The Palestine Chronology

Egyptian authorities open the Rafah border crossing for passage in and out of Gaza, as the PA announced they would on 6/10. They will keep the crossing open through 6/19. IDF troops stationed nr. the inactive Sufa border crossing nr. Rafah shoot and injure a mentally handicapped Palestinian man approaching the border fence. In the West Bank, Palestinians shoot and damage Israeli cars nr. Nablus, according to the IDF. IDF troops conduct late-night raids in c. Hebron, 1 village and al-‘Arub r.c. near the city, and 1 village nr. Ramallah, arresting 3 Palestinians and issuing arrest summons to 2 others; patrol in 1 village nr. Ramallah. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces clash with Palestinians in Silwan and the Old City; no Palestinians are seriously injured. (MNA 6/10; MNA 6/13; WAFA 6/14; PCHR 6/18)

Dep. chief of Hamas’s political bureau Musa Abu Marzuq flies from Gaza to Doha, Qatar, to put “final touches” on a long-term cease-fire proposal with Hamas leader Khalid Mishal, according to Egyptian officials. (MNA 6/15; JP, YA 6/16)

In the Gaza Strip, an IQB fighter is killed nr. Rafah by gunfire; no further information is released. Off the coast nr. Gaza City, Israeli naval forces open fire on Palestinian fishing boats, causing damage. Later, 2 explosions damage several buildings in Gaza City nr. UNRWA headquarters. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts nighttime house searches and raids in 1 village each nr. Hebron and Bethlehem, arresting 2 Palestinians and issuing summons to 3; patrols in ‘Aqabat Jabir r.c. nr. Jericho. Meanwhile, the PASF conducts raids and house searches in Hebron, arresting 12 Palestinians. (MNA, TOI, WAFA 4/18; JP, TOI, WAFA, YA 4/19; PCHR 4/23)

Hamas’s parliamentary bloc Change and Reform passes the National Solidarity Tax Law, imposing a new tax on “non-basic” goods being imported into Gaza. Meats, fruits, vegetables, and clothing would all be subject to as much as a 10% tax, but medicine and flour will be exempt. The revenues collected under the new tax policy would be used to pay the salaries of the Hamas-run govt.’s civil servants. (TOI 4/21)

PA Pres. Abbas meets with Joint List head Odeh and other reps of the Israeli non-Zionist bloc. Abbas passed along an invitation to the next meeting of the Arab League in Doha, Qatar. (TOI, WAFA 4/18)

IDF troops on the Gaza border e. of Khuza‘a fire warning shots at Palestinians nr. the border fence, causing no injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts a house search and raid in a village nr. Hebron, arresting 1 Palestinian; patrols in 2 villages each nr. Tulkarm and Ramallah, 3 nr. Hebron, and 1 nr. Qalqilya. (AP 3/12; REU 3/13; PCHR 3/19)

Reps. of most PLO factions release a statement warning about the dangers of excluding the Ramallah-based govt. from talks between Hamas and Israel, in response to recent rumors about the 2 sides possibly negotiating a long-term cease-fire. (MNA 3/12; ALM 4/14)

Israel’s COGAT Mordechai says that Israel plans to lift or ease a series of restrictions on Palestinian movement on 3/15 (implementation will be delayed until later in the week of 3/15). Palestinian men over the age of 55 and women over 50 will be allowed to cross into Israel for daily visits without permits. Also, married Palestinian men over the age of 22 will be able to apply for permits to work in Israel, lowering the minimum age from 24. He also announces the approval of 47 projects in the Gaza Strip to be funded by Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and several European countries. (MNA 3/13; TOI 3/15; MNA 3/17)

In the West Bank, Israeli forces demolish a stone-cutting workshop, a marble factory, and a livestock structure in 3 villages nr. Jenin, and several livestock structures in a village nr. Jerusalem. Palestinian activists commandeer a truck carrying Strauss brand ice cream, 1 of 6 Israeli companies targeted by the National Comm. against Israeli Punitive Measures’ boycott announced on 2/9; the activists smash the boxes of ice cream and set them on fire. (MNA, WAFA 3/11; HA, MNA 3/12)

