The Palestine Chronology

In the West Bank, Israeli forces shot and injured 1 Palestinian woman, claiming she had stabbed and injured 1 settler near Beit Umar. Israeli forces also assaulted 1 Palestinian after forcing him to stop his vehicle near Jericho. 10 were arrested during late-night raids in al-Bireh, Bayt Rima, Dura, Bethlehem, Aida refugee camp, Tulkarm, and Asira. In East Jerusalem, 2 were arrested during raids. Off the coast of Gaza, Israeli naval forces arrested 4 Palestinian fishermen and seized their boats. (HA, WAFA, WAFA 4/17; WAFA 4/18; UNOCHA 4/20; PCHR 4/27)

The Israeli Border Control Administration denied entry to a Palestinian German teenager at Ben Gurion International Airport. She said she was verbally abused and threatened with violence before she was returned on a plane to Germany after being detained for 32 hours. The German ambassador to Israel Steffen Seibert condemned the incident. (HA 4/27)

PA president Mahmoud Abbas arrived in Jeddah for a visit where he will be meeting with Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman on 4/18. Abbas was traveling with PLO secretary-general Hussein al-Sheikh and the head of the PA intelligence service Majed Faraj. (MEMO 4/16; ALM, HA, MEE, WAFA, WAFA 4/17; AJ 4/18)

Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh led a delegation of Hamas officials to Riyadh. The group was expected to meet with Saudi officials despite the visit being unofficial. (MEE, MEMO 4/16; HA, MEE 4/17)

It was reported that the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities instructed the PA to investigate the incarceration of 2 Israelis held by Hamas in Gaza, saying that both suffer from psychiatric problems, and to present its actions to the committee within 6 months. (HA 4/17)

Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang spoke to PA foreign minister Riyad al-Maliki and Israeli foreign minister Eli Cohen in separate calls, informing them that China is ready to support the resumption of peace talks. Qin also expressed concern over the heightened tension between Israelis and Palestinians. (WAFA 4/17; AP, GDN, HA, MEE 4/18)

The EU, France, and Spain donated $29 million for payments to vulnerable families in Palestine through the National Cash Transfer Program. (WAFA 4/17)

In the West Bank, Israeli settlers threw stones at Palestinians and Israeli activists working an olive grove near Turmus ‘Ayya and set fire to 2 Palestinian-owned vehicles. Israeli settlers also threw stones at Palestinian homes in ‘Ayn Bus. Israeli forces shot and killed 5 Palestinians and injured 21 others during a late-night raid in Nablus. Israel claimed it was raiding Nablus to destroy an explosives lab belonging to the Lion’s Den group; at least 1 anti-tank missile was fired by Israeli forces during the raid. The PA called the raid a war crime and said it had reached out to the U.S. to pressure Israel to end its deadly raids. Tens of thousands attended the funeral procession for the 5 victims and a general strike was issued in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza. Israeli forces also shot and killed 1 Palestinian during a raid in Nabi Salih. Elsewhere, Israeli forces violently dispersed Palestinians protesting in Hebron against the raid in Nablus, injuring 3 with live ammunition and others with baton rounds and tear gas. Israeli forces also seized 2 residential tents in al-Juwaya in the Masafer Yatta area, and assaulted Palestinians resisting the seizure. Meanwhile, Israeli forces demolished 1 Palestinian home in Bani Na‘im. Israeli forces also violently dispersed Palestinian protesters in al-Bireh, injuring 1 with live ammunition. Separately, Israeli forces violently dispersed Palestinian protesters in Aida refugee camp, injuring 1 with live ammunition. (NYT 10/24; AJ, AJ, ALM, AP, AX, BB, BBC, CNN, DW, GDN, HA, HA, INT, JP, LT, MDW, MEE, PCHR, REU, TOI, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WSJ 10/25; AJ 10/26; ALM, PCHR 10/27; UNOCHA 11/1; UNOCHA 11/13; HA 11/18)

The Israeli military suspended the security coordinator of the Har Bracha settlement after a video from 10/21 showed that he aided Israeli settlers in attacking Palestinians while in military uniform near Burin. The security coordinator was seen providing a settler with a gas grenade while he was watching the settlers attack Palestinians. The security coordinator was reinstated on 10/30. (HA 10/26; HA 10/31)

