The Palestine Chronology

In the West Bank, Israeli forces killed 1 Palestinian child during a raid in Balata refugee camp; Israeli forces said that the child had thrown a stone at the forces during the raid; no soldiers were reported injured. Israeli forces also shot and injured 2 Palestinian minors near a watchtower in al-Arroub refugee camp, claiming that the 2 threw stones at soldiers. Elsewhere, Israeli forces delivered stop-work orders for 4 commercial buildings in Salfit, 1 demolition order for a house in Bayt Jala, and demolished 3 agricultural structures in Khirbet al-Rahwa. 15 Palestinians were arrested during late-night raids in and around Ramallah, al-Bireh, Beit Sahour, Bayt Jala, al-Arroub refugee camp, Sa‘ir, Mirka, al-Zawiya, ‘Azzun, and Balata refugee camp. (AJ, HA, MEE, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 8/24; PCHR 8/26)

Haaretz reported that Israel had sent more troops to the Gaza fence in anticipation of another Palestinian demonstration on 8/25. Israel is also said to have instructed its soldiers to respond “more aggressively” to the Palestinian protests, despite injuring more than 40 Palestinians on 8/21. It was also reported that Hamas, in talks with Egypt, had agreed to end or curb the sending of incendiary balloons into Israel. (HA 8/24; MEMO 8/25)

500,000 doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine donated by the U.S. arrived in Palestine, with 300,000 doses in the West Bank and 200,000 in Gaza. The PA said it had received a total of 2.5 million COVID-19 doses, which have been distributed between the West Bank and Gaza. Hamas, like the PA, recently required workers to get vaccinated. (HA, WAFA 8/24)

7 out of the 20 Palestinians from East Jerusalem who had their Israeli government benefits revoked in May saw these benefits restored. The revoked benefits included their health insurance and government allowances. (HA 8/24)

The New York Times reported that Israel has changed its policy on allowing Jewish people to pray at the Haram al-Sharif compound. The reporting came after former MK and greater Israel advocate Yehuda Glick on 8/23 livestreamed himself praying at the Haram al-Sharif compound, in violation of the Status Quo agreement. While Israel does not have a law against non-Muslims praying at the compound, it has generally upheld the agreement. However, according to the NYT reporting, this does not seem to be the case anymore. (AJ, NYT 8/24; AP 8/25)

1 Palestinian on administrative detention ended his hunger strike after reassurances from Israel that his detention would not be renewed after January. The man was placed on administrative detention after being arrested on 9/22/2020 and had been hunger striking for 42 days. (WAFA 8/24)

A PA official said that the EU funding of its budget had still not arrived for 2021. The EU has helped fund the PA budget with $176 million, but the funding had not arrived due to technical reasons. The funding is presumed to be arriving in October, but the PA may not be able to pay salaries and social allowances for August without the funding. (JP 8/24)

The Fatah central committee said that PA president Mahmoud Abbas will reshuffle the PA government and announce new ministers on 8/27. It was later reported that the reshuffling was canceled. (ALM, MEMO 8/25)

In an interview with NYT before his trip to Washington D.C., Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett said that there will not be the creation of a Palestinian state while he is in office, as he is opposed to Palestinian sovereignty. Prime Minister Bennett also said that his government would not annex parts of the West Bank, but would continue the expansion of settlements and Israel blockade of Gaza. (NYT 8/24; MEMO 8/25)

Citizen Lab released a report saying that the Israeli spyware company NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware was used to spy on 9 Bahraini nationals. (AP, HA 8/24)

In the West Bank, Israeli settlers planted trees near al-Farisya and ‘Ain al-Hilweh. Israeli forces delivered a stop-work order to 1 Palestinian for his agricultural fields and seized 1 bulldozer. 9 Palestinians were arrested during late-night raids in and around Tulkarm, Qalqilya, Beit Fajjar, al-Bireh, Dura, Bayt Liqya, Bayt Rima, and Jaba‘. In East Jerusalem, around 100 Israeli settlers toured the Haram al-Sharif compound for the 2d day in a row. 2 Palestinians were arrested during raids in Isawiya and Shu‘fat. (WAFA, WAFA 7/19; PCHR 7/29)

