The Palestine Chronology

In the West Bank, Israeli forces demolish 18 Palestinian homes and agricultural stores in 3 villages in the n. Jordan Valley and another home nr. Hebron. IDF troops conduct late-night raids and house searches in 2 villages nr. Nablus, Hebron and nearby villages, and 1 village nr. Jenin, arresting 7 Palestinians and issuing an arrest summons to 1. They also conduct raids in a village nr. Ramallah, issuing arrest summons to 3 Palestinians and sparking minor clashes with stone-throwing Palestinian youths; 5 Palestinians are arrested. In East Jerusalem, Israeli officials order 2 Palestinians to vacate their homes before 8/11 on the grounds of “absentee ownership.” Similarly, the extended Abu Nab family is ordered to vacate their Silwan homes before 8/11 following a court ruling in favor of Israeli settlers’ ownership claims (the Israeli police will forcibly remove the Abu Nab family from their homes on 10/19). In East Jerusalem, an Israeli court orders the release of the Islamic Waqf employees that were detained on 8/4. (MNA, WAFA 8/5; HA, PCHR 8/6; PCHR 8/13)

Around 120 Palestinian prisoners in Israel’s Nafha Prison start an open-ended hunger strike in protest of solitary confinement, the recent ban on family visits, and other violations. The prisoners will continue their strike until the Israeli authorities end the “rabid attack against them,” according to PA Prisoners’ Affairs Comm. head Issa Qaraqe. (MEMO 8/6; MNA 8/8)

In Cairo, the Arab League’s Arab Peace Initiative follow-up comm. agrees to hold “Arab and international consultations” to draft a UNSC res. condemning Israeli settler violence against Palestinians. PA pres. Abbas attends and says that “if the Israeli govt. does not take steps to catch the perpetrators of the [7/31 arson attack], it will be a partner of these crimes.” (MNA 8/5; JP, MNA 8/6)

In Gaza, Israeli forces level land e. of Khan Yunis along the border fence. In the West Bank, IDF troops shoot and injure a Palestinian man at a checkpoint s. of Nablus when he refuses to undergo a security check. Israeli forces conduct a raid in a village nr. Jenin, sparking clashes with stone-throwing Palestinian residents. According to the village residents, errant tear gas canisters fired by the Israeli soldiers landed in a nearby agricultural area, setting a number of olive trees on fire. IDF troops conduct latenight raids in Hebron and nearby al-‘Arub r.c., as well as Aida r.c. and 1 village nr. Bethlehem, arresting 7 Palestinians, assaulting 2, and issuing an arrest summons to 1. Meanwhile, Israeli forces demolish a home and part of another in an outpost nr. the Eli settlement. Israeli settlers throw rocks at Palestinian cars nr. Ramallah, causing damage; set fire to 10 olive trees nr. Qalqilya. In East Jerusalem, unknown assailants throw a firebomb at an Israeli car in Bayt Hanina, causing an accident and injuring 3 Jewish Israelis (9 Palestinians will be arrested in connection with this attack and indicted on 8/23). Israeli forces arrest 2 Palestinian children accused of stone-throwing and 5 Palestinians on raids in Silwan. (HA, MNA, WAFA 8/3; JP 8/4; PCHR 8/6; HA 8/23)

PA FM al-Maliki meets with ICC prosecutor Bensouda in The Hague and files a report on Israeli settler violence with the ICC. Meanwhile, Palestinian amb. to Jordan Atallah Khairi says that the Jordanian govt. and Palestinian leadership have agreed to submit a draft res. to the UNSC calling for international defense of Palestinian civilians following the 7/31 arson attack. (HA, MNA, TOI, WAFA 8/3; MNA 8/4)

On behalf of the State of Palestine, PA PM Hamdallah signs a formal request to join Interpol, an intergovernmental organization that facilitates police cooperation across borders. The PA plans to use membership to prosecute Palestinians living abroad on corruption charges. (TOI 8/3)