The Palestine Chronology

In the West Bank, Israeli forces raided Jenin refugee camp, killing 4 Palestinians, including a minor, and injuring more than 30 others using 2 suicide drones and live ammunition. 1 Israeli military vehicle was damaged by an explosive device. The Israeli forces cut off electricity in the camp during the raid. Palestinians demonstrated against PA inaction to protect the residents of the camp after the raid. Defence for Children International said that the minor was chased and killed by Israeli forces after he had seen them sneak into the camp. Israeli forces also raided ‘Anata, leading to tear-gas related injuries. Elsewhere, Israeli forces seized the rooftop of a Palestinian home in Jalbun, turning it into a watchtower and placing Israeli flags on the building. Israeli forces also raided ‘Urif, taking measurements for punitive demolitions of 3 homes. In Gaza, Israeli forces violently dispersed Palestinian protesters east of Rafah, Gaza City, and Jabaliyya, killing 1 and injuring 8 others, including 3 minors, with live ammunition; others sustained tear-gas related injuries. (AJ, AP, AP, HA, HA, MEE, REU, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 9/19; AP, DCI, MDW, PCHR, REU, WAFA, WAFA 9/20; AJ, HA, PCHR 9/21; UNOCHA 9/26)

Israeli authorities announced that they will extend the closure of the Gaza crossings indefinitely, barring Palestinian workers from entering Israel from Gaza, citing the protests in Gaza. (AP, HA, HA 9/19; MEE, REU 9/20)

UN humanitarian coordinator Lynn Hastings led a group of diplomats from Australia, Chile, Italy, Mexico, Norway, Spain, and the UK in Gaza to mark World Humanitarian Day. The group met with Palestinians who had their homes destroyed by Israel during the 2021 assault on Gaza. (UNOCHA, QDS, WAFA 9/19)

The Israeli-run Jerusalem municipality inaugurated a newly built intersection in Jerusalem, omitting the names of the Palestinian neighborhoods Sur Baher and Umm Tuba on the highway signs. (HA 9/19)

Islamic Jihad condemned the PA for threatening and arresting its members in Hebron. Hamas also called on the PA to end all arrests of political figures and release political prisoners. (QDS 9/19; MEMO 9/20)

Otzma Yehudit MK Limor Son Har-Melech spoke at a fundraising event for the Israeli terrorist Amiram Ben Uliel, who killed 3 Palestinians in an arson attack on the Dawabsheh family’s home in Duma in 2015, calling him a “holy righteous man.” (HA, QDS 9/20; MEE 9/21)

PA president Mahmoud Abbas met with Brazilian president Luiz Inácio da Silva on the sidelines of the annual UN General Assembly meeting. (WAFA 9/20)

PA prime minister Mohammed Shtayyeh met with U.S. assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs Barbara Leaf in New York ahead of the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee meeting on 9/21. (WAFA 9/19)

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with the leaders of Turkey, Ukraine, Germany, and South Korea on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly annual meeting. Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s office said he brought up recent developments concerning Palestinians. It was the first time that Erdoğan and Netanyahu had met in person. (HA, HA, MEE, REU 9/19; ALM, HA 9/20; ALM, MEE 9/21; HA 9/22)

Israel’s ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan was removed from the part of the UN building in New York where the UN General Assembly was meeting after he held up a picture Mahsa Amini who was killed by the Iranian morality police last year and walked out of the auditorium, calling Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi “the butcher of Tehran.” (HA, MEMO 9/20)

American officials told the New York Times that the U.S. and Saudi Arabia are in negotiations discussing terms for a mutual defense treaty resembling the U.S. treaties with Japan and South Korea as part of the Israeli-Saudi normalization deal. (MEE, NYT 9/19)

In a letter nearly 80 Jewish American leaders urged U.S. president Joe Biden to ensure that a normalization deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia takes Palestinians and the two-state solution into account. (HA 9/19)

An AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll found that 40% of Americans describe Israel as an ally but don’t think the 2 countries share U.S. interests and values. 61% of the people polled said they disapprove of President Joe Biden’s handling of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. (AX, HA 9/19; AP 9/20)

Azerbaijan launched an attack on the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region to ethnically cleanse the area of Armenians. Israel is one of the largest suppliers of weapons to Azerbaijan and arms transfers to the country spiked in the month leading to the attack. (BBC 9/20; HA 9/27; HA 9/28; HA 10/1)

