The Palestine Chronology

In the West Bank, unknown assailants opened fire at a car carrying 4 settlers to Joseph’s Tomb, causing the driver to lose control of the vehicle, lightly injuring the 4 settlers. Israeli forces violently dispersed Palestinian protesters in Kafr Qaddum, injuring 5 with baton rounds and others with tear gas. Palestinians protested U.S. president Joe Biden in Bethlehem ahead of the president’s visit (see below). (JP, MDW, WAFA 7/15; PCHR 7/21; UNOCHA 7/22)

U.S. president Joe Biden continued his 4-day Middle East trip, leaving Israel for East Jerusalem and the West Bank. In East Jerusalem, President Biden visited the Augusta Victoria Hospital, announcing $100 million in aid for the East Jerusalem Hospital Network that serves Palestinians from East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza. The funding of the hospital will need U.S. congressional approval. Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump had cut U.S. funding in medical aid for the PA. Biden’s visit was the 1st by a sitting U.S. president to East Jerusalem, outside of the Old City. In Bethlehem, Biden and PA president Mahmoud Abbas met and held a press conference, where President Abbas stressed that a 2-state solution will not be tenable forever and called for accountability for Israel’s killing of Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. Additionally, Abbas called on the U.S. to reopen its consulate to Palestinians and delist the PLO from the U.S. list of terrorist organizations, saying “we are not terrorists.” Biden for his part called for a “full and transparent” investigation into the killing of Abu Akleh, voiced support for a 2-state solution along the 1967 borders with land swaps, and announced that Israel had said it would allow Palestinian phone companies to connect to 4G networks by the end of 2023. Biden also announced $201 million in funding for UNRWA and $15 million in aid for food security via the UN World Food Program and 2 NGOs. Additionally, it was reported that Israel will open the Allenby Bridge on a 24-hour basis and assess if the PA should have a presence at the crossing. It was reported by Palestinian sources that the 2 leaders gave separate statements after failing to agree on a joint statement. After meeting with President Abbas, Biden headed to Saudi Arabia where he was greeted by Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman with a “fist-bump,” despite promising during his presidential campaign to make Saudi Arabia a pariah due to Crown Prince bin Salman’s involvement in the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. It was announced by U.S. national security advisor Jake Sullivan that Saudi Arabia had opened its air space to all Israeli flights as part of the 2 countries’ path to normalization and Saudi officials said they would start discussions to approve flights from Israel to Saudi Arabia for Muslim pilgrims. Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir told CNN in an interview that his country remains committed to the Arab Peace Initiative, saying “we need to have a process, and this process needs to include the implementation of the Arab Peace Initiative. Once we have committed to a two-state settlement with a Palestinian state in the occupied territories with East Jerusalem as its capital, that’s our requirements for peace.” (ALM, HA, NYT 7/13; JP, POL, REU, TOI 7/14; AJ, AJ, AJ, AJ, ALM, ALM, AP, AP, AP, AX, AX, AX, AX, AX, AX, FOX, GDN, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, JP, MDW, MEE, MEE, NYT, NYT, REU, REU, REU, REU, REU, REU, REU, REU, REU, REU, TOI, TOI, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 7/15; AJ, ALM, AP, HA, HA, HA, JP, REU, WAFA 7/16; AJ, CNN, HA, HA, HA, INT, TOI, TOI 7/17; AJ, HA 7/18; HA 7/20; ALM 7/30)

As president Biden left the West Bank for Saudi Arabia, the UAE said it is opposed to a confrontational approach to Iran, seeking to send an ambassador to Iran to mend ties. (HA 7/15)

In the West Bank, Israeli settlers raided Yatma before being repelled by Palestinians. Israeli forces shot and injured 1 Palestinian with live ammunition during a raid in Jenin. Israeli forces also demolished 1 residential structure, 1 village council building, 1 agricultural structure, and 1 water reservoir in Khirbet Izbek, and 1 irrigation pond in Birzeit. 22 Palestinians were arrested during late-night raids in Jalazun refugee camp, Silwad, Dheisheh refugee camp, Hebron, Jenin, and Kafr Qaddum. In East Jerusalem, 1 Palestinian was arrested during a late-night raid in Silwan. (WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 6/27; PCHR 6/30;  UNOCHA 7/2)

