The Palestine Chronology

In response to a day of violence in East Jerusalem and a fatal car crash in Sur al-Bahir, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announces that he is planning to fast-track a bill that would set mandatory minimum sentences for stone-throwing. Leaders of opposition parties—Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid) and Tzipi Livni (Zionist Union)—say they support increasing deterrents to stone-throwing. Meanwhile, the violence in East Jerusalem continues with clashes at Haram al-Sharif and in Issawiyya, Ras al-Amud, and Shu‘fat r.c.; 3 Palestinians and 1 Israeli police officer are seriously injured, and 10 Palestinians are arrested. In the morning, around 38 right-wing Jewish activists tour the sanctuary. Meanwhile, Israeli forces seize an ambulance transporting a Palestinian injured in clashes with Israeli forces in Issawiyya. They then arrest the individual and redirect the ambulance to a different hospital. (HA, JP, TOI 9/14; TOI 9/15; PCHR 9/17)

On Gaza’s s. and n. borders, Israeli forces arrest 5 Palestinians attempting to cross the border for work. Also, Israeli authorities close the Erez and Kerem Shalom border crossings, marking Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year. In the West Bank, an Israeli settler assaults a Palestinian child in Hebron, causing minor injuries. Meanwhile, Israeli forces violently disperse Palestinians gathering nr. Tulkarm to protest the recent Israeli access restrictions at Haram al-Sharif, seriously injuring 1 Palestinian. IDF troops conduct house searches and raids nr. Hebron and Jenin, arresting 1 Palestinian and briefly detaining 3. (JP, MNA, NYT, TOI, WAFA, YA 9/14; PCHR 9/17)

In n. Gaza, a mbr. of Hamas’s armed wing, Izzeddin al-Qassam Brigades (IQB), dies in a tunnel collapse nr. Bayt Lahiya. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts house searches and raids in and around Hebron, al-‘Arub r.c., 2 villages nr. Jenin, 1 nr. Bethlehem, and al-Fara‘a r. c. near Tubas, arresting 15 Palestinians and issuing an arrest summons to 1. Israeli settlers set fire to Palestinian agricultural lands nr. Hebron, destroying 250 olive trees. Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority security forces (PASF) conduct raids in and around Hebron, Nablus, Bethlehem, and Tubas, arresting 4 Palestinians affiliated with Hamas and issuing arrest summons to 3 others. In East Jerusalem, an Israeli police officer assaults a Palestinian tour guide after an argument at Haram al-Sharif. Late at night, Israeli forces demolish 3 Palestinian-owned stores and a home under construction in Silwan. (MNA 5/18; JP 5/19; PCHR 5/21)

The Israeli PM’s office confirms that Dep. PM Silvan Shalom has been appointed to oversee any resumption of negotiations with the Palestinians. Former justice min. Tzipi Livni (Zionist Union) filled this role in the previous govt. (AFP, HA, JP, TOI 5/18; AFP 5/19)

PA pres. Mahmoud Abbas’s spokesperson calls PM Netanyahu’s 5/17 remarks about Jerusalem a clear violation of UN res. and states that there will be no peace in the Middle East unless the Palestinians have a capital in East Jerusalem. (HA, TOI 5/18)

After a meeting of the European Union (EU) FMs in Brussels, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini says that the EU is “ready and willing” to play a major role in a new round of peace negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians. Mogherini will be traveling to the region to meet with Netanyahu and Abbas on 5/20–21. (JP, REU 5/18; TOI 5/19; HA 6/7)

