Timeline Palestine (B) 2001- 2003
Return to home
2001 Jan 1, In Israel 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 2, Pres. Clinton met with Yasser Arafat and coaxed Arafat to curb the Middle East violence.
(SFC, 1/3/01, p.A1)
2001 Jan 3, Yasser Arafat accepted "with reservations" Pres. Clinton’s outline for an Israeli-Palestinian settlement.
(SFC, 1/4/01, p.A8)
2001 Jan 4, It was reported that Saddam Hussein had sent moral support and distributed some 270 checks for $10,000 each to the families of Palestinians killed in clashes with Israelis since Nov.
(SFC, 1/5/01, p.A17)
2001 Jan 8, Palestinian’s rejected Pres. Clinton’s formula for a permanent Mideast settlement.
(SSFC, 12/30/01, p.D2)
2001 Jan 13, The Palestinian Authority executed the 1st 2 Palestinians ever convicted of collaborating with Israel.
(SSFC, 1/14/01, p.D1)
2001 Jan 15, The Palestinian authority offered amnesty to suspected collaborators with Israel.
(SFC, 1/16/01, p.A9)
2001 Jan 17, Hisham Miki (54), head of Palestinian TV, was shot to death by 3 masked men in Gaza City.
(SFC, 1/18/01, p.A13)
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 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 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 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 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 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 4, In Israel a Palestinian suicide bomber killed himself and 3 Israelis in Netanya.
(SSFC, 3/4/01, p.A27)
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 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 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 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 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 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 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 15, Tens of thousands of Palestinians packed town squares in the West Bank town of Ramallah as they marked what they called the day of "catastrophe" in 1948, when they were uprooted and the state of Israel created.
(AP, 5/15/02)
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 25, Three Palestinian suicide bombers attacked in Hadera and Gaza 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 May 31, Faisal Husseini (60), a Palestinian leader, died in Kuwait of a heart attack. He was a member of the PLO’s 18-strong executive committee and head of the Fatah on the West Bank.
(SFC, 6/1/01, p.D5)
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 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 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, In Israel 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, In Israel 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 28, An Israeli helicopter attack in the Gaza Strip destroyed a workshop making munitions and was followed by armed clashes.
(SSFC, 7/29/01, p.A18)
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 2, Palestinian judges sentenced 4 Palestinian men to death for helping Israel’s army carry out lethal attacks. 3 Palestinian men, suspected of collaboration, were recently gunned down in the streets.
(SFC, 8/3/01, p.A12)
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. Al-Tamimi was arrested by Israel weeks after the bombing and sentenced to 16 life terms but released in the 2011 Israel-Hamas prisoner swap and moved to Jordan. 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)(AP, 6/15/20)
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 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 7, In Gaza City Yasser Arafat was reported to be in discussions with Hamas on a power-sharing proposal.
(SFC, 9/8/01, p.A8)
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 11, World leaders expressed outrage at terrorist attacks in NYC and the Pentagon and pledged solidarity with the US. In the West Bank town of Nablus, some 3,000 people celebrated the attacks and chanted "God is great." Later the estimates of the WTC dead dropped to 4,396. In 2004 the count was reduced to 2,749.
(SFC, 9/12/01, p.A14)(SFC, 11/3/01, p.A3)(SFC, 11/21/01, p.A2)(USAT, 10/30/03, p.7A)(WSJ, 1/26/04, p.A1)(www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1M4eH9Kk7I)
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 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, In Israel 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 5, In Israel 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 8, A Palestinian rally turned violent as police forces attempted to quell some 2,000 students supportive of Osama bin Laden. 2 students were killed.
(SFC, 10/9/01, p.A10)
2001 Oct 11, A Palestinian militant blew himself up while trying to plant a bomb along a West Bank road used by Israelis.
(SFC, 10/12/01, p.D3)
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, Britain’s PM Tony Blair said his country favors "a viable Palestinian state, as part of a negotiated and agreed settlement" during a news conference with visiting Yasser Arafat.
(SFC, 10/16/01, p.A8)
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, The Bush administration imposed stringent financial sanctions on Hamas, Hezbollah and 20 other suspected terrorist groups.
(SFC, 11/3/01, p.A5)
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 22, In the Gaza Strip 5 Palestinian boys (6-14) were killed when a bomb exploded beneath them as a walked to school.
(SFC, 11/23/01, p.A17)
2001 Nov 23, Israeli helicopter gunships near Nablus killed Mahmoud Abu Hanoud, a senior Hamas leader, along with 2 assistants.
(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. 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 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 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 27, 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 30, Israeli forces killed 6 Palestinians in 2 incidents in the Gaza Strip.
