The Palestine Chronology

In the West Bank, Israeli settlers set up tents on land near Deir Sharaf. Israeli settlers also threw stones at Palestinian vehicles traveling near Duma, injuring 2 Palestinians and damaging a car. Elsewhere, Israeli settlers assaulted Palestinians with pepper spray near Jamma’in, injuring 1. Israeli forces uprooted 70 olive trees in Khallet al-Qutun near Tuqu’. Israeli forces also leveled land near Qaryut in preparation for settlement expansion. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces raided the home of 16 Palestinians who had previously been imprisoned by Israel, seizing cash, several vehicles, and jewelry, claiming that the Palestinians had received payments from the PA. (WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 6/26; PCHR 7/6; UNOCHA 7/8)

The Israeli military alleged that a rocket was launched from the Jenin area at Israel before exploding within the West Bank, causing neither damage nor injuries. (HA, JP, TOI 6/26)

An Israeli parole board denied an early release petition for Palestinian prisoner Walid Daqqa, who the Israeli prison service acknowledge is terminally ill with cancer. Daqqa, who has been imprisoned by Israel for 39 years, has already completed his original sentence but was sentenced to an additional 2 years for allegedly helping smuggling cellphones into prison. (WAFA 6/26; HA 6/27)

In Lebanon, 1 Israeli drone was shot down by Hezbollah militants near Zibqin. (AJ, ALM, AP, HA, REU 6/26)

The Israeli Higher Planning Council approved 5,700 settlement housing units and retroactively approved the Palegi Maim, HaYovel, and Nof Harim settlement outposts. 818 housing units received final validation including 359 in Elkana, 381 in Revava, 29 in Givat Ze’ev, 42 in Carmiel, and 7 in Hermesh. 4,915 housing units were approved for deposit, including 1,563 in Eli, 98 in Ariel, 714 in Givat Ze’ev, 340 in Ma ‘ale Adumim, 312 in Beitar Ilit, 310 in Adora, 264 in Etz Efraim, 152 in Ma ‘ale Amos, 78 in Asfar, and 754 in the 3 settlement outposts. Peace Now reported that more than 13,000 housing units had been approved in the first half of 2023. The French foreign ministry and the UN issued a statement condemning the settlement approval and the recent Israeli settler violence. The U.S. said it was “deeply troubled by Israel’s decision.” (HA 6/25; AJ, ALM, ALM, AP, BBC, HA, HA, PCN, REU, WAFA, WAFA 6/26; WAFA 6/27; UN 6/28; NYT 6/29)

The Palestinian Legislative Council in Gaza announced that it had filed a complaint against Israel with the ICC over the Israeli blockade of Gaza. (MDW 6/29)

Israeli public broadcaster Kan reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had told a Knesset committee that his government is ready to help the PA financially to prevent it from collapsing but that the Palestinian “ambitions for the establishment of a state must be eliminated.” (NA, QDS 6/26; MEMO 6/27; QDS 6/29)

The UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs counted 570 Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians and Palestinian property between 1 January and 26 June, raising the number of attacks counted by the UN from 71 in 2022 to 95 incidents in the first half of 2023. (HA 7/1)

The Taub Center for Israel Studies at New York University made available documents from the Israeli archives showing that the Israeli military poisoned Palestinian land around Aqraba in 1972 to ensure that Palestinians could not cultivate the land as Israel established the Gitit settlement on land confiscated from the town’s residents. The Israeli military estimated that they had caused property loss from the spraying of the land amounting to $25,000. (HA 6/23)

The IDF patrols in 1 village nr. Jericho in the early morning; patrols in Jericho, nearby ‘Aqabat Jabir r.c., and 1 nearby village late at night. Jewish settlers fr. Givat Ariel settlement nr. Ramallah spray graffiti on a wall in a nearby Palestinian village and try to set fire to a Palestinian car. (PCHR 8/9; OCHA 8/10)

The IDF patrols in 2 villages nr. Tulkarm (synchronized) and 1 nr. Ramallah during the day; patrols in Jenin, Jericho and 2 villages nr. Jericho and Ramallah late at night; and conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron. Hamas authorities in Gaza hang 3 Palestinian prisoners (all convicted of murder in 2004, 2009, and 2010). (PCHR 7/19; OCHA 7/20)