In the West Bank, Israeli settlers uprooted 30 olive tree saplings in Qarawat Bani Hassan. Israeli forces shot and killed 1 Palestinian man during a raid in Dheisheh refugee camp, 6 others were wounded. Israeli forces also arrested, Yahya al-Saadi, the son of senior Islamic Jihad commander Bassam al-Saadi during a raid in Jenin. Elsewhere, Israeli forces demolished 1 mosque in Dura, 3 agricultural structures in Tarqumiyah, and issued a stop-work notice for 3 stores in Bayt Rima. Israeli forces also violently dispersed Palestinian protesters in al-Khader and Hebron, causing tear-gas related injuries. Israel said that 2 Israeli soldiers were injured by an explosive device thrown at them near Aida refugee camp, causing light injuries. 16 Palestinians were arrested during late-night raids in Ni’lin, al-Bireh, Dheisheh refugee camp, and Hebron. In East Jerusalem, 1 Palestinian was arrested during a late-night raid in Shu’fat refugee camp. In the Naqab, Israeli forces demolished the Palestinian village al-Araqib for the 210th time since 2010. (AJ, AP, HA, MEE, MEMO, MEMO, PCHR, REU, TOI, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 12/5; MEMO 12/6; PCHR 12/8; UNOCHA 12/16)

An Israeli court upheld a demolition order for an apartment building in Wadi Qaddum in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan, giving the resident until 12/7 to demolish the building. Approximately 100 Palestinians reside in the building. (WAFA 12/5)

PA prime minister Mohammad Shtayyeh welcomed the EU and UN’s criticism of the 12/2 killing of a Palestinian in Huwwara but urged the organizations to take tangible action to hold Israel accountable. (WAFA 12/5)

PA foreign minister Riyad al-Maliki met with ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan, providing materials about Israeli war crimes against Palestinians. Chief Prosecutor Khan said that he aims to visit Palestine, Afghanistan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2023. (WAFA 12/5; MEMO, WAFA 12/6; TOI 12/7)

The U.S. weapons manufacture Lockheed Martin joined Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems in developing a laser-based anti-missile system, dubbed the Iron Beam. (HA 12/5)

IDF troops on the s. Gaza border fire on armed Palestinians laying a roadside bomb nr. the border fence e. of Khan Yunis. When Palestinians return fire, the troops enter the Strip in pursuit, triggering at least 1 buried device and drawing Palestinian mortar fire, which prompts the IDF to move several tanks and armed bulldozers into Gaza, shelling areas outside Khan Yunis. The exchange leaves 2 armed Palestinians, 1 Palestinian bystander, and 2 IDF soldiers dead and 3 IDF soldiers and 6 Palestinians (including at least 2 civilians, one a 13-yr.-old boy) wounded, marking the 1st deadly exchange of fire in Gaza since OCL ended on 1/18/09. The al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, Islamic Jihad, and a group calling itself Palestinian Taliban (believed to be a radical Salafist splinter group opposed to Hamas) claim their fighters were involved in the initial border incident; the Izzedin al-Qassam Brigades claims responsibility for ambushing and firing mortars at IDF troops once they entered Gaza, causing the IDF casualties. In the West Bank, the IDF fires rubber-coated steel bullets, stun grenades, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, and international activists taking part in weekly demonstrations against the separation wall and settlement expansion in Bil‘in (10s suffer tear gas inhalation; 1 Israeli is arrested), Dayr Nizam/al-Nabi Salih (2 Palestinians injured), and Ni‘lin (10s suffer tear gas inhalation). (JP 3/27; WP 3/28; OCHA, PCHR 4/1; PCHR 4/8)

Overnight, the IDF sends troops into Gaza to engage a group of armed Palestinians laying a roadside bomb nr. the border fence, fatally shooting 2 Islamic Jihad mbrs.; the deaths bring to 22 the number of Gazans killed by the IDF since the 1/18/09 cease-fire. Later in the day, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine detonates a roadside bomb on the Gaza border fence as an IDF patrol passes, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Jenin (firing live ammunition and stun grenades at homes, injuring a Palestinian woman); fires tear gas at stone-throwing Palestinians demonstrating against the separation wall construction in Bil‘in; fires live ammunition, rubbercoated steel bullets, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, and international activists taking part in weekly nonviolent protests against the separation wall in Ni‘lin (injuring 10 Palestinians, 2 with live ammunition). Jewish settlers burn 10s of d. of Palestinian crops nr. Yitzhar settlement nr. Nablus, block firefighters fr. reaching the scene. A Jewish settler is found dead nr. Eli settlement btwn. Ramallah and Nablus; the circumstances of his death are unclear. (NYT, WP 5/23; OCHA, PCHR 5/28)

