The Palestine Chronology

In the West Bank, Israeli forces shot and killed 1 Palestinian minor and injured 3 others during a late-night raid in Kafr Dan, where Israeli forces took measurements to punitively demolish the family home of 2 Palestinians killed in an exchange of fire at the Jalamah checkpoint on 9/14. The PA called on the U.S. to pressure Israel into ending its deadly nightly raids and condemned the killing. Israeli forces also fired tear gas near a school in Burin, prompting an evacuation of the students. Elsewhere, Israeli forces delivered stop-work notices for 5 industrial structures in Qarawat Bani Hassan. Israeli forces also raided al-Twana to pray and attend a lecture in the middle of a populated street in the early hours of the night; Israeli settlers claim that a synagogue once stood in the village. 1 Israeli settler was shot and injured at the Carmel settlement; there was no information about the suspect. 15 Palestinians were arrested during late-night raids in Sa‘ir, Yatta, Surif, Hebron, Kafr Ra‘i, Jaba‘, and Kafr Dan. In East Jerusalem, former MK Yehuda Glick toured the Bab al-Rahma area of the Haram al-Sharif compound, raising an Israeli flag and blowing a shofar. Israeli forces fired tear gas into the schoolyard of Isawiya high school for boys, injuring 5 students with tear gas. 3 Palestinian minors were arrested at the Haram al-Sharif compound. (AJ, AP, HA, HA, JP, MDW, MEE, PCHR, REU, TOI, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 9/15; MEMO 9/16; HA 9/21; PCHR 9/22; HA 9/23; UNOCHA 9/30)

The Israeli state attorney’s office closed an investigation into the killing of a 17-year-old Palestinian citizen of Israel by an Israeli police officer in May 2021 in Umm al-Fahm, saying it found no evidence of wrongdoing. The family of the Palestinian minor said the process relating to the long investigation had been abusive and that they believe the killing was unjustified. (HA 9/15)

Hamas announced that it had fully restored ties with Syria after severing ties in 2012 due to the outbreak of the Syrian civil war. (MEMO, MEMO 9/16; MEE 9/18; ALM 9/22; ALM 9/24; AJ 9/25)

The PLO executive committee confirmed that it supports PA president Mahmoud Abbas’s bid to have Palestine become a full member of the UN. President Abbas is expected to give a speech on 9/23 at the UN general assembly seeking recognition for the state of Palestine. (WAFA 9/15)

The Balad party announced that it is not running as part of the Joint Arab List at the next Israeli elections. The Joint Arab List now consists of the Hadash and Ta‘al parties. (HA 9/15; AP, JP, TOI 9/16)

U.S. senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) said in a statement that the Leahy Law, prohibiting military aid to countries that violate human rights, should apply to Israel if Shireen Abu Akleh was killed intentionally. In the statement, he questioned Israel’s probe, which found that Abu Akleh was not killed intentionally, saying, “[i]f, as the Israeli authorities appear to be saying, the soldier missed who he was aiming at and hit Ms. Abu Akleh by mistake, who was he aiming at? What evidence is there, if any, that anyone in the immediate vicinity of where Ms. Abu Akleh was shot was firing at the [Israeli] soldier who killed her?” Senator Leahy’s statement comes 1 day after the senate foreign relations committee demanded a report from the state department regarding the killing of Abu Akleh. (AJ 9/15; MEE 9/16; GDN 9/26)

Chilean president Gabriel Boric postponed the acceptance of the Israeli ambassador’s credentials due to Israel’s killing of a 17-year-old Palestinian in the West Bank (see above). Israel said that the Chilean foreign ministry had apologized to the Israeli government for the situation. The Israeli ambassador had reportedly arrived at the president’s residence when he was told about the postponement. (HA, TOI 9/15; AP, HA, JP, MEE, NA, REU, WAFA 9/16; AJ, REU 9/17; HA 9/18)

A delegation of officials from the UAE, led by foreign minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, visited Israel for meetings with Israeli president Isaac Herzog and other officials to celebrate the 2-year anniversary of the 2 countries’ normalization deal. (MEMO, REU 9/14; ALM, HA 9/15)

In the West Bank, Israeli settlers seized 1 Palestinian-owned home in Hebron. Israeli forces confiscated 3 Palestinian-owned vehicles in the Masafer Yatta area. 11 Palestinians were arrested during raids in Qarawat Bani Zaid, Jalazun refugee camp, Silwad, Ya‘bad, Burqin, and Dheisheh refugee camp. (WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 7/28; MEMO 7/29; PCHR 8/4; UNOCHA 8/5)

Israel’s minister of education Yifat Shasha-Biton revoked the permanent licenses to operate for 6 Palestinian schools in East Jerusalem, saying their textbooks “incite against the State of Israel and the Israeli Army.” The 6 schools were granted temporary licenses allowing them to operate for 1 year and amend the school curricula. Director of the Jerusalem affairs unit at the PA ministry of education Dima al-Samman said Israel was trying to “eliminate the national awareness of the children of Jerusalem and create a sense of inferiority within them.” (TOI 7/28; MEE 7/29; ALM 8/12)

1 Palestinian prisoner ended his hunger strike of 113 days after he was promised by Israeli authorities that his administrative detention would not be renewed. (WAFA 7/28)

3 Jewish Israeli men were charged with terrorism for throwing Molotov cocktails at Palestinians at a beach in Hadara in June. (HA 7/29)

Hamas denied Israeli charges that it hides military sites in civilian areas of Gaza. A Hamas spokesperson said Israel is seeking to justify targeting civilians. (HA 7/27; MEE 7/29)