PA president Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli defense minister Benny Gantz spoke on the phone. According to Gantz’s office, the 2 discussed trust-building steps between Israel and the PA and Gantz gave Abbas best wishes on the occasion of Eid al-Adha. Their conversation was the 1st between Abbas and an Israeli minister since 2017, when Abbas spoke to then prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Israeli president Isaac Herzog also called President Abbas to wish him a happy Eid al-Adha. (JP, REU, TOI, TOI, WAFA 7/19; ALM 7/22)

In Syria, Israeli forces conducted air strikes in as-Safira, south of Aleppo, killing 5 people. (AJ, AP, HA, HA, HA 7/20)

A freedom of information request revealed that the director general of the Israeli interior ministry lives in a house in the illegal settlement outpost Keida, which has had a demolition order against it since 2008. The interior ministry said in a statement that its minister Ayelet Shaked “is pleased that the director-general of her ministry lives in Keida.” (HA 7/20)

King Abdullah II of Jordan met with U.S. president Joe Biden in the White House. King Abdullah II was the 1st Middle Eastern leader to visit President Biden in Washington, as the U.S.-Jordanian relationship was tarnished during the Donald Trump administration due to the 1-sided peace proposal made by the administration. A read-out of the meeting said that the 2 discussed the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and Jordan’s relationship to Israel. (AJ, HA, JP, JP, MEE, NBC, NYT, REU, TOI, TOI 7/19; MEMO, WAFA 7/20)

The ice cream company Ben & Jerry’s issued a statement declaring it will end sales of its ice cream in Israeli settlements, saying that selling its ice cream in the occupied Palestinian territory “is inconsistent with our values.” Ben & Jerry’s also announced it would not renew its licensing agreement with manufacturers of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream in Israel but that the ice cream will still be available in Israel. Israel’s prime minister Naftali Bennett said that Ben & Jerry’s had decided to brand itself as an “antisemitic ice cream.” Foreign minister Yair Lapid, who weeks ago said his government would not call all criticism of Israel anti-Semitic, said the company was surrendering to BDS and anti-Semitism and that he would ask 35 U.S. states with anti-BDS laws to enforce them against the U.S. company. On 7/20, Prime Minister Bennett called the CEO of Unilever, the parent company of Ben & Jerry’s, to criticize the decision and Israel’s ambassador to the U.S. Gilad Erdan urged states with anti-BDS laws to take legal action against Ben & Jerry’s. The Israeli president Isaac Herzog likened the Ben & Jerry’s decision to terrorism. Ben & Jerry’s is known to engage publicly on progressive issues. Both founders of the company are Jewish-Americans. (AJ, ALM, AX, BenJerry, FOX, GDN, HA, HA, MEE, MEMO, NBC, REU, TOI, TOI, TOI, TOI, Twitter 7/19; AJ, AP, BBC, CNN, HA, HA, JP, JP, JP, MEE, MEE, REU, TOI, WAFA 7/20; HA, MEMO 7/21; AJ, AP, MEMO 7/22; GDN 7/23; HA 7/26; AX 7/27)

In the West Bank, Israeli settlers vandalized 1 Palestinian-owned agricultural structure in Kafr al-Dik. Israeli forces delivered demolition orders for 7 Palestinian-owned homes in Ma‘in. 17 Palestinians were arrested during raids in and around al-Khadir, Husan, Hebron, Nablus, Tulkarm, Abu Dis, ‘Azun, Beita, Ramallah, al-Bireh, Sabastiyya, and Jenin refugee camp. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces seized, for a 2d time, tents sheltering a family whose house was demolished in Issawiyya. 11 Palestinians were arrested during raids in Issawiyya, Shu‘fat refugee camp, and al-Tur; confrontations erupted during the raids in Issawiyya, leading to tear-gas related injuries and damage to property. In Gaza, Israeli forces opened fire at agricultural lands east of Dayr al-Balah; no injuries were reported. (PCHR, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 3/4; PCHR 3/11)