(SFC, 12/31/01, p.A3)
2002 Jan 3, Israel seized a ship, Karine A, in the Red Sea carrying 50 tons of advanced weapons allegedly for the Palestinian Authority. Most of the equipment was from Iran. Operation Noah’s Ark was not reported until the next day when US envoy Gen. Zinni arrived to promote peace talks. Hezbollah helped broker the deal and it was reported to have been overseen by Fuad Shubaki, a close aide to Arafat. Captain Omar Akawi, a member of Fatwah, said he was in contact with Adel Awadallah, an alias for Adel Mughrabi, a weapons buyer for the Palestinian Authority.
(SFC, 1/5/02, p.A1,9)(SFC, 1/7/02, p.A3)(SFC, 1/8/02, p.A1)
2002 Jan 9, In Israel 2 Hamas gunmen attacked a military post and killed 4 Israeli soldiers. Israel halted work on a mosque next to the Christian Basilica of the Annunciation.
(SFC, 1/10/02, p.A1)
2002 Jan 10, Israel demolished dozens of Palestinian homes in Rafah.
(SFC, 1/11/02, p.A3)
2002 Jan 10, Israel demolished dozens of Palestinian homes in Rafah. The Islamic Jihad said it would resume attacks as Palestinian police arrested 2 of its members
(SFC, 1/11/02, p.A3)(WSJ, 1/11/02, p.A1)
2002 Jan 11, Israeli tanks and bulldozers plowed up runways at the Gaza Int’l. Airport. Palestinian police detained 2 Palestinian officials suspected of smuggling arms into Gaza.
(SFC, 1/11/02, p.A3)(SFC, 1/11/02, p.A6)
2002 Jan 12, Israeli missile boats hit a Palestinian fuel depot in a 4th day of reprisals.
(SSFC, 1/13/02, p.A20)
2002 Jan 14, An Israeli bomb in the West Bank killed Raed Karmi (27), a Palestinian militia leader. A short time later a Palestinian gunmen killed an Israeli and wounded another in a roadside ambush.
(SFC, 1/15/02, p.A8)
2002 Jan 15, Palestinian gunmen killed 2 Israelis in separate attacks in the West Bank and near Jerusalem. Avi Boaz (71) was abducted and killed after visiting with a Palestinian family. The Palestinian Authority arrested Ahmed Saadat, sec. gen’l. of the PFLP.
(SFC, 1/16/02, p.A7)(SFC, 1/17/02, p.A11)
2002 Jan 16, In the West Bank a Palestinian killed another Palestinian, who was mistaken for an Israeli.
(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. Israeli troops took up positions in Ramallah.
(SFC, 1/19/02, p.A1)
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 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 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, 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 5, In Jenin, 3 Palestinians members of the Kameel clan were killed by a mob after a court sentenced them to 15 year jail terms for the murder of another clan member.
(SFC, 2/6/02, p.A9)
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 14, Palestinian Abu Zubaydah (30) was identified as the new chief of operations for al Qaeda and was believed to be organizing al Qaeda remnants for new attacks against the US.
(SFC, 2/14/02, 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.
(SFC, 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, 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, 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.
(SFC, 3/14/02, p.A6)
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, 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 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 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 2, Israel seized control of Bethlehem; Palestinian gunmen forced their way into the Church of the Nativity, the traditional birthplace of Jesus, where they began a 39-day standoff.
(AP, 4/2/03)
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 9, Sec. of State Colin Powell met with Pres. Mubarek in Egypt and stated that he would meet with Yasser Arafat.
(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 12, Arab militant groups including Hezbollah, Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood issued a manifesto declaring that Arab governments had betrayed the Palestinians and called holy war “the religious duty of every Muslim."
(SFC, 4/17/02, p.A14)
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. 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 Palestine Yasser Arafat conceded mistakes and proposed new elections and political changes.
(WSJ, 5/16/02, p.A1)(SFC, 5/16/02, p.A6)
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 16, Yasser Arafat agreed to revamp his cabinet and hold elections within 6 months.
(SFC, 5/17/02, p.A1)
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, Sanabel Al-Fararja (15) and Kayan Al-Saify (16), West Bank teenagers, ended an 8-week trip in the US where they crossed the country and spoke on behalf of peace in Palestine.
(SFC, 5/16/02, p.A13)
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.
(SFC, 5/21/02, p.A1)
2002 May 20, In Lebanon a car bomb killed Jihad Jibril (38), head of local military operations for the PFLP-GC. He was the son of Palestinian guerrilla leader Ahmed Jibril who headed the Syrian-based Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command, founded in 1968. In 2008 a retired Lebanese police officer and a Palestinian were indicted for allegedly working with Israeli intelligence to assassinate Jibril.
(SFC, 5/21/02, p.A16)(AP, 6/18/08)
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 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 May 30, Yasser Arafat signed the Basic Law package that granted his people basic rights and regulated government operations.
(SFC, 5/31/02, p.A10)
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 2, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat offered Cabinet posts to Hamas and other militant groups as part of his government reshuffle.
