Chronology: July 16, 2009 - October 15, 2009

Abbreviations

AFP, Agence France Presse

Al-Ahram

Al-Arabiya, Alarabiya.net

Al-Jazeera, Aljazeera.net

AN, ArabicNews.com

AA, Asharq Alawsat

AP, Associated Press

BBC, www.bbc.co.uk

CBS

CNN, www.cnn.com

CSM, Christian Science Monitor

DS, Daily Star

DT, Daily Times

Dawn, www.dawn.com

El Khabar

Ennahar, www.ennaharonline.com

EurasiaNet, www.eurasianet.org

FT, Financial Times

FN, Fox News

The Guardian

GN, Gulf News

Haaretz

Hurriyet

The Independent

IPI, International Press Institute

JP, The Jerusalem Post

KT, Khaleej Times

LAT, LA Times

McClatchy

Media Line

MEO, Middle East Online

MSNBC

NYT, New York Times

RFE-RL, Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty

Reuters

TDN, Turkish Daily News

TP, Turkish Press

VOA, Voice of America

WP, The Washington Post

Ya Libnan

YO, Yemen Observer

YT, Yemen Times

Zaman

Arab-Israeli Conflict

See also Israel, Palestinian Affairs

Aug. 10: Israeli warplanes fired retaliatory missiles at a tunnel connecting the Gaza Strip and Egypt after rockets were fired into southern Israel. The destroyed tunnel was one of hundreds used to smuggle goods from Egypt into the Palestinian territory. [Reuters, 8/10]

Aug. 24: The Israel Defense Force (IDF) shot two Palestinian men across the Israel-Gaza border, killing one. Three rockets or mortar shells were later fired from northern Gaza into Israel, injuring an Israeli soldier. An Israeli military spokeswoman said the Palestinian men were acting suspiciously and ignored "the usual warnings" to move away from the border. [AFP, BBC, 8/24]

Aug. 25: An Israeli Air Force (IAF) strike on a tunnel between the Gaza Strip and Egypt killed at least three Palestinian smugglers, according to Hamas officials. The IDF said the attack was in response to a rocket attack from Gaza into southern Israel that injured an Israeli soldier the day before. [BBC, 8/25]

Aug. 31: A Palestinian boy died at Jerusalem's Hadassah Medical Center after being shot in a clash with Israeli troops in the West Bank the night before. The Israeli military said the boy —Muhammad Riad Nayaf, 15 —and other youths had hurled Molotov cocktails at a guard post near a Jewish settlement, while Palestinian police said that he had been throwing stones. [AP, BBC, 9/1]

Sept. 1: Two Hamas fighters were killed near Jabaliya in the Gaza Strip, according to medical sources. The cause of their deaths was unclear, with various reports citing Israeli action or a malfunctioning explosive device that the men were planting near the border. [Al-Jazeera, 9/2]

Sept. 15: A United Nations' fact-finding mission, headed by former chief prosecutor of UN International Criminal Tribunals Richard Goldstone, released a report accusing Israel and Hamas of war crimes and possible crimes against humanity during the December 2008–January 2009 war in Gaza. The Goldstone Report condemned Palestinian rocket attacks and Israel's treatment of Gaza's civilian population. It was immediately rejected by Israeli President Shimon Peres. [NYT, 9/15, 9/16]

Sept. 25: An IAF missile strike killed three Islamic Jihad members in the Tufa area east of Gaza City. Israeli officials said the men were preparing to launch rockets into southern Israel and were responsible for rocket attacks the week before. [WP, 9/26]

Sept. 27: A group of about 150 Palestinian Muslims clashed with Israeli police after the police escorted a group reported to be either Jewish extremists or French tourists into al-Haram al-Sharif, or the Temple Mount. According to Palestinian officials, at least 40 Palestinians were injured, and Israeli police reported that 17 officers were injured and 11 Palestinians were arrested. [NYT, 9/27, BBC, 9/28]

Oct. 2: Hamas released a two-minute "proof of life" tape showing kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit alive and healthy in exchange for Israel's release of 20 female Palestinian prisoners. Shalit was captured by Palestinian militants in a cross-border raid in June 2006. [NYT, 10/2]

Central Asia and the Caucasus

See also Pakistan, Turkey

July 31: One of Uzbekistan's most prominent clerics, Imam Anvar Tursunov, was stabbed multiple times at his home in Tashkent, leaving him in critical condition. The motives behind the attack were not immediately clear. [RFE...