2002 in the Palestinian territories
Encyclopedia
Events in the year 2002 in the Palestinian territories
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(non-state administrative authority)
Palestinian territories
The Palestinian territories comprise the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Since the Palestinian Declaration of Independence in 1988, the region is today recognized by three-quarters of the world's countries as the State of Palestine or simply Palestine, although this status is not recognized by the...
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Incumbents
Palestinian National AuthorityPalestinian National Authority
The Palestinian Authority is the administrative organization established to govern parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip...
(non-state administrative authority)
- PresidentPresident of the Palestinian National AuthorityThe President of the Palestinian National Authority is the highest-ranking political position in the Palestinian National Authority ....
- Yasser ArafatYasser ArafatMohammed Yasser Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini , popularly known as Yasser Arafat or by his kunya Abu Ammar , was a Palestinian leader and a Laureate of the Nobel Prize. He was Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization , President of the Palestinian National Authority...
(FatahFatahFataḥ is a major Palestinian political party and the largest faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization , a multi-party confederation. In Palestinian politics it is on the left-wing of the spectrum; it is mainly nationalist, although not predominantly socialist. Its official goals are found...
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Events
- January 2 - Karine A Affair: Israeli naval commando captures the Palestinian Authority owned freighterCargo shipA cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...
"Karin A" in the Red SeaRed SeaThe Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...
, on route to Gaza. The vessal is found to be carrying 50 tons of weapons from IranIranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, including short-range Katyusha rockets, antitankAnti-tank warfareAnti-tank warfare was created by the need to seek technology and tactics to destroy tanks and their supporting infantry during the First World War...
missiles and high explosives. - February 16 – Karnei Shomron pizzeria bombing: Three Israeli teenagers are killed in a suicide bombing at a pizzeria in the Israeli settlement of Karnei ShomronKarnei ShomronKarnei Shomron is an Israeli settlement and local council established in 1977 in the northwestern West Bank, east of Kfar Sava. It is north-east of Tel Aviv and north of Jerusalem. In 2006, the population of Karnei Shomron was 6,300...
in the northern West BankWest BankThe West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
. The PFLP claims responsibility. - February 22 – Bombing attack on a supermarket in the Israeli settlement of EfratEfratEfrat , or officially Efrata , is an Israeli settlement established in 1983 and a local council in the Judean Mountains of the West Bank. The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this...
. - March 7 – Bombing attack on a hotel in ArielAriel (city)Ariel is an Israeli settlement and a city in the West Bank. Ariel was established in 1978. Its population at the end of 2009 was 17,600, including 7,000 immigrants who came to Israel after 1990. It is the fourth largest Jewish settlement city in the West Bank., after Modi'in Illit, Beitar Illit,...
. - March 29 – May 3 Operation Defensive ShieldOperation Defensive ShieldOperation Defensive Shield was a large-scale military operation conducted by the Israel Defense Forces in 2002, during the course of the Second Intifada. It was the largest military operation in the West Bank since the 1967 Six-Day War. The operation was an attempt by the Israeli army to stop the...
– Large-scale Israeli operation conducted into Palestinian towns and villages in the West BankWest BankThe West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
aimed at halting Palestinian suicide bombings against civilians in Israel during the Second Intifada. - March 31 – Bombing attack on a medical center in the Israeli settlement of EfratEfratEfrat , or officially Efrata , is an Israeli settlement established in 1983 and a local council in the Judean Mountains of the West Bank. The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this...
. - April – The Israeli government approves the construction of a continuous security barrierIsraeli West Bank barrierThe Israeli West Bank barrier is a separation barrier being constructed by the State of Israel along and within the West Bank. Upon completion, the barrier’s total length will be approximately...
which would separate the Palestinians in the West Bank from Israeli population centers, in order to prevent the infiltration of Palestinian Arab terrorists. - April 1 - April 11 Battle of JeninBattle of JeninThe Battle of Jenin took place in the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank. Israel Defense Forces entered the camp, and other areas under the administration of the Palestinian Authority, during the Second Intifada, as part of Operation Defensive Shield...
– Israel attacks Palestinian militants in the city of JeninJeninJenin is the largest town in the Northern West Bank, and the third largest city overall. It serves as the administrative center of the Jenin Governorate and is a major agricultural center for the surrounding towns. In 2007, the city had a population of 120,004 not including the adjacent refugee...