(SFC, 6/3/02, p.A1)
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, 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 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 13, Pres. Bush met with Saudi Prince Saud al-Faisal and indicated that he would support the creation of a Palestinian state.
(SFC, 6/14/02, p.15)
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.
(Reuters, 6/17/02)
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, The Palestinian Authority, under pressure from President Bush to dump Yasser Arafat as its leader, announced that presidential elections will be held in mid-January.
(Reuters, 6/26/02)(SFC, 6/27/02, p.A8)
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 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 17, In Israel 2 bombers blew themselves up in Tel Aviv and injured over 40 people.
(WSJ, 7/18/02, p.A1)
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 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 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 29, Thousands of Palestinians defied the Israeli army's around-the-clock curfew for the second straight day, and took to the streets of Nablus as shops and banks opened to accommodate them.
(AP, 7/29/02)
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 7 people including 5 Americans and wounding more than 70. Hamas claimed responsibility.
(AP, 7/31/02)(SFC, 8/2/02, p.A1)
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 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 16, Sabri al-Banna, aka Abu Nidal (65), Palestinian guerrilla commander and head of the Fatah-Revolutionary Council, died from gunshot wounds in his Baghdad home. Iraqi officials said he killed himself.
(Reuters, 8/19/02)(WSJ, 8/20/02, p.A18)(AP, 8/21/02)
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 24, A Palestinian militia shot and killed a Palestinian woman suspected of collaborating with Israel, then dumped her bullet-riddled body on a street in the West Bank town of Tulkarem. The next day her son said that Palestinian gunmen tortured him until he invented a story about his mother's involvement.
(AP, 8/24/02)(AP, 8/26/02)
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 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 11, The 21-member Palestinian Cabinet resigned after Yasser Arafat lost a showdown with parliament, the most serious challenge to the Palestinian leader since he returned from exile in 1994.
(AP, 9/11/02)
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 13, Iraq will pay up to $5,000 each to Palestinians whose home is demolished in the Israeli campaign against suspected militants, a pro-Iraqi group said Friday, hinting also that Iraq is supplying weapons to the Palestinians.
(AP, 9/13/02)
2002 Sep 17, The United States and its key global partners in Middle East peacemaking agreed to try to establish a provisional Palestinian state next year.
(AP, 9/17/02)
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 defiant Yasser Arafat dug in at his besieged West Bank compound, rejecting Israel's demand to hand over the names of all those holed up inside.
(AP, 9/23/03)
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 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 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 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 Oct 29, The Palestinian parliament approved the new 19-member Cabinet of Yasser Arafat.
(AP, 10/29/02)
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, 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, 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, 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, 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 23, Two Palestinian suicide bombers blew up an explosives-laden fishing boat close to an Israeli patrol craft, wounding four sailors, in the first such attack since the start of the Palestinian uprising.
(AP, 11/23/02)
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, 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 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 29, Tens of thousands of people demonstrated across the Middle East in a day of solidarity with Palestinians in the annual Jerusalem Day, which marked the 1947 UN partition of Palestine.
(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 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 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 13, Hamas marked its 15th anniversary with a rally that drew some 30,000 supporters in southern Gaza.
(SFC, 12/14/02, p.A6)
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 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 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)
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)
2003 Jan 1, In Gaza 3 Palestinian boys were shot and killed by soldiers after scaling a fence around Jewish settlements. Thousands of Palestinians marched in the West Bank and Gaza Strip to mark the 38th anniversary of the founding of Arafat’s Fatah movement.
(AP, 1/2/03)(SFC, 1/2/03, p.A5)
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 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 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 21, Israel razed 62 shops and market stalls in a Palestinian village Tuesday as troops clashed with protesters.
(AP, 1/21/03)
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 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, 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, Yasser Arafat affirmed in a letter to Britain’s Tony Blair that he will honor a pledge to appoint a prime minister. 8 Palestinians were killed, 6 in a mysterious explosion in Gaza City and 2 by Israeli army fire in the West Bank.
(AP, 2/16/03)(SFC, 2/17/03, A3)
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 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 10, The Palestinian parliament approved the new position of PM as part of reforms sought by the US, Europe and Israel to curb Yasser Arafat’s near absolute powers. Mahmoud Abbas became PM without control of the security forces or peace talks. Abbas had a doctorate in history and his books included "The Other Side: The Secret Relationship Between Nazism and the Zionist Movement."
(AP, 3/10/03)(WSJ, 3/11/03, p.A1)(SSFC, 7/13/03, Par p.2)
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 14, Pres. Bush promised to reveal a US "road map" to Middle East peace. It was contingent on the confirmation of a Palestinian prime minister with real authority.
(SFC, 3/15/03, p.A1)
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, The Palestinian parliament established the post of prime minister. It gave Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), the new PM, control of domestic affairs and internal security issues.