In Gaza, Islamic Jihad detonates a roadside bomb nr. an IDF convoy patrolling inside Israel nr. Kerem Shalom crossing, causing no injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in Yabad nr. Jenin (seriously injuring a 13-yr.-old Palestinian boy in an accidental hit-and-run); patrols in Ramallah; fires rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, international activists attending the weekly nonviolent protest against the separation wall in Bil‘in, injuring 2; forcibly removes Jewish settlers fr. the Homesh settlement site. (OCHA 8/1; PCHR 8/2)

IDF troops on the n. Gaza Border nr. Bayt Lahiya shoot, wound a Palestinian collecting scrap metal nr. the border fence. Islamic Jihad fires 6 rockets fr. Gaza toward the IDF post at the Sufa crossing, causing no damage or injuries, prompting the IDF to shut the crossing. In Nussayrat r.c., a Palestinian is injured when an explosive device he is preparing explodes prematurely. In the West Bank, the IDF sends undercover units in a car with Palestinian license plates into Baqa al-Sharqiyya nr. Tulkarm to ambush, arrest 2 wanted Palestinians; surrounds, photographs a municipal building in ‘Azun; fire live ammunition, tear gas, percussion grenades at 10s of Palestinians holding a peaceful demonstration in Hebron against Israel’s construction work at the Haram alSharif/Temple Mount, wounding 2 Palestinians; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Hebron, Tulkarm; bulldozes 400 m2 of Palestinian land nr. the entrance to ‘Azun for construction of an observation tower; confiscates 400 m2 of Palestinian land in Hebron for another observation tower. In Nussayrat r.c., 500 Palestinian children organized by an NGO demonstrate against the ongoing intra-Palestinian violence and for a national unity government. Some 400 Palestinian women, children attend a similarly rally organized by Islamic Jihad, the PFLP in Dayr al-Balah. The NIHC organizes a peaceful demonstration in Rafah against Israel’s construction at the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount. (MM 2/8; OCHA 2/14; PCHR 2/15)

On the 3d day of talks brokered by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia in Mecca, Abbas, Hamas head Khalid Mishalsign an agmt. charging Haniyeh to form a national unity government within 5 wks., calling an immediate intra-Palestinian cease-fire. (MM 2/8; MM, NYT, UNIS, WP, WT 2/9; Daily Star, MM, NYT, WP, WT 2/10; MM 2/12)

The IDF seals the West Bank, Gaza until 4/24 for the Passover holiday; bars Palestinian traffic on the main north–south Gaza road for the day; conducts arrest raids, house searches nr. Ramallah and in Balata r.c. (exchanging fire with Palestinians, wounding 2), Dahariyya nr. Hebron, Jenin (targeting Islamic Jihad mbrs.) and nearby Araba, Saida nr. Tulkarm; fires rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas at Palestinian, international activists nonviolently protesting the separation wall nr. Ramallah, injuring 4 Palestinians, 2 internationals. Palestinians detonate a roadside bomb nr. an IDF patrol nr. the Qarni crossing, lightly injuring 3 soldiers. In Gaza City, 100s of PA police officers loyal to Civil Affairs M Muhammad Dahlan gather outside police headquarters in a show of force, to protest Abbas’s plans to forcibly retire some mbrs. of the security services. (AP 4/22; OCHA 4/27; PCHR 4/28)

