The Palestine Chronology

In the West Bank, Israeli settlers threw stones at Palestinian vehicles traveling near Turmus ‘Ayya, damaging 2 vehicles. 10 Palestinians were arrested during raids in and around Ramallah, Tulkarm, Tubas, Nablus, and Jenin. In East Jerusalem, Israeli authorities informed 1 Palestinian of their intention to remove his residency rights, giving him 30 days to appeal. 2 Palestinians were arrested during a late-night raid in Issawiyya. (WAFA, WAFA 9/3; PCHR 9/10; HA 9/15)

Palestinian factions, including the PA, Hamas, and Islamic Jihad, held a meeting via videoconference to discuss Palestinian unity across political factions. In a final communique, the factions stated that they are united against efforts to normalize the occupation, discussed rules of engagement with Israel, and confirmed their “commitment to the establishment of a Palestinian state on the entire Occupied Palestinian Territory, with Jerusalem as its capital, and . . . that there will be no state in Gaza, and no state without Gaza.” (AJ, REU, WAFA 9/3; WAFA 9/4)

The Israeli high court of justice ruled that 1 Israeli soldier who shot and killed 1 Palestinian minor who had thrown a stone at the soldier’s car in July 2015 would not be tried in court despite a petition to do so. (HA 9/3)

For the 4th day in a row, hundreds of Gazans gather along the s. border with Israel to protest the recent Israeli crackdown, and the IDF violently disperses them, injuring 2 and detaining 1 of dozens who briefly break through the border fence. In a related development, an Israeli military source says that the IDF’s Southern Command has ordered soldiers to focus on using tear gas and firing warning shots in the air in their efforts to disperse groups of Palestinians nr. the border fence. The source says there has been no official change in the rules of engagement, but that the IDF’s commanders hope to reduce the number of Palestinians killed in similar confrontations. Separately, off the coast nr. Bayt Lahiya, Israeli naval forces open fire on Palestinian fishing boats, causing no damage or injuries. (HA, JP, MNA, WAFA 10/12; JP, 10/13; PCHR 10/15)

Small-scale attacks and stabbings continue amid the ongoing wave of violence in the oPt and Israel. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces shoot and kill a Palestinian man outside the Old City overnight after he allegedly attempts to stab a border police officer, according to the Israeli police, but Palestinian witnesses contest the claim. Later, 2 Palestinian youths attack a group of Israeli settlers nr. Shu‘fat, stabbing and seriously injuring 2. Israeli police shoot the attackers, killing 1 and injuring the other. Around the same time, Israeli police shoot and seriously injure a Palestinian youth after she stabs and injures 2 Israelis in Shaykh Jarrah. In West Jerusalem, IDF troops shoot and kill a Palestinian on a bus nr. Chords Bridge after he attempts to stab 1 of them and take a gun. Meanwhile, IDF troops clash with and violently disperse Palestinians throwing stones and protesting in various neighborhoods in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, injuring 29 Palestinians. Elsewhere in the West Bank, IDF troops conduct raids in 1 village each nr. Salfit and Ramallah, sparking clashes with stone-throwing Palestinian youths in both cases; 2 Palestinians are injured. Late at night, Israeli forces raid a village nr. Ramallah, surrounding a Palestinian’s home, firing live rounds through the windows, and sparking clashes with Palestinian stone-throwers, injuring 1 Palestinian and arresting 3. They arrest another Palestinian on a late-night raid nr. Hebron. In Israel, Israeli police arrest a senior official of the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement in Rahat on charges related to incitement. (HA, JP, MNA, NYT, TOI, WAFA, YA 10/12; JP, MNA, YA 10/13; PCHR 10/15)

The Israeli Knesset passes, 41–11, the 1st reading of 2 bills designed to deter stone-throwing, including mandatory minimum sentences and the imposition of penalties on parents of minors convicted for such crimes. The 2 bills comprise several measures agreed to by the security cabinet on 9/24 and the full cabinet on 10/11 (key provisions of the measures will pass into law on 11/2). (JP, KNE 10/13)

