who were accused of
planning to attack Jewish settlers. Israel had arrested 4 Palestinian
policemen a week earlier for planned attacks at the settlement of Har
Bracha.
(SFC, 7/21/97, p.A8)
1997 Jul 30, Two men bombed
Jerusalem's most crowded outdoor market, killing themselves and 16
others. Following the suicide bombing in Israel that killed 15 people,
79 Palestinians were arrested.
(SFC, 8/2/97, p.A8)(AP, 7/30/98)
1997 Aug 1, Israel withheld $25
million in tax revenues from the Palestinian Authority, which made the
Authority unable to meet its payroll.
(SFC, 8/4/97, p.A8)
1997 Aug 8, Fighting broke out on
the Israel-Lebanon border when guerrillas fired rockets into northern
Israel and Israeli warplanes struck back. 13 people have died since Aug
4 when Israeli commandos set off bombs behind the front line killing 3
guerrilla field commanders and 2 fighters.
(SFC, 8/9/97, p.A8)
1997 Aug 11, It was reported that
mobsters were in control of gambling, prostitution and money laundering
rings in the resort city of Netanya. Seven gang killings in the last 18
months were reported and protection money was demanded from stall
holders and shop owners.
(SFC, 8/11/97, p.A6)
1997 Aug 18, Militiamen under the
South Lebanon Army, a key ally of Israel, shelled the port city of
Sidon and killed at least 6 people while injuring over 3 dozen. In
apparent retaliation northern Israel was hit by dozens of Katyusha
rockets fired from Lebanon.
(SFC, 8/19/97, p.A8)
1997 Aug 20, Israeli jets struck
deep in Lebanon and bombed a guerrilla base and a power plant supplying
electricity to Sidon.
(WSJ, 8/21/97, p.A1)
1997 Aug 26, It was reported that
Israel planned to proceed with the building of a dam on the Yarmuk
River. The territory is claimed by Syria.
(SFC, 8/26/97, p.A10)
1997 Aug 26, It was announced that
researchers at Johns Hopkins had found a gene that causes colon cancer
in some people of Jewish ancestry.
(WSJ, 8/26/97, p.A1)
1997 Aug 27, It was reported that
a 3-part expose in the Israeli Maariv newspaper alleged that gameshow
host Dudu Topaz was involved in rigging the winners in the Mar 30 show
"First in Comedy."
(SFC, 8/26/97, p.E7)(WSJ, 8/28/97, p.A1)
1997 Aug 27 Israel lifted a
month-long blockade of Bethlehem imposed after a suicide bombing July
30 that killed 16 people.
(WSJ, 8/28/97, p.A1)(AP, 8/27/98)
1997 Aug 28, Four Israeli soldiers
were killed in a fire caused by strafing from Israeli helicopters in
southern Lebanon in a battle where 4 Amal guerrillas were also killed.
(WSJ, 8/29/97, p.A1)
1997 Sep 4, In Israel a triple
suicide bombing in a mall in the heart of Jerusalem claimed the lives
of seven people, including the three assailants.
(SFC, 9/5/97, p.A1)(AP, 9/4/98)
1997 Sep 4 [5], In Lebanon at
least 12 Israeli commandos were killed in a botched raid deep inside
Lebanese territory. Itamar Ilya, a commando, was killed with 11 other
soldiers in Southern Lebanon.
(SFC, 9/5/97, p.A1)(SFC, 6/26/98,
p.A16)
1997 Sep 5, Prime Minister
Netanyahu announced that the Oslo peace process was being frozen.
(SFC, 9/6/97, p.A3)
1997 Sep 7, This was the scheduled
date for Israel’s departure from the West Bank, except for Jewish
settlements and certain military locations according to a peace accord
negotiated between Arafat and Rabin on Sep 24, 1995.
(SFC, 1/9/96, p.A10)
1997 Sep 13, In Lebanon six
soldiers were killed in a rocket attack by Israeli helicopters.
(SFEC, 9/14/97, p.A22)
1997 Sep 14, Two Israeli soldiers
were killed in a Hezbollah attack in southern Lebanon.
(WSJ, 9/15/97, p.A1)
1997 Sep 14, Israel announced that
it will return half of the $67 million in Palestinian tax revenues as a
"goodwill gesture."
(SFC, 9/15/97, p.A10)
1997 Sep 19, Alfredo Enrique Tello
Jr. (19) was found charred and dismembered in an Aspen Hill, Md.,
garage. One suspected killer, Samuel Sheinbein (17), fled to Israel. A
2nd suspect, Aaron B. Needle (17), was held in jail. In Oct. the
attorney general decided to return Sheinbein to the US. The two young
men were indicted on murder and conspiracy charges. Needle committed
suicide by hanging in 1998. In 1999 the Israeli Supreme Court held that
Sheinbein could not be extradited. Sheinbein agreed to plead guilty to
murder and received a prison sentence of 24 years with possible parole
after 16.
(SFC, 10/7/97, p.A3)(SFC,10/20/97,
p.A1)(SFC,10/31/97, p.A3)(SFEC, 4/19/98, p.A18)(SFC, 2/25/99,
p.A12)(SFC, 8/25/99, p.A14)(SFC, 10/25/99, p.A10)
1997 Sep 25, In Jordan Khaled
Mashaal, the political leader of Hamas, was chemically attacked by two
men with forged Canadian passports in Amman. Hamas accused the men of
being Israeli Mossad agents. Jordan's King Hussein intervened, forcing
Israel to send the antidote that saved the Hamas leader's life and
release the group's jailed founder in exchange for the freedom of its
captured agents.
(SFC, 10/2/97, p.A10)(SFC, 10/3/97, p.B4)(SFC,
10/12/97, p.A17)(AP, 9/25/04)
1997 Oct 1, Israel freed Sheik
Ahmed Yassin (61), the founder and spiritual leader of Hamas. The ill
Yassin was taken to Jordan and hospitalized. As part of the deal an
antidote for the chemical used on last week’s Meshaal attack was
demanded by Jordan and Israel requested the release of the Meshaal
attackers. This secured the release of two Mossad agents arrested in
Jordan following a botched assassination attempt against Hamas
political leader Khalid Mashaal.
(SFC, 10/2/97, p.A10)(AP, 10/1/98)
1997 Oct 8, In Lebanon two Israeli
soldiers were killed in an ambush. The total for the year thus reached
37.
(SFC, 10/10/97, p.D2)
1997 Oct 12, In Jerusalem an Arab
toddler received the heart of a Jewish boy killed in an bicycle-auto
accident.
(SFC, 10/14/97, p.A10)
1997 Oct 18, In Israel storms left
five people dead. It struck during the 8-day Sukkot festival and many
people were out in nature reserves and national parks.
(SFEC,10/19/97, p.A26)
1997 Oct 19, Special U.S. envoy
Dennis Ross arrived in Israel for another round of meetings in an
effort to push the Mideast peace process forward.
(AP, 10/19/98)
1997 Oct 19, Sheik Ahmed Yassin,
founder of Hamas, announced a halt in attacks against Israel.
(SFC,10/20/97, p.A8)
1997 Oct 25, Israeli soldiers
fired tear gas and rubber bullets at stone-throwing Palestinians who
were marching for the release of Palestinian prisoners. Some 3,000
Palestinian political prisoners were being held by Israel and a third
have never been tried.
(SFEC,10/26/97, p.A24)
1997 Nov 8, It was reported that
Swiss authorities had evidence that 7 Israeli secret service agents
were involved in a plot to kidnap Athena Roussel, the 12-year-old
daughter of Christina Onassis and heir to a $2.4 billion trust fund.
(SFC,11/8/97, p.A10)
1997 Nov 15, 8-year-old Ali
Jawarish died 4 days after he was shot in the head by an Israeli
soldier in Bethlehem during a stone-throwing demonstration at the
Jewish shrine of Rachel’s Tomb.
(SFC,11/17/97, p.A14)
1997 Nov 19, A Jewish seminary
student was killed and another wounded near the Damascus Gate in the
Muslim quarter of Jerusalem’s walled Old City.
(SFC,11/20/97, p.B7)
1997 Nov 23, Artillery shells
fired by Lebanese guerrillas accidentally struck a village near the
Israeli border, killing eight Lebanese. Israel blamed Hezbollah for
shelling the Shiite village of Beit Lif in an artillery duel that
killed 9 people.
(WSJ, 11/24/97, p.A1)(SFC,11/25/97, p.A12) (AP,
11/23/98)
1997 Nov 23, Avigdor Lieberman
resigned as director of the prime minister’s office.
(SFC,11/25/97, p.A8)
1997 Nov 23, Artillery shells
fired by Lebanese guerrillas accidentally struck a village near the
Israeli border, killing 9 Lebanese. Israel blamed Hezbollah for
shelling the Shiite village of Beit Lif in an artillery duel.
(WSJ, 11/24/97, p.A1)(SFC,11/25/97, p.A12)(AP,
11/23/07)
1997 Nov 24, Israeli warplanes and
soldiers attacked supposed guerilla infiltration trails in southern
Lebanon. Three Hezbollah were reported killed.
(SFC,11/25/97, p.A12)
1997 Nov 29, Dozens were injured
after a Palestinian march in Bethlehem erupted into a clash with
Israeli troops.
(SFEC,11/30/97, p.A22)
1997 Nov, A 3-judge Supreme Court
panel ruled that Lebanese men could be held as a "bargaining card." The
ruling was not disclosed for 4 months.
(SFC, 3/5/98, p.A12)
1997 Dec 7, The Histadrut labor
federation declared an end to a 4-day strike by 700,000 public sector
workers.
(SFC,12/897, p.A18)
1997 Dec 9, Israeli officials
scrambled to stop a Yasser Arafat’s government from conducting a census
of Palestinians in East Jerusalem.
(SFC,12/10/97, p.A13)
1997 Dec 10, The parliament issued
a broad ban on Palestinian political activity in East Jerusalem in an
attempt to block a Palestinian census.
(SFC,12/11/97, p.C2)
1997 Dec 23, For the 1st time a
Chanukah candle was officially lit in Vatican City.
(www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/1997/hanukkah/hanukkah.vatican/index.html)
1997 Uri Savir, Israeli
negotiator, authored "The Process: The Story of Oslo from A to Z."
(SFC, 9/8/03, p.A8)
1997 The film "Florentene" was
directed by Eytan Fox. It was about 9 Israelis in their 20s and
premiered in the US in 1998.
(SFC, 7/18/98, p.E1)
1997 Hamas founder Sheik Ahmed
Yassin offered Israel a 30-year truce.
(AP, 3/24/04)
1998 Jan 4, David Levy, the
foreign minister, resigned. He denounced Netanyahu’s government for
abandoning the peace process and not addressing problems with the poor
and unemployed.
(SFC, 1/5/98, p.A1)
1998 Jan 13, In Israel the Cabinet
adopted a 12-page list of conditions for the Palestinians to meet
before the transfer of any more West Bank land.
(SFC, 1/14/98, p.C2)
1998 Jan 25, The chief rabbinate
proposed that the state recognize Reform and Conservative converts as
Jews.
(SFC, 1/26/98, p.A8)
1998 Jan 28, Israel’s finance
minister, Yaakov Neeman, met with US officials and outlined a plan to
end the $1.2 billion annual economic package over 10-12 years with an
increase in annual military aid from $1.8 billion to 2.4 billion.
(SFC, 1/29/98, p.A10)
1998 Feb 11, A 50th Anniversary
Forest was to be established in the Negev Desert.
(SFEC,10/26/97, p.A10)
1998 Feb 19, In Switzerland police
arrested 3 Israeli Mossad agents for spying on diplomats in Bern.
(SFC, 2/26/98, p.A9)
1998 Feb 20, In Israel hundreds
of Israeli Arabs protested the threatened US strike against Iraq.
(SFC, 2/21/98, p.A8)
1998 Feb 24, Mossad chief Danny
Yatom resigned over the agency’s botched attempt to poison a Hamas
leader in Jordan on Sep 25.
(SFC, 2/27/98, p.D2)
1998 Feb 26, Three Israeli
soldiers were killed in a Hezbollah attack in southern Lebanon.
(WSJ, 2/27/98, p.A1)
1998 Mar 8, A letter from over
1,500 Israeli army reserve officers urged Pres. Netanyahu to curb
settlements and reach a West Bank deal with Palestinians.
(WSJ, 3/9/98, p.A1)
1998 Mar 9, In Israel soldiers at
a checkpoint killed 3 Palestinian laborers in a van near the village of
Tarkoumiah, outside Hebron. Two soldiers involved were arrested. A
military prosecutor ruled out filing charges against the soldiers in
May.
(SFC, 3/11/98, p.A8)(SFC, 5/22/98, p.D4)
1998 Mar 12, A 22-part documentary
on Israel’s 50-year history was being shown by state television.
Rightwing politicians complained that it was too sympathetic to the
Palestinians.
(SFC, 3/13/98, p.A13)
1998 Mar 13, Israeli and
Palestinian troops made a joint effort to end four days of protests
over the killing of West Bank workers.
(SFC, 3/14/98, p.A9)
1998 Mar 15, Brig. Gen’l. Tal
Shmuel Eldar (45) and a crewman were killed when their Cobra military
helicopter crashed into the Mediterranean Sea.
(SFC, 3/16/98, p.A9)
1998 Mar 29, In Palestine the body
of Mohiyedine Sharif, a master bomb-maker for Hamas, was found at the
scene of an exploded car in Ramallah. His body had bullet holes. Israel
denied involvement in the killing. Sharif was a member of the Izzedine
Qassam, a military wing of Hamas. Palestinian security officials later
assigned the murder to Adel Awadallah, a rival for leadership in Hamas.
(SFC, 4/2/98, p.A12)(SFC, 4/798, p.A12)
1998 Apr 1, Israel accepted the
1978 UN Resolution 425 for withdrawal from the south of Lebanon.
(SFC, 4/2/98, p.A12)
1998 Apr 2, Three Arab homes were
demolished in the Bedouin village of Suweij. Clashes with Israeli
police occurred over the next few days as the Arabs attempted to
rebuild their homes.
(SFC, 4/6/98, p.A12)
1998 Apr 2, Shaking their fists in
rage, thousands of mourners marched in a funeral procession in the West
Bank for a top Hamas bombmaker (Mohiyedine Sharif) hailed by
Palestinians as a martyr and condemned by Israel as a terrorist.
(AP, 4/2/99)
1998 Apr 19, An Israeli settler
was shot and killed and three others, including a Palestinian man, were
wounded. Dov Dribben (28) of Maon was killed when settlers tried to
force a group of Bedouin shepherds off a contested piece of land.
(SFC, 4/20/98, p.A9)
1998 April 29, Israel formally
opened the celebration of the 50th anniversary of its founding.
According to the Gregorian calendar, the anniversary fell on May 14th.
(WSJ, 4/30/98, p.A1)(AP, 4/29/03)
1998 May 5, An exasperated
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright called on Israel to hand over an
additional 13 percent of the West Bank to the Palestinians, on top of
the 27 percent already relinquished. Israel, however, continued to balk
at the proposal.
(AP, 5/5/99)
1998 May 9, In Britain the Israeli
transsexual, Dana International (Yaron Cohen), won the annual
Eurovision Song Prize with the song "Diva.".
(SFC, 5/11/98, p.D5)(SFEC, 7/20/98, p.A9)
1998 May 13, Israeli jets raided
Lebanon and killed 3 men and wounded 21 in an attack on the radical
Palestinian group, Fatah the Uprising. As many as 10 men were killed in
a Bekaa Valley training camp for Palestinian guerrillas.
(SFC, 5/13/98, p.A13)(SFC, 5/14/98, p.C2)
1998 May 13, A 6th Arab victim of
stabbing died in Jerusalem. A serial stabber in the Orthodox Edah
Heredit community had stabbed 5 victims since Feb., all of whom
survived. A religious court of the community, which rejects the
official state of Israel, ruled that its followers should inform police
whatever they know about the attacks.
(SFEC, 5/24/98, p.A17)
1998 May 14, Palestinians marked
the 50th anniversary of the creation of Israel with 2 minutes of
silence and several hours of violence that left 9 dead. They refer to
the creation of Israel as the "Nakba" or "Catastrophe."
(SFC, 5/15/98, p.A14)(SFC, 5/16/98, p.A10)
1998 May 16, Israeli soldiers in
Hebron wounded 10 Palestinians in the 3rd straight day of clashes.
(SFEC, 5/17/98, p.A23)
1998 May 25, It was reported that
the 3,000-year-old Aramaic language, spoken by some 500-800 thousand
people in the Middle East, was expected to die out within 2-3 decades.
Parts of the Bible’s books of Ezra and Daniel were written in Aramaic.
(SFC, 5/26/98, p.A6)
1998 May 26, Palestinian lawmakers
clashed with Israeli police in East Jerusalem after Mayor Ehud Olmert
ordered the dismantling of tin shacks built by Jewish nationalist
settlers of the Ateret Cohanim.
(SFC, 5/27/98, p.A10)
1998 Jun 13, Nissim Aloni,
playwright, died at age 72. His work included "Most Cruel the King"
(1953); "The Emperor’s New Clothes" (1961), "The American Princess"
(1963); "The Revolution and the Chicken" (1964); "The Bride and the
Butterfly Hunter" (1967); "Napoleon, Dead or Alive" (1970); and "The
Gypsies of Jaffa" (1971).
(SFC, 6/16/98, p.A22)
1998 Jun 17, In Israel Nahum
Manbar, an Israeli businessman, was convicted of endangering security
through the sale of $16 million in information and chemical weapons
components to Iran.
(SFC, 6/18/98, p.A20)
1998 Jun 21, The Israeli Cabinet
approved a plan to expand Jerusalem’s control far beyond its current
borders, despite protests from Palestinians and warnings from
Washington that the move was "provocative."
(SFC, 6/22/98, p.A8)
1998 Jun 25, Two Israeli soldiers
were killed in southern Lebanon by a roadside bomb and seriously
wounded 3. Meanwhile the government traded the corpses of 40 Lebanese
guerrillas and the release of 60 Lebanese prisoners for the body of
Itamar Ilya, a commando killed on Sep 5, 1997.
(SFC, 6/26/98, p.A16)
1998 Jun 26, Some 1,500 marchers
in Tel Aviv celebrated gay pride.
(SFEC, 7/20/98, p.A16)
1998 Jul 19, Seeking to break a
16-month deadlock, Israel and the Palestinians held their first
high-level talks in months. Jalal Rumaneh (30), a member of Hamas,
attempted to explode a car bomb made of 160 gallons of flammable liquid
and nails in Jerusalem. The Fiat van ignited but failed to explode.
(SFEC, 7/20/98, p.A9)(AP, 7/19/08)
1998 Aug 5, In Israel 2 Israelis
were ambushed and killed at a Jewish seminary in Nablus as they
patrolled the boundaries.
(SFC, 8/6/93, p.A12)
1998 cAug 14, The government
approved a plan to erect barriers between Israel and the West Bank to
help prevent car thefts which totaled 46,000 last year.
(SFC, 8/19/98, p.A13)
1998 cAug 14, Israel’s main waste
dump exploded. It was reported that industrial pollution plagued the
country.
(SFC, 8/19/98, p.A12)
1998 Aug 20, In Hebron settler
Rabbi Shlomo Raanan (63) was killed by a suspected Palestinian
assailant.
(SFC, 8/24/98, p.A10)
1998 Aug 24, Israel agreed to turn
over an additional 13% of the West Bank to the Palestinians.
(SFC, 8/25/98, p.A7)
1998 Aug 25, Israel fired a rocket
from a helicopter into Lebanon that killed guerrilla leader Hossam
al-Amin. Lebanese guerrillas then fired Katyusha rockets into Israel
and injured at least 19 civilians.
(SFC, 8/26/98, p.A8)
1998 Aug 27, In Israel a bus
bombing in Tel Aviv injured 21 people. A small bomb in a trash can
exploded in Tel Aviv and injured one person.
(WSJ, 8/28/98, p.A1)(SFC, 8/28/98, p.D3)
1998 Sep 10, In Israel troops
killed Imad and Adel Awadallah, senior figures in Hamas west of Hebron.
(SFC, 9/12/98, p.A3)
1998 Sep 11, In the West Bank
violent protests erupted over the Israeli killing of 2 Hamas leaders.
(SFC, 9/12/98, p.A3)
1998 Sep 12, In Israel as many as
100,000 people rallied in Tel Aviv demanding that the government move
the peace process forward.
(SFEC, 10/4/98, p.T11)
1998 Sep 17, In Israel a
Palestinian youth, Iyad Hashem (17), was killed in a drive-by shooting
on the West Bank.
(WSJ, 9/18/98, p.A1)(SFC, 9/18/98, p.A13)
1998 Sep 18, Hamas supporters
clashed with Israeli police during a rally for the Awadallah brothers.
32 Palestinians were injured and the borders with the West Bank and
Gaza were again sealed.
(SFC, 9/19/98, p.A12)
1998 Sep 20, Rosh Hashana, the
Jewish new year began at sundown.
(SFEC, 9/20/98, p.C1)
1998 Sep 28, Yasser Arafat met
with Benjamin Netanyahu and Pres. Clinton at the White House and agreed
to hold a full-scale summit next month.
(SFC, 9/29/98, p.A1)
1998 Sep 30, In Israel the army
sent reinforcements to Hebron after an assailant threw grenades at
troops guarding a central square. 13 soldiers and 11 Palestinians were
wounded.
(WSJ, 10/1/98, p.A1)(SFC, 10/1/98, p.A14)
1998 Oct 5, In south Lebanon
pro-Iranian Hezbollah guerrillas killed 2 Israeli soldiers with a
roadside bomb.
(SFC, 10/6/98, p.A12)
1998 Oct 7, In Israel at the Gaza
border Arafat and Netanyahu met with US Sec. Albright and agreed to an
Oct 15 summit meeting with Pres. Clinton.
(WSJ, 10/8/98, p.A1)
1998 Oct 8, In Israel one man was
killed during a clash in Hebron where Palestinians observed a general
strike against Israel’s 8-day blockade of the town.
(USAT, 10/9/98, p.13A)
1998 Oct 9, In Israel Prime
Minister Netanyahu appointed Ariel Sharon (70) as foreign minister.
(SFC, 10/10/98, p.A8)
1998 Oct 13, In the West Bank an
Israeli man, Itamar Doron (24) was killed and another wounded by
suspected terrorists. The slaying prompted Prime Minister Netanyahu to
declare that there was no chance of signing a new peace deal with the
Palestinians.
(SFC, 10/14/98, p.A10)
1998 Oct 15, Pres. Clinton opened
the Mideast summit talks between Arafat and Netanyahu in Washington.
(WSJ, 10/16/98, p.A1)
1998 Oct 19, In Israel an
assailant threw 2 hand grenades into the central bus station of
Beersheba and injured at least 30 people. 67 people were wounded and
the incident cast a pall over the peace negotiations in Washington. A
Palestinian from the West Bank, Salem Rajab al-Sarsour (29), was caught
and confessed.
(SFC, 10/19/98, p.A14)(SFC, 10/20/98, p.A8)
1998 Oct 23, An American brokered
peace deal was reached at the Wye Plantation in Maryland between Yasser
Arafat and Benjamin Netanyahu. Israeli and Palestinian extremists
denounced the deal. Land for the Palestinians was exchanged for
security guarantees to the Israelis backed by the American CIA. Pres.
Clinton agreed to release Jonathan Pollard, who was jailed 11 years ago
on charges of spying for Israel.
(SFC, 10/24/98, p.A1,10,13)(SFEC, 10/25/98, p.A17)
1998 Oct 25, In Israel West Bank
settlers formally broke ties with Prime Minister Netanyahu over the new
peace accord. In Ramallah Wasim Tarifi (17) was killed during a Fatah
youth protest.
(SFC, 10/26/98, p.A1)
1998 Oct 26, In Israel 2
Palestinian gunmen killed Danny Vargas (28) in Hebron. In retaliation a
69-year-old Palestinian man was killed outside the Jewish settlement of
Itamar.
(SFC, 10/27/98, p.B1)
1998 Oct 27, Palestinian security
forces arrested 2 gunmen in the West Bank who reportedly confessed to
the killing of Danny Vargas as well as the murder of another Israeli on
Oct 13.
(SFC, 10/28/98, p.A11)
1998 Oct 28, In Israel a bomb
aimed at a busload of school children exploded in the Gaza Strip and 2
people were killed.
(SFC, 10/29/98, p.A15)
1998 Oct 29, Palestinian
authorities arrested the leader of Hamas, Sheik Yassin, following a
suicide bombing aimed at a busload of Jewish settler children.
(SFC, 10/30/98, p.A1)(WSJ, 10/30/98, p.A1)
1998 Oct 31, The US and Israel
signed a strategic cooperation agreement to protect the Jewish state
from ballistic missiles.
(SFEC, 11/1/98, p.A23)
1998 Nov 2, Israel and Palestine
agreed to delay their interim peace agreement to allow approval by the
Israeli cabinet and parliament.
(SFC, 11/3/98, p.A8)
1998 Nov 4, Israel announced that
the security issue for the new peace agreement was resolved. They
demanded the arrest of 30 Palestinian fugitives suspected of violence.
Arafat said that 12 of the 30 were already under arrest.
(SFC, 11/5/98, p.C2)
1998 Nov 6, In Jerusalem a car
bomb exploded at an outdoor market and 2 suicide bombers people were
killed and 23 others injured. The peace accord was immediately put on
hold by the Israeli cabinet. The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility.
(SFC, 11/6/98, p.D4)(SFC, 11/7/98, p.A12)
1998 Nov 11, Israel’s government
narrowly ratified a land-for-peace agreement with conditions that
included alteration of the PLO charter to strike calls for Israel’s
destruction.
(WSJ, 11/12/98, p.A1)(AP, 11/11/08)
1998 Nov 12, Israel gave the
go-ahead to a housing project on a Jerusalem hilltop called Har Homa.
The area is known as Jabal Abu Ghneim to the Palestinians and was an
area under dispute.
(SFC, 11/13/98, p.A16)
1998 Nov 16, In southern Lebanon 3
Israeli soldiers were killed when Hezbollah detonated a road bomb.
(WSJ, 11/17/98, p.A1)
1998 Nov 17, Israel's parliament
overwhelmingly approved the Wye River land-for-peace accord with the
Palestinians with a 75 to 19 vote.
(SFC, 11/18/98, p.A12)(AP, 11/17/99)
1998 Nov 19, In Israel the Cabinet
voted 7 to 5 to go ahead with a troop withdrawal from Palestinian land
in the West Bank, and to free 250 Palestinian prisoners,
(SFC, 11/20/98, p.A16)(WSJ, 11/20/98, p.A1)
1998 Nov 20, Israel ceded control
of a 200-sq. mile patchwork area to the Palestinian Authority in the
1st of 3 withdrawals. 250 prisoners were released but 150 of them were
common criminals rather than political detainees,
(SFC, 11/21/98, p.A10)(SFC, 11/30/98, p.A1)
1998 Nov 20, Israel carried out
its 100th air raid along with ground attacks in southern Lebanon. One
Amal fighter was reported killed.
(SFC, 11/21/98, p.A12)
1998 Nov 26, In southern Lebanon 2
Israeli soldiers were killed when a roadside bomb blew up their armored
vehicle.
(SFC, 11/28/98, p.A10)
1998 Dec 2, In the West Bank an
Israeli soldier was beaten and an Arab man was stabbed to death in
Jerusalem. Israel announced the suspension of further troops
withdrawals.
(SFC, 12/3/98, p.A16)
1998 Dec 6, Hundreds of
Palestinian prisoners in Israel started a hunger strike and
demanded to be freed.
(SFC, 12/7/98, p.A14)
1998 Dec 9, The Supreme Court
ruled that the exemption for rigorously Orthodox Jewish yeshiva
students from army service was illegal.
(SFC, 12/10/98, p.C6)
1998 Dec 9, A Palestinian teenager
was killed as Israeli forces and Palestinian protestors clashed.
(SFC, 12/10/98, p.A12)
1998 Dec 10, Leaders of the PLO
voted to annul passages of their 1964 charter that called for Israel’s
destruction.
(SFC, 12/11/98, p.A18)
1998 Dec 11, Israeli troops fired
on hundreds of protesting Palestinians killing 2 and wounding dozens.
(SFC, 12/12/98, p.A14)
1998 Dec 15, Pres. Clinton met
with Yasser Arafat and Benjamin Netanyahu without achieving any
tangible results to move the Peace Talks forward.
(SFC, 12/16/98, p.A1)
1998 Dec 21, In Israel the
Netanyahu government was dissolved by a vote of parliament.
(SFC, 12/22/98, p.A1)
1998 Dec 22, In Lebanon an Israeli
rocket killed woman and her 6 children.
(SFC, 12/23/98, p.C2)
1998 Dec 23, In Lebanon Hezbollah
guerrillas retaliated against Israel with Katyusha rockets at Kiryat
Shemona. 16 Israelis were injured.
(SFC, 12/24/98, p.A10)
1998 Dec 24, In Israel Gen'l.
Amnon Lipkin-Shahak left the armed forces and said he would help lead
new centrist political party against Prime Minister Netanyahu in spring
elections.
(SFC, 12/25/98, p.B8)
1998 Dec 29, In Lebanon the
Israeli army assassinated Zahi Naim Hadr Ahmed Mahabi, a top Hezbollah
explosives expert.
(SFC, 1/2/99, p.C12)
1998 Michael Bar-Zohar edited
"Lionhearts: Heroes of Israel," originally published by the Defense
Ministry.
(SFEC, 4/26/98, BR p.6)
1998 Thomas Cahill published "The
Gifts of the Jews: How a Tribe of Desert Nomads Changed the Way
Everyone Thinks and Feels." It was the 2nd of his projected 7-volume
"The Hinges of History" series.
(SFEC, 3/29/98, BR p.7)
1998 Avner Cohen published "Israel
and the Bomb" in NYC.
(SFC, 11/25/99, p.D2)
1998 Robert Litell published "For
the Future of Israel," based on his conversations with former Prime
Minister Shimon Peres.
(SFEC, 4/26/98, BR p.6)
1998 Efraim Halevy became head of
Mossad, Israel’s intelligence service.
(Econ, 4/1/06, p.67)
1998 Yossi Vardi (b.1942), Israeli
entrepreneur, sold Mirabilis Ltd., the creator of the ICQ instant
messaging service, to American Online for over $400 million.
(Econ, 1/5/08,
p.56)(www.enewsbuilder.net/viab/e_article000077316.cfm)
1999 Jan 3, Israeli warplanes
attacked Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon and wounded 6 people
including a woman (55) and her 4 daughters.
(SFC, 1/4/99, p.A22)
1999 Jan 3, In Israel police
detained 8 adults and 6 children belonging to the Concerned Christians
sect from Denver, Colo. Police said the group planned violent acts to
hasten the 2nd coming of Christ. 11 of the members were ordered to be
deported.
(SFC, 1/4/99, p.A1)(SFC, 1/5/99, p.A8)
1999 Jan 4, Israeli troops sealed
off Hebron when 2 Jewish settlers were injured by shots fired at their
van.
(WSJ, 1/7/99, p.A1)
1999 Jan 6, In Israel former
military chief of staff Amnon Lipkin-Shahak announced his candidacy for
prime minister. Separately a man with a toy gun was killed by soldiers.
(SFC, 1/7/99, p.A10)(WSJ, 1/7/99, p.A1)
1999 Jan 23, Prime Minister
Netanyahu fired defense minister Yitzhak Mordechai, who had emerged as
a rival in upcoming elections.
(SFEC, 1/24/99, p.A19)
1999 Jan 26, A Palestinian man was
killed by an Israeli rubber bullet when he threw stones to protest the
demolition of an Arab-owned home in East Jerusalem.
(SFC, 1/27/99, p.C10)
1999 Jan, The new Jewish Museum in
Berlin was completed. It was designed by Daniel Libeskind.
(SFEC, 8/6/00, DB p.37)
1999 Feb 14, In Israel some
250,000 ultra-Orthodox Jews gathered to protest the supreme court's
supposed anti-religious judicial "tyranny." Some 50,000 gathered for a
counter rally.
(SFEC, 2/14/99, p.A9)
1999 Feb 18, Israeli troops seized
the southern Lebanon village of Arnoun to prevent guerrilla attacks
from the Crusader Castle of Beaufort.
(WSJ, 2/19/99, p.A1)
1999 Feb 23, In Lebanon Hezbollah
guerrillas ambushed an Israeli commando squad and killed the commander
and 2 officers.
(SFC, 2/24/99, p.C3)
1999 Feb 27, Hezbollah guerrillas
in Lebanon detonated 2 roadside bombs and killed Israeli Brig. Gen'l.
Erez Gerstein, 2 soldiers and a reporter.
(SFC, 3/1/99, p.A1)
1999 Feb 28, Israel sent warplanes
against guerrilla targets in Lebanon in retaliation for the death of
Brig. Gen'l. Erez Gerstein and 3 others.
(SFC, 3/1/99, p.A1)
1999 Mar 2, Israeli leaders made
campaign promises to leave Lebanon within a year.
(SFC, 3/3/99, p.A10)
1999 Mar 9, Rana Raslan (21), an
Israeli Arab woman, was crowned Miss Israel.
(SFC, 3/10/99, p.A13)
1999 Mar 17, In Israel Rabbi Aryeh
Deri, head of the Shas party of religious Sephardim, was convicted on
bribery charges.
(SFC, 3/18/99, p.A12)
1999 Mar 26, The EU declared that
the creation of a Palestine state was the best way to resolve the
Middle East conflict, and the action could not be vetoed by Israel.
(SFC, 3/27/99, p.A10)
1999 Mar 28, In Israel hundreds of
government and public service workers resumed their nationwide strike
against a decision to cap wage increases.
(SFC, 3/29/99, p.A8)
1999 Apr 12, In southern Lebanon
guerrillas detonated a roadside bomb and killed one Israeli soldier and
wounded 2 others. The Shiite Muslim Hezbollah claimed responsibility
and announced that Israeli troops had killed one its fighters hours
earlier.
(SFC, 4/13/99, p.A11)
1999 Apr 15, In Israel Arieh Deri,
leader of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, was sentenced to 4 years in
prison for taking bribes.
(SFC, 4/16/99, p.A18)
1999 May 7, A final peace accord
was to be settled with Palestinians by this time as negotiated by
Yasser Arafat and Rabin in [Oct] 1995.
(SFC, 1/9/96, p.A10)
1999 May 17, In Israel the Likud
and Labor party agreed to hold elections on this date. Ehud Barak (57)
won over Benjamin Netanyahu 56% to 44%.
(SFC, 12/29/98, p.A6)(SFC, 5/18/99, p.A1)
1999 May 28, An Israeli-American
search team found the Dakar, a British-made submarine that was lost in
Jan, 1968., 9,500 feet below the surface of the Mediterranean Sea
between Crete and Cyprus.
(SFC, 5/31/99, p.A8)
1999 Jun 15, Time-Warner scheduled
the release of Benjamin Netanyahu's book: "A Durable Peace: Israel and
Its Place Among the Nations," an update of his 1993 book.
(SFC, 5/25/99, p.A6)
1999 Jun 2, Palestinian leaders
said they would not resume peace talks unless settlement expansion in
the West Bank and Gaza is frozen.
(SFC, 6/3/99, p.A13)
1999 Jun 2, Dr. Ann S. Fletcher
(51), author of "Higher Education in Israel," died in Palo Alto, Ca.
(SFC, 6/12/99, p.A23)
1999 Jun 9, In southern Lebanon
guerrillas ambushed an Israeli military patrol and killed 2 soldiers.
This prompted Israeli airstrikes.
(SFC, 6/10/99, p.C3)
1999 Jun 10, In one week two
Israeli teenagers were killed be fellow teens in Upper Nazareth and
Jerusalem.
(SFC, 6/12/99, p.A12,14)
1999 Jun 13, In Israel Prime
Minister Netanyahu told his ministers to bring in some 2,500 to 3,000
Jews from the Quara region of Ethiopia.
(SFC, 6/15/99, p.C5)
1999 Jun 24, Israel bombed Lebanon
in retaliation for Katyusha rocked attacks on northern Israel that
killed 2 Israelis. Israeli bombing blacked out Beirut, killed 9
Lebanese and wounded as many as 57 people.
(SFC, 6/25/99, p.A10)(SFC, 6/26/99, p.A10)
1999 Jun 30, In Israel the
ultra-Orthodox Shas Party joined the coalition of Ehud Barak. 69
deputies from 6 parties gave him a majority in the 120-member Knesset.
(SFC, 7/1/99, p.A12)
1999 Jul 6, In Israel Ehud Barak
was sworn in as Prime Minister, pledging to seek peace with neighboring
Arab countries. David Levy became his foreign minister and Avraham
Shochat the finance minister.
(WSJ, 7/6/99, p.A1)(AP, 7/6/04)
1999 Jul 8, It was reported that
Palestinian water shortages were due Israeli diversions of 80% of West
Bank aquifer water.
(SFC, 7/8/99, p.A10)
1999 Jul 11, In Gaza Israeli Prime
Minister Ehud Barak met with Yasser Arafat and both promised to work
for peace.
(SFC, 7/12/99, p.A1)
1999 Jul 15, Pres. Clinton met
with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak for the beginning of 5 days of
talks.
