The Palestine Chronology

Outside the Beit El settlement nr. Ramallah, IDF troops shoot and kill a Palestinian driver at a checkpoint after he shoots and injures 3 Israeli soldiers (1 seriously). The Palestinian, later identified as a police officer, opened fire when an Israeli soldier approached his driver’s side window to perform a security check. After the incident, the IDF imposes a partial closure on the Ramallah area, setting up mobile checkpoints, shutting down many roads, and barring nonresidents from entering the city (more restrictions will be implemented by 2/1). Later, IDF troops shoot and injure a Palestinian driver nr. Ramallah as he allegedly attempts to ram them (none of whom are injured); violently disperse Palestinian youths throwing stones and protesting the closure of a nearby checkpoint (1 Palestinian is arrested and there are no serious injuries). Meanwhile, IDF troops conduct raids and house searches in 1 village nr. Ramallah, Nablus and 1 nearby village, Hebron and 1 village nearby, and Tulkarm, arresting 11 Palestinians, assaulting 1, and issuing an arrest summons to 1; patrol in al-Fawar r.c. and 3 villages nr. Hebron, as well as 1 village nr. Salfit. Israeli forces confiscate construction materials and equipment from a site nr. Hebron. Israeli settlers shoot at and damage a Palestinian home nr. Salfit late at night. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces demolish a home in Sur al-Bahir late at night; assault a Palestinian in Ras al-Amud, moderately injuring him; arrest 5 Palestinians on raids and at checkpoints in alThawri, Wadi al-Juz, Silwan, Shaykh Jarrah, and in the Old City. Also, a 2d Palestinian youth turns himself in to the Israeli police in connection with the 1/30 stabbing outside the Old City. (HA, JP, MNA, WAFA, YA 1/31; PCHR 2/4)

The Israeli govt. approves a plan to create a new area at the Western Wall for genderdesegregated prayer, responding to years of complaints from Jewish feminists and other non-Orthodox Israelis about the discriminatory nature of the existing prayer spaces. (HA, NYT 1/31)

Heavy rains in Gaza cause a tunnel to collapse nr. Gaza City, killing 7 mbrs. of Hamas. The group will confirm the deaths on 1/28 and say that 4 other men survived the accident. Elsewhere in the oPt, the IDF bars Palestinians from the Beit Horon settlement where 2 Palestinians attacked Israeli settlers on 1/25; locks down, for the 2d day in a row, nearby Bayt ‘Ur al-Tahta village where 1 of the alleged attackers was from. IDF troops conduct latenight raids and house searches in 2 villages nr. Jenin, arresting 2 Palestinians and issuing an arrest summons to 1; patrol in 5 villages nr. Hebron. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces arrest 2 Palestinians on raids in the Old City and al-‘Izzariya. (MNA, TOI, WAFA 1/26; JP, TOI 1/27; MNA, PCHR 1/28)

For a 3d day in a row, IDF troops stationed along Gaza’s border open fire on Palestinian farmers nr. Gaza City, causing no injuries. In the West Bank, IDF troops conduct a raid in Tubas, arresting 1 Palestinian and sparking clashes with stone-throwing Palestinian youths; 3 Palestinians are injured. In c. Hebron, around 80 Israeli settlers break into 2 empty homes, claiming that they were legally purchased from Palestinians (the Israeli govt. is caught unaware of their actions). The break-in sparks clashes with stone-throwing Palestinians in the area, which the IDF violently disperses; there are no serious injuries. Elsewhere, the IDF conducts raids and house searches in Balata r.c. nr. Nablus, Jenin, and 1 village nr. Tulkarm, arresting 5 Palestinians; patrols in 7 villages nr. Hebron and 1 nr. Ramallah. Israeli forces raze a small swath of land nr. Tulkarm, a greenhouse and water well in a village nr. Hebron, and 2 EU-funded structures in the E1 area nr. Jerusalem. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces demolish 3 housing structures in al-‘Izzariya; arrest 3 Palestinians on late-night raids in the Old City. (HA, MNA, WAFA, YA 1/21; JP 1/22; PCHR 1/28)

In Jabal Mukabir, Israeli forces punitively demolish and seal with cement the respective homes of 2 Palestinians killed in confrontations with Israeli forces on 10/13/2015 (Israeli authorities initially planned to demolish both homes, but it was later proven that the 2d home belonged to the deceased’s sister). Meanwhile, Israeli forces shoot and injure a Palestinian nr. the Old City after he allegedly attempts to attack a group of Jewish Israelis (1 Israeli is lightly injured during the confrontation). Israeli forces also arrest 2 Palestinians in the Old City on suspicion that they were planning a stabbing attack and 2 Palestinians on raids in Sur alBahir and Silwan. In the West Bank, more than 2,000 Palestinians attend a funeral in a village nr. Ramallah. A number of stone-throwing mourners then clash with IDF troops in the area; 11 Palestinians are injured. The IDF conducts raids and house searches in 1 village nr. Jenin, 1 nr. Tulkarm, and 4 nr. Hebron, arresting 7 Palestinians and issuing an arrest summons to 1; patrols in 1 village each nr. Hebron, Ramallah, and Qalqilya. Israeli settlers assault and injure a Palestinian taxi driver nr. Jenin. In Gaza, IDF troops stationed along the border fence open fire on Palestinian farmers attempting to work e. of Gaza City, causing no injuries or damage. (HA, MNA, TOI, WAFA, YA 1/4; PCHR 1/7)

Hezbollah operatives target 2 IDF vehicles in a bomb attack nr. Shaba‘a Farms along the Israel-Lebanon border, causing a disputed number of injuries and damage. The attack is reportedly retaliation for the 12/20 killing of a senior Hezbollah officer, Samir Kuntar. (HA, JP, NYT, YA 1/4)

Small-scale violence continues in the Jerusalem and Hebron areas. A Palestinian shoots and injures an Israeli soldier outside al-Ibrahimi Mosque in c. Hebron, and another shoots and lightly injures an Israeli soldier outside a junction nr. Hebron; both suspects evade arrest. Later, Israeli forces arrest a Palestinian in Jabal Mukabir, East Jerusalem, after he allegedly attempts to stab an Israeli at a bus station. Meanwhile, IDF troops conduct raids in Dahaysha r.c. nr. Bethlehem, arresting 1 Palestinian and sparking clashes with stonethrowing Palestinian youths; 3 Palestinians are injured. Israeli forces conduct further raids and house searches in Aida r.c. and 1 village nr. Bethlehem, Hebron and 2 villages nearby, 2 villages nr. Nablus, al-Fara‘a r.c. nr. Tubas, and 2 neighborhoods in East Jerusalem, arresting 17 Palestinians and issuing arrest summons to 15; patrol in 2 villages nr. Hebron, 1 nr. Salfit, Qalqilya, and 3 villages nr. Ramallah. While renovating their home in the Old City, Israeli settlers break 6 holes through the wall of an adjacent Palestinian home. When the Israeli police arrive, they ask the settlers to repair the damage. (HA, JP, MNA, TOI, WAFA, YA 1/3; JP, MNA 1/4; PCHR 1/7)