PLO secretary general Hussein al-Sheikh met with the ambassadors of Jordan, Egypt, France, and Germany, known as the Munich Group, to continue talks about developing a political horizon for ending the occupation. (WAFA 10/25)

Leader of the Hamas political bureau Ismail Haniyeh met with a delegation from the Taliban-led Afghan government in Istanbul. (MEMO 10/26; MEE 10/28)

Israeli president Isaac Herzog met with U.S. secretary of state Antony Blinken in Washington. Secretary Blinken said that the 2 discussed the need to deescalate the situation in the West Bank. (HA 10/26)

Amnesty International urged the ICC to “investigate unlawful attacks committed during Israel’s August 2022 assault on the Gaza Strip as war crimes.” Amnesty said it had investigated 3 deadly incidents during the assault, 2 of which it with certainty ascribed to Israel and 1 which “likely” was caused by an unguided rocket fired by Palestinian militants. The 2 Israeli attacks Amnesty investigated killed 6 Palestinian civilians, including “a four-year-old boy, a teenager visiting his mother’s grave, and a 22-year-old student at home with her family.” Amnesty said that of the 49 Palestinians killed, 33 were killed by Israel and 7 were killed by rockets fired by Palestinian militants; it was unclear who had caused the deaths of the remaining 8. (AI, AJ, MEE 10/25)

In the West Bank, Israeli settlers from the Yitzhar settlement raided ‘Asira al-Qibliya but were repelled by locals before causing any damages. Israeli forces shot and killed 4 Palestinians during a late-night house raid in Jenin refugee camp; 3 others were injured by live ammunition. PA presidential spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh condemned the killings and called on the international community to intervene. Israeli forces also shot and injured 3 Palestinians using live ammunition during a raid in Tammun. Elsewhere, Israeli forces also seized solar panels in Baziq and Yarzeh, demolished 1 room in Deir Balut, razed 1 road in Atuf, and uprooted olive trees in Bardala. Israeli forces also delivered stop-work orders for 2 houses and 1 agricultural structure in Masafer Yatta and a warehouse in Haris. Israel said it had arrested 1 armed Palestinian man dressed as an Israeli soldier near Qaryut. 7 others were arrested during late-night raids in and around Qusra, Kafr Qallil, Abu Nujaym, Aida refugee camp, and Hebron. In Gaza, 1 rocket was launched at Israel before being intercepted by the Iron Dome. Hamas denied responsibility. (AJ, AJ, ALM, AP, GDN, HA, HA, HA, JP, MDW, MEE, MEMO, REU, REU, TOI, TOI, TOI, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 8/16; AA, HA, HQ 8/17; PCHR 8/19)

Israel confiscated 23 tons of chocolate bars headed for Gaza, claiming the chocolate would benefit Hamas economically. The confiscation order was signed by Israeli defense minister Benny Gantz. (JP 8/16; AA, MEE, MEMO 8/17; ALM 8/24)

Hamas’s political leader Ismail Haniyeh congratulated the Taliban on taking over most of Afghanistan as the organization entered Kabul after the U.S. removed most of its forces. Chaotic scenes were filmed in the Kabul airport as foreigners and many Afghan people desperately sought to flee the country. (MEMO 8/17; ALM 8/19)

The UNRWA warned that 30,000 Palestinian refugees were at risk in southern Syria after fighting between the Syrian government and local militias intensified in Daraa in late July. (MEMO 8/4; WAFA 8/16; AA, MEMO 8/17)

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu signs a coalition agreement with Tzipi Livni’s Hatnua party, under which Livni will become Justice Minister as well as heading the government’s negotiations team with the Palestinians. (HA, ToI 2/20)

