The Palestine Chronology

In the West Bank, the IDF conducts house searches and arrest raids in Hebron at night; patrols in 1 village nr. Hebron in the morning, in Aida r.c. in Bethlehem in the afternoon. IDF troops violently disperse Palestinian, Israeli and international protesters at weekly demonstrations against Israel’s separation wall, settlements and occupation in 4 villages nr. Ramallah (Bil‘in, Nabi Salih, Nil‘in, and Wadi Fukin), 1 village nr. Bethlehem (al-Ma‘sara), and 1 village nr. Qalqilya (Kafr Qaddum). There are no serious injuries. In East Jerusalem, Israel bars men under 50 years old from entering Haram al-Sharif. (MNA 9/26; PCHR 10/2)

PA Pres. Abbas addresses the UNGA, announcing that the PA, in coordination with the Group of Arab States at the UN, is working on a draft UNSC res. that will call for immediate recognition of Palestinian statehood and a specific timetable for the end of the Israeli occupation, with bilateral negotiations on key issues to be held over the course of that time. Several Palestinian officials later elaborate on the plan, saying that the exact timetable is not set, though it will be either 2 or 3 years. Abbas also uses unprecedentedly strong language to condemn Israel’s most recent assault on Gaza, calling it a “genocidal crime.” The U.S. and Israel are both critical of Abbas’s rhetoric and his proposals. (See Docs. B2 and B3 in JPS 174 for excerpts of the speech and a copy of the draft res. that the Associated Press published on 10/1.) (HA, JP, MNA, REU 9/26; AP, HA 9/27)

After a week of negotiations, reps. of Iran and the P5+1 group conclude this round of talks in New York. They do not make any significant agreements or compromises ahead of the 11/24 deadline, with the key sticking points being Iran’s uranium enrichment capacity and the pace at which the U.S. will lift its sanctions. (State Dept., special briefing 9/26; Bloomberg 9/27)

IDF troops on the n. Gaza border fire warning shots at Palestinians hunting birds nr. the no-go zone, forcing them to leave the area. Israeli naval vessels fire on Palestinian fishing boats off the n. Gaza coast, forcing them to return to shore. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in 4 villages nr. Ramallah during the day; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Bethlehem. Palestinians (sometimes accompanied by Israeli and international activists) hold weekly nonviolent demonstrations against the separation wall, land confiscations, and settlement expansion in Bil’in, Kafr Qaddum, Nabi Salih, and Ni’lin; demonstrations in Bil’in also call for national reconciliation. IDF soldiers fire rubbercoated steel bullets, tear gas, and stun grenades at the protesters; 3 Palestinians and 1 Israeli in Bil’in are hit and moderately injured by tear gas canisters; 2 Palestinian journalists (for Associated Press and Palestine TV) and 3 international activists are arrested in Nabi Salih. (PCHR 12/8; OCHA 12/9)

Speaking at the Brookings Institute’s Saban Center in Washington, U.S. Defense Secy. Leon Panetta states that the “firm principles” on which U.S. Middle East policy is based are: (1) the U.S.’s “unshakable” commitment to Israel, (2) maintenance of regional stability, and (3) preventing Iran fr. obtaining nuclear weapons (by military means if necessary). However, he also says Israel bears significant blame for a peace process that “has been effectively put on hold” and must do more to revive peace talks and improve relations with Egypt, Jordan, and Turkey. (NYT, WP 12/3)