Israel’s High Court of Justice reaffirms its 2014 order to demolish a synagogue in the West Bank settlement Givat Ze’ev, rejecting a petition from settler leaders. The court orders the synagogue’s demolition within 1 week (the demolition deadline will be delayed to 11/19, following another petition). (JP 10/13)

Marking the 3d such attack in 3 days, Sarayat al-Shaykh Umar Hadid fighters fire a rocket from Gaza into Israel nr. Ashqelon, causing no damage or injuries. Earlier in the day, the IDF deploys an Iron Dome missile defense battery nr. Sderot. Meanwhile,Israeli naval forces open fire on Gazan fishing boats, causing no damage. In the West Bank, around 2,000 Israeli settlers visit Joseph’s Tomb nr. Nablus under an IDF escort, sparking clashes with stone-throwing Palestinian youths; 1 IDF soldier is lightly injured. Palestinians throw stones at Israeli cars nr. Hebron and Jerusalem, and later at an Egged bus nearby, causing minor damage. In Dahaysha r.c. nr. Bethlehem, PASF troops disperse around 300 Palestinians protesting the PASF’s alleged use of excessive force in recent confrontations, including on 9/18. Israeli soldiers assault 2 Palestinian women during a raid nr. Hebron, demolish 5 Palestinian stores n. of Jerusalem, and patrol nr. Hebron and Qalqilya. Israeli forces conduct a series of raids throughout East Jerusalem neighborhoods, arresting 21 and sparking clashes with stone-throwing Palestinians (1 is injured) (HA, MNA, WAFA, YA 9/20; HA, JP, MNA, TOI, WAFA 9/21; PCHR 10/1)

In response to a statement released by PM Netanyahu’s office on 9/19, Israeli atty. gen. Weinstein says that he has not approved increasing minimum sentences for those convicted of throwing stones or Molotov cocktails and that he opposes changing the Israeli police’s rules of engagement in East Jerusalem. After meeting with Weinstein and the security cabinet, Netanyahu backs off his proposal. According to a statement released by his office, Netanyahu is “leaning toward the idea raised in the meeting to stiffen penalties— setting mandatory minimum penalties for stone-throwers by means of a temporary provision that would be in place for a year at the first stage.” (HA, JP, TOI, YA 9/20)

Chile recognizes “a sovereign Palestine,” but says the borders must be agreed with Israel. (JP 2/5)

In the West Bank, the PASF releases fr. a Hebron jail 6 Hamas mbrs. who had been on hunger strike for 43 days, protesting their detention without charge. Hrs. later, late at night, IDF undercover units raid Hebron to detain 5 of the 6 men. Storming 1 apartment, undercover units fatally shoot a 66-yr.-old Palestinian man asleep in his bed, mistaking him for the most wanted of the 5 Hamas mbrs. they sought, who lived in another apartment in the same building. The IDF initially says the man ran at soldiers when they entered and soldiers shot in self-defense, but the blood-stained pillow and mattress confirm his wife’s story that he was asleep when soldiers entered firing, raising questions about the IDF’s rules of engagement. Hamas accuses the PA of colluding with Israel to rearrest the men. IDF troops also patrol in villages nr. Ramallah and Tulkarm. Meanwhile, IDF troops on the Gaza border shell armed Palestinians laying a roadside bomb nr. the border fence, causing no Palestinian injuries; at least 1 mortar goes astray hitting an IDF unit, killing 1 Israeli soldier and wounding 4. Unidentified Palestinians fire 1 mortar fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. Israeli naval vessels fire on Palestinian fishing boats off the n. Gaza coast, forcing them to return to shore. West Bank Palestinians (accompanied by Israeli and international activists in some areas) hold weekly nonviolent demonstrations against the separation wall, land confiscations, and settlement expansion in Bil‘in, Ni‘lin, and Dayr Nizam/ Nabi Salih. Fmr. EU official Luisa Morgantini and 5 observers from the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights take part in the Bil‘in demonstration. IDF soldiers fire rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas, and stun grenades at the protesters; 4 Palestinians are lightly injured and 1 is arrested. (AFP 1/7; NYT, WP 1/8; PCHR 1/13; OCHA 1/14)