The Palestine Chronology

In the West Bank, Israeli settlers with a military escort raided al-Mazra’a al-Gharbiya, vandalizing property. Israeli settlers also erected vending stalls on a highway near al-Farisiya. Elsewhere, Israeli settlers stole 14 Palestinian-owned sheep in Kafr ad-Dik. Israeli forces issued demolition notices for a residential structure near Tubas and 3 homes in the Masafer Yatta area. Israeli forces also shot and injured 1 Palestinian with live ammunition during a raid in Kafr Dan; 4 were arrested. Elsewhere, Israeli forces shot and injured 6 Palestinians during a raid in Aqabat Jaber refugee camp. In East Jerusalem, Israeli settlers toured the Haram al-Sharif compound; some settlers were seen openly praying on the compound. In Umm al-Fahm, Israeli authorities demolished several Palestinian-owned agricultural structures. (WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 6/7; PCHR, WAFA 6/8; UNOCHA 6/18)

An Israeli bulldozer nearly plowed into a Lebanese protester before UNIFIL soldiers convinced the Israeli soldier manning to bulldozer to move back. Israeli forces have been working on constructing a barrier in the area south of Kfar Chouba near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. (AP, HA 6/9)

Fatah deputy chairperson Mahmud Aloul told reporters that Fatah’s decline in popularity is linked to the party’s inability to deliver on promises made when Fatah adopted a peaceful resistance. Aloul also said he would not seek to succeed Mahmoud Abbas as Fatah chairperson, saying the party needs someone from the younger generation. (ALM, QDS 6/7; ALM 6/10)

U.S. special representative for Palestinian affairs Hady Amr met with members of the family of the 2-year-old boy Israeli forces shot on 6/1 and who succumbed to his wounds on 6/5. On 6/6, Amr’s office called on the Israeli government to “evaluate all use of deadly force that involves civilian casualties.” Amr also met with PLO secretary-general Hussein al-Sheikh. (TOI, WAFA 6/7; WAFA 6/8)

Israeli national security advisor Tzachi Hanegbi met with Moroccan officials, including Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita, in Rabat, discussing possible Israeli recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara. In return for recognition of sovereignty Morocco is reportedly willing to upgrade the 2 countries’ diplomatic missions to embassies and enter a free-trade agreement. (ALM, HA, MEE, REU, TOI 6/7; HA, MEE, REU 6/8; ALM 6/10; HA 6/11)

U.S. secretary of state Antony Blinken met with Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah. According to a U.S. official, the 2 discussed Israel normalization, Yemen, Sudan, and human rights. Blinken also met with Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan and GCC ministers at a GCC ministerial meeting in Riyadh. The GCC nations and the U.S. issued a joint statement after the meeting calling for a “2-state solution along 1967 borders with mutually agreed swaps consistent with internationally recognized parameters and the Arab Peace Initiative.” Iran reopened its embassy in Riyadh and bin Salman met with Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro a day prior to Blinken’s meetings. (AJ, AP, HA, REU, REU, TOI 6/7; DoS, NYT, REU 6/8; NYT 6/10)

In the West Bank, Israeli forces shot and critically wounded 1 Palestinian man at the Gush Etzion junction near Bethlehem, claiming that the man had tried to stab an Israeli soldier with a screwdriver; a video showed how Israeli soldiers prevented a medic from treating the Palestinian man. Israeli forces also demolished 1 parking lot near the separation barrier west of Deir al-Ghusun. 10 Palestinians were arrested during house raids, including 3 close relatives of 1 of the Palestinian prisoners who escaped the Gilboa prison on 9/6 in and around Abu Njeim, Aida refugee camp, Dheisheh refugee camp, al-Yamun, Kafr Dan, Qalqilya, Ni‘lin, and Jericho. In East Jerusalem, 3 Palestinians were arrested during late-night raids in al-Tur and Silwan. In Gaza, Israeli forces made incursions and leveled land near Beit Lahiya. In West Jerusalem, Israeli forces shot and severely injured 1 Palestinian man from the West Bank after he stabbed 2 Jewish people near the Jerusalem central bus station; both stabbing victims were said to be in stable condition. (HA, HA, MEE, MEE, REU, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 9/13; PCHR 9/16)

The Palestinian prisoner leadership said that 1,380 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails would go on hunger strike on 9/17 to protest the collective punitive measures introduced by Israel after 6 Palestinians escaped Gilboa prison on 9/6 (see 9/8). (HA, WAFA, WAFA 9/13; AJ, JP, PCHR 9/14)

After rumors that tips from Palestinians in Israel had led to the capture of 4 of the 6 Palestinians who escaped from Gilboa prison on 9/6, PA prime minister Mohammed Shtayyeh called for national unity. Prime Minister Shtayyeh said that “[t]he occupation authorities are trying to divide us from our brothers, and we need to strengthen the connection.” Shtayyeh also called on the UN to ensure that the prisoners are not tortured as rumors were circulating that at least 1 of the prisoners had been subjected to severe torture, leading to hospitalization. (HA 9/13)