. - April 2 – May 10 Battle of BethlehemSiege of the Church of the Nativity in BethlehemThe Siege of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem lasted from April 2 to May 10, 2002 in Bethlehem in the West Bank. As part of Operation Defensive Shield, the Israel Defense Forces occupied Bethlehem and tried to capture wanted Palestinian militants. Dozens of them fled into the Church of the...
– Israel occupies Bethlehem and tries to capture wanted Palestinian militants who were hiding in the Church of the Nativity. - April 3 – April 8 Battle of Nablus – Israel attacks Palestinian militants in the city of NablusNablusNablus is a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank, approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 126,132. Located in a strategic position between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a Palestinian commercial and cultural center.Founded by the...
. - April 15 – Palestinian political figure Marwan BarghoutiMarwan BarghoutiMarwan Hasib Ibrahim Barghouti is a Palestinian political figure. He is regarded as a leader of the First and Second Intifadas. Barghouti at one time supported the peace process, but later became disillusioned, and after 2000 went on to become the main figure behind the Al-Aqsa Intifada in the...
is captured by the Israel Defense ForcesIsrael Defense ForcesThe Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
in Palestinian AuthorityPalestinian National AuthorityThe Palestinian Authority is the administrative organization established to govern parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip...
administered city of RamallahRamallahRamallah is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank located 10 kilometers north of Jerusalem, adjacent to al-Bireh. It currently serves as the de facto administrative capital of the Palestinian National Authority...
. - June 22 – Israel launches Operation Determined PathOperation Determined PathOperation Determined Path was a military operation carried out by the Israel Defense Forces, starting June 22, 2002, following Operation Defensive Shield, with the goal of reaching some of the unreached objectives set forth for Defensive Shield, especially in the northern West Bank.-Background:In...
. - July 16 – Emmanuel bus attack: Nine Israelis are killed in an attack on DanDan Bus CompanyDan Bus Company is an Israeli bus company based in Tel Aviv. It operates local bus service in the Tel Aviv Metropolitan Area as well as some intercity bus services between the Gush Dan area and nearby regions such as Samaria, and a connection between Bne Brak and Jerusalem. Dan operates 1,200...
bus No. 189 traveling from Bnei Brak to Emmanuel in the northern West BankWest BankThe West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
. - July 22 – An Israeli warplane fires a one ton bomb at an apartment in a densely populated neighborhood of Gaza City, killing Salah Shehade, top commander of Hamas's military wing (the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam BrigadesIzz ad-Din al-Qassam BrigadesThe Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades is the military wing of the Palestinian Islamist fundamentalist socio-political organisation Hamas. Created in 1992, under the direction of Yahya Ayyash, the primary objective of the group was to build a coherent military organisation to support the goals of...
), and 14 civilians are killed including Shehade's wife and nine children. - August 14 – Palestinian leader Marwan BarghoutiMarwan BarghoutiMarwan Hasib Ibrahim Barghouti is a Palestinian political figure. He is regarded as a leader of the First and Second Intifadas. Barghouti at one time supported the peace process, but later became disillusioned, and after 2000 went on to become the main figure behind the Al-Aqsa Intifada in the...
is sentenced to five life sentences after being convicted by a civilian Israeli court on charges of murdering Israeli civilians and membership in a terrorist organisation. - October 25 – Hundreds of Israeli soldiers, backed by scores of tanks and other military vehicles, take control of the PalestinianPalestinian National AuthorityThe Palestinian Authority is the administrative organization established to govern parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip...
administered city of JeninJeninJenin is the largest town in the Northern West Bank, and the third largest city overall. It serves as the administrative center of the Jenin Governorate and is a major agricultural center for the surrounding towns. In 2007, the city had a population of 120,004 not including the adjacent refugee...
in response to a suicide bombing that killed 14 people.
Notable deaths
- August 16 - Abu NidalAbu NidalAbu Nidal , born Sabri Khalil al-Banna , was the founder of Fatah–The Revolutionary Council , a militant Palestinian group more commonly known as the Abu Nidal Organization...
, 65, founder of Fatah - The Revolutionary Council, a militant Palestinian group, commonly known as the Abu Nidal Organization.
See also
- 2002 in Israel2002 in Israel-Incumbents:* Prime Minister of Israel – Ariel Sharon * President of Israel – Moshe Katsav* Chief of General Staff - Shaul Mofaz until July 9, Moshe Ya'alon* Government of Israel - 29th Government of Israel-Events:...