In the West Bank, some 30 Israeli settlers with military escort threw stones at Palestinians and buildings in Kafr al-Dik, injuring 1 Palestinian and damaging 1 agricultural structure and 1...
Along Gaza’s border, an Israeli drone bombs a Palestinian motorcycle near Rafah, causing no damage or injuries. The IDF does not comment on the strike. In the evening, hundreds of Palestinians...
Approximately 1,000 Palestinians gather along Gaza’s northern shore to continue the Great March of Return and to cheer on 20 Palestinian boats sailing in a symbolic challenge to the Israeli...
In the Gaza Strip, Egyptian authorities open the Rafah border crossing for the 2d day in a row. Off the coast nr. Rafah, Israeli naval forces open fire on a Palestinian fishing boat, causing no...
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In the West Bank, some 30 Israeli settlers with military escort threw stones at Palestinians and buildings in Kafr al-Dik, injuring 1 Palestinian and damaging 1 agricultural structure and 1 vehicle. Israeli settlers also set up tents on Palestinian-owned land near Taqqua. Israeli forces arrested 1 Palestinian who allegedly tried to ram Israeli settlers with a car at a spring near the Allon settlement; no injuries were reported. Israeli forces also seized 1 tractor near Bidya. Elsewhere, 1 Palestinian was injured during a fall after being chased by Israeli forces at the separation barrier west of Jenin. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces violently disbanded Palestinians preparing for a Mother’s Day event at a stadium in al-Tur, saying it was funded by the PA; 1 Palestinian was physically assaulted by the forces. Off the coast of Gaza, Israeli naval forces opened fire at Palestinian fishermen within 3 nautical miles west of Bayt Lahiya; no injuries were reported. (HA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 3/28; WAFA 3/29; PCHR 4/1)
Leader of Ra’am (United Arab List) Mansour Abbas met with Yesh Atid (There Is a Future) chairman Yair Lapid to discuss the possibility of forming a government. There are currently 2 blocs, pro-Netanyahu and anti-Netanyahu, with neither having enough mandates to form a government. 2 parties, Yamina (Rightwards) and Ra’am, have not pledged their support to either bloc. According to a source, Abbas and Lapid discussed recognizing unauthorized bedouin villages in the Negev, revoking racist sanctions on illegal construction in Palestinian towns in Israel, freezing the Nation-State Law and combatting violence in Palestinian-Israeli areas of Israel. Yisrael Beiteinu (Israel Our Home) chairman Avigdor Lieberman said that his party would recommend to president Reuven Rivlin that Lapid should be tasked with forming a government. (HA, HA, JP 3/28)
Along Gaza’s border, an Israeli drone bombs a Palestinian motorcycle near Rafah, causing no damage or injuries. The IDF does not comment on the strike. In the evening, hundreds of Palestinians gather along the border fence near Rafah to set tires on fire, throw stones, and otherwise continue the Great March of Return. IDF troops violently disperse the demonstrations, injuring 5 protesters. In 2 separate incidents off Gaza’s coast, Israeli naval forces open fire on Palestinian fishing boats near Jabaliya refugee camp, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, Israeli settlers puncture the tires of 10 Palestinian vehicles and leave racist graffiti on nearby walls in Ras Karkar near Ramallah. Settlers also assault 2 Palestinian shepherds near Hebron and throw stones at a Palestinian school in nearby Urif village, causing no damage or injuries. Israeli forces fire tear gas at Palestinian students at a school in central Hebron; no serious injuries are reported. It’s unclear why the IDF attacked the school. They also deliver stop-work orders to a Palestinian home under construction in western Hebron; confiscate heavy equipment from a construction site in southern Hebron; and uproot approximately 300 olive tree seedlings from a Palestinian grove north of the city. Meanwhile, IDF troops arrest 3 Palestinians during late-night raids near Jenin, Hebron, and Salfit; and patrol in and around Tulkarm, Hebron, and Ramallah. In East Jerusalem, dozens of Palestinians gather outside Haram al-Sharif to protest the recent Israeli incursions at the sanctuary; 4 are arrested when Israeli forces disperse the protests. Meanwhile, Israeli forces arrest 60 Palestinians across the city ahead of planned protests at Haram al-Sharif on 2/22. (MNA, MNA, MNA, MNA, MNA, MNA, MNA, MNA, TOI, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 2/21; HA, JP, MNA, MNA 2/22; PCHR 2/28)
PA minister of finance Shukri Bishara says that the PA intends to pay all its employees on time in the coming months, but that some of the higher salaries might be reduced due to the 2/17 Israeli decision to make deductions from the monthly transfers of tax revenues to the PA. “We are coming on difficult days in the coming weeks, and we will handle the issue of salaries as wisely and fairly as possible,” he says. Meanwhile, senior Fatah official Mahmoud al-Aloul says that a committee has been formed to put together a list of Israeli products to ban from Palestinian markets in response to the Israeli deductions in tax revenue transfers. (TOI, TOI, WAFA 2/21)
