The Palestine Chronology

In the West Bank, Israeli settlers set up tents on land near Deir Sharaf. Israeli settlers also threw stones at Palestinian vehicles traveling near Duma, injuring 2 Palestinians and damaging a car. Elsewhere, Israeli settlers assaulted Palestinians with pepper spray near Jamma’in, injuring 1. Israeli forces uprooted 70 olive trees in Khallet al-Qutun near Tuqu’. Israeli forces also leveled land near Qaryut in preparation for settlement expansion. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces raided the home of 16 Palestinians who had previously been imprisoned by Israel, seizing cash, several vehicles, and jewelry, claiming that the Palestinians had received payments from the PA. (WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 6/26; PCHR 7/6; UNOCHA 7/8)

The Israeli military alleged that a rocket was launched from the Jenin area at Israel before exploding within the West Bank, causing neither damage nor injuries. (HA, JP, TOI 6/26)

An Israeli parole board denied an early release petition for Palestinian prisoner Walid Daqqa, who the Israeli prison service acknowledge is terminally ill with cancer. Daqqa, who has been imprisoned by Israel for 39 years, has already completed his original sentence but was sentenced to an additional 2 years for allegedly helping smuggling cellphones into prison. (WAFA 6/26; HA 6/27)

In Lebanon, 1 Israeli drone was shot down by Hezbollah militants near Zibqin. (AJ, ALM, AP, HA, REU 6/26)

The Israeli Higher Planning Council approved 5,700 settlement housing units and retroactively approved the Palegi Maim, HaYovel, and Nof Harim settlement outposts. 818 housing units received final validation including 359 in Elkana, 381 in Revava, 29 in Givat Ze’ev, 42 in Carmiel, and 7 in Hermesh. 4,915 housing units were approved for deposit, including 1,563 in Eli, 98 in Ariel, 714 in Givat Ze’ev, 340 in Ma ‘ale Adumim, 312 in Beitar Ilit, 310 in Adora, 264 in Etz Efraim, 152 in Ma ‘ale Amos, 78 in Asfar, and 754 in the 3 settlement outposts. Peace Now reported that more than 13,000 housing units had been approved in the first half of 2023. The French foreign ministry and the UN issued a statement condemning the settlement approval and the recent Israeli settler violence. The U.S. said it was “deeply troubled by Israel’s decision.” (HA 6/25; AJ, ALM, ALM, AP, BBC, HA, HA, PCN, REU, WAFA, WAFA 6/26; WAFA 6/27; UN 6/28; NYT 6/29)

The Palestinian Legislative Council in Gaza announced that it had filed a complaint against Israel with the ICC over the Israeli blockade of Gaza. (MDW 6/29)

Israeli public broadcaster Kan reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had told a Knesset committee that his government is ready to help the PA financially to prevent it from collapsing but that the Palestinian “ambitions for the establishment of a state must be eliminated.” (NA, QDS 6/26; MEMO 6/27; QDS 6/29)

The UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs counted 570 Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians and Palestinian property between 1 January and 26 June, raising the number of attacks counted by the UN from 71 in 2022 to 95 incidents in the first half of 2023. (HA 7/1)

The Taub Center for Israel Studies at New York University made available documents from the Israeli archives showing that the Israeli military poisoned Palestinian land around Aqraba in 1972 to ensure that Palestinians could not cultivate the land as Israel established the Gitit settlement on land confiscated from the town’s residents. The Israeli military estimated that they had caused property loss from the spraying of the land amounting to $25,000. (HA 6/23)