Representatives from the U.S., Israel, the UAE, Egypt, Morocco, and Bahrain met in Manama to discuss the establishment of the Negev Forum based on a meeting between the parties in Israel in March. According to Axios, sources present at the meeting said Morocco and Egypt pushed for the inclusion of the PA in the plan regional cooperation; however, it is unclear if the PA wants to take part in the normalization-based cooperation. (AX 6/29; MEMO 6/30)

In the West Bank, Israeli settlers threw stones at Palestinian vehicles driving on Route 60 near the Yitzhar settlement, causing damage. Israeli settlers also started construction on a pool near a water spring in Khirbet al-Farisiya. Israeli forces violently dispersed Palestinian protesters in Beita, killing 1 Palestinian man with a shot to his head; 68 others were injured, including 4 with rubber-coated bullets. The PA foreign ministry called in the ICC to take action against Israel’s killing of Palestinian protesters. The man was the 9th victim of Israeli gunfire related to the weekly anti-settlement protest in Beita since May. Israeli forces also violently dispersed Palestinian protesters in Kafr Qaddum, injuring 6 with rubber-coated bullets, including 2 minors. 5 Palestinians were arrested during late-night raids in Beitunia and al-Bireh. In East Jerusalem, 2 Palestinians were arrested in Isawiya and Jabel Mukaber. Off the coast of Gaza, Israeli naval forces arrested 2 Palestinian fishermen and confiscated their boat. In Gaza, Israeli forces opened fire at Palestinian bird hunters near the Gaza fence; no injuries were reported. (AJ, AP, HA, MEE, MEMO, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 12/10; MEMO, PCHR 12/11; WAFA 12/12; HA, MDW 12/13; PCHR 12/16; HA 12/24)

In Lebanon, an explosion killed 1 and injured 4 others in the Burj el-Shamali refugee camp. Sources in the camp said the explosion happened in a Hamas weapons depot; however, Hamas denied the claim, saying the explosion was due to an electrical fault in a warehouse storing oxygen and gas cylinders for COVID-19 patients. (AJ, AP, HA, REU 12/10; AP, MEMO 12/12)

The New York Times reported that Israel consulted with the Biden administration before it struck 2 targets in Iran in June and September this year. (NYT 12/10; HA 12/11)

In promotional material for the upcoming book Trump’s Peace: The Abraham Accords and the Reshaping of the Middle East by Israeli journalist Barak Ravid, it was revealed that former U.S. president and likely candidate for the Republican presidential ticket in 2024, Donald Trump, made significant U.S. policy changes to help former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu win elections in Israel. Former President Trump told Ravid that he recognized the Golan Heights as part of Israel and, separately, announced plans to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem to help Netanyahu, who was struggling in the Israeli elections. Trump also told Ravid that he left the Iran Nuclear deal because of Israel and dismissed the idea that it was due to Israeli intelligence, mocking the idea that Israel had presented anything new at the time. Ravid further reports in his book that Trump believes that Netanyahu never had any interest in making peace with the Palestinians. Trump explained to Ravid that PA president Mahmoud Abbas “was almost like a father” and that he thought Abbas wanted to make peace more than Netanyahu. Trump acknowledged to Ravid that his strategy of pressuring the Palestinian leadership back to negotiations after recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel had failed, saying “[t]hese are hardened people.” Netanyahu and Trump had a significant personal fallout due to Israel’s push to annex most of the West Bank, outside of the framework of the Trump administration’s plan for a peace deal. It was also revealed that Trump now holds a grudge against Netanyahu because Netanyahu congratulated U.S. president Joe Biden on his election win in 2020, which Trump has falsely claimed to be fraudulent and has never officially conceded. Trump said he had not talked to Netanyahu since losing the election and said to Ravid during the interview, “fuck him [Netanyahu].” (AP, AX, AX, HA 12/10; FWD, HA, HA 12/12; AX, HA, IN, MEE, MEMO 12/13; TOI 12/14; GDN 12/20)

In Ravid’s book Trump’s Peace, new details about the normalization agreement between Israel and the UAE are also revealed. According to Ravid, Avi Berkowitz, aide to senior advisor to the president Jared Kushner, suggested to Netanyahu on 6/30/2020 that he normalize relations with the UAE instead of moving ahead with annexation of parts of the West Bank. The UAE ambassador to the U.S. Yousef Otaiba had been in talks with the U.S. about normalization since March 2019 and had been pushing normalization with Israel. Ravid also writes in his book that UK ambassador to the UN Karen Elizabeth Pierce warned Berkowitz and U.S. special envoy to Iran Brian Hook that the UK and other countries would recognize the State of Palestine if Israel moved forward with annexing parts of the West Bank. (FWD 12/12; AX, HA 12/13; MEMO 1/4)