Hosen L’Yisrael Party chair Benny Gantz and Yesh Atid Party chair Yair Lapid announce that they have agreed to run on a joint ticket ahead of the Israeli election on 4/9. Under their agreement, Gantz would serve as prime minister for two and a half years, then Lapid would take over the top job. Gantz is widely seen as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s top challenger in the election, and this agreement is expected to strengthen his chances of becoming the next prime minister. (HA, JP, JP, YA 2/21)
Approximately 1,000 Palestinians gather along Gaza’s northern shore to continue the Great March of Return and to cheer on 20 Palestinian boats sailing in a symbolic challenge to the Israeli blockade. IDF troops and Israeli naval forces violently disperse the demonstrations; 23 Palestinians are injured (1 critically). The Hamas-run Ministry of Health in Gaza states that the critically injured Palestinian was a farmer working in the area, and not a protester. Off Gaza’s coast, Israeli naval forces open fire on Palestinian fishing boats near Jabaliya refugee camp, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, Israeli settlers chase a number of Palestinian shepherds off their land near Jericho. IDF troops arrest 11 Palestinians during late-night raids near Jenin, Hebron, Ramallah, and Nablus; and patrol near Hebron and Bethlehem. Israeli forces dismantle and confiscate 2 makeshift Palestinian residential structures near Bethlehem. (WAFA 1/29; PCHR 1/31)
A Palestinian succumbs to injuries sustained when IDF troops opened fire on protesters along Gaza’s border fence on 1/25. This brings the death toll stemming from the Great March of Return to 200. (MNA, WAFA 1/29; PCHR 1/31)
PA prime minister Rami Hamdallah submits on behalf of his government his resignation to PA president Mahmoud Abbas. “[Hamdallah and his government] will continue to serve our people wherever they are and shoulder all its responsibilities until a new government is formed,” according to a PA statement. Abbas later accepts Hamdallah’s resignation, requesting that he continue to serve until a new government is formed. It’s unclear when that will be. (JP, MNA, NYT, TOI, TOI, WAFA, WAFA 1/29; MNA 1/30)
The Egyptian authorities open the Rafah border crossing for passage in both directions for the first of 2 planned days. They have largely kept the crossing closed since 1/5. (ALM 1/31)
One day after Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced his intention not to renew the Temporary International Presence in Hebron (TIPH)’s mandate, PLO secretary-general Saeb Erakat calls on the UN to deploy a permanent international force in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The UN should “guarantee the safety and protection of the people of Palestine” until “the end of Israel’s belligerent occupation,” he says. Separately, Norway’s Foreign Minister Ine Marie Eriksen Søreide says that Netanyahu’s “one-sided” decision to not renew the TIPH’s mandate is “worrying” and that if could “mean that the implementation of an important part of the Oslo Accords is discontinued.” (AP, YA 1/29; TOI 1/30)
Widely seen as one of the greatest challenges to Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former head of the IDF Benny Gantz officially launches his campaign ahead of the 4/9 Israeli elections. “Under my leadership, the government will strive for peace and will not miss an opportunity to bring about regional change,” he says, pledging to strengthen the “settlement blocs and Golan Heights” and build a “united Jerusalem.” Netanyahu later criticizes Gantz’s speech as just “another speech by [Yesh Atid leader Yair] Lapid. Whoever says he’s neither right nor left, is left.” (HA 1/29; YA 1/30)
A senior Japanese official pledges $341,348 in support of 4 humanitarian projects in Gaza. (MNA 1/31)
In the Gaza Strip, Egyptian authorities open the Rafah border crossing for the 2d day in a row. Off the coast nr. Rafah, Israeli naval forces open fire on a Palestinian fishing boat, causing no injuries or damage. In the West Bank, Israeli soldiers shoot and critically injure a Palestinian woman after she fights with an Israeli settler nr. Gush Etzion settlement, and they later raid the woman’s home in Bayt Fajjar and arrest her father. Nr. the Jabara checkpoint s. of Tulkarm, IDF troops open fire on several Palestinians attempting to climb the security fence and enter Israel. A Palestinian hits and critically injures an Israeli settler with his car nr. Nablus. The IDF closes the nearby Hawara and Zatara checkpoints while they search for the driver. The IDF later conducts house searches and arrest raids nr. Hebron, Nablus, and Bethlehem. Late at night, PA security forces clash with residents in al-Am‘ari r.c. nr. Ramallah. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces demolish a home under construction in Issawiyya. In West Jerusalem, a Jewish Israeli man attacks a Palestinian taxi driver with pepper spray, lightly injuring him. (HA, MNA, WAFA 12/1; IMEMC, MEMO, MNA 12/2; PCHR 12/4; MNA 12/16)
Israeli PM Netanyahu presents fin. min. and leader of the Yesh Atid party Lapid with 5 conditions to meet to stay in the ruling coalition, which include supporting Netanyahu’s “nation-state” bill and continued construction in Jerusalem. Lapid rejects the terms. Earlier in the day, Netanyahu had warned if harmony within his ruling coalition was not preserved, he would hold new elections, 2 years ahead of schedule. (JP, TOI 12/1; HA, REU 12/2)