The Palestine Chronology

An Israeli settler driver crashes his vehicle into a Palestinian couple and their horse-drawn cart nr. Qalqilya, moderately injuring both of them (the man will succumb to his injuries on 10/26). It’s unclear if the crash was an intentional ramming attack or not. Elsewhere in the West Bank, the IDF shuts down the entrances to Husan village nr. Bethlehem after unidentified assailants open fire on Israeli settlers’ vehicles in the area. IDF troops arrest 7 Palestinians during patrols nr. Tulkarm, Nablus, and Bethlehem, as well as in and around Ramallah and Hebron; and patrol nr. Salfit and Hebron during the day. The raids in Ramallah spark clashes with stone-throwing Palestinian youths, but there are no serious injuries. In the evening, PASF troops violently suppress a demonstration in al-Am‘ari r.c. nr. Ramallah in protest of PA pres. Abbas’s recent decision to expel a Fatah official from the party. Further PASF clashes break out in Balata r.c. nr. Nablus and in Jenin; 2 Palestinians are injured. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces arrest 3 Palestinians during raids in Shu‘fat r.c. and the Old City. Along Israel’s border with Egypt, an Israeli youth is wounded by gunfire from Egypt while performing maintenance work on the border fence. An Egyptian police officer is later found responsible, having mistaken the youth for a smuggler. (HA, JP, MNA, WAFA 10/25; MNA, TOI 10/26; HA, PCHR 10/27)

An Israeli settler on a motorcycle runs over and seriously injures an elderly Palestinian outside Duma village nr. Nablus; he dies later in the day. It is unclear if the collision is an accident or an intentional ramming attack. Elsewhere in the West Bank, IDF troops conduct raids in al-Am‘ari r.c. nr. Ramallah overnight, arresting 1 Palestinian and sparking clashes with stone-throwing residents; 4 Palestinians are injured. IDF troops arrest 4 more Palestinians during late-night raids and house searches in Jenin and around Bethlehem. Israeli forces uproot around 500 olive trees outside a village nr. Salfit. Overnight, unidentified suspects throw Molotov cocktails at a structure in an Israeli settlement nr. Nablus, causing damage. In East Jerusalem, Israeli police escort around 100 Jewish settlers and 13 Israeli archaeologists on a tour of Haram al-Sharif, and bar Palestinian maintenance workers from entering the sanctuary. They arrest 2 Palestinians during raids in Ras al-Amud, the Old City, and Silwan. In Gaza, 8 Palestinians are injured when a tunnel collapses in e. Gaza City. In Israel, dozens of Palestinian protesters gather outside the Barzilai Medical Center in Ashqelon in solidarity with hunger-striking prisoner Bilal Kayed. A counter-protest by right-wing Israeli activists sparks minor clashes; 13 Palestinians and Israelis are arrested, and there are no serious injuries. (JP, MNA, WAFA 8/10; PCHR 8/11; PCHR 8/18)

The Israeli police announce a NIS 1 b. (approx. $260 m.) plan to increase their presence in Palestinian areas of East Jerusalem by adding 1,200 officers and 5 new outposts in Ras al-Amud, Jabal Mukabir, Silwan, Issawiyya, and Sur al-Bahir. The outposts will be headquartered in buildings that already offer civic services, such as national insurance and post, reportedly to stop them from becoming sources of tension, as police outposts in East Jerusalem have been in the past. (HA, JP 8/10)

Israeli forces demolish 12 Palestinian homes in Qalandia r.c., sparking clashes with Palestinian protesters; there are no serious injuries. Israeli raids in Abu Dis and al-Am‘ari r.c. spark further clashes with stone-throwing Palestinians (3 Palestinians are injured). Late at night, they demolish 4 more Palestinian structures in Issawiyya and 1 under construction in Silwan, and arrest 2 Palestinians during raids in Ras al-Amud. In the West Bank, IDF troops arrest 4 Palestinians during raids in Zabbuba village nr. Jenin, sparking clashes with stone-throwing residents (there are no serious injuries). They arrest 4 more Palestinians during late-night raids in and around Bethlehem, and patrol nr. Hebron, Salfit, and Qalqilya. The IDF reopens a road nr. Bethlehem, having closed it in the wake of a shooting attack in the area on 7/21. Israeli forces begin constructing permanent cement rooms at the entrance to al-Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron; the press reports that the rooms will be used as a security inspection area. Meanwhile, the IDF maintains the general closure of Hebron and its surrounding district that it put in place on 7/1. (MNA 7/25; JP, MNA, WAFA 7/26; HA 7/27; PCHR 7/28)

