Sinai Province of the Islamic State (SPIS) fighters fire 2 rockets from the north Sinai Peninsula into Israel, where they land in open areas, causing no damage or injuries. Sources on the ground...
Sinai Province of the Islamic State (SPIS) fighters launch rockets into Israel from n. Sinai late at night. Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense batteries intercept 3 of them; others land in open...
Israeli forces shoot and kill Fadi al-Qunbar, a Palestinian truck driver, outside the Old City after he rams a group of Israelis, killing 4 IDF soldiers and injuring at least 13 other people....
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Sinai Province of the Islamic State (SPIS) fighters fire 2 rockets from the north Sinai Peninsula into Israel, where they land in open areas, causing no damage or injuries. Sources on the ground in Sinai report seeing Israeli fighter jets launch air strikes on a number of targets in response to the rockets. The attacks come after a day of heavy violence in Sinai and weeks of tension between Hamas and local Islamist groups in Gaza. Hours before the attack, SPIS fighters assaulted Egyptian soldiers at a vacant church in al-Arish with rocket-propelled grenades and car bombs, and also rob a bank nearby, sparking a firefight with Egyptian security personnel (at least 3 civilians and 4 soldiers are killed and at least 20 people are injured). The Egyptian army then launches a counterassault on insurgent hideouts near Rafah, al-Arish, and Shaykh Zuwayd, killing at least 24 fighters affiliated with SPIS and other armed groups. Meanwhile, the Egyptian authorities announce that they will not be opening the Rafah border crossing with Gaza for 4 days as planned. (AA, AP, HA, JP, REU, TOI, WAFA 10/16; TOI 10/17)
In the West Bank, Israeli settlers assault 2 Palestinian children on their way to school in Hebron. They also throw stones and bottles at a mosque in al-Tuwani village near Hebron, causing minor damage and sparking clashes between their IDF escort and residents of the area (there are no serious injuries). Settlers steal olives harvested from more than 65 trees in orchards near Nablus and Ramallah (IDF troops arrest a number of them later in the day). Other settlers attempt to assault Palestinians picking olives outside the Eli settlement near Hebron, but the Palestinians drive them off. IDF troops conduct a raid in Dahaysha refugee camp near Bethlehem, arresting 1 Palestinian and sparking clashes with stone-throwing residents; 1 Palestinian is injured. They arrest 13 Palestinians during latenight raids near Jenin and Ramallah, and in Bethlehem and Qalqilya, and patrol near Jenin. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces violently disperse a Palestinian family gathering in Issawiyya to welcome a relative home from prison, moderately injuring 3 of them. Off Gaza’s coast, Israeli naval forces open fire on Palestinian fishing boats near Gaza City and Bayt Lahiya, causing no damage or injuries. They arrest 4 fishermen and confiscate 2 boats. Along Gaza’s border, IDF troops open fire on Palestinian farmland near al-Maghazi refugee camp, causing no damage or injuries. (WAFA 10/15; MNA, WAFA 10/16; PCHR 10/19)
At the weekly Israeli cabinet meeting, PM Netanyahu says U.S. pres. Trump’s 10/13 decision not to certify the 7/14/2015 Iran nuclear deal presents an opportunity to “fix” the deal. “I believe that any responsible government, and whoever seeks to promote peace and security in the world, needs to take advantage of the opportunity that Pres. Trump’s decision has created to improve the agreement or abrogate it and, of course, stop Iran’s aggression,” he says. (TOI 10/15; JTA 10/16)