The Knesset education comm. votes to grant full university status to an academic center in Ariel settlement, deep in the West Bank, making it the first accredited Israeli university in occupied Palestinian territory. The decision comes as Palestinian medical students from al-Quds University in Abu Dis, just outside East Jerusalem, await a verdict on their appeal of a 2/2012 Israeli ruling that denied their request to be allowed to sit for Israeli exams that would certify them to practice in East Jerusalem or Israel. The Israeli government had denied the students permission to sit for the exams on the grounds that al-Quds was not an accredited Israeli university and could not gain accreditation because it was a Palestinian entity located in the West Bank. When they then sought permission to take the tests as foreigners, the Israeli court denied permission on the grounds that al-Quds could not be considered a foreign university, since it also has a campus in East Jerusalem. There has long been a shortage of doctors to treat Palestinians in East Jerusalem, where most Palestinian doctors are forced to work without licenses. (HA 2/13/12)

After 2 weeks of unsuccessful efforts to draft plans that would integrate ultraOrthodox Jews and Palestinian citizens of Israel into the Israeli military, Kadima head Shaul Mofaz quits PM Netanyahu’s governing coalition; Netanyahu does not try to dissuade him. Analysts believed the decision (e.g., NYT 7/19) hurts both Kadima and Likud, and might hasten early elections. (NYT 7/18, 7/19)

Fmr. Israeli government attorney David Scharia is named the UNSC’s chief counterterrorism lawyer, marking the first time that an Israeli has been appointed to a security post within the UN Secretariat. (WP 7/18)

During a regular security briefing to the Knesset, IDF chief of staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz says that Israel may need to strike Gaza if rocket fire continues, stating that Israel would initiate an operation before it would allow itself to be “dragged into” one. Later in the day, unidentified Palestinians fire 2 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, damaging an empty kindergarten but causing no injuries. Late at night, the IDF carries out 2 air strikes (warplane and drone) targeting a smuggling tunnel on the Rafah border and a group of armed Palestinians nr. Jabaliya, causing no injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF demolishes 4 Palestinian homes n. of Jericho; patrols in al-Bireh and 3 villages nr. Ramallah during the day; conducts late-night house searches nr. Nablus, confiscating computers but making no arrests. Taking inspiration from the U.S. civil rights movement of the 1960s, 6 Palestinian peace activists, dubbed the Freedom Riders, board an Israeli commuter bus linking the West Bank Jewish settlements with Jerusalem and are arrested at an IDF checkpoint outside the city. The Israeli Housing Min. launches a major advertising campaign selling 277 subsidized apartments in Ariel settlement nr. Salfit, 743 in Ramot and 130 in Har Homa settlement in Jerusalem, and 164 in Mod’in nr. Ramallah, as well as leasing 213 plots of land zoned for construction in Efrat settlement nr. Bethlehem, 207 in Mod’in, 168 in Har Homa, and 18 in Pisgat Ze’ev in Jerusalem. (JP, WP 11/16; PCHR 11/17; OCHA 11/18)

The IDF patrols in 8 villages during the day and evening (2 each nr. Jenin, Ramallah, Salfit, and Tulkarm); conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in 5 villages (2 each nr. Jenin and Qalqilya, 1 nr. Tulkarm). Unidentified Jewish settlers burn 2 Palestinian cars in Bayt Furik village nr. Nablus. Jewish settlers fr. Gil’ad settlement burn 150 trees and agricultural land nr. Qalqilya. Jewish settlers fr. Ariel settlement nr. Salfit damage a nearby Palestinian olive grove. Jewish settlers attempt to place a mobile home on the evacuated Homesh settlement site nr. Jenin, but are removed by the IDF. (PCHR 9/22; OCHA 9/23)

Israel approves construction of 277 new apartments in Ariel settlement deep in the West Bank, which Israel seeks to retain under final status. The Quartet condemns the decision, stating that “unilateral action by either party will not be recognized by the international community.” During the day, IDF troops on the Gaza border fire on Palestinian fishermen on the beach nr. Bayt Lahiya (wounding 1) and on farmers who stray too nr. the border fence e. of Khuza in s. Gaza (wounding 1). Late in the evening, unidentified Palestinians fire 2 Grad rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. Late at night, the IDF retaliates with 9 air strikes on 3 Hamas training facilities (Gaza City, Khan Yunis, Rafah) and a smuggling tunnel on the Rafah border, wounding a 7-yr.-old boy outside his home. Separately, the IDF makes an air strike on 3 armed Palestinians preparing to fire another rocket into Israel, killing 1 Hamas mbr. and seriously wounding 2. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in 4 villages nr. Jericho, Qalqilya, Ramallah, and Tulkarm. (HA, JTA, MNA 8/15; AP, JP, NYT, REU, WP 8/16; MNA, WP 8/17; PCHR 8/18; OCHA 8/19)

