The Palestine Chronology

In the West Bank, Israeli settlers set up a caravan on Palestinian-owned land in Bil‘in. Israeli forces forced the village of Sabastiyya to remove a newly installed flagpole carrying a Palestinian flag; the flagpole was installed at a site frequently toured by Israeli settlers. 10 Palestinians were arrested during raids in and around Tulkarm, Bethlehem, Ramallah, and al-‘Arub refugee camp. In East Jerusalem, 6 Palestinians were arrested, including 1 during a raid in the Old City, and 5 at 1 of the gates to the Haram al-Sharif compound. In Gaza, Israeli forces fired missiles at southern Gaza, causing damage in Khan Yunis and east of Rafah; incendiary balloons were sent toward Israel, causing fires; 1 Palestinian-owned house in Abasan sustained severe damage. Israeli forces also opened fire on agricultural lands; no injuries were reported. 4 people from the same family also tested positive for the COVID-19 virus in the 1st instance of community spread of the virus in Gaza; prior positive tests have only occurred in quarantine facilities. 4 Palestinians died in an explosion in a house east of Gaza City; the reason for the explosion remained unclear. (AJ, HA, REU, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 8/24; AJ, HA, WAFA 8/25; +972 8/26; PCHR 8/27)

U.S. secretary of state Mike Pompeo landed in Israel for meetings with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Benny Gantz, and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi. Secretary Pompeo is expected to travel to Sudan, Bahrain, and the UAE to talk with senior officials about, among other subjects, normalizing ties with Israel. (REU 8/22; AJ, HA 8/24)

In the West Bank, 1 Palestinian was shot and injured by Israeli forces at the Qalandia checkpoint. The man, who is hearing and speech impaired, did not hear that he was ordered to stop. Elsewhere, 1 Palestinian man was shot and injured in Bethlehem after he allegedly threw a Molotov cocktail near Rachel’s Tomb. 9 Palestinians were arrested during raids in and around Bethlehem, Qalqilya, Hebron, Salfit, and Nablus. In East Jerusalem, 1 Palestinian was killed by Israeli forces after allegedly stabbing 1 Israeli police officer in the Old City. Israeli settlers set fire to 13 Palestinian-owned vehicles in Bayt Safafa. 1 Palestinian started demolishing his own 3 shops in Jabal Mukabir. In Gaza, Israeli forces fired shells at Gaza, causing damage in Bayt Hanun and Khan Yunis. Incendiary balloons were launched at Israel; no injuries were reported. Off the coast of Gaza, Israeli naval forces opened fire on Palestinian fishermen west of Gaza City; no injuries were reported. (AJ, AJ, AJ, HA, HA, HA, TOI, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 8/17; HA 8/18; PCHR 8/19)

1 Israeli soldier received 3 months of community service and was demoted to the rank of private by a military court after entering a plea deal for the murder of a Palestinian whom Israeli forces acknowledged posed no danger. (HA 8/17)

Egyptian officials arrived in Gaza to negotiate a de-escalation of tension between Israel and Hamas and other Palestinian factions in Gaza. (HA, HA 8/17)

Israeli officials told Haaretz that, despite normalizing relations with the UAE, Israel is still opposed to the U.S. selling advanced weapons such as F-35 fighter jets to the UAE. However, Haaretz reported that some Israeli officials believe that Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu had promised to support the sale of weapons to the UAE as part of the normalization deal. In an interview with Sky News Arabia, Prime Minister Netanyahu said that both Israel and the UAE are “advanced democracies.” (AJ, HA, HA 8/18)

U.S. senior advisor to president Donald Trump, Jared Kushner, said that the U.S. will not permit Israel to annex parts of the West Bank “for some time” and said that “Israel has agreed with us that they will not move forward [on annexation] without our consent.” (AJ, HA 8/17)

At a rally in Wisconsin, U.S. president Donald Trump said that he moved “the capital of Israel [U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel] to Jerusalem . . . for the Evangelicals.” He continued that “the Evangelicals are more excited by that than Jewish people.” (HILL 8/17; IN 8/18; HA 8/19)