Germany contributed with $23.75 million to the UNRWA. (WAFA 12/10)

In the West Bank, Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians in Susiya, causing bruises, during a visit by EU representatives to the village. Israeli forces violently dispersed Palestinian protesters near Beita, killing 1 Palestinian using live ammunition; 7 others were hit by rubber-coated bullets and live ammunition, and 18 suffered tear-gas related injuries. Israeli forces also violently dispersed Palestinian protesters in Kafr Qaddum, injuring 4 with rubber-coated bullets. 12 Palestinians were arrested during late-night raids in and around Yatta, Bani Na‘im, Bayt Liqya, Bethlehem, Biddu, Aqabah, and Qabatiya. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces injured 1 pro-Palestinian activist and arrested 4 others for waving a Palestinian flag during a protest in Sheikh Jarrah; at least 1 was released from jail on 9/25 after an Israeli judge ruled that flying Palestinian flags was not illegal. (AJ, AP, HA, MEE, MEMO, PCHR, REU, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 9/24; HA 9/27; PCHR 9/30)

PA president Mahmoud Abbas addressed the UN general assembly, outlining the territorial dispossession of Palestinians from historic Palestine at the time of the British Mandate to the current situation where Palestinians control 12% of the same land. President Abbas demanded that Israel withdraw from to the 1967 borders within 1 year. Abbas warned that if the world does not act to ensure the PA demand for a 2-state solution, then the “developments on the ground will dictate a reality [in which] the Palestinian people will demand its rights in the territory of all of historic Palestine,” hinting at moving toward demanding a 1-state solution. Abbas also accused Israel of ethnic cleansing and apartheid. Abbas addressed the UN general assembly in a pre-recorded video message. (AJ, AP, HA, MEE, REU, WAFA 9/24; AJ, HA, MEMO 9/25; ALM 9/26; ALM 9/29; ALM 10/5)

It was reported that Egypt refused to allow Mohammad Dahlan to relocate his office to Egypt from the UAE. (MEMO 9/25)

The U.S. think tank Center for Peace Communications hosted some 300 people in Erbil, Iraq, in a conference for normalizing ties between Iraq and Israel. Iraq’s presidential office, the prime minister’s office, and several influential organizations condemned the conference. An Iraqi court also issued arrest warrants for several of the attendees. (MEMO, MEMO 9/25; HA, MEMO, TOI 9/26; ALM 9/28)

In the West Bank, 1 Israeli settler shot 1 Palestinian man near Ras Karkar; according to Israeli authorities, the Palestinian man was unarmed and was shot at a settlement outpost near Ras Karkar; Israeli forces subsequently raided the deceased Palestinian’s house. Israeli settlers also raided Luban al-Sharqiyya, leading to confrontations between Palestinians and the settlers’ military escort; tear-gas related injuries were reported. Israeli forces violently dispersed Palestinian protesters in Kafr Malik, injuring 1 with live ammunition. Israeli forces also violently dispersed a protest in Bayt Dajan, causing tear-gas related injuries. Elsewhere, Israeli forces violently dispersed the weekly anti-settlement protest in Kafr Qaddum, injuring 5 Palestinians with rubber-coated bullets. Israeli forces also opened fire on Palestinians near Silwad, injuring 1 with live ammunition. 1 Palestinian was arrested during a late-night raid near Nablus. In Gaza, Israeli forces opened fire on agricultural lands east of Abasan and al-Showka; no injuries were reported. (AJ, AP, HA, JP, MEE, TOI, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 2/5; HA 2/11; PCHR 2/11)

The ICC ruled that it has territorial jurisdiction to persecute alleged war crimes committed in the occupied Palestinian territories, as it found Palestine to be “a State Party to the [Rome] Statute.” The ICC defined the occupied Palestinian territories as the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza. Israel has argued that the ICC does not have jurisdiction to prosecute matters pertaining to Israel and Palestine because Israel is not party to the Rome Statute and because Palestine is not a state. The latter 2 of the 3 ICC judges ultimately disagreed with erasing the final hurdle to start a formal investigation, 6 years after the ICC chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda started her preliminary investigation into alleged war crimes made by Israel and Hamas. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the ruling “pure anti-Semitism” and said, “[w]e will fight this perversion of justice with all our might.” The PA prime minister Mohammed Shtayyeh praised the decision. The U.S. State Department’s spokesperson said the U.S. has “serious concern about the ICC’s attempts to exercise its jurisdiction over Israeli personnel. We have always taken the position that the court’s jurisdiction should be reserved for countries that consent to it or that are referred by the UN Security Council.” Haaretz reported that Israel has started briefing military personnel on potential implications for them if the proceedings move to a trial. (AJ, AX, DOS, HA, ICC, NYT, WAFA, WAFA 2/5; AJ, AP, HA, HA, PCHR, REU, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 2/6; AX, HA, HA, HA, MDW, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 2/7; WAFA 2/8)

