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  • July 1, 2013

    An anonymous, senior Israeli official says that U.S. Secy. of State John Kerry presented Palestinian pres. Mahmud Abbas with a proposal for the renewal of direct negotiations during meetings in...

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  • June 30, 2013

    In the West Bank, the IDF conducts house searches and arrest raids in 2 villages nr. Nablus, Tulkarm, 1 village nr. Hebron, 1 village nr. Ramallah, 1 village nr. Bethlehem and Aida r.c. in...

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  • June 26, 2013

    In the West Bank, the IDF conducts house searches and arrest raids in 3 villages nr. Hebron, Tulkarm, and 1 nearby village, Nablus, Tubas, and 1 village nr. Ramallah at night; patrols in Jenin and...

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  • March 13, 2013

    In the West Bank, the IDF opens fire on Palestinians protesting the killing of a man in al-Fawar r.c. on 3/12, injuring 4 with rubber-coated steel bullets. The IDF conducts house searches and...

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An anonymous, senior Israeli official says that U.S. Secy. of State John Kerry presented Palestinian pres. Mahmud Abbas with a proposal for the renewal of direct negotiations during meetings in the past few days. The official did not elaborate on the proposal’s contents. With Kerry now in Brunei, Middle East adviser Frank Lowenstein and State Dept. legal expert Jonathan Schwartz meet with Israel’s National Security Adviser Ya’akov Amidror and Special Envoy Yitzhak Molcho to continue discussions on how to break the deadlock. (HA, JP 7/1; JP 7/2)

In the West Bank, the IDF conducts house searches and arrest raids in 2 villages and al-Jalazun r.c. nr. Ramallah, and 1 village each nr. Bethlehem, Hebron, and Jerusalem at night. (PCHR 7/4)

Jerusalem Municipal officials meet with members of the Knesset Finance Cmte. and approve funding for infrastructure construction on housing tenders for 930 homes in Har Homa settlement. The work is part of a project approved in 8/2011 for around 1,000 housing units to further the development of Har Homa. Meanwhile, Israeli DM Moshe Ya’alon announces that extremist Jewish settlers carrying out so-called price-tag attacks against Palestinians will be designated a “forbidden organization,” enabling security forces to use broader powers in investigating such incidents. The statement comes 2 weeks after the cabinet approved the step. (HA 7/1)

The Egyptian military issues a 48-hour ultimatum to Pres. Mohamed Morsi to meet the demands of protesters or face the army’s intervention, as hundreds of thousands of supporters and opponents of the Muslim Brotherhood-dominated govt. again take to the streets. (AP, REU 7/1)

In the West Bank, the IDF conducts house searches and arrest raids in 2 villages nr. Nablus, Tulkarm, 1 village nr. Hebron, 1 village nr. Ramallah, 1 village nr. Bethlehem and Aida r.c. in Bethlehem at night; patrols in 1 village nr. Ramallah and 1 village nr. Bethlehem in the morning, in 1 village nr. Jenin in the afternoon, and in 2 villages nr. Jericho and 1 village nr. Ramallah at night. Meanwhile, Jewish settlers set fire to Palestinian-owned land nr. Nablus. (WAFA 6/30; PCHR 7/4)

U.S. Secy. of State John Kerry makes one more visit to Ramallah in the morning, holding brief talks with Palestinian pres. Mahmud Abbas, their 3d meeting in 3 days. Afterward, Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erakat says that there had been no breakthrough. Kerry, speaking to reporters in Ben-Gurion Airport on his way to Brunei, sounds a more positive note and cites unspecified “real progress.” Kerry departs after 4 days and 13 total hours of talks with Abbas and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu. Meanwhile, Netanyahu tells a cabinet meeting that any future agreement with the Palestinians will be submitted for approval in a national referendum. (AFP, HA 6/30)

Israeli media reports that the Jerusalem Municipality will advance plans to build 930 new housing units in Har Homa settlement, a development that Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat condemns in a Ramallah press conference. (JP 6/30)

Millions of demonstrators take to the streets across Egypt on a planned day of protest against the govt. of Pres. Mohamed Morsi. As night falls, violent clashes break out between opponents and supporters of Morsi, resulting in 4 deaths. Assailants storm the Cairo headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood, setting it on fire. (REU, WP 6/30)

In the West Bank, the IDF conducts house searches and arrest raids in 3 villages nr. Hebron, Tulkarm, and 1 nearby village, Nablus, Tubas, and 1 village nr. Ramallah at night; patrols in Jenin and 1 nearby village, and 1 village each in Bethlehem and Hebron. Jewish settlers attack Palestinian-owned vehicles nr. Nablus, causing damage but no injuries. Settlers also set fire to olive trees nr. Hawara village. (MNA 6/26; PCHR 6/27)

The Israeli army reopens Kerem Shalom and Erez border crossings into the Gaza Strip, closed on 6/23 as a punitive measure following rocket fire. (AFP 6/26)

The Jerusalem municipality approves construction permits for 69 new homes in East Jerusalem settlement Har Homa, a day before U.S. Secy. of State John Kerry is due to arrive for talks in Israel and the West Bank. (AFP, JP 6/26)

UNESCO’s World Heritage Cmte. in Phnom Penh passes a Jordanian-sponsored resolution in an 8–3–10 vote condemning Israeli actions in Jerusalem, such as developments of the Western Wall and Temple Mount site, and resolving to maintain the places of the Old City and Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem on its World Heritage Sites in Danger list. Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs criticizes the resolution, saying it is a “dark day for UNESCO.” (ToI 6/26)

Austria completes the withdrawal of its UNDOF peacekeepers from the Golan Heights, with the remaining 70 departing via Israel. (HA 6/26)

Unidentified gunmen kidnap 2 Egyptian police officers in the s. Sinai, reportedly in revenge for an earlier assault on a Bedouin man by a police officer during a dispute at a petrol station. (Ahram 6/26)

In the West Bank, the IDF opens fire on Palestinians protesting the killing of a man in al-Fawar r.c. on 3/12, injuring 4 with rubber-coated steel bullets. The IDF conducts house searches and arrest raids in 1 village each nr. Bethlehem and nr. Ramallah at night. In the Gaza Strip, IDF forces conduct an incursion nr. Khan Yunis with bulldozers, levelling land alongside the border fence in Abasan nr. Khan Yunis. (MNA 3/13; PCHR 3/14)

Jerusalem’s municipal Planning and Building Committee removes from its agenda two construction plans for the expansion of Har Homa settlement and a waste infrastructure project for Ma’ale Adumim settlement. The decision comes a week before the arrival of U.S. Pres. Barack Obama and is understood to have been taken to avoid diplomatic friction. (JP 3/14)

The World Bank transfers $60.5 million to the PA from the Palestinian Reform and Development Plan MultiDonor Trust Fund (PRDP-MDTF), a budget support mechanism that, in this instance, is channelling money from the UK and Norway to support urgent PA budget needs. (WAFA 3/13)

Hamas authorities in the Gaza Strip launch an amnesty campaign for collaborators with Israel, saying that anyone who turns themselves in by 4/11 will not be interrogated or imprisoned. Meanwhile, Hamas also denies claims by Israeli security service Shin Bet that it is trying to set up cells in the West Bank. (Guardian, MNA 3/13)