In the Gaza Strip, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) troops stationed nr. the border open fire on an unarmed 10-year-old Palestinian boy, critically injuring him. Later, the IDF arrests 3 Palestinians who cross the border fence into Israel nr. the Kerem Shalom crossing. In the West Bank, Palestinians gather nr. ‘Askar refugee camp (r.c.) to throw stones at Israeli military vehicles, sparking clashes with the IDF that leave 1 Palestinian injured. IDF troops deliver demolition orders to 5 Palestinian families n. of Qalqilya and temporarily seal all entrances to ‘Azun village e. of Qalqilya; patrol nr. Bethlehem and Hebron. Late in the evening, the IDF conducts arrest raids and house searches in Bil‘in, detaining mayor Basil Mansur, sparking clashes with stone-throwing local residents; conducts arrest raids nr. Hebron and Tulkarm. In East Jerusalem, 10s of Palestinian women refuse to submit their ID cards to Israeli security officers outside Haram al-Sharif, defying a new Israeli access restriction; Israeli security forces beat several of the women with rifle butts to disperse them. Meanwhile, Israeli security forces escort 30 right-wing Jewish activists into Haram al-Sharif. Separately, IDF troops conduct arrest raids and house searches in 3 other areas of East Jerusalem. At an Israeli cabinet meeting, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu reiterates his pledge to maintain the status quo at Haram al-Sharif, meaning that he intends to respect Jordan’s custody of the area. In West Jerusalem, a Palestinian stabs a Jewish Israeli with a screwdriver, injuring him; Israeli police set up roadblocks around the area in effort to capture the assailant, but he escapes. Late at night, a Palestinian bus driver is found hanged in his bus in West Jerusalem. Israeli authorities allege suicide, but the man’s family believes that Israeli settlers killed him in retaliation for the earlier stabbing. Clashes between Palestinians and Israeli security forces break out in al-Tur, East Jerusalem, in response to the bus driver’s death. (HA, MNA, TOI, WAFA 11/16; AFP, IMEMC, JP, MNA 11/17; PCHR 11/20)

U.S. Secy. of State John Kerry calls Palestinian Authority (PA) Pres. Mahmoud Abbas and tells him the U.S. will veto any UN Security Council (UNSC) res. on ending the Israeli occupation within 2 years. Abbas has been circulating such a res. since his speech at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) on 9/26/ 2014. (AP 11/18)

Israeli justice minister Tzipi Livni postpones until 11/23 a debate in her comm. over a new “nation-state” bill, which would enshrine Israel’s status as the national homeland of the Jewish people in the Basic Laws. Netanyahu says that he may sidestep the comm. debate and introduce the bill in the Israeli cabinet. (JTA, REU 11/16)

Israel’s Justice Minister Tzipi Livni meets with U.S. Secy. of State John Kerry in Rome, following a meeting last week in Washington that discussed the possibility of reviving Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. U.S. Pres. Barack Obama speaks with PM Benjamin Netanyahu by phone to discuss the peace process. Meanwhile, Israeli authorities approve construction of 296 new settlement housing units in Beit El settlement nr. Ramallah. (JP 5/8; JP, MNA 5/9)

In Jerusalem, Jewish settlers accompanied by Israeli security forces enter the al-Aqsa Mosque compound for the second consecutive day, preventing Muslim worshippers from freely accessing the site. Meanwhile, Israeli police detain Jerusalem Mufti Mohammed Hussein for a few hours over his role in clashes the previous day.

In the West Bank, IDF forces demolish 3 Palestinian homes in al-Auja village nr. Jericho. IDF undercover units conduct a raid nr. Jenin, arresting PA Preventive Security officer Mohammed Ahmed Zakarna, who received an amnesty a few years ago for his participation in the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades. The IDF patrols in 1 village nr. Hebron in the morning, and in 1 village nr. Tulkarm at night. IDF troops conducts house searches and arrest raids in Hebron and 1 village nr. Hebron in the afternoon, and in 1 village nr. Hebron, 1 village nr. Jenin and in Tulkarm at night. IDF forces make 2 brief incursions into Gaza to level land and clear lines of sight along the border nr. Jabaliya and Bayt Hanun. (AFP, MNA 5/8; PCHR 5/9)

Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem publishes a report that says Israel killed 87 Palestinian civilians in Operation Pillar of Defense in 11/2012, 80% of whom died in the second half of the operation. (JP 5/9)

Egyptian theologian and prominent Islamist cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi enters the Gaza Strip on a high-profile official visit to the Hamas government, welcomed and hosted by PM Ismail Haniyeh (AFP 5/8)