(SFC, 7/16/99, p.A10)
1999 Aug 8, In Jerusalem Yasser
Arafat accepted Ehud Barak's proposal to delay land transfers and troop
withdrawals until October.
(SFC, 8/9/99, p.A8)
1999 Aug 8, In southern Lebanon
Israeli warplanes bombed suspected rebel positions after
Hezbollah guerrillas struck an Israeli outpost at Blatt.
(SFC, 8/9/99, p.A10)
1999 Aug 10, In Israel Akram Alkam
(22) was shot and killed by Israeli police after he twice struck
hitchhiking Israeli soldiers at Nachshon Junction with his car.
(SFC, 8/11/99, p.A10)
1999 Aug 12, The invention of a
new rechargeable battery with a 50% longer life span was announced by
researchers in Israel.
(WSJ, 8/13/99, p.A1)
1999 Aug 16, Abu Hassan, a
Hezbollah commander, was killed by a roadside bomb in Sidon. Guerrillas
blamed the attack on Israel.
(SFC, 8/17/99, p.A8)
1999 Aug 17, In southern Lebanon
Hezbollah guerrillas killed 2 Israeli soldiers and wounded 4 others in
a revenge clash that left 1 guerrilla dead.
(SFC, 8/18/99, p.A12)
1999 Aug 18, Hanoch Levin,
playwright, died at age 56.
(SFC, 8/19/99, p.D2)
1999 Aug 30 In Israel the bodies
of an Israeli couple were found on the West Bank border near the
Megiddo forest. Palestinian extremists were suspected as responsible.
(SFC, 8/31/99, p.A12)
1999 Aug, Zohara Schatz, artist,
died at age 83. She had designed the emblem of the Yad Vashem Holocaust
memorial.
(SFC, 8/6/99, p.D4)
1999 Sep 1, Israeli shelling in
southern Lebanon left 2 Lebanese civilians dead after a roadside bomb
killed 2 Israeli-allied militiamen.
(SFC, 9/2/99, p.A16)
1999 Sep 1, In Jerusalem
disagreement over the release of 30 Palestinians, jailed for killing
Israelis, was the only issue holding up the signing of a
land-for-security deal.
(SFC, 9/2/99, p.A14)
1999 Sep 3, Israel and the
Palestinians, prodded by Madeleine Albright, agreed to a peace deal
that called for finalizing borders in one year, the completion of Wye
River land-for-security, and the release of 350 Palestinian prisoners.
(SFC, 9/4/99, p.A1)
1999 Sep 4, At Sharm El-Sheikh
(Sharm Al Sheik), Egypt, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and
Palestinian Authority Pres. Yasser Arafat signed a new deal that ceded
West Bank land to the Palestinians and set up a timetable for peace.
(SFEC, 9/5/99, p.A1)(WSJ, 9/21/99, p.A21)
1999 Sep 5, In Israel 2 car bombs
exploded prematurely in Tiberius and Haifa and 3 men placing them were
killed. Israeli police soon arrested 5 associated suspects believed to
be Israeli Arabs.
(SFC, 9/6/99, p.A12)(SFC, 9/7/99, p.A14)
1999 Sep 6, In Israel the High
Court ruled that security police have acted illegally by routinely
inflicting physical pain on detained Palestinians.
(SFC, 9/7/99, p.A1)
1999 Sep 8, In Israel the
parliament approved the amended Wye River accord.
(WSJ, 9/9/99, p.A1)
1999 Sep 9, Israel released 199
Palestinians from prison and detailed the 7% of West Bank land
scheduled for transfer.
(SFC, 9/10/99, p.D3)(WSJ, 9/10/99, p.A1)
1999 Sep 10, Israel transferred 7%
of the West Bank to Palestinian control.
(SFC, 9/11/99, p.A8)
1999 Sep 13, In Gaza Israelis and
Palestinians opened talks on a final peace accord.
(SFC, 9/14/99, p.A12)
1999 Sep 21, Prime Minister Ehud
Barak of Israel was the 1st foreign leader to visit the new capital in
Berlin.
(SFC, 9/22/99, p.A14)
1999 Oct 1, Ted Arison, founder of
the Miami Cruise concern Carnival Corp., died in Tel Aviv at age 75.
(WSJ, 10/4/99, p.B7)
1999 Oct 1, Israel planned to
implement the Wye River accord and pull troops from the West Bank.
(WSJ, 8/2/99, p.A1)
1999 Oct 4, Israeli PM Ehud Barak
and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat agreed on terms for the first safe
route between the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
(SFC, 10/5/99, p.A11)
1999 Oct 11, Israel confirmed that
some 400 Jews from Cuba were brought to Israel over the last 5 years in
a secret operation.
(SFC, 10/12/99, p.A8)
1999 Oct 14, Israel released 151
Palestinian prisoners as part of the interim peace accord signed Sept.
4.
(SFC, 10/15/99, p.D3)
1999 Oct 18, Nelson Mandela
visited Israel for the 1st time in an effort to end enmity between the
Jewish state and the African National Congress. Israel had supported
the apartheid government in South Africa.
(SFC, 10/19/99, p.A13)
1999 Oct 20, In Israel Netanyahu's
home was raided by police as part of a corruption inquiry.
(WSJ, 10/21/99, p.A1)
1999 Oct 25, Israel opened a
34-mile safe-passage corridor from the Gaza Strip to the West Bank as
Pres. Barak visited Turkey to boost military cooperation and economic
ties.
(SFC, 10/26/99, p.A10,B2)
1999 Oct 25, An Israeli soldier
shot and killed a Palestinian souvenir vendor, Mousa Abu Hilail, near
Rachel's tomb. Two days of rioting followed.
(SFC, 10/27/99, p.A13)
1999 Oct 28, Mauritania
established full diplomatic relations with Israel.
(SFC, 10/29/99, p.D3)
1999 Oct 29, In Lebanon Israeli
warplanes and artillery blasted the southern region after Guerrilla
attacks killed 2 Israeli-allied militiamen.
(SFC, 10/30/99, p.A13)
1999 Nov 1, In Lebanon Israeli
warplanes fired some 2 dozen missiles at 6 Hezbollah targets in the
mountains of Iqlim al-Tuffah.
(SFC, 11/2/99, p.A14)
1999 Nov 2, Pres. Clinton met with
Ehud Barak and Yasser Arafat in Oslo to revitalize the peace process.
(SFC, 11/3/99, p.A12)
1999 Nov 2, Israel resumed attacks
against Lebanon with 5 missiles at mountain targets at Jabal al-Daher.
(SFC, 11/3/99, p.C5)
1999 Nov 7, In Netanya, Israel, 3
pipe bombs exploded and 33 people were wounded on the eve of
Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
(SFC, 11/8/99, p.A14)
1999 Nov 19, In Ramallah, West
Bank (Reuters), Israeli security forces fired tear gas and
rubber-coated metal bullets at stone-throwing Palestinians demanding
the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israel's jails.
(Excite, 11/20/99)
1999 Nov 23, In Nazareth a
cornerstone for a mosque was laid next to the Basilica of the
Annunciation. Shihab el-Din, a 12th-century anti-Crusader cleric, was
believed to be buried there.
(SFC, 11/24/99, p.A16)
1999 Dec 8, Israel and Syria
agreed to resume peace negotiations following a visit by Madeleine
Albright to Damascus.
(SFC, 12/9/99, p.A1)
1999 Dec 13, Israeli troops killed
2 men in Beit Awa in the West Bank and captured 3 others during a
search for Hamas activists.
(SFC, 12/14/99, p.B2)
1999 Dec 16, Israel and Syria
ended a first round of peace talks and scheduled a resumption for Jan 3.
(SFC, 12/17/99, p.A12)
1999 Dec 26, Ofer Nimrodi,
publisher of the daily Ma'ariv, was indicted on charges of trying to
arrange the slaying of a witness, infiltrating the police and
interfering with their investigation in a wiretapping scandal.
(SFC, 12/27/99, p.A12)
1999 Dec 29, Israel released 26
Palestinian security prisoners as part of the interim peace accord. It
was the first time Israel had released Palestinians who had killed
Israelis or tourists.
(SFC, 12/30/99, p.C2)
1999 Dec 31, In Iran Supreme
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called for the destruction of Israel during
demonstrations for "Al-Quds Day." Al-Quds is the Arabic name for
Jerusalem.
(SFC, 1/1/00, p.D4)
1999 The Shengold Jewish
Encyclopedia was edited by Mordecai Schreiber.
(SFEC, 1/17/99, Par p.6)
1999 Abu Daoud first acknowledged
having a role in the 1972 Munich operation in the book: "Palestine:
From Jerusalem to Munich."
(AP, 2/24/06)
1999 The Israeli film "Kadosh"
starred Meital Barda and Yael Abecassis and was directed by Amos Gitai.
It was an attack on Orthodox Jewish life and its treatment of women.
(SFC, 5/17/99, p.D2)
1999 Ariel Sharon took over as
head of the Likud Party.
(WSJ, 10/13/00, p.A15)
1999 In Israel Boaz Wachtel (40)
established the Green Leaf Party. The party did not promote drug use,
only its decriminalization, like in the Netherlands.
(AP, 3/11/06)
1999 Scientists announced that
Y-chromosome tests had turned up a genetic link between southern
Africa’s Lemba tribe (Zimbabwe) and the Jewish Cohanim, a priestly clan
going back to biblical times.
(www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3077146/)
2000 Jan 4, Israel and Palestine
agreed on the transfer of an additional 5% of West Bank land.
(SFC, 1/5/00, p.A6)
2000 Jan 17, The Clinton
administration announced that talks between Israel and Syria had been
postponed indefinitely.
(SFC, 1/18/00, p.A1)
2000 Jan 14, In Israel Lafi
al-Rajabi (20), a Palestinian, died while under Israeli detention near
Ariel. His body bore wounds, cuts and bruises. He had been arrested 7
months earlier for ties to criminal defendants and not carrying an ID
card. An Israeli official said Lafi hanged himself and dismissed claims
that he was abused.
(SFC, 1/20/00, p.C16)(SFC, 1/21/00, p.D3)
2000 Jan 20, In Israel the
attorney general called for a criminal investigation into possible tax
evasion by Pres. Ezer Weizman. Weizman was reported to have accepted
$453,465 from Edouard Saroussi, a French executive, from 1988 to 1993.
(SFC, 1/21/00, p.A12)
2000 Feb 2, In Israel an Israeli
Arab legislator, Issam Mahoul, announced that the country possessed up
to 300 nuclear warheads and that 3 new German-made submarines would be
fitted with nuclear weapons.
(SFC, 2/3/00, p.A13)
2000 Feb 4, In southern Lebanon
Israeli forces attacked targets for the 7th straight day. A guerrilla
commander and 7 civilians were killed.
(SFC, 2/5/00, p.A11)
2000 Feb 6, In southern Lebanon a
roadside bomb and attack killed one Israeli soldier and injured 7
others.
(SFC, 2/7/00, p.A14)
2000 Feb 7, Israeli jets launched
air attacks deep into Lebanon. Power was knocked out at Baalbek,
headquarters of the Hezbollah, and at Beirut and Tripoli. 18 civilians
were injured.
(SFC, 2/8/00, p.A12)
2000 Feb 8, In Lebanon Hezbollah
guerrillas killed another Israeli soldier and Israeli warplanes
retaliated with attacks on Tyre and Iqlim al-Tuffah.
(SFC, 2/9/00, p.A10)
2000 Feb 9, Israeli jets struck
targets in southern Lebanon for the 11th day and Foreign Minister David
Levy threatened that it would set Lebanon on fire if militants
retaliated with rockets.
(SFC, 2/10/00, p.A10)
2000 Feb 10, Israeli jets fired 20
missiles in 8 raids in the Zillaya Valley following Hezbollah attacks
on Israeli troops and militia.
(SFC, 2/11/00, p.A14)
2000 Feb 11, In Lebanon Hezbollah
launched another rocket attack that killed an Israeli soldier. Israel
responded with warplanes and attacks in southern Lebanon and the
eastern Bekaa Valley to which Hezbollah responded with fresh hits.
Israel cancelled an urgent -US-led meeting called to diffuse the
widening war.
(SFC, 2/12/00, p.A11)
2000 Feb 16, In Israel German
Pres. Johannes Rau spoke before the parliament and gave an apology for
WW II Nazi genocide.
(SFC, 2/17/00, p.D3)
2000 Feb 28, Kariel Gardosh,
political cartoonist known as Dosh, died at age 79 in Tel Aviv. He was
the creator of the impish Srulik character that became a symbol of
Israel. A 1967 volume of his cartoons was titled "Sorry We Won."
(SFC, 3/4/00, p.A21)
2000 Feb 29, Israel released the
1961 prison memoir of Adolph Eichmann.
(SFC, 3/1/00, p.A12)
2000 Mar 2, In Israel commandos
killed as many as 3-4 Palestinian Hamas militants at Taibeh. They said
that 4 simultaneous bombings were scheduled in crowded areas of major
cities.
(SFC, 3/3/00, p.A14)(WSJ, 3/3/00, p.A1)
2000 Mar 5, In Israel the
government voted to back Prime Minister Barak's plan to withdraw troops
from southern Lebanon by July.
(SFC, 3/6/00, p.A10)(AP, 3/5/01)
2000 Mar 8, In Israel the supreme
court ruled that the government may no longer allocate land based on
religion or ethnicity and may no longer prevent Arab citizens from
living where they choose.
(SFC, 3/9/00, p.A1)
2000 Mar 15, In Israel the
security cabinet approved a troop pullout from 6.1% of the West Bank as
Hezbollah fired rockets at Israeli positions in southern Lebanon and
northern Israel. The areas to be ceded included several Palestinian
villages and towns near Ramallah, Bethlehem and Hebron.
(WSJ, 3/16/00, p.A1)(SFC, 3/16/00, p.A14)
2000 Mar 21, Pope John Paul II
landed in Tel Aviv and began his official visit to Israel with a
welcome from Pres. Ezer Weizman.
(SFC, 3/22/00, p.A1)
2000 Mar 21, Israel withdrew from
6.1% of the West Bank.
(SFC, 3/22/00, p.A10)
2000 Mar 22, In Bethlehem Pope
John Paul II affirmed support for a Palestinian homeland.
(SFC, 3/23/00, p.A1)
2000 Mar 24, In Israel Pope John
Paul II delivered a sermon from the Mount of Beatitudes before some
100,000 people.
(SFC, 3/25/00, p.A10)
2000 Mar 25, In Israel Pope John
Paul II said Mass at the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth,
where Catholics believe that archangel Gabriel told Mary that she would
bear the son of God.
(SFEC, 3/26/00, p.A19)
2000 Mar 26, Pope John Paul II
ended his Holy Land tour with a message of contrition at the Western
Wall in Jerusalem, a visit to Al Aqsa Mosque and a Mass at the Church
of the Holy Sepulcher, the traditional site for the resurrection of
Jesus.
(SFC, 3/27/00, p.A1)(WSJ, 3/27/00, p.A1)
2000 Mar 29, The Central
Conference of American Rabbis adopted a resolution stating "a Jewish
same gender couple is worthy of affirmation through appropriate Jewish
ritual."
(SFC, 3/30/00, p.A1)
2000 Apr 12, In Israel the Supreme
Court ruled that the detention of Lebanese men for more than a decade
was illegal. A release was scheduled for 13 men on Apr 17.
(SFC, 4/13/00, p.A14)
2000 Apr 12, China’s Pres. Jiang
Zemin arrived in Israel to support commercial defense relations between
the two countries.
(SFC, 4/13/00, p.A15)
2000 Apr 17, The release of
Lebanese prisoners was delayed due to a petition from the family of Ron
Arad, the Israeli pilot captured in Lebanon in 1986.
(SFC, 4/17/00, p.A12)
2000 Apr 19, In Israel 13 Lebanese
prisoners, held as bargaining chips for an Israeli airman, were
released.
(SFC, 4/20/00, p.A14)
2000 Apr 23, Jordan’s King
Abdullah II made his first state visit to Israel and spent 4 hours in
Eilat with Prime Minister Barak.
(SFC, 4/24/00, p.A12)
2000 May 2, In Israel the Day of
the Shoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, was observed. The date was fixed
by Israel to commemorate the Warsaw Jewish ghetto uprising of 1943.
(SFC, 5/3/00, p.A12,13)
2000 May 4, It was reported that
Israel planned to deploy a laser shield named THEL, Tactical High
Energy Laser (TRW Inc.), to shoot down rockets fired by guerrillas
following its withdrawal from southern Lebanon.
(SFC, 5/4/00, p.A16)
2000 May 4, Lebanese guerrillas
fired some 20 Katyusha rockets into Kiryat Shemona, a town in northern
Israel. One Israeli soldier was killed and over 24 people were injured.
Israel retaliated with heavy air strikes.
(SFC, 5/5/00, p.A14)(WSJ, 5/5/00, p.A1)
2000 May 5, Israel and Hezbollah
guerrillas in Lebanon agreed to a cease-fire.
(SFC, 5/6/00, p.C1)
2000 May 14, Thousands of
Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza demonstrated and violence
erupted with at least one person killed.
(SFC, 5/15/00, p.A1)
2000 May 15, Palestinian police
and Israeli soldiers fought gun battles across the West Bank and Gaza
Strip. 4 people were killed and hundreds were wounded.
(SFC, 5/16/00, p.A1)
2000 May 16, Palestinian
demonstrators continued to fight Israeli forces for a 5th day but
Palestinian authorities appeared to contain most of the violence.
(SFC, 5/17/00, p.A14)
2000 May 20, Israeli warplanes
attacked Palestinian targets in Lebanon and destroyed 10 tanks. Israeli
soldiers clashed with Palestinian demonstrators for the 9th day in
Palestinian territories within Israel.
(SFEC, 5/21/00, p.A10)
2000 May 22, In Israel the Supreme
Court ruled that women may read out load from the Torah and wear a
prayer shawl at the Western Wall. In 2003 the Supreme Court rejected
the rule.
(SFC, 5/23/00, p.A10)(SFC, 4/7/03, p.A12)
2000 May 22, Israel’s 22-year
occupation of southern Lebanon crumbled as Islamic guerrillas and
civilians laid claim to disputed lands.
(SFC, 5/23/00, p.A1)
2000 May 23, The South Lebanon
Army abandoned its positions and Israel’s 22-year occupation of its
"security zone" ended.
(SFC, 5/24/00, p.A1)
2000 May 28, Pres. Weizman
announced that he would resign July 10 due to past financial
misdealings.
(SFC, 5/29/00, p.A10)
2000 Jun 16, The Israeli pullout
from Lebanon was finished according to UN Sec.-Gen. Kofi Annan.
Lebanese officials claimed that some Israeli outposts were still
present inside their border.
(SFC, 6/17/00, p.A8)
2000 Jun 24, Israeli police fired
across the Lebanese border at the Fatima gate at Kfar Kila. 3 Jordanian
civilians were wounded.
(SFC, 6/25/00, p.A6)
2000 Jul 3, The Palestinian
leadership said that a Palestinian state would be declared by
mid-September.
(SFC, 7/5/00, p.A8)
2000 Jul 10, Pres. Ezer Weizman
resigned following his alleged improper acceptance of $453,000 from
Edouard Sarousi, a French textile magnate.
(SFC, 7/11/00, p.A9)
2000 Jul 11, A Middle East summit
hosted by President Clinton opened at Camp David between Israeli Prime
Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
(AP, 7/11/01)(SFC, 7/12/00, p.A1)
2000 Jul 12, Israel cancelled
plans to sell an AWACS-equipped plane to China.
(WSJ, 7/13/00, p.A1)
2000 Jul 25, The
Israeli-Palestinian peace talks ended at Camp David with no success due
to the difficulty over the issue of Jerusalem.
(SFC, 7/26/00, p.A1)
2000 Jul 31, Moshe Katsav of the
opposition Likud Party was elected president over Shimon Peres. Prime
Minister Barak survived an attempt to oust his government.
(SFC, 8/1/00, p.A1)
2000 Aug 1, Grand Rabbi Solomon
Halberstam, leader of the Bobov sect of Hasidic Jews, died in New York
at age 92. The Bobovs from southern Poland were among 60 Hasidic sects
that included the Satmars from Hungary and the Lubavitchers from Russia.
(SFC, 8/3/00, p.D2)
2000 Aug 5, UN peacekeeping troops
began spreading out along the border between Israel and Lebanon.
(SFEC, 8/6/00, p.C9)
2000 Aug 15, Four prostitutes died
in Tel Aviv when a brothel was set on fire. Police suspected a serial
arsonist.
(SFC, 8/16/00, p.A18)
2000 Aug 21, Prime Minister Barak
proposed plans for civil reform that would strip the religious
establishment of many privileges and power. The proposals included a
new constitution that guaranteed greater equality between Jews and
non-Jews, a dismantling of the Ministry of Religious Affairs, a
comprehensive national service bill, and an imposed curriculum for
state-financed schools.
(SFC, 8/22/00, p.A10)
2000 Aug 26, In Israel 3 Israeli
soldiers were killed in a West Bank shootout with Palestinian militants
of Hamas. The Israeli raid was an attempt to capture Mahmoud Abu Hanoud
near Nablus. Hanoud was wounded and escaped.
(SFEC, 8/27/00, p.C12)(SFC, 8/28/00, p.A11)
2000 Aug 28, Prime Minister Barak
said that he planned to complete a peace deal and call for approval by
a referendum.
(SFC, 8/29/00, p.A6)
2000 Sep 3, In Israel Arjey Deri,
former leader of the Shas Party, began a 3-year term for bribery and
fraud.
(SFC, 9/4/00, p.A8)
2000 Sep 6, Israeli police
officers pummeled 3 Palestinian detainees and took pictures of
themselves holding their victims by the hair. The officers were later
indicted.
(SFC, 9/19/00, p.A10)
2000 Sep 17, Prime Minister Barak
signed orders to privatize El Al. He had recently pledged public
transport on the Sabbath within 2 months and had the cabinet begin the
legal process for removing citizens’ religion from identity cards.
(SFC, 9/18/00, p.A9)
2000 Sep 21, An Iranian appeals
court reduced the prison terms for 10 Jews convicted of "cooperating"
with Israel, in a case that had drawn international criticism.
(AP, 9/21/01)
2000 Sep 22, Yehuda Amichai, poet,
died at age 76. His 1st collection was titled "Now and in Other Days,"
(1955).
(SFEC, 9/24/00, p.D15)
2000 Sep 28, Ariel Sharon led an
armed contingent of supporters to the top of Temple Mount in Jerusalem,
the site of 2 mosques, and incited Arab demonstrations. This marked the
beginning of the 2nd Palestinian uprising (Intifada).
(SFC, 4/30/02, p.A8)(SFC, 3/23/04, p.A11)
2000 Sep 29, Five people were
killed in clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli police at
the Temple Mount. It was the 2nd day of clashes following a visit to
the site by Ariel Sharon.
(SFC, 9/30/00, p.A1)
2000 Sep 30, Rosh Hashana. The
Jewish calendar new year began 5761.
(SFC, 1/1/2000, p.A18)
2000 Sep 30, Palestinians clashed
with Israeli forces across the West Bank and Gaza for a 3rd day and 12
Palestinians were killed with over 500 injured. Mohammed Jamal Aldura
(12) was among the dead and French TV showed him clinging to his father
as they were caught in gunfire. The Israeli Army later said that
Palestinian gunfire may have killed the boy.
(SFEC, 10/1/00, p.A1)(SFC, 10/2/00, p.A12)(SFC,
11/28/00, p.A16)
2000 Sep, The Waqf clerical trust
imposed a ban on non-Muslims to visit the Temple Mount.
(SFC, 1/22/02, p.A7)
2000 Oct 1, Israeli forces fought
Palestinian rioters for a 3rd day and at least 12 Palestinians were
killed. The fighting spread from the West Bank and Gaza to towns and
cities inside Israel.
(SFC, 10/2/00, p.A1)
2000 Oct 2, Israeli troops fired
on protesting Arabs. 19 people were killed in the West Bank and Gaza
and another 7 in Arab towns of northern Galilee. The 4 day toll rose to
48 dead and over 1,300 wounded. In 2003 the Or Commission blamed the
government of PM Barak for not paying attention to rising discontent
among Israel’s Arabs. In 2005 Israeli authorities, citing lack of
evidence, said they would not file charges against any police officers
for the killings of 13 Arabs during the October, 2000, riots.
(SFC, 10/3/00, p.A1)(WSJ, 10/3/00, p.A1)(SFC,
9/18/05, p.A3)
2000 Oct 3, A cease-fire between
Israel and the Palestinians quickly crumbled and the death toll climbed
to at least 54. Ehud Barak and Yasser Arafat planned to meet in Paris
to seek an end to the conflict.
(SFC, 10/4/00, p.A10)
2000 Oct 4, In Israel Barak agreed
to withdraw heavy arms from the West Bank and Gaza in a bid to halt
violence.
(WSJ, 10/5/00, p.A1)
2000 Oct 5, Israeli tanks pulled
back from forward positions and Palestinian security forces cleared
stone throwers from the streets in the 1st steps of a US-brokered
cease-fire.
(SFC, 10/6/00, p.A17)
2000 Oct 6, Israel pulled troops
from Joseph’s Tomb in Nablus in an effort to ease tensions.
(SFC, 10/7/00, p.A1)
2000 Oct 7, Three Israeli soldiers
were kidnapped on the Lebanon border. Un peacekeepers made a film 18
hours later that showed Hezbollah guerrillas, the vehicles used and
other evidence of the abduction.
(SFC, 7/12/01, p.A12)
2000 Oct 7, Palestinians tore up
Joseph’s Tomb in Nablus and Hezbollah guerrillas captured 3 Israeli
soldiers. Prime Minister Ehud Barak threatened to use force and to halt
the peace process unless the violence stopped.
(SFEC, 10/8/00, p.A1)
2000 Oct 9, Israel backed from a
deadline against the Palestinians to stop violence in the West Bank and
Gaza.
(SFC, 10/10/00, p.A1)
2000 Oct 11, Palestinians
continued to riot in Gaza and the West Bank and the death toll
approached 100.
(SFC, 10/12/00, p.A1)
2000 Oct 12, A mob of Palestinians
beat at least 2 Israeli reserve soldiers to death. Israeli helicopters
fired missiles at targets in Gaza in retaliation. Two reservist
soldiers, Cpl. Vadim Norjitz (33) and Yossi Avrahami (38) were on their
way to their army base in the West Bank in October 2000 but took a
wrong turn and ended up in Ramallah. Israel later arrested at least
four suspects in the killing. In 2007 a 5th suspect, Ayman Zaban, was
caught in an upscale neighborhood of the northern West Bank city of
Nablus.
(SFC, 10/13/00, p.A1)(AP, 9/26/07)
2000 Oct 16, A Middle East summit
was planned to begin at Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt. Violent
demonstrations continued in the West Bank and Gaza and 2 Palestinians
were killed.
(SFEC, 10/15/00, p.A1)(SFC, 10/17/00, p.A13)
2000 Oct 16, Israel announced the
kidnapping by Hizbullah of Elchanan Tannenbaum (b.1946), a colonel in
Israel’s reserves. He was kidnapped in Dubai and taken to Lebanon.
Tannenbaum was released in January 2004 as part of a prisoner swap with
Hezbollah. The swap exchanged 435 prisoners held by Israel in return
for Tannenbaum's release and the return of the bodies of 3 soldiers
killed during an ambush along the Israeli-Lebanese border.
(Econ, 9/6/08,
p.99)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elchanan_Tennenbaum)
2000 Oct 17, Israelis and
Palestinians agreed to a Middle East pact to halt the violence.
(SFC, 10/18/00, p.A1)
2000 Oct 18, In Israel undercover
agents captured as many as 8 Palestinians believed to have taken part
in the lynching death of 2 Israeli soldiers.
(SFC, 10/19/00, p.A1)
2000 Oct 19, Israeli soldiers
fought with Palestinian militiamen in the West Bank and 2 people were
killed with 18 wounded.
(SFC, 10/20/00, p.A16)
2000 Oct 20, Israeli troops killed
at least 9 Palestinians and wounded dozens in numerous West Bank
clashes.
(SFC, 10/21/00, p.A1)
2000 Oct 21, Tens of thousands of
Palestinians too to the streets in marches and funerals in Gaza and the
West Bank. 4 Palestinians were killed and over 100 injured.
(SFEC, 10/22/00, p.A1)
2000 Oct 21, Arab leaders met in
Cairo for a 2-day summit where they condemned Israel for violence and
made proposals to deal with Israel.
(SFEC, 10/22/00, p.A1,21)
2000 Oct 22, Arab nations demanded
a UN war crimes tribunal for Israelis responsible for Palestinian
deaths and formally ended economic cooperation with Israel. Ehud Barak
suspended Israeli participation in the peace process. He called for a
"timeout" to decide whether negotiations can be salvaged.
(SFC, 10/23/00, p.A1)
2000 Oct 23, Prime Minister Barak
opened negotiations with Ariel Sharon and the Likud Party for a
broad-based emergency government.
(SFC, 10/24/00, p.A14)
2000 Oct 23, Two more Palestinians
died from injuries received during rioting in Nablus.
(SFC, 10/24/00, p.A14)
2000 Oct 26, A Palestinian suicide
bomber blew himself up at an Israeli army outpost. 129 people, mostly
Palestinians, were reported killed in over four weeks of fighting.
(SFC, 10/27/00, p.A20)
2000 Oct 27, Palestinians clashed
with Israelis in a "Day of Rage" and 4 were killed with 150 people
injured.
(SFC, 10/28/00, p.A12)
2000 Oct 28, Palestinians clashed
with Israeli troops and at least 29 were wounded.
(SFEC, 10/29/00, p.A18)
2000 Oct 29, Israeli tanks rolled
through Gaza to secure free movement for Jewish settlers. 5
Palestinians were killed in Gaza, Nablus and Jenin.
(SFC, 10/30/00, p.A10)
2000 Oct 30, Israel fired rockets
from helicopter gunships in the West Bank and Gaza as a warning against
the use of guerrilla tactics. The death rose to 133 Palestinians and 10
Israelis.
(SFC, 10/31/00, p.A12)
2000 Oct 31, In Jerusalem Yasser
Arafat called for renewed resistance and 4 Palestinians (17-32) were
killed along the eastern Gaza Strip.
(SFC, 11/1/00, p.A16)
2000 Nov 1, 3 Israelis and 6
Palestinians were killed in West Bank clashes.
(SFC, 11/2/00, p.A12)
2000 Nov 2, In Jerusalem a car
bomb killed 2 Israelis on a day when a cease-fire, worked out between
Arafat and Shimon Peres, was to be announced.
(SFC, 11/3/00, p.A16)
2000 Nov 4, In Israel the clashes
eased as Pres. Barak and Yasser Arafat announced separate visits
to Washington for talks with Pres. Clinton.
(SFEC, 11/5/00, p.A11)
2000 Nov 5, Clashes in the West
Bank and Gaza left 2 Palestinians killed and 17 injured.
(SFC, 11/6/00, p.A12)
2000 Nov 6, Israel rejected a plan
for international observers in its conflict with the Palestinians.
(SFC, 11/7/00, p.B2)
2000 Nov 7, Pres. Clinton named
George Mitchell to head a fact-finding team in the Israeli-Palestinian
upheaval.
(SFC, 11/7/00, p.B2)
2000 Nov 8, Israeli troops killed
4 Palestinian teenagers and Palestinian gunmen ambushed and killed an
Israeli woman (24).
(SFC, 11/9/00, p.C2)
2000 Nov 9, Pres. Clinton met with
Yasser Arafat in Washington in an effort to end the bloodshed between
Israel and Palestine.
(SFC, 11/10/00, p.A16)
2000 Nov 9, Israeli helicopter
gunships fired missiles at a Palestinian vehicle and killed Fatah
militia leader Hussein Abayat along with 2 nearby women.
(SFC, 11/10/00, p.A1)
2000 Nov 10, Israel sealed
Bethlehem and Ramallah. Israeli troops killed 5 Palestinians in clashes
in the West Bank and Gaza. One Israeli soldier was killed in shooting
following a funeral for militia commander Hussein Abayat.
(SFC, 11/11/00, p.A1)
2000 Nov 11, Fighting in the West
Bank left 8 Palestinians dead along with 1 Israeli soldier.
(SFEC, 11/12/00, p.A19)
2000 Nov 12, Pres. Clinton met
with Ehud Barak in an effort to end Arab-Israeli fighting. Meanwhile
one Palestinian youth was killed in Gaza.
(SFC, 11/13/00, p.A1)
2000 Nov 12, Leah Rabin, widow of
Yitzhak Rabin, died at age 72.
(SFC, 11/13/00, p.A12)
2000 Nov 13, Palestinian gunmen
attacked inside Israeli controlled areas of the West Bank and Gaza and
killed 4 Israelis. Elsewhere 4 Palestinians were also killed over the
day.
(SFC, 11/14/00, p.A16)
2000 Nov 14, Israeli troops shot
dead 3 Palestinian teenagers (13-19) and a man was killed after
settlers threw rocks at his car.
(SFC, 11/15/00, p.A12)
2000 Nov 15, On Palestinian
Independence Day many processions turned into clashes with Israeli
forces and 8 Palestinians were killed. Israeli troops entered 3
Palestinian villages and captured 15 men suspected in recent shootings.
(SFC, 11/16/00, p.A14)
2000 Nov 16, Israeli forces
attacked 4 targets associated with Fatah. 2 Palestinians were killed in
clashes. Israel also reported a freeze on tax transfers to the
Palestinian Authority.
(SFC, 11/16/00, p.A14)(SFC, 11/17/00, p.A21)(WSJ,
11/17/00, p.A1)
2000 Nov 17, In Jerusalem Yasser
Arafat announced that he had given orders for Palestinian gunmen to
halt their shooting. Barak noted the possibility for int’l. supervisors
in a peace agreement.
(SFC, 11/18/00, p.A12)
2000 Nov 18, A Palestinian police
officer sneaked into a Jewish settlement in Gaza and shot dead an
Israeli soldier. He wounded 2 others before he was killed.
(SFEC, 11/19/00, p.A14)
2000 Nov 19, Israeli troops killed
a 14-year-old stone thrower in Gaza. One other Palestinian was killed
and 9 wounded.
(SFC, 11/20/00, p.A8)
2000 Nov 19, In Jordan an Israeli
envoy was wounded in an apparent assassination attempt.
(SFC, 11/20/00, p.A8)
2000 Nov 20, Israel fired a
barrage of missiles on the Gaza Strip in retaliation for an attack on a
school bus that killed 2 Jewish settlers and wounded 9 others including
3 siblings who lost limbs. At least 35 people were reported wounded in
the missile attack.
(SFC, 11/21/00, p.A1)
2000 Nov 21, Egypt recalled its
envoy from Israel to protest the bombings in Gaza.
(SFC, 11/22/00, p.A18)
2000 Nov 21, An Israeli motorist
was wounded and a Palestinian was killed in the Gaza Strip.
(WSJ, 11/22/00, p.A1)
2000 Nov 22, In Hadera, Israel, a
car bomb killed at least 2 Israelis and wounded dozens. A Palestinian
militia leader and 3 others were killed by Israeli fire in the Gaza
Strip.
(SFC, 11/23/00, p.A20)
2000 Nov 23, The Israeli army
ordered Palestinian police to leave liaison offices after 2 soldiers
were killed in the Gaza Strip. A Hamas member was killed in a car
explosion in Nablus. A Palestinian court later sentenced to death a man
convicted of helping Israeli security agents assassinate the Hamas
bomber.
(SFC, 11/24/00, p.A1)(WSJ, 11/24/00, p.A1)(WSJ,
12/8/00, p.A1)
2000 Nov 25, Israeli soldiers
killed 4 Palestinians and wounded over 30 in a series of clashes that
undermined field level cooperation. 2 students and 2 bakers were killed
by Israeli soldiers, who claimed Jamal Abdel Razek was a leader of the
Tanzim militia traveling with 3 bodyguards.
(SSFC, 11/26/00, p.A18)(SFC, 12/6/00, p.A16)
2000 Nov 26, Israel attacked
targets in southern Lebanon after a roadside bomb killed one Israeli
soldier and wounded 2 others near the border. 4 armed Palestinians were
killed as they left Qalqilya into an area on Israeli control.
(SFC, 11/27/00, p.A8)
2000 Nov 30, Palestinians rejected
a scaled-back peace plan proposed by Ehud Barak.
(SFC, 12/1/00, p.A1)
2000 Dec 1, Israelis killed 2
Palestinians and injured over 20 in clashes in the West Bank and Gaza.
(SFC, 12/2/00, p.A13)
2000 Dec 4, Israeli soldiers
wounded 25 people in the West Bank village of Husan.
(SFC, 12/5/00, p.A14)
2000 Dec 5, The Israeli and
Palestinian violence was reported to have cost the Palestinians over
$500 million in lost wages and sales since late September.
(SFC, 12/6/00, p.A16)
2000 Dec 6, The Israeli Betselem
human-rights group condemned the Israeli army for excessive force in
combating the Palestinian intifada.
(SFC, 12/7/00, p.A12)
2000 Dec 6, The World Bank
approved a $12 million grant to help Palestinians.
(SFC, 12/7/00, p.A12)
2000 Dec 8, In Jerusalem and the
West Bank 7 Palestinians and 3 Israelis were killed in the ongoing
violence.