(SFC, 3/19/03, p.A3)
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 19, In Palestine Mahmoud Abbas accepted the new post of prime minister.
(SFC, 3/20/03, p.A13)
2003 Mar 20, The Palestinian Authority broke up a Hamas training session and a firefight followed that killed one militant.
(SFC, 3/21/03, p.A15)
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 Mar, In 2007 British media reported that Iran had offered to cut off aid and support for the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah and the Palestinian group Hamas, and promised full transparency on its nuclear program in a secret letter to the US soon after the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Iran also offered to use its influence to support stabilization in Iraq, and in return asked for a halt in hostile American behaviour, an abolition of all sanctions, and the pursuit and repatriation of members of the Mujahedeen Khalq (People's Mujahedeen MKO). Lawrence Wilkerson, former chief of staff to Colin Powell, said: “As soon as it got to the Vice-President's (Dick Cheney) office, the old mantra of 'we don't talk to evil' ... reasserted itself."
(AFP, 1/18/07)
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.
(SFC, 4/12/03, p.A6)
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 a guard in a rush-hour attack at an Israeli train station.
(AP, 4/24/03)
2003 Apr 29, The Palestinian parliament approved Mahmoud Abbas as prime minister, clearing the final obstacle to the launch of a U.S.-backed "road map" to peace.
(AP, 4/29/04)
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, Mahmoud Abbas took office as Palestinian prime minister.
(AP, 9/6/03)
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 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 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.
(WSJ, 6/11/03, p.A1)
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 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 8, Palestinian PM Mahmoud Abbas resigned from a top post in the Fatah movement.
(AP, 7/8/03)
2003 Jul 9, The US cleared $20 million in direct aid to the Palestinians.
(WSJ, 7/10/03, p.A1)
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 25, Palestinian PM Mahmoud Abbas met with Pres. George Bush in Washington DC. Abbas thanked Bush for his efforts in pursuit of a peaceful Middle East and for a recent grant of $20 million in direct aid to the Palestinian Authority.
(AP, 7/26/03)
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 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, 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 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 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 7, Palestinian Pres. Yasser Arafat tapped the parliament speaker, Ahmed Qureia, to take over as prime minister following the resignation of Mahmoud Abbas.
(SFC, 9/8/03, p.A1)(AP, 9/7/08)
2003 Sep 8, Palestinian parliament speaker Ahmed Qureia said he will accept the prime minister's job only if Washington guarantees Israeli compliance with a US-backed peace plan, including a halt to military strikes.
(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 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 25, Edward Said, Palestinian American journalist, critic and author. His books included "Orientalism" and "Culture and Imperialism."
(SSFC, 12/28/03, p.E9)
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 7, Yasser Arafat swore in new Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia and a skeleton emergency Cabinet.
(AP, 10/7/03)
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 15, In the Gaza Strip a remote-controlled bomb exploded under a US diplomatic convoy, ripping apart an armored van and killing three Americans.
(AP, 10/15/03)
2003 Oct 16, Palestinian police arrested 7 suspects in Jebaliya for a deadly attack on US diplomats, briefly exchanging fire with the militants during a nighttime raid. The suspects were members of the Popular Resistance Committees, a group of dozens of armed men from various factions, former members of the security forces and disgruntled followers of Yasser Arafat.
(AP, 10/16/03)(WSJ, 10/17/03, p.A1)
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 23, Masked Palestinian gunmen killed two men suspected of being informers for Israel, then displayed their bodies in the central square of the Tulkarem refugee camp.
(AP, 10/23/03)
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 28, It was reported that Forbes Magazine had estimated Yasser Arafat's fortune at some $300 million, with much of it controlled by adviser Mohammed Rachid.
(SFC, 10/28/03, p.A3)
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, 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 9, Palestinian PM Ahmed Qureia announced the formation of a Cabinet and said he will present it to parliament this week. It left Yasser Arafat in control of security forces.
(AP, 11/9/03)
2003 Nov 12, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat swore in a new Palestinian Cabinet.
(AP, 11/12/08)
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 17, An Egyptian mediator reached agreement with Palestinian leaders to start cease-fire talks among militants within 2 days.
(SFC, 11/18/03, p.A3)
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 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 Nov 30, A Gaza Strip car explosion in Rafah killed Yusuf Matar, an Islamic Jihad activist.
(SFC, 12/1/03, p.A3)
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 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 12, Fadwa Toukan (b.1917), Palestinian poet, died in Nablus at age 86.
(SSFC, 12/14/03, p.A31)
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 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 22, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher (68) was attacked by Islamic extremists at the Al Axsa mosque in Jerusalem. He said the incident would only strengthen his country's resolve to settle the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
(AP, 12/23/03)(SFC, 12/23/03, p.A3)
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)
Go to Palestine 2004-2006
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2001 Jan 1, In Israel 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 2, Pres. Clinton met with Yasser Arafat and coaxed Arafat to curb the Middle East violence.