Jordan’s parliament votes in favor of petitioning the government to expel Israeli amb. Daniel Nevo and recalling Jordan’s amb. to Israel to protest recent unrest involving Jewish settlers entering the al-Aqsa Mosque compound (see 5/7) Ultimately, Jordan’s Interior Min. Hussein al-Majali only summons Nevo to convey an official protest. (AFP 5/8)

Professor Stephen Hawking of Cambridge University pulls out of a conference in Israel in 6/2013 hosted by Pres. Shimon Peres, citing the Palestinian boycott call. Israeli FM spokesman Yigal Palmor says that ‘‘never has a scientist of this stature boycotted Israel.’’ (NYT 5/8)

The UN relocates peacekeepers from an observation post in the al-Jamla area of the Golan Heights cease-fire zone, following the most recent abduction of Filipino troops on 5/7. (AFP 5/8)

A week ahead of her deadline to form a government, Kadima party head and acting Israeli FM Tzipi Livni, with powersharing deals with the Labor and Meretz parties already drafted, unexpectedly informs Israeli pres. Shimon Peres that she cannot form a coalition. She blames other Israeli parties for making unreasonable political and economic demands, stating that she was unwilling to compromise her priciples to form a government (see Quarterly Update). (NYT, WP 10/26; WP 10/27)

Overnight, the IDF, Israeli police, and border police evacuate Jewish settlers fr. the unauthorized settlement outpost of Federman Farm in Hebron, sparking violent clashes with the settlers in which 1 policeman is seriously injured, 2 settler girls attempt to burn police vehicles, and settlers rampage through Palestinian areas, slashing the tires of 22 cars and vandalizing a Muslim cemetery. In interviews with the press afterward, Jewish settlers call for retributive attacks on the Israeli security forces. During the day, Jewish settlers fr. Harsina settlement in Hebron attack, vandalize, attempt to occupy a Palestinian home and land adjacent to the settlement; Jewish settlers vandalize Palestinian cars in Hizma village nr. Jerusalem; and 10 masked settlers attack IDF soldiers guarding Palestinians harvesting olives nr. Otniel settlement nr. Hebron, injuring 1 soldier. At the weekly Israeli cabinet meeting, Olmert warns that the government “will show no tolerance toward such expressions and actions,” while Shin Bet security chief Yuval Diskin states that he is “very concerned” that right-wing settler groups might try to assassinate pro-peace politicians. Meanwhile, the IDF conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Nablus and nr. Bethlehem. (IFM 10/26; NYT 10/27; OCHA 10/29; PCHR, WJW 10/30; WP 11/2)

Israeli pres. Shimon Peres authorizes Livni to form a new government. Israeli law gives her 42 days to complete the task or step aside for the pres. either to authorize another party to form a coalition or to call early elections. Israeli and Palestinian negotiating teams will continue to hold their regular mtgs., and Olmert and Abbas will continue to meet biweekly to discuss the teams’ progress, but no major agreements are expected until a new government is formed. (IFM 9/22; WT 9/23)

A 19-yr.-old Palestinian resident of Jabal Mukabir in East Jerusalem drives his car into a group of IDF soldiers in the Old City, injuring 19 before being shot dead; Israeli police believe the man acted intentionally and alone, though the family believes the incident was an accident. In the West Bank, the IDF patrols in, fires on residential areas of Jenin town and r.c., causing no injuries; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in Nablus and Tulkarm, nr. Bethlehem and Jenin. A Palestinian woman (apparently the same who staged a similar attack on 9/8) sprays an acid-like substance on an IDF soldier checking IDs at Hawara checkpoint, blinding him and injuring 3 Palestinians nearby; she is captured, arrested. (JP, YA 9/22; NYT, WP 9/23; OCHA 9/24; PCHR 9/25)

The donors’ Ad Hoc Liaison Comm. (AHLC) meets in New York to discuss the PA’s financial crisis and how to better target aid to PA security reform efforts. (IMF, “Macroeconomic and Fiscal Framework for the West Bank and Gaza: Second Review of Progress,” 9/22; UNOSC, “UN Report to the Ad Hoc Liaison Committees,” 9/22; World Bank, “Palestinian Economic Prospects: Aid, Access and Reform,” 9/22; IFM 9/22, 9/23)