An UNRWA spokesperson said that the UAE’s contributions to the agency dropped from $51.8 million in 2018 and in 2019 to $1 million in 2020. (AJ, HA 2/6)

The U.S. Biden administration notified Congress that it will remove the Houthi group from the list of foreign terrorist organizations. The Houthis were declared a terrorist organization by the Trump administration shortly before the Trump presidency ended. (REU 2/5; AJ 2/6; AJ 2/8)

In the West Bank, Israeli settlers in the Yitzhar settlement erected a sign saying, “[e]ntry for Arabs is dangerous.” Israeli settlers also stole olive harvests in Burin. Elsewhere, Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians harvesting olives in Burqa, injuring 5 with rocks and damaging vehicles. Palestinians accessing their land on the other side of the separation barrier from where they live found some 60 olive trees were vandalized and olive crops were stolen. Israeli forces blocked off several roads to villages in the Jenin area, preventing Palestinians from harvesting their olive crops. 11 Palestinians were arrested during raids in and around Halhul, Kafr Qaddum, Nablus, and Ya‘bad. In East Jerusalem, 1 Palestinian was arrested in Shu‘fat refugee camp. Off the coast of Gaza, Israeli naval forces opened fire on Palestinian fishermen within 3 nautical miles west of al-Sudaniyya; no injuries were reported. (HA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 10/12; PCHR 10/15)

Israel approved construction of 500 new settlement housing units in the Tzur Hadasah settlement near Bethlehem. (MEMO, WAFA 10/12)

B’Tselem said that a Palestinian man who has been hunger striking to protest his administrative detention for nearly 80 days is “on the verge of death.” (AJ 10/12)

PA prime minister Mohammed Shtayyeh asked members of the EU parliament, during an online debate, to recognize the state of Palestine and to be more active in a future peace process. (WAFA 10/13)

The Israeli cabinet approved Israel’s normalization deal with the UAE; the Knesset is set to vote on the deal on 10/15. (HA, HA, REU 10/12)

In the West Bank, Israeli settlers with Israeli military escort toured a spring near al-Walaja. Israeli forces violently dispersed protests against the UAE-Israel normalization deal in Kafr Qaddum, Salfit, Hebron, ad Ni‘lin, causing tear-gas related injuries, and 2 were hit by rubber-coated bullets in Kafr Qaddum. In East Jerusalem, 4 Palestinians were arrested, including 3 on a street in the Old City and 1 during a late-night raid in Wadi al-Juz. In Gaza, 12 rockets were fired toward Israel, 1 causing damage to a house after it was intercepted. Israeli forces fired missiles at Gaza east and west of Gaza City and near Bayt Lahiya, causing damage and moderate injuries to 1 minor who was hit by shrapnel. Israeli forces also opened fire on agricultural lands east of Rafah and Bayt Hanun; no injuries were reported. Off the coast of Gaza, Israeli naval forces opened fire on Palestinian fishermen on 2 separate occasions west of Bayt Lahiya and Khan Yunis; no injuries were reported. In Israel, thousands of protesters outside of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s official residence continued their calls for him to step down. (HA, HA, REU, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 8/21; HA 8/22; HA 8/23; PCHR 8/27)

In an apparent response to U.S. president Donald Trump’s claim that Saudi Arabia would follow the UAE and normalize ties with Israel, a senior member of the Saudi royal family, Prince Turki al-Faisal, said in an op-ed that “[t]he Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has set a price for concluding peace between Israel and the Arabs—it is the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state with Jerusalem as capital, as provided for by the initiative of the late King Abdullah.” According to the London-based newspaper Al-Araby Al-Jadid, the head of the Mossad, Yossi Cohen, met with the deputy head of Sudan’s sovereignty council general Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo in a meeting brokered by the UAE. Sudan denied the claim. (AJ, HA, REU 8/21; HA 8/22)