(SFC, 1/3/01, p.A1)
2001 Jan 3, Yasser Arafat accepted "with reservations" Pres. Clinton’s outline for an Israeli-Palestinian settlement.
(SFC, 1/4/01, p.A8)
2001 Jan 4, It was reported that Saddam Hussein had sent moral support and distributed some 270 checks for $10,000 each to the families of Palestinians killed in clashes with Israelis since Nov.
(SFC, 1/5/01, p.A17)
2001 Jan 8, Palestinian’s rejected Pres. Clinton’s formula for a permanent Mideast settlement.
(SSFC, 12/30/01, p.D2)
2001 Jan 13, The Palestinian Authority executed the 1st 2 Palestinians ever convicted of collaborating with Israel.
(SSFC, 1/14/01, p.D1)
2001 Jan 15, The Palestinian authority offered amnesty to suspected collaborators with Israel.
(SFC, 1/16/01, p.A9)
2001 Jan 17, Hisham Miki (54), head of Palestinian TV, was shot to death by 3 masked men in Gaza City.
(SFC, 1/18/01, p.A13)
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 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 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 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 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 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 4, In Israel a Palestinian suicide bomber killed himself and 3 Israelis in Netanya.
(SSFC, 3/4/01, p.A27)
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 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 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 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 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 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 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 15, Tens of thousands of Palestinians packed town squares in the West Bank town of Ramallah as they marked what they called the day of "catastrophe" in 1948, when they were uprooted and the state of Israel created.
(AP, 5/15/02)
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 25, Three Palestinian suicide bombers attacked in Hadera and Gaza 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 May 31, Faisal Husseini (60), a Palestinian leader, died in Kuwait of a heart attack. He was a member of the PLO’s 18-strong executive committee and head of the Fatah on the West Bank.
(SFC, 6/1/01, p.D5)
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 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 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, In Israel 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, In Israel 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 28, An Israeli helicopter attack in the Gaza Strip destroyed a workshop making munitions and was followed by armed clashes.
(SSFC, 7/29/01, p.A18)
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 2, Palestinian judges sentenced 4 Palestinian men to death for helping Israel’s army carry out lethal attacks. 3 Palestinian men, suspected of collaboration, were recently gunned down in the streets.
(SFC, 8/3/01, p.A12)
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. Al-Tamimi was arrested by Israel weeks after the bombing and sentenced to 16 life terms but released in the 2011 Israel-Hamas prisoner swap and moved to Jordan. 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)(AP, 6/15/20)
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 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 7, In Gaza City Yasser Arafat was reported to be in discussions with Hamas on a power-sharing proposal.
(SFC, 9/8/01, p.A8)
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 11, World leaders expressed outrage at terrorist attacks in NYC and the Pentagon and pledged solidarity with the US. In the West Bank town of Nablus, some 3,000 people celebrated the attacks and chanted "God is great." Later the estimates of the WTC dead dropped to 4,396. In 2004 the count was reduced to 2,749.
(SFC, 9/12/01, p.A14)(SFC, 11/3/01, p.A3)(SFC, 11/21/01, p.A2)(USAT, 10/30/03, p.7A)(WSJ, 1/26/04, p.A1)(www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1M4eH9Kk7I)
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 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, In Israel 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 5, In Israel 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 8, A Palestinian rally turned violent as police forces attempted to quell some 2,000 students supportive of Osama bin Laden. 2 students were killed.
(SFC, 10/9/01, p.A10)
2001 Oct 11, A Palestinian militant blew himself up while trying to plant a bomb along a West Bank road used by Israelis.
(SFC, 10/12/01, p.D3)
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, Britain’s PM Tony Blair said his country favors "a viable Palestinian state, as part of a negotiated and agreed settlement" during a news conference with visiting Yasser Arafat.
(SFC, 10/16/01, p.A8)
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, The Bush administration imposed stringent financial sanctions on Hamas, Hezbollah and 20 other suspected terrorist groups.
(SFC, 11/3/01, p.A5)
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 22, In the Gaza Strip 5 Palestinian boys (6-14) were killed when a bomb exploded beneath them as a walked to school.
(SFC, 11/23/01, p.A17)
2001 Nov 23, Israeli helicopter gunships near Nablus killed Mahmoud Abu Hanoud, a senior Hamas leader, along with 2 assistants.
(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. 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 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 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 27, 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 30, Israeli forces killed 6 Palestinians in 2 incidents in the Gaza Strip.
