Timeline Israel 1996-2004
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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 lived in the Gaza Strip and claimed to have no idea of their son’s 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 13, Jordanian soldier Ahmed Daqamseh fired on Israeli junior high school girls on a field trip to the Jordan River island known as Naharayim or Island of Peace. Seven girls were killed and six injured. A Jordanian military court deemed Daqamseh mentally unstable and sentenced him to life in prison. He was released on March 12, 2017. Upon arriving in his hometown, Daqamseh expressed no regrets, telling a reporter that Israelis are "human garbage".
(SFC, 3/14/97, p.A13)(AP, 3/12/17)
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 5, Israel’s PM Netanyahu announced that the Oslo peace process was being frozen.
(SFC, 9/6/97, p.A3)
1997 Sep 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)(http://tinyurl.com/64nx84f)
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 under PM Netanyahu 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)(Econ, 10/15/11, p.55)
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 a 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. Manbar was sentenced to 16 years in July 1998 for selling materials to make nerve and mustard gas to Iran but insisted he acted with the approval of the Israeli authorities. He had been arrested in March the previous year. He was released from jail in 2011.
(SFC, 6/18/98, p.A20)(AFP, 10/31/11)
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 in Maryland between Arafat and Netanyahu in Washington that resulted in the Wye River land-for-peace agreement.
(WSJ, 10/16/98, p.A1)(AP, 10/15/99)
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/)
1999 Yair Klein, a former lieutenant colonel in the Israeli army, began a prison term in Sierra Leone. He spent 16 months in prison on charges that he was smuggling arms to rebels from the Revolutionary United Front (RUF). Klein, through his private mercenary company, Spearhead Ltd., had provided arms and training to armed forces in South America, Lebanon, and Sierra Leone.
(AP, 11/20/10)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yair_Klein)
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 Shulamit Aloni (1928-2014) received in 2000 the Israel Prize, the country's most prestigious national award, for lifetime achievement. The award sparked howls of protest from ultra-Orthodox leaders due to her support for Palestinian statehood opposition to the Orthodox Jewish establishment.
(AFP, 1/24/14)
2000 The so-called Gabriel Stone was reportedly found in Jordan. It features an unknown prophetic text from the time of the Second Jewish Temple. In 2013 it went on exhibit at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.
(AP, 4/30/13)
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)
2000-2005 In the second Palestinian intifada more than 1,000 Israelis and 3,000 Palestinians died.
(Econ, 2/11/17, p.41)
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. Ahlam al-Tamimi (21) of Jordan chose the target of the attack and guided the bomber there. In 2017 Jordan's highest court blocked her extradition to the US.
(WSJ, 8/10/01, p.A1)(SFC, 7/24/02, p.A14)(AP, 8/9/06)(AP, 3/23/17)
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 recognize 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)
2001 Colombian courts convicted Yair Klein, a former lieutenant colonel in the Israeli army, in absentia for helping train far-right paramilitary groups in the 1980s. The Colombian government made unsuccessful attempts to obtain his extradition from Israel. Klein was arrested by Russian authorities in August 2007 as he touched down at a Moscow airport. He was released to Israel in 2010.
(AP, 11/20/10)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yair_Klein)
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. The mother of the family and three of her children were murdered. Another two children were seriously injured and a local security official was shot to death as he tried to help.
(SFC, 6/21/02, p.A1)(AP, 3/12/11)
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 dropped a one ton bomb 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. In 2011 an Israeli inquiry ruled the air strike legal and blamed faulty intelligence for the civilian deaths.
(AP, 7/23/02)(SFC, 7/23/02, p.A1)(AP, 1/29/09)(SFC, 2/28/11, p.A2)
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, an $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." In 2012 antiquities collector Oded Golan was acquitted of forging the box. A judge ruled that it was impossible to unequivocally prove the artifacts were forged.
(WSJ, 10/20/08, p.A17)(SFC, 3/15/12, p.A2)
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. On Aug 28, 2012, an Israeli court cleared the military of any responsibility for her death.
(SFC, 3/17/03, p.A1)(AFP, 8/28/12)
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, 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 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 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 34 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. It was later reported that all 4 bombers who attacked the resorts escaped on foot minutes before their vehicles exploded.
(AP, 10/8/04)(SFC, 10/8/04, p.A1)(AP, 10/13/04)(AP, 11/12/10)
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 25, Egyptian authorities said a Palestinian refugee plotted the coordinated bombings targeting Israeli tourists at resorts in the Sinai and accidentally killed himself while carrying out the deadliest blast. Egypt announced it had arrested five of the nine men who bombed Red Sea resorts almost three weeks ago, saying the attackers used stolen cars packed with old war-time explosives and a washing-machine timer.
(AP, 10/25/04)
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 Daniel Gavron authored “The Other Side of Despair: Jews and Arabs in the Promised Land," in which he called for the creation of a democratic, binational State of Jerusalem.