Sinai Province of the Islamic State (SPIS) fighters launch rockets into Israel from n. Sinai late at night. Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense batteries intercept 3 of them; others land in open areas nr. Eilat. No Israelis are injured. SPIS last launched rockets into Israel in 7/2015 (see JPS 45 [1]). Later, 2 Palestinians are killed and at least 5 are injured in an air strike targeting the smuggling tunnel they are working in nr. Rafah. The IDF denies carrying out the strike. Palestinian eyewitnesses say they saw an Israeli aircraft launch it, and Palestinian security sources say it was a retaliation for the rocket barrage. (HA, JP 2/8; HA, MNA, WAFA 2/9)
An Israeli settler driver rams an elderly Palestinian nr. Bethlehem, causing fatal injuries. The Palestinian dies later in the day. Israeli settlers raze a swath of Palestinianowned land nr. Nablus overnight. Meanwhile, IDF troops arrest 5 Palestinians during raids nr. Hebron and Ramallah, and patrol nr. Hebron. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces demolish a 2d Palestinian building in Bayt Hanina in as many days. They also assault and arrest 4 Palestinian youths in Silwan. Along Gaza’s border, Israeli forces conduct a limited incursion to level land nr. the Erez border crossing. IDF troops also open fire on Palestinian agricultural lands nr. Rafah and Bayt Hanun, causing no serious damage or injuries. Off Gaza’s coast, Israeli naval forces open fire on Palestinian fishing boats nr. Jabaliya r.c., causing no damage or injuries. In Israel, Israeli forces demolish the bedouin village of al-‘Araqib in the Negev for the 109th time since 2010. (MNA, WAFA 2/8; PCHR 2/9; PCHR 2/16)
In Washington, PA intelligence chief Majid Faraj leads a Palestinian delegation in their first face-to-face talks with Trump admin. officials. According to a Palestinian source, they discuss diplomatic issues, particularly Trump’s pledge to move the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. (AP 2/9; HA, TOI 2/10)
Israeli forces shoot and kill Fadi al-Qunbar, a Palestinian truck driver, outside the Old City after he rams a group of Israelis, killing 4 IDF soldiers and injuring at least 13 other people. Israeli forces then conduct raids on the alleged attacker’s home in Jabal Mukabir, interrogating his family for hours, threatening punitive demolition, and establishing checkpoints in the area. Their prolonged presence in the neighborhood sparks clashes with stonethrowing Palestinians; there are no serious injuries. After Israeli PM Netanyahu accuses the alleged attacker of supporting ISIS, Israel’s security cabinet decides to use administrative detention against any persons suspected of committing a crime who also identify as supporters of the group. The cabinet also decides to punitively demolish the attacker’s home as soon as possible, and to close down the attacker’s neighborhood, Jabal Mukabir. Meanwhile, the attacker’s family says he was motivated by U.S. pres.-elect Trump’s pledge to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. “He was very angry, and said transferring the embassy would lead to war,” his cousin says. (HA, MNA, NYT, TOI, YA 1/8; PCHR 1/12)
Elsewhere in East Jerusalem, Israeli settlers seize control of a residential building in Silwan. Along Gaza’s border, IDF troops open fire on Palestinian agricultural lands nr. Gaza City and later nr. Khan Yunis, causing no injuries or damage. In the West Bank, PASF troops block an IDF jeep from entering Qalqilya. Israel settlers assault and injure a number of Palestinians outside Huwwara village nr. Nablus and throw stones at Palestinian cars driving nearby. The IDF delivers stop-work orders to 11 Palestinian homes under construction nr. Bethlehem. IDF troops conduct raids nr. Nablus, sparking clashes with stone-throwing Palestinians outside Bayt Furik village; 1 Palestinian is arrested. They arrest 9 more Palestinians during late-night raids in Jenin and nr. Jericho, Hebron, and Ramallah, and patrol nr. Hebron, Salfit, and Nablus. (HA, JP, MNA, TOI, WAFA, YA 1/8; MNA, WAFA 1/9; PCHR 1/12)
Israel’s Ministerial Comm. for Legislation unanimously approves a bill that would ban representatives from the anti-occupation group Breaking the Silence and other groups that allegedly “defame Israeli soldiers” from speaking in Israeli schools. (HA, JP 1/9)