(SFC, 12/31/01, p.A3)
2002 Jan 3, Israel seized a ship, Karine A, in the Red Sea carrying 50 tons of advanced weapons allegedly for the Palestinian Authority. Most of the equipment was from Iran. Operation Noah’s Ark was not reported until the next day when US envoy Gen. Zinni arrived to promote peace talks. Hezbollah helped broker the deal and it was reported to have been overseen by Fuad Shubaki, a close aide to Arafat. Captain Omar Akawi, a member of Fatwah, said he was in contact with Adel Awadallah, an alias for Adel Mughrabi, a weapons buyer for the Palestinian Authority.
(SFC, 1/5/02, p.A1,9)(SFC, 1/7/02, p.A3)(SFC, 1/8/02, p.A1)
2002 Jan 9, In Israel 2 Hamas gunmen attacked a military post and killed 4 Israeli soldiers. Israel halted work on a mosque next to the Christian Basilica of the Annunciation.
(SFC, 1/10/02, p.A1)
2002 Jan 10, Israel demolished dozens of Palestinian homes in Rafah.
(SFC, 1/11/02, p.A3)
2002 Jan 10, Israel demolished dozens of Palestinian homes in Rafah. The Islamic Jihad said it would resume attacks as Palestinian police arrested 2 of its members
(SFC, 1/11/02, p.A3)(WSJ, 1/11/02, p.A1)
2002 Jan 11, Israeli tanks and bulldozers plowed up runways at the Gaza Int’l. Airport. Palestinian police detained 2 Palestinian officials suspected of smuggling arms into Gaza.
(SFC, 1/11/02, p.A3)(SFC, 1/11/02, p.A6)
2002 Jan 12, Israeli missile boats hit a Palestinian fuel depot in a 4th day of reprisals.
(SSFC, 1/13/02, p.A20)
2002 Jan 14, An Israeli bomb in the West Bank killed Raed Karmi (27), a Palestinian militia leader. A short time later a Palestinian gunmen killed an Israeli and wounded another in a roadside ambush.
(SFC, 1/15/02, p.A8)
2002 Jan 15, Palestinian gunmen killed 2 Israelis in separate attacks in the West Bank and near Jerusalem. Avi Boaz (71) was abducted and killed after visiting with a Palestinian family. The Palestinian Authority arrested Ahmed Saadat, sec. gen’l. of the PFLP.
(SFC, 1/16/02, p.A7)(SFC, 1/17/02, p.A11)
2002 Jan 16, In the West Bank a Palestinian killed another Palestinian, who was mistaken for an Israeli.
(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. Israeli troops took up positions in Ramallah.
(SFC, 1/19/02, p.A1)
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 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 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, 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 5, In Jenin, 3 Palestinians members of the Kameel clan were killed by a mob after a court sentenced them to 15 year jail terms for the murder of another clan member.
(SFC, 2/6/02, p.A9)
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 14, Palestinian Abu Zubaydah (30) was identified as the new chief of operations for al Qaeda and was believed to be organizing al Qaeda remnants for new attacks against the US.
(SFC, 2/14/02, 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.
(SFC, 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, 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, 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.
(SFC, 3/14/02, p.A6)
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, 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 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 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 2, Israel seized control of Bethlehem; Palestinian gunmen forced their way into the Church of the Nativity, the traditional birthplace of Jesus, where they began a 39-day standoff.
(AP, 4/2/03)
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 9, Sec. of State Colin Powell met with Pres. Mubarek in Egypt and stated that he would meet with Yasser Arafat.
(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 12, Arab militant groups including Hezbollah, Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood issued a manifesto declaring that Arab governments had betrayed the Palestinians and called holy war “the religious duty of every Muslim."
(SFC, 4/17/02, p.A14)
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. 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 Palestine Yasser Arafat conceded mistakes and proposed new elections and political changes.
(WSJ, 5/16/02, p.A1)(SFC, 5/16/02, p.A6)
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 16, Yasser Arafat agreed to revamp his cabinet and hold elections within 6 months.
(SFC, 5/17/02, p.A1)
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, Sanabel Al-Fararja (15) and Kayan Al-Saify (16), West Bank teenagers, ended an 8-week trip in the US where they crossed the country and spoke on behalf of peace in Palestine.
(SFC, 5/16/02, p.A13)
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.
(SFC, 5/21/02, p.A1)
2002 May 20, In Lebanon a car bomb killed Jihad Jibril (38), head of local military operations for the PFLP-GC. He was the son of Palestinian guerrilla leader Ahmed Jibril who headed the Syrian-based Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command, founded in 1968. In 2008 a retired Lebanese police officer and a Palestinian were indicted for allegedly working with Israeli intelligence to assassinate Jibril.
(SFC, 5/21/02, p.A16)(AP, 6/18/08)
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 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 May 30, Yasser Arafat signed the Basic Law package that granted his people basic rights and regulated government operations.
(SFC, 5/31/02, p.A10)
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 2, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat offered Cabinet posts to Hamas and other militant groups as part of his government reshuffle.