The Israeli govt. approves construction of up to 500 West Bank settlement housing units in Ariel, Gush Etzion, Kiryat Sefer, Ma’ale Adumim, Mod’in Ilit (large settlements Israel expects to keep under final status) in retaliation for the killing of 5 settlers on 3/11 by suspected Palestinians, with PM Netanyahu telling relatives of the victims: “They murder and we build.” The U.S. expresses “deep concern,” saying “continued Israeli settlements are illegitimate and run counter to efforts to resume direct negotiations.” Meanwhile, the IDF continues searches in Awarta, raiding and searching several homes and turning a few into observation posts. At least 16 attacks on Palestinians and their property by armed Jewish settlers exacting revenge for the Itamar murders are reported in Qalqilya (10), Salfit (3), Nablus (2), and Ramallah (1). Incidents involved: setting up a new outpost on Palestinian land (1); rampaging through Palestinian areas (9); attacking Palestinian homes (4, including firing on Palestinian homes, shooting fireworks at Palestinian homes, and attempting to break into houses); and stoning and vandalizing cars (8). The IDF also patrols in Dayr Istya nr. Salfit, photographing several old buildings; raids ‘Anin village nr. Jenin, searching several stores and rounding up patrons for questioning, but making no arrests; patrols in Tulkarm and 3 villages nr. Qalqilya in the afternoon; conducts late-night patrols, arrest raids, house searches in 3 villages nr. Salfit and 1 nr. Ramallah. (WP, WT 3/14; PCHR, WJW 3/17; OCHA 3/18; JPI 3/24)

In a bid to secure the backing of rightwing coalition partners for a package of U.S. guarantees for a short extension of the settlement freeze, Netanyahu proposes legislation that would require those becoming Israeli citizens to pledge a loyalty oath to “the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state,” as opposed to simply “the State of Israel” as it is now worded. (NYT 10/7, 10/8; WP 10/11)

Unidentified Palestinians fire 2 Qassam rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. The IDF retaliates with a late-night air strike on an IQB training site in the Shaykh Ridwan area of Gaza City, destroying a building, damaging 30 surrounding buildings and 3 cars, and injuring 6 Palestinian civilians. In the West Bank, the IDF makes a brief incursion into Tulkarm early in the morning to photograph the entrances of a police station, the local PASF and PA General Intelligence headquarters, and a PASF medical services building, withdrawing without incident; blocks Palestinians from joining a solidarity rally with Jewish settlers outside Bayt Fajjar village (site of a mosque arson on 10/4), sparking clashes between stonethrowing Palestinian youths and soldiers (no serious injuries reported); patrols late at night, without incident in 2 villages n. of Jenin; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in ‘Ayn Bayt al-Ma’a r.c. and Zawata village, both nr. Nablus. The Israeli daily Ha’Aretz reports that nearly 350 housing units are currently under construction in West Bank settlements, including 56 in Keddumim nr. Qalqilya, 54 in Ariel n. of Salfit, 56 in Karme Tzur; 24 within Ma’ate Binyamin regional council area (nr. Jerusalem and Ramallah), 34 in Kiryat Arba, and 1 each in Barqan, Dolev, Kefar Adumim, Kochav HaShachar, Oranit, Revava, Sha’are Tikva, Tekoa, and Yakir. (HA, JP 10/6; NYT, PCHR, REU, YA 10/7; PCHR 10/14; OCHA 10/15)

Netanyahu and his security cabinet approve construction of a new “student town” within the construction boundaries of Migdalim settlement e. of Nablus that will house 30 Jewish settlers affiliated with Ariel College in Ariel settlement; they also approve construction of 23 school buildings in 8 West Bank settlements to accommodate 600 Jewish settler children; public-use structures such as schools were excluded fr. Israel’s temporary West Bank settlement construction ban. Citing the prolonged West Bank calm, the IDF removes a small concrete “sniper barrier” running s. of Gilo settlement in East Jerusalem, erected in 2002 and considered the precursor to Israel’s separation wall. The IDF conducts synchronized late-night arrest raids, house searches in al-Fawar r.c. nr. Hebron and 2 nearby villages; conducts similar late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Tubas. (NYT, WT 8/16; PCHR 8/19; OCHA 8/20)

In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Jenin town and r.c., in Bil‘in, and nr. Bethlehem. Jewish settlers fr. Ariel settlement nr. Salfit throw stones at passing Palestinian vehicles, causing no injuries. (PCHR 4/22; OCHA, PCHR 4/29)