(SFC, 12/9/00, p.A16)
2000 Dec 9, Prime Minister Barak
announced that he would submit his resignation and call for new
elections. It appeared to be a ploy to prevent Benjamin Netanyahu from
running in opposition.
(SSFC, 12/10/00, p.A1)
2000 Dec 10, In Israel former
prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced his intent to unseat Ehud
Barak.
(SFC, 12/11/00, p.A1)
2000 Dec 12, Israeli soldiers
killed Yousef Abu Swayeh (27), a West Bank Palestinian leader.
(SFC, 12/13/00, p.B4)
2000 Dec 13, Fighting in Gaza left
4 Palestinian policemen dead. A Fatah activist was killed in the West
Bank.
(WSJ, 12/14/00, p.A1)
2000 Dec 15, Ehud Barak made a bid
to restart peace talks as 6 more Palestinians were shot dead by Israeli
troops.
(SFC, 12/16/00, p.A20)
2000 Dec 19, Benjamin Netanyahu
dropped from the election race after the Knesset voted not to disband
itself.
(SFC, 12/19/00, p.A16)
2000 Dec 17, Israeli and
Palestinian officials agreed to hold talks in Washington prior to the
departure of Pres. Clinton.
(SFC, 12/18/00, p.E2)
2000 Dec 21, In Israel the
legislature blocked an attempt by Shimon Peres to run for prime
minister. The Feb 6 election pits Ariel Sharon against Ehud Barak.
(SFC, 12/22/00, p.A20)
2000 Dec 21, Israeli officials
acknowledged a "liquidation" policy for hunting down and killing
Palestinian militants.
(SFC, 12/22/00, p.A20)
2000 Dec 22, Israel announced that
it is prepared to surrender sovereignty over the Temple Mount in
Jerusalem as part of a peace agreement.
(SFC, 12/23/00, p.A12)
2000 Dec 23, Negotiators from
Israel and Palestine left Washington without an agreement on critical
issues.
(SSFC, 12/24/00, p.A12)
2000 Dec 25, Pres. Clinton laid
down a new set of proposals for peace between Israelis and
Palestinians. The proposals included a Palestinian concession for some
3.7 million refugees to give up the right of return and for Israelis to
cede sovereignty over the Temple Mount.
(SFC, 12/26/00, p.A1)(SFC, 12/27/00, p.A14)
2000 Dec 28, Bombs exploded in Tel
Aviv and Gaza shortly after a peace summit was cancelled. 2 Israeli
soldiers were killed.
(SFC, 12/29/00, p.A1)
2000 Dec 29, In Gaza a Palestinian
police officer was killed in a shootout as Israeli soldiers bulldozed a
grove of trees.
(SFC, 12/30/00, p.A8)
2000 Dec, The Holy Land Greek
Orthodox Patriarch, Diodorus I, died.
(SSFC, 10/14/01, p.A17)
2000 Barry Chamish authored “The
Last Days of Israel.”
(www.amazon.com)
2000 Samuel G. Freedman authored
"Jew vs. Jew," an attempt to illuminate some of the controversy over
the question: "who is a Jew."
(WSJ, 8/8/00, p.A20)
2000 Yoram Hazony authored "The
Jewish State."
(WSJ, 6/1/00, p.A20)
2000 Ilana Pardes authored “The
Biography of Ancient Israel.”
(WSJ, 8/19/06, p.P8)
2000 Vol. 1 of the 4-volume "The
Jewish Political Tradition" was edited by Michael Walzer, Menachem
Lorberbaum, Noam J. Zohar and Yair Lorberbaum.
(WSJ, 6/29/00, p.A24)
2000 Ruth R. Wisse authored "The
Modern Jewish Canon," an examination of modern Jewish literature.
(WSJ, 10/17/00, p.A20)
2000 Amos Gitai, Israeli film
maker, directed “Kippur,” a drama about the 1973 Arab-Israeli conflict.
(SSFC, 8/6/06, p.E1)(http://tinyurl.com/gyhxr)
2000-2001 Israeli and Arab hackers vandalized
and crashed each others’ websites over a 4-month period. Attacks also
occurred against telecom films supplying internet connections.
(Econ, 5/26/07, p.64)
2001 Jan 1, A car bomb wounded at
least 40 people in Netanya and gunfire killed 4 Palestinians in the
West Bank.
(SFC, 1/2/01, p.A1)
2001 Jan 7, Pres. Clinton told the
people of Israel that "there is no choice for you but to divide this
land into two states for two people."
(SFC, 1/8/01, p.A9)
2001 Jan 11, High level peace
talks resumed as Israel lifted the blockade of West Bank towns of
Qalqilyah and Jenin and reopened the Palestinian airport in Gaza.
Palestinian travel from the West Bank to Jordan and from Gaza to Egypt
was opened.
(SFC, 1/12/01, p.A16)
2001 Jan 18, Ofir Rafum (16) of
Israel was murdered in the West Bank after being lured over by a woman
via an internet relationship.
(SFC, 1/20/01, p.A11)
2001 Jan 19, The US and Israel
signed an agreement to phase out economic aid by 2008. Half the aid
would be replaced by military aid. Separately $80 million was pledged
to a UN relief agency for Palestinian refugees.
(SFC, 1/20/01, p.A11)
2001 Jan 20, In Israel Prime
Minister Barak agreed to a Palestinian proposal for a fresh round of
peace negotiations in Taba, Egypt.
(SSFC, 1/21/01, p.D3)
2001 Jan 20, In the West Bank
Israeli soldiers captured Mona Najar (25), suspected in the Jan 18
luring and murder of Ophir Rakhum.
(SSFC, 1/21/01, p.3)
2001 Jan 22, Israeli and
Palestinian negotiators met in Taba, Egypt.
(SFC, 1/23/01, p.A12)
2001 Jan 23, Peace talks were
suspended after Palestinian gunmen executed 2 Israelis, alleged Shin
Bet security agents, in Tulkarem.
(SFC, 1/24/01, p.A13)
2001 Jan 25, Israel and Palestine
continued talks in Egypt as an Israeli motorist was killed in an ambush
by the "Thabet Thabet Brigade."
(SFC, 1/26/01, p.A12)
2001 Jan 27, Israel and Palestine
ended 6 days of talks in Egypt. They failed to reach a peace accord but
declared that they were never closer.
(SSFC, 1/28/01, p.A18)
2001 Jan 28, In Israel state
workers under the Histadrut labor federation expanded their strike with
a walkout by workers at Ben-Gurion airport over pay demands. In
Switzerland Arafat accused Israel of waging "fascist military
aggression" and "a barbaric war."
(SFC, 1/29/01, p.A12)
2001 Jan 29, An Israeli motorist
was killed in the West Bank as Yasser Arafat reversed his rhetoric and
sent a message for peace.
(SFC, 1/30/01, p.A11)
2001 Feb 6, In Israel Ariel Sharon
won the elections over Ehud Barak 62.6 to 37.2% with a record low
turnout of 62%.
(SFC, 2/7/01, p.A1)(WSJ, 2/7/01, p.A1)
2001 Feb 7, Ariel Sharon signaled
an end to the peace process begun in 1993 in Oslo and planned something
in the spirit of Oslo on an interim level.
(SFC, 2/8/01, p.A12)
2001 Feb 8, In Israel 2 blasts
from an explosives rigged car injured one woman in Jerusalem. Ehud
Barak announced that he would take over Labor Party negotiations to
join the Sharon government.
(SFC, 2/9/01, p.A16)
2001 Feb 9, In Israel Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon asked Ehud Barak to serve as defense minister. A
Palestinian shepherd was killed by an Israeli bullet.
(SFC, 2/10/01, p.A10)(SSFC, 2/11/01, p.C5)
2001 Feb 10, Israel said it would
not cooperate with the newly arrived UN human rights mission for a
fact-finding tour of Palestinian areas.
(SSFC, 2/11/01, p.C1)
2001 Feb 12, Israeli soldiers shot
and killed 2 Palestinians in the West Bank and dozens of Palestinians
were wounded in a gunbattle in the Gaza Strip.
(SFC, 2/13/01, p.A10)
2001 Feb 13, Israeli gunships
killed Massoud Ayyad (57), a Palestinian security official, with
anti-tank missiles fired at his car in Gaza.
(SFC, 2/14/01, p.A14)
2001 Feb 14, Khalil Abu Olbeh
(35), a Palestinian bus driver, drove his bus into a group of Israelis
in Tel Aviv and killed 8 people. The dead included 3 male and 4 female
soldiers and 1 civilian woman. Olbeh, was later sentenced to eight life
terms.
(SFC, 2/14/01, p.A14)(SFC, 2/15/01, p.A12)(AP,
2/14/02)
2001 Feb 15, Ehud Barak agreed to
become the defense minister under Ariel Sharon.
(SFC, 2/16/01, p.A1)
2001 Feb 19, In the West Bank
Mahmoud Madani (25), a Hamas activist, was shot to death from long
range.
(SFC, 2/20/01, p.A9)
2001 Feb 20, Prime Minister Ehud
Barak withdrew from a proposed position as Defense Minister under Ariel
Sharon.
(SFC, 2/21/01, p.A1)
2001 Feb 23, Palestinians
demonstrated against the visit of Colin Powell and one was killed in
clashes with Israeli security forces.
(SFC, 2/24/01, p.A10)
2001 Feb 26, The labor party voted
reluctantly to join the incoming government of Ariel Sharon.
(SFC, 2/27/01, p.A10)
2001 Mar 1, In Israel a
Palestinian in a taxi detonated a bomb that killed one passenger,
injured 9 and blew off his own legs.
(SFC, 3/2/01, p.A17)
2001 Mar 2, The Labor Party chose
8 members to serve in the Cabinet of Ariel Sharon. Shimon Peres was
named foreign minister and Benjamin Ben-Eliezer as defense minister.
(SFC, 3/3/01, p.A10)
2001 Mar 4, A bomb exploded in
Netanya and 2 people were killed and at least 15 injured.
(SSFC, 3/4/01, p.A27)
2001 Mar 4, In Israel a
Palestinian suicide bomber killed himself and 3 Israelis in Netanya.
(SSFC, 3/4/01, p.A27)
2001 Mar 7, Ariel Sharon took
office as the nation’s 11th Prime Minister. He insisted that
Palestinians must reduce violence before he would resume negotiations
for peace.
(SFC, 3/7/01, p.A9)(SFC, 3/8/01, p.A12)
2001 Mar 12, Israel sealed off the
city of Ramallah, the unofficial seat of the Palestinian Authority.
(SFC, 3/13/01, p.A15)
2001 Mar 15, Israel arrested 3
members of an elite Palestinian security force who allegedly planned a
bomb attack on Israeli West Bank military headquarters.
(SFC, 3/16/01, p.A14)
2001 Mar 18, Palestinians first
used mortars on Israel proper and hit the army base near Nahal Oz
kibbutz.
(SFC, 4/10/01, p.A10)
2001 Mar 20, Pres. Bush met with
Israel’s Ariel Sharon and urged him avoid provocative acts.
(SFC, 3/21/01, p.A12)
2001 Mar 21, Yitzhak Mordecai, a
former defense minister, was convicted for sexual assault and
harassment of two women.
(SFC, 3/22/01, p.A12)
2001 Mar 26, In Hebron a
Palestinian sniper shot and killed a 10-month-old Jewish girl. A
15-year-old Palestinian boy was shot and wounded in Gaza.
(SFC, 3/27/01, p.F1)
2001 Mar 27, Two bombings in
Jerusalem wounded some 35 people.
(SFC, 3/28/01, p.A10)
2001 Mar 28, Two Israeli teenagers
were killed by a Palestinian suicide bomber. Israeli gunships followed
up with missile strikes at Arafat’s personal security forces and at
least 3 Palestinians were killed.
(SFC, 3/29/01, p.A10)
2001 Mar 30, Israeli Arabs
observed Land Day with peaceful marches. Israeli soldiers shot to death
6 Palestinians and wounded over 100.
(SFC, 3/31/01, p.A10)
2001 Mar 30, SAP, a large German
software firm, announced that it would buy bought Top Tier, a small
Israeli software firm founded by Shai Agassi, for $400 million. Top
Tier enabled business partners to access SAP applications using a web
interface. In 2007 Agassi left SAP and founded Better Place, a company
dedicated to building a global network of charging and battery-exchange
stations to make electric cars a mass-market proposition.
(http://irrationalbusiness.com/new/research/shorttakes/4102001.html)(Econ,
5/2/09, p.68)
2001 Apr 2, An Israeli helicopter
rocketed a truck and killed an Islamic Jihad militant. In Bethlehem a
sniper killed an Israeli soldier.
(WSJ, 4/3/01, p.A1)
2001 Apr 3, Israel fired rockets
at 4 Gaza Strip targets after a 10-year-old boy was injured in a mortar
assault on a Jewish settlement.
(SFC, 4/4/01, p.A10)
2001 Apr 4, An Israeli armored
personnel carrier accidentally overturned in the West Bank and 5
soldiers were killed.
(SFC, 4/5/01, p.A11)
2001 Apr 5, Iyad Hardan, head of
Sarai al-Quds, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad, was killed in
the explosion of a booby trapped pay phone in the West Bank.
(SFC, 4/6/01, p.A16)
2001 Apr 7, The weeklong Jewish
Passover began at sundown.
(SSFC, 4/8/01, p.C3)
2001 Apr 10, Israeli rockets were
fired at a Palestinian police post next to the Khan Yunis refugee camp.
At least 25 Palestinians were wounded.
(SFC, 4/11/01, p.C2)
2001 Apr 11, Israel sent tanks and
bulldozers into the Khan Yunis refugee camp and demolished over 2 dozen
homes. 2 Palestinians were killed and 25 injured in ground fighting.
(SFC, 4/12/01, p.A12)(WSJ, 4/12/01, p.A1)
2001 Apr 16, Israeli warplanes
struck deep in Lebanon and attacked a Syrian radar site. 3 Syrians were
killed. In the evening Israeli helicopters hit Palestinian positions in
Gaza in retaliation for a mortar attack on an Israeli town. Bulldozers
were sent to tear up farmland near Beit Hanoun, the suspected source of
the mortar fire.
(SFC, 4/16/01, p.A9)(WSJ, 4/16/01, p.A1)(SFC,
4/17/01, p.A8)
2001 Apr 17, Israeli tanks,
bulldozers and ground troops seized Palestinian territory but withdrew
under US pressure after 18 hours.
(SFC, 4/18/01, p.A1)
2001 Apr 18, Israel raided
southern Gaza and leveled a Palestinian police station in response to
mortar attacks.
(SFC, 4/19/01, p.A10)
2001 Apr 19, Israel removed road
blocks to Palestinian travel in the Gaza Strip.
(SFC, 4/20/01, p.A15)
2001 Apr 20, Yasser Arafat
proposed that he and Ariel Sharon simultaneously call for an end
Israeli-Palestinian violence.
(SFC, 4/21/01, p.A12)
2001 Apr 22, In Israel a suicide
bomber killed himself and an Israeli physician at a bus stop in Kfar
Sava. 40-50 others were wounded.
(SFC, 4/23/01, p.A8)(WSJ, 4/23/01, p.A1)
2001 Apr 23, In Gaza a 12-year-old
Palestinian boy was shot and killed during the funeral of a Palestinian
police officer. 11 others were wounded. Near Tel Aviv a 3rd bomb blast
in 2 days injured 4 people.
(SFC, 4/24/01, p.A10)
2001 Apr 24, Israel promised to
ease restrictions on Palestinian towns in exchange for Palestinian
efforts to prevent violence. Fighting left 2 Palestinians dead.
(SFC, 4/25/01, p.A12)(WSJ, 4/25/01, p.A1)
2001 Apr 25, In Gaza an explosion
killed 4 Palestinian police.
(SFC, 4/26/01, p.A14)
2001 Apr 28, Shimon Peres,
Israel’s foreign minister, traveled to Cairo to discuss objections to
the Jordanian-Egyptian Middle East peace initiative.
(SFC, 4/28/01, p.A12)
2001 Apr 28, In Gaza mortar shells
hit a Jewish settlement and 5 teenagers were injured.
(SSFC, 4/29/01, p.A16)
2001 Apr 30, Five Palestinians
were killed in bomb blasts in Gaza and the West Bank.
(SFC, 5/1/01, p.A10)
2001 May 1, In the West Bank Assaf
Hershovitz (31), a Jewish settler, was killed when his van was hit by
27 bullets outside Ramallah.
(SFC, 5/2/01, p.A8)
2001 May 2, Israeli bulldozers
demolished 20 houses in the Rafah refugee camp in Gaza and killed one
teenager during the predawn operation.
(SFC, 5/3/01, p.B1)
2001 May 4, Sen. George Mitchell,
head of the US-led mission on Israeli-Palestinian fighting, issued a
report and said Israel should freeze settlement constructions.
(SFC, 5/5/01, p.D1)
2001 ` May 5, In the West Bank
Ahmed Khalil Assad (37), a Palestinian militant, was shot to death in
front of his 2-year-old niece, who was injured. In Jericho Israeli
soldiers rocketed a Palestinian police base and 17 people were injured.
(SSFC, 5/6/01, p.A14)
2001 May 7, Israeli tank fire
killed Iman Hijo, a Palestinian 4-month-old baby in Khan Yunis. A
Palestinian police officer in the West Bank was also killed.
(WSJ, 5/8/01, p.A1)(SFC, 5/8/01, p.C5)
2001 May 7, It was reported that
Shaaban Abdel Rehim, an Egyptian singer, had a big hit with his song "I
Hate Israel."
(SFC, 5/7/01, p.C1)
2001 May 9, In the West Bank 2
Israeli teenagers, Koby Mandell (13) and Yossi Ishran (14), were stoned
to death and found in a cave.
(WSJ, 5/10/01, p.A1)(SFC, 5/10/01, p.A16)
2001 May 10, Israel retaliated for
a roadside bomb that that killed 2 Romanian workers. Rockets were fired
at Palestinian police headquarters and Fatah offices in Gaza.
(WSJ, 5/11/01, p.A1)
2001 May 11, In Gaza Israeli
bulldozers flattened a police station and 5 homes. Tanks fired at the
Jabaliya refugee camp. Surface to air missiles hit downtown Gaza City.
(BS, 5/12/01, p.9A)(SFC, 5/11/01, p.A16)
2001 May 12, In the West Bank
Moutasem Sabaa (26), a Palestinian militant, and Ala’a Jaloudi, a
Palestinian policeman, were killed in an Israeli helicopter attack. 3
members of the Tanzim militia escaped.
(SSFC, 5/13/01, p.A13)
2001 May 13, Israeli helicopters
rocketed Palestinian police compounds in the Gaza Strip. Navy ships
fired shells at the Palestinian navy office in the Nusseiraqt refugee
camp.
(SFC, 5/14/01, p.A9)
2001 May 14, Israeli forces gunned
down 5 Palestinian police officers (18-29) at a checkpoint in Beitunia,
a suburb of Ramallah. Israel later admitted that the men killed were
mistaken for members of Force 17.
(SFC, 5/15/01, p.A9)(SFC, 5/17/01, p.A10)
2001 May 15, On Israel’s 53rd
birthday Israeli troops shot and killed at least 4 Palestinians and
over 200 were wounded. An Israeli woman was also killed in the West
Bank.
(SFC, 5/16/01, p.A10)(WSJ, 5/16/01, p.A1)
2001 May 18, In Israel a suicide
bomber killed 7 others and wounded over 100 women and children at a
shopping mall in Netanya. Israeli F-16 jets retaliated and killed at 10
Palestinian security personnel in 3 Palestinian cities. Near the Neve
Tzuf Jewish settlement Yair Nebentzal (22) was killed by sniper fire.
(SFC, 5/19/01, p.A1)(WSJ, 8/31/01, p.A1)(AP, 5/18/06)
2001 May 21, Amid escalating
Middle East violence, an international commission submitted a report
calling for end to violence, but it was never implemented.
(AP, 9/6/03)
2001 May 23, An Israeli contractor
was killed in an ambush in the West Bank. 38 Palestinians including 15
children were wounded in a firefight at the Rafah refugee camp in Gaza.
(SFC, 5/24/01, p.A14)
2001 May 24, The Israeli Air Force
shot down a small plane off the coast and killed a Lebanese student
pilot (43). Israel sent tanks into the Gaza Strip and 2 people were
killed.
(SFC, 5/25/01, p.A14)(WSJ, 5/25/01, p.A1)
2001 May 24, In Jerusalem a Jewish
wedding hall collapsed and 23 people were killed in a horrifying scene
captured on videotape.
(SFC, 5/25/01, p.A14)(AP, 5/24/02)
2001 May 25, Three Palestinian
suicide bombers attacked in Hadera and the Gaza Strip but only killed
themselves.
(SFC, 5/26/01, p.A8)
2001 May 28, Israel and the
Palestinians agreed to resume talks on security cooperation.
(SFC, 5/29/01, p.A12)
2001 May 29, In Israel and the
West Bank 3 Palestinians and 3 Israelis were killed.
(SFC, 5/30/01, p.A10)
2001 May 31, In Israel a Jewish
settler was killed in the West Bank and Palestinian (17) was killed
during a clash in Ramallah. Since Sept. 483 Palestinians have died and
88 Israelis including 24 settlers.
(SFC, 6/1/01, p.D6)
2001 Jun 1, In Israel a
Palestinian suicide bomber killed 21 young people at a Tel Aviv disco.
At least 80 people were injured in the Hamas attack.
(SFC, 6/2/01, p.A1)(SFC, 12/30/01, p.D3)
2001 Jun 2, In the West Bank
Yasser Arafat announced that he would make every effort to bring about
an unconditional cease-fire.
(SSFC, 6/3/01, p.A1)
2001 Jun 4, As Israeli soldiers
and Palestinians exchanged fire in Rafah, Hamas said that it would join
the cease-fire.
(SFC, 6/5/01, p.A12)
2001 Jun 9, Israeli tank shells
killed 3 Palestinian women, Nessra Malaha (65), Salimia Malaha (46) and
Hikmet Malaha (17), in the Gaza Strip.
(SSFC, 6/10/01, p.A15)
2001 Jun 12, Israel and the
Palestinians agreed to a cease-fire following 6 days of mediation by US
CIA director George Tenet.
(SFC, 6/13/01, p.D2)
2001 Jun 13, Israel eased travel
restrictions into the West Bank and Gaza as the armistice went into
effect. Under the agreement Israel had 48 hours to pull tanks and
troops back and Palestinians were due to start arresting militants
planning attacks.
(SFC, 6/14/01, p.A14)
2001 Jun 14, In Israel Lt. Col.
Yehuda Edri (45) was killed by a Palestinian man, who was then killed
by Edri’s bodyguard. Another Palestinian man was killed in a driveby
shooting in the West Bank and Jewish settlers were suspect.
(SFC, 6/15/01, p.A18)
2001 Jun 17, Israeli soldiers shot
and killed Ali Abu Shaweesh (5) when they fired on
Palestinian demonstrators near Jewish settlements in Gaza.
(SFC, 6/18/01, p.A10)
2001 Jun 19, Israel reached an
agreement with Lockheed to purchase 50 F-15 fighters for $2 billion.
(WSJ, 6/20/01, p.A6)
2001 Jun 22, In Israel settlers
blocked West Bank roads and scuffled with soldiers in a 3rd day of
right-wing violence. A Palestinian suicide bombing killed 2 Israeli
soldiers.
(SFC, 6/23/01, p.A8)
2001 Jun 24, In the West Bank town
of Nablus Osama Jawabri (29), a Palestinian activist, was killed by a
bomb planted in a public phone.
(SFC, 6/25/01, p.A8)
2001 Jun 26, Pres. Bush met with
Israel’s PM Ariel Sharon who resisted pressure to move faster on a US
backed cease-fire accord. Sharon insisted on a complete halt to
Palestinian hostilities.
(WSJ, 6/27/01, p.A1)(SFC, 6/27/01, p.A10)
2001 Jun 29, A Hezbollah attack
injured 2 Israelis in a disputed border area.
(WSJ, 7/2/01, p.A1)
2001 Jul 1, Israel hit a Syrian
radar site in Lebanon. In the West Bank Israeli helicopters rocketed a
car with 3 Islamic Jihad members. Israeli infantry killed 2 Hamas
members.
(WSJ, 7/2/01, p.A1)(SFC, 7/2/01, p.A8)
2001 Jul 2, An Israeli was killed
while shopping near the West Bank and a Palestinian was killed by
Israeli troops. The US scrambled to salvage the cease-fire.
(WSJ, 7/3/01, p.A1)(SFC, 7/3/01, p.A7)
2001 Jul 7, In the Gaza Strip a
Palestinian boy was shot and killed and 2 others injured by Israeli
soldiers. Palestinian militants were said to have been shooting in the
Raffah refugee camp area.
(SSFC, 7/8/01, p.A13)
2001 Jul 8, Israeli agents in
Hebron abducted Ayoub Sharawi, a member of Hamas. In Gaza Palestinians
and Israelis exchanged gunfire in Rafah.
(SFC, 7/9/01, p.A8)
2001 Jul 8, Israeli wrecking crews
destroyed 14 Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem at the edge of the
Shuafat refugee camp.
(SFC, 7/10/01, p.A7)
2001 Jul 10, Israel destroyed at
least 10 Palestinian structures in Rafah in the Gaza Strip and ignited
a fierce gun battle.
(WSJ, 7/10/01, p.A1)(SFC, 7/11/01, p.A7)
2001 Jul 11, An Israeli soldier
shot and killed a Palestinian woman after her taxi evaded a roadblock.
Israeli police in Afula captured a Palestinian would-be suicide bomber.
(SFC, 7/12/01, p.A12)
2001 Jul 12, Israeli tanks shelled
police posts in Nablus after Palestinian gunmen wounded Israeli
motorists. One Palestinian police officer was killed.
(SFC, 7/13/01, p.A14)
2001 Jul 13, In Gaza and the West
Bank 2 Islamic Hamas militants were killed. Israeli soldiers shot and
killed one in Tulkarm. Fawaz Badran (27) was killed when his car
exploded.
(SFC, 7/14/01, p.A10)
2001 Jul 15, PM Sharon and his
Cabinet decided to build new towns in the Halutza Sands region of the
Negev Desert. Shimon Peres met with Arafat in Cairo and a gunbattle in
Hebron left 20 Palestinians wounded.
(SFC, 7/16/01, p.A8)
2001 Jul 16, A Palestinian suicide
bomber killed himself and 2 Israelis at a bus stop north of Tel Aviv.
The bombing was believed to be an effort to mar the opening of the
Macabiah, the Jewish Olympics in Jerusalem. Israel retaliated by
shelling Palestinian police posts in 2 West Bank towns.
(SFC, 7/17/01, p.A6)(WSJ, 7/17/01, p.A1)
2001 Jul 17, An Israeli helicopter
fired missiles at a hut in Bethlehem and 4 Palestinians were killed. A
few hours later Palestinians fired a mortar shell into a Jewish
neighborhood of Jerusalem.
(SFC, 7/18/01, p.A12)
2001 Jul 19, The US joined major
powers in calling for 3rd parties to monitor a cease-fire between
Israel and the Palestinians.
(SFC, 7/20/01, p.A14)
2001 Jul 19, In the West Bank
Jewish extremists, who identified themselves as the Committee for Road
Safety, killed 3 Palestinians including a 3-month-old girl, in a
drive-by shooting near Hebron.
(SFC, 7/20/01, p.A14)
2001 Jul 20, In the West Bank an
explosion leveled the office of Yasser Arafat in Hebron and Rajai Abu
Rajab, an activist in the Tanzim, was found dead. Israel denied firing
any missiles.
(SFC, 7/21/01, p.E1)
2001 Jul 23, Israeli police killed
a Palestinian who drove a would-be bomber toward Haifa. In Gaza Israeli
soldiers killed a Palestinian teenager.
(WSJ, 7/24/01, p.A1)
2001 Jul 25, Israeli troops killed
Salah Darwazeh, a Hamas militant, with antitank rockets as he drove
near Nablus. Informant Ahmed Abu Issah, father of nine, was paid $50
for information on Darwazeh and was later condemned to death by a
Palestinian court.
(WSJ, 7/26/01, p.A1)(SFC, 8/11/01, p.A1)
2001 Jul 26, An Israeli youth was
killed in a drive-by shooting and 3 bombs went off in the West Bank
with no injuries.
(WSJ, 7/27/01, p.A1)
2001 Jul 30, In the West Bank 6
Palestinian Fatah activists were killed in an explosion near the
Al-Fara refugee camp. Israeli helicopters soon after rocketed a weapons
storage center in Gaza and at least 7 Palestinian police officers were
wounded.
(SFC, 7/30/01, p.A6)(WSJ, 7/30/01, p.A1)(SFC,
7/31/01, p.A6)
2001 Jul 31, In the West Bank
Israeli gunships killed 8 people in Nablus including 2 Hamas leaders,
Jamal Mansour and Jamal Salim, and 2 children.
(SFC, 8/1/01, p.A1)(SFC, 8/2/01, p.A7)
2001 Aug 1, Israeli troops killed
a Palestinian man in heavy fighting in Hebron.
(WSJ, 8/2/01, p.A1)
2001 Aug 3, Yasser Arafat’s news
agency called for a halt to armed attacks against Israel.
(SFC, 8/4/01, p.A6)
2001 Aug 4, The Israeli army fired
missiles at a convoy carrying the Palestinian West Bank leader Marwan
Barghouti.
(SSFC, 8/5/01, p.A12)
2001 Aug 5, In Israel a
Palestinian gunman shot into a crowd of soldiers in Tel Aviv and
injured 10 people before he was fatally shot. In 2 other incidents an
Israeli woman was killed in a drive-by shooting and a Palestinian
attempting to plant a bomb in Tulkarm was killed by Israeli troops.
(SFC, 8/6/01, p.A1,A10)
2001 Aug 7, Two Israelis were shot
dead on the West Bank. Israel gave its soldiers a freer hand to fire on
Palestinians.
(WSJ, 8/8/01, p.A1)
2001 Aug 9, In Jerusalem a
Palestinian suicide bomber, Izzadine Masri, killed himself and 15
others at the Sbarro pizzeria. 90 people were wounded. Hamas claimed
responsibility.
(WSJ, 8/10/01, p.A1)(SFC, 7/24/02, p.A14)(AP, 8/9/06)
2001 Aug 10, Israeli forces took
over 9 buildings in East Jerusalem in retaliation for the suicide
bombing that killed 15 people.
(SFC, 8/11/01, p.A8)
2001 Aug 12, In Israel Palestinian
suicide bomber Muhammad Nasser (28) blew himself up at the Wall Street
Café in Kiryat Motzkin near Haifa. 21 other people were injured.
In Hebron a Palestinian girl died in a clash with Israeli troops.
(SFC, 8/13/01, p.A1)(WSJ, 8/13/01, p.A1)(AP, 8/12/02)
2001 Aug 14, Israeli tanks rolled
into Palestinian-controlled Jenin. Bulldozers destroyed a Palestinian
police station and Israeli forces took back with them some 70
Palestinians, who had been jailed in Jenin for collaboration with
Israel. In Nablus Shadi Affori (19), a Fatah member, was killed in an
explosion at his home.
(SFC, 8/14/01, p.A1)(SFC, 8/15/01, p.A6)
2001 Aug 15, Israeli undercover
troops in Hebron killed Emad Abu Sneiheh (25), an activist in the
Tanzim militia.
(SFC, 8/16/01, p.A9)
2001 Aug 19, In the West Bank
Israeli troops killed Mohammed Abu Arrar (14) at Rafah and Muin Abu
Lawi (38) near Nablus. Samir Abu Zaid and his 2 sons were killed when
their house was shelled in Rafah. Palestinians blamed Israeli missiles,
while the Israelis blamed Palestinian mortar rounds. Israel later said
Zaid and his children were killed by a bomb he was making.
(SFC, 8/20/01, p.A8)(WSJ, 8/21/01, p.A1)
2001 Aug 20, European monitors in
Hebron (TIPH) announced they would no longer patrol the city’s Jewish
enclave due to attacks by settlers.
(SFC, 8/21/01, p.A7)
2001 Aug 21, Yasser Arafat agreed
to truce talks with Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres.
(SFC, 8/22/01, p.A10)
2001 Aug 22, Israeli forces killed
7 Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.
(SFC, 8/23/01, p.A8)(WSJ, 8/23/01, p.A1)
2001 Aug 23, Israeli forces raided
Palestinian neighborhoods in Hebron following the shooting of 2 young
Jewish brothers. One Palestinian was reported killed and a dozen
wounded. In Gaza Israeli forces killed Mahmoud Zourab (11), a
Palestinian boy throwing stones.
(SFC, 8/24/01, p.A16)
2001 Aug 25, Palestinian
commandoes killed an Israeli officer and 2 soldiers in a pre-dawn raid
in Bedolah, Gaza Strip. 2 commandoes of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade
were killed a 1 escaped. Palestinian gunmen north of Jerusalem killed 3
members of an Israeli family in a car ambush. 2 children were wounded.
(SSFC, 8/26/01, p.A1)
2001 Aug 26, Israeli jets
flattened the Palestinian Gaza City police headquarters in retaliation
for the shooting ambush of a settler family. Other Palestinian police
buildings and checkpoints were bombed.
(SFC, 8/27/01, p.A6)
2001 Aug 27, Israeli helicopters
fired missiles into the offices of Mustafa Zibri, chief of the Popular
Front for the Liberation of Palestine, in El Bireh. Zibri was killed
and thousands of Palestinians began protests.
(SFC, 8/28/01, p.A1)
2001 Aug 28, Israeli force
occupied parts of Beit Jala in the West Bank.
(SFC, 8/29/01, p.A1)
2001 Aug 29, Four Palestinians and
1 Israeli were killed in ongoing violence.
(SFC, 8/30/01, p.A8)
2001 Aug 30, Israeli forces began
pulling out of Beit Jala. 3 Palestinians were killed in gunbattles with
Israeli troops. One Israeli was killed in a Palestinian village in a
restaurant that he helped a friend establish.
(SFC, 8/30/01, p.A1)(SFC, 8/31/01, p.A14)
2001 Aug 31, Israeli troops
battled Palestinian gunmen and 19 Palestinians were wounded.
(SFC, 9/1/01, p.A6)
2001 Sep 1, In Gaza Col. Tayser
Khattab (52), Palestinian intelligence aide, was killed by a car bomb.
Near Tulkarem a Palestinian woman (22) was killed from a blast in a
taxi.
(SSFC, 9/2/01, p.A20)
2001 Sep 3, In Jerusalem 4 bombs
exploded on the streets and Israelis fired missiles into a Palestinian
security building. Two Palestinians were killed during fighting in
Hebron. In Jerusalem a suicide bomber, dressed as an Orthodox Jew, blew
himself up on the Street of the Prophets.
(SFC, 9/4/01, p.A8)(SFC, 9/5/01, p.A8)
2001 Sep 6, Israel’s PM Sharon
said he was considering a buffer zone to foil terrorists. Foreign
Minister Shimon Peres said he would meet with Yasser Arafat next week.
Israeli gunships killed 2 Palestinian men. In an apparent reprisal an
Israeli soldier was shot dead and an Israeli woman seriously wounded
along the "green line."
(SFC, 9/7/01, p.A14)
2001 Sep 8, Israeli helicopters
fired missiles at offices of the Fatah in Ramallah. Palestinian police
said a 13-year-old boy was killed by Israeli gunfire n Rafah.
(SSFC, 9/9/01, p.A18)
2001 Sep 9, In Nahariya, Israel,
an Israeli Arab, Muhammad Saker Habashi (55), killed himself and 3
others in a suicide bombing. At least 71 other people were wounded. 4
other people were killed in the West Bank and Gaza.
(SFC, 9/10/01, p.A1)
2001 Sep 10, Israeli forces and
Palestinians exchanged gunfire in Jenin and Gaza and 3 Palestinians
were killed.
(SFC, 9/12/01, p.C3)
2001 Sep 11, Israeli tanks moved
into Jenin and tore down the Palestinian police headquarters. This
prompted fighting that killed 2 Palestinians.
(SFC, 9/12/01, p.C3)(WSJ, 9/12/01, p.A1)
2001 Sep 12, An Israeli woman was
killed by a Palestinian shooting ambush in the West Bank.
(SFC, 9/13/01, p.A12)
2001 Sep 13, Israeli forces
entered Jenin and Jericho and Palestinian officials reported that 10
people were killed.
(SFC, 9/13/01, p.A12)
2001 Sep 14, A Palestinian attack
wounded 2 Israeli policemen.
(SSFC, 9/16/01, p.A28)
2001 Sep 15, Gunfire between
Israelis and Palestinians in Gaza and Jerusalem left 3 Palestinians
dead and 2 Israelis wounded.
(SSFC, 9/16/01, p.A28)
2001 Sep 16, Israeli forces
invaded Palestinian territory at Ramallah. One Israeli soldier and 1
Palestinian security officer were killed. Many people were wounded.
(SFC, 9/17/01, p.A18)
2001 Sep 17, Yasser Arafat ordered
his forces to observe a cease-fire as Israel began to observe its
Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashana. In clashes 1 Palestinian was killed and
15 wounded, while 4 Israelis were wounded.
(SFC, 9/18/01, p.B10)
2001 Sep 18, Pres. Yasser Arafat
declared "a cease-fire on all fronts" and Israel responded by
suspending military operations against Palestinian targets and
withdrawing from Palestinian-ruled areas.
