The Palestine Chronology

After reports of Palestinians opening fire on an IDF post along Gaza’s border fence near Jabaliya refugee camp, Israeli artillery shell a Hamas facility in the area, killing 2 Hamas fighters and injuring 6 more. The incident comes as Egyptian and UN officials are in the midst of efforts to broker a long-term cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas. In response to the incident, Hamas states that “resistance forces” cannot agree to a deal that Israel is seeking to dictate and that Israel should expect retaliation. Later, Hamas states that the incident was a misunderstanding and that the IDF misinterpreted aspects of a military drill for an attack. In the West Bank, IDF troops arrest 2 Palestinians during late-night raids near Ramallah, and patrol in and around Qalqilya, Hebron, and Ramallah. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces demolish 2 Palestinian-owned apartments in Shu‘fat, demolish 4 Palestinian-owned structures in Jabal Mukabir, and raze a small area in east Issawiyya to clear space for the expansion of settlements in the area. They also arrest 6 Palestinians and issue 1 arrest summons during raids in Silwan, Issawiyya, and al-Tur. (HA, JP, MNA, TOI, WAFA, YA 8/7; HA 8/8; PCHR 8/9)

Amid talks between Hamas, UN, Egyptian, and Qatari officials on a possible long-term cease-fire arrangement for Gaza in Cairo, Hamas leader Haniyeh says that “a series of decisions has been made.” He does not offer any details beyond the fact that the collected parties discussed the stalled Palestinian reconciliation process and a variety of proposals to advance it and the effort to achieve a cease-fire in Gaza. Later, the Hamas delegation departs for Gaza. They are expected to respond to the various proposals within 24 hours. The Israeli government is set to discuss the latest proposals on 8/9. (HA, TOI, YA 8/7; HA 8/8)

The Israeli government informs its High Court of Justice that it is prepared to establish a permanent settlement for the residents of Khan al-Ahmar if they agree to leave the village without resistance. The new proposed relocation site is 255 dunams (approximately 64 acres) and 8 km from Khan al-Ahmar. (HA 8/8)