The Palestine Chronology

In the West Bank, IDF troops arrest 5 Palestinians during late-night raids nr. Nablus, Hebron, and Qalqilya; and patrol nr. Hebron and Nablus during the day. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces arrest 16 Palestinians during late-night raids in Shu‘fat r.c. and Issawiyya. (PCHR 6/1)

Approximately 60,000 Israelis march through the Old City of Jerusalem in commemoration of Jerusalem Day, a celebration of the IDF’s 1967 capture of the city. Hundreds of left-wing activists and Palestinians participate in a counter-demonstration outside the Old City, sparking minor clashes (there are no serious injuries). Approximately 700 Jewish settlers visit Haram al-Sharif; Israeli forces arrest 15 of them for praying at the sanctuary, along with 3 Islamic Waqf guards. Elsewhere in East Jerusalem, Israeli forces arrest 1 Palestinian during a raid in Shu‘fat r.c. In the West Bank, IDF troops arrest 2 Palestinians nr. Nablus when they are discovered to be carrying pipe bombs. They also assault and arrest 2 Palestinian youths walking home from school in Aida r.c. nr. Bethlehem, and arrest 11 Palestinians during late-night raids nr. Qalqilya, Tulkarm, Nablus, and Ramallah. In Gaza, 5 Palestinians are injured in an explosion at an unspecified “resistance site” nr. Rafah, according to medical sources. Along Gaza’s border, IDF troops open fire on Palestinian agricultural fields nr. Gaza City, causing no damage or injuries. In n. Israel, unidentified assailants torch 2 cars and spray price-tag graffiti on a Palestinian building. (MNA, TOI, WAFA 5/24; PCHR 5/25; PCHR 6/1)

In the West Bank, an Israeli settler shoots and injures a Palestinian after Palestinian youths throw rocks at passing vehicles outside Ramallah. The IDF then arrests the injured Palestinian and closes the entrance to nearby Silwad village. Palestinian businesses in Tulkarm hold a 1-day strike and Palestinian protesters shut down the United Nations (UN) office in Ramallah in solidarity with the 1,500-plus Palestinian prisoners observing the Dignity Strike and to protest the organization’s alleged inaction on their behalf. Israeli forces demolish the inner walls of a home nr. Hebron. IDF troops arrest 8 Palestinians and confiscate 1 car during late-night raids in and around Hebron, Tubas, and Bethlehem; and patrol nr. Hebron during the day. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces violently disperse Palestinians demonstrating in Qalandia and Sheikh Jarrah in solidarity with the Dignity Strikers; 1 Palestinian is injured and arrested. They also arrest 27 Palestinians during latenight raids in Silwan, Shu‘fat, Abu Dis, Issawiyya, and Hizma. In Israel, Israeli forces demolish the Bedouin village of al-‘Araqib for the 113th time since 2010. (HA, MNA, WAFA 5/17; MNA, PCHR 5/18; PCHR 5/25)

Off Gaza’s coast, Israeli naval forces open fire on Palestinian fishing boats nr. Bayt Lahiya on 2 separate occasions and later nr. Jabaliya r. c., causing no injuries. Along Gaza’s border, Israeli forces spray Palestinian farmlands nr. Rafah with herbicides overnight and conduct a limited incursion to level land nr. Khan Yunis late at night. In East Jerusalem, Israeli settlers spray price-tag graffiti and slash the tires of at least 17 Palestinian vehicles overnight in Shu‘fat. In the West Bank, Israeli forces demolish 4 Palestinian structures in Jiftlik nr. Jericho. IDF troops arrest 3 Birzeit University students during late-night raids nr. Ramallah. The arrests come hours before student elections are set to take place on 5/10. They also arrest 2 Palestinians during further raids nr. Ramallah; and patrol in Qalqilya, and nr. Salfit and Hebron. (HA, MNA, WAFA 5/9; MNA 5/10; PCHR 5/11)

The Egyptian authorities open the Rafah border crossing for the 4th and final day in a row. (MNA 5/9)