(SFC, 9/19/01, p.B2)
2001 Sep 20, An Israeli woman,
Sarit Amrani (25), was killed in a drive-by shooting by the Al Aqsa
Martyrs Brigades. A Palestinian man was killed in Gaza following a
grenade assault. Another Palestinian police officer was killed,
possibly by militants he was trying to restrain near Hebron. The
violence threatened the recent truce.
(SFC, 9/21/01, p.D2)
2001 Sep 23, PM Sharon cancelled
talks with Yasser Arafat after Palestinians fired 3 mortar shells in
the Gaza Strip, 2 of which hit Jewish settlements and the 3rd fell
inside Israel. There were no injuries.
(SFC, 9/24/01, p.B1)
2001 Sep 26, Israel’s Shimon
Peres and Yasser Arafat met for peace talks. They pledged a new drive
for peace and agreed to resume cooperation between their security
forces as Palestinian gunmen and Israeli troops exchanged gunfire. Gaza
fighting left a Palestinian youth dead.
(SFC, 9/26/01, p.C2)(SFC, 9/27/01, p.A11)(WSJ,
9/27/01, p.A1)
2001 Sep 27, Israeli-Palestinian
fighting left 5 Palestinians dead. Israel demolished some houses in a
Gaza camp in response to a Hamas attack.
(WSJ, 9/28/01, p.A1)
2001 Sep 28, Israeli-Palestinian
security officials met to work out details for ending the bloodshed as
fighting left at least 3 Palestinians. 1 Palestinian apparently blew
himself up in Hebron while making a bomb. Another 3 Palestinians were
later killed while planting a mine in Rafah.
(SFC, 9/29/01, p.B1)
2001 Sep 29, Tens of thousands of
Palestinians marched in Gaza and the West Bank to support their
uprising against Israel. 3 Palestinians were killed in confrontations
with Israeli troops.
(SSFC, 9/30/01, p.A17)
2001 Sep 30, Israeli troops killed
3 Palestinians in the West Bank. The Palestinian death toll reached 18
since the cease-fire pledge last week.
(SFC, 10/1/01, p.A8)
2001 Sep, Irineos I was elected by
a 17-member church synod and coronated as the Patriarch of the Greek
Orthodox Church in the Holy Land.
(SSFC, 10/14/01, p.A17)
2001 Oct 2, Palestinian gunmen
attacked an Israeli settlement in Gaza and killed a teenage couple. At
least 15 others were wounded. 2 gunmen were killed by Israeli
sharpshooters.
(SFC, 10/3/01, p.A11)
2001 Oct 3, Israeli forces in Gaza
cleared a half mile buffer zone and killed 6 Palestinians when tank
shells ripped their cars.
(SFC, 10/4/01, p.C2)
2001 Oct 4, PM Sharon warned the
US that it risked appeasing the Arab nations: "Do not try to appease
the Arabs at our expense." A Palestinian posing as an Israeli soldier
killed 3 Israelis in Afula. A Palestinian was killed during a 2nd day
of fighting in Hebron.
(SFC, 10/5/01, p.D4)(WSJ, 10/5/01, p.A1)
2001 Oct 4, A chartered Russian
Tupelov-154 airplane crashed in to the Black Sea and all 78 people
aboard were killed. The Sibir Airlines jet was bound to Novosibirsk
from Tel Aviv. An accidental missile strike from Ukrainian military
forces was suspected but denied by Ukraine officials. Pres. Putin said
terrorists might have been responsible. Later evidence indicated that
flight 1812 was hit by an S-200 missile. On Oct 12 Ukraine and Russia
acknowledged that an errant missile was the probable cause. In 2003
Ukraine agreed to pay $200,000 for each Israeli killed.
(SFC, 10/6/01, p.A11)(WSJ, 11/21/03,
p.A1)(www.ncsj.org/AuxPages/100501crash.shtml)
2001 Oct 5, PM Sharon ordered the
largest military assault in a year and 5 Palestinians were killed in
Hebron.
(SFC, 10/6/01, p.A11)
2001 Oct 7, A Palestinian suicide
bomber, Ahmed Daraghmeh (17), killed himself and 1 Israeli near the
settlement of Kibbutz Shluhot.
(SFC, 10/8/01, p.F1)
2001 Oct 12, Israeli and
Palestinian officials resumed peace talks. Thousands of Palestinians
held marches in the West Bank cities of Ramallah and Nablus.
(SFC, 10/13/01, p.A13)
2001 Oct 14, An Israeli sniper
shot and killed Abed Rahman Hamad, a Hamas leader, hours before the
government announced that it would withdraw troops from Hebron and ease
Palestinian travel restrictions.
(SFC, 10/15/01, p.E2)
2001 Oct 15, In Israel a hardline
nationalist party withdrew from PM Sharon’s coalition government.
(WSJ, 10/16/01, p.A1)
2001 Oct 16, In Israel PM Sharon
said he would accept the creation of a Palestinian state if Israeli
security needs were met.
(WSJ, 10/17/01, p.A1)
2001 Oct 17, Rehavam Zeevi,
Israeli tourist minister, was shot dead at the Hyatt Regency in East
Jerusalem. The PFLP claimed responsibility and Yasser Arafat promised
to hunt down the perpetrators. Hambi Quran, Basel al-Asmar, Ahmed
Gholmy and Majdi Rimawi were later convicted for the murder. Ahmed
Saadat, head of the radical Popular Front for the Liberation of
Palestine, was imprisoned in Jericho. In 2007 Hamdi Quran was sentenced
to 100 years in prison for gunning down the minister as well as bombing
and shooting attacks against Israelis. In 2008 Bassel Asmar was
sentenced to life imprisonment for murder, attempted murder and
belonging to a terror organization.
(SFC, 10/18/01, p.A1)(SFC, 4/30/02, p.A16)(AP,
3/7/06)(AP, 2/6/08)
2001 Oct 18, Atef Abeiyat, a
militia commander in Arafat’s Fatah, was killed with 2 others when
their car exploded near Bethlehem. 3 other Palestinians were killed by
Israeli fire including an 11-year-old school girl.
(SFC, 10/19/01, p.A1,18)
2001 Oct 19, Israeli troops and
tanks invaded Bethlehem and left 6 Palestinians dead. A Palestinian
fighter was killed in Ramallah.
(SFC, 10/20/01, p.E1)
2001 Oct 20, Israeli tanks and
troops seized control of Kalkilya and Tulkarm and moved into the heart
of Bethlehem. At least 8 Palestinians were killed.
(SSFC, 10/21/01, p.A19)
2001 Oct 21, Israeli forces
continued to occupy West Bank territory and 3 Palestinians were killed
including Johnny Thaljieh, a 16-year-old Christian.
(SFC, 10/22/01, p.B1)
2001 Oct 22, Israeli forces held
on to Palestinian territory despite US demands for withdrawal. 3
Palestinians were killed as fighting spilled into Lebanon.
(SFC, 10/23/01, p.A13)
2001 Oct 23, Israel rejected a
request by Pres. Bush to withdraw from Palestinian territory as the
violence continued.
(SFC, 10/24/01, p.C3)
2001 Oct 24, Israeli forces
stormed into Beit Rama and killed at least 5 more Palestinians. 11 were
arrested including 2 who allegedly helped kill an Israeli Cabinet
minister on Oct 17.
(SFC, 10/25/01, p.A15)
2001 Oct 25, Israel withdrew from
Beit Rama and pledged phased withdrawals if demands for a total
cease-fire were met. Three Palestinians were killed in Bethlehem.
(SFC, 10/26/01, p.D2)
2001 Oct 26, Israel agreed to pull
back from Bethlehem and Beit Jalla as a test of Palestinian guarantees
of security.
(SFC, 10/27/01, p.A9)
2001 Oct 27, Israel called off a
planned withdrawal from Palestinian territory citing a handful of
shooting attacks.
(SSFC, 10/28/01, p.A16)
2001 Oct 28, Israel pulled out of
Bethlehem and Beit Jala. In Hadera suspected Palestinian gunmen sprayed
gunfire and killed 4 women along a main boulevard before they were shot
dead by police. Drive by shooters killed an Israeli soldier near the
northern West Bank frontier.
(SFC, 10/29/01, p.A9)
2001 Oct 29, Israel said it would
leave Palestinian territory if the cease-fire is maintained.
(SFC, 10/30/01, p.A11)
2001 Oct 30, In Israel Shimon
Peres reportedly prepared a peace initiative with plans to dismantle
Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip and the creation of a Palestinian
state.
(SFC, 10/31/01, p.C3)
2001 Oct 31, An Israeli helicopter
missile in Hebron killed Jamil Jadallah, a senior Hamas member. 5 other
Palestinians were also killed in West Bank attacks.
(SFC, 11/1/01, p.A13)
2001 Nov 1, Israeli helicopter
missiles killed 2 Palestinians in a taxi in the West Bank. Yasser
Asideh was identified as a suicide bomber being driven to a target by
Fahami Abu Eisha.
(SFC, 11/2/01, p.D2)
2001 Nov 2, Rabbi Eliezer Shach
died at age 107. He was the spiritual leader of the ultra-Orthodox.
(SFC, 11/3/01, p.C4)
2001 Nov 4, In Israel Khatem
Shweili (24), a Palestinian gunman, fired an M-16 at a school bus in
Jerusalem and killed Shoshana Ben-Yisgai (16) and a boy (13-14). The
Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility.
(SFC, 11/5/01, p.A12)
2001 Nov 5, Israeli tanks pulled
out of Qalqilya and soon after a bomb exploded at the Jewish settlement
of Shaked, 6 miles west of Jenin. The Islamic Jihad claimed
responsibility.
(SFC, 11/6/01, p.A13)
2001 Nov 6, Israeli troops pulled
out of Ramallah. 5 Palestinians were killed along with 1 Israeli
soldier in an attack on an Israeli army post and a car bomb blast.
(SFC, 11/7/01, p.A13)(WSJ, 11/7/01, p.A1)
2001 Nov 7, Israeli lawmakers
lifted Parliamentary immunity from Azmi Bishara, a representative of
the Arab party Balad, for statements that allegedly threatened Israeli
security. Israel ended its occupation of Ramallah and Israeli forces
killed 2 Palestinians.
(SFC, 11/8/01, p.A19)(WSJ, 11/8/01, p.A1)
2001 Nov 8, Israeli border police
stormed a building in Baka al-Sharkiyeh where a suicide bomber killed
himself and wounded 2 commandos.
(SFC, 11/9/01, p.A18)
2001 Nov 9, An Israeli settler was
shot and killed in her car and a Palestinian was shot and killed as he
approached an Israeli army position. In Gaza a 12-year-old Palestinian
boy was wounded and died 3 days later.
(SFC, 11/10/01, p.A12)(SFC, 11/13/01, p.A14)
2001 Nov 12, Israeli tanks and
troops raided the West Bank village of Tel and killed Muhammed Reihan
(25), a Hamas member. 45 residents were detained.
(SFC, 11/13/01, p.A14)
2001 Nov 15, Israeli troops raided
a Gaza Strip refugee camp and a West Bank village. One Palestinian was
killed and 14 were wounded.
(SFC, 11/16/01, p.A23)
2001 Nov 23, Israeli helicopter
gunships near Nablus killed Mahmoud Abu Hanoud, a senior Hamas leader.
(SFC, 11/24/01, p.A1)
2001 Nov 24, Tens of thousands of
Palestinians marched in the West Bank and Gaza city to protest the
Israeli killing of Mahmoud Abu Hanoud and 2 assistants. A Palestinian
mortar attack killed one Israeli soldier.
(SSFC, 11/25/01, p.A14)(SFC, 11/26/01, p.A9)
2001 Nov 25, Israeli soldiers shot
and killed a 13-year-old Palestinian youth during a clash in the West
Bank. Israeli forces carried out missile strikes in the Gaza Strip.
(SFC, 11/26/01, p.A9)
2001 Nov 26, A Palestinian suicide
bomber sd’d (self destructed) at an Israeli checkpoint on the edge of
the Gaza Strip.
(SFC, 11/26/01, p.A9)
2001 Nov 27, Two Israelis were
killed in Afula by 2 Palestinian gunmen, who were killed by police.
Another Palestinian gunman killed an Israeli woman near a Jewish
settlement in the Gaza Strip and he was killed by Israeli soldiers.
(SFC, 11/28/01, p.A4)
2001 Nov 29, A bomb attack in
northern Israel and shootings in the West Bank left 4 Israelis and 3
Palestinians dead.
(SFC, 11/30/01, p.A3)
2001 Dec 1, In downtown Jerusalem
2 Palestinian suicide bombers self-destructed and killed 11 others. A
car bomb detonated shortly after and another dozen were injured. Hamas
claimed responsibility.
(SSFC, 12/2/01, p.A1)(SFC, 7/24/02, p.A14)(AP,
12/1/02)
2001 Dec 2, The weekend’s 3rd
Palestinian suicide bomber, Maher Habashi (21), sd’d in Haifa and 15
bus passengers were killed. Hamas took responsibility. Israel warned
Arafat of his regime’s annihilation. Arafat condemned the attacks and
declared a "state of emergency" in Palestinian territories.
(SFC, 12/3/01, p.1,3,11)(WSJ, 12/3/01, p.A1)
2001 Dec 3, Israel struck the West
Bank and Gaza Strip and destroyed 3 Palestinian Authority helicopters.
In the wake of bombings that killed 26 Israelis, PM Ariel Sharon
declared war on terror. Arafat was effectively confined to Ramallah
after Israel destroyed his helicopters.
(SFC, 12/4/01, p.A1)(AP, 12/3/02)(SFC, 11/11/04,
p.A18)
2001 Dec 4, Israeli troops moved
into Palestinian-controlled territory in Ramallah and Nablus and closed
off 7 West Bank cities.
(SFC, 12/4/01, p.A12)
2001 Dec 4, Israeli troops moved
into Palestinian-controlled territory in Ramallah and Nablus and closed
off 7 West Bank cities. Israeli warplanes and helicopters bombed at
least 8 targets in 5 cities and towns including a police building near
Arafat’s headquarters. A police officer and a 15-year-old boy were
killed.
(SFC, 12/4/01, p.A12)(SFC, 12/5/01, p.A1,16)
2001 Dec 5, In Jerusalem another
suicide bomber sd’d outside a hotel and 2 people were injured. Sharon
gave Arafat a 12-hour reprieve to arrest those responsible for the
attacks.
(SFC, 12/6/01, p.A3)
2001 Dec 6, Palestinian leader
Yasser Arafat continued a roundup of Hamas militants based on a list of
36 suspects provided by Israel. His crackdown on Islamic militants met
angry resistance as 1,500 Hamas supporters battled Palestinian riot
police outside the home of the group's leader. Israeli warplanes bombed
a Gaza police station and 15 Palestinians were wounded.
(SFC, 12/7/01, p.A3)(WSJ, 12/7/01, p.A1)(AP, 12/6/02)
2001 Dec 7, Israeli helicopters
fired missiles at a Palestinian security compound in Gaza. Arafat said
his forces had arrested 17 of 33 militants wanted by Israel.
(SFC, 12/8/01, p.A3)
2001 Dec 8, Israeli police
arrested 3 teenagers for creating and spreading the "Goner" computer
worm.
(SSFC, 12/9/01, p.A18)
2001 Dec 9, A suicide bomber
injured 9 Israelis in Haifa. Israeli troops killed 4 Palestinian police
officers in their cars. Israeli soldiers also killed a Palestinian taxi
driver trying to enter Jenin, which was sealed off. 30 suspected
militants were arrested in Israeli raids.
(SFC, 12/10/01, p.A3)(WSJ, 12/10/01, p.A1)
2001 Dec 10, Israeli helicopters
fired missiles at a car in Hebron. 2 boys aged 3 & 13 were killed
and 7 people were wounded.
(SFC, 12/11/01, p.A3)
2001 Dec 11, Israeli helicopter
attacks in the Gaza Khan Younis refugee camp killed 3 people and
wounded 20.
(WSJ, 12/12/01, p.A1)(SFC, 12/12/01, p.A3)
2001 Dec 12, Palestinian militants
detonated bombs beneath an Israeli bus in the West Bank and gunned down
passengers as they fled. 10 people were killed. Police killed 1 of 3
militants. 2 Hamas suicide bombers sd’d near an Israeli settlement in
the Gaza Strip and injured 4 others.
(SFC, 12/13/01, p.A1,17)
2001 Dec 12, In Los Angeles police
arrested Irving David Rubin (56) and Earl Leslie Krugel (59), leaders
of the Jewish Defense League, for plotting to blow up a local mosque.
(SFC, 12/13/01, p.A3)
2001 Dec 13, The Israeli
government broke off contact with Yasser Arafat and began hitting
targets in the Gaza Strip and West Bank. Israeli forces destroyed
Palestinian TV and radio transmission facilities and divided the Gaza
Strip into 3 parts. In Ramallah Israeli soldiers seized the home and
family of a Palestinian militia commander.
(SFC, 12/13/01, p.A1)(SFC, 12/14/01, p.A1)
2001 Dec 14, Israeli troops raided
four Palestinian towns and villages in the West Bank, killing eight
Palestinians and arresting dozens of suspected militants.
(AP, 12/14/02)
2001 Dec 15, Anthony Zinni, US
envoy to Israel, left after his 20 days in the region failed to produce
a cease-fire.
(SSFC, 12/16/01, p.A14)
2001 Dec 15, Israeli forces swept
into Beit Hanoun in the Gaza Strip and bulldozed houses and police
outposts. 6 Palestinians were killed and 50 injured from fighting.
(SSFC, 12/16/01, p.A14)
2001 Dec 16, Yasser Arafat
appealed for a halt of armed activities and suicide bombings. He
accused PM Sharon of waging a "brutal war" against Palestinians.
(SFC, 12/17/01, p.A1)
2001 Dec 17, Israel continued
military sweeps as Hamas and the Popular Front rejected Arafat’s call
to end attacks.
(WSJ, 12/18/01, p.A1)
2001 Dec 18, Yasser Arafat closed
6 Hamas offices in a crackdown on militant groups. Israeli forces
arrested 10 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
(SFC, 12/19/01, p.A4)
2001 Dec 20, Following a 3-day
lull Palestinian police in Gaza clashed with Hamas supporters and one
Palestinian was killed. Another died in a gunfight with Israeli troops
in the West Bank.
(SFC, 12/21/01, p.A3)
2001 Dec 21, Six Palestinian
teenagers were killed in skirmishes with the Palestinian Authority.
Hamas called a halt to suicide bombings and mortar attacks.
(SFC, 12/22/01, p.A1)(SSFC, 12/23/01, p.A12)(AP,
12/21/02)
2001 Dec 23, In Israel Foreign
Minister Shimon Peres and Ahmen Qureia, speaker of the Palestinian
parliament, drafted a new Middle East peace plan that called for Israel
to recognized a Palestinian state within 8 weeks.
(SFC, 12/24/01, p.A1)
2001 Dec 23, Israel barred Yasser
Arafat from making his annual Christmas Eve visit to Bethlehem, the
traditional birthplace of Jesus.
(AP, 12/23/02)
2001 Dec 25, Arab gunmen ambushed
Israeli troops along the Jordan border. One Israeli soldier was killed
along with 2 of the gunmen. Israel lifted a blockade around Jericho.
(SFC, 12/26/01, p.A3)(WSJ, 12/26/01, p.A1)
2001 Dec 27, In Israel defense
minister Gen. Binyamin Ben-Eliezer (65) took over leadership of the
Labor Party. Israeli troops raided Palestinian territory for a 2nd day
and arrested 7 suspected militants.
(SFC, 12/28/01, p.A3)
2001 Dec 28, Israeli troops killed
a suspected Palestinian bomber in the Gaza Strip. The blockade of
Bethlehem was eased. The body of a Jewish settler, missing for over a
week, was found in a West Bank cave near the village of Jaba.
(SFC, 12/29/01, p.A3)
2001 Dec 29, The US National
Yiddish Book Center published its list of great modern Jewish books.
(SFC, 12/29/01, p.D10)
2001 Dec 30, Israeli forces killed
6 Palestinians in 2 incidents in the Gaza Strip.
(SFC, 12/31/01, p.A3)
2002 Jan 3, Israel seized a ship,
Karine A, in the Red Sea carrying 50 tons of advanced weapons allegedly
for the Palestinian Authority. Most of the equipment was from Iran.
Operation Noah’s Ark was not reported until the next day when US envoy
Gen. Zinni arrived to promote peace talks. Hezbollah helped broker the
deal and it was reported to have been overseen by Fuad Shubaki, a close
aide to Arafat. Captain Omar Akawi, a member of Fatwah, said he was in
contact with Adel Awadallah, an alias for Adel Mughrabi, a weapons
buyer for the Palestinian Authority.
(SFC, 1/5/02, p.A1,9)(SFC, 1/7/02, p.A3)(SFC,
1/8/02, p.A1)
2002 Jan 9, In Israel 2 Hamas
gunmen attacked a military post and killed 4 Israeli soldiers. Israel
halted work on a mosque next to the Christian Basilica of the
Annunciation.
(SFC, 1/10/02, p.A1)
2002 Jan 10, Israel demolished
dozens of Palestinian homes in Rafah.
(SFC, 1/11/02, p.A3)
2002 Jan 10, Israel demolished
dozens of Palestinian homes in Rafah. The Islamic Jihad said it would
resume attacks as Palestinian police arrested 2 of its members
(SFC, 1/11/02, p.A3)(WSJ, 1/11/02, p.A1)
2002 Jan 11, Israeli tanks and
bulldozers plowed up runways at the Gaza Int’l. Airport. Palestinian
police detained 2 Palestinian officials suspected of smuggling arms
into Gaza.
(SFC, 1/11/02, p.A3)(SFC, 1/11/02, p.A6)
2002 Jan 12, Israeli missile boats
hit a Palestinian fuel depot in a 4th day of reprisals.
(SSFC, 1/13/02, p.A20)
2002 Jan 14, An Israeli bomb in
the West Bank killed Raed Karmi (27), a Palestinian militia leader. A
short time later a Palestinian gunmen killed an Israeli and wounded
another in a roadside ambush.
(SFC, 1/15/02, p.A8)
2002 Jan 15, Palestinian gunmen
killed 2 Israelis in separate attacks in the West Bank and near
Jerusalem. Avi Boaz (71) was abducted and killed after visiting with a
Palestinian family. The Palestinian Authority arrested Ahmed Saadat,
sec. gen’l. of the PFLP.
(SFC, 1/16/02, p.A7)(SFC, 1/17/02, p.A11)
2002 Jan 17, In Hadera, Israel, a
Palestinian gunmen opened fire at a bat mitzvah party and killed 6
people before he was beaten and killed. 30 more were wounded.
(SFC, 1/18/02, p.A1)
2002 Jan 18, Israeli forces bombed
the Palestinian town of Tulkarm and at least 2 Palestinians were
killed. Two Israeli tanks and an armored personnel carrier parked
outside Yasser Arafat's headquarters, confining the Palestinian leader
to his office complex a day after a Palestinian gunman burst into a
banquet hall and gunned down six Israelis.
(SFC, 1/19/02, p.A1)(AP, 1/18/03)
2002 Jan 19, Israeli forces blew
up the Voice of Palestine radio station in Ramallah.
(SFC, 1/19/02, p.A1)
2002 Jan 21, Israeli forces took
control of Tulkarem in the West Bank and soldiers arrested dozens of
suspected militants.
(SFC, 1/21/02, p.A7)
2002 Jan 21, Israeli forces
invaded Nablus, killed Palestinians and arrested 9 suspected militants.
PM Sharon decided to reopen the Temple Mount to non-Muslims. The Waqf
clerical trust imposed a ban on non-Muslims in Sep, 2000.
(SFC, 1/22/02, p.A7)
2002 Jan 21, In Alexandria, Egypt,
a small group of leading rabbis, Muslim clerics and bishops signed the
Alexandria Doctrine, which condemned violence and insisted that holy
places be kept open.
(http://tinyurl.com/2pey69)(Econ, 11/3/07, SR p.13)
2002 Jan 22, Israeli troops killed
4 Hamas militants in Nablus. Yousef Soragji (42), mastermind of several
suicide bombings, was among the dead.
(SFC, 1/23/02, p.A6)(SFC, 1/24/02, p.A7)
2002 Jan 22, In Israel a
Palestinian gunman killed 2 women in Jerusalem and wounded 14 others
before he was killed by police.
(SFC, 1/23/02, p.A1)
2002 Jan 23, Israeli jets attacked
Hezbollah sites in Lebanon after a disputed border area was shelled.
(WSJ, 1/24/02, p.A1)
2002 Jan 24, Israeli troops killed
a Palestinian intelligence officer and 2 others died in what looked
like a failed suicide mission.
(WSJ, 1/25/02, p.A1)
2002 Jan 25, A Palestinian suicide
bomber sd’d in a Tel Aviv neighborhood and at least 25 people were
wounded following an Israeli missile attack in the Gaza Strip that
killed a senior Hamas commander. Separately 2 Hamas members were killed
by Israeli troops.
(SFC, 1/26/02, p.A6)
2002 Jan 26, The Palestinian
Authority again called for an end to all bombing and shooting attacks
against Israel. Israeli troops shot and killed a Palestinian passing
through an army checkpoint and militants were hit by an tank shell when
they tried to lay an explosive near a border fence.
(SSFC, 1/27/02, p.A18)
2002 Jan 27, A Palestinian woman,
Wafa Idris (28), exploded herself on Jaffa St. in Jerusalem and killed
one other Israeli man. Over 150 others were injured.
(SFC, 1/28/02, p.A1)(SFC, 1/31/02, p.A8)
2002 Jan 28, Israeli police killed
a Palestinian man as barreled through an army checkpoint in a stolen
car.
(SFC, 1/29/02, p.A8)
2002 Jan 29, Israeli troops raided
the Palestinian village of Artas and arrested Mohammed Eyosh (31), a
local Jihad leader. 4 others were wounded in gunfire.
(SFC, 1/30/02, p.A8)
2002 Jan 30, A Palestinian suicide
bomber, Murad Abu Asal (23), killed himself and wounded 2 Israeli Shin
Bet officers near Taibe.
(SFC, 1/31/02, p.A8)
2002 Jan 31, An interview was
published in which Israeli PM Ariel Sharon said that he regrets that
Israel failed to take the opportunity to kill Palestinian leader Yasir
Arafat in Lebanon 20 years ago.
(EB, 2002, p.11)
2002 Feb 1, In Israel over 100
reserve combat officers denounced the army for immoral behavior toward
Palestinian civilians and placed ads in newspapers including Haaretz:
"We will no longer fight beyond the Green Line with the aim of
dominating, expelling, starving and humiliating an entire people."
(SFC, 2/2/02, p.A7)
2002 Feb 3, In Israel the Cabinet
backed PM Sharon for initiating talks with Palestinian officials.
(SFC, 2/4/02, p.A4)
2002 Feb 4, Israeli PM Peres said
Iran had put elite forces into Lebanon and had supplied Hezbollah with
10,000 rockets with ranges of 13-44 miles.
(SFC, 2/5/02, p.A10)
2002 Feb 4, In the Gaza Strip 5
Palestinians were killed when their car exploded. Israeli military said
the men were carrying an explosive device that went off early. 5
Palestinians died in a Gaza helicopter attack.
(SFC, 2/5/02, p.A5)(WSJ, 2/5/02, p.A1)
2002 Feb 6, The PLO issued a
17-page document that listed their actions to stop terrorism.
Meanwhile, Hamas gunman, Mohammed Ziad Khalili (26), killed 2 Israelis
in Hamra, a mother and daughter, before he was killed by commandos.
Israel responded with 2 missiles shot at a Palestinian prison and
government complex in Nablus.
(SFC, 2/7/02, p.A10)(SFC, 2/8/02, p.A8)
2002 Feb 7, Pres. Bush met with
Israel’s PM Sharon and said he would continue to press the Palestinian
Authority to crack down on terrorism. Bush rebuffed a plea to sever
ties with Arafat.
(SFC, 2/8/02, p.A8)(WSJ, 2/8/02, p.A1)
2002 Feb 8, In Israel at least 2
Palestinians were killed when a bomb exploded prematurely. In Jerusalem
an Israeli woman was stabbed to death while strolling in the Peace
Forest. Police caught 4 Palestinians and one died following his arrest.
(SFC, 2/9/02, p.A7)
2002 Feb 10, Two Palestinian Hamas
gunmen attacked Israeli soldiers at Beersheva. 2 soldiers were killed
before the gunmen were slain.
(SFC, 2/11/02, p.A3)
2002 Feb 11, Israel bombed the
Palestinian security headquarters in the Gaza Strip for a 2nd day in
response to the use of a Kassam-2 rocket by Hamas.
(SFC, 2/12/02, p.A8)(AP, 2/11/03)
2002 Feb 13, Israeli troops seized
3 Palestinian towns and a refugee camp in Gaza Strip from where rockets
and mortars were fired and at least 5 people were killed. 3 Palestinian
police officers were killed in Deir al-Balah where 3 police posts were
destroyed.
(SFC, 2/13/02, p.A9)(WSJ, 2/14/02, p.A15)
2002 Feb 14, Militant Palestinians
attacked an Israeli tank in the Gaza Strip and 3 soldiers were killed.
(SFC, 2/15/02, p.A10)
2002 Feb 15, An Israeli commando
leader was killed by a falling wall as his troops demolished a
Palestinian militant’s home in the West Bank. Israel fired rockets at
PLO offices in the Jabalija refugee camp and one security officer was
killed. Israeli Sgt. Lee Nahman Akunis (20) was killed by Fatah gunmen
outside the West Bank village of Skurda.
(SFC, 2/16/02, p.A9)(SSFC, 2/17/02, p.A12)
2002 Feb 16, Some 20,000 Israelis
rallied for peace in Tel Aviv. 2 Israelis were killed when a
Palestinian suicide bombed sd’d in a pizza restaurant in the West Bank
settlement of Karnei Shomron. In Jenin Nazih Abu Sabaah, a Hamas
leader, was killed by a car bomb. In the Bureij refugee camp 3
Palestinians were killed in gunfire with Israeli troops.
(SSFC, 2/17/02, p.A12)
2002 Feb 17, Israeli police foiled
an attempted suicide bombing near Hadera. One man was shot and killed
and another killed when his stolen car exploded. The Al Aqsa Martyrs
Brigades claimed the 2 dead as its members.
(FC, 2/18/02, p.A9)
2002 Feb 17, Saudi Crown Prince
Abdullah presented a Middle East peace plan to NY Times columnist
Thomas Friedman. It included Arab recognition of Israel’s right to
exist if Israel pulled back from lands that were once part of Jordan,
including East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
(SFC, 2/26/02, p.A1)
2002 Feb 18, A Palestinian
militant ambushed a settler’s convoy, shot 3 people dead and blew
himself up. A car bombing outside Jerusalem killed an Israeli policeman
along with the bomber. 2 Palestinian gunmen attacked a settlement in
the Gaza Strip and one was killed.
(SFC, 2/19/02, p.A6)
2002 Feb 19, Israeli-Palestinian
fighting left 15 people dead. 6 Israeli soldiers died at a checkpoint.
(SFC, 2/20/02, p.A8)(SFC, 2/21/02, p.A1)
2002 Feb 20, The Israeli Supreme
Court ruled that the state must recognized as Jews people converted by
Reform and Conservative rabbis in Israel.
(SFC, 2/21/02, p.A15)
2002 Feb 20, Israeli forces fired
on Palestinian police compounds and killed 12 security officials
including 4 guards at Gaza police compounds and 6 policemen in Nablus.
(SFC, 2/20/02, p.A8)
2002 Feb 21, Israeli tanks and
troops pushed into Gaza City and destroyed a broadcast facility. 6
Palestinians were reported killed. Yasser Arafat repeated a call to
halt violence and his security forces arrested 3 suspects in the Oct 17
assassination of Israeli Cabinet minister Zeevi. PM Sharon called for
buffer zones and the disarming of Palestinians.
(SFC, 2/21/02, p.A1)(SFC, 2/22/02, p.A9)(WSJ,
2/22/02, p.A1)
2002 Feb 24, Avraham Tory (92)
died in Tel Aviv. As a Jewish lawyer in Kovno (Kaunas), Lithuania, he
kept a diary on the horrors of Nazi rule from 1941-1944. They were
published in Hebrew in 1988 and in English in 1990 as: "Surviving the
Holocaust: The Kovno Ghetto Diary."
(SFC, 3/19/02, p.A20)
2002 Feb 24, A Palestinian woman
(27) gave birth after being shot by Israeli troops as she was being
driven to a hospital.
(SFC, 2/26/02, p.A11)
2002 Feb 25, Two women, Israeli
(Tamar Lifshitz) and a Palestinian (Maysoun Hayek), gave birth after
being shot in separate incidents. The Palestinian’s woman’s husband was
shot to death as they drove to a hospital in Nablus. The Israeli
woman’s father was killed in an ambush along with another man. 4
Israelis were killed at a bus stop in Jerusalem by a gunmen who was
killed.
(SFC, 2/26/02, p.A11)(WSJ, 2/26/02, p.A1)
2002 Feb 27, Israeli troops killed
4 armed Palestinians and a Palestinian worker killed an Israeli factory
manager. A Palestinian woman killed herself and wounded 4 others at a
road block in the West Bank.
(SFC, 2/28/02, p.A8)
2002 Feb 28, Israeli troops
assaulted 2 West Bank refugee camps. One Israeli soldier and 12
Palestinian fighters were killed.
(SFC, 3/1/02, p.A13)(WSJ, 3/1/02, p.A10)
2002 Mar 1, Israeli troops swept
through refugee camps in Jenin and Nablus looking for terror suspects.
One solder was killed along with 6 Palestinians fighters and a
10-year-old girl.
(SFC, 3/2/02, p.A7)
2002 Mar 2, In Jerusalem a suicide
bomber killed himself and 9 others including several children. In the
West Bank gunmen opened fire on Israeli motorists and killed 9 people.
(SSFC, 3/3/02, p.A1)
2002 Mar 3, Israel used jets and
helicopters to strike Palestinian targets. 4 Palestinians were killed.
(SFC, 3/4/02, p.A1)
2002 Mar 4, Israeli forces killed
at least 14 Palestinians including the wife of an Islamic militant and
their 3 children.
(SFC, 3/5/02, p.A1)
2002 Mar 5, In Tel Aviv a gunmen
killed 3 people at a restaurant in the early hours and wounded 31 other
before he was killed. A suicide bomber blew himself up at the Afula bus
station and 1 Israeli was killed. In Dura a Palestinian police officer
was killed and 4 wounded during a gunfight with Israeli soldiers.
(SFC, 3/5/02, p.A1)
2002 Mar 6, Israeli forces struck
Palestinian targets by land and sea. 13 Palestinians and 2 Israelis
were left dead.
(SFC, 3/7/02, p.A6)(WSJ, 3/7/02, p.A1)
2002 Mar 8, A gunman killed 5
Israelis in Gaza. Israeli forces attacked Palestinian positions and
killed 36 including Maj. Gen. Ahmed Mefraj. This was the deadliest day
in 17 months of fighting.
(SFC, 3/8/02, p.A11)(SFC, 3/9/02, p.A1)
2002 Mar 9, A pair of Palestinian
gunmen tossed grenades and opened fire at a seafront hotel in Netanya
and 3 people were killed including a baby. A Palestinian suicide bomber
blew himself up in a Jerusalem café and killed 11 others.
Israeli forces destroyed Arafat’s office building in Gaza and left 6
Palestinians dead including a 15-year-old girl. Hamas claimed
responsibility.
(SSFC, 3/10/02, p.A1,16)(SFC, 7/24/02, p.A14)
2002 Mar 10, Israeli helicopters
destroyed Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's office in Gaza City, hours
after 11 Israelis were killed in a suicide bombing in a cafe across the
street from Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's residence in Jerusalem.
(AP, 3/10/07)
2002 Mar 11, Israeli forces swept
into the Jabaliya camp in Gaza and 23 residents were killed in heavy
fighting. PM Sharon announced that Arafat was free to resume traveling
about the West Bank and Gaza.
(SFC, 3/12/02, p.A6)(WSJ, 3/12/02, p.A1)
2002 Mar 12, Israeli forces took
control of Ramallah. 35 Palestinians were killed in the last 24 hours
along with 7 Israelis.
(SFC, 3/13/02, p.A1)(WSJ, 3/13/02, p.A1)
2002 Mar 12, The UN Security
Council endorsed a Palestinian state for the 1st time and called for an
immediate cease-fire.
(SFC, 3/13/02, p.A1)
2002 Mar 13, Palestinians set off
a bomb next to an Israeli tank escorting a convoy in Gaza and 3
Israelis were killed. 2 Palestinians stabbed an Israeli husband and
wife in Nachliel. An Italian photographer was killed by fire from an
Israeli tank.
(SFC, 3/14/02, p.A6)(WSJ, 3/14/02, p.A1)
2002 Mar 14, The Bush
administration demanded that PM Ariel Sharon order a withdrawal from
Palestinian controlled areas.
(SFC, 3/15/02, p.A1)
2002 Mar 14, PM Ariel Sharon
announced a staged withdrawal from Ramallah ending the 2-week
"Operation Vital Security" and met with US envoy Anthony Zinni.
