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  • March 7, 2021

    In the West Bank, 5 Palestinians were arrested during raids in and around Qalandia refugee camp, Hizma, Dahariyya, and Jenin. Off the coast of Gaza, 3 Palestinian fishermen were killed in an...

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  • February 6, 2012

    Fatah PA pres. Abbas and Hamas leader Mishal end 2 days of talks in Qatar on forming by Fatah-Hamas consensus a transitional government of independent technocrats with a limited mandate to take...

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  • March 2, 2011

    An anonymous Israeli official says that Israel has been discussing with the U.S. a unilateral “phased approach to reaching a final status accord” in absence of negotiations with the Palestinians....

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  • November 21, 2008

    In the West Bank, the IDF fires rubbercoated steel bullets, tear gas, percussion grenades at Palestinians holding a nonviolent protest against settlements at the evacuated settlement site of...

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  • June 17, 1994

    Israel issues revised prisoner-release figures, saying a total of 3,400 Palestinians released under 5/4 accord with PLO.  1,300 kept in prison for refusing to renounce violence.  320 released 6/16...

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  • May 9, 1988

    Social/Economic/Political

    Occupied Palestine/Israel: Israeli High Court denies government request to deport Mubarak 'Awad before hearing his appeal, but says he must remain in jail until...

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In the West Bank, 5 Palestinians were arrested during raids in and around Qalandia refugee camp, Hizma, Dahariyya, and Jenin. Off the coast of Gaza, 3 Palestinian fishermen were killed in an explosion northwest of Khan Yunis; there were conflicting narratives about how the explosion happened with reports of an Israeli naval attack and of a missile fired from Gaza. Israel denied responsibility and the interior ministry in Gaza said it would investigate the incident; the investigation concluded on 3/11 with the government saying an Israeli drone laden with explosive was caught in a fishermen’s net, killing the 3 fishermen. the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights had claimed that it was a militant faction from Gaza who was responsible. Israeli naval forces had earlier in the day opened fire at Palestinian fishermen within 3 nautical miles west of Gaza city, causing damage to 1 boat. In Gaza, Israeli forces opened fire at Palestinian herders east of Khan Yunis; no injuries were reported. (AJ, HA, PCHR, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 3/7; HA 3/9; ALM, HA, PCHR, REU 3/11)

1 Palestinian man was sentenced to 2 years in prison, based on a plea bargain, by an Israeli military judge for not preventing an attack on an Israeli settler and for being a member of the PFLP. In the sentencing, the judge said a plea bargain had been reached, reducing the sentence because several Palestinians had been tortured during the interrogation related to the case. (TOI 3/7; HA 3/8)

According to Axios, PA civil affairs minister Hussein al-Sheikh sent a letter to the U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for Israel-Palestine Hady Amr asking for U.S. support in the upcoming Palestinian elections and saying that Hamas has committed itself to nonviolence and the PLO parameters for a 2-state solution. Hamas has yet to publicly confirm Civil Affairs Minister al-Sheikh’s statement. (AX 3/10)

PA foreign minister Riyad al-Maliki said he will travel to the Hague to meet with ICC officials to discuss the investigations into possible war crimes committed by Israel. (WAFA 3/7)

Meretz (Vigor) leader Nitzan Horowitz said that Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli settlers were responsible for the ICC investigation, drawing ire from the Israeli right. Several right-wing leaders said they would not sit in a coalition with Meretz based on those statements. Horowitz said the ICC investigation was a result of “unbridled settlement” and Israeli refusal to engage in negotiations with Palestinians. (HA, HA 3/7)

Fatah PA pres. Abbas and Hamas leader Mishal end 2 days of talks in Qatar on forming by Fatah-Hamas consensus a transitional government of independent technocrats with a limited mandate to take the Palestinians to new presidential and parliamentary elections and to lead reconstruction of Gaza, as agreed under the 5/2011 national unity deal. To overcome international concerns about Hamas’s participation and differences between Fatah and Hamas regarding who should serve as PM (Hamas strongly opposed current PA PM Salam al-Fayyad), the sides agree that Abbas would lead the transitional government, serving as both pres. and PM. They stress that the new government “will be a technical one more than a political one” and that diplomacy will rest with the PLO. A meeting of all Palestinian factions is set for 2/18 to endorse the plan. Israeli PM Netanyahu immediately denounces Abbas for “joining forces with the enemies of peace.” The EU and U.S. say they look forward to continuing their support of the PA, provided the new government is committed to the Quartet principles of nonviolence, recognition of Israel, and adherence to existing peace agreements. (NYT, WP 2/6; AP, NYT, WP 2/7; see also MNA 2/5)

Unidentified Palestinians fire a Qassam rocket fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. In response, Israeli warplanes make late-night air strikes on open areas nr. the Gaza border n. of Bayt Hanun, causing no reported injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in 2 villages nr. Ramallah and 1 nr. Salfit; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Tulkarm and nr. Jenin and Nablus. Just outside East Jerusalem nr. al-Tur, Israeli border police and an undercover unit bulldoze 20 d. of Palestinian land, demolishing 2 walls, 3 natural caves, and a water network supplying several Palestinian homes. Jewish settlers fr. Kiryat Arba settlement in Hebron escorted by IDF troops begin planting trees on 150 d. of nearby Palestinian agricultural land that the IDF previously declared a closed military zone. (PCHR 2/9; OCHA 2/10)