Democratic members of the House of Representatives André Carson (D-IN), Betty McCollum (D-MN), Marie Newman (D-IL), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), and Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) held a press conference with members of Shireen Abu Akleh’s family, demanding a U.S.-led investigation into the killing of Abu Akleh. Separately, members of the senate appropriations subcommittee on state and foreign operations Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Chris Murphy (D-CT) included language in the State and Foreign Operations report giving the U.S. state department 170 days to submit a report on the steps taken to ensure an independent investigation into the killing of Shireen Abu Akleh is carried out. (AJ, HA 7/28; MDW 7/29)

In the West Bank, Israeli settlers vandalized 450 olive, plum, grape, and almond trees near Turmus ‘Ayya. 7 Palestinians were arrested, including 5 returning to the West Bank from Jerusalem at the Qalandia checkpoint, 1 crossing from the West Bank to Jordan via the Allenby Bridge, and 1 while working his land in Idhna. (WAFA, WAFA 7/12; PCHR 7/21; UNOCHA 7/22)

Haaretz reported that the World Zionist Organization’s settlement division was finalizing plans to invest $8.5 million to connect settlement outposts in the West Bank to the Israeli electrical grid and preparing plans to have the outposts retroactively authorized by the Israeli government. (HA 7/12)

Israeli defense minister Benny Gantz approved 5,500 Palestinians to be registered with the Palestinian population registry and increased Gaza merchant permits for commerce in Israel from 1,500 to 15,000. Defense Minister Gantz also gave final approval for construction in Hizma and Harmaleh and 1st level approval for construction in Haris, Kisan, and Battir. Additionally, Israel said it would open a new crossing from Israel to the northern part of the West Bank to ease access to Jenin and delayed a meeting to expand Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem. The moves were described by Israel as a result of a meeting between Gantz and PA president Mahmoud Abbas last week and comes 1 day before U.S. president Joe Biden will arrive in Israel for a 4-day tour of Israel, Palestine, and Saudi Arabia. (AP, HA, WAFA 7/12)

4 members of the U.S. senate Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Chris Murphy (D-CT), and Dick Durban (D-IL), wrote a letter to U.S. secretary of state Antony Blinken saying that the U.S. review of the evidence into the killing of Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh “hardly constitutes an independent investigation into the overall circumstances of her killing.” In a separate letter, U.S. senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Bob Menendez (D-NJ) called on the Biden administration to provide a senior-level classified briefing on the investigation details and the administration’s plan for accountability. (ALM, HA 7/12; MEE, WAFA 7/13)

Citing insufficient evidence, the foreign ministries of Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Holland, Spain, and Sweden issued a joint statement saying that the countries have decided to dismiss Israeli claims that 6 Palestinian rights organizations are linked to terrorism and will continue funding them. The rights organizations were designated terrorist organizations by Defense Minister Gantz in October 2021. (AP, HA, MEE, REU, WAFA, WAFA 7/12; MDW 7/15)

In the West Bank, Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian herders in al-Twana, injuring 1 who was treated at a hospital. Israeli forces violently dispersed Palestinians during the weekly anti-settlement protests in Kafr Qaddum; 1 Palestinian was injured by a rubber-coated bullet, others suffered tear-gas related injuries. In Gaza, Israel struck targets belonging to Hamas after a rocket was fired at Israel. Israeli authorities said it believed that Hamas operatives did not fire the rocket. Israeli forces also opened fire on agricultural lands east of Dayr al-Balah; no injuries were reported. Off the coast of Gaza, Israeli naval forces opened fire on Palestinian fishermen 2 nautical miles west of Bayt Lahiya; no injuries were reported. (WAFA, WAFA 3/27; WAFA 3/28; HA 3/29; PCHR 4/2)

In a letter to the U.S. State Department, 6 senators from the Democratic Party urged the Trump administration to release the funds allocated to humanitarian aid for Palestinians by U.S. congress to help curb the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Congress had allocated $75 million in aid to Palestinians for the 2020 fiscal year. The 6 senators who signed the letter were Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Tom Udall (D-NM), Tom Carper (D-DE), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Bernie Sanders (D-VT). (WAFA 3/28; HA, HILL 3/30)

In the West Bank, the entrance to ‘Azun east of Qalqilya was blocked by Israeli forced for the 15th day in a row. Israeli forces also sealed the entrance to al-‘Arub refugee camp north of Hebron and al-Fawar refugee camp south of Hebron. Separately, Israeli forces conducted raids in Sair, Bayt Umar, and Sabastiyya. During the raid in Sabastiyya, several Palestinians suffered from tear gas inhalation after clashes with Israeli forces. During late-night raids in and around Sair and Jenin, Israel forces arrest 7 Palestinians and injure 2 others. In East Jerusalem, the Israeli minister of agriculture Uri Ariel toured Haram al-Sharif along with a group of Israeli settlers and security forces. Off the coast of Gaza, Israeli naval forces fired toward Palestinian fishermen 3 nautical miles from the shore of al-Sudaniyya; no injuries were reported. 2 Palestinians were arrested by Israeli forces near the Gaza fence. (MNA, MNA, MNA, MNA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 4/11; MNA, MNA, WAFA 4/12)

It was announced that the Saudi Arabian government, through the Saudi Fund for Development, donated $23 million to UNRWA projects across Syria, Jordan, Gaza, Lebanon, and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, to maintain school and health centers. (WAFA, UNRWA 4/11)

U.S. senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) introduced to the Senate a resolution (S. Res. 171) seeking to restore bilateral assistance to the West Bank and Gaza after the Trump administration slashed all aid to Palestine in 2018. The bill was co-sponsored by Chris Coons (D-DE), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA). (Congress 4/11; HA, WAFA 4/18)