In the West Bank, Israeli settlers blocked a road between Jerusalem and Hebron. Israeli settlers also vandalized 10 olive trees, 2 water tanks, and an irrigation system in Wadi Qana. Israeli forces violently dispersed Palestinian protesters in Bayt Dajan; 1 Palestinian sustained fractures from a fall after being chased by the forces. Israeli forces also raided Luban al-Sharqiyya, leading to tear-gas related injuries and 1 arrest of a minor. Elsewhere, Israeli forces handed demolition orders for 4 commercial structures in Dayr Qadis. Israeli forces also blocked several roads in the Masafer Yatta area and sealed entrances to Beita. 23 Palestinians were arrested, including 19 during late-night raids in Ni‘lin and Bayt Umar, 2 were arrested and their car seized in Hebron, and 2 were arrested on a street in Jenin. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces demolished 1 Palestinian home in Issawiyya. (WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 6/23; PCHR 6/24)

The Israeli supreme court upheld a decision by the Israeli military to punitively demolish the home of an alleged attacker in Turmus ‘Ayya, despite the alleged attacker not having lived in the house for years as he became a resident of the U.S. before he allegedly shot 3 Israeli settlers on 5/2; the demolition will displace his wife and children, who all have U.S. citizenship. (AP, NBC 6/23; AN 6/24)

The Israeli civil administration approved 31 zoning plans for settlement expansion in Maale Adumim, Alfei Manashe, Elkana, Havat Sde Bar, and Yitzhar, including housing units, a commercial center, and a park. Chairperson of the Joint List Ayman Odeh criticized the new Israeli government, saying that “the left is surrendering to the right . . . the right continues to sabotage the chances of peace and to deepen the occupation, repression, and dispossession of millions of Palestinians.” (AP, HA 6/23)

A poll conducted by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that 51% of American democrats think that the U.S. is not supportive enough of Palestinians. Of all the participants in the poll, 32% thought that the U.S. is not supportive enough of Palestinians, while 37% thought the U.S. support was as it should be. (AP, HA 6/23)

Haaretz reported that the Israeli police have not opened an investigation into the killing of a Palestinian shot by an Israeli settler on 5/14 in al-Rihiya. (HA 6/23)

In the West Bank, Israeli forces arrested 8 Palestinians, including 7 during late-night raids in and around Qalqilya, Ramallah, Halhul, and Salfit, and 1 at a flying checkpoint in Hebron; among the arrested at a late-night raid in Ramallah was 1 Palestinian instructor from Birzeit University in Ramallah. Israeli forces also conducted house raids in Zabbuba near Jenin; no arrests were reported. Israeli settlers threw stones at Palestinian-owned vehicles travelling on a road northeast of Ramallah, causing damage. In East Jerusalem, 1 Palestinian was arrested during a late-night raid in Issawiyya. 1 Palestinian demolished his store in Silwan after receiving a demolition order by Israeli authorities. (WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 9/1; PCHR 9/5)

After more than 340 Palestinians had been arrested in Issawiyya in East Jerusalem during the summer, it was reported that the Israeli police, the Jerusalem Municipality, and residents of Issawiyya had come to an agreement on limiting Israeli operations in Issawiyya. The agreement includes that residents of Issawiyya cancel a school strike on 9/2, the 1st day of the school year. (HA 9/1)

According to the Palestinian Energy Authority, Qatar will be cutting the amount of fuel it funds for Gaza by 50 percent, causing the hours of electricity available in Gaza to drop from 8 hours per day to 5 or 6. (HA 9/1)

At a visit to the Israeli settlement of Elkana, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that that he aspires to apply Israeli sovereignty to all Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Netanyahu’s announcement comes 2 weeks before the Israeli general election. (AJ, HA, WAFA, WAFA 9/1)

The al-Kasom Regional Council in the Negev, which presides over a large Bedouin community, announced that 17,000 students would not start the school year as planned on 9/2 as the Israeli education ministry had not given it enough money to begin the school year as planned. (HA 9/1)

Israeli forces and Hezbollah operatives exchanged missiles near the border of Israel and Lebanon. According to Hezbollah, it fired anti-tank missiles at Israeli military vehicles. The Israeli military and Prime Minister Netanyahu announced that it had hit the Hezbollah cell that fired the anti-tank missiles with “100 shells, aerial fire and various measures.” (HA 9/1; AJ, AJ, HA 9/2; HA 9/4)