The PA instructed the Central Elections Committee to prepare for local council elections on 12/11. Political fractions in Gaza later rejected the elections after a meeting on the subject, saying that national election must precede local elections. (WAFA 9/14; MEMO 9/17; MEMO 9/21)

Israel’s prime minister Naftali Bennett and Egypt’s president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi met in Sharm al-Shaykh. The 2 discussed a long-term Hamas-Israel ceasefire, Iran, Turkey, and Egypt’s crisis with Ethiopia. (AJ, HA, MEMO, REU 9/13; AJ, AP, AX, MEMO, MEMO 9/14 HA 9/15)

The New York Times detailed that a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency suggests that Iran is within 1 month of having enough material to build 1 nuclear warhead. It was also reported that manufacturing the warhead would take much longer. The reporting suggested that Iran was enriching the nuclear material to weapons grade to pressure the U.S. in the renewed Iran deal negotiations. (NYT 9/13; HA 9/14)

The IDF conducts additional late-night raids in Nablus, searching, sealing, and confiscating computers and documents fr. several organizations allegedly connected to the ICA, including Afaq TV station, the Union of Palestinian Women Committees (confiscating food donations intended for needy Nablus families), a clinic, a kindergarten (taking 2 buses). The IDF sends undercover units driving a car with Palestinian license plates into Kafr Dan nr. Jenin, ambushing a Palestinian car and opening fire, assassinating Talal ‘Abid, a wanted mbr. of the Abu Ammar Brigades (a Fatah offshoot in Jenin), arresting a 2d Palestinian; sends troops, bulldozers into Hebron to demolish 2 Palestinian homes (18 residents) for allegedly harboring wanted individuals, also uprooting trees and heavily damaging a 3d home; fires rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas a Palestinians demonstrating against the separation wall in Dayr al-Ghusun nr. Tulkarm, injuring several (including 2 journalists); conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Hebron, Nablus. Jewish settlers fr. Brakha fire 6 mortars at Burin village and 1 at Madama village, causing no damage or injuries (see 7/1, 7/3). Israel’s Interior Min. approves construction of 920 new settler housing units in Har Homa settlement in the Palestinian neighborhood of Jabal Abu Ghunaym in Jerusalem; it is not clear if this figure includes 121 units approved on 6/1. (JP 7/9; PCHR 7/10; WT 7/11; OCHA 7/16; PCHR 7/17; NYT 7/18; AHR 7/21)

The IDF patrols in Kafr Dan nr. Jenin; fires rubber-coated steel bullets, percussion grenades, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, international activists taking part in the weekly nonviolent demonstrations against the separation wall in Bil‘in, injuring 5. An Army of Islam mbr. dies of injuries received in an 9/26 IDF air strike on Gaza City. (OCHA 10/3; PCHR 10/4)

After nearly a wk. of talks with Quartet reps. and officials from Israel, the PA, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and the UAE on the sidelines of UN mtgs. in New York, the Bush admin. formally announces that a Palestinian-Israeli peace summit has been planned for 11/15 in Annapolis, MD. (WT 9/29; see also NYT, WP, WT 9/24)

In Gaza, Palestinians begin experiencing longer blackouts resulting fr. fuel shortages since Israel closed the Nahal Oz pipeline on 8/15. Hamas volunteers undertake a clean-up campaign in Khan Yunis, where municipal sanitation workers have been on strike over salary issues. The IDF makes an air strike on an Islamic Jihad rocketlaunching site nr. Bayt Lahiya in n. Gaza, causing no injuries. A 10-yr.-old Palestinian boy is injured when a Palestinian rocket fired fr. Gaza toward Israel hits a Palestinian home nr. Bayt Hanun, nr. the n. Gaza border. In the West Bank, the IDF kills 2 Islamic Jihad mbrs. in an exchange of fire nr. Jenin; sends troops into Kafr Dan nr. Jenin to patrol, firing on stone-throwing youths who confront them, killing a 14-yr.-old Palestinian boy, prompting an exchange of gunfire with Palestinian resistance mbrs. that leaves 1 armed Palestinian dead, 7 Palestinians wounded; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus (firing on residential areas, wounding a Palestinian woman in her home), in Qalqilya, nr. Hebron; fires rubber-coated steel bullets, percussion grenades, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, international activists taking part in the weekly nonviolent demonstration against the separation wall in Bil‘in, injuring 5. (BBC 8/17; NYT 8/19; OCHA 8/22; PCHR 8/23)

