The Palestine Chronology

In the West Bank, Israeli settlers attacked a bus carrying Palestinians south of Nablus, causing damage to the bus. Israeli forces delivered demolition notices for 15 Palestinian homes in Yatma. In East Jerusalem, 1 Palestinian family demolished their own barns in Silwan to avoid exorbitant Israeli demolition fees. 6 Palestinian minors were arrested during raids in Shu‘fat and al-Tur. In Gaza, Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinian famers east of Gaza City; no injuries were reported. (WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 2/14; PCHR 2/18)

Israeli authorities released a 39-year-old terminally ill Palestinian prisoner serving the last year of a 20-year sentence. (WAFA 2/15)

The Sharia Judicial Council in Gaza ruled that unmarried women in Gaza must obtain permission from a male guardian to be able to travel. (AP, GDN, TOI 2/15; PCHR 2/16)

The Qatari envoy to Gaza Mohammad al-Emadi said Qatar had brokered a deal between the PA and the Israeli gas company Delek to deliver natural gas to Gaza and to install a gas pipe to the Gaza power station from an offshore rig. According to the deal, European countries will fund the maritime parts of the gas pipe within Gaza’s maritime borders and Qatar will fund the extension to the gas rig. Envoy al-Emadi said it will take 2 years to construct the gas pipe. (HA 2/14; REU 2/23; HA, WAFA 2/24; AP, REU 2/25)

The Jewish National Fund’s (JNF) leadership approved a change in policy that will allow the JNF to purchase land in the West Bank for Israeli settlement expansion. The JNF’s board of directors still needs to approve the new policy and is said to decide after the 3/23 Israeli elections. The JNF leadership also approved allocating $11.7 million for buying land in the West Bank, a decision that also needs the board of director’s final approval. Several Zionist organizations expressed criticism of the JNF’s decision. (HA, HA 2/14; HA 2/15)

Syrian state media said Israel fired missiles at Damascus from the Golan Heights but did not report any casualties. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 6 people were killed in the attack. (AJ, AJ, AP, HA 2/15)

In the West Bank, an Israeli man from Beersheba goes missing nr. Hebron. IDF troops conduct a number of searches in surrounding villages and set up numerous mobile checkpoints in an effort to find the man and his alleged kidnappers. The man is found alive 10 hours later nr. Hebron, having staged the kidnapping for “romantic purposes.” Nr. Salfit, Israeli forces demolish 120 olive trees. The IDF conducts house searches and raids in 2 villages nr. Jenin, arresting 1; patrols in 6 villages nr. Hebron, 2 nr. Ramallah, and 1 nr. Qalqilya. They also arrest Palestine Legislative Council (PLC) member and PFLP activist Khalida Jarrar in al-Bireh nr. Ramallah for allegedly violating restrictions on her movement. (She will be ordered to serve 6 mos. administrative detention on 4/5) A Palestinian man stabs an Israeli soldier nr. Nablus after IDF troops detain him and 5 other Palestinians attempting to cross over the separation wall. Israeli settlers throw stones at 2 Palestinian houses in a village nr. Nablus, then Israeli troops arrive and arrest the 2 homeowners. (HA, JP, MNA, TOI, WAFA, YA 4/2; JP, MNA 4/3; EI, MNA 4/5; HA 4/6; PCHR 4/9)

On a visit to Hebron, PA PM Hamdallah says that Israel has still not transferred the recently unfrozen tax revenues to the PA as the Israeli PM’s office announced it would on 3/27. PA Pres. Abbas threatens to lodge a complaint with the ICC if the Israeli govt. does not transfer the funds. (MNA 4/2; TOI 4/3)

Israel’s Supreme Court rules in favor of Palestinian petitioners hoping to avert an Israeli plan to extend the separation wall through their land nr. Jerusalem. The plan, which has been contested since the IDF ordered it in 2006, would have expropriated of 3,000 dunams of private Palestinian and Vaticanowned land. (AP, MNA, TOI, YA 4/2)

Israeli PM Netanyahu and Energy and Water Minister Silvan Shalom authorize a $500 m. deal between the Delek Group and Noble Energy (energy companies in control of Israel’s offshore Tamar natural gas field) and 2 Jordanian companies that would ship 1.87 b. m3 of natural gas to Jordan over the next 15 years. (TOI 4/3)

In Lausanne, Switzerland, reps. of the P5+1 and Iran extend their 3/31 deadline, then agree on “key parameters” for a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in their negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program. They will continue to negotiate on technical details ahead of their 6/30 deadline for a JCPOA. Pres. Obama says he will begin talks with congressional leaders to find a way for Congress to play a constructive oversight role in the implementation of the agreement. (AFP, BB, GDN, HA, NYT, POL 4/2; HA, TOI, YA 4/3)