(SFC, 3/15/02, p.A1)(SFC, 3/16/02, p.A7)
2002 Mar 15, Adm. Zinni, US envoy,
met with Yasser Arafat in Ramallah and demanded that he reign in
militants and enforced a cease fire.
(SFC, 3/16/02, p.A7)
2002 Mar 17, Israeli and
Palestinian officials met to prepare for a cease-fire following
meetings with US envoy Adm. Zinni. A Palestinian gunman opened fire in
Kfar Saba. He killed an Israeli high school student (18) and was shot
dead. A suicide bomber detonated himself in Jerusalem.
(SSFC, 3/17/02, p.A1)(SFC, 3/18/02, p.A3)
2002 Mar 18, Israel withdrew some
forces from Palestinian-ruled territory as VP Cheney arrived to help
with peace talks.
(SFC, 3/19/02, p.A1)(WSJ, 3/19/02, p.A1)
2002 Mar 20, In Israel a suicide
bomber blew himself up on a crowded bus and 7 people were killed. The
Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility.
(SFC, 3/20/02, p.A1)(SFC, 3/21/02, p.A9)
2002 Mar 21, In Jerusalem Mohammed
Hashaika (22) blew himself up on King George St. and killed 3 Israelis.
Truce talks were cancelled.
(SFC, 3/22/02, p.A9)(WSJ, 3/22/02, p.A1)
2002 Mar 22, Israelis and
Palestinians resumed cease-fire negotiations despite another suicide
bombing outside Jenin. Only the bomber was killed.
(SFC, 3/23/02, p.A10)
2002 Mar 24, Israeli troops and
tanks entered the Rafah refugee camp and 3 residents were killed. 2
more Palestinians were killed as they tried to throw a grenade at a
military post near Dugit. Clashes between Israelis and Palestinians
left at least 9 Palestinians dead along with 2 Israelis. US envoy Zinni
presented a cease-fire proposal to Israeli and Palestinian negotiators.
(SSFC, 3/24/02, p.A14)(SFC, 3/25/02, p.A8)
2002 Mar 25, The US pushed for
Ariel Sharon to allow Yasser Arafat to attend an Arab summit in Beirut.
(SFC, 3/26/02, p.A1)
2002 Mar 26, Yasser Arafat
declared that he would not attend the Arab league conference in Beirut
due to restrictions imposed by PM Sharon. Israeli security forces
stopped a car that exploded with 2 men inside.
(SFC, 3/27/02, p.A1)
2002 Mar 27, A Palestinian Hamas
suicide bomber killed 28 Israelis gathered at the Park Hotel in Netanya
for the Passover Seder.
(SFC, 3/28/02, p.A1)(SFC, 3/29/02, p.A11)(SFC,
4/15/02, p.A12)
2002 Mar 28, A Hamas attack left 4
Israelis dead in a West Bank settlement. Arafat said he was ready to
call for a cease-fire.
(WSJ, 3/29/02, p.A1)
2002 Mar 28, In Beirut the Arab
League committed to accepting Israel as a neighbor under conditions
that included the creation of an independent Palestinian state and
Israel's full withdrawal from war-won lands, an offer that Israel did
not accept..
(SFC, 3/29/02, p.A15)(AP,
3/28/03)(www.mideastweb.org/saudipeace.htm)
2002 Mar 29, Israel declared
Yasser Arafat an "enemy" and sent troops and tanks to isolate him in
his Ramallah headquarters in Operation Defensive Shield. 5
Palestinians, possibly executed, and 2 Israelis were killed in the
takeover. In Jerusalem a suicide bomber, Ayat Akhras (18) killed
herself and 2 Israelis. In the Gaza Strip a Palestinian man stabbed to
death 2 elderly Israelis and was shot to death by soldiers.
(SFC, 3/29/02, p.A1)(SFC, 3/30/02, p.A1,11)(SSFC,
3/31/02, p.A18)(AP, 9/6/03)
2002 Mar 30, A suicide bomber,
Mohannad Salahat (22), struck in Tel Aviv and 32 people were injured.
Israeli troops sealed Arafat in his Ramallah compound.
(SSFC, 3/31/02, p.A1)(SFC, 4/1/02, p.A1)(SFC,
7/24/02, p.A14)
2002 Mar 30, The United States
joined other U.N. Security Council members in adopting a resolution
calling on Israel to withdraw its troops from Palestinian cities,
including Ramallah, where Yasser Arafat headquarters was under siege.
(AP, 3/30/03)
2002 Mar 31, Israeli forces
entered Qalqilya and Bethlehem. 2 Palestinians were killed after they
fired on Israeli soldiers. Some 40 European and American peace
activists joined Yasser Arafat. Israeli PM Ariel Sharon vowed to smash
Palestinian militants in a broadcast speech that came the same day as a
suicide bombing in Haifa that killed 15 Israelis. In 2009 Shimon Shiran
died of wounds suffered in the bombing that also killed his daughter
Adi (17).
(SFC, 4/1/02, p.A1,10)(AP, 3/31/07)(AP, 4/12/09)
2002 Apr 1, Israeli forces
expanded their hunt for militants and terrorists to included ranking
officials of Arafat’s Palestinian Authority. Israeli tanks and
bulldozers rumbled into more Palestinian towns and massed on the edge
of Bethlehem in an expansion of a West Bank offensive. A sniper killed
an Israeli in Har Homa. A bomber blew up in his car in West Jerusalem
and killed the Israeli police officer who stopped him.
(SFC, 4/2/02, p.A1)(AP, 4/1/07)
2002 Apr 2, The Israeli army
attacked the headquarters of Jibril Rajoub, security chief of the
Palestinian Authority. The Israeli Army said it found a letter in
Arafat’s compound that detailed money requests for building bombs. PM
Sharon offered Yasser Arafat a one-way ticket to exile and battles with
Palestinian militiamen continued and at least 13 Palestinians were
killed.
(SFC, 4/2/02, p.A1)(SFC, 4/3/02, p.A1,10)(WSJ,
4/3/02, p.A1)
2002 Apr 3, Israeli tanks entered
the Wet Bank cities of Jenin, Salfeet and Nablus. At least 1 Israeli
soldier and 12 Palestinians were killed. Gunners from Lebanon’s
Hezbollah exchanged artillery and mortar fire with Israeli troops.
Scores of Palestinian gunmen were holed up in the Church of the
Nativity in Bethlehem. The Egyptian government announced a cutoff of
official contacts with Israel. Syria shifted 20,000 troops in Lebanon
toward the Lebanese-Syrian border reportedly in accord with the 1989
Taif agreement.
(SFC, 4/3/02, p.A1)(SFC, 4/4/02, p.A1,13)(WSJ,
4/4/02, p.A1)
2002 Apr 4, Israeli officials made
public 2 documents signed by Arafat that authorized payments to
Palestinian militants wanted for attacks on Israel.
(SFC, 4/5/02, p.A15)
2002 Apr 4, Israel continued for a
7th-day its offensive titled Operation Defensive Shield. Tanks entered
Hebron house-to-house fighting with Palestinian gunmen in the Jenin
refugee camp. 3 Israeli soldiers were killed. Guerrilla fighters fired
9 rockets into Israel.
(SFC, 4/5/02, p.A16)
2002 Apr 4, Pres. Bush demanded
that Israel withdraw from West Bank cities and end settlement activity
in occupied territories. He blasted Arafat and other Arab leaders for
abetting terrorism and dispatched Sec. of State Colin Powell to push
for a political settlement.
(SFC, 4/5/02, p.A1,14)
2002 Apr 5, US mediator Anthony
Zinni met with Yasser Arafat in Ramallah as Israeli forces continued
their offensive. At least 35 Palestinians were killed.
(SFC, 4/6/02, p.A1)
2002 Apr 6, Pres. Bush repeated
his call for Israel to "withdraw without delay" from West Bank towns it
had occupied since launching an offensive after a string of suicide
attacks. Bush also demanded the Palestinians call "an immediate and
effective cease-fire."
(SSFC, 4/7/02, p.A3)(AP, 4/6/03)
2002 Apr 6, Arab League ministers
in emergency session denounced the Bush administration’s handling of
the Middle East conflict. Some 15k Jordanians marched in Ibrid. Over
20k marched in Paris and another 20k marched in Rome.
(SSFC, 4/7/02, p.A7)
2002 Apr 6, Israeli troops
intensified their assault on West Bank towns and refugee camps. Over 20
thousand Jews and Arabs marched in Tel Aviv demanding that the
government withdraw from the West Bank and resume talks.
(SSFC, 4/7/02, p.A1)
2002 Apr 7, Israeli forces
continued Operation Defensive Shield and news reporters were kept away.
12 Palestinians were killed in Nablus with stiff resistance in the
Jenin refugee camp. Worldwide protests included a march in Morocco by a
half million people and in Brussels by some 10,000.
(SFC, 4/8/02, p.A1,8)(AP, 4/7/03)
2002 Apr 8, In Israel PM Sharon
announced a limited pullback of troops and the building of buffer
zones. The stance of the Bush administration called for immediate
withdrawal but expected action to coincide with Sec. of State Powell’s
arrival Apr 12.
(SFC, 4/9/02, p.A1)(SFC, 4/10/02, p.A18)
2002 Apr 9, The 12 day Israeli
offensive continued and dozens of Palestinians were reported dead in
the fiercest fighting to date. An explosion in the Jenin refugee camp
killed 13 Israeli soldiers. PM Sharon declared Israel to be in a
struggle for survival.
(SFC, 4/10/02, p.A1)(WSJ, 4/10/02, p.A1)
2002 Apr 10, In Ramallah Manal
Sofran, a Palestinian housewife, was shot dead by Israeli soldiers.
(SFC, 4/12/02, p.A17)
2002 Apr 10, Sec. of State Colin
Powell stopped in Spain to gather EU support in the Middle East
conflict. He again called for an immediate end to Israel’s military
operations.
(SFC, 4/11/02, p.A14)
2002 Apr 11, US Sec. of State
Colin Powell arrived in Israel to push for peace talks. Israel sent
tanks and troops into 2 more Palestinian villages. A Palestinian
suicide bomber died when his explosives blew up prematurely.
(SFC, 4/11/02, p.A1)(SFC, 4/12/02, p.A1)
2002 Apr 11, In Tunisia a gas
tanker truck crashed into the wall of a El Ghriba synagogue on the
island of Djerba and killed 14 Germans, 6 Tunisians and a Frenchman.
The government at first called it an accident. Later evidence indicated
that it was an act of terrorism. Nizar Nawar (24), a Tunisian citizen
who had studied in Canada, was the driver. Al Qaeda later claimed
responsibility.
(SFC, 4/12/02, p.A17)(SFC, 4/17/02, p.A8)(SFC,
4/24/02, p.A7)(WSJ, 5/2/02, p.A13)(SSFC, 5/19/02, p.A3)(WSJ, 8/20/02,
p.A1)
2002 Apr 12, Colin Powell arrived
in Israel as another suicide bombing killed 6 people in Jerusalem at
the Mahane Yehuda market. Powell failed to PM Sharon to set a timetable
for withdrawal from West Bank cities. Powell postponed a meeting with
Arafat and demanded that Arafat condemn the latest attack. Estimates of
Palestinian dead from Israeli operations in Jenin reached 100-200. An
elderly Palestinian couple were rescued after being buried for 7 days
by an Israeli bulldozer in Jenin.
(SFC, 4/13/02, p.1,13)(SFC, 4/15/02, p.A11)
2002 Apr 13, Yasser Arafat issued
a statement condemning terrorism and planned to meet with Colin Powell
the next day. Hamas declared it had no intention of halting attacks.
(SSFC, 4/14/02, p.A1)
2002 Apr 14, PM Sharon’s peace
plan was outlined and included 2 West Bank security zones, border
controls, a demilitarized Palestinian state, and economic development
assistance.
(SSFC, 4/14/02, p.A12)
2002 Apr 14, PM Sharon’s peace
plan was outlined and included 2 West Bank security zones, border
controls, a demilitarized Palestinian state, and economic development
assistance. Colin Powell met with Yasser Arafat and later with PM
Sharon, but made little headway on a cease-fire or Israeli withdrawal.
Some restrictions on reporters in the West Bank were lifted.
(SSFC, 4/14/02, p.A12)(SFC, 4/15/02, p.A1)
2002 Apr 15, Israeli forces in
Ramallah seized Marwan Barghouti, a top Arafat lieutenant and alleged
leader of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. Two Palestinians were killed in
fighting near Bethlehem and 2 of some 200 Palestinians surrendered at
the Church of the Nativity Israeli forces played high-decibel sounds
around the clock.
(SFC, 4/16/02, p.A1,10)
2002 Apr 17, Colin Powell ended
his Middle East mission and returned to the US as fighting continued.
Pres. Mubarak cancelled their meeting in Cairo. Israel commemorated its
independence.
(SFC, 4/18/02, p.A1,13)
2002 Apr 18, Omar Abu Selmia (15),
wired with grenades, was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers as he
tried to enter a Jewish settlement in Gaza.
(SSFC, 4/21/02, p.A1)
2002 Apr 19, Israel announced that
"Operation Defensive Shield is over" and their forces completed
withdrawal from Jenin. Israeli military reported the capture of Husam
Ataf Ali Badran, a Hamas leader, near Nablus. 2 Palestinians were
reported killed by Israeli gunfire in Gaza. A suicide bomber blew
himself up in central Gaza. 3 Palestinians were reportedly killed by
Israeli fire in Gaza. The UN approved a fact-finding mission into
Israeli actions at Jenin.
(SFC, 4/19/02, p.A20)(SFC, 4/20/02, p.A1,14)
2002 Apr 20, Eiman Judeh, a
Palestinian gunman, was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers at the Erez
Checkpoint, Gaza, after he killed border guard, Uriel Ben Maimon (21).
(SSFC, 4/21/02, p.A1)
2002 Apr 22, Israeli-Palestinian
fighting left 7 Palestinians dead in the West Bank and Gaza along with
1 Israeli soldier. A leader of the al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade was killed
in an Israeli helicopter attack.
(SFC, 4/23/02, p.A10)(WSJ, 4/23/02, p.A1)
2002 Apr 24, Israeli tanks rolled
into Hebron. 3 Palestinian boys (14) were killed as they tried to
attack a Jewish settlement.
(WSJ, 4/25/02, p.A1)
2002 Apr 25, A Palestinian
military filed court sentenced 4 Arafat followers to prison terms for
their roles in the 2001 slaying of Israeli minister Rehavan Zeevi.
Israel called the trial a sham.
(SFC, 4/26/02, p.A20)
2002 Apr 26, Israeli forces moved
into Qalqilya and 3 smaller settlements. Raed Nazal, a Qalqilya leader
of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, was killed and 16
militants were captured. Fighting took place in Ramallah and 4
Palestinians surrendered at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.
Ismael Abu Shanab, a Hamas spokesman, said Hamas has accepted the terms
of the Saudi peace proposal.
(SFC, 4/27/02, p.A14)(SSFC, 4/28/02, p.A15)
2002 Apr 27, A UN team scheduled
to arrive in Israel for an inspection at Jenin was postponed for a day
over differences in the teams objectives.
(SFC, 4/27/02, p.A13)
2002 Apr 27, Palestinian gunmen
attacked the Israeli settlement of Adora and killed 4 people including
a 5-year-old girl. 3 gunmen escaped but one was later found and killed
in a nearby village.
(SSFC, 4/28/02, p.A1)
2002 Apr 28, The Israeli Cabinet
approved a deal to lift the siege of Arafat’s compound in Ramallah
after promises that US and British jailers would guard the terrorist
suspects held there. The Cabinet refused to allow a UN team to
investigate charges of a massacre at Jenin. Israeli troops had
surrounded the compound in Ramallah demanding Arafat turn over the six
men who had sought refuge inside. Five of the men, including Ahmad
Saadat, leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine,
were implicated in the 2001 assassination of Israeli Tourism Minister
Rehavam Zeevi. The sixth, Fuad Shobaki, masterminded an illegal weapons
shipment to the Palestinian Authority on a ship called the Karine A.
President Bush brokered a deal with Israeli PM Ariel Sharon that sent
the six men to a Palestinian prison in Jericho, where they were guarded
by US and British monitors. In return, Israeli troops pulled back from
Arafat's West Bank compound.
(SFC, 4/29/02, p.A1)(AP, 3/15/06)
2002 Apr 29, Israeli forces went
into Hebron and at least 9 people were killed and dozens arrested. It
was a retaliation for the Apr 27 attack.
(SFC, 4/30/02, p.A1)
2002 Apr 30, Israel blocked the UN
proposed fact-finding mission to Jenin. Israeli forces pulled out of
Hebron and 26 Palestinians emerged from the Church of the Nativity in
Bethlehem.
(SFC, 5/1/02, p.A1)
2002 Apr, Israeli police arrested
2 Jewish settlers for planting a bomb at a Palestinian girl’s school. 4
more were later taken into custody including Noam Federman, head of the
outlawed Kach movement. A bomb attack on an Arab boy’s school was also
recently foiled.
(SSFC, 5/19/02, p.A10)
2002 Apr, Rageb Jaradat killed 8
people and injured 22 when he blew himself up on a bus between Jenin
and Haifa.
(SFC, 10/11/03, p.A7)
2002 May 1, Israeli forces
withdrew from Ramallah and Yasser Arafat, under siege since Mar 29,
emerged from his West Bank compound. 6 wanted Palestinian men were
driven to Jericho under US and British supervision.
(SFC, 5/2/02, p.A1)
2002 May 2, Yasser Arafat emerged
from his West Bank headquarters, hours after Israeli troops withdrew
from his compound and released the Palestinian leader from months of
confinement.
(AP, 5/2/03)
2002 May 5, Middle East
negotiations over the siege of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem
approached agreement with a deal to send some of the Palestinians into
exile and others to the Gaza Strip for trial. Startled Israeli soldiers
killed a mother and 2 children (4&6) near Jenin.
(SFC, 5/6/02, p.A1)
2002 May 7, Pres. Bush met with PM
Ariel Sharon. They called for sweeping changes to Palestinian governing
institutions and a new Palestinian security service but they failed to
agree on many other issues.
(SFC, 5/8/02, p.A18)
2002 May 7, In Israel a Hamas
suicide bomber killed 15 people in a pool hall in Rishon Lezion. Hamas
claimed responsibility.
(SFC, 5/8/02, p.A1)(SFC, 7/24/02, p.A14)(AP, 5/7/03)
2002 May 8, In Israel a suicide
bomber detonated himself prematurely. Israeli sappers used a robot to
drag the man, still alive, across a road for inspection.
(SFC, 5/8/02, p.A12)
2002 May 10, Arab leaders pressed
Yasser Arafat to stop suicide bombings as Israel delayed a strike into
Gaza.
(SFC, 5/11/02, p.A8)
2002 May 10, In Jerusalem 120
Palestinians left the Church of the Nativity following complex
negotiations and 39-day standoff. 13 senior militants faced deportation
to Cyprus and 26 were transferred to the Gaza Strip.
(SFC, 5/10/02, p.A1)
2002 May 11, In Tel Aviv,
Israel, some 50,000 protested for peace. A military attack on Gaza was
put on hold. Israel pulled out of the West Bank town of Tulkarem,
leaving Palestinian-run territories free of Israeli troops for the
first time in six weeks.
(SSFC, 5/12/02, p.A10)(AP, 5/11/03)
2002 May 12, In Israel PM Ariel
Sharon's Likud Party, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, voted to never allow
the creation of a Palestinian state. The Palestinian Authority told 26
men transferred from the Church of the Nativity that they could have
jobs in any government bureaucracy including positions in Gaza's Tanzim
militia.
(SFC, 5/13/02, p.A1,12)(AP, 5/12/03)
2002 May 15, In Israel Binyamin
Ben-Eliezer, the defense minister, proposed a peace package that called
for sharing Jerusalem with the Palestinians and granting them most of
the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
(SFC, 5/16/02, p.A6)
2002 May 17, Yasser Arafat changed
his previous day’s remarks and said balloting would only take place if
Israel withdraws from occupied territory.
(SFC, 5/17/02, p.A1)
2002 May 19, In Israel a suicide
bomber killed himself, 3 Israelis and wounded over 50 in a market in
Netanya.
(SFC, 5/20/02, p.A1)
2002 May 20, In Israel a
Palestinian suicide bomber killed himself and Israeli troops in
Tulkarem arrested a women who planned a suicide attack. It was also
reported that a Palestinian plan to bomb the twin 50-story towers in
Tel Aviv had been thwarted 3 weeks earlier. PM Sharon fired 4 Cabinet
members of Shas who helped defeat his emergency economic plan.
(SFC, 5/21/02, p.A1)
2002 May 22, In Israel a
Palestinian suicide bomber killed himself and 2 Israelis in Rishon
Letzion, a Tel Aviv suburb. Some 3 dozen people were injured. A
Ukrainian Christian woman, previously misidentified, and her
Palestinian husband drove the suicide bomber to the site. Irena Plitzik
said she did not know about the suicide mission. A 2nd bomber, Tauurya
Hamamra, backed out.
(SFC, 5/23/02, p.A10)(WSJ, 5/23/02, p.A1)(WSJ,
5/31/02, p.A1)(SFC, 5/31/02, p.A10)(SSFC, 6/2/02, p.A11)
2002 May 23, In Israel a bomb
exploded under a tanker truck near a fuel depot but failed to ignite
the tanker fuel.
(SFC, 5/24/02, p.A18)
2002 May 23, The Israeli Embassy
in Paris burned beyond repair. A faulty circuit was suspected.
(SFC, 5/24/02, p.A16)
2002 May 24, An Israeli guard
foiled an attempt to blow up the packed Studio 49 nightclub in Tel
Aviv.
(SFC, 5/24/02, p.A18)
2002 May 25, Israeli troops seized
Bethlehem and surrounded the house of Muhammed Shehade, a leader of the
Islamic Jihad. A Palestinian woman and her daughter (13) were killed by
Israeli fire on a farm in the Gaza Strip.
(SSFC, 5/26/02, p.A13)
2002 May 26, Israeli forces moved
into Bethlehem for the 2nd time in 2 days.
(SFC, 5/27/02, p.A3)
2002 May 27, In Israel a
Palestinian suicide bomber killed himself and 2 Israelis, a toddler and
her grandmother, at a mall in Petah Tikva near Tel Aviv.
(SFC, 5/28/02, p.A6)
2002 May 28, A Palestinian gunmen
attacked an Israeli settlement near Nablus and killed 3 students at an
Orthodox high school. The gunman was killed.
(SFC, 5/29/02, p.A8)(WSJ, 5/29/02, p.A1)
2002 May 30, Israeli forces
entered Nablus and raided Hebron and Jenin.
(WSJ, 5/31/02, p.A1)
2002 Jun 1, Israeli forces
detained hundreds of Palestinians in 4 West Bank cities. Tareq
el-Kharaz (24), who defied a curfew to pray in a mosque, was killed in
Nablus.
(SSFC, 6/2/02, p.A11)
2002 Jun 3, US CIA director George
Tenet met with Israeli leaders as Israel stepped up seizures of Arab
land for use as security buffer zones.
(SFC, 6/4/02, p.A7)
2002 Jun 5, In Israel a car bomb
went off next to a bus near Megiddo and at least 17 people were killed.
(SFC, 6/5/02, p.A1)(SFC, 6/6/02, p.A1)
2002 Jun 6, Israeli forces
attacked Yasser Arafat's compound in Ramallah in response to a
Palestinian suicide attack on a bus that killed 17 Israelis. 2
Palestinians were reported killed.
(SFC, 6/6/02, p.A1)(SFC, 6/7/02, p.A10)(AP, 6/6/03)
2002 Jun 7, In Jerusalem hundreds
of gay activists held their 1st gay pride parade.
(SFC, 6/8/02, p.A12)
2002 Jun 7, Palestinian gunmen
attacked the Karmei Tsur settlement in the West Bank and killed 2
Israelis. 1 attacker was killed, a 2nd escaped.
(SFC, 6/8/02, p.A12)
2002 Jun 8, Palestinians entered a
Jewish settlement in the West Bank early Saturday and killed three
Israelis in a shooting attack, the military and paramedics said. Three
Israelis and seven armed Palestinians were killed.
(AP, 6/7/02)(AP, 6/9/02)
2002 Jun 8, Pres. Bush met with
Egypt’s Pres. Hosni Mubarek, who said Middle East violence would
continue until Israel withdraws from Palestinian territory and hope for
a future is restored to the Palestinian people.
(SSFC, 6/9/02, p.A12)
2002 Jun 9, Israeli Prime Minister
Ariel Sharon traveled to Washington for talks with President Bush.
(AP, 6/9/02)
2002 Jun 10, Israeli tanks and
troops charged into Ramallah before sunrise Monday, surrounding the
compound of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and arresting 20 suspected
militants in searches throughout the city.
(AP, 6/10/02)(SFC, 6/10/02, p.A1)
2002 Jun 10, A bomb exploded near
an armored bus in the West Bank, injuring three teenaged students from
a religious seminary at a nearby Jewish settlement on their return from
picking cherries.
(Reuters, 6/11/02)
2002 Jun 12, Israeli troops shot
and killed five armed Palestinians and a 9-year-old boy in separate
incidents near a Jewish settlement, while a Palestinian suicide bomber
blew up a fast food restaurant in a Mediterranean resort town, killing
a 15-year-old Israeli girl. Israeli forces pulled out of the West Bank
town of Ramallah, lifting their latest blockade on Yasser Arafat's
office, as Secretary of State Colin Powell raised the idea of a
provisional Palestinian state.
(AP, 6/12/02)(AP, 6/13/02)
2002 Jun 15, It was reported that
a new book by Carnegie Endowment for Int’l. Peace reported that Israel
was attempting to arm its diesel submarines with nuclear cruise
missiles. [see Feb 2, 2000]
(SFC, 6/15/02, p.A10)
2002 Jun 15, Four Israelis were
injured, two critically, when at least one Palestinian opened fire at a
Jewish settlement in the northern Gaza Strip.
(AP, 6/15/02)
2002 Jun 17, A Palestinian suicide
bomber blew himself up on Israel's frontier with the West Bank, shortly
after Israel angered the Palestinians by starting work on a security
fence between the two territories. In 2003 the UN said the fence carved
off 14% of the West Bank and barred a route to work for some 400,000
Palestinians.
(Reuters, 6/17/02)(WSJ, 11/12/03, p.A1)
2002 Jun 17, It was reported that
fundamentalist Tunisian Jews on Djerba Island were exempt from the
country’s mandatory secular education. They numbered about a 1,000.
(WSJ, 6/17/02, p.A16)
2002 Jun 18, A Palestinian man,
Muhammad al-Ghoul (22), detonated nail-studded explosives on a
Jerusalem bus crowded with high school students and office workers,
killing himself and 19 passengers in the city's deadliest suicide
attack in six years. Fifty-five people were wounded in the Hamas attack.
(AP, 6/18/02)(SFC, 6/19/02, p.A10)(SFC, 6/19/02,
p.A10)
2002 Jun 19, Israel launched
Operation Determined Path and announced it will gradually reoccupy
Palestinian areas until terrorism stops in a major policy change
prompted by a deadly bus bombing. Israeli troops raided three West Bank
towns from which dozens of terror attacks have been launched. Seven
Israelis were killed when a Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up
at a crowded bus stop in northern Jerusalem. About 50 people were
injured. Hamas declared a war on buses.
(AP, 6/19/02)(AP, 9/6/03)
2002 Jun 20, Palestinian gunmen
killed 5 Jewish settlers at the Itamar settlement in the West Bank. The
2 assailants were killed.
(SFC, 6/21/02, p.A1)
2002 Jun 21, Israeli tanks opened
fire on the market in the northern West Bank town of Jenin, killing 4
Palestinians, including 3 children, hospital officials said. The
Israeli army said soldiers had mistakenly fired on a group of curfew
violators. Israelis from the West Bank settlement of Itamar returning
from funerals killed a Palestinian during a rampage in the village of
Hawara.
(AP, 6/21/02)
2002 Jun 24, Israeli forces killed
six Palestinians in a helicopter missile strike on a car carrying
Islamic militants in the Gaza Strip on Monday and surrounded Yasser
Arafat in his headquarters in the West Bank.
(AP, 6/24/02)
2002 Jun 24, Pres. Bush outlined
his blueprint for peace in the Middle East. His statement included a
call on Palestinians to replace Yasser Arafat with leaders "not
compromised by terror" and adopt democratic reforms that could produce
an independent state within three years.
(SFC, 6/25/02, p.A1)(AP, 6/24/03)
2002 Jun 25, Israeli soldiers
stormed the fortress-like Palestinian headquarters in the city of
Hebron, occupying the seventh of eight main West Bank centers.
Palestinian security officials said four policemen were killed.
(AP, 6/25/02)
2002 Jun 26, A Belgian appeals
court tossed out the war crimes case against Israeli PM Sharon, for his
role in the 1982 massacre at the Lebanon Shatila refugee camp, and said
subjects had to be on Belgian soil in order to be investigated and
tried.
(SFC, 6/27/02, p.A8)
2002 Jun 27, Belgian authorities
signed agreements to pay about $55 million to the country's Jewish
community for property lost during the Nazi occupation.
(AP, 6/27/02)
2002 Jun 27, Israel's army urged
Palestinians holed up under fire for a third day in a West Bank
compound to surrender Thursday, warning it will overrun the battered
Hebron government complex if those inside refuse to come out.
Helicopter gunships fired missiles into the Hebron complex.
(AP, 6/27/02)(SFC, 6/28/02, p.A10)
2002 Jun 27, In Khartoum, Sudan,
representatives of 57 Muslim nations pledged support for Palestinians
in a resolution that made no mention of President Bush's call for
Palestinians to elect a new leadership. In 21 months of violence, 1,739
people have been killed on the Palestinian side and 564 people on the
Israeli side.
(AP, 6/27/02)
2002 Jun 28, The Israeli army
smashed through an outer wall of the Palestinian Authority headquarters
in Hebron to try to flush out suspected militants. An Israeli military
court sentenced a 16-year-old Palestinian from the militant Hamas
movement to life in prison for trying to blow himself up when
confronted by Israeli police, the first time a would-be bomber was
brought to trial.
(Reuters, 6/28/02)(AP, 6/28/02)
2002 Jun 29, The Israeli army
ended a four-day siege of a Palestinian police headquarters by blowing
up the hilltop compound where about 15 suspected militants had taken
refuge. 2 Palestinians died in clashes with Israeli soldiers.
(Reuters, 6/29/02)(SSFC, 6/30/02, p.A14)
2002 Jun 29, Israel’s Defense
Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer called for the immediate dismantling of
10 illegal outposts in the West Bank.
(AP, 6/29/02)(SSFC, 6/30/02, p.A14)
2002 Jun 30, An Israeli tank
shelled a house in Nablus and killed Mohammed Tahir, a local Hamas
leader and bombmaker, along with an aide.
(SFC, 7/1/02, p.A3)
2002 Jul 4, The Palestinian police
chief Ghazi Jabali decided to resign and run for president following a
controversy over whether Yasser Arafat had tried to oust both him and
security commander Jibril Rajoub.
(Reuters, 7/4/02)(SFC, 7/5/02, p.A7)
2002 Jul 4, An explosion shattered
a white Mercedes, killing two people including Jihad Amerin (38), a
Gaza leader of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. Palestinian police said
their initial suspicions were Israeli agents had planted a bomb.
(AP, 7/4/02)(SFC, 7/5/02, p.A7)
2002 Jul 4, Hesham Mohamed Hadayet
(41), an Egyptian-born 10-year resident of Irvine, opened fire at
Israel’s El Al airline ticket counter in Los Angeles' airport. Victoria
Hen and Yaakov Aminov were killed before Hadayet, born July 4, 1961,
was shot to death by a guard.
(AP, 7/5/02)(Reuters, 7/5/02)(SFC, 7/5/02,
p.A1)(SFC, 7/6/02, p.A12)
2002 Jul 6, Randi Hindi (44), a
Palestinian woman, and her 2-year-old daughter were shot to death while
riding in a taxi in the Gaza Strip. Palestinians claimed Israeli troops
were responsible. But the Israeli army said its soldiers did not fire
anywhere in the area.
(AP, 7/6/02)(SSFC, 7/7/02, p.A9)
2002 Jul 9, A Palestinian gunman
opened fire on Israeli police officers just outside the walled Old City
of Jerusalem, wounding one, and a passer-by was killed in the ensuing
gunbattle.
(AP, 7/9/02)
2002 Jul 10, Palestinian gunmen
shot and killed an Israeli army lieutenant on patrol in the southern
Gaza Strip, and Israeli troops fatally shot a 19-year-old Palestinian
in the West Bank.
(AP, 7/10/02)
2002 Jul 12, Palestinian
free-lance photographer Imad Abu Zahra died of a gunshot wound in the
northern West Bank, and a fellow photographer said the shots came from
a machine gun on an Israeli tank July 11. 2 Palestinians were killed in
an exchange of gunfire in the Gaza Strip.
(AP, 7/12/02)(SFC, 7/13/02, p.A9)
2002 Jul 14, A Palestinian
man, on trial for allegedly collaborating with Israel, was killed by
Palestinian militants after an Israeli airstrike disrupted court
proceedings. Israeli aircraft fired missiles and destroyed a building
in the southern Gaza Strip, injuring about 10 Palestinians.
(AP, 7/14/02)
2002 Jul 16, In the West Bank
Palestinian gunmen ambushed a bus at the Emmanuel settlement left 8
Israelis dead.
(SFC, 7/17/02, p.A1)(WSJ, 7/18/02, p.A1)
2002 Jul 16, Belgian banks signed
agreements to pay some $54 million to the country’s Jewish community
for property lost during the Nazi occupation.
(SFC, 7/17/02, p.A9)
2002 Jul 17, In Israel a double
suicide bombing in Tel Aviv killed two foreign workers and one Israeli.
Over 40 people were injured.
(WSJ, 7/18/02, p.A1)(SFC, 7/18/02, p.A1)(AP, 7/17/07)
2002 Jul 19, Israel introduced
collective punishment on the family of Ali Ajouri, following his role
in the July 17 suicide bombing.
(AP, 8/8/02)
2002 Jul 20, A car exploded near a
mosque in an Israeli Arab neighborhood of Tel Aviv, killing the driver.
(AP, 7/20/02)
2002 Jul 21, In Israel an
explosion under a moving passenger train near Tel Aviv moderately
injured one Israeli.
(AP, 7/21/02)
2002 Jul 22, Israeli troops killed
2 Islamic Jihad members in a clash near the Gush Katif settlement.
(SFC, 7/23/02, p.A10)
2002 Jul 23, An Israeli F-16
warplane fired a missile that flattened a Gaza City apartment building,
killing Salah Shehadeh, the leader of Hamas' military wing, and at
least 14 other Palestinians, including nine children. Shehadeh was at
the top of Israel's most wanted list. The dead included Shehadeh’s wife
and 3 kids. In 2009 a Spanish judge began an investigation into seven
current or former Israeli officials over the 2002 bombing.
(AP, 7/23/02)(SFC, 7/23/02, p.A1)(AP, 1/29/09)
2002 Jul 23, Chaim Potok (73),
rabbi and author of novels that included "The Chosen," died at his home
in suburban Philadelphia. "Literature presents you with alternative
mappings of the human experience."
(SFC, 7/24/02, p.A1)
2002 Jul 25, Israeli police said
an Israeli policeman has been arrested on suspicion of selling
ammunition to Palestinians, raising to ten the number of suspects
detained in the case.
(AP, 7/25/02)
2002 Jul 25, Palestinian gunmen
shot dead a Jewish rabbi settler in what militants called the first
response to an Israeli air strike that killed 15 Palestinians including
a top militant.
(Reuters, 7/25/02)
2002 Jul 26, Israel sent tanks and
troops into Gaza City. Troops fatally shot a Palestinian man as he
stood in his kitchen in Qalqiliya. Palestinian security officials said
Israeli soldiers were firing live ammunition as they searched houses,
and that the man had been hit in the head.
(AP, 7/26/02)
2002 Jul 26, Palestinian gunmen
waiting in ambush fired on two passing Israeli cars near a Jewish
settlement in the southern West Bank, killing four people and injuring
two children before fleeing.
(AP, 7/26/02)
2002 Jul 28, Jewish settlers went
on a rampage as they returned home from the funeral of an Israeli
soldier, shooting dead a 14-year-old girl and wounding several other
Palestinians.
(AP, 7/28/02)(SFC, 7/31/02, p.A12)
2002 Jul 30, A Palestinian suicide
bomber blew himself up at a central Jerusalem fast-food stand popular
with police, wounding four Israelis. In the West Bank, gunmen killed
two Israeli settlers who had entered a Palestinian village.
(AP, 7/30/02)
2002 Jul 31, In Israel a bomb
exploded in a crowded cafeteria at Hebrew University during lunchtime,
killing 9 people including 5 Americans and wounding more than 70. Hamas
claimed responsibility. The dead included a peace activist named Dafna,
who was a close friend of Israeli novelist Avraham Yehoshua. His novel
“A Woman in Israel,” translated to English in 2006, was dedicated to
Dafna.
(SFC, 8/2/02, p.A1)(AP, 7/31/03)(Econ, 8/5/06, p.73)
2002 Jul 31, An Israeli man, his
hands and feet bound, was found shot and killed in his factory office
near the West Bank town of Tulkarem.