Israeli authorities allowed changes to the structure of al-Ibrahimi Mosque, allowing the construction of an elevator to the designated Jewish area of the mosque. (WAFA 3/4)

PA president Mahmoud Abbas extended the COVID-19-related state of emergency for another 30 days. (WAFA 3/4)

According to Haaretz reporting, the Shin Bet has been threatening some Palestinian activists with administrative detention if they run in the Palestinian Legislative Council elections. Haaretz confirmed that at least 1 Palestinian activist was arrested and put in administrative detention for 4 months after announcing that he would run in the elections. (HA 3/4)

Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen and Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz met with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem to discuss a joint COVID-19 plan. Prime Minister Frederiksen had, prior to the trip, praised Israel’s vaccination campaign and said that Denmark is considering opening a vaccine factory with and/or in Israel, leading her own left-wing coalition to denounce her trip. The EU expressed dismay at the 2 European leaders’ trip, saying that cooperation on COVID-19 response was an EU issue 1st and foremost. (POL, POL 3/1; GDN, HA, REU 3/2; GDN, POL 3/3; AP, DR.DK, HA, POL, REU, TOI 3/4)

U.S. vice president Kamala Harris spoke with Prime Minister Netanyahu to discuss the ICC investigation into Israel. Vice President Harris expressed support for the normalization deals between Israel, the U.S., and several Arab and African countries during the Trump administration. (REU 3/4; AJ, HA, TOI 3/5)

Israeli defense minister Benny Gantz told FOX News that Israel is constantly updating preparations to strike Iran. Defense Minister Gantz also said that Hezbollah has hundreds of thousands of missiles. (AP, AJ, FOX, HA 3/5)

In the West Bank, Israeli forces set up a metal gate, shutting the main entrance to Nabi Salih. Israeli forces also handed a demolition notice for the family home of a Palestinian prisoner in Kubar and handed a stop-work order for 4 structures in the Jordan Valley. Elsewhere, Israeli forces entered al-Ibrahimi Mosque and forced worshippers and staff to leave the mosque. Israeli forces also violently suppressed a protest in al-Bireh; 2 Palestinians were injured by live ammunition, 3 by rubber-coated bullets, and others suffered tear-gas related injuries. 7 Palestinians were arrested during late-night raids in and around Hebron, Bethlehem, Ramallah, and Nablus. In East Jerusalem, 1 Palestinian was arrested during a late-night raid in Issawiyya. Off the coast of Gaza, Israeli naval forces opened fire and used water hoses on Palestinian fishermen 3 nautical miles off the coast of Gaza City, causing damage to boats. In Gaza, Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinian farmland east of Rafah; no injuries were reported. In Israel, more than 150 vehicles were vandalized and racist graffiti in Hebrew, such as “Jews wake up” and “Enough with the assimilation,” was sprayed on several buildings in the Christian Palestinian village of Jish. (HA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 2/11; PCHR 2/13)

At a UN Security Council meeting, PA president Mahmoud Abbas sharply rejected the U.S. administration’s peace plan, saying “[t]his is an Israeli-American pre-emptive plan in order to put an end to the question of Palestine.” While President Abbas was speaking in New York, Palestinian protesters in Ramallah demonstrated against the U.S. peace plan. After the protest, Palestinians and Israeli forces clashed at a checkpoint north of Ramallah; 2 Palestinians were injured by rubber-coated bullets and others needing treatment for tear-gas related injuries. (AJ, HA, HA, HA, NYT, WAFA, WAFA 2/11)