In the West Bank, the IDF conducts latenight arrest raids, house searches in Nablus. A Palestinian gunman shoots at a Jewish settler vehicle nr. Ariel settlement, wounding 1 settler. Dozens of Jewish settlers rampage through Kafr al-Dik nr. Salfit, fire on and stone Palestinian homes and vehicles; the IDF sends in troops when Palestinians rally to defend their homes, firing tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets to disperse the Palestinians, wounding a 13-yr.-old boy and hitting and injuring a Palestinian man with an IDF vehicle. Nr. Nablus, a Palestinian shepherd is killed when he triggers IDF UXO. (NYT 9/29; OCHA 10/1; PCHR 10/9; AIC 11/9)

In Syria, a suicide car bombing kills 17 people, wounds 13 in Damascus. No group claims responsibility, and the intended target is unclear. (NYT, WP 9/30)

In Gaza, the IDF bulldozes 24 d. of olive groves and a small Gaza police outpost nr. al-Maghazi r.c. Egyptian border police discover, demolish a smuggling tunnel on the Rafah border. In the West Bank, the IDF demolishes a Palestinian home in Anata nr. Jerusalem; occupies a Palestinian home nr. Jenin as a military outpost; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Tulkarm and in al-Bireh (raiding and searching the municipal building, rounding up 2 municipal employees fr. their homes and bringing them to the offices to log onto password-protected computers), Ramallah (raiding the chamber of commerce offices), Jericho. The Israeli Housing Min. presents Olmert with a proposal for construction of 1,900 new Jewish settler housing units across the West Bank in 2008: 682 units in Beitar Ilit nr. Bethlehem, 510 units in Givat Ze’ev n. of Jerusalem, 302 units in Ma’ale Adumim e. of Jerusalem, 160 units in Binyamin settlement n. of Jerusalem, 158 units in Efrat nr. Bethlehem, and 48 units each in Ariel nr. Salfit and Kiryat Arba in Hebron. Palestinians throw stones at Jewish settler vehicles nr. Nablus; the settlers respond by shooting, killing 3 Palestinian sheep nearby. Jewish settlers fr. Keddumim nr. Qalqilya stone Palestinian vehicles driving nearby, causing no reported injuries. PA security forces impose a night curfew on Kafr Thuluth nr. Qalqilya to prevent clashes btwn. feuding families (the curfew is still in place as of 4/8). (PCHR 4/3; OCHA, PCHR 4/9)

After PRC members fire more than 20 rockets into Israel (causing no damage or injuries) to protest the 10/23 assassination of PRC head Hasanat, Israeli DM Barak authorizes the IDF to cut electricity for several hrs. to parts of Gaza fr. which rockets were fired.; Dep. DM Matan Vilnai says that targeted power cuts will increasingly be used to punish the Palestinians as long as rocket fire continues and that he expects electricity to be cut by two-thirds in the coming weeks. In the evening, IDF fires a surface-to-surface missile at a suspected rocket-launching site e. of Gaza City, killing 2 Palestinian boys (ages 14, 17), wounding 2 other Palestinians; sends troops into Abasan, where they clash with armed Palestinians, wounding 2. A Hamas mbr. is killed when a smuggling tunnel on the Rafah border collapses. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Bethlehem and Hebron, and in Jenin r.c. Jewish settlers fr. Yitzhar nr. Nablus prevent local Palestinians fr. harvesting their olive groves. Armed Palestinians fire on a bus stop outside Ariel settlement, wounding 3 Jewish settlers. ESF officers storm and occupy a Fatah office in central Gaza; no injuries or arrests are reported. Some 5,000 Hamas supporters stage marches in n. Gaza camps in support of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. (PCHR, WT 10/25; OCHA 10/31; PCHR 11/1)

In Gaza, the IDF makes an overnight arrest raid into Um al-Nasir nr. Rafah, surrounding a home, exchanging gunfire with wanted Palestinians, firing tank shells at the house, killing 1 wanted Palestinian, 1 female bystander (allowing her to bleed to death over 4 hrs., barring an ambulance fr. reaching her) in what may be an assassination, wounding another 8 Palestinians, demolishing 13 Palestinian homes before withdrawing; shells shepherds tending a flock nr. Jabaliya r.c., killing 3 Palestinian teenagers. A 13-yr.-old Palestinian boy is injured when he accidentally detonates unexploded IDF ordnance in al-Maghazi r.c. Palestinians fire 4 rockets into Israel, causing damage but no injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF sends undercover units into Dayr Abu Sa’if nr. Jenin in a car with Palestinian license plates, arresting 3 farmers working in a field, quickly releasing 2; patrols in, fires tear gas at residents of Tubas; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Jenin town and r.c. and in Nablus, Tulkarm (firing on residential areas, cutting phone service, damaging an electricity transformer) and nearby Bala’a (firing live and rubber-coated steel bullets, percussion grenades, tear gas at stone-throwing youths, wounding 10s of Palestinians). The Israeli Housing Min. approves construction of 164 new settlement housing units in 3 West Bank settlements (Ariel 88; Alfe Menashe 56; Karnei Shomron 20). (PCHR 9/21; NYT, WP 9/22; OCHA 9/27; PCHR 9/28)

