The Palestine Chronology

In the West Bank, Israeli settlers stole olive harvests and harvesting equipment in Yasuf. Israeli settlers also razed Palestinian farmland in Wadi al-Faw. Elsewhere, Israeli settlers threw stones at Palestinian vehicles traveling near Ramallah. Israeli forces demolished 3 Palestinian houses in al-Doyouk al-Tahta. Israeli forces also violently dispersed Palestinian protesters in al-Arroub refugee camp, causing tear-gas related injuries. Elsewhere, Israeli forces placed dirt mounds at the main entrance to ‘Azzun. 19 Palestinians were arrested during late-night raids in Jaba‘, Nablus, Iraq Burin, Biddu, Tuqu‘, Hebron, Dura, and Qalqilya. In East Jerusalem, 1 Palestinian family demolished parts of their own home in the Old City. 2 Palestinians were arrested in Silwan and Jabel Mukaber. Off the coast of Gaza, Israeli naval forces arrested 5 Palestinian fishermen and seized 1 boat. (HA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 10/26; HA, MEMO, PCHR, PCHR, WAFA 10/27; UNOCHA 11/13)

Employees from the Israeli ministry of education inspected the bags of students from the al-Iman School in Beit Hanina looking for Palestinian textbooks. (WAFA 10/26; WAFA 10/27)

4 members of the Lion’s Den turned themselves in to the PA after negotiations with PA security officials. (HA 10/27)

In Syria, 4 people were reportedly killed in Israeli air strikes near Damascus. (AP 10/26; AJ, HA 10/27)

Axios reported that UAE foreign minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan told former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the UAE has concerns about Netanyahu’s alliance with Itamar Ben-Gvir and the Otzma Yehudit party. According to Axios, foreign minister Al Nahyan told Netanyahu that a government that includes the Otzma Yehudit party could impact the UAE-Israel relationship. (AX, HA 10/26; MEMO 10/27)

Israel’s president Isaac Herzog met with U.S. president Joe Biden in Washington. (AJ, AP, AX, HA, REU 10/26)

IDF troops violently disperse Palestinian youths gathering along Gaza’s border near al-Bureij refugee camp to protest U.S. pres. Trump’s 12/6 recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital; 1 Palestinian is killed and 3 are injured. Off Gaza’s coast, Israeli naval forces open fire on Palestinian fishing boats near Jabaliya refugee camp, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, IDF troops shut down a checkpoint between Tell village and Iraq Burin village near Nablus in the context of the ongoing search for the perpetrators of the 1/9 deadly shooting. The shutdown sparks protests and later clashes between the Israeli troops and Palestinians in the area; 1 Palestinian is killed and 4 are injured. Meanwhile, IDF troops violently disperse Palestinian protesters gathering outside Qalqilya; 1 Palestinian is injured. They also arrest 5 Palestinians and confiscate NIS 17,400 (approximately $5,100) during late-night raids near Nablus and Tulkarm, and patrol near Tulkarm, Salfit, and Hebron. (HA, JP, TOI, WAFA, YA 1/11; PCHR 1/18)

Israeli PM Netanyahu instructs the Defense Ministry to connect the illegal settlement outpost Havat Gilad to the West Bank’s electricity grid. The move comes 2 days after the killing of an Israeli settler who lived in Havat Gilad. (JP, TOI 1/11)

Egypt reopens the Rafah crossing as planned, permitting most Palestinians to cross freely for the first time in 4 yrs. (men ages 18–40 are the only group required to secure visas to enter Egypt). Unidentified Palestinians fire a homemade Qassam rocket fr. Gaza into Israel for the 1st time since 4/18, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF bars Palestinian farmers fr. working their land nr. Bet Ayn settlement nr. Hebron; conducts late-night patrols in Bil‘in, sounding sirens and firing stun and flash grenades to intimidate residents; conducts late-night patrols without incident in Qalqilya; makes late-night arrest raids, house searches in ‘Aqabat Jabir r.c. nr. Jericho and Nur Shams r.c. nr. Tulkarm. The IDF also fires tear gas, stun grenades at Palestinian, Israeli, and international activists staging a nonviolent march through Iraq Burin village nr. Nablus to nearby Brakha settlement to protest the settlers’ seizure of village lands to expand the settlement; 3 internationals are arrested. (AFP 5/28; MNA, NYT, WP 5/29; PCHR 6/2; OCHA 6/3)

In Qatar, Abbas briefs Arab League FMs on the recent speeches by Obama and Netanyahu. The FMs agree to support the Palestinians’ UN statehood bid in absence of a viable alterative. Abbas then goes to Cairo to brief Egypt’s acting government. (REU, WAFA 5/28; MENA 5/30)

Secy. of State Clinton races to broker a deal with Israeli officials to extend the settlement freeze 1 day before it is scheduled to expire, while Mitchell meets with Abbas in New York to urge him not to walk away from peace talks immediately if Netanyahu allows the freeze to expire. On the ground Jewish settlers begin positioning construction equipment in some settlements. In addition, Jewish settlers in Revava settlement nr. Salfit seize 30 d. of Palestinian agricultural land, raze crops, and install 2 mobile homes as a “new quarter” of the settlement. Jewish settlers fr. Nokdim settlement nr. Bethlehem place 3 mobile homes on nearby Palestinian land. Jewish settlers fr. Barqan settlement nr. Salfit raze adjacent Palestinian land to expand the settlement’s industrial zone. Jewish settlers fr. Givat Ze’ev settlement enter Beitunia town nr. Ramallah and make preparations to celebrate the Sukkoth holiday; the IDF removes them. (NYT, WP 9/26)

Meanwhile, Israeli-Palestinian clashes in Issawiyya, which began on 9/22, taper off by the end of the day, leaving a total of 99 Palestinians (including 17 children) and 9 Israelis injured (7 lightly, 2 moderately), and 70 Palestinians under arrest; during the rioting, Palestinians set fire to or damage 8 Israeli cars and vandalize an Israeli tourist information center. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in Iraq Burin village nr. Nablus in the afternoon, firing tear gas and stun grenades at stone-throwing Palestinian youths who confront them, causing no serious injuries; fires rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas, and stun grenades at Palestinian, Israeli, and international activists conducting a nonviolent march from Bayt Umar village to Karme Tzur settlement outside Hebron to protest land confiscations and settlement expansion; 10s suffer tear gas inhalation and 2 Palestinians and 3 Americans are injured. An Egyptian hospital reports that an armed Palestinian transported to Egypt for treatment has died of injures sustained in the 9/14 IDF shelling nr. Gaza Valley village. (NYT, WP 9/26; PCHR 9/30; OCHA 10/1)

Delegations headed by Hamas Political Bureau chief Khalid Mishal and senior Fatah official Azzam al-Ahmad meet for 3 hours in Damascus, afterward issuing a statement confirming a restart of national unity talks. (AP 9/24; AP, REU 9/25; JP 9/27; MNA 11/1)