An anonymous Israeli official says that Israel has been discussing with the U.S. a unilateral “phased approach to reaching a final status accord” in absence of negotiations with the Palestinians. PLOEC mbr. Saleh Rafaat warns that the PLO will refuse any interim or partial solution and any call for creating a Palestinian state with temporary or undefined borders. (REU 3/2; NYT 3/3)

Israel’s Jerusalem municipal authority approves construction of 14 Jewish settlement housing units in Ras al-Amud in East Jerusalem. In Gaza, Israel permanently closes the Qarni crossing, shifting all import and export of goods to Kerem Shalom. It also allows Gazans to export tomatoes for the 1st time since 6/2007. Meanwhile, IDF troops on the n. Gaza border twice fire on Palestinian farmers who stray nr. the border fence, forcing them to leave. In the West Bank, the IDF demolishes 20 structures in Khirbat Tana, marking the 6th major demolition of the village; patrols and sets up checkpoints in Tulkarm town and r.c. in the morning; bulldozes a well nr. a settleronly bypass road outside Hebron; conducts late-night patrols in al-Til village nr. Tulkarm and late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Hebron. (AFP, AP, MNA 3/2; NYT, PCHR, WP 3/3; JP 3/9; PCHR 3/10; OCHA 3/18)

In Yemen, antigovernment protests have steadily picked up since 2/16, particularly in Sana’a and Taiz. Some scuffles between protesters and govt. supporters (thought to be plain-clothed security forces) have been reported, but protests are still largely nonviolent. (Amnesty International reports at least 27 protesters killed to date.) By this time, 10 MPs fr. Pres. Ali Abdullah Saleh’s ruling party have resigned in solidarity with protesters, and medical unions, entire tribes and villages, and lawyers’ and labor groups have joined demonstrations. Today, opposition figures, tribal leaders, and influential clerics present Saleh with a plan for his peaceful transition fr. power and meet with him late into the night to discuss it, but there is no immediate deal. Meanwhile, protests grow in size to 10,000s of participants. (NYT, WP 3/3; see also NYT, WP, WT 2/23–24 NYT 2/28; WP 3/1; NYT, WP, WT, 3/2)

In the West Bank, the IDF fires rubbercoated steel bullets, tear gas, percussion grenades at Palestinians holding a nonviolent protest against settlements at the evacuated settlement site of Homesh nr. Jenin (wounding 5); conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus, and nr. Bethlehem, Hebron; fires rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas, percussion grenades at Palestinian, Israeli, international peace activists taking part in nonviolent demonstrations against the separation wall in Bil‘in (10s suffer tear gas inhalation), Jayyus nr. Qalqilya (10s suffer tear gas inhalation; a Palestinian Council mbr. and PLO Exec. Comm. mbr. are detained for questioning), and Ni‘lin (injuring 1). In East Jerusalem, Israeli police raid and halt a cultural event at a theater in the city organized by the Jerusalemite Youth Parliament and several local NGOs and schools, stating that it was a political event connected to the Palestinian Authority (PA), which the organizers deny. (PCHR 11/27)

Israel issues revised prisoner-release figures, saying a total of 3,400 Palestinians released under 5/4 accord with PLO.  1,300 kept in prison for refusing to renounce violence.  320 released 6/16, 229 of them going home, 91 transferred to Palestinian custody.  100 "criminals" opt to stay in Israeli prison rather than Palestinian jails in Gaza.  (WT 6/18)

IDF shoots and wounds 4 Palestinians, arrests 5 in clashes in Hebron.  (WT 6/18)

Palestinian Center for the Study of Non-Violence (PCSNV) starts campaign to reopen Palestinian homes sealed by Israel.  Group opens 40 homes in West Bank, denounces sealing as a "cruel and evil policy."  (WT 6/22; CSM, MEI, TJT 6/24)

PLO Chmn. Arafat complains to U.S. Amb. to Tunisia John McCarthy that $42 m. allocated by international donors for establishing Palestinian admin. is an inadequate "pittance."  (WT 6/22)

Likud cofounder and frmr. Irgun mbr. Yohanan Bader, 93, dies in Jerusalem.  (NYT, WP 6/18; JP 6/25; WJW 6/30)

Klausenberg Rebbe, Rabbi Yekutiel Yehuda Halberstam, 90, dies in Netanya, northern Israel.  (NYT, WP 6/20)

Social/Economic/Political

Occupied Palestine/Israel: Israeli High Court denies government request to deport Mubarak 'Awad before hearing his appeal, but says he must remain in jail until hearing [WP, CSM 5/10]. Govemment drops charges that 'Awad had organized or participated in violence and that Palestinian Center for the Study of Non-Violence was financed by PLO [WP 5/10]. Chaim Herzog is sworn in for 2d 5-year term as president [MET 5/19]. Israeli authorities seize 40 taxis operating between Jerusalem and Ramallah on charges that owners owe taxes [FJ 5/15].

Military Action

Occupied Palestine/Israel: In Duhayshah refugee camp, Palestinian bystander is killed when Israeli troops open fire on demonstrators; during funeral, mourners clash again with soldiers. Camp is ordered under curfew. At least 3 Palestinians are wounded during other W. Bank clashes. In Gaza Strip, 2 Palestinians are severely beaten by soldiers. Curfew is imposed in Jabalya refugee camp [WP 5/10].