Palestinians hold demonstrations in the West Bank, as an estimated 800 Palestinian prisoners declare a one-day fast in solidarity with long-term hunger striking prisoners being held as administrative detainees. Some 200 protesters clash with Israeli soldiers in the northern West Bank city, Hawara, causing no serious injuries. Meanwhile, UN Secy.- Gen. Ban Ki-moon expresses concern at the ongoing Palestinian hunger strike, saying that ‘‘those detained should be charged and face trial with judicial guarantees in accordance with international standards, or be promptly released. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in 1 village each nr. Jenin and nr. Tulkarm in the morning, and in 1 village nr. Hebron in the afternoon; conducts house searches and arrest raids in Tulkarm, al-‘Arub r.c. nr. Hebron, 1 village nr. Hebron, Aida r.c. and al-Dheisha r.c. in Bethlehem at night. The Israeli navy arrests 2 Palestinian fishermen off the coast of the Gaza Strip, nr. Bayt Lahiya. The IDF also conducts 2 incursions into the Gaza Strip, nr. Jabaliya and nr. Khan Yunis, levelling land in both cases. (AP, MNA, REU 2/19; PCHR 2/21)

Head of the PA’s borders and crossing department Nathmi Muhanna announces that the European Union will fund expansion of the Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza in order to increase its capacity to 500 truckloads per day (up from its current 300). Muhanna also says that Israel has informed his department of their intention to allow entry of new empty domestic gas cylinders into the Gaza Strip, as well as new fuel trucks, and the installation of a new phone and Internet line from Israel to the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, Yousef Rizka, adviser to Hamas PM Ismail Haniyeh, says that the Egyptian authorities are flooding smuggling tunnels on the Rafah border with sewage water. (MNA 2/19)

Israeli security officials visit Cairo for the second time in a week to discuss the Gaza cease-fire with their Egyptian counterparts. An unnamed Hamas official says that the talks are focused on ‘‘humanitarian issues,’’ not politics. (MNA 2/19)

PA pres. Abbas’s legal adviser Hassan al-Ouri says that the PA’s financial crisis may prevent it from joining several international and UN institutions. (MNA 1/4)

In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in 1 village nr. Ramallah in the morning and in al-‘Arub r.c. and Ithna r.c. (both nr. Hebron), 5 villages nr. Ramallah, 3 villages nr. Hebron, and 1 village nr. Tulkarm at night; conducts house searches and arrest raids in Bayt Sahur and Aida r.c. in Bethlehem at night. Israeli soldiers attack weekly nonviolent demonstrations held by Palestinians, Israelis, and internationals in 3 villages nr. Ramallah (Bil‘in, Ni‘lin, al-Nabi Salih), 1 village nr. Bethlehem (al-Ma‘sara), and 1 village nr. Qalqilya (Kafr Qaddum). There are no serious injuries, except in Bil‘in, where 2 Palestinians are wounded with live ammunition. Jewish settlers enter al-Manshiya village nr. Bethlehem, vandalize a car, and write ‘‘price-tag’’ graffiti. (PCHR 1/10)

Hundreds of thousands of Fatah supporters rally in Gaza City to mark the 48th anniversary of the founding of the movement, the 1st such show of support for Fatah in Gaza since 2007. Pres. Abbas tells the crowds in a televised address that Palestinian national unity is coming soon. Hamas’s acting PM Ismail Haniyeh calls Abbas to congratulate him on the occasion of the anniversary. Meanwhile, a report in Ha’Aretz says that IDF-PA security coordination is improving again, and the PA is renewing arrests of Hamas and Islamic Jihad suspects. (HA, MNA, REU 1/4)

Christian Science Monitor reports that Palestinian support for military operations against Israel has registered its most significant jump in 10 years (50.9%, up from 29.3% in 1/2011), spurred by Operation Pillar of Defense, ongoing Israeli settlement expansion, and frustration over a peace process that has been essentially deadlocked for more than 4 yrs. (CSM 4/1)

Egyptian security forces seize antitank and anti-aircraft missiles in the Sinai Peninsula, weaponry thought by Egyptian security sources to be bound for the Gaza Strip via the tunnels. (MNA 1/4)

In Syria, fighting between pro- and anti-government groups resumes in Yarmuk r.c. nr. Damascus, ending a short-lived cease-fire (see 12/21) and prompting another wave of Palestinian refugees. (AKH 1/4)

Recently retired Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin says in an interview with Israeli media that PM Netanyahu acted irresponsibly regarding Iran’s nuclear program and tried to convince him and colleagues to approve an ‘‘illegal’’ decision to attack Iran. (AP 1/4)