The Palestine Chronology

In the West Bank, Israeli settlers contaminated a water container with poisonous material in Yatta south of Hebron. Elsewhere, in the village of al-Jib, Israeli settlers with military escort stormed an archeological site while closing the main road to the village for 2 hours. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces escorted some 300 Israeli settlers while touring Haram al-Sharif. Meanwhile, Israeli forces set up checkpoints and roadblocks impeding access for Palestinians in the Old City. In Gaza, Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinian farmers; no injuries were reported. (MNA, MNA, PNN, WAFA 4/25)

The Israeli foreign ministry announced that Israel would participate in the World Expo in the United Arab Emirates in 2020. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Israel’s participation an expression of Israel’s “rising status in the world and the region.” (HA 4/27)

A federal judge in Texas temporarily blocked the enforcement of a Texas state law that prohibits boycotting Israel as a condition of public employment. The judge cited the 1st Amendment as a reason for his decision. The ruling comes after 2 federal judges in Kansas and Arizona blocked similar state laws last year. (WP 4/26)  

The Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov warned in a report that the financial crisis due to Israel withholding 6 percent of the PA tax revenue, and the PA refusing to accept any of the revenue as long as it is not 100 percent, “threatens the stability of the West Bank and the very survival of the Palestinian state-building effort.” (MNA, UNSCO, WAFA 4/25)

Thousands of Palestinians gather along Gaza’s border to continue the Great March of Return. IDF troops violently disperse the demonstrations near Gaza City, Rafah, Khan Yunis, Jabaliya refugee camp, and al-Bureij refugee camp; at least 17 Palestinians are injured. In East Jerusalem, the Israeli authorities order a Palestinian restaurant in the Old City to close for 10 days as punishment for hiring a West Bank resident who did not have permission to enter East Jerusalem. In the West Bank, IDF troops shoot and injure a Palestinian minor amid clashes sparked by a raid in Balata refugee camp near Nablus. They also patrol near Hebron, Salfit, and Tulkarm. (MNA, TOI, WAFA 3/1; MNA, MNA 3/2; PCHR 3/7)

Texas comptroller of public accounts Glenn Hegar places the U.S.-based home-sharing company Airbnb on Texas’s “List of Companies that Boycott Israel,” triggering a suspension of all state dealings with the company. The move is reportedly an implementation of the law Texas passed in 2017 barring state contracts with companies that boycott Israel. (HA, JTA 3/4)