The Palestine Chronology

In the West Bank, Israeli settlers set fire to 2 Palestinian-owned vehicles and sprayed graffiti on a wall in Far’ata village west of Qalqilya. In Gaza, 45 Palestinians were injured by Israeli forces using live ammunition and rubber-coated bullets at protesters during the 85th weekly Great March of Return protest. Israeli naval forces opened fire at Palestinian fishermen west of Bayt Lahiya; no injuries were reported. Israeli forces also fired tear gas at Palestinian shepherds east of Rafah, causing tear-gas related injuries. In a separate incident, Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinian agricultural lands east of Dayr al-Balah; no injuries were reported. (PCHR, WAFA 12/20; PCHR 12/26)

House Resolution 1865 was signed into law by U.S. president Donald Trump. H.R. 1865 is a 715 page-long appropriations bill for the 2020 fiscal year which allocates $150 million in aid to Palestine, $75 million in assistance to the PA security forces and $75 million for civilian and humanitarian programs and institutions not directly connected to the PA. The bill also seeks to “fix” the Anti-Terrorism Clarifications Act which became law on 10/3/2018 and effectively ended all aid for the PA, including security aid, as it subjected the PA to the jurisdiction of U.S. courts if the PA accepted any aid from the U.S. The “fix” gives U.S. courts jurisdiction if the PA or the PLO provides payments to any individual or family of an individual convicted of killing a U.S. citizen. (HA 12/18; Congress, FMEP 12/20)

The Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Fatou Bensouda announced that there is basis to probe Israel for war crimes committed against Palestinians, but requested the ICC to decide on the question of the jurisdiction of East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza. Chief Prosecutor Bensouda said that her preliminary investigation has found that “war crimes have been or are being committed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip.” (AJ, Guardian, HA, HA, WAFA 12/20; HA 12/21)

In the West Bank, Israeli forces raided a school southwest of Jenin and seized construction equipment and a tractor. Israeli forces also closed the Huwwara checkpoint for the 1st of 2 days coinciding with the Bahrain workshop. In several places throughout the West Bank, Palestinians protested the Bahrain workshop. Israeli forces arrested 13 Palestinians during late-night raids in and around Ramallah, Tulkarm, Jenin, and Hebron. During a raid near Ramallah, several Palestinians were injured by rubber-coated bullets as they were protesting the Israeli incursion. A carpentry store was also damaged by Israeli forces during the incursion. In Bayt Umar, Israel forces prevented utility workers from working on the electricity network and seized a crane and a vehicle. In East Jerusalem, Israeli municipal workers tore down a protest tent set up by Palestinians protesting the Israeli planned demolitions of a number of buildings in Silwan. In Gaza, Israeli authorities halted transfers of fuel to the Gaza power plant indefinitely, citing incendiary balloons. Off the coast of Gaza, Israeli naval forces opened fire on Palestinian fishing boats and detained 3 Palestinian fishermen within the permitted fishing area. 3 Palestinians were injured by live fire east of Bayt Hanun. The 1st day of a 2-day general strike was observed in Gaza in protest of the Bahrain workshop. (GISHA, HA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 6/25; WAFA; WAFA 6/26)

Charges against a Palestinian man accused of raping a 7-year-old girl in an Israeli settlement in the West Bank was dropped after an Israeli court found that there was not enough evidence tying the man to the rape. The Israeli military prosecution was criticized for their handling of the investigation and an Israeli army spokesperson said that the military would launch a probe into the investigation. (HA, WAFA 6/25)

The Chilean president Sebastián Pinera met with PA officials in East Jerusalem and toured the Haram al-Sharif compound. (HA 6/26)

The U.S.-sponsored Bahrain workshop on Middle East economic development, dubbed the Peace to Prosperity, began for the 1st of 2 days. Despite focusing on the economic element of peace between Palestine and Israel, neither country was represented at the workshop. The U.S. peace team intends to raise $50 billion in contributions for economy development in Palestine and for its neighbors. A spokesperson for PA president Mahmoud Abbas said that the Arab Peace Initiative from 2002 was a red line that could not be redrafted if a peace plan was to be executed. The comments followed U.S. special adviser and son-in-law to President Donald Trump Jared Kushner’s comments to Al-Jazeera that a peace deal would need to be found “somewhere between the Arab peace initiative and between the Israeli position.” (WAFA 6/25; HA 6/26)

The national security advisers of Israel, Russia, and the U.S. met in Israel to discuss the security situation in the Middle East. (HA 6/24)

The UK announced that it would increase its support to the UNRWA to $85.5 million. (WAFA 6/26)