(SFC, 6/3/02, p.A1)
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, 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 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 13, Pres. Bush met with Saudi Prince Saud al-Faisal and indicated that he would support the creation of a Palestinian state.
(SFC, 6/14/02, p.15)
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.
(Reuters, 6/17/02)
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, The Palestinian Authority, under pressure from President Bush to dump Yasser Arafat as its leader, announced that presidential elections will be held in mid-January.
(Reuters, 6/26/02)(SFC, 6/27/02, p.A8)
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 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 17, In Israel 2 bombers blew themselves up in Tel Aviv and injured over 40 people.
(WSJ, 7/18/02, p.A1)
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 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 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 29, Thousands of Palestinians defied the Israeli army's around-the-clock curfew for the second straight day, and took to the streets of Nablus as shops and banks opened to accommodate them.
(AP, 7/29/02)
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 7 people including 5 Americans and wounding more than 70. Hamas claimed responsibility.
(AP, 7/31/02)(SFC, 8/2/02, p.A1)
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 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 16, Sabri al-Banna, aka Abu Nidal (65), Palestinian guerrilla commander and head of the Fatah-Revolutionary Council, died from gunshot wounds in his Baghdad home. Iraqi officials said he killed himself.
(Reuters, 8/19/02)(WSJ, 8/20/02, p.A18)(AP, 8/21/02)
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 24, A Palestinian militia shot and killed a Palestinian woman suspected of collaborating with Israel, then dumped her bullet-riddled body on a street in the West Bank town of Tulkarem. The next day her son said that Palestinian gunmen tortured him until he invented a story about his mother's involvement.
(AP, 8/24/02)(AP, 8/26/02)
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 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 11, The 21-member Palestinian Cabinet resigned after Yasser Arafat lost a showdown with parliament, the most serious challenge to the Palestinian leader since he returned from exile in 1994.
(AP, 9/11/02)
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 13, Iraq will pay up to $5,000 each to Palestinians whose home is demolished in the Israeli campaign against suspected militants, a pro-Iraqi group said Friday, hinting also that Iraq is supplying weapons to the Palestinians.
(AP, 9/13/02)
2002 Sep 17, The United States and its key global partners in Middle East peacemaking agreed to try to establish a provisional Palestinian state next year.
(AP, 9/17/02)
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 defiant Yasser Arafat dug in at his besieged West Bank compound, rejecting Israel's demand to hand over the names of all those holed up inside.
(AP, 9/23/03)
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 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 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 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 Oct 29, The Palestinian parliament approved the new 19-member Cabinet of Yasser Arafat.
(AP, 10/29/02)
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, 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, 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, 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, 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 23, Two Palestinian suicide bombers blew up an explosives-laden fishing boat close to an Israeli patrol craft, wounding four sailors, in the first such attack since the start of the Palestinian uprising.
(AP, 11/23/02)
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, 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 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 29, Tens of thousands of people demonstrated across the Middle East in a day of solidarity with Palestinians in the annual Jerusalem Day, which marked the 1947 UN partition of Palestine.
(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 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 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 13, Hamas marked its 15th anniversary with a rally that drew some 30,000 supporters in southern Gaza.
(SFC, 12/14/02, p.A6)
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 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 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)
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)
2003 Jan 1, In Gaza 3 Palestinian boys were shot and killed by soldiers after scaling a fence around Jewish settlements. Thousands of Palestinians marched in the West Bank and Gaza Strip to mark the 38th anniversary of the founding of Arafat’s Fatah movement.
(AP, 1/2/03)(SFC, 1/2/03, p.A5)
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 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 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 21, Israel razed 62 shops and market stalls in a Palestinian village Tuesday as troops clashed with protesters.
(AP, 1/21/03)
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 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, 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, Yasser Arafat affirmed in a letter to Britain’s Tony Blair that he will honor a pledge to appoint a prime minister. 8 Palestinians were killed, 6 in a mysterious explosion in Gaza City and 2 by Israeli army fire in the West Bank.
(AP, 2/16/03)(SFC, 2/17/03, A3)
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 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 10, The Palestinian parliament approved the new position of PM as part of reforms sought by the US, Europe and Israel to curb Yasser Arafat’s near absolute powers. Mahmoud Abbas became PM without control of the security forces or peace talks. Abbas had a doctorate in history and his books included "The Other Side: The Secret Relationship Between Nazism and the Zionist Movement."
(AP, 3/10/03)(WSJ, 3/11/03, p.A1)(SSFC, 7/13/03, Par p.2)
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 14, Pres. Bush promised to reveal a US "road map" to Middle East peace. It was contingent on the confirmation of a Palestinian prime minister with real authority.
(SFC, 3/15/03, p.A1)
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, The Palestinian parliament established the post of prime minister. It gave Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), the new PM, control of domestic affairs and internal security issues.
