The Palestine Chronology

The IDF closes al-Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron to non-Jews and maintains the general closure of the oPt during Rosh Hashanah. Meanwhile, a group of settler children harass a Palestinian family picking olives nr. Hebron. They attempt to steal some olives before a local chapter of Youth Against Settlements intervenes. IDF troops raid a village nr. Nablus late at night and patrol nr. Hebron and Ramallah during the day. In East Jerusalem, 45 right-wing Jewish activists visit Haram al-Sharif. A Palestinian family demolishes part of its own home in the Old City to avoid paying Israeli demolition fees. Along Gaza’s border, IDF troops arrest a young Palestinian after he cuts through the border fence in an attempt to enter Israel nr. Eshkol. (MNA, WAFA 10/3; MNA 10/4; PCHR 10/6)

The Palestinian High Court of Justice rules that the municipal elections, which were set for 10/8 before being indefinitely delayed on 9/8, will go forward on 10/8 only in the West Bank because the courts operating in Gaza are “illegal.” The court previously said it favored holding elections across all Palestinian territory, including Gaza and East Jerusalem. Hamas rejects the court’s decision; a spokesperson says that the decision “divides the Palestinian people.” (HA, JP, MEE, MNA, TOI, WAFA, YA 10/3; MNA 10/4)

Israeli rights groups Gisha and HaMoked reveal that Israel has tightened restrictions on what qualifies as a “humanitarian reason” for a Gazan to relocate to the West Bank, threatening to reclassify 1,000s of Gazans currently residing in the West Bank as “illegal aliens” at risk of being expelled to Gaza. Israeli naval vessels fire on Palestinian fishing boats off the n. Gaza coast, arresting 2 fishermen. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Nablus and nr. Hebron. The UN reports that in the past wk., 2 Palestinians were killed in tunnel-related incidents, 1 in a collapse and 1 electrocuted; 4 were injured. Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights reports that in the past wk. Hamas-affiliated police in Gaza seized 674 humanitarian aid kits that were to be distributed to Bayt Hanun residents by an international organization through a local NGO. (NYT 6/17; OCHA, PCHR 6/18; OCHA Humanitarian Monitor 6/09)