Israel’s High Court of Justice rejects a petition to reform the security system at Israeli airports and remove certain discriminatory practices. It was filed by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel in 2007. (HA 3/11)

Hamas leader Khalid Mishal meets with the chairman of Iran’s parliament, Ali Larijani, in Qatar to discuss reconstruction of Gaza and the Egyptian and Israeli blockade. (TOI 3/11; HA 3/12)

The Egyptian govt. will appeal the Court of Urgent Matters’ 2/28 designation of Hamas as a terrorist organization. (AHR, AP 3/11)

In the West Bank, a Palestinian man from al-Fara‘a r.c. nr. Tubas succumbs to injuries sustained during an IDF raid of his home in 2008. Israeli forces demolish 5 residences and a sheep barn in a village nr. Hebron; continue leveling land in a village nr. Bethlehem to eventually expand a nearby Israeli industrial zone. IDF troops clash with residents of a village n. of Jerusalem and 1 nr. Ramallah, injuring 9 with rubber-coated metal bullets and arresting 4; violently disperse Palestinian students demonstrating outside Ofer Prison in Ramallah, injuring 7 with rubber-coated metal bullets and arresting 1; 2 Israeli soldiers are lightly injured in the ensuing clashes. The IDF also conducts house searches and raids in 1 village each nr. Jenin, Hebron, and Qalqilya, as well as in Nablus, arresting 4 Palestinians and issuing arrest summons to 1; patrols in and around Tulkarm, and 1 village nr. Jenin; arrests 2 Palestinians while they are working in an Israeli settlement nr. Bethlehem. Israeli settlers erect 8 mobile homes on Palestinian land s. of Nablus, establishing a settlement outpost; throw stones at a Palestinian’s car nr. Nablus, causing minor damage. Nr. Nablus, armed Palestinians set fire to tires e. of Balata r.c. in protest of the recent PASF crackdown in the area. IDF troops on the Gaza border e. of Khan Yunis fire warning shots at Palestinian farmers working nr. the border fence, causing no injuries. Israeli forces also conduct a limited incursion e. of Dayr al-Balah to level land. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces level land in a closed military zone nr. Qalandia, sparking clashes with residents; 9 Palestinians are injured with live ammunition and dozens are lightly injured with rubber-coated metal bullets. Israeli forces also level land on the e. outskirts of Issawiyya, clearing the area for construction of an Israeli national park; demolish temporary bedouin shelters that were funded by the EU. (MNA 3/9; AFP, HA, MNA, WAFA 3/10; AFP, MNA, WAFA 3/11; PCHR 3/12)

A group of Palestinians in Israeli prisons cancels its plans, announced on 3/9, to begin a series of demonstrations on 3/10 in protest of the poor conditions. According to Al Jazeera, the move comes after the group makes a preliminary deal with the Israel Prison Service (IPS), allowing for more frequent family visits, but an IPS official will refute the report on 3/11. (AJ 3/10; JP 3/11; PNN 3/12)

In the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, an IDF officeris lightly injured from gunfire emanating from Syria nr. Qunaytra. Meanwhile, senior United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) official Pierre Krähenbühl accompanies a convoy of aid into Yarmouk r.c. in Syria, the 1st shipment of assistance to the camp’s 18,000 occupants in 3 mos. (HA, JP, TOI, YA 3/10; MNA 3/11)

In Gaza, the chair of Qatar’s Comm. to Rebuild Gaza, Mohammed al-Emadi announces a series of new projects to build 1,000 housing units in Gaza, and that the 1st shipment of materials—4 truckloads of cement—arrived from Israel today. They will be funded through disbursals of the $1 b. Qatar pledged at the 10/12/2014 Gaza reconstruction conference in Cairo. (AFP, NYT 3/10; MEMO, REU 3/11; IMEMC 3/12; YA 3/13)