Events in the year 2002 in the Palestinian territories.

Incumbents

Palestinian National Authority (non-state administrative authority) * President - Yasser Arafat (

Fatah Fatah ( ar, فتح '), formerly the Palestinian National Liberation Movement, is a Palestinian nationalist social democratic political party and the largest faction of the confederated multi-party Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and ...

)

Events

* January 2 - Karine A Affair: Israeli naval commando captures the Palestinian Authority owned freighter "Karin A" in the Red Sea, en route to Gaza. The vessel is found to be carrying 50 tons of weapons from Iran, including short-range

Katyusha rockets The Katyusha ( rus, Катю́ша, p=kɐˈtʲuʂə, a=Ru-Катюша.ogg) is a type of rocket artillery first built and fielded by the Soviet Union in World War II. Multiple rocket launchers such as these deliver explosives to a target area ...

, antitank 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 Shomron in the northern West Bank. The PFLP claims responsibility. * February 22 – Bombing attack on a supermarket in the Israeli settlement of Efrat. * March 7 – Bombing attack on a hotel in Ariel. * March 29 – May 3 ''

Operation Defensive Shield Operation "Defensive Shield" ( he, מִבְצָע חוֹמַת מָגֵן, ''Mivtza Homat Magen'', literally "Operation Shield Wall") was a large-scale military operation conducted by the Israel Defense Forces in 2002 during the Second Intifada ...

'' – Large-scale Israeli operation conducted into Palestinian towns and villages in the West Bank aimed at halting Palestinian

suicide bombings A suicide attack is any violent attack, usually entailing the attacker detonating an explosive, where the attacker has accepted their own death as a direct result of the attacking method used. Suicide attacks have occurred throughout histor ...

against civilians in Israel during the

Second Intifada The Second Intifada ( ar, الانتفاضة الثانية, ; he, האינתיפאדה השנייה, ), also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada ( ar, انتفاضة الأقصى, label=none, '), was a major Palestinian uprising against Israel. ...

. * March 31 – Bombing attack on a medical center in the Israeli settlement of Efrat. * April – The Israeli government approves the construction of a continuous security barrier 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 Jenin'' – Israel attacks Palestinian militants in the city of

Jenin Jenin (; ar, ') is a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank. It serves as the administrative center of the Jenin Governorate of the State of Palestine and is a major center for the surrounding towns. In 2007, Jenin had a population of app ...

. * April 2 – May 10 '' Battle of Bethlehem'' – 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 The Battle of Nablus was fought from April 5 to April 8, 2002 in the Palestinian city of Nablus in the West Bank between the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Palestinian forces, as part of Operation Defensive Shield in the Second Intifada. It re ...

'' – Israel attacks Palestinian militants in the city of

Nablus Nablus ( ; ar, نابلس, Nābulus ; he, שכם, Šəḵem, ISO 259-3: ; Samaritan Hebrew: , romanized: ; el, Νεάπολις, Νeápolis) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a populati ...

. * April 15 – Palestinian political figure Marwan Barghouti is captured by the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...

Palestinian Authority The Palestinian National Authority (PA or PNA; ar, السلطة الوطنية الفلسطينية '), commonly known as the Palestinian Authority and officially the State of Palestine,

administered city of

Ramallah Ramallah ( , ; ar, رام الله, , God's Height) is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank that serves as the ''de facto'' administrative capital of the State of Palestine. It is situated on the Judaean Mountains, north of Jerusale ...

. * June 22 – Israel launches

Operation Determined Path Operation "Determined Path" ( he, מבצע דרך נחושה ''Mivtza Derekh Nehosha'') was a military operation carried out by the Israel Defense Forces, starting June 22, 2002, following Operation "Defensive Shield", with the goal of reaching ...

. * July 16 – Emmanuel bus attack: Nine Israelis are killed in an attack on Dan bus No. 189 traveling from

Bnei Brak Bnei Brak or Bene Beraq ( he, בְּנֵי בְּרַק ) is a city located on the central Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean Israeli coastal plain, coastal plain in Israel, just east of Tel Aviv. A center of Haredi Judaism, Bnei Brak covers an are ...

to Emmanuel in the northern West Bank. * July 22 – An Israeli warplane fires a one-ton bomb at an apartment in a densely populated neighborhood of Gaza City, killing

Salah Shehade Salah Mustafa Muhammad Shehade صلاح شحادة (or Shehadeh, Shahadeh; 24 February 1953 – 22 July 2002) was a member of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas. He led the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades military wing of Hamas, until his as ...

, top commander of Hamas's military wing (the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades), and 14 civilians are killed including Shehade's wife and nine children. * August 14 – Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti 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 Palestinian administered city of

in response to a

suicide bombing A suicide attack is any violent attack, usually entailing the attacker detonating an explosive, where the attacker has accepted their own death as a direct result of the attacking method used. Suicide attacks have occurred throughout histor ...

that killed 14 people.

Notable deaths

* August 16 - Abu Nidal, 65, founder of Fatah - The Revolutionary Council, a militant Palestinian group, commonly known as the Abu Nidal Organization.

Incumbents

Events

Notable deaths

References

See also