In Gaza, the IDF assassinates IQB mbrs. Ra’ed Habib and Munir al-Jamal in an air strike on their car in Gaza City, wounding 6 bystanders; makes 5 other air strikes on Hamas and ESF targets in Bayt Lahiya, Dayr al-Balah, and Gaza City, wounding 10 bystanders, destroying 2 alleged weapons factories, damaging several homes. In retaliation, Hamas fires 17 rockets fr. Gaza into Israel, injuring 2 Israelis in Sederot. The Israeli navy fires on Palestinian fishermen off the Gaza City coast, forcing them to return to shore. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in, fires on residential areas of Kafr Dan nr. Jenin, wounding 3 Palestinians; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus and neighboring Balata r.c.; fires rubber-coated steel bullets, percussion grenades, tear gas at Palestinian, Israeli, and international activists holding a weekly nonviolent protest against the separation wall in Bil‘in nr. Ramallah, injuring 2. Jewish settlers scuffle with Palestinian, Israeli, and international activists demonstrating against the wall in Bani Na‘im nr. Hebron; the IDF intervenes, detaining 5 activists. Meanwhile, Fatah-Hamas fighting in Gaza continues, leaving 4 Palestinians dead and more than a dozen wounded. Incidents include Abbas’s presidential guard firing RPGs and mortars at the predominantly Hamas Islamic University in Gaza City. A 7-yr.-old Palestinian boy dies of injuries received in the 5/17 Fatah attack on a funeral in Rafah. (AP, WP 5/18; NYT, WP, WT 5/19; PCHR 5/21; OCHA 5/23; PCHR 5/24)

In the West Bank, the IDF sends undercover units into Azun in a car with Palestinian license plates, surrounds a home, arrests 1 PSF mbr. who surrenders; conducts random ID checks in, fires on residential areas of Kafr Dan nr. Jenin; conducts arrest raids, house searches in and around Jenin and Nablus, in Dahaysha r.c., nr. Bethlehem, Hebron; burns 70 d. of agricultural land btwn. the separation wall and the Green Line nr. Tulkarm (see 8/5). In Ramallah, 7 Palestinians working in the PC building are taken to the hospital with breathing difficulties after opening a suspicious letter addressed to PM Haniyeh; the building is evacuated. The PA head of military intelligence for n. Gaza dies of injuries received in an ambush in Jabaliya r.c. on 8/6; no group claims responsibility. (AP 8/7; WP 8/8; OCHA 8/9; PCHR 8/10)

Overnight, the IDF destroys the last remaining bridge over the Litani River linking n. and s. Lebanon; this cuts off access to Tyre. The IDF announces a 10:00 P.M. curfew on Tyre, saying that any movement there after dark and any vehicular traffic s. of the Litani River at any time will henceforth be considered Hizballah activity and a legitimate target. As UN mbrs. narrow differences on a cease-fire res., Olmert’s security cabinet discusses speeding up the IDF’s advance to the Litani River, escalating attacks on Lebanon’s civilian infrastructure. During the day, the IDF continues heavy air, artillery strikes on some 150 targets across Lebanon, hitting s. Beirut (including 47 killed, 70 wounded in the Christian-Shi‘i suburb of al-Shiyah, where Shi‘a are pro-Amal), the Biqa‘ Valley (including Baalbek, Masnaa), in and around Nabatiyya (including 7 civilians killed in air strikes on cars traveling in Qasmiyya; 15 killed, 20 wounded in an air strike on an apartment building in Ghaziyya), and across s. Lebanon (including demolishing a 4-building apartment complex in Tyre), killing at least 69 Lebanese civilians; continues ground operations across s. Lebanon that leave 3 IDF soldiers dead, 7 wounded in Bint Jubayl and include heavy fighting in Hula (the IDF claims to kill at least 15 Hizballah mbrs.); downs an unmanned Hizballah drone off the s. Lebanon coast. Hizballah fires 130 rockets into n. Israel, injuring 10 Israelis, hitting targets in Acre, Carmiel, Kiryat Shimona (70 rockets), Ma’alot, Nahariya, Safad. The ICRC says that the IDF has barred humanitarian aid missions to the south for 3 days. (BBC, NYT, WP 8/7; BBC, NYT, WP, WT 8/8; WP, WT 8/9; WP 8/10)

The IDF sends bulldozers 300 m into central Gaza to level land along the border; sends troops into Nablus, firing tear gas at Palestinian children on their way home fr. school; sends troops into Tulkarm to search a car, confiscate a computer; patrols in Kafr Dan nr. Jenin; conducts arrest raids in and around Hebron and Ramallah (capturing Izzeddine al-Qassam Brigades West Bank head Ibrahim Hamid), in Jericho, and nr. Qalqilya. An Israeli court rejects an appeal by East Jerusalem Palestinians challenging the route of the separation wall around Ma’ale Adumim, determining that the DMin. has given “adequate consideration of the barrier’s impact on residents while balancing the security needs of Israeli citizens.” (AFP, MM 5/23; NYT, WP, WT 5/24; PCHR 5/25)