(AP, 8/1/02)
2002 Aug 2, The Israeli army blew
up two buildings with explosives labs and arrested at least 50
Palestinians in house to house searches as troops took control of
Nablus, a city Israel called "the main factory of suicide bombings."
Israelis killed 3 people in Nablus and 3 Palestinians in Gaza including
a woman (85) and a girl (9).
(AP, 8/2/02)(SFC, 8/3/02, p.A1)
2002 Aug 4, In northern Israel a
Palestinian suicide bomber blew apart a bus during rush hour, killing
at least nine people, wounding dozens. 3 more people died in a gun
battle outside the Damascus Gate. 7 Arabs with Israeli citizenship were
later arrested for assisting the bomber.
(AP, 8/4/02)(SFC, 8/5/02, p.A1)(SFC, 8/27/02, p.A10)
2002 Aug 5, Israel announced a
"total ban" on Palestinian travel in much of the West Bank and sealed
off a chunk of the Gaza Strip with tanks in response to Palestinian
attacks on Israelis that killed 13 people over 24 hours. Israeli
helicopters fired missiles at a suspected weapons factory in Gaza City.
(AP, 8/5/02)(AP, 8/5/07)
2002 Aug 6, Israeli troops killed
the suspected mastermind of a Tel Aviv suicide bombing, while U.S.
diplomats said the United States was considering moving consular
offices out of traditionally Arab east Jerusalem due to security
concerns.
(AP, 8/6/02)
2002 Aug 6, Israel agreed to buy
about 1.75 billion cubic feet of water from Turkey annually for the
next 20 years to alleviate the nation's growing water shortage and
ensure the success of an arms deal with Ankara.
(AP, 8/602)
2002 Aug 7, About 30 Israeli tanks
firing heavy machineguns raided the northern Gaza Strip in a sweep for
militants and troops shot dead a Palestinian policeman.
(AP, 8/7/02)
2002 Aug 7, The Palestinian
Cabinet accepted Israel's proposal for a troop withdrawal from some
areas of the West Bank and Gaza Strip in exchange for Palestinian
security guarantees, even as Israeli troops hunting terror suspects
killed five Palestinians in three raids.
(AP, 8/7/02)
2002 Aug 8, Israeli troops and
tanks briefly swept into a town in the northern Gaza Strip for the
second time in two days, killing a youth and wounding three others in a
clash with Palestinian stone throwers. Negotiators failed to reach
agreement, but scheduled more talks on a gradual Israeli troop pullback
from some Palestinian areas.
(AP, 8/8/02)
2002 Aug 10, Israeli soldiers shot
dead a Palestinian electricity department worker as he sat in his
city-owned truck and the army expressed its sorrow and said it had
opened an investigation. Gunfire in a Jordan Valley settlement killed a
suspected Palestinian militant and an Israeli woman.
(AP, 8/10/02)
2002 Aug 11, Israeli troops shot
and killed Basil Naji (22), a Palestinian gunman, after he opened fire
on Israeli road workers in the northern Gaza Strip, wounding one of
them.
(AP, 8/11/02)(SFC, 8/12/02, p.A10)
2002 Aug 12, Palestinian factions
met to create a "national unity leadership" to include all major
groups, including militant ones such as Hamas. They endorsed a
continuation of their uprising and rejected language to end attacks on
civilians inside Israel.
(AP, 8/12/02)
2002 Aug 14, Israel's military
intelligence chief told parliament that Palestinian leader Yasser
Arafat has amassed a personal fortune of about $1.3 billion.
(AP, 8/14/02)
2002 Aug 18, Israel agreed to a
partial withdrawal from Palestinian territory in exchange for reduced
tensions in the areas.
(SFC, 8/19/02, p.A1)
2002 Aug 20, Palestinian police
were back on the streets of Bethlehem after Israeli forces left the
town as part of a trial that could lead to further Israeli withdrawals
in the West Bank.
(AP, 8/20/02)
2002 Aug 20, An Israeli soldier
was killed by a Hamas sniper. Hamas vowed to undermine the new security
agreement.
(WSJ, 8/21/02, p.A1)
2002 Aug 21, Israeli troops blew
up two apartment buildings in a Gaza Strip refugee camp, just hours
after undercover forces killed the brother of a radical Palestinian
leader during an arrest raid in the West Bank. Israeli security
officials announced the breakup of a Hamas cell in East Jerusalem.
(AP, 8/21/02)(SFC, 8/22/02, p.A7)
2002 Aug 26, Israeli troops
arrested Jamal Abdel Salam Abu el-Heijah, leader of Hamas in the Jenin
region in a West Bank raid as Israel's defense minister said a security
deal to ease violence was still in force.
(AP, 8/26/02)
2002 Aug 29, Israeli tank shells
slammed into a Bedouin encampment in Gaza, killing four members of a
Palestinian family and wounding four others.
(AP, 8/29/02)
2002 Aug 29, Hezbollah guerrillas
shelled Israeli positions in a disputed border area, wounding 3
soldiers and drawing fire from Israeli warplanes and artillery.
(AP, 8/29/02)
2002 Aug 31, Israeli soldiers
arrested Hasan Yousef, the Islamic militant group Hamas' top political
leader, in the West Bank town of Ramallah. An Israeli helicopter fired
three missiles at a Palestinian car, killing three men inside and two
children standing nearby.
(AP, 8/30/02)
2002 Aug 31, A Palestinian gunman
opened fire in a Jewish settlement in the West Bank, seriously wounding
two people before being shot dead.
(AP, 8/31/02)
2002 Sep 1, Israeli troops shot
dead four Palestinians not far from a Jewish gravesite near the West
Bank city of Hebron, adding to an already bloody weekend in which seven
other Palestinians, including two children, were killed.
(AP, 9/1/02)(SFC, 9/2/02, p.A3)
2002 Sep 1, Israel and Jordan
announced their largest joint project ever, a $800 million pipeline
intended to save the shrinking Dead Sea from environmental devastation.
(AP, 9/1/02)
2002 Sep 3, Israeli tank shells
killed Bahir Eid (22) and Hussein Najar (22) residents of the village
of Burin, a West Bank village.
(AP, 9/3/02)
2002 Sep 5, Palestinian
fighters blew up an Israeli tank in Gaza, killing the driver instantly.
Another Palestinian, linked to the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, killed an
Israeli officer and wounded another soldier before he was shot dead.
(SFC, 9/6/02, p.A14)
2002 Sep 6, Israel attacked
a factory in the Gaza Strip with missiles fired from helicopters after
a Palestinian "mega" bomb attempt was thwarted a day earlier.
(AP, 9/6/02)(SFC, 9/6/02, p.A14)
2002 Sep 6, Jews began Rosh
Hashanan at sunset. This ended their year 5762 and began year 5763.
(SFC, 9/7/02, p.A1)
2002 Sep 7, Uzi Gal (79), the
inventor of Israel's Uzi submachine gun, died in Philadelphia of a long
illness. [see 1954]
(AP, 9/9/02)(SFC, 9/10/02, p.A16)
2002 Sep 13, Four Palestinians
were killed in Gaza, including three in an explosion at a home believed
to harbor a bomb workshop. Elsewhere, a Palestinian gunman died in a
firefight with Israeli soldiers.
(AP, 9/13/02)
2002 Sep 14, President Emile
Lahoud said Lebanon will start pumping water from a shared border river
for its southern villages despite Israeli military threats.
(AP, 9/14/02)
2002 Sep 15, Jews in Israel marked
Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish year.
(AP, 9/15/02)
2002 Sep 18, A Palestinian suicide
bomber blew himself up at a bus stop in the Arab-Israeli village of Umm
al-Fahm in northern Israel, wounding several people.
(AP, 9/18/02)
2002 Sep 19, A Palestinian blew
himself up on a crowded bus in downtown Tel Aviv, killing at least five
other people and wounding 49. It was the second suicide bombing in two
days after a six-week lull.
(AP, 9/19/02)
2002 Sep 20, Israel tightened its
siege on Yasser Arafat, using tanks to destroy a stairwell in his
compound, digging a deep trench and running coils of barbed wire around
his offices.
(AP, 9/20/02)
2002 Sep 21, Explosions rocked
Yasser Arafat's compound, including one that showered him with debris,
as the Israeli army systematically blew up or bulldozed nearly every
building around him in the Palestinian Authority's headquarters.
(AP, 9/21/02)
2002 Sep 22, Thousands of
Palestinians, many defying military curfews, poured into West Bank and
Gaza streets to protest Israel's assault on Yasser Arafat's
headquarters, and 5 demonstrators were killed by army fire.
(AP, 9/22/02)(WSJ, 9/23/02, p.A1)
2002 Sep 23, A Palestinian gunman
opened fire on visitors attending Jewish holiday celebrations In
Hebron, killing a man and wounding three of his sons.
(AP, 9/24/02)
2002 Sep 24, Israel defied a
U.N. Security Council demand to end its six-day siege of Yasser
Arafat's devastated West Bank headquarters. 9 Palestinians were killed
in an Israeli strike against alleged munitions factories and other
targets in Gaza City. Israeli troops demolished three houses of
Palestinian terror suspects, while Jewish settler leaders inaugurated a
new Jewish settlement near the Palestinian city of Nablus.
(AP, 9/24/02)(AP, 9/25/02)
2002 Sep 26, Israeli helicopter
gunships fired missiles into Gaza City, killing two Palestinians in an
escalation of violence. The attack was bid to kill Hamas bomb maker
Mohammed Deif.
(AP, 9/26/02)(WSJ, 9/27/02, p.A1)
2002 Sep 26, Zerah Warhaftig (96),
a signer of Israel's declaration of independence and a rescuer of
Jewish refugees during World War II, died.
(AP, 9/27/02)
2002 Sep 29, Israel withdrew
forces from Yasser Arafat's headquarters compound Responding to U.S.
pressure, but said the hunt for men inside whom it accuses of terrorism
would continue. Some 250 Palestinian militiamen were granted
conditional freedom.
(AP, 9/29/02)(SFC, 9/30/02, p.A3)
2002 Oct 5, Israeli soldiers
enforcing a curfew shot Amer Hashem, a 15-year-old Palestinian boy in
Nablus, during clashes with stone-throwing protesters. It was the eve
of an international round of peace diplomacy.
(AP, 10/5/02)(SFC, 10/5/02, p.A8)(SSFC, 10/6/02,
p.A18)
2002 Oct 7, Israeli forces killed
16 Palestinians in Gaza that included a missile strike that killed 11.
Hamas vowed revenge attacks.
(SFC, 10/7/02, p.A1)(SFC, 10/8/02, p.A1)(WSJ,
10/9/02, p.A1)
2002 Oct 8, Israeli forces entered
Hebron following a sniper attack that wounded 4 Israelis. Israeli
tankfire killed a Palestinian girl in the Gaza Strip.
(WSJ, 10/9/02, p.A1)
2002 Oct 10, Imre Kertesz (72), a
Hungarian novelist and secular Jew, won the Nobel Prize for literature.
His books included "Fiasco" (1988) and "Kaddish for a Child Not Born"
(1990).
(SFC, 10/11/02, p.A2)
2002 Oct 13, In Israel about
140,000 public workers went on strike to protest government plans to
tax contributions to pension funds.
(AP, 10/13/02)
2002 Oct 13, Israeli troops backed
by tanks and a helicopter entered the Rafah refugee camp hunting for
tunnels used to smuggle weapons and drugs into the Gaza Strip. Two
Palestinians were killed and 28 wounded.
(AP, 10/13/02)
2002 Oct 13, A Palestinian
militant, whose clan has been targeted previously by Israeli security
forces, was killed when a public telephone exploded in his hand. He was
one of six Palestinians to die in a day of violence.
(AP, 10/13/02)
2002 Oct 14, Israeli troops killed
2 Islamic Jihad militants outside Jenin.
(WSJ, 10/15/02, p.A1)
2002 Oct 15, Yaacov "Zeev" Farkas
(b.1923), called the founder of the political cartoonist's art in
Israel, died. He was born in Hungary and survived the Nazi
concentration camp at Dachau.
(AP, 10/16/02)(SFC, 10/17/02, p.A28)
2002 Oct 17, Israeli tanks fired
artillery shells and machine guns after coming under attack by
anti-tank missiles, killing at least 6 Palestinians and wounding more
than 40 in the southern Gaza town of Rafah.
(AP, 10/17/02)(SFC, 10/18/02, p.A18)
2002 Oct 21, A bus bombing near
Hadera killed 14 Israelis, along with two attackers. Israel held off on
immediate retaliation, but troops next day destroyed the homes of a
suicide bomber and a suspected militant.
(AP, 10/22/02)(SFC, 10/22/02, p.A1)
2002 Oct 27, A Palestinian suicide
bomber blew up as Israeli soldiers were shooting him, killing three
people and himself at a gas station just outside Ariel, one of the
largest Jewish settlements in the West Bank. The 18 people injured
included several soldiers. Hours later, Israeli troops shot and killed
two armed Palestinian militants in the nearby Palestinian city of Nablus
(AP, 10/27/02)
2002 Nov 1, Israel Amir (99), the
first commander of the Israeli air force (1948), died in a Tel Aviv
hospital.
(AP, 11/2/02)(SFC, 11/2/02, p.A22)
2002 Oct 30, Israeli Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon's broad-based coalition collapsed when Cabinet
ministers from the moderate Labor Party resigned in a dispute over
funding for Jewish settlements.
(AP, 10/30/03)
2002 Oct 30, A Palestinian gunman
killed two teenage girls and a woman in a Jewish settlement in the West
Bank before being shot dead in a firefight with soldiers and
residents.
(AP, 10/30/02)
2002 Nov 4, Two Palestinians,
including a Hamas militant wanted by Israel, were killed when their car
exploded in the middle of the street in the West Bank city of Nablus.
(AP, 11/4/02)
2002 Nov 5, Prime Minister Ariel
Sharon dissolved Parliament and called early elections for February,
after he failed to rebuild his crumbling government. Ex-premier,
Benjamin Netanyahu, announced that he accepts PM Ariel Sharon's offer
to serve as foreign minister until early elections are held.
(AP, 11/5/02)
2002 Nov 5, Israeli soldiers came
under fire and responded by killing a Palestinian and injuring 16
others in the southern Gaza Strip.
(AP, 11/5/02)
2002 Nov 6, Benjamin Netanyahu was
approved as Israel's foreign minister, bringing him into the Cabinet of
the man he seeks to succeed, Ariel Sharon.
(AP, 11/6/02)
2002 Nov 6, A Palestinian laborer
opened fire in a Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip where he worked,
killing his employer and another Israeli before being shot dead.
(AP, 11/6/02)
2002 Nov 9, Iyad Sawalha, a senior
member of the militant Islamic Jihad group, was killed in an overnight
army operation in the West Bank.
(AP, 11/9/02)
2002 Nov 10, A car carrying two
Palestinians exploded as Israeli police moved to stop the vehicle near
Israel's border with the West Bank.
(AP, 11/10/02)
2002 Nov 10, A Palestinian gunman
crawled under a security fence at the Kibbutz Metzer communal farm,
burst into a home and shot dead a mother and her two children as she
was reading them a bedtime story. The gunman then killed two more
Israelis before escaping in the dark.
(AP, 11/11/02)
2002 Nov 14, Israeli troops
captured the alleged mastermind of a shooting attack on an Israeli
kibbutz in his West Bank hideout, and seized suspected weapons makers
in the deepest raid into Gaza City in two years.
(AP, 11/14/02)
2002 Nov 15, Palestinian militants
raked Israeli troops and settlers with gunfire in an ambush, killing 12
Israelis in Hebron.
(AP, 11/15/03)
2002 Nov 16, Israeli troops retook
control of Hebron blindfolding Palestinian suspects and herding them
into army buses, after militant gunmen ambushed a procession of Jewish
worshippers, killing 12 Israelis, mostly security forces.
(AP, 11/16/02)
2002 Nov 17, Israeli statesman
Abba Eban (87) died. He helped persuade the world to approve creation
of the Jewish state and dominated Israeli diplomacy for decades.
(AP, 11/17/02)
2002 Nov 17, Tawfiq Fukra (23), an
Israeli Arab accused of trying to hijack an El Al Airlines flight,
wanted to copy the September 11 suicide attacks on the United States
and fly the aircraft into a public building in Tel Aviv.
(Reuters, 11/18/02)
2002 Nov 19, Five Palestinians
died when Israeli soldiers swept through the West Bank town of
Tulkarem, one a leading militant and another a teenager who had climbed
on top of an Israeli armored vehicle.
(AP, 11/19/02)
2002 Nov 20, Israel’s Labor Party
chose Amram Mitzna, ex-general and Haifa mayor, as its leader in the
Jan 28 elections.
(WSJ, 11/20/02, p.A1)
2002 Nov 20, Israeli troops shot
and killed Amr Qudsi (15), a Palestinian teenager in a confrontation in
Tulkarem.
(AP, 11/20/02)
2002 Nov 21, A Palestinian man
wearing a bomb belt blew himself up on a Jerusalem city bus packed with
high school students and soldiers, killing 11 passengers and wounding
dozens in a morning rush hour attack. Four of the victims were aged 8
to 16.
(AP, 11/21/02)
2002 Nov 22, A senior U.N.
official from Britain was shot and killed during an exchange of fire
between Israeli troops and Palestinian gunmen in the West Bank refugee
camp of Jenin.
(AP, 11/22/02)
2002 Nov 25, Israeli troops shot
and killed an 8-year-old Palestinian boy in Nablus as hundreds of
youths ignored a curfew and threw stones at soldiers on their way home
from school. Israeli troops and armored vehicles pulled out of
Bethlehem.
(AP, 11/25/02)
2002 Nov 26, Israeli aircraft
attacked a building in Jenin’s refugee camp and killed 2 Palestinian
militants.
(WSJ, 11/27/02, p.A1)
2002 Nov 28, Prime Minister Ariel
Sharon easily won re-election as the Likud Party leader, defeating his
hawkish foreign minister by positioning himself as a centrist in a
tactic that could help him in January elections against the Labor
Party's dovish Amram Mitzna.
(AP, 11/29/02)
2002 Nov 28, A shooting attack in
northern Israel killed 6 Israelis. Two Palestinian gunmen opened fire
on a Likud Party office crowded with voters casting ballots in a
leadership race and also attacked passengers at a nearby bus terminal
in northern Israel.
(AP, 11/28/02)(SFC, 11/29/02, p.A1)
2002 Nov 28, In Kenya 3 suicide
bombers attacked an Israeli-owned hotel, killing 13 other people. At
least two missiles were fired at, but missed, an Israeli airliner
taking off from the Mombasa airport.
(AP, 11/28/02)(SFC, 11/29/02, p.A1)(SFC, 11/30/02,
p.A1)
2002 Nov 29, Israeli troops blew
up the homes of two Palestinian gunmen who attacked an office of Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon's Likud Party during a primary vote, killing six
Israelis and wounding more than 20.
(AP, 11/29/02)
2002 Nov 30, A 16-year-old
Palestinian boy was shot and killed on his way home from school east of
Gaza city, and another was wounded.
(AP, 11/30/02)
2002 Nov 30, Israeli troops shot
dead one Palestinian and a second Palestinian man died under the rubble
of one of the three homes the soldiers demolished in an overnight
operation in the Gaza Strip.
(AP, 12/1/02)
2002 Nov, Egypt state television
planned to air a 41-part series titled "Horseman Without a Horse,"
about a journalist’s efforts to uncover the truth behind an alleged
Jewish plot to conquer the world. "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion"
were 1st printed in 1897. They were copied from a novel by Hermann
Goedsche and believed to be concocted by the secret police of Czar
Nicholas II. Goedsche claimed a secret group of rabbis were plotting to
take over the world. His story was based on Maurice Joly’s "Dialogues
in Hell Between Machiavelli and Montesquieu."
(SFC, 10/24/02, p.A9)
2002 Dec 2, Israeli troops shot
dead a Palestinian gunman trying to enter a Jewish settlement in the
Gaza Strip, and a Palestinian teenager was killed when a mob of stone
throwers clashed with troops in the West Bank town of Jenin.
(AP, 12/2/02)
2002 Dec 3, An Israeli soldier in
Ramallah shot and killed a 95-year-old Palestinian woman as her taxi
tried a back road to go around an Israeli checkpoint.
(SFC, 12/4/02, p.A14)
2002 Dec 4, Israeli soldiers
killed two suspected Islamic militants in a gun battle in a West Bank
village, and Israeli helicopters fired missiles on a Palestinian
government complex in the Gaza Strip, killing a security guard and
injuring five people.
(AP, 12/4/02)
2002 Dec 6, Ten Palestinians,
including two U.N. employees, were killed in chaotic battles that
erupted when Israeli troops, tanks and helicopter gunships poured into
a Gaza Strip refugee camp, searching for a fugitive militant allegedly
involved in a fatal bombing.
(AP, 12/6/02)
2002 Dec 8, Israeli soldiers
killed a Palestinian woman and wounded her 3 children at the Tel sultan
refugee camp near the settlement of Rafiah Yam.
(SFC, 12/9/02, p.A12)
2002 Dec 9, Israeli soldiers
killed Basem Kou (28), a mentally handicapped Palestinian near Beit
Lid. At Nablus Israeli soldiers fired on a taxi and killed Rehaneh
Hesham Kilani (25) and injured 2 other passengers.
(SFC, 12/10/02, p.A8)
2002 Dec 11, Israeli troops killed
a suspected Palestinian militant in a West Bank refugee camp as he
tried to escape.
(AP, 12/11/02)
2002 Dec 11, Israeli troops in
Gaza shot and killed 5 unarmed Palestinians trying to penetrate a
security fence.
(SFC, 12/13/02, p.A22)
2002 Dec 12, Israeli troops near
Hebron shot and killed 2 armed Palestinians in separate incidents.
(SFC, 12/13/02, p.A22)
2002 Dec 15, Israel barred
Palestinian Pres. Yasser Arafat from visiting Bethlehem for Christmas
and decided to keep its army in the West Bank city over the holiday.
(Reuters, 12/15/02)
2002 Dec 16, Israeli soldiers
killed three Palestinians, including two armed Hamas fighters, and
troops also destroyed 16 shacks, leaving more than 200 people homeless
in confrontations in the Gaza Strip.
(AP, 12/16/02)(SFC, 12/17/02, p.A13)
2002 Dec 21, An 11-year-old
Palestinian girl died of a gunshot wound in the Gaza Strip, where
Israeli troops reinforced a blockade.
(AP, 12/21/02)
2002 Dec 23, Israeli troops killed
two Hamas activists, including a leading militiaman, as the men rode a
tractor near the West Bank town of Jenin.
(AP, 12/23/02)
2002 Dec 24, Israeli PM Sharon
said Saddam Hussein had transferred chemical and biological weapons to
Syria.
(SFC, 12/25/02, p.A16)
2002 Dec 24, Israeli soldiers
killed a Palestinian teenager in the Gaza Strip.
(AP, 12/24/02)
2002 Dec 25, Israeli troops killed
a member of the militant Hamas group and arrested another in the West
Bank city of Nablus.
(AP, 12/25/02)
2002 Dec 26, Israeli soldiers
hunting militiamen in the West Bank killed 9 Palestinians in separate
clashes across the West Bank and Gaza.
(AP, 12/26/02)(SFC, 12/27/02, p.A12)
2002 Dec 27, Palestinian gunmen
killed 4 Israelis at the Otniel religious community near Hebron.
(SFC, 12/28/02, p.A9)
2002 Dec 28, Israeli troops
clashed with Palestinian university students, a day after four Israelis
died in a Palestinian attack on Jewish seminary students.
(AP, 12/28/02)
2002 Dec 29, Israeli soldiers
fired toward Palestinian protesters in the West Bank and Gaza Strip,
killing an 11-year-old boy and wounding a cameraman on assignment for
AP TV News.
(AP, 12/29/02)
2002 Dec 30, Israeli soldiers
killed three Palestinians, including a gunman, while Israel's Supreme
Court ruled that reserve soldiers have no right to refuse service in
the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Border policemen Shahar Botbeka and Denis
Alhazov and 2 others abducted several Hebron residents, among them
17-year-old Amran Abu Hamadiya, and took them for a ride in their jeep.
They abused the men and beat them with truncheons and rifles. They
hurled Abu Hamadiya out of the moving vehicle, causing his death. In
2008 Botbeka and Alhazov were convicted of manslaughter for their
part in the kidnapping and wrongful death of Hamadiya.
(AP,
12/30/02)(www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1017498.html)
2002 A stone ossuary, looted from
a Jerusalem cave, was found by a French scholar with an Aramaic
inscription that read "James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus." In 2003
the stone ossuary was declared a fake. In 2008 Nina Burleigh authored
“Unholy Business: A True Tale of Faith, Greed & Forgery in the Holy
Land.”
(WSJ, 10/20/08, p.A17)
2002 Israel closed to Palestinians
the West Bank section of Route 443 linking Jerusalem and Tel Aviv,
after militants shot at Israeli vehicles on the highway and killed
several motorists.
(AP, 12/30/09)
2003 Jan 1, In Gaza 3 Palestinian
boys were shot and killed by soldiers after scaling a fence around
Jewish settlements.
(AP, 1/2/03)
2003 Jan 2, A Palestinian gunman
was killed several hours after he tried to shoot an Israeli couple and
then holed up inside their house in the Israeli village of Maor.
(AP, 1/2/03)
2003 Jan 5, In Israel 2
Palestinian suicide bombers blew themselves up minutes apart in a
central Tel Aviv area crowded with foreign workers, killing 23
bystanders in the bloodiest attack in six months.
(AP, 1/5/08)
2003 Jan 7, Israeli troops
exchanged fire with Palestinian militiamen for 4 hours, killing 3
gunmen before withdrawing from the outskirts of a refugee camp. The
Israeli government put new restrictions on travel by Palestinians.
(AP, 1/7/03)(SFC, 1/8/03, p.A11)
2003 Jan 12, Three missiles fired
from an Israeli helicopter missed their apparent target, Islamic
militants riding in a car, and killed two 15 year-old Palestinian boys,
seriously wounding another teen. In Israel 7 Palestinians, two other
Arab attackers and two Israelis were killed in raids and infiltrations.
(AP, 1/13/03)(SFC, 1/13/03, p.A3)
2003 Jan 13, Two Palestinians
threw grenades at an Israeli bus in the Gaza Strip and were shot dead
by Israeli troops, and an Islamic Jihad activist was killed in an
explosion in the West Bank.
(AP, 1/14/03)
2003 Jan 14, Hundreds of American
soldiers have arrived in Israel for joint maneuvers with anti-missile
defenses, aimed at protecting against any Iraqi strikes if the United
States attacks Iraq.
(AP, 1/15/03)
2003 Jan 15, Israel shut down two
Palestinian universities in the divided town of Hebron, while Israeli
soldiers shot and killed three Palestinians in West Bank clashes.
(AP, 1/15/03)
2003 Jan 16, The shuttle Columbia
carried a crew of 7 for a 16-day mission. Col. Ilan Ramon was aboard as
Israel’s 1st astronaut.
(SFC, 1/17/03, p.A2)
2003 Jan 17, Two Palestinian
gunmen infiltrated the Jewish settlement of Kiryat Arba, killing an
Israeli man as he opened the door of his home and wounding three other
people. One gunman was shot and killed in the attack.
(AP, 1/17/03)
2003 Jan 18, Israeli soldiers
tracked and killed a 2nd Palestinian assailant who fled after an attack
on a Jewish outpost in the West Bank. The two slain Palestinians had
earlier killed one Israeli and injured three others the previous night.
(AP, 1/18/03)
2003 Jan 21, Israel razed 62 shops
and market stalls in a Palestinian village Tuesday as troops clashed
with protesters.
(AP, 1/21/03)
2003 Jan 23, Hamas gunmen
opened fire on a vehicle south of the West Bank city of Hebron and
three Israelis were killed. Retaliatory raids wounded 6 in Gaza.
(AP, 1/23/03)(SFC, 1/24/03, p.A11)
2003 Jan 24, Israeli soldiers
killed at least 12 Palestinians as helicopter gunships hit Gaza City
with 11 missiles.
(SFC, 1/25/03, p.A5)(SSFC, 1/26/03, p.A16)
2003 Jan 28, In Israel PM Ariel
Sharon's Likud won with 38 seats, but still needed coalition partners
to reach a 61-spot majority in the 120-seat parliament.
(AP, 1/29/03)(AP, 2/4/03)
2003 Jan 28, An explosion leveled
a Gaza City house, killing three Palestinians, including a teenage
brother and sister, and wounding 11. In Jenin four Palestinians were
killed in battles with Israeli troops.
(AP, 1/28/03)
2003 Jan 30, An Israeli undercover
unit shot dead two Palestinian militants in Tulkarem, including a
militia leader. Army bulldozers demolished a Palestinian vegetable
market and closed Palestinian police and TV stations in Hebron.
(AP, 1/30/03)
2003 Jan 31, Israeli undercover
troops killed a fugitive Islamic militant and a Palestinian night
watchman in a two-hour gun battle at a Jenin firehouse.
(AP, 1/31/03)(SFC, 2/1/03, p.A11)
2003 Feb 3, Israeli tank fire
killed two Palestinian farmers in the Gaza Strip on Monday, and
soldiers arrested a leader of Yasser Arafat's Fatah group on the West
Bank.
(AP, 2/3/03)
2003 Feb 5, The Israeli military
demolished the home of a Palestinian militant in the Gaza Strip,
killing an elderly woman inside. Israeli troops killed a total of 5
Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.
(AP, 2/5/03)(WSJ, 2/7/03, p.A1)
2003 Feb 9, Three Palestinians
were killed when their explosives-laden car blew up outside an Israeli
army post after crashing into a cement block barrier. In secret talks
last week Israel offered the Palestinians a gradual cease-fire.
(AP, 2/9/03)(SSFC, 2/9/03, p.A22)
2003 Feb 10, Israeli troops killed
2 suspected Palestinian militants, including an unarmed fugitive, in
the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
(AP, 2/10/03)
2003 Feb 11, Israeli troops killed
an armed Palestinian in the Gaza Strip, and Israel imposed a blanket
closure on the Palestinian areas during the Muslim Hajj because of
warnings of possible attacks. Israeli soldiers killed an 8-year-old boy
in the West Bank and an Israeli was killed by a Palestinian gunman in
Bethlehem.
(AP, 2/11/03)(SFC, 2/12/03, p.A13)
2003 Feb 15, A roadside
bomb exploded next to an Israeli tank in the Gaza Strip, killing all
four soldiers inside. Hamas claimed responsibility.
(AP, 2/15/03)(SSFC, 2/16/03, p.A10)
2003 Feb 16, The Israeli
Cabinet voted to allow about 17,000 Ethiopians with Jewish roots to
come to Israel, lifting immigration restrictions on the group known as
Falash Mura.
(AP, 2/16/03)
2003 Feb 17, Israeli
soldiers killed a top Hamas fugitive in a roadside ambush. In another
operation they raided a stronghold of the militant Islamic group,
shooting dead 2 Palestinians and blowing up the house of a suspected
bombmaker.
(AP, 2/17/03)
2003 Feb 18, At least 40
Israeli tanks headed for Gaza City, accompanied by bulldozers and
attack helicopters.
(AP, 2/18/03)
2003 Feb 19, Israeli tanks
and soldiers battled Palestinian militants in the streets of Gaza City
before dawn in violence that left 11 Palestinians dead, including a
suicide bomber who tried to blow up a tank. Hamas fired 4 Qassam
rockets into Sderot in retaliation.
(AP, 2/19/03)(SFC, 2/20/03, A6)
2003 Feb 20, Israeli
soldiers killed a Palestinian and carried out house-to-house searches
in the West Bank and divided the Gaza Strip into three parts,
restricting the movement of more than 1 million Palestinians.
(AP, 2/20/03)
2003 Feb 21, Israeli troops
killed 2 Islamic militants during separate attempts to attack an army
post and a Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip.
(AP, 2/21/03)
2003 Feb 22, Israeli troops
opened fire on a crowd in Nablus after clashes erupted while soldiers
were searching door to door for militants. 2 Palestinians were killed
in the gunfire.
(AP, 2/22/03)
2003 Feb 23, Israeli troops
raided Beit Hanoun in Gaza, blew up five homes of suspected militants,
battled masked gunmen and shot from tank-mounted machine guns toward
dozens of stone throwers. Six Palestinians were killed and 28 wounded.
2 more Palestinians were killed elsewhere in Gaza.
(AP, 2/23/03)
2003 Feb 25, Israeli
soldiers shot and killed a Palestinian teenager in the Gaza Strip, and
a Hamas activist was critically wounded in an explosion in his home.
(AP, 2/25/03)
2003 Feb 26, Israel’s PM
Ariel Sharon established a coalition government dominated by fierce
opponents of Palestinian statehood.
(AP, 2/26/03)
2003 Mar 2, Israeli troops
backed by tanks and helicopters raided a Gaza Strip town, killing two
Palestinians in fierce fighting and demolishing an apartment building
and the exterior wall of a hospital.
(AP, 3/2/03)
2003 Mar 3, Israeli troops
raided a Gaza refugee camp and arrested Hamas co-founder Mohammed Taha.
He founded Hamas in 1987, along with the group's spiritual leader,
Sheik Ahmed Yassin, and three other senior clerics. Israel released
Taha 14 months later. 8 Palestinians, among them a pregnant woman, were
killed in clashes in the camp.
(AP, 3/3/03)(AP, 3/3/08)
2003 Mar 4, Israeli troops
killed one Palestinian and wounded another in an shootout at an
Internet cafe in the West Bank.
(AP, 3/4/03)
2003 Mar 5, In Israel a
Palestinian suicide bombing, the 1st in two months, tore apart a packed
Israeli bus in the port city of Haifa, killing 14 Israelis and an
American teenager, and wounding about 55.
(AP, 3/5/03)(AP, 3/5/08)
2003 Mar 6, Israeli troops
hunting Islamic militants after a deadly suicide bombing stormed the
Jabaliya refugee camp in Gaza in a raid that left 11 Palestinians dead
and 110 wounded.
(AP, 3/6/03)
2003 Mar 8, An Israeli helicopter
missile strike killed Ibrahim Makadmeh (51), the top commander of
Hamas' military wing and three other militants in a car in the Gaza
Strip. Hamas vowed revenge; the Israeli army promised to strike the
militants again.
(AP, 3/8/03)(AP, 3/8/08)
2003 Mar 11, Israeli troops
fired a tank shell at a 3-story apartment building, then razed it,
killing a Palestinian gunman who several hours earlier had attacked an
Israeli army patrol.
(AP, 3/11/03)
2003 Mar 13, Israeli soldiers
mistakenly killed 2 Israeli security guards.
(SFC, 3/14/03, p.A13)
2003 Mar 16, In the Gaza Strip
Rachel Corrie (23) of Washington State was crushed to death by and
Israeli Army bulldozer as she tried to block the demolition of
Palestinian homes.
(SFC, 3/17/03, p.A1)
2003 Mar 17, Israeli forces
invaded 2 communities in the Gaza Strip and gun battles left 10
Palestinians dead including a 4-yer-old girl.
(SFC, 3/18/03, p.AA6)
2003 Mar 18, Israeli forces killed
2 Hamas militants in West Bank clashes. One Israeli solder was killed.
(SFC, 3/19/03, p.A6)(WSJ, 3/19/03, p.A1)
2003 Mar 24, Israeli forces near
Hebron shot dead Ahmed Abahreh (14), who was throwing stones at an
Israeli armored vehicle.
(SFC, 3/25/03, p.A6)
2003 Mar 25, Israeli troops killed
2 wanted Hamas militants. Sprayed bullets also killed a girl (10). A
West Bank boy (14) throwing stones was shot dead.
(SFC, 3/26/03, p.A1)
2003 Mar 27, In Israel Israeli
forces killed 3 Palestinian police officers in Beit Hanoun, Gaza.
(SFC, 3/27/03, p.A10)
2003 Mar 29, Israeli troops shot a
killed a 17-year-old Palestinian throwing stone at troops near Nablus.
(SSFC, 3/30/03, p.A9)
2003 Mar 30, In Netanya, Israel,
Rami Ghanem (20), a Palestinian suicide bomber, exploded near the
London Café and at least 30 people were injured. The Islamic
Jihad called the attack "Palestine's gift to the heroic people of Iraq."
(SFC, 3/31/03, p.A1)(AP, 3/30/04)
2003 Apr 2, Israeli forces raided
Gaza and 6 Palestinians were killed.
(SFC, 4/3/03, p.A12)(WSJ, 4/3/03, p.A1)
2003 Apr 3, Israeli forces evicted
some 1,500-3,000 Palestinian men from their homes in the Tulkarem
Refugee Camp and told them to stay out for 3 days. Several Palestinians
were killed in Gaza and West Bank raids.
(SFC, 4/4/03, p.A8)(WSJ, 4/4/03, p.A1)
2003 Apr 4, Israeli troops
uncovered an explosives lab and arrested Anwar Alian (22), a senior
Islamic Jihad militant, during a sweep of Tulkarem.
(SFC, 4/5/03, p.A9)
2003 Apr 5, In Israel Brian Avery
(23), a peace activist from Albuquerque, NM, was wounded when Israeli
troops opened fire in Jenin.
(SSFC, 4/6/03, p.A8)
2003 Apr 6, Israeli troops in the
Gaza Strip killed a Hamas gunman and a 14-year-old boy.