UNRWA releases a statement expressing concern for the humanitarian effects of the IDF’s weeks-long crackdown on Hebron and the surrounding area. (MNA 7/25)

In response to a petition from Palestinian residents of Jerusalem, Israel’s High Court of Justice orders the police to explain why they are withholding the bodies of Palestinians killed while allegedly carrying out attacks on Israelis. The police are given 3 weeks to respond. (TOI 7/26)

Marking the 40th anniversary of Land Day, Palestinian citizens of Israel (PCI) conduct a general strike throughout the Galilee and Negev, and hold a protest in the bedouin village Umm al-Hiran, which the Israeli govt. is planning to raze. IDF troops violently disperse demonstrations commemorating Land Day in Ramallah, Jenin, and along Gaza’s border nr. the Erez border crossing; there are no serious injuries. They also shoot tear gas canisters at Palestinian mourners marching in a funeral procession in Aida r.c. nr. Bethlehem; conduct a late-night house search in al-Am‘ari r.c. nr. Ramallah, arresting 2 Palestinians; and patrol during the day in 4 villages nr. Hebron. Israeli forces carry out a partial punitive demolition of the interior walls of the Hebron home of a Palestinian killed on 12/7/2015 in a confrontation with Israeli troops. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces arrest a Palestinian youth at Haram al-Sharif after he raises a Palestinian flag at the sanctuary. Off Gaza’s coast, Israeli naval forces open fire on Palestinian fishing boats, causing no injuries. (HA, JP, MNA, TOI, WAFA, YA 3/30; JP, MNA, PCHR, WAFA 3/31; PCHR 4/7)

The head of Gaza’s fishermen’s union says that the Israeli authorities recently agreed to expand the unilaterally defined fishing zone allotted for Gazans by 3 mi. in some places, starting in 4/2016. An IDF spokesperson does not comment on the report. (MNA 3/30)

The IDF maintains, for a 2d day, the closure of Araqa where 2 Palestinians were killed on 2/14; declares it a closed military zone. They conduct raids in the village, arresting 2 Palestinians. Meanwhile, IDF troops conduct raids in al-Am‘ari r.c. nr. Ramallah, arresting 2 Palestinians and sparking clashes with stonethrowing and armed youths; 42 Palestinians and 1 Israeli soldier are injured. Late at night, they escort 17 busloads of Israelis to Joseph’s Tomb outside Nablus to perform religious rites, sparking more clashes with stone-throwers; there are no serious injuries. Israeli forces demolish 20 residential structures in a village nr. Nablus; deliver stop-work orders to 2 homes under construction in Qalqilya. Throughout the day, the IDF conducts raids and house searches in 2 villages each nr. Jenin and Salfit and 1 nr. Bethlehem, as well as in Qalqilya and Hebron, arresting 11 Palestinians and issuing an arrest summons to 1; patrols in 3 villages nr. Hebron and 1 nr. Tulkarm. Off Gaza’s coast, Israeli naval forces open fire on Palestinian fishing boats nr. Gaza City, causing no damage. Along Gaza’s border, IDF troops open fire on Palestinian farmers nr. Khan Yunis, causing no injuries. Meanwhile, the Egyptian authorities keep the Rafah border crossing open for a 3d and final day. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces assault and arrest a Palestinian youth outside the Old City after they search and find a knife on her person. They also arrest 1 Palestinian on a raid in Issawiyya. (HA, JP, MNA, TOI, WAFA 2/15; TOI 2/16; OCHA, PCHR 2/18)

Palestinian hunger striker al-Qiq refuses an Israeli court offer to transfer him from Emek Medical Center in Afula to a hospital in East Jerusalem, demanding to be treated at a Palestinian hospital in the West Bank. Al-Qiq has been on hunger strike since 11/24, days after he was captured from his Ramallah home and held under administrative detention. (MNA 2/16)