(Econ, 3/16/13, p.25)
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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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 lived in the Gaza Strip and claimed to have no idea of their son’s 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 13, Jordanian soldier Ahmed Daqamseh fired on Israeli junior high school girls on a field trip to the Jordan River island known as Naharayim or Island of Peace. Seven girls were killed and six injured. A Jordanian military court deemed Daqamseh mentally unstable and sentenced him to life in prison. He was released on March 12, 2017. Upon arriving in his hometown, Daqamseh expressed no regrets, telling a reporter that Israelis are "human garbage".
(SFC, 3/14/97, p.A13)(AP, 3/12/17)
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 5, Israel’s PM Netanyahu announced that the Oslo peace process was being frozen.
(SFC, 9/6/97, p.A3)
1997 Sep 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)(http://tinyurl.com/64nx84f)
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 under PM Netanyahu 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)(Econ, 10/15/11, p.55)
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 a 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. Manbar was sentenced to 16 years in July 1998 for selling materials to make nerve and mustard gas to Iran but insisted he acted with the approval of the Israeli authorities. He had been arrested in March the previous year. He was released from jail in 2011.
(SFC, 6/18/98, p.A20)(AFP, 10/31/11)
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 in Maryland between Arafat and Netanyahu in Washington that resulted in the Wye River land-for-peace agreement.
(WSJ, 10/16/98, p.A1)(AP, 10/15/99)
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/)
1999 Yair Klein, a former lieutenant colonel in the Israeli army, began a prison term in Sierra Leone. He spent 16 months in prison on charges that he was smuggling arms to rebels from the Revolutionary United Front (RUF). Klein, through his private mercenary company, Spearhead Ltd., had provided arms and training to armed forces in South America, Lebanon, and Sierra Leone.
(AP, 11/20/10)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yair_Klein)
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 Shulamit Aloni (1928-2014) received in 2000 the Israel Prize, the country's most prestigious national award, for lifetime achievement. The award sparked howls of protest from ultra-Orthodox leaders due to her support for Palestinian statehood opposition to the Orthodox Jewish establishment.
(AFP, 1/24/14)
2000 The so-called Gabriel Stone was reportedly found in Jordan. It features an unknown prophetic text from the time of the Second Jewish Temple. In 2013 it went on exhibit at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.
(AP, 4/30/13)
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)
2000-2005 In the second Palestinian intifada more than 1,000 Israelis and 3,000 Palestinians died.
(Econ, 2/11/17, p.41)
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. Ahlam al-Tamimi (21) of Jordan chose the target of the attack and guided the bomber there. In 2017 Jordan's highest court blocked her extradition to the US.
(WSJ, 8/10/01, p.A1)(SFC, 7/24/02, p.A14)(AP, 8/9/06)(AP, 3/23/17)
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 recognize 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)
2001 Colombian courts convicted Yair Klein, a former lieutenant colonel in the Israeli army, in absentia for helping train far-right paramilitary groups in the 1980s. The Colombian government made unsuccessful attempts to obtain his extradition from Israel. Klein was arrested by Russian authorities in August 2007 as he touched down at a Moscow airport. He was released to Israel in 2010.
(AP, 11/20/10)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yair_Klein)
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. The mother of the family and three of her children were murdered. Another two children were seriously injured and a local security official was shot to death as he tried to help.
(SFC, 6/21/02, p.A1)(AP, 3/12/11)
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 dropped a one ton bomb 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. In 2011 an Israeli inquiry ruled the air strike legal and blamed faulty intelligence for the civilian deaths.
(AP, 7/23/02)(SFC, 7/23/02, p.A1)(AP, 1/29/09)(SFC, 2/28/11, p.A2)
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, an $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." In 2012 antiquities collector Oded Golan was acquitted of forging the box. A judge ruled that it was impossible to unequivocally prove the artifacts were forged.
(WSJ, 10/20/08, p.A17)(SFC, 3/15/12, p.A2)
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. On Aug 28, 2012, an Israeli court cleared the military of any responsibility for her death.
(SFC, 3/17/03, p.A1)(AFP, 8/28/12)
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, 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 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 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 34 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. It was later reported that all 4 bombers who attacked the resorts escaped on foot minutes before their vehicles exploded.
(AP, 10/8/04)(SFC, 10/8/04, p.A1)(AP, 10/13/04)(AP, 11/12/10)
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 25, Egyptian authorities said a Palestinian refugee plotted the coordinated bombings targeting Israeli tourists at resorts in the Sinai and accidentally killed himself while carrying out the deadliest blast. Egypt announced it had arrested five of the nine men who bombed Red Sea resorts almost three weeks ago, saying the attackers used stolen cars packed with old war-time explosives and a washing-machine timer.
(AP, 10/25/04)
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 Daniel Gavron authored “The Other Side of Despair: Jews and Arabs in the Promised Land," in which he called for the creation of a democratic, binational State of Jerusalem.
(Econ, 3/16/13, p.25)
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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