The Palestine Chronology

In the West Bank, Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians harvesting olives in Qaryut. Israeli forces violently dispersed Palestinians protesting the siege of Nablus at the Huwwara checkpoint, causing tear-gas related injuries. Off the coast of Gaza, Israeli naval forces arrested 4 Palestinian fishermen and seized their boat within 6 nautical miles off the coast. (MEMO, PCHR, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 11/1; PCHR 11/3; UNOCHA 11/13)

An Israeli court approved the demolition of a school in al-Samiya. The school was inaugurated in January and built with EU funding. (WAFA 11/1; MEMO 11/2)

Israel held general elections for the 5th time since 2019. The right-wing bloc led by Benjamin Netanyahu won a majority of the seats and is expected to form a government in the coming weeks. The Likud Party won the most seats with 32. Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid gained 24 seats while the third largest party was the Religious Zionism alliance, made up of the Zionist National Union-Tkuma and the Otzma Yehudit party and led by Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, which won 14 seats. The Palestinian parties Hadash-Ta‘al and the United Arab List each gained 5 seats. Balad, Meretz and the Ayelet Shaked-led Habayit Hayehudi did not make the electoral threshold. It was reported that the U.S. was considering a “no-contact” policy in dealing with a potential minister Ben-Gvir given his extremist ideology and actions. The voter turnout among Palestinian citizens of Israel was 55%. (AJ, AJ, AJ, AJ, ALM, AX, MEE, NYT, NYT 11/1; AJ, AJ, ALM, ALM, AX, AX, HA, HA, HA, HA, MEE, MEE, NYT, NYT, REU, REU, REU 11/2; AJ, AJ, AJ, AJ, ALM, ALM, AP, AP, AX, BBC, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, MEE, MEE, MEMO, NYT, NYT, NYT, REU, REU 11/3; AJ, ALM, GDN, HA, HA, HA, HA, MEE, TOI 11/4; HA, HA, MDW 11/6)

Algeria hosted the 1st summit of the Arab League since 2019. The leaders of the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Morocco did not attend the summit. PA president Mahmoud Abbas held a meeting with acting U.S. assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs Yael Lambert on the sidelines of the summit. (WAFA 10/31; AJ, MEMO, REU, WAFA, WAFA 11/1)

In the West Bank, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accompanied by Israeli settlers, toured Susiya, closing off the town and surrounding area to Palestinians. Israeli authorities approved seizure of a tract of Palestinian-owned land in Husan and Nahalin for settlement expansion. Israeli forces shot and injured 1 Palestinian during a raid in Hizma. Israeli forces also assaulted 1 Palestinian in Kafr Haris; Israeli forces said they thought the man intended to stab someone in a nearby settlement but did not arrest him after talking to his employer who confirmed he was waiting to get picked up. Elsewhere, Israeli forces raided Qaryut, leading to tear-gas related injuries and 1 Palestinian Red Crescent vehicle was vandalized by Israeli forces. 11 Palestinians were arrested, including 10 during raids in and around Yatta, Bayt Umar, Tuqu‘, Marda, and Hizma; 1 was arrested at a checkpoint south of Jenin. In East Jerusalem, 11 Palestinians were arrested during late-night raids in al-Tur, Silwan, Shu‘fat, and Issawiyya. 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. In Gaza, Israeli forces opened fire at agricultural lands east of al-Qarara and north of Bayt Hanun; no injuries were reported. (WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 3/14; PCHR 3/18)

Jamila al-Shanti became the 1st woman to gain a seat on the 15-member Hamas politburo. (ALM 3/14)

Palestinian refugees in ‘Ayn al-Hilweh refugee camp in Lebanon protested outside UNRWA offices against unaffordable food prices. (MEMO 3/15)

Kosovo opened its embassy to Israel in Jerusalem. Kosovo promised to open an embassy in Jerusalem as part of a normalization agreement between the U.S., Israel, and Kosovo on 9/4/2020, where the latter received financial incentives and recognition of the country. The PA and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation denounced Kosovo’s decision. (AJ, AP, HA, HILL, REU 3/14; ALM, WAFA, WAFA 3/15; WAFA 3/18)

