The Palestine Chronology

In the West Bank, Israel delivered demolition notices for 1 residential tent and 1 animal barn in Atuf. Israeli forces razed Palestinian-owned agricultural lands southeast of Tulkarm. Israeli forces also shot and injured 1 Palestinian man trying to enter Israel for work near Tulkarm. 2 Palestinians were arrested during late-night raids in and around Bethlehem. In East Jerusalem, Israeli authorities banned PA governor of Jerusalem Adnan Ghaith from entering the West Bank for 6 months. Governor Ghaith was summoned by Israeli forces earlier in the day. 1 Palestinian was arrested during a raid in Issawiyya. In Gaza, Israeli forces fired missiles at Gaza after incendiary balloons from Gaza sparked fires in southern Israel. Israeli defense minister Benny Gantz ordered the entire Gaza fishing zone closed as collective punishment for incendiary balloons and rockets sent toward Israel. 1 Palestinian man was also seriously injured after coming in contact with an Israeli unexploded ordnance near al-Zaytun. Palestinian officials said that Gaza’s only power plant would stop producing power from 8/18 due to Israel’s embargo on fuel going to Gaza. Off the coast of Gaza, Israeli naval forces opened fire on Palestinian fishermen 1.5 nautical miles off Gaza City and Khan Yunis; no injuries were reported. (AJ, HA, HA, PCHR, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 8/16; PCHR 8/19)

PA president Mahmoud Abbas spoke with French president Emmanuel Macron. President Macron said that the 2 spoke about resumption of peace negotiations. (HA, WAFA 8/16)

Israel and the UAE began direct talks to arrange the details of establishing full diplomatic relations. The 2 countries and the U.S. announced on 8/13 that the UAE would normalize ties with Israel. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview that the U.S. had asked him to suspend annexation of parts of the West Bank in exchange for normalization with the UAE. He further stated that he had no choice in the matter and that annexation was still part of the U.S administration’s peace plan. In an interview with Haaretz, UAE director of strategic communications of the ministry of foreign affairs Hend Al Otaiba said that the UAE and Israel are working toward exchanging ambassadors. When asked about if the embassy would be located in Jerusalem, Al Otaiba answered, “We’re bound by international resolutions as well as an Arab position that wants an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.” The PA ambassador to the UAE arrived in Ramallah after being withdrawn because of the UAE-Israel deal. (HA, HA 8/16; HA, HA, 8/17)

Palestinians in Gaza, East Jerusalem, and the West Bank protested against the UAE’s decision to normalize its ties with Israel. In the West Bank, Israeli forces violently dispersed the weekly anti-settlement protest in Kafr Qaddum, injuring 3 Palestinians using rubber-coated bullets and 1 with a tear gas canister to his head. Israeli forces and Palestinians also clashed west of Ramallah with young Palestinians throwing stones and Israeli forces firing live ammunition, rubber-coated bullets, and tear gas; 2 Palestinians were injured by rubber-coated bullets. 7 Palestinians were arrested during late-night raids in and around Nablus, Jenin, Tulkarm, al-‘Amari refugee camp, and Bethlehem. In East Jerusalem, 1 Palestinian family demolished their own home under construction in Silwan. In Gaza, Israel fired missiles and shells at Gaza City, Khan Yunis, and Rafah, causing extensive damage to 7 houses and minor injuries to 4 Palestinians; incendiary balloons were launched from Gaza toward Israel. It was reported that Israeli defense minister Benny Gantz had decided not to allow Qatari aid to enter Gaza as collective punishment for the incendiary balloons landing in Israel. Gantz has also ordered a halt of fuel transfers to Gaza and halved the fishing zone. Off the coast of Gaza, Israeli naval forces opened fire on Palestinian fishermen, injuring 1 with a rubber-coated bullet. In Israel, Israeli police violently dispersed Palestinian protesters in Jaffa demonstrating against the impending demolition of an 18th century Muslim cemetery. (HA, HA, REU, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 8/14; AJ 8/15; PCHR 8/19)

PA president Mahmoud Abbas and chairman of the Hamas politburo Ismail Haniyeh spoke via phone. According to WAFA, Haniyeh expressed Hamas’s support for a collective Palestinian movement. (WAFA 8/13)

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that Turkey is considering suspending its diplomatic ties with the UAE in light of the UAE’s decision to establish ties with Israel. Oman called the UAE’s decision “historic.” (HA, REU, WAFA 8/14; AJ 8/15)

U.S. congresswoman Betty McCollum (D-MN) introduced a bill co-sponsored by 6 other members of the house which seeks to prohibit U.S. funding for areas annexed by Israel. (WAFA 8/17)

The U.S. lost a bid at the UN Security Council to extend an arms embargo on Iran. 11 members abstained, Iran and China opposed, and the U.S. and the Dominican Republic were the only members voting in favor. Russia called for a world summit to avoid further “confrontation and escalation.” (AJ, HA 8/14; AJ, HA 8/15; AJ 8/17)

In the West Bank, Israeli forces seized a bulldozer and an excavator working on a school courtyard in Susiya. Israeli forces also issued demolition orders for 4 Palestinian-owned houses under construction in ‘Ayn al-Rummana and handed a stop-work order for a Palestinian house near Yatta. 19 Palestinians were arrested during raids in and around Jenin, Ramallah, Bethlehem, and Hebron. In Gaza, Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinian farmlands east of Khan Yunis; no injuries were reported. In Israel, 2 Palestinian citizens of Israel were indicted for spying on Israel on behalf of Hamas. (HA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 1/27; PCHR 1/30)

In Washington, D.C., U.S. president Donald Trump, alongside Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, confirmed that he would be releasing his peace plan with Prime Minister Netanyahu on 1/28. President Trump said that the Palestinians “probably won’t want it initially . . . But I think in the end they will.” After Trump’s remarks, he met with Israeli Blue and White leader Benny Gantz. Gantz subsequently declared that the peace plan “is a significant and historic milestone.” According to PA officials, PA president Mahmoud Abbas refused to take a phone call from President Trump. (AJ, HA, HA, REU, WAFA 1/27; AJ 1/28; PCHR 1/30)

In the West Bank, 1 Palestinian woman was killed by Israeli forces using live ammunition by a checkpoint in Qalandia after allegedly trying to stab an Israeli soldier. Israeli forces also chopped down more than 100 olive trees in Burqin, delivered stop-work orders for a number of houses under construction in Barta‘a, razed 145 dunams (35.8 acres) of agricultural land for expansion of the Karni Shomron settlement near Qalqilya, and demolished 2 agricultural structures in Atuf in the Jordan Valley. 2 Palestinians were arrested, including 1 during a late-night raid in Aida refugee camp and 1 at a checkpoint near Jaba‘. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces handed demolition orders for several homes in Issawiyya. In Gaza, 7 Palestinians were injured after rockets fired from Gaza landed inside the territory. Separately, Israeli forces opened fire on agricultural land east of Khan Yunis; no injuries were reported. (AJ, HA, HA, MEMO, TOI, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 9/18; PCHR 9/19)

A day after the general elections in Israel, it remained unclear which of the 2 top contenders, Benjamin Netanyahu and Benny Gantz, would be able to form a government coalition. (AJ, HA 9/18)