The Palestine Chronology

Unidentified parties fire a rocket from Gaza toward Israel. It lands in an open area short of the border, causing no damage or injuries. An IDF tank shells and destroys a Hamas observation post east of al-Maghazi refugee camp. Israeli artillery also target a site east of Gaza City, causing a fire to break out; there is no major damage or injuries. Separately, IDF troops stationed along the border fence arrest 2 Palestinians attempting to cross from Gaza into Israel near Rafah, and open fire on Palestinian lands near al-Bureij refugee camp, causing no damage. In East Jerusalem, approximately 524 Israeli settlers tour Haram al-Sharif in the morning, commemorating the Jewish holiday Sukkot. Some of the settlers reportedly pray at the sanctuary. In the West Bank, the Israeli authorities shut down al-Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron to Muslim worshippers to make way for Sukkot-related activities at the site. IDF troops arrest 16 Palestinians and issue 1 arrest summons during late-night raids in and around Hebron, Jerusalem, Qalqilya, Bethlehem, Nablus, Salfit, and Jenin, and patrol near Tulkarm and Hebron. In Israel, approximately 30,000 Palestinians and Israelis gather in Jerusalem to call for a resumption of IsraeliPalestinian peace talks. The Israeli NGO Women Wage Peace organized the demonstration. Hamas denounces the PLO for supporting the rally, accusing it of “normalizing” relations with Israel. (HA, MNA, TOI, WAFA 10/8; MNA, TOI, WAFA 10/9; PCHR 10/12)

In Gaza, Hamas-hired civil servants in all ministries except schools go on strike, protesting unpaid wages and particularly the PA unity govt.’s recent “recklessness” on the issue, according to a statement issued by a comm. representing the workers. In the West Bank, armed Palestinians open fire on PA presidential guards nr. Balata r.c. nr. Nablus, causing no injuries. IDF troops arrest 1 Palestinian on a late-night raid in a village nr. Ramallah and another Palestinian in c. Hebron accused of an attempted stabbing; patrol in another village nr. Ramallah. Israeli forces demolish 2 buildings in an Israeli settlement nr. Jerusalem after Israeli authorities determine they were built illegally; deliver 2 demolition notices for residential tents under construction nr. Hebron; demolish a wall in a village nr. Ramallah. In Israel, Israeli forces demolish a mosque under construction in a bedouin village nr. Beersheba. (MNA, TOI 5/12; MNA 5/13; PCHR 5/14)

EU envoy to the Palestinian territories John Gatt-Rutter says that the EU is working to restart negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. (MNA 5/12)

P5+1 and Iranian negotiators meet in Vienna for 4-day negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program. They will be joined by U.S. reps. on 5/13 to continue drafting the main text of a comprehensive, final deal ahead of the 6/30 deadline. (REU 5/5; AFP 5/11; HA 5/12)

Egyptian pres. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi says that at least 80% of the tunnels between Gaza and Sinai have been destroyed and that the buffer zone being constructed along the border with Gaza has been expanded to 3 km in some places since construction began in 10/2014. (MNA 5/12; TOI 5/13)

In the Gaza Strip, the IDF continues its assault with attacks on 41 targets, killing 11 Palestinians and injuring dozens. Israeli fighter jets and drones strike targets in n. Gaza, as well as nr. Gaza City, Khan Yunis, and Rafah, while IDF troops fire smoke bombs and live ammunition across the Israel-Gaza border in 1 location and Israeli artillery shelling hits 2 others. The armed Palestinian groups fire over 100 projectiles into Israel; of which, 3 land in urban areas, 73 land in open areas, and 17 are intercepted by Iron Dome batteries. Meanwhile, Hamas executes 4 alleged collaborators with Israel in the courtyard of a mosque in Jabaliya r.c. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts patrols in Hebron and 2 nearby villages, as well as 1 village nr. Ramallah. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces clash with a group of Palestinian youth outside a checkpoint nr. Shu‘fat, and 1 Palestinian is wounded when the soldiers open fire with tear gas and rubbercoated metal bullets. (AFP, AP, HA, MNA 8/23; PCHR 8/28)

Following talks between Hamas leader Mishal and PA Pres. Abbas in Doha on 8/21 and 8/22, Hamas publicly agrees to support Abbas’s application to join the ICC. According to PLO chief negotiator Erakat, only Islamic Jihad has not yet approved the document Abbas is asking all Palestinian factions to sign before he moves forward. (AFP, AP, MNA 8/23)