In the West Bank, the Israeli military said that 1 Palestinian tried to ram a group of soldiers at a checkpoint near Ya‘bad and that a gun fell from the car as it passed the soldiers; no injuries were reported. 1 Israeli settler struck an Israeli soldier near the Kedumim settlement. Israeli settlers also threw stones at Palestinian vehicles on the Nablus-Ramallah and Qalqilya-Nablus roads, damaging some; no injuries were reported. Israeli forces clashed with Palestinians at a checkpoint in Hebron, leading to tear-gas related injuries. 8 Palestinians were arrested, including 6 during late-night raids in and around Qaryut, al-Twana, Luban al-Sharqiyya, Ramallah, and Balata refugee camp; 2 were arrested at checkpoints near Tubas and Nablus. Off the coast of Gaza, Israeli naval forces opened fire on Palestinian fishermen within 4 nautical miles west of al-Sudaniyya; no injuries were reported. In Gaza, Israeli forces opened fire at agricultural lands east of al-Bureij refugee camp and Dayr al-Balah; no injuries were reported. (HA 1/9; JP 1/11; PCHR 1/14)

PA president Mahmoud Abbas met with the head of the Palestinian Central Election Commission Hanna Nasser to discuss dates for general Palestinian elections. President Abbas said a date would be set no later than 1/20. (WAFA 1/9)

Israeli protesters demonstrated against Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the 29th Saturday in a row in Jerusalem. The protesters are demanding that Prime Minister Netanyahu resigns due to his COVID-19 response, the Israeli economy, and the corruption cases against him. (AJ, WAFA 1/10)

The U.S. embassy in Rabat said the assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs David Schenker had made “a historic visit” to the Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara. The U.S. recognized Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara in December 2020 was part of the Moroccan-Israeli normalization deal. (AJ 1/9; AP 1/10)

In the West Bank, Israeli settlers vandalized 30 olive trees in Qaryut. Israeli forces violently dispersed protesters in Kafr Qaddum, injuring 3 with rubber-coated bullets; others suffered tear-gas related injuries. Israeli forces also violently dispersed protesters near Yatta; 1 elderly man was assaulted by Israeli forces and detained for 1 hour. Elsewhere, Israeli forces shot and injured 2 Palestinian minors using rubber-coated bullets during clashes in Hebron. 3 Palestinians were arrested during late-night raids in Dura. In East Jerusalem, a Palestinian started demolishing his own shop in Jabal Mukabir to avoid exorbitant Israeli demolition fees. Off the coast of Gaza, Israeli naval forces opened fire on Palestinian fishermen within 3 nautical miles off the coast; no injuries were reported. (WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 10/17; PCHR 10/22)

In Israel, protests against Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu continued for the 17th Saturday in a row with thousands of protestors outside of his official residence and thousands more around Israel. (HA 10/17; WAFA 10/18)

In the West Bank, Israeli settlers stole olive harvest in Qaryut and flooded 5 dunams (1.2 acres) of Palestinian farmland planted with olive trees with sewage waste in al-Jaba‘. Israeli settlers also threw stones at Israeli forces at Yitzhar settlement. Israeli forces delivered notices that 2,522 dunams (623 acres) of land would be seized, including 2,000 in al-Jaba‘, 372 south of Hebron, and 150 near Bayt Liqya. 10 Palestinians were arrested during late-night raids in and around al-Ram, Yatta, Nablus, Jenin, and Ramallah. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces summoned 2 members of the parents’ committee that organized a school strike in Issawiyya on 11/2 in protest over Israeli forces breaking into the school and arresting 1 student; 1 of the 2 members was arrested and clashes between Israeli forces and local Palestinians broke out, resulting in the arrest of 3 Palestinian minors. In Gaza, Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinian farmlands east of Khuza‘a; no injuries were reported. Off the coast of Gaza, Israeli naval forces opened fire on Palestinian fishermen off the shore of Jabalia; no injuries were reported. (WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 11/4; HA, HA 11/5; PCHR 11/7)

The Israeli housing cabinet approved the controversial cable car project which would connect Western Jerusalem with East Jerusalem’s Old City. The project is currently under review by Israel’s attorney general and it would need a final procedural approval by the Israeli government. The project, if approved, would likely be challenged in the Israeli high court of justice. (HA 11/4; CNN 11/5 BBC 11/6)

After Jordan recalled its ambassador to Israel on 10/29 in protest of Israel holding 2 Jordanian citizens in administrative detention, Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the 2 would be released to Jordan. (HA 11/4)