The IDF fatally shoots 2 Palestinians allegedly planting a roadside bomb in n. Gaza; demolishes a 3-story Palestinian building, severely damages 7 Palestinian homes and 10 shops in Nablus; fires live ammunition, tear gas on a group of Palestinians who approach the closed Abu Huli checkpoint holding white flags and seeking special permission to pass, leaving 3 Palestinians seriously wounded; fires on residential areas of Dayr al-Balah, Rafah; finds a smugglers’ tunnel in Rafah; conducts arrest raids nr. Tulkarm. Hamas mbrs. fire on an IDF patrol near the n. Gaza border, wounding 3 soldiers. Palestinians fire a mortar at a Jewish settlement in s. Gaza, causing no damage or injuries; detonate a roadside bomb underneath an IDF bulldozer, causing damage but no injuries. An ailing Palestinian stranded on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing dies, reportedly bringing to 6 the number of Palestinians who have died at the crossing since it was sealed by Israel on 12/12. (AP, UPI, XIN 1/19; VOI, VOP 1/19 in WNC 1/20; NYT, PR 1/20; VOP 1/20 in WNC 1/21; PCHR 1/27)

Abbas meets with his Gaza security cmdrs. and advisers, orders PA security forces to deploy along the Gaza borders within 2 days to prevent rocket fire into Israel. (A PA security official speaking on condition of anonymity expresses concern that the security force may not have enough manpower to take adequate action.) Abbas also meets with Islamic Jihad leaders, who agree to continue discussions on a cease-fire. (AP, JTA, UPI 1/19; JAZ, Jordan Times, MENA, al-Quds, VOP 1/19 in WNC 1/20; FT, NYT, PR, WP, WT 1/20; VOI 1/20 in WNC 1/21; see also JTA 1/14)

Sharon convenes his security cabinet to discuss possible military action in Gaza, approves plans for a “large-scale invasion” of northern Gaza if Abbas does not bring Palestinian violence under control quickly. In light of Abbas’s efforts, the security cabinet unanimously agrees to allow Israel to resume security contacts with the PA. Israeli, PA security officials immediately meet to discuss Abbas’s plan to deploy security forces along the Gaza-Israel border. (AP 1/19; VOI 1/19 in WNC 1/20; HA 1/20; NYT, WP, WT 1/20)

An Islamic Jihad suicide bomber on a bicycle detonates a device nr. Gaza’s Kefar Darom settlement, killing only himself, causing no injuries. Palestinian gunmen open fire on an Israeli vehicle just inside Israel nr. Beersheba, killing 2 Israelis, escaping; the AMB, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine–General Command (PFLP–GC) claim responsibility. The IDF storms the al-Aqsa Mosque compound after Friday prayers, claiming to break up a demonstration there, firing rubber-coated steel bullets and percussion grenades, lightly injuring several Palestinians and sparking stone-throwing toward the Western Wall by Palestinian youths, which causes no injuries. The IDF also demolishes 84 Palestinian shops in Bayt Hanun, in an apparent move to expand the buffer zone around the Erez crossing; raids Husan, imposes a curfew, surrounds 3 mosques, fires tear gas inside, injuring 24 worshipers; fires on Palestinians who throw stones at soldiers at the end of peaceful demonstrations against the separation wall in Budrus, Qibya, causing no injuries; conducts arrest raids nr. Hebron, Ramallah; fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis; withdraws troops fr. the Palestinian Medical Relief offices in Ramallah, occupied on 2/26. Palestinians fire a Qassam rocket at Neve Dekalim settlement, causing damage but no injuries. (VOP 2/27 in WNC 3/2; NYT, PCHR, WT 2/28; PR 3/3; PCHR 3/4)

Israeli DM Shaul Mofaz announces that Israel is immediately “easing” restrictions on Palestinians by allowing 3,000 Palestinian businessmen fr. the West Bank, 1,000 fr. Gaza into Israel; allows 1,500 West Bank laborers into the Atarot industrial area. At the same time, however, the IDF reinforces checkpoints in Gaza; reduces the number of hours that Rafah border crossing with Egypt is open; fires on stone-throwing Palestinians in Balata r.c., killing a 12-yr.-old Palestinian some distance away; fires on 2 Islamic Jihad mbrs. planting a roadside bomb in Gaza, killing 1, wounding the other; sends tanks intothe center of Nablus, firing tear gas at a girls’ elementary school; sends tanks into Jenin, shelling 2 carpet stores, causing extensive damage; fires on residential areas of Rafah. Palestinian gunmen fire on a Jewish settler vehicle nr. Jenin, wounding 1. (AFP, IDF Radio10/29; VOP 10/29 in WNC 10/30; NYT, PCHR, WP 10/30; PCHR 11/11)