IDF troops raid al-Sanabel radio station in Dura village nr. Hebron overnight, shutting it down on the grounds of alleged incitement and arresting 5 journalists. They also destroy and confiscate some broadcasting equipment. Elsewhere in the West Bank, Israeli forces arrest 8 Palestinians during late-night raids and house searches in and around Tulkarm, Jenin, and in Dahaysha r.c. nr. Bethlehem; and patrol nr. Nablus. Along Gaza’s border, Israeli forces conduct a limited incursion to level land nr. al-Bureij r.c. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces assault and arrest 5 Palestinian youths as they leave a soccer field in the Old City, demolish a blacksmith shop in the southeast corner of the city, and arrest 2 Palestinians during late-night raids in Ras al-Amud. (HA, JP, MNA, WAFA 8/31; PCHR 9/1; PCHR 9/8) 

The Egyptian authorities keep the Rafah border crossing open for the 2d of 3 planned days. (PCHR 9/1; OCHA 9/8)

The High Planning Comm. of Israel’s Civil Admin. advances plans for the construction of 463 settler residences in the West Bank, including approval for 234 units in the Elkana settlement, 31 in Bet Arye, and 20 in Givat Ze’ev. The comm. also retroactively legalizes 178 units built in Bet Arye in the 1980s. (AFP, HA, MNA 8/31)

In the West Bank, the IDF conducts house searches and arrest raids in 1 village each nr. Hebron, Jenin, Jerusalem, Nablus, and Ramallah at night; patrols in 1 village nr. Hebron at night. (PCHR 11/7)

Israel issues tenders for the construction of more than 1,700 homes, shortly ahead of a visit by U.S. Secy. of State Kerry. The tenders are part of 3,500 homes whose planned construction was announced after the latest prisoner release. The tenders are for homes in East Jerusalem settlements Ramat Shlomo and Gilo, as well as West Bank settlements like Elkana, Ma’ale Adumim, and Beitar Ilit. There is also 196 homes planned for Karnei Shomron, a settlement outside the “blocs” Israel expects to keep in any future deal. Separately, Israeli media report that PM Netanyahu intends to build a separation barrier between the West Bank and Jordan, as part of the govt.’s plans to maintain an Israeli presence in the Jordan Valley. Responding to developments, Pres. Abbas spokesperson Abu Rudayna says that the decision to build a fence along the border with Jordan is aimed at undermining Kerry’s upcoming mission, while PLO mbr. Wassel Abu Yousef slams the settlement tenders and says the PLO is considering how to get UN action against these decisions. Kerry, in Egypt, responds to a question at a press conference with FM Nabil Fahmy by saying that settlement construction disturbs “people’s perceptions of whether . . . we’re moving in the right direction.” (AFP, JP, MNA, REU, ToI 11/3)

U.S. Undersecy. of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman assures Israel that Obama has not offered any sanctions relief to Iran and that Israeli security is a priority of the administration. Speaking to Israeli television, Sherman says that the U.S. may offer temporary, limited sanctions relief as part of the diplomatic process while leaving core oil and banking sanctions in place. (HA, JP 11/3)

In Egypt, U.S. Secy. of State John Kerry expresses optimism about a return to democracy, and describes Cairo as a vital partner of Washington. Unnamed senior State Dept. officials say that Kerry did not discuss ousted pres. Morsi’s trial in meetings with Pres. Adly Mansour and Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. (REU 11/3)

Israeli warplanes drop boxes of leaflets across Gaza announcing that the IDF is expanding its self-declared “buffer zone” fr. 150 to 300 meters along most of the Gaza border, making more agricultural land inaccessible; 1 box hits a house, injuring a child. In the West Bank, the IDF shoots, seriously wounds an unarmed Palestinian teenager who strays nr. Shavei Shomron settlement nr. Nablus; patrols in Nur Shams r.c. nr. Tulkarm, firing on stone-throwing youths who confront them, wounding 3; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron, Jenin. Jewish settlers fr. Elkana settlement nr. Salfit vandalize a Palestinian home and intimidate the residents. (OCHA, PCHR 5/28; OCHA 6/1)