Israeli forces shoot and kill a Palestinian youth in the Old City of Jerusalem after she allegedly attempts to stab an Israeli police officer at Damascus Gate, causing no injuries. Palestinian witnesses say that she did not pose a threat to the police, and that she was “executed in cold blood.” Elsewhere in East Jerusalem, the Israeli police open a new station in Shu‘fat r.c. It’s the first of 5 new stations planned across East Jerusalem as part of the NIS 1 b. plan to increase security announced in 8/2016 (see JPS 46 [1]). Meanwhile, Israeli forces arrest 6 Palestinians during late-night raids in Silwan and the Old City. Along Gaza’s border, Israeli forces conduct limited incursions to level land nr Dayr al-Balah and Khan Yunis. Off Gaza’s coast, Israeli naval forces open fire on Palestinian fishing boats nr. Bayt Lahiya, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, Israeli settlers assault Palestinian farmers protesting the expansion of a settler bypass road nr. Ramallah; there are no serious injuries. IDF troops confiscate surveillance tapes, arrest 8 Palestinians, and issue 2 arrest summons during late-night raids in and around Bethlehem, Qalqilya, and Hebron; and patrol nr. Nablus and Hebron during the day. (HA, MNA 5/7; MNA 5/8; PCHR 5/11)

The Egyptian authorities open the Rafah border crossing for the 2d of 3 planned days. They also announce that the crossing will be open an additional day on 5/9. (WAFA 5/7)

The IPS releases footage, taken on 4/27 and 5/5, purportedly showing Marwan Barghouti eating cookies and candy in his prison cell. Barghouti, the Fatah leader who organized the Dignity Strike, is currently being held at Kishon Prison. Some IPS sources say that they provided him with the food to see if they could get him to break his strike. Barghouti’s lawyer and various Palestinian leaders dismiss the videos as forgeries. (JP, NYT, TOI 5/7; HA 5/8)

Israel’s Ministerial Comm. for Legislation approves a new version of the so-called nation-state bill, which would cancel Arabic’s status as an “official language” of Israel and codify Israel’s status as the “national home of the Jewish people”. Disagreements over previous drafts of this bill led to the dissolution of the Knesset and national elections in 3/2015 (see JPS 44 [3, 4]). Unlike earlier drafts, the version approved today does not subordinate Israel’s democracy to its Jewish character. (HA, JP, TOI 5/7)

Israeli forces arrest a Palestinian at a checkpoint in Shu‘fat r.c. after he allegedly attempts to stab 1 of them, causing no injuries. In the West Bank, 3 Israeli settlers go missing in the Hebron region. The IDF then shuts down checkpoints and conducts raids across the region, including in al-‘Arub r.c. nr. Hebron, where they spark minor clashes; 2 Palestinians are injured. Meanwhile, further IDF raids nr. Qalqilya spark clashes with stone-throwing Palestinians; there are no serious injuries. The IDF arrests 8 Palestinians during late-night raids nr. Tulkarm, Ramallah, Hebron, Nablus, and Bethlehem; and patrols nr. Nablus and Hebron throughout the day. An Israeli settler driver rams a Palestinian child in Yatta village nr. Hebron, moderately injuring him. Off Gaza’s coast, Israeli naval forces open fire on Palestinian fishing boats nr. Gaza City, causing no injuries or damage. In Gaza, Hamas forces arrest several local Fatah leaders across the region and issue arrest summons to a number of others. The arrests come hours ahead of a Fatah-planned march in solidarity with the 1,500-some Palestinians on hunger strike. (MNA, TOI, WAFA 5/3; PCHR 5/4; PCHR 5/11)

PA pres. Abbas meets with U.S. pres. Trump at the White House in Washington. They commit to a new Israeli-Palestinian peace effort, and Abbas reaffirms the Palestinian preference for a 2-state solution based on the pre-1967 armistice lines. Trump says he is ready to do “whatever is necessary” to achieve peace, but that the U.S. can only serve as “mediator, arbitrator, and facilitator” because any agreement would have to be directly negotiated between the 2 parties. (HA, JP, NYT, POL, TOI, WAFA, WHPO, WP 5/3; HA, WAFA 5/4)

Following a petition to the High Court of Justice from the Israeli NGO Adalah, the IPS announces that it will allow the 1,500-plus hunger-striking Palestinian prisoners observing the Dignity Strike since 4/17 to meet with their lawyers. The announcement comes absent a High Court ruling, but after a hearing at the court, in which the justices appeared to support Adalah’s position. Previously, lawyers were only given access to prisoners at Ofer and Ashqelon Prisons. (HA, JP, WAFA 5/3; MNA 5/5)

The Israeli authorities announce the temporary expansion of the fishing zone off Gaza’s s. coast, from 6 to 9 naut. mi. They do not offer an end date. (MNA, TOI 5/3)