(SFC, 3/19/03, p.A3)
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 19, In Palestine Mahmoud Abbas accepted the new post of prime minister.
(SFC, 3/20/03, p.A13)
2003 Mar 20, The Palestinian Authority broke up a Hamas training session and a firefight followed that killed one militant.
(SFC, 3/21/03, p.A15)
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 Mar, In 2007 British media reported that Iran had offered to cut off aid and support for the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah and the Palestinian group Hamas, and promised full transparency on its nuclear program in a secret letter to the US soon after the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Iran also offered to use its influence to support stabilization in Iraq, and in return asked for a halt in hostile American behaviour, an abolition of all sanctions, and the pursuit and repatriation of members of the Mujahedeen Khalq (People's Mujahedeen MKO). Lawrence Wilkerson, former chief of staff to Colin Powell, said: “As soon as it got to the Vice-President's (Dick Cheney) office, the old mantra of 'we don't talk to evil' ... reasserted itself."
(AFP, 1/18/07)
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.
(SFC, 4/12/03, p.A6)
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 a guard in a rush-hour attack at an Israeli train station.
(AP, 4/24/03)
2003 Apr 29, The Palestinian parliament approved Mahmoud Abbas as prime minister, clearing the final obstacle to the launch of a U.S.-backed "road map" to peace.
(AP, 4/29/04)
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, Mahmoud Abbas took office as Palestinian prime minister.
(AP, 9/6/03)
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 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 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.
(WSJ, 6/11/03, p.A1)
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 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 8, Palestinian PM Mahmoud Abbas resigned from a top post in the Fatah movement.
(AP, 7/8/03)
2003 Jul 9, The US cleared $20 million in direct aid to the Palestinians.
(WSJ, 7/10/03, p.A1)
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 25, Palestinian PM Mahmoud Abbas met with Pres. George Bush in Washington DC. Abbas thanked Bush for his efforts in pursuit of a peaceful Middle East and for a recent grant of $20 million in direct aid to the Palestinian Authority.
(AP, 7/26/03)
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 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, 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 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 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 7, Palestinian Pres. Yasser Arafat tapped the parliament speaker, Ahmed Qureia, to take over as prime minister following the resignation of Mahmoud Abbas.
(SFC, 9/8/03, p.A1)(AP, 9/7/08)
2003 Sep 8, Palestinian parliament speaker Ahmed Qureia said he will accept the prime minister's job only if Washington guarantees Israeli compliance with a US-backed peace plan, including a halt to military strikes.
(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 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 25, Edward Said, Palestinian American journalist, critic and author. His books included "Orientalism" and "Culture and Imperialism."
(SSFC, 12/28/03, p.E9)
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 7, Yasser Arafat swore in new Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia and a skeleton emergency Cabinet.
(AP, 10/7/03)
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 15, In the Gaza Strip a remote-controlled bomb exploded under a US diplomatic convoy, ripping apart an armored van and killing three Americans.
(AP, 10/15/03)
2003 Oct 16, Palestinian police arrested 7 suspects in Jebaliya for a deadly attack on US diplomats, briefly exchanging fire with the militants during a nighttime raid. The suspects were members of the Popular Resistance Committees, a group of dozens of armed men from various factions, former members of the security forces and disgruntled followers of Yasser Arafat.
(AP, 10/16/03)(WSJ, 10/17/03, p.A1)
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 23, Masked Palestinian gunmen killed two men suspected of being informers for Israel, then displayed their bodies in the central square of the Tulkarem refugee camp.
(AP, 10/23/03)
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 28, It was reported that Forbes Magazine had estimated Yasser Arafat's fortune at some $300 million, with much of it controlled by adviser Mohammed Rachid.
(SFC, 10/28/03, p.A3)
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, 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 9, Palestinian PM Ahmed Qureia announced the formation of a Cabinet and said he will present it to parliament this week. It left Yasser Arafat in control of security forces.
(AP, 11/9/03)
2003 Nov 12, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat swore in a new Palestinian Cabinet.
(AP, 11/12/08)
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 17, An Egyptian mediator reached agreement with Palestinian leaders to start cease-fire talks among militants within 2 days.
(SFC, 11/18/03, p.A3)
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 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 Nov 30, A Gaza Strip car explosion in Rafah killed Yusuf Matar, an Islamic Jihad activist.
(SFC, 12/1/03, p.A3)
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 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 12, Fadwa Toukan (b.1917), Palestinian poet, died in Nablus at age 86.
(SSFC, 12/14/03, p.A31)
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 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 22, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher (68) was attacked by Islamic extremists at the Al Axsa mosque in Jerusalem. He said the incident would only strengthen his country's resolve to settle the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
(AP, 12/23/03)(SFC, 12/23/03, p.A3)
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)
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