Israel announces that it has arrested 3 PFLP mbrs. for allegedly plotting to assassinate Shas party leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef. The IDF orders 27 bedouin to evacuate 3 sites nr. Tubas. Israel also opens bidding on 50 plots of land in Elkana settlement nr. Nablus for construction of new homes. The IDF issues military orders for the demolition of 3 Palestinian homes, 10 wells, 6 sewage systems outside Yatta for expansion of Carmiel settlement; resumes construction on a segment of the separation wall n. of Jerusalem; starts construction of a settler bypass road linking Neve Yaqub settlement to others around Jerusalem; raids Dayr al-Balah for a 2d day, arrests 3 Palestinians who allegedly attempted to sneak into Israel to find work; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Askar r.c. nr. Nablus, Silwad nr. Ramallah. Jewish settlers set up 2 new unauthorized outposts nr. Elon Moreh settlement nr. Nablus, nr. Hebron. A Jewish settler injures a 12-yr.-old Palestinian child in a hit-and-run nr. Bethlehem. Palestinians fire on IDF soldiers outside Neve Dekalim settlement, lightly wounding 1. In Jenin, 10s of AMB mbrs. take over a main intersection, close down a government building, demanding that the PA provide jobs to unemployed militants, fmr. prisoners, relatives of Palestinians killed by the IDF. Palestinian teachers open a 2-day strike to protest PC inactivity in amending the civil service law to increase teacher salaries (see 4/6). (NYT 4/18; MM 4/19; OCHA, PR 4/20; PCHR 4/21)

The IDF opens fire on Palestinians attempting to block bulldozers fr. clearing land nr. Bayt Surik for construction of the separation wall, wounding at least 1; demolishes a Palestinian home in Sawahara al-Sharqiyya nr. Jerusalem for construction of the wall; begins construction of a new 42 km wall segment btwn. Elkana settlement nr. Qalqilya and Ofer detention center s. of Ramallah; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Artas nr. Bethlehem, in Rafah, in camps and villages around Hebron and Jenin; raids, seals a Tulkarm charitable organization allegedly linked to Hamas, confiscating equipment, furniture. PA security officials confirm that Hizballah helped fund the 1/29 and 2/22 suicide bombings. (AFP, MM 2/24; VOP 2/24 in WNC 2/26; AP, NYT 2/25; HA, LAW, PCHR 2/26)

An Israeli official says that since Israeli-Palestinian violence has continued, the initial 7-day period of Powell's new cease-fire time line has not yet begun. Today, the IDF directs machine gun fire on residential areas of Silwad; bars Palestinians fr. exiting Qalqilya; begins bulldozing 100s of dunams of Palestinian land n. of Jerusalem for a new 300 m. settler bypass road; blocks/digs trenches across the Bayt Rima-Abud road, roads leading to Jinin fr. the south; sets up a new checkpoint outside Tulkarm. Jewish settlers attempt to set up a new settlement site nr. al-Jamla, n. of Jinin; continue leveling 200 dunams of land nr. Masha for a 70-unit expansion of Elkana settlement. (HP, PMC 6/30; WT 7/1; HP 7/2)

Arafat, Peres meet for a 2d time in Lisbon. (WT 7/1; MM 7/3; MENA 7/3 in WNC 7/6; MM 7/5)

Holding Syria responsible for the 6/29 Hizballah attack, Israeli warplanes fire missiles at a Syrian radar station nr. Baalbek, Lebanon, wounding 2 Syrian, 1 Lebanese soldier. The attacks sparks an exchange of rocket fire btwn. Hizballah, IDF forces in Shaba` Farms, causing no injuries. (AP, WT 7/1; MENA, RL 7/1 in WNC 7/2; MM, WP 7/2; IRNA, MENA 7/1, Interfax, SA 7/2 in WNC 7/3; al-Safir 7/4, SA 7/5 in WNC 7/7)