(SFC, 4/7/03, p.A8)
2003 Apr 7, Israeli soldiers shot
and killed a Palestinian man who approached the fence of a Jewish
settlement in the Gaza Strip overnight. In Tulkarem, Israeli troops
arrested Maslama Thabet, a member of the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades.
(AP, 4/7/03)
2003 Apr 8, An Israeli AH-64
Apache helicopter fired a missile at a car in Gaza City after sundown,
killing at least 6 people, including Saed Arabeed, a Palestinian
militant, and 2 boys aged 4 and 15.
(AP, 4/8/03)(SFC, 4/9/03, p.A3)
2003 Apr 9, Israeli forces in the
Gaza Strip killed 5 Palestinians following rocket fire on Sederot.
(SFC, 4/10/03, p.A10)
2003 Apr 10, An Israeli missile
strike in Gaza City killed Mahmoud Zatme, an Islamic Jihad commander,
and injured 12 bystanders. In Tulkarem Israeli troops fired on a car
carrying members of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. The driver was killed
and 4 others were injured. 2 gunmen shot 2 Israeli soldier dead in the
Jordan Valley and were themselves killed.
(SFC, 4/11/03, p.A1)(WSJ, 4/11/03, p.A1)
2003 Apr 11, Israeli troops
critically wounded Thomas Hurndall (21), a British peace activist, as
he tried to remove 2 children from a line of fire outside the Rafah
refugee camp. Hurndall died after 9 months in a vegetative state. In
2005 an Israeli military court convicted an Israeli soldier of
manslaughter in the killing Hurndall.
(SFC, 4/12/03, p.A6)(AP, 1/14/04)(AP, 6/27/05)
2003 Apr 13, Israel’s PM Ariel
Sharon in a published interview said Israel will hand over some Jewish
settlements for peace, but the Palestinians must give up their demand
that refugees be allowed to return to their former homes.
(AP, 4/13/03)
2003 Apr 15, Israeli-Palestinian
clashes in Gaza and the West Bank left 6 people dead.
(SFC, 4/16/03, p.A7)
2003 Apr 19, Nazeh Darwazeh (45),
a cameraman with Associated Press TV News, was killed while covering
skirmishes between Israeli soldiers and Palestinians who were throwing
rocks and firebombs. He died of a bullet wound to the head and
Palestinian witnesses said he was shot by an Israeli soldier.
(AP, 4/19/03)
2003 Apr 19, The Israeli army
killed 5 Palestinians and wounded around 70, many of them civilians, in
a raid on the Rafah refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. Near the West Bank
city of Qalqilya, soldiers shot dead a Palestinian who threw a petrol
bomb at them.
(Reuters, 4/20/03)
2003 Apr 24, A Palestinian suicide
bomber killed Alexander Kostyuk (23), a security guard, in a rush-hour
attack at an Israeli train station. Israeli forces on patrol killed 2
Palestinians in Qarawat Bani Zeid.
(AP, 4/24/03)(SFC, 4/25/03, A3)
2003 Apr 29, A Palestinian suicide
bombing killed 3 Israelis in a crowded Tel Aviv nightclub. The bomber,
Asif Hanif (21), grew up in Britain. A 2nd bomber escaped.
(AP, 4/30/03)(SFC, 5/2/03, p.A8)
2003 Apr 30, US Ambassador Dan
Kurtzer met with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to present him
with an internationally backed Mideast peace plan, that envisioned
Palestinian statehood within three years. Mediators presented Israeli
and Palestinian leaders with a new Middle East "road map," a
U.S.-backed blueprint for ending 31 months of violence and establishing
a Palestinian state.
(AP, 4/30/03)(AP, 4/30/04)
2003 Apr 30, In Israel some
700,000 workers closed down public services in an open-ended strike to
protest proposed spending cuts and mass firings.
(SFC, 5/1/03, A9)
2003 Apr 30, Mahmoud Abbas took
office as Palestinian prime minister.
(AP, 9/6/03)
2003 May 1, Israeli troops raided
a Hamas stronghold and exchanged fire with dozens of masked gunmen. At
least 13 Palestinians were killed, including two boys ages 2 and 13. 2
Palestinian militants were killed in the West Bank.
(AP, 5/1/03)(SFC, 5/2/03, p.A8)
2003 May 2, James Miller (34), a
British journalist filming a documentary in the southern Palestinian
city of Rafah, was shot and killed during an exchange of fire between
Israeli soldiers and Palestinians. In 2006 a British jury ruled that
the shooting was an act of murder. In 2009 Israel agreed to pay about
$2 million to the family Miller.
(AP, 5/2/04)(AP, 4/6/06)(AP, 2/1/09)
2003 May 7, In Israel a Hamas
militant was killed when a bomb exploded in his West Bank apartment. In
northern Gaza a Hamas member was killed near a Jewish settlement. In
the southern Gaza Strip a Palestinian toddler was killed from Israeli
gunfire.
(SFC, 5/8/03, p.A17)
2003 May 8, Israeli helicopters
fired 3 missiles at a car in northern Gaza, killing a senior Hamas
militant.
(AP, 5/8/03)
2003 May 11, A Palestinian gunmen
killed an Israeli motorist in the West Bank and Israeli troops raided a
Palestinian town. Palestinian leaders put aside reservations to
parts of the US-developed plan for peace and PM Mahmoud Abbas said
Israel was ready to get started on it.
(AP, 5/11/03)
2003 May 12, Israel sealed the
Gaza Strip, imposing the most sweeping restrictions in years, and its
troops killed three Palestinians in clashes there.
(AP, 5/12/03)
2003 May 14, An Israeli helicopter
fired a missile into a crowd in a refugee camp in the Gaza Strip,
wounding 30 people and killed three Palestinian policemen, after 10
Israeli soldiers were wounded nearby in a mortar attack.
(AP, 5/13/03)
2003 May 15, Israeli troops killed
5 people including 3 youths during a raid at Beit Hanoun aimed to stop
Palestinian fighters from firing rockets into Israel.
(SFC, 5/16/03, p.A10)
2003 May 17, A Palestinian suicide
bomber blew himself up in the West Bank city of Hebron, killing an
Israeli man and his pregnant wife.
(AP, 5/17/04)
2003 May 18, A Hamas suicide
bomber killed seven passengers on a Jerusalem bus, while a second
bomber blew himself up on the city's outskirts. Israeli PM Ariel Sharon
postponed a trip to Washington. Israeli troops in the Gaza Strip shot
and killed a Palestinian man. On June 3, 2010, Steve Averbach (44), who
had been hit by shrapnel on the bus and paralyzed from the neck down,
died as a result of complications from his wounds.
(AP, 5/18/03)(AP, 6/4/10)
2003 May 19, A Palestinian riding
a bicycle blew himself up near an Israeli army jeep. A female suicide
bomber detonated at the entrance to a shopping mall in Afula and killed
3 others in the 5th suicide bombing in 48 hours.
(SFC, 5/20/03, p.A1)(AP, 5/19/04)
2003 May 21, Israeli troops shot
to death 2 Palestinians including a mother of 8 during a clash at the
West Bank village of Qarawat Bani Zeid.
(SFC, 5/22/03, p.A3)
2003 May 23, Israel's PM Ariel
Sharon agreed to work with a US-backed peace plan to end 32 months of
fighting and to set up a Palestinian state.
(AP, 5/23/03)
2003 May 24, Israeli troops shot
and killed a Palestinian man near Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza.
(AP, 5/24/03)
2003 May 25, Israel's Cabinet
approved a US-backed Middle East peace plan, recognizing for the first
time the Palestinians' right to establish an independent state in the
West Bank and Gaza Strip.
(AP, 5/25/03)
2003 May 26, PM Sharon said Israel
must end its occupation of Palestinian lands. Sharon declared in a
speech to his Likud Party that he was determined to reach a peace deal
and end 36 years of rule over the Palestinians.
(SFC, 5/27/03, p.A1)(AP, 5/26/08)
2003 May 27, Israeli troops shot
and killed a 16-year-old Palestinian boy and critically wounded two
children, ages 7 and 9, during confrontations.
(AP, 5/27/03)
2003 May, In Iraq a Jewish archive
was found when US troops looking for weapons of mass destruction got a
tip to check out the basement of a building of the Mukhabarat, Saddam's
secret police. In a flooded basement they found books, photos and
papers floated in the murky water. Accumulated over the years were
photos, parchments and cases to hold Torah scrolls; a Jewish religious
book published in 1568; 50 copies of a children's primer in Hebrew and
Arabic; books in Arabic and English, books printed in Baghdad, Warsaw
and Venice, the lost heritage of what was once one of the largest
Jewish communities in the Middle East, dating to the 6th century B.C.
The collection was saved and soon taken to the US for preservation.
(AP, 1/17/10)
2003 Jun 1, The Israeli military
eased travel restrictions and allowed thousands of Palestinian workers
to enter the country in an effort to lower tensions and build goodwill.
(AP, 6/1/03)
2003 Jun 3, Israel released about
100 prisoners, a goodwill gesture ahead of a Mideast peace summit with
U.S. President George W. Bush.
(AP, 6/3/03)
2003 Jun 4, In Jordan Israeli
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon pledged to dismantle illegal settlements in
Palestinian areas, while the new Palestinian leader renounced all
terrorism against Israel. Both steps were sought by President Bush as
he brought the two sides together in a bid to advance Middle East peace.
(AP, 6/4/03)(SFC, 6/4/03, p.A1)
2003 Jun 8, Three Palestinians
disguised as Israeli military sneaked into an army post and killed 4
soldiers before being killed by troops in the first major attack on
Israelis since last week's Mideast summit. Another Israeli soldier was
killed in Hebron. 6 Palestinians died in the violence.
(AP, 6/8/03)(SFC, 6/9/03, p.A1)
2003 Jun 10, Israel launched a
rocket attack in Gaza and wounded Abdel Aziz Rantisi, a Hamas
spokesman. Israeli counterfire to Hamas rockets killed 3 Palestinians.
Israel succeeded in killing Rantisi in April 2004.
(WSJ, 6/11/03, p.A1)(AP, 6/11/03)
2003 Jun 11, A Palestinian blew
himself up on a Jerusalem bus and killed 16 other people. Israel
retaliated with 2 rocket strikes that killed 11 Palestinians in Gaza
City.
(AP, 6/11/03)(AP, 6/11/08)
2003 Jun 12, Israeli helicopters
fired rockets at two cars carrying Hamas activists in Gaza killing
seven people, including a young child, and wounding 29. The first
strike killed two low-level Hamas activists, ages 22 and 24, from a
unit that guards city streets.
(AP, 6/12/03)
2003 Jun 13, Israel decided to
target top Hamas leaders, including founder Sheik Ahmed, saying it
would strike political as well as military leaders who targeted Israel
with terrorism. An Israeli helicopter attack killed one Hamas member
and injured 22 Palestinians including 8 children.
(SFC, 6/14/03, p.A1)(AP, 6/13/08)
2003 Jun 18, Israel agreed to curb
its "track-and-kill" operations against Palestinian militants in a deal
struck with US officials to help them salvage a new peace plan torn by
violence.
(AP, 6/18/03)
2003 Jun 20, Secretary of State
Colin Powell met separately with the leaders of Israel and the
Palestinian Authority, praising the Israelis for efforts toward an
eventual peace settlement and urging speed on the Palestinians.
(AP, 6/20/04)
2003 Jun 20, Moshe Kupferman (77),
leading Israeli abstract artist, died in Tel Aviv.
(SFC, 6/24/03, p.A21)
2003 Jun 21, The Israeli army
killed Abdullah Kawasme, a local Hamas leader, in the West Bank town of
Hebron.
(AP, 6/22/03)(SSFC, 6/22/03, p.A9)
2003 Jun 24, Israel arrested more
than 130 Palestinians in the West Bank city of Hebron, targeting Hamas
as the Palestinian government awaited word on whether the Islamic
militant group would agree to a cease-fire.
(AP, 6/24/03)
2003 Jun 25, Three Palestinian
militant groups agreed to halt attacks on Israel for 3 months.
(BS, 6/26/03, 1A)
2003 Jun 27, Israeli and
Palestinian leaders agreed for Israel to begin withdrawing forces from
areas of the Gaza Strip and returning security control to Palestinian
officers. In 33 months of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, 2,414
people have been killed on the Palestinian side and 806 on the Israeli
side.
(AP, 6/27/03)(SFC, 6/28/03, p.A1)
2003 Jun 28, An Islamic Jihad
leader announced that the group accepted a conditional three-month halt
to attacks on Israelis — the first open confirmation of the deal from a
militant leader.
(AP, 6/28/03)
2003 Jun 29, The militant Hamas
and Islamic Jihad groups agreed to suspend attacks against Israel for
three months.
(AP, 6/29/03)
2003 Jun 30, Israeli and
Palestinian commanders shook hands, bulldozers dismantled checkpoints
and Palestinian traffic flowed freely in the Gaza Strip. A Palestinian
shooting killed a Romanian truck driver in the West Bank.
(AP, 6/30/03)
2003 Jul 1, At a summit, Israeli
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian PM Mahmoud Abbas
rededicated themselves to peace efforts and spoke of a shared future
for their peoples.
(AP, 7/1/04)
2003 Jul 2, Palestinian police
moved into the West Bank town of Bethlehem, the second area handed over
by Israel under a U.S.-backed Mideast peace plan.
(AP, 7/2/03)
2003 Jul 20, The Israeli and
Palestinian prime ministers held a two-hour meeting, kicking off 10
days of international diplomacy aimed at solidifying a fragile Mideast
cease-fire.
(AP, 7/20/03)
2003 Jul 25, An Israeli soldier
fired a tank-mounted machine gun at a pickup truck carrying a
Palestinian family, killing a 4-year-old Palestinian boy and wounding
two other children.
(AP, 7/25/03)
2003 Jul 27, The Israeli Cabinet
voted to release up to 540 jailed Palestinians.
(SFC, 7/28/03, p.A1)
2003 Jul 31, The Israeli
parliament voted to block Palestinians who marry Israelis from becoming
Israeli citizens of residents. The legislation was enacted for one
year. In 2006 the Supreme Court rejected petitions to overturn the law.
(SFC, 8/1/03, p.A20)(Econ, 5/20/06, p.47)
2003 Aug 1, In Israel Yehiya
Farhan and a 16-year-old girlfriend lured Dana Bennett (18) into their
vehicle. Farhan beat her to death and concealed the body in the
northern hills. Months earlier the couple had picked up Czech hitch
hiker Sylvia Molrova (27), killed her and dumped her body in a remote
spot. In 2009 Israeli detectives arrested Farhan. He was already in
custody on suspicion of raping an Australian tourist when a tip led
homicide detectives to him. In 2010 Farhan (34) was sentenced to 102
years in prison. Farhan's female accomplice helped police with their
investigation and was sentenced to a shorter prison term in a plea
bargain.
(www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3721705,00.html)(AP, 7/21/10)
2003 Aug 6, Israel freed 334
Palestinian prisoners in a bid to jump-start peace efforts, but the
gesture fell flat among Palestinians.
(AP, 8/6/04)
2003 Aug 8, Hezbollah guerrillas
shelled Israeli positions in a disputed Lebanese border region for the
first time in eight months, drawing Israeli airstrikes and artillery
fire.
(AP, 8/8/03)
2003 Aug 8, A West Bank raid on a
bomb lab by Israeli troops killed 2 members of the Islamic militant
group Hamas. An Israeli soldier also was killed.
(AP, 8/9/03)
2003 Aug 10, Israeli warplanes
bombed suspected Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon, hours after
the militant group shelled northern Israel, killing a teenage boy.
(AP, 8/10/03)
2003 Aug 12, Two teenage
Palestinian suicide bombings less than an hour apart killed at least 2
Israelis at a shopping plaza in Israel and a bus stop in the West Bank.
(AP, 8/12/03)
2003 Aug 14, Israeli troops killed
Mohammed Sidr, a top Islamic Jihad commander, in a gun battle at his
hideout in Hebron.
(AP, 8/14/03)(WSJ, 8/15/03, p.A6)
2003 Aug 18, Israel delayed plans
to hand over Jericho and Qalqiliya, two West Bank towns to Palestinian
control.
(AP, 8/19/03)
2003 Aug 19, A Hamas bus bombing
in Jerusalem killed 22 people, including as many as six children.
(AP, 8/20/03)(AP, 8/19/04)
2003 Aug 21, Israel killed Ismail
Abu Shanab, a senior Hamas political leader, in a missile strike,
retaliating for a suicide bombing of a bus in which 20 people died
including six children. Abu Shanab was widely regarded as a
moderate in the group, and served as a liaison with Abbas during the
prime minister's efforts to persuade Hamas to halt attacks. Palestinian
militants abandoned a two-month-old truce after Israel killed the Hamas
leader.
(AP, 8/21/03)(AP, 8/21/08)
2003 Aug 22, Israeli troops killed
a Palestinian militant and wounded two others in a shootout Friday at a
West Bank hospital.
(AP, 8/22/03)
2003 Aug 24, Palestinian militants
carried out their deepest rocket strike against Israel. A Qassam-2
rocket, a makeshift weapon produced by the militant Islamic group
Hamas, landed near a lifeguard station on Zikim beach with no damages
or casualties. Israeli missile fire killed 4 Palestinian militants in
Gaza City.
(Reuters, 8/24/03)(SFC, 8/25/03, p.A1)
2003 Aug 30, An Israeli helicopter
gunship fired several missiles at a Palestinian car driving through a
refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, killing two Hamas militants.
(AP, 8/30/03)
2003 Sep 1, Israeli helicopters
fired four missiles at a car carrying Hamas militants, killing at least
one of them and wounding 26 on a crowded Gaza City.
(AP, 9/1/03)
2003 Sep 5, Israeli commandos
killed a Hamas bombmaker in a firefight and pulverized the West Bank
apartment building in which he had been hiding.
(AP, 9/5/04)
2003 Sep 6, An Israeli missile
strike on Gaza City lightly wounded Hamas founder Sheik Ahmed Yassin,
the highest-ranking member of the militant group to be targeted by
Israel in recent weeks.
(AP, 9/6/03)
2003 Sep 6, Palestinian Prime
Minister Mahmoud Abbas, whose support was considered essential to any
prospect of peace success, submitted his resignation.
(AP, 9/6/03)
2003 Sep 6, The European Union
said it will declare all wings of the militant Palestinian group Hamas
a terrorist organization and freeze its assets after dozens of deadly
attacks in Israel.
(AP, 9/6/03)
2003 Sep 8, Ariel Sharon flew to
New Delhi for the first-ever visit to India by an Israeli prime
minister, hoping to cement blossoming defense and trade ties.
(AP, 9/8/03)
2003 Sep 9, Israeli troops killed
three Palestinians, including a 12-year-old boy, in an arrest raid in
the West Bank city of Hebron, as Israel signaled both reluctant
acquiescence and disapproval of the Palestinians' candidate for prime
minister. In Jerusalem twin suicide bombings, 5 hours apart, killed 16
Israelis. One suicide bomber chose a nightspot packed with young
Israelis, the other a bus stop where soldiers were waiting for their
ride homes.
(AP, 9/9/03)
2003 Sep 10, Israeli warplanes
flattened the home of senior Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar with a half-ton
bomb, wounding him and killing his eldest son and a bodyguard, in
retaliation for twin suicide bombings that killed 15 Israelis a day
earlier.
(AP, 9/10/03)
2003 Sep 11, The Israeli security
Cabinet decided in principle to authorize the expulsion of Yasser
Arafat. The Cabinet also decided that the construction of the security
fence between Israel and the West Bank will be accelerated.
(AP, 9/11/03)(SFC, 9/12/03, p.A3)
2003 Sep 12, The Palestinians
urged the UN Security Council to demand that Israel not expel Yasser
Arafat and halt any threats to his safety.
(AP, 9/12/03)
2003 Sep 16, The US vetoed a UN
resolution demanding that Israel not harm or expel Arafat.
(WSJ, 9/17/03, p.A1)
2003 Sep 24, In Israel 27 reserve
pilots refused to take part in targeted killings.
(WSJ, 9/25/03, p.A1)
2003 Sep 25, Israeli troops killed
4 Islamic militants, including a senior fugitive, in gunbattles in the
West Bank and Gaza Strip. One soldier was killed and six were wounded
in the fighting.
(AP, 9/25/03)
2003 Sep 26, A Palestinian gunman
killed 2 people including a baby girl in an Israeli settlement outside
Hebron.
(SFC, 9/27/03, p.A8)
2003 Sep 27, A Palestinian
militant was killed when a bomb he was making blew up on as Israel
maintained a high alert over a New Year holiday weekend.
(Reuters, 9/27/03)
2003 Sep 28, Israeli and
Palestinian fatalities over the last 3 years totaled some 3,277 with
860 on the Israeli side and 2,417 Palestinian dead. An additional 60
Palestinians were killed by militants for informing to Israel.
(SSFC, 9/28/03, p.A14)
2003 Oct 4, In Haifa, Israel,
Hanadi Taysser Darajat (29), a female Palestinian lawyer, blew herself
up in a crowded Mediterranean beach restaurant, killing 21 people
including 4 children. A brother and cousin, Jihad terrorists, had been
killed in June. Her suicide inspired a piece of installation art in
2004 at the Stockholm Museum titled "Snow White and the Madness of
Truth."
(SFC, 10/11/03, p.A7)(WSJ, 1/22/04, p.D6)(AP,
10/4/04)(LSA, Fall/06, p.32)
2003 Oct 5, Israeli warplanes
bombed the Ein Saheb base northwest of Damascus, Syria, in retaliation
for a suicide bombing at a Haifa restaurant. Israeli military called it
an Islamic Jihad training base. Residents later told the Associated
Press the camp was abandoned years ago.
(AP, 10/5/03)(AP, 10/6/03)
2003 Oct 10, Israel sent dozens of
tanks into a Gaza refugee camp to destroy tunnels allegedly used by
Palestinians to smuggle weapons. Israeli forces killed seven
Palestinians, including an eight-year-old boy, in the Gaza Strip.
(AP, 10/10/03)(Reuters, 10/10/03)
2003 Oct 11, Israeli forces killed
a Palestinian and razed dozens of homes in a Gaza Strip refugee camp as
Israeli opposition politicians and Palestinian officials sought to
revive peace talks.
(AP, 10/11/03)(Reuters, 10/11/03)
2003 Oct 18, In southern Gaza
Israeli forces looking for smuggling tunnels killed 3 Palestinians,
including a senior member of the violent Islamic Hamas group, and
wounded 10.
(AP, 10/18/03)(SSFC, 10/19/03, p.A11)
2003 Oct 19, Palestinian gunmen
attacked an Israeli army foot patrol near a West Bank village, killing
three soldiers and wounding a fourth.
(AP, 10/19/03)
2003 Oct 20, Israeli helicopters
and warplanes unleashed a string of missile strikes in Gaza City. At
least 11 people were killed and over 90 wounded.
(AP, 10/20/03)(SFC, 10/21/03, p.A1)
2003 Oct 21, The U.N. General
Assembly overwhelmingly approved a resolution demanding that Israel
tear down a barrier jutting into the West Bank.
(AP, 10/21/04)
2003 Oct 22, Israeli troops shot
and killed 2 suspected Palestinian militants in the West Bank.
(AP, 10/22/03)
2003 Oct 24, Palestinian militants
cut through a fence and crept up on the army base inside the Netzarim
settlement in Gaza. The militants entered the barracks and shot
soldiers as they slept, killing three including two women, and wounding
two others.
(AP, 10/26/03)
2003 Oct 26, In the largest
demolition of Palestinian Authority buildings in Gaza in 3 years, the
Israeli army blew up 3 apartment towers in retaliation for a deadly
settlement attack.
(AP, 10/26/03)
2003 Oct 27, Hezbollah guerrillas
shelled Israeli positions in southern Lebanon for the first time in two
months, wounding an Israeli soldier and triggering Israeli airstrikes
and artillery fire. The Israeli positions were in Chebaa Farms,
which Lebanon and Syria say belongs to Lebanon. The UN says the area is
Syrian and that Syria and Israel should negotiate its fate. Israel
captured the Chebaa Farms area from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war
(AP, 10/27/03)(AP, 10/30/03)
2003 Oct 29, Lenslet, an Israeli
start-up, has developed a processor that uses optics instead of
silicon, enabling it to compute at the speed of light.
(Reuters, 10/29/03)
2003 Oct, Israel approved a plan
to spend at least $56 million to expand settlements on the occupied
Golan Heights.
(AP, 12/31/03)
2003 Nov 1, Yehiel Shemi (81), an
Israeli sculptor renowned for his abstract works in metal, died.
(AP, 11/2/03)
2003 Nov 2, More than 6,000
Palestinian laborers crossed into Israel from the Gaza Strip on as
Israel slightly eased restrictions that had prevented them from
reaching their workplaces for more than a month.
(AP, 11/2/03)
2003 Nov 3, Israel's Minister of
the Environment said the Dead Sea is dying, and only a major
engineering effort can save it.
(AP, 11/4/03)
2003 Nov 3, A suicide bomber,
Sabih Abu Saud (16), blew himself up near an army checkpoint in the
West Bank, killing himself but causing no other casualties.
(AP, 11/3/03)(SFC, 11/4/03, p.A10)
2003 Nov 3, The EU condemned
lingering anti-Jewish bias it said was reflected in a new survey, which
found that many Europeans see Israel as a threat to world peace.
(AP, 11/3/03)
2003 Nov 7, The Israeli Health
Ministry announced the recall of Remedia, a Kosher infant formula,
following 3 reported infant deaths. A production error had cut vitamin
B-1.
(AP, 11/9/03)(WSJ, 11/12/03, p.A1)
2003 Nov 9, Israel's Cabinet
narrowly approved a hotly contested prisoner swap with Lebanese
Hezbollah guerrillas, by a 12-11 vote.
(AP, 11/9/03)
2003 Nov 13, Palestinian and
Israeli officials said they expect their leaders to meet for peace
talks, possibly within 10 days.
(AP, 11/13/03)
2003 Nov 14, In Israel 4 former
security chiefs warned that the country is headed for disaster unless
PM Ariel Sharon reverses course and moves to settle the conflict with
the Palestinians.
(AP, 11/14/03)
2003 Nov 15, In Turkey twin car
bombs exploded outside Istanbul synagogues filled with worshippers
during Sabbath prayers, killing at least 23 people and wounding more
than 300. In all 14 Muslims were killed. 6 Jews were killed at Beth
Israel.
(AP, 11/16/03)(SSFC, 11/16/03, p.A1)
2003 Nov 18, A Palestinian gunman,
his rifle wrapped in a prayer mat, walked to a West Bank checkpoint and
killed two Israeli soldiers at close range.
(AP, 11/18/03)
2003 Nov 19, A Jordanian truck
driver fired on a crowd of tourists crossing into Israel, killing one
and wounding four, in an attack near the Red Sea resort of Eilat. The
gunman was killed by Israeli security personnel.
(AP, 11/19/03)
2003 Nov 22, In Israel gunmen shot
and killed 2 private Israeli guards at a construction site for the
disputed barrier near Jerusalem.
(SSFC, 11/23/03, p.A17)
2003 Nov 26, Israeli troops in the
Gaza Strip killed 2 Palestinians and wounded one after the soldiers
disturbed a group of men apparently setting up an ambush on a road used
by Jewish settlers.
(AP, 11/26/03)
2003 Nov 30, Some 200 Palestinians
attacked Palestinian negotiators traveling to Geneva for the signing
ceremony of symbolic deal, reached by former Israeli and Palestinian
negotiators, that would establish a Palestinian state with
unprecedented concessions by both sides.
(AP, 11/30/03)
2003 Dec 1, Dignitaries from
around the world, including former Pres. Jimmy Carter, gathered in
Geneva to sign a draft peace accord, called the Geneva Accords, drawn
up between Israeli and Palestinian activists.
(SFC, 12/1/03, p.A1)
2003 Dec 1, Israeli troops
launched a sweeping raid on Ramallah, killing a 9-year-old boy and 3
Hamas gunmen and leaving 60 people homeless after blowing up their
apartment building.
(AP, 12/1/03)
2003 Dec 2, Israeli troops killed
an armed Palestinian trying to flee in the West Bank town of Jenin.
(AP, 12/2/03)
2003 Dec 3, It was reported that
Syria's president had agreed to a proposal to halt violence along
Israel's northern border if Israel promises to end flights over Lebanon
and not attack its territory.
(AP, 12/4/03)
2003 Dec 4, Palestinians opened
formal talks in Egypt aimed at forging a cease-fire they hope will
induce Israel to halt its attacks on militants and lead to renewed
peace negotiations.
(AP, 12/4/03)(WSJ, 12/5/03, p.A1)
2003 Dec 5, Israeli military
allowed a market in the divided West Bank city of Hebron to open for
the first time in more than a year.
(AP, 12/5/03)
2003 Dec 5, The Israeli military
shot and killed two Palestinians, armed with grenades and an explosive
device, crawling toward a security barrier separating the Gaza Strip
from Israel.
(AP, 12/6/03)
2003 Dec 7, Palestinian militants
rejected a comprehensive truce offer to Israel despite intense pressure
from Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia and Egypt to sign onto a deal.
(AP, 12/8/03)
2003 Dec 11, In Israel explosives
at a currency exchange in Tel Aviv killed 3 people and wounded 12 in
what was labeled a criminal matter.
(SFC, 12/12/03, p.A16)
2003 Dec 13, Israeli troops fired
on a taxi that drove through a West Bank checkpoint, killing a female
passenger.
(AP, 12/13/03)
2003 Dec 14, Palestinians fired a
barrage of mortars at Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip and Israeli
troops killed a fugitive from the Islamic Jihad group in the West Bank.
(AP, 12/14/03)
2003 Dec 15, Israeli soldiers shot
dead 2 Palestinians in Gaza.
(WSJ, 12/16/03, p.A1)
2003 Dec 18, Israel's PM Sharon
said that if talks with Palestinians failed, Israel would unilaterally
withdraw from some settlements in order to establish a more defensible
border.
(SFC, 12/19/03, p.A17)
2003 Dec 19, Israelis ushered in
the eight-day Hanukkah holiday.
(AP, 12/19/03)
2003 Dec 20, The third year of
fighting between Israelis and Palestinians saw a decline in the number
of people killed, according to an AP count. Violence claimed nearly 800
lives in 2003.
(AP, 12/20/03)
2003 Dec 21, Israeli troops
conducted a series of raids in the West Bank city of Nablus, arresting
Hamas leader Adnan Asfour and killing a 5-year-old Palestinian boy.
(AP, 12/21/03)
2003 Dec 23, An Israeli raid on
the Rafah refugee camp killed 9 Palestinians and left over 40 wounded
in the worst violence in the Gaza Strip in two months. Hours earlier
Israel lost its first two soldiers in a month of relative calm.
(AP, 12/23/03)(AP, 12/24/03)
2003 Dec 25, Israeli troops shot
and killed a Palestinian man carrying explosives toward a Jewish
settlement in Gaza.
(AP, 12/25/03)
2003 Dec 25, Israeli helicopter
gunships killed a senior Islamic militant and at least four other
people in a missile strike on a car in Gaza City.
(Reuters, 12/25/03)
2003 Dec 25, A suicide bombing
killed four Israelis near a bus stop outside Tel Aviv. The victims were
identified as 3 soldiers and a 17-year-old Israeli girl. At least 13
other people were wounded. The PFLP identified the bomber as Said
Hanani (18) from the village of Beit Furik.
(AP, 12/26/03)(SFC, 12/26/03, p.A1)
2003 Dec 26, Hamas, the Islamic
group responsible for most suicide bombings in three years of violence,
called off attacks inside Israel. In response, Israel will hold off
targeting Hamas leaders but will still go after other Palestinian
militants.
(AP, 12/27/03)
2003 Dec 27, Israeli troop staged
a huge raid in Nablus that left a Palestinian teenager dead and 17
others wounded.
(SSFC, 12/28/03, p.A18)
2003 Dec 29, Poland and Israel
signed a deal worth some $350 million over the next 10 years to provide
the Polish army with some 2,700 state-of-the-art Israeli anti-tank
missiles.
(AP, 12/29/03)
2003 David Biale edited the
anthology "Cultures of the Jews." It won the 2003 National Jewish Book
Award.
(SSFC, 11/9/03, p.M2)
2004 Jan 3, Israeli soldiers shot
and killed 3 Palestinians in the West Bank city of Nablus.
(AP, 1/3/04)
2004 Jan 4, Israeli Prime Minister
Ariel Sharon issued an order to dismantle two West Bank settlement
outposts.
(AP, 1/4/04)
2004 Jan 7, Israeli soldiers
patrolling West Bank towns shot and killed 3 Palestinian militants
during an ongoing sweep of the area.
(AP, 1/7/04)
2004 Jan 8, PM Ahmed Qureia warned
that Palestinians would forgo a 2-state solution and force Israel into
a losing demographic race if a unilateral boundary is imposed.
(WSJ, 1/9/04, p.A1)
2004 Jan 9, Israeli troops swept
into the West Bank town of Jenin, making arrests and trading gunfire
with militants.
(AP, 1/9/04)
2004 Jan 14, Reem al-Reyashi (22),
Palestinian mother of two, blew herself up at the main crossing point
between Israel and the Gaza Strip, killing at least 4 Israelis and
wounding 7 other people.
(AP, 1/14/04)(SFC, 1/15/04, p.A3)
2004 Jan 16, Hamas founder Ahmed
Yassin brushed off warnings by a top Israeli official that he is
"marked for death" and, in a defiant appearance at a Gaza City mosque,
and said his Islamic militant group will continue to attack Israelis.
(AP, 1/16/04)
2004 Jan 20, Israeli warplanes
struck Hezbollah guerrilla bases in southern Lebanon after a soldier
was killed there a day earlier.
(AP, 1/20/04)(WSJ, 1/21/04, p.A1)
2004 Jan 21, Israeli forces
demolished houses in Gaza's Rafah refugee camp for the second straight
day in an anti-militant clampdown that has left 400 people homeless. A
Palestinian woman was killed.
(AP, 1/21/04)(WSJ, 1/22/04, p.A1)
2004 Jan 22, Israeli soldiers shot
and killed a 14-year-old Palestinian boy as he and six other unarmed
teenagers tried to sneak from the Gaza Strip into Israel.
(AP, 1/22/04)
2004 Jan 24, Israeli officials
said they would release over 400 Arab prisoners in a swap with
Lebanon's Hezbollah guerrilla group.
(SSFC, 1/25/04, p.A3)
2004 Jan 24, Israeli troops shot
to death two Palestinian militants who entered an unauthorized military
zone near a security barrier separating Gaza from Israel.
(AP, 1/24/04)
2004 Jan 28, Arab prisoners began
their journey to Germany under a long-awaited prisoner swap between
Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas.
(AP, 1/28/04)
2004 Jan 28, Israeli troops
clashed with Palestinian militants in fierce, prolonged street battles
across Gaza City, killing eight Palestinians.
(AP, 1/28/04)(SFC, 1/29/04, p.A7)
2004 Jan 29, Israel released 435
prisoners in a swap, mediated by Germany, with the Lebanese guerrilla
group Hezbollah in exchange for an Israeli businessman and the bodies
of 3 Israeli soldiers. The businessman was Elchanan Tannenbaum, a
colonel in Israel’s reserves, who was kidnapped in Dubai in 2000 and
had knowledge of an advanced Israeli weapons system.
(AP, 1/29/04)(Econ, 9/6/08, p.99)
2004 Jan 29, A Palestinian suicide
bomber detonated a bag of explosives on a crowded Jerusalem bus outside
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's residence, killing 10 passengers and
wounding 50 bystanders.
(AP, 1/29/04)
2004 Feb 1, Israeli troops riding
jeeps and a tank raided the biblical town of Jericho for the first time
in months, killing one Palestinian militant and forcing many residents
to stay inside at the start of the four-day Muslim holiday of Eid
al-Adha.
(AP, 2/1/04)
2004 Feb 2, PM Ariel Sharon told
his stunned Likud Party he plans to dismantle all Israeli settlements
in the Gaza Strip, his most specific comment yet on unilateral steps if
peace talks fail.
(AP, 2/2/04)
2004 Feb 2, Israel killed a leader
of Islamic Jihad and three other militants in a Gaza raid.
(AP, 2/2/05)
2004 Feb 7, An Israeli helicopter
fired a missile into a car traveling in a crowded Gaza City street,
killing Aziz Mahmoud Shami, a leader of the militant Islamic Jihad
group and a 12-year-old boy on his way to school. The attack wounded 10
Palestinians, three of them critically.
(AP, 2/7/04)
2004 Feb 11, Israeli troops rode
tanks into the Gaza Strip searching for Islamic militants firing
rockets at nearby Jewish settlements, and the ensuing battle left at
least 15 Palestinians dead and more than 50 wounded.
(AP, 2/11/04)(SFC, 2/12/04, p.A8)
2004 Feb 22, In Israel a suicide
bomber blew himself up on a crowded Jerusalem bus, killing eight people
and wounding 59.
(AP, 2/22/04)
2004 Feb 25, Israeli security
forces raided four branches of Palestinian banks, seizing $6.7 million
they said was sent by Iran, Syria and Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas to
fund Palestinian militants.