On the diplomatic front, Abbas travels to Cairo for talks with Egyptian pres. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. After their meeting, Abbas says “my main goal is for the truce talks to resume in Egypt as soon as possible.” In an interview on Egyptian television, Abbas says that he is planning a major diplomatic initiative and that he will present the plan to U.S. Secy. of State John Kerry, who is scheduled to visit the region in the coming days. The plan reportedly includes asking the UN to set a timetable for the Israeli occupation and signing the Rome Statue on behalf of the PA, which would give the ICC jurisdiction over cases relating to the occupation. For its part, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry releases a statement after the Abbas/al-Sisi meeting inviting the Israelis and Palestinians to return to Cairo for further cease-fire negotiations. (AJ, HA, WSJ 8/23)

Israeli PM Netanyahu holds talks with UN Secy.-Gen. Ban Ki-moon. Netanyahu compares Hamas to ISIS, in reference to the group’s 8/22 execution of collaborators, and blames the group for the latest escalation in violence. (AJ, HA, REU 8/23)

In the evening, 2 rockets are fired from Lebanon into n. Israel. No group claims responsibility for the attack, though Lebanese military officials suspect a small, local Palestinian group. Late at night, 5 rockets are fired from Syria into the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Israeli military officials say that a Palestinian group, not Syrian govt. forces, is responsible. Between the 2 sets of rocket attacks, 8 Israelis are lightly injured. (DS, JP, REU 8/23; AFP, HA, YA 8/24)

Off the coast of the Gaza Strip nr. Rafah, Israeli naval forces arrest 3 fishermen. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts house searches and arrest raids in Hebron and 2 nearby villages, in Aida r.c. in Bethlehem, in Jenin, and 1 village each nr. Nablus and Tulkarm at night; patrols in 1 village nr. Bethlehem in the morning, 1 village nr. Hebron in the afternoon, and in 1 village nr. Hebron at night. Israeli settlers assault a Palestinian on a road nr. Ramallah, causing serious injuries. (MNA, WAFA 5/27; PCHR 5/29)

The Hamas-run cabinet in the Gaza Strip holds its 343d and last meeting, and releases a statement saying it is ready to hand over “full responsibility” to a PA unity govt. According to Fatah official al-Ahmad, reps. of the various Palestinian factions are close to agreeing on the composition of the new govt., as they continue their discussions. (AP, MNA 5/27) .

The office of EU foreign affairs chief Ashton confirms that reps. of Iran and the P5+1 powers have agreed to meet in Vienna on 6/16 to begin a new round of talks. (AP 5/27)

In the Gaza Strip, Israeli forces open fire on Palestinian farmers close to the border fence nr. Khan Yunis, wounding 1. The army says it targeted the group because it was laying an explosive device. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts house searches and arrest raids in Hebron and 2 nearby villages at night; patrols in 1 village nr. Hebron in the afternoon, and in 2 villages nr. Ramallah, in Nablus and Balata r.c., and 1 village each nr. Jenin and Jericho at night. (MNA 12/20; PCHR 12/26)

PA Pres. Abbas holds talks in Egypt with foreign ministers from Arab League mbr. states about the current state of the peace process. He also meets with Egyptian interim pres. Mansour to discuss regional developments and the national reconciliation effort with Hamas. (MNA 12/21)

Iran’s Dep. FM Abbas Araghchi says that talks in Geneva with reps. of the P5+1 are continuing for a 4th day and making slow progress. According to Araghchi, the issue of uranium enrichment is still a point of contention. (AP, JP 12/21)

In the Gaza Strip, Israeli forces launch air strikes targeting 2 chicken farms, a border fence tunnel, and an Islamic Jihad training site nr. Khan Yunis. There are no injuries reported in any of the attacks. IDF troops also conduct a limited incursion in s. Gaza to level land nr. the border fence. The IDF also shells agricultural land nr. Gaza City, with no damage or casualties. Separately, a Palestinian fighter is killed in an accidental explosion in Gaza City. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts house searches and arrest raids in Hebron and 3 nearby villages and al-‘Arub r.c., and 1 village each nr. Bethlehem, Jenin, Nablus, and Ramallah at night. Meanwhile, a Palestinian man shot by Israeli forces in 2006 dies of his wounds. Jewish settlers vandalize 2 cars and leave racist graffiti in a village nr. Nablus. (MNA 11/19; PCHR 11/21)

Following the 11/16 decision by Hamas officials, Ma’an News Agency’s office in Gaza City reopens, following 4 mos. of closure, with the authorities also announcing that Al-Arabiya TV’s offices would also reopen. Hamas closed the 2 news organizations on 7/25 after they reported that Muslim Brotherhood officials who had fled Egypt were being sheltered in the Gaza Strip. (MNA 11/19)