The IDF sends troops into Bani Na‘im, surrounds a house in search of a wanted Palestinian who is not home, fires on stonethrowing Palestinians who confront the troops, sparking several hrs. of clashes that leave 35 Palestinians wounded; conducts overnight arrest raids in and around Jenin and in Askar r.c., Balata r.c., Bethlehem, Hebron, Nablus’s old city, Ramallah; uproots 10s of olive trees and bulldozes 2 animal pens for construction of the separation wall nr. Jenin; erects a metal gate, places barbed wire at the southern entrance to Jamayn nr. Nablus, which faces a settler bypass road; installs metal gates at entrances to Marda, facing Ariel settlement. The IDF also requests that the PA dig a trench 20 m long by 4 m deep near the Qarni crossing in a search for smugglers tunnels; the PA complies but no tunnels are found. (XIN 2/27; PCHR 3/2; OCHA 3/23)

Israel announces that the IDF will resume targeting Islamic Jihad mbrs. for assassination. The PA warns that the move could rupture the unofficial cease-fire, but Israel argues that the targeting would still be in line with truce provisions, which it claims allow Israel to defend itself against imminent attack if the PA security forces fail to do so; the PA rejects this. Later, the IDF fires missiles at a group of Islamic Jihad mbrs. in Bayt Lahiya in an apparent assassination attempt. The IDF also conducts major arrest raids, house searches in Balata r.c. and Nablus, clashing with local gunmen, leaving no reported casualties; conducts other arrest raids, house searches in Hebron, nr. Jenin; demolishes 10 Palestinian homes in Jiftlik nr. Jericho; bulldozes 5 d. of land in, fires on residential areas of Khan Yunis; conducts patrols in Kafr Dik nr. Nablus, Tamun nr. Jenin. A Palestinian grabs the gun of an Israeli security guard at the Barkan industrial zone nr. Ariel settlement, shoots and wounds the guard, flees. Palestinian gunmen fire on an IDF outpost nr. Gush Katif, causing damage but no injuries. Palestinian gunmen fire on a building in Balata r.c. where Qurai‘ is giving a speech, detonate a roadside bomb as he and his convoy leave the area; no injuries are reported in either incident, no group claims responsibility. (AFP, HA, WP, WT, XIN 6/22; PCHR 6/23; VOP 6/23 in WNC 6/24; OCHA, PR 6/29; PHRC 6/30)

The IDF fires missiles at Tal al-Za‘atar in n. Gaza, allegedly targeting Islamic Jihad mbrs. attempting to fire a rocket, but no injuries are reported; shells Jabaliya r.c., hitting a home, wounding 2 Palestinians; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Jenin, Ramallah; patrols in Nablus; captures 4 unarmed Palestinians attempting to sneak across the Israeli border fence in central Gaza to find work; detains a Palestinian in Ariel settlement who apparently was living there secretly with his Jewish settler girlfriend (a fmr. IDF intelligence officer). Palestinian gunmen fire on an IDF outpost nr. Mevo Dotan settlement nr. Jenin; the IDF returns fire, killing 1 Palestinian, wounding and arresting 2. Palestinians also fire an antitank missile at an IDF patrol nr. Rafah, causing no damage or injuries. In Hebron, 10s of Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba (some reports say Avraham Avino) attack and threaten 10s of Palestinians, vandalize and attempt to break into Palestinian homes, seriously injuring a 12-yr.-old Palestinian girl. Some 50 Jewish settlers fr. Ramat Yishai attack a Palestinian home where a number of international peace activists are visiting; the IDF observes but does not intervene. (IMEMC, PRCS 5/28; YA 5/29; OCHA 6/1; PCHR 6/2)

The IDF issues confiscation orders for 150 d. of Palestinian land n. of Ariel settlement for construction of the separation wall. Palestinians fire mortars at a Jewish settlement in Gaza, causing no damage or injuries. Israel says it will not hand over security control of West Bank cities until the mortar fire ceases, demands the PA security forces in Gaza step up their efforts to maintain quiet. A Jewish settler is injured when a Palestinian throws a Molotov cocktail at his car nr. Migdalim s. of Nablus and e. of Salfit. (JP 2/1; HA, NYT, OCHA 2/2; PCHR 2/3)