(AP, 2/25/04)(WSJ, 2/26/04, p.A1)
2004 Feb 26, Israeli soldiers shot
and killed two Palestinians during violent protests against Israel's
West Bank barrier. Two Palestinian gunmen killed an Israeli soldier at
a Gaza Strip crossing before being gunned down by troops. 3 Palestinian
boys, aged 12-15, were arrested near Nablus as they tried to cross a
checkpoint with homemade guns.
(AP, 2/26/04)(SSFC, 2/29/04, p.A3)
2004 Feb 27, Israeli police
stormed one of Jerusalem's holiest sites to disperse hundreds of
Palestinian stone-throwers protesting Israel's contentious West Bank
barrier.
(AP, 2/27/04)
2004 Feb 29, Israel's Supreme
Court ordered the government to suspend work for one week on a section
of the West Bank security barrier, an attorney said, while security
forces arrested three Palestinian youths who planned an attack.
(AP, 2/29/04)
2004 Mar 3, Israeli helicopters
fired two missiles at a car carrying Hamas militants on a road through
the Gaza Strip, killing three people.
(AP, 3/3/04)
2004 Mar 4, Israeli forces raided
the southern Gaza town of Rafah, killing a 14-year-old boy, bulldozing
houses and damaging the water and electricity networks.
(AP, 3/4/04)
2004 Mar 6, Palestinian gunmen and
car bombers attacked a major crossing point between the Gaza Strip and
Israel. At least four attackers and two Palestinian policemen were
killed, and no Israeli soldiers were hurt.
(AP, 3/6/04)
2004 Mar 7, Israeli troops traded
heavy gunfire with Palestinians in a raid near Bureij Refugee Camp,
killing 14 Palestinians. Among the dead were 11 militants and three
boys between the ages of 8 and 15, and 81 people were wounded.
(AP, 3/7/04)(AP, 3/8/04)
2004 Mar 9, Israeli forces backed
by tanks and combat helicopters raided the West Bank town of Jenin,
prompting a gun battle that killed a Palestinian woman in her home.
(AP, 3/9/04)
2004 Mar 9, Groundbreaking
ceremonies were set for a research center on the Israeli-Jordan border.
The Bridging the Rift foundation, launched in 1999, planned a $30
million environmental research center created with the assistance of
California's Stanford Univ.
(SFC, 2/28/04, p.A8)
2004 Mar 10, In Israel 2 bills
supporting civil marriage were voted down in the parliament. Thousands
of Israel's rabbis have gone on strike, scaling back wedding and
funeral services, to protest the government's withholding of salaries.
The government has not paid salaries to 3,000 rabbis and employees of
municipal rabbinates and religious councils for more than half a year.
(AP, 3/10/04)
2004 Mar 12, Natan Yonatan (81),
Israeli poet, died near Tel Aviv.
(SFC, 3/13/04, p.B8)
2004 Mar 13, Israeli soldiers shot
and killed two Palestinian militants in an off-limits military zone
between Israel and the Gaza Strip.
(AP, 3/13/04)
2004 Mar 14, In Israel 2
explosions killed eight people and wounding 18 at the seaport of
Ashdod. Police said 2 Palestinian suicide bombers were responsible.
(AP, 3/14/04)
2004 Mar 15, Israeli helicopters
attacked two suspected Hamas weapons workshops in Gaza City and Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon called off a summit with his Palestinian
counterpart.
(AP, 3/15/04)
2004 Mar 17, Israeli helicopters
fired two missiles into a crowd of suspected gunmen in a Palestinian
refugee camp, killing four people in a stepped-up campaign to root out
militants in the Gaza Strip. 2 teenage boys were killed in an air
strike at the Rafah refugee camp.
(AP, 3/17/04)(SFC, 3/18/04, p.A2)
2004 Mar 17, Israel's Supreme
Court imposed an open-ended freeze on construction of a 15-mile section
of the country's controversial West Bank separation barrier.
(AP, 3/18/04)
2004 Mar 18, Jordan's King
Abdullah and PM Ariel Sharon held a secret meeting at the Israeli
leader's ranch to discuss Sharon's plan to withdraw unilaterally from
Palestinian areas.
(AP, 3/19/04)
2004 Mar 21, Four Hamas militants
and a Palestinian woman were killed in fighting with Israeli troops,
the sixth day of Israel's new offensive in the Gaza Strip.
(AP, 3/21/04)
2004 Mar 22, Israel killed Hamas
founder Ahmed Yassin and 7 other Hamas members in a helicopter missile
strike outside a Gaza City mosque, prompting threats of unprecedented
revenge by thousands of Palestinian. Sheik Ahmed Yassin, a quadriplegic
preacher, founded the Islamic militant group Hamas in 1987 and presided
over its rise to a violent, radical alternative to Yasser Arafat's
Palestinian Authority.
(AP, 3/22/04)(USAT, 3/23/04, p.1A)
2004 Mar 23, Israel threatened the
entire Hamas leadership with death as Abdel Aziz Rantisi took command
of the group in Gaza.
(WSJ, 3/24/04, p.A1)
2004 Mar 23, Israeli helicopter
gunships fired on gunmen in southern Lebanon, killing two and wounding
one.
(AP, 3/23/04)
2004 Mar 25, Armed Palestinians in
wetsuits and flippers emerged from the Mediterranean and fired toward a
beachfront Israeli settlement of Tel Katifa in Gaza. Two attackers were
killed and a third was wounded and fled.
(AP, 3/26/04)
2004 Mar 26, A Palestinian
militant was killed when an explosion went off in a van he was driving
in a West Bank refugee camp.
(AP, 3/26/04)
2004 Mar 27, A 7-year-old
Palestinian boy was killed by what the Israeli military said was
haphazard Palestinian gunfire toward an army jeep in a West Bank
refugee camp.
(AP, 3/27/04)
2004 Mar 28, Israel's state
attorney officially recommended that PM Ariel Sharon be indicted for
bribe-taking.
(AP, 3/28/04)
2004 Apr 2, PM Ariel Sharon
revealed the scope of his withdrawal plan, saying Israel will leave all
of the Gaza Strip and dismantle four West Bank settlements.
(AP, 4/2/04)
2004 Apr 3, Israeli troops
arrested 23 wanted Palestinians early in a large-scale raid in the West
Bank city of Nablus. Zohair Arda, a Palestinian gunman, broke into an
Israeli settlement early, killing an Israeli man and wounding his
12-year-old daughter in their home. Israeli troops entered the Tulkarem
refugee camp overnight and demolished the home of Arda (18), who was
shot dead during the attack.
(AP, 4/3/04)(AP, 4/4/04)
2004 Apr 5, Israeli troops killed
3 Palestinians near a Gaza settlement.
(WSJ, 4/6/04, p.A1)
2004 Apr 5, Alexander Lerner (90),
an eminent cyberneticist and a leading member of the "refusenik"
movement that promoted Jewish emigration from the former Soviet Union,
died in Israel.
(AP, 7/6/04)
2004 Apr 10, A stray bullet killed
an 11-year old Palestinian girl in her kitchen when Israeli troops
fired on her neighborhood in the southern Gaza Strip.
(AP, 4/10/04)
2004 Apr 12, Israeli troops
exchanged fire with Palestinian gunmen near an Israeli settlement in
the Northern Gaza Strip, killing at least three of the assailants.
(AP, 4/12/04)
2004 Apr 14, President Bush gave
PM Ariel Sharon U.S backing for Israeli plans to hold on to parts of
the West Bank. He also ruled out Palestinian refugees returning to
Israel, bringing strong criticism from the Palestinians.
(AP, 4/15/04)
2004 Apr 15, In Hungary government
leaders and the Israeli president inaugurated this country's first
Holocaust museum in memory of Hungary's 600,000 Holocaust victims.
(AP, 4/15/04)
2004 Apr 17, A Palestinian suicide
bomber blew himself up at an industrial zone between Israel and Gaza,
wounding four Israeli security workers.
(AP, 4/17/04)
2004 Apr 17, An Israeli missile
strike came 4 hours after a suicide bombing and killed Hamas leader
Abdel Aziz Rantisi (56) as he rode in his car in Gaza City. The dead
included Akram Nassar (35) Rantisi's personal bodyguard and his son
Mohammed (27).
(AP, 4/17/04)(SSFC, 4/18/04, p.A1)
2004 Apr 20, Palestinians fired a
barrage of homemade rockets and mortar shells at Gaza Strip settlements
and towns inside Israel in retaliation for the killing of Hamas leader
Abdel Aziz Rantisi. Over two days, 15 Qassam rockets hit Israeli
targets, wounding one Israeli and damaging at least five structures.
Israeli soldiers raided the Gaza neighborhood where some of the rockets
originated, killing 5 Palestinians, among them 3 militants, and
wounding 21 others.
(AP, 4/20/04)(SFC, 4/21/04, p.A12)
2004 Apr 21, In Israel Mordechai
Vanunu walked out of prison after serving 18 years for spilling
Israel's nuclear secrets. He was later indicted on charges of violating
the terms of his release.
(AP, 4/21/04)(AP, 4/21/05)
2004 Apr 21, Israeli troops killed
9 Palestinians after rocket attacks were fired at Israel for a 2nd day.
(WSJ, 4/22/04, p.A1)
2004 Apr 23, Israeli troops killed
four Palestinians, one of them armed, in arrest raids in the West Bank.
(AP, 4/23/04)
2004 Apr 27, Israeli troops killed
two Hamas fugitives and seriously wounded a third in a gun battle in
the West Bank Tulkarem refugee camp.
(AP, 4/27/04)
2004 May 2, In Israel PM Sharon’s
Likud Party rejected his proposal to withdraw troops and settlers from
the West Bank. Palestinian militants attacked an Israeli vehicle in the
Gaza Strip, killing 4 children and their mother. Israeli soldiers
killed the 2 attackers.
(AP, 5/2/04)(SFC, 5/3/04, p.A1)
2004 May 5, Israel's state
comptroller said the Housing Ministry has funneled nearly $6.5 million
to illegal settlement construction in the West Bank in the past three
years, more than half of it to outposts Israel pledged to remove.
(AP, 5/5/04)
2004 May 5, Israeli warplanes
fired missiles at a suspected guerrilla hideout in south Lebanon,
shortly after Hezbollah gunners fired on Israeli jets.
(AP, 5/5/04)
2004 May 7, Israeli troops raided
a West Bank village near the town of Tulkarem, surrounding a house and
killing two Palestinian militants.
(AP, 5/7/04)
2004 May 7, Israeli warplanes
struck suspected guerrilla positions in southern Lebanon after
artillery fire killed one Israeli soldier on the border.
(AP, 5/7/04)
2004 May 11, Hamas militants
triumphantly displayed remains of some of the six Israeli soldiers
killed in a roadside bombing in Gaza City, prompting Israeli threats of
punishing reprisals if body parts are not returned. 8 Palestinians were
killed and 123 wounded in a battle that pitted hundreds of gunmen
against Israeli troops.
(AP, 5/11/04)
2004 May 12, Israeli troops
launched a massive incursion into a Gaza neighborhood, firing missiles,
demolishing buildings and scouring rooftops, in a bid to recover the
body parts of six soldiers killed the day before by Palestinian
militants. An Israeli helicopter fired a missile in Gaza's Zeitoun
neighborhood, killing at least three Palestinians. Five Israeli
soldiers were killed when Palestinians blew up an Israeli armored
vehicle.
(AP, 5/12/04)(AP, 5/13/04)
2004 May 13, Israeli forces pulled
out of Gaza City after Egyptian intermediaries helped return body parts
of Israeli soldiers. At least 12 Palestinians were killed as the army
left behind a swath of destruction.
(AP, 5/13/04)(SFC, 5/14/04, p.A6)
2004 May 14, Heavy fighting raged
in the Rafah refugee camp, killing two Israeli soldiers and a
Palestinian man.
(AP, 5/14/04)
2004 May 15, More than 100,000
Israelis rallied in favor of a pullout from the Gaza Strip.
(AP, 5/15/04)
2004 May 18, Israeli troops under
Operation Rainbow combed the Rafah refugee camp for weapons and gunmen
in the biggest Gaza offensive in years. Twenty Palestinians were
killed, including two teenagers, shot by an Israeli sniper, as they
gathered laundry.
(AP, 5/18/04)(SFC, 5/18/04, p.A3)(SFC, 5/25/04, p.A5)
2004 May 19, Israeli forces fired
a missile and a tank shell into a large crowd of Palestinians
demonstrating against the invasion of a neighboring refugee camp,
witnesses said. At least 10 Palestinians were killed, all children and
teenagers.
(AP, 5/19/04)
2004 May 20, Palestinian uprising
leader Marwan Barghouti, widely seen as a potential successor to Yasser
Arafat, was convicted of ordering shootings that killed four Israelis
and a Greek monk and supplying funds and arms for other attacks.
Israeli troops pressed their offensive in a Gaza Strip refugee camp for
a third day, killing 8 Palestinians, most of them armed, and
demolishing several buildings. In the West Bank, 3 Palestinians were
killed by army fire.
(AP, 5/20/04)
2004 May 21, Israeli troops pulled
back from two neighborhoods in the Rafah refugee camp.
(AP, 5/21/04)
2004 May 22, A 3-year-old
Palestinian girl was shot and killed in the Rafah refugee camp on the
fifth day of Israeli searches and house demolitions. A suicide bomber
blew himself at an Israeli army checkpoint in the West Bank, wounding
five people.
(AP, 5/22/04)
2004 May 25, Israeli troops
abruptly left the Rafah refugee camp without completing a sweep for
arms smuggling tunnels. The weeklong offensive left 45 Palestinians
killed by Israeli fire, including at least 17 gunmen and 12 children
under 16.
(AP, 5/25/04)
2004 May 29, A Palestinian gunman
killed an Israeli officer after opening fire on Israeli troops
conducting a routine raid in the West Bank Balata refugee camp. An
Israeli man was stabbed in the back by a Palestinian in Jerusalem's Old
City.
(AP, 5/29/04)
2004 May 30, An Israeli air strike
killed Wael Nassar (38), a top Hamas commander, along with his
assistant and a bystander in Gaza City.
(SSFC, 5/30/04, p.A9)
2004 Jun 6, Ariel Sharon’s cabinet
declared its intent to remove 21 Jewish settlements in the Gaza strip
plus 4 in the West Bank. An Israeli court sentenced Palestinian leader
Marwan Barghouti to 5 consecutive life terms and 40 years for his role
in attacks that killed 4 Israelis and a Greek monk.
(AP, 6/6/04)(Econ, 6/12/04, p.45)
2004 Jun 14, The Israeli Supreme
Court decided that Israeli municipalities must permit the sale of pork
where a majority of residents demand it.
(AP, 6/14/04)
2004 Jun 14, An Israeli helicopter
attack in the West Bank killed 2 Palestinian militants.
(WSJ, 6/15/04, p.A1)
2004 Jun 24, Israeli troops posted
near a Gaza Strip settlement killed two Palestinians wearing
bulletproof vests and armed with submachine guns, ammunition clips and
grenades.
(AP, 6/24/04)
2004 Jun 26, Israeli troops killed
7 Palestinian militants during a raid in Nablus.
(SSFC, 6/27/04, p.A24)
2004 Jun 26, Israeli composer
Naomi Shemer (74) died. Her most famous work was "Jerusalem of Gold,"
an emotional ballad describing the country's attachment and yearning
for the city, shortly before Israel captured east Jerusalem in the 1967
Mideast war.
(AP, 6/26/04)
2004 Jun 27, Palestinian militants
blew up an Israeli army post with explosives in a tunnel near the Gush
Katif settlement in the Gaza Strip. At least one soldier was killed. A
firefight followed that left 2 Palestinians dead.
(SFC, 6/28/04, p.A6)
2004 Jun 28, A Palestinian rocket
attack on Sderot killed an Israeli boy (3) and man (49).
(USAT, 6/29/04, p.12A)
2004 Jun 29, Israeli forces
countered a Palestinian rocket attack with tanks and missiles in
northern Gaza. One Palestinian was killed.
(USAT, 6/29/04, p.12A)
2004 Jul 3, Israeli troops shot
and killed a 9-year-old Palestinian boy in the 5th day of an army
operation meant to prevent militants from firing rockets at Israeli
towns by the Gaza Strip.
(AP, 7/3/04)
2004 Jul 6, Khaled Sallah, an
American-educated computer science professor, and his son were killed
during an arrest raid by Israeli commandos in the Ein Beit Ilma refugee
camp in the West Bank city of Nablus. West Bank and Gaza fighting left
6 Palestinians and one Israeli soldier dead.
(AP, 7/6/04)(WSJ, 7/7/04, p.A1)
2004 Jul 6, Samir Naqqash (66), an
Israeli author and playwright who wrote almost exclusively in the
Arabic of his native Iraq, died of a heart attack.
(AP, 7/7/04)
2004 Jul 8, Israeli troops killed
7 Palestinians in northern Gaza.
(WSJ, 7/9/04, p.A1)
2004 Jul 9, The Int’l. Court of
Justice ruled that Israel’s separation barrier in the occupied West
Bank violates freedom of movement and should be demolished.
(SFC, 7/10/04, p.A1)
2004 Jul 11, Palestinian militants
set off explosives hidden in shrubs at a Tel Aviv bus stop, killing a
female soldier and seriously wounding at least five people.
(AP, 7/11/04)
2004 Jul 15, Israel said it will
spend $11.1 million to change completed portions of its West Bank
barrier, building new roads, underpasses and tunnels to try to ease
Palestinian conditions.
(AP, 7/15/04)
2004 Jul 19, An Israeli aircraft
struck a Palestinian militant safe house at a beach camp near Gaza
City, wounding three fighters.
(AP, 7/19/04)
2004 Jul 19, The car of a
Hezbollah militia official exploded as he was leaving his home in
southern Beirut, killing him in an attack the Islamic militant group
said was a "brazen crime" by Israel that would be avenged.
(AP, 7/19/04)
2004 Jul 20, Israeli helicopter
gunships and tanks fired on Hezbollah guerrilla positions in southern
Lebanon, killing one guerrilla, Lebanese security officials reported.
Hezbollah said it killed two Israeli soldiers.
(AP, 7/20/04)
2004 Jul 20, The U.N. General
Assembly called for the structure to be torn down in compliance with a
world court ruling. Israel's construction of its West Bank barrier
continued.
(AP, 7/21/04)
2004 Jul 22, In a Gaza City 2
Palestinians were killed when their car exploded. The Israeli attack
was aimed at a man involved in the slaying of six Israeli soldiers on
May 11.
(AP, 7/23/04)(SFC, 7/24/04, p.A14)
2004 Jul 25, Tens of thousands of
Jewish settlers and their supporters joined hands to form a human chain
along a 55-mile route, serving notice they will fight Prime Minister
Ariel Sharon's plan to withdraw from the Gaza Strip.
(AP, 7/26/04)
2004 Jul 25, Israeli soldiers in
the West Bank shot to death six members of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades
in a gunbattle in the town of Tulkarem.
(AP, 7/26/04)
2004 Jul 29, Israeli forces killed
2 top Palestinian militants in Gaza.
(WSJ, 7/30/04, p.A1)
2004 Jul 30, In Uzbekistan suicide
bombers hit the U.S. and Israeli embassies, killing at least two Uzbeks.
(AP, 7/30/04)
2004 Aug 4, Clashes in the Gaza
Strip left 4 Palestinians dead including a 10-year-old boy. Israeli
forces uncovered a smuggling tunnel on the border with Egypt.
(SFC, 8/5/04, p.A3)
2004 Aug 6, Israel reopened a
border crossing with Egypt, closed since July 18, enabling some 2,000
stranded Palestinians to return home.
(SFC, 8/7/04, p.A11)
2004 Aug 11, A West Bank assailant
detonated a large bomb near a busy Israeli military checkpoint, killing
two Palestinian men and wounding 16 people.
(AP, 8/11/04)
2004 Aug 13, A Palestinian gunman
killed an Israeli security guard near a Jewish West Bank settlement
before being slain himself.
(AP, 8/13/04)
2004 Aug 17, Iran said it would
destroy Israel's Dimona nuclear reactor if the Jewish state were to
attack Iran's nuclear facilities.
(AP, 8/17/04)
2004 Aug 17, Israeli Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon approved the construction of 1,000 more homes in
Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
(AP, 8/17/04)
2004 Aug 17, Israeli soldiers shot
and killed a 9-year-old Palestinian boy in Nablus as he sat on the
front steps of his home eating a sandwich.
(AP, 8/17/04)
2004 Aug 18, Five Palestinians
were killed in a blast outside the house of a well-known Hamas militant
in Gaza City.
(AP, 8/17/04)
2004 Aug 23, Israel announced
plans for more than 500 new housing units in the West Bank, following
an apparent US policy shift on Jewish settlements that has infuriated
the Palestinians.
(AP, 8/23/04)
2004 Aug 25, Israel captured its
1st ever gold medal with a win by Gal Fridman in wind surfing.
(WSJ, 8/26/04, p.A1)
2004 Aug 29, Israeli troops killed
an armed Palestinian man as he tried to sneak into southern Israel.
(AP, 8/29/04)
2004 Aug 30, Israeli officials
said PM Ariel Sharon wants all 21 Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip
evacuated at the same time, instead of in three stages.
(AP, 8/30/04)
2004 Aug 31, In Beersheba, Israel,
Palestinian suicide bombers exploded two buses almost simultaneously,
killing at least 16 people and wounding more than 80.
(AP, 8/31/04)(AP, 9/1/04)
2004 Sep 6, An Israeli military
satellite fell into the Mediterranean Sea after a botched launch from
southern Israel.
(AP, 9/6/04)
2004 Sep 7, Israeli helicopters
attacked a Hamas training camp, killing at least 14 militants and
wounding 30 others.
(AP, 9/7/04)
2004 Sep 9, Clashes with Israeli
troops killed 8 Palestinians and left 27 wounded in the West Bank and
Gaza Strip.
(AP, 9/9/04)(WSJ, 9/10/04, p.A1)
2004 Sep 13, An Israeli helicopter
fired a missile at a car in the West Bank town of Jenin, killing three
Al Aqsa men. Israeli police shut down six Palestinian elections offices
in east Jerusalem after seizing voter registration lists.
(AP, 9/13/04)(WSJ, 9/14/04, p.A1)
2004 Sep 14, Senior Israeli
Cabinet ministers approved the payment of cash advances to Jewish
settlers who will be removed from their homes under Prime Minister
Ariel Sharon's plan to withdraw from the Gaza Strip.
(AP, 9/14/04)
2004 Sep 20, An Israeli helicopter
blew up a car in Gaza City, killing Khaled Abu Shamiyeh (30), a Hamas
militant who was involved in making and firing rockets at Israeli towns.
(AP, 9/20/04)
2004 Sep 21, Israeli military
officials said the US will sell them 4,500 smart bombs in a deal valued
as much as $319 million.
(SFC, 9/22/04, p.A15)
2004 Sep 22, A Palestinian suicide
bomber blew herself up near a crowded bus stop in Jerusalem. 2 Israeli
police officers were killed.
(AP, 9/22/04)(SFC, 9/23/04, p.A3)
2004 Sep 23, Three Palestinian
gunmen infiltrated a fog-shrouded Israeli army post at dawn, killing
three Israeli soldiers in a fierce gunbattle before they were shot to
death.
(AP, 9/23/04)
2004 Sep 24, Palestinians shelled
a Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip and killed an Israeli-American
woman just ahead of Yom Kippur.
(AP, 9/24/04)
2004 Sep 25, An Israeli helicopter
fired two missiles toward a crowd of Palestinians on the outskirts of a
refugee camp, killing a 55-year-old man and wounding five people.
(SFC, 9/25/04, p.A3)
2004 Sep 25, The Israeli army
charged into a Palestinian refugee camp, killing one person and tearing
down 35 homes.
(AP, 9/25/04)
2004 Sep 26, A car bomb killed Izz
Eldine Subhi Sheik Khalil, an operative of the Palestinian militant
group Hamas, as he turned the ignition. Israeli security officials
acknowledged that the Jewish state was involved.
(AP, 9/26/04)
2004 Sep 26, A senior Hamas
operative was killed in a car bombing outside his house in Damascus,
the first such killing of a leader of the Islamic militant group in
Syria. The hit was claimed by Israeli security officials.
(AP, 9/27/04)
2004 Sep 27, An Israeli helicopter
fired a missile at a Palestinian vehicle traveling in the southern Gaza
Strip, killing one person and wounding three others. 7 Palestinians
were killed in several incidents across the West Bank and Gaza. In Gaza
City gunmen kidnapped a CNN TV producer and released him the next day.
(AP, 9/27/04)(SFC, 9/28/04, p.A8)(WSJ, 9/29/04, p.A1)
2004 Sep 29, A large force of
Israeli tanks, armored vehicles and troops pushed into northern Gaza in
an overnight raid aimed at militants who have fired rockets against
nearby Israeli towns. The incursion killed at least three Palestinians.
(AP, 9/29/04)
2004 Sep 30, Israeli troops pushed
deep into the largest Palestinian refugee camp after a Palestinian
rocket killed two preschoolers in an Israeli border town. 28
Palestinians and three Israelis, including a woman jogging in a Jewish
settlement and two soldiers, were killed in the fighting in the
northern Gaza Strip.
(AP, 9/30/04)(WSJ, 10/1/04, p.A1)
2004 Oct 1, Israel's security
Cabinet approved a large-scale military operation, dubbed "Days of
Penitence," to stop Palestinian rocket fire. Two Palestinians were
killed and three wounded when an Israeli tank fired a shell in the
Jebaliya refugee camp. 8 Palestinians were killed in the northern Gaza
Strip.
(AP, 10/1/04)(SFC, 10/2/04, p.A9)
2004 Oct 2, Israeli troops killed
10 Palestinian militants, as the military expanded one of its largest
offensives against Palestinian militants in four years of fighting.
(AP, 10/2/04)(SSFC, 10/3/04, p.A11)
2004 Oct 3, An Israeli aircraft
fired two missiles at a group of Palestinians who launched a homemade
rocket at Israel, killing two militants.
(AP, 10/3/04)
2004 Oct 4, Palestinian militants
fired off two more rockets at the Israeli town of Sderot, lightly
wounding one person, according to rescue workers. Ongoing violence in
northern Gaza killed at least seven Palestinians, including a teenager.
(AP, 10/4/04)
2004 Oct 5, An Israeli aircraft
launched a missile at a car in Gaza City, killing at least 2 militants
and wounding three others. A helicopter strike in Gaza killed Bashir Al
Dabash (42), a senior Islamic Jihad leader, as well as his bodyguard.
Iyman Hams, a 13-year-old Palestinian girl, was shot and killed by
Israeli forces, which soon prompted an investigation. In 2005 an
Israeli military court acquitted an army captain who was charged with
intentionally killing the Palestinian girl, saying she was already dead
when he shot her.
(AP, 10/5/04)(SFC, 10/6/04, p.A17)(SFC, 10/13/04,
p.A14)(AP, 11/16/05)
2004 Oct 5, The US vetoed an
Arab-backed UN Security Council resolution demanding that the Jewish
state immediately end military operations and called the resolution
"lopsided and unbalanced." 11 of 15 voted in favor with 3 abstentions.
(AP, 10/6/04)
2004 Oct 6, American Irwin Rose
and Israelis Aaron Ciechanover and Avram Hershko won the 2004 Nobel
Prize in chemistry for discovering a key way cells destroy unwanted
proteins.
(AP, 10/6/04)(SFC, 10/7/04, p.A2)
2004 Oct 7, Two Palestinian boys,
ages 15 and 14, were killed in an Israeli missile strike.
(AP, 10/7/04)
2004 Oct 7, A car bomb at Egypt’s
Taba Hilton killed at least 35 people on the last day of the Jewish
holiday of Sukkot. The attack was quickly followed by two more car
bombings outside beach-bungalow camps south of Taba. The next day
Israeli officials said they believe al-Qaida was probably behind 3
suicide car bomb attacks targeting Red Sea resorts filled with Israeli
tourists.
(AP, 10/8/04)(SFC, 10/8/04, p.A1)
2004 Oct 8, Israeli Soldiers shot
and killed a 10-year-old Palestinian girl and three other Palestinians
died in missile strikes during a massive offensive into the northern
Gaza Strip.
(AP, 10/8/04)
2004 Oct 9, Israeli troops shot at
Hamas militants about to fire an anti-tank missile, setting off an
explosion that killed one man and wounded three. Israeli soldiers in
northern Gaza killed 5 Palestinians including Hamas militant Abed
Nabham (25).
(AP, 10/9/04)(SSFC, 10/10/04, p.A16)
2004 Oct 10, An Israeli aircraft
fired a missile at a home near a Hamas stronghold in the Jebaliya
refugee camp, killing one civilian and wounding 8 other Palestinians
(AP, 10/10/04)
2004 Oct 11, An Israeli aircraft
fired a missile at a house in the southern Gaza town of Rafah, wounding
five people, including a top Islamic Jihad leader.
(AP, 10/11/04)
2004 Oct 13, The Israeli military
killed 4 Palestinian militants as troops extended a 2-week operation in
the Gaza Strip to silence Palestinian rocket fire.
(SFC, 10/14/04, p.A8)
2004 Oct 14, Israel’s PM Ariel
Sharon said all 8,200 Jewish settlers will be pulled out of the Gaza
Strip starting next summer.
(AP, 10/14/04)
2004 Oct 21, An Israeli aircraft
fired two missiles at a car traveling in the Gaza Strip killing Adnan
al-Ghoul, a senior Hamas commander.
(AP, 10/21/04)
2004 Oct 22, A UN aid agency
reported that Israel's recent 17-day military offensive in the northern
Gaza Strip killed 107 Palestinians, left nearly 700 homeless and caused
more than $3 million dollars in property damage.
(AP, 10/22/04)
2004 Oct 22, Defiant Palestinian
militants pounded Jewish settlements in the southern Gaza Strip with
mortar fire, following the killing of a top Hamas militant in an
Israeli airstrike.
(AP, 10/22/04)
2004 Oct 24, The Israeli Cabinet
approved legislation to pay compensation to settlers uprooted by Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon's Gaza withdrawal plan.
(AP, 10/24/04)
2004 Oct 25, Israeli troops killed
14 Palestinians in a Gaza raid.
(WSJ, 10/26/04, p.A1)
2004 Oct 26, Israel's parliament
approved Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan for withdrawing from the
Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank.
(AP, 10/26/05)
2004 Nov 1, A Palestinian (16)
blew himself up in a crowded outdoor market in central Tel Aviv,
killing three Israelis and wounding 32. This was the 117th suicide
bombing since Israeli-Palestinian fighting broke out in 2000. 494
Israelis have been killed in the attacks. Israeli troops killed 3
activists in Nablus and a boy (12) throwing stones in Askar.
(AP, 11/1/04)(SFC, 11/2/04, p.A5)
2004 Nov 6, Israeli troops killed
5 Palestinians, including a 14-year-old boy, in West Bank and Gaza
Strip.
(AP, 11/6/04)
2004 Nov 7, Israeli undercover
forces shot and killed 4 Palestinians in Jenin.
(AP, 11/7/04)
2004 Nov 7, Hezbollah sent an
aerial drone over northern Israel on a 1st test flight.
(WSJ, 11/8/04, p.A1)
2004 Nov 9, Israeli troops shot
and killed two Palestinians who entered an unauthorized area in the
Gaza Strip. Israeli troops in Nablus clashed with stone throwing
youths, shooting dead a 22-year-old man and seriously wounding another.
(AP, 11/9/04)
2004 Nov 11, Israeli police
commandos stormed a Jerusalem church compound and arrested nuclear
whistle blower Mordechai Vanunu for allegedly revealing classified
information, seven months after he completed an 18-year prison sentence
for treason.
(AP, 11/11/04)
2004 Nov 11, Israeli troops,
backed by tanks and helicopter gunships raided a Gaza Strip town,
killing 3 Palestinians and wounding at least 9 others.
(AP, 11/11/04)
2004 Nov 14, Israel's military
said it will stop allowing Palestinian security forces in the West Bank
to carry weapons in public within the next 24 hours.
(AP, 11/14/04)
2004 Nov 15, Israel offered its
first indication it was reassessing relations with the Palestinians
after Yasser Arafat's death, suggesting it might coordinate a planned
withdrawal from the Gaza Strip if the Palestinian Authority cracks down
on militant groups.
(AP, 11/15/04)
2004 Nov 18, Israeli troops killed
three Egyptian policemen mistaken for Palestinian militants along the
Gaza-Egypt border.
(AP, 11/18/04)
2004 Nov 19, Israel’s Yediot
Ahronot newspaper published photos of Israeli soldiers posing with dead
Palestinians. Allegations of abuse followed.
(SFC, 11/20/04, p.A16)
2004 Nov 21, In southern Israel
swarms of locusts devoured lawns and palm trees.
(AP, 11/21/04)
2004 Nov 23, Interim Palestinian
leader Mahmoud Abbas told parliament that he would follow Arafat's
footsteps and demand that Israel recognize the "right of return" of
Palestinian refugees.
(AP, 11/23/04)
2004 Dec 3, Sheikh Hassan Yousef,
a top Hamas leader, said the militant group would accept the
establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip as
well as a long-term truce with Israel.
(AP, 12/3/04)(SFC, 12/4/04, p.A3)
2004 Dec 5, Egypt freed an Israeli
Arab businessman convicted of spying in exchange for Israel's release
of six Egyptian students.
(AP, 12/5/04)
2004 Dec 7, Hamas militants killed
an Israeli soldier and wounded four with an explosion in a
booby-trapped chicken coop. An Israeli aircraft fired a retaliatory
missile at armed Palestinians near Gaza City leaving 4 gunmen dead.
(AP, 12/7/04)(WSJ, 12/8/04, p.A1)
2004 Dec 10, Israeli troops shot
and killed a 7-year-old Palestinian girl after militants fired mortar
rounds at a Gaza Strip settlement, injuring four Israelis, one of them
a child.
(AP, 12/10/04)
2004 Dec 12, The Israeli Cabinet
agreed to release scores of Palestinian prisoners as a gesture to Egypt
and the Palestinian leadership ahead of next month's Palestinian
elections. The Israeli army fired three tank shells at the Khan Younis
refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip on Sunday, wounding seven
schoolchildren.
(AP, 12/12/04)
2004 Dec 12, Palestinians
detonated a massive bomb under an Israeli military checkpoint killing
at least 5 Israeli soldiers.
(SFC, 12/13/04, p.A6)(AP, 12/12/05)
2004 Dec 14, Egypt and Israel
signed a first joint trade accord with the United States since their
historic peace treaty 25 years ago.
(AP, 12/14/04)
2004 Dec 14, Palestinian leader
Abbas called for an end to attacks on Israel as Israeli troops
destroyed 7 Palestinian houses in Gaza.
(WSJ, 12/15/04, p.A1)
2006 Dec 16, Researchers from
Germany, America, and Israel met in Heidelberg to discuss
vibration-response imaging, invented by Dr. Igal Kushnir, an Israeli
pediatrician.
(Econ, 12/16/06, p.83)
2004 Dec 17, Israeli troops raided
a Gaza refugee camp in retaliation for a deadly Palestinian mortar
fire, sparking fighting that killed 8 Palestinians and wounded 24
Palestinians and an Israeli soldier.
(AP, 12/17/04)(SFC, 12/18/04, p.A14)
2004 Dec 18, Israeli troops killed
three Palestinians on the second day of an Israeli raid in the Khan
Younis refugee camp in southern Gaza. Israeli forces withdrew and ended
a 2-day raid that left 11 Palestinians dead.
(AP, 12/18/04)(SSFC, 12/19/04, p.A15)
2004 Dec 19, Israel approved the
release of 170 Palestinian prisoners in a goodwill gesture toward Egypt
and the new Palestinian leadership.
(AP, 12/19/04)
2004 Dec 27, Israel released 159
Palestinian prisoners as a gesture to the new Palestinian leadership.
(AP, 12/27/04)
2004 Dec 28, Israeli Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to withdraw from the Gaza Strip suffered a
setback after a parliamentary committee failed to approve a set of
guidelines for dealing with Jewish settlers in the evacuation.
(AP, 12/28/04)
2004 Dec 29, In Israel 4
antiquities collectors and dealers were indicted on charges that they
ran a global forgery ring for Bible-era artifacts.
(SFC, 12/30/04, p.A2)
2004 Dec 29, About 10 Israeli
tanks moved into the Khan Younis refugee camp to stop rocket fire. 2
Palestinian gunmen were killed by tank fire.
(AP, 12/30/04)(WSJ, 12/30/04, p.A1)
2004 Dec 30, China accused the US
of pressuring Israel not to return armed drone aircraft that were sent
back for upgrades following their purchase in the 1990s.
(WSJ, 12/31/04, p.A1)
2004 Dec 30, In southern Gaza 2
Palestinians were killed in an Israeli missile strike, the 2nd day of
an army raid to stop Palestinian rocket fire from the Khan Younis
refugee camp.
(AP, 12/31/04)
2004 Israel rejected a Syrian
attempt to create a channel of communications. In response Alon Liel, a
former Israeli ambassador, began talks with Ibrahim Suleiman, a Syrian
in Washington with close ties to Pres. Assad, under the mediation of a
Swiss diplomat.
(Econ, 1/20/07, p.55)
2004 Israel’s PM Sharon agreed to
allow Druze apple growers in the Golan Heights to trade with Syria. In
2009 the authorized consignment rose to 8,000 tons.
(Econ, 2/21/09, p.49)
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2005