UNRWA Under Secy.-Gen. Jeffrey Feltman tells the UN Security Council (UNSC) that the agency will be unable to pay salaries to roughly 30,000 employees in 12/2013, including teachers and medical personnel, due to a $36 m. deficit. Meanwhile, hundreds of teachers gathered outside the High Court of Justice in Ramallah after the PA appealed to the court with the claim that the limited strike launched on 11/17 was in contravention of labor laws. (AFP, MNA 11/19)

A double suicide bombing kills 23 outside the Iranian embassy in Beirut, including an Iranian diplomat. The attack was claimed by al-Qa‘ida linked group Abdullah Azzam Brigades that, in a statement, said their demands were the withdrawal of Hizballah forces from Syria and the release of Salafist jihadists from Lebanese jails. Following the bombings, Hizballah’s dep. leader Naim Kassem says that the group will not be swayed from its course of support for the Syrian govt. Saudi Arabia condemns the attack as “cowardly.” (AFP 11/19; AP, REU 11/20)

Egyptian security forces storm Tahrir Square in Cairo, clashing with protesters who had gathered to mark the anniversary of deadly 2011 demonstrations. One person is killed in the confrontation. (AFP 11/19)

PM Salam Fayyad says that the PA is in ‘‘extreme jeopardy’’ due to an unprecedented financial crisis caused by Israel’s withholding of tax revenues and the subsequent failure of Arab countries to send promised funds. Meanwhile, the union of government employees in the West Bank says it will continue its partial strike to protest salary delays; part of 11/2012’s salaries are still outstanding. (AP, MNA 1/6)

Sixty-two truckloads of gravel enter the Gaza Strip via the Rafah crossing, part of a shipment from the Qatari government intended to help reconstruction. It is the 2d such delivery since 2007, following the entry of building materials via Rafah on 12/30. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in 1 village nr. Jericho in the morning, in 1 village nr. Jericho in the afternoon, and in 1 village nr. Ramallah, al-Jalazun r.c. nr. Ramallah, and Hebron at night; conducts house searches and arrest raids in 1 village nr. Bethlehem, Tubas, Nablus and 1 nearby village, and 1 village nr. Hebron. (MNA 1/7; PCHR 1/10)

Jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti says that Palestinians should use mass popular protest to help end the split between the governments in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, calling for sit-ins in front of Hamas and Fatah party buildings in Palestine and internationally. (MNA 1/6)

Talks continue among PLO leaders, the Free Syria Army, and Syrian regime forces about Yarmuk r.c., without concluding a deal. PLO representatives are demanding that all armed groups, including Palestinian gunmen, withdraw from the camp; that authorities allow food and fuel to enter for residents; and that all parties to respect the neutrality of the camp. (MNA 1/6)

Israeli PM Netanyahu vows to build a fortified fence along the border with Syria in response to claims that radical Islamist groups have taken over the area alongside the occupied Golan Heights. (AP, REU 1/6)

In the West Bank, IDF undercover units raid the Nablus homes of 3 AMB mbrs. (Nadir al-Sarkaji, Ghassan Abu Sharikh, and ‘Anan Sobeh) allegedly behind the fatal shooting of a settler on 12/24, killing all 3 and wounding 1 bystander. The deaths constitute assassinations, as the men could have been detained: 2 of them are called to surrender and are fatally shot as they leave their homes unarmed; in the 3d case, soldiers enter the home, and when the wanted man refuses to exit a closet and surrender, soldiers rig the closet door with explosives and detonate the charge, killing him. IDF soldiers surrounding the buildings fire tear gas to disperse stone-throwing Palestinian youths who confront them, hitting 2 (ages 12 and 19) with tear gas canisters, injuring them. PA PM Fayyad denounces the IDF’s failure to coordinate the raids with the Dayton-trained PASF units responsible for security in Nablus, which were in the process of conducting a police investigation of the 12/24 killing. IDF troops in the West Bank also conduct late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron, Nablus. (NYT, WP, WT 12/27; JPI 12/28; PCHR 12/30; OCHA 1/6)

Hamas officials in Lebanon confirm that 2 senior Hamas bodyguards and a 3d person (possibly a Hamas mbr.) were killed and 5 people wounded late on 12/26 in a large explosion at a Hamas office in the Dahiya neighborhood of s. Beirut (Hizballah’s stronghold). (HA 12/26; Associated Press, Wall Street Journal, WT, XIN 12/27; AFP, Kuwait News Agency, Middle East News Agency, MNA, YA 12/28; MNA, al-Nahar, al-Sharq al-Awsat 1/6)