In the West Bank, Israeli settlers set fire to a tractor and wrote racist graffiti in ‘Urif and slashed tires on several vehicles and wrote racist graffiti on buildings in Yasuf. Israeli settlers also threw stones and paint at an Israeli border police vehicle near the Yitzhar settlement. Israeli settlers also set fire to Palestinian agricultural lands in Asira; subsequently, local Palestinians and Israeli forces clashed in the area, leading to tear-gas related injuries. Israeli forces also razed land east of Tulkarm. Separately, Israeli forces injured 3 Palestinians using rubber-coated bullets as they were seeking to enter Israel via the separation wall near Far‘un. 20 Palestinians were arrested during late-night raids in and around Ramallah, Hizma, Bethlehem, Salfit, Nablus, Tulkarm, and Jenin. In East Jerusalem, 1 Palestinian family demolished part of their house built to accommodate their disabled son in Sur Bahir. 4 Palestinians were arrested, including 3 during late-night raids in Issawiyya and the Old City, and 1 Waqf guard at the Haram al-Sharif compound. In Gaza, Israel fired missiles at Gaza City, Bayt Hanun, and Dayr al-Balah, causing damage; incendiary balloons were launched from Gaza toward Israel, sparking fires. 1 unexploded Israeli shell was found at an UNRWA school west of Gaza City. Israel announced that it would stop all imports of fuel into Gaza as collective punishment for incendiary balloons landing in Israel. (AJ, REU, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 8/13; HA, HA 8/14; PCHR 8/16; PCHR 8/17; PCHR 8/19)

Russia announced that it would open trade representation offices in Bethlehem, Hebron, and Nablus. (WAFA 8/13)

U.S. president Donald Trump announced that Israel and the UAE had agreed to establish full diplomatic ties and that Israel, as part of the agreement, had decided to suspend annexation of parts of the West Bank. In a joint statement from the 3 parties, it said that “Israel will suspend declaring sovereignty over areas outlined in the President’s Vision for Peace and focus its efforts now on expanding ties with other countries in the Arab and Muslim world.” Later, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that annexation is “still on the table” and a promise he is committed to. Subsequently, President Trump said, “Israel agreed not to annex parts of the West Bank. It is more than taking it off the table—they agreed not to do it. This is a very smart concession by Israel. It is off the table now.” U.S. ambassador to Israel David Friedman later said that annexation is “off the table now but it’s not off the table permanently. You can’t have peace and annexation at the same time.” PA president Mahmoud Abbas called the deal a “betrayal of Jerusalem, al-Aqsa Mosque and the Palestinian cause.” The PA also recalled its ambassador to the UAE. Hamas spokesperson Fawzi Barhoum said of the deal: “[t]his announcement is a reward for the Israeli occupation’s crimes . . . The normalization is a stabbing in the back of our people.” U.S. officials also said that Bahrain and Oman are likely to soon normalize relations with Israel. (HA, HA, HA, HA, REU, REU, REU, REU, WAFA, WAFA 8/13; AJ, AJ, REU, REU, REU 8/14; HA 8/15; REU 8/16; AJ 8/17)

In the West Bank, Israeli forces raided Jenin, leading to clashes with Palestinian residents; tear-gas related injuries were reported. Israeli forces also handed stop-work orders for 9 structures, 7 of them residential, in Kafr al-Dik. 4 Palestinians were arrested during raids in and around Ya‘bad and Bethlehem. In East Jerusalem, 2 Palestinians were arrested during raids in Ras al-Amud and the Old City. In Gaza, 1 rocket was fired at Israel; shrapnel from the rocket, which was intercepted, damaged 1 car in Sderot. Israeli forces subsequently fired rockets at a cement production facility and underground infrastructure near Khan Yunis and Rafah; no injuries were reported. Hamas called the Israeli rockets a “clear message of escalation.” Israeli forces also fired live ammunition at agricultural lands east of Khuza‘a; no injuries were reported. (HA 8/2; AJ, TOI, WAFA, WAFA 8/3; PCHR 8/13)

3 Israeli border police officers were arrested on suspicion of assaulting Palestinians and armed robbery on 8 different occasions over a number of months at the Meitar checkpoint south of Hebron. (HA 8/3)

Israeli army officials said Israel had struck targets and probably killed 4 people in Syria after suspecting a group planted explosives near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. (REU 8/2; AJ, HA, HA 8/3)