The Palestine Chronology

In the West Bank, Israeli forces arrested 14 Palestinians during late-night raids in and around Ramallah, Birzeit, Hebron, Qalqilya, Salfit, and Bethlehem. 7 of the arrested were students at Birzeit University. Additionally, 2 Palestinians were run over by Israeli forces and detained near Jenin. Elsewhere, near Nablus, Israeli settlers toured the Sabastiyya archeological site with Israeli military protection for the 2d day in a row. In al-Jalama near Jenin, Israeli forces handed out stop-work notices for 3 houses and an industrial facility. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces arrested 15 Palestinians during late-night raids. Israeli authorities handed over the body of the Palestinian who was killed on 6/27 by Israeli forces in Issawiyya. In Gaza, Israel returned a number of fishing boats belonging to Palestinian fishermen in Gaza after the Israeli high court ruled that Israel needed to return the boats it had kept for up to 3 years. (WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 7/1; WAFA, WAFA 7/2; WAFA 7/3)

IDF troops open fire on 2 Palestinians on a motorcycle at the al-Jalama checkpoint near Jenin, killing 1 and injuring the other. The IDF states that the 2 men threw a suspicious object at Israeli soldiers manning the checkpoint. The Israeli press reports that the device was an explosive. It did not detonate, let alone cause any injuries or damage. Elsewhere in the West Bank, IDF troops arrest 4 Palestinian minors for throwing stones at Israeli vehicles near Nablus; shoot and injure 2 Palestinians during clashes sparked by an arrest raid near Ramallah; arrest 17 Palestinians and confiscate 3 vehicles during further raids near Nablus, Jenin, Ramallah, Hebron, and Bethlehem; and patrol near Tulkarm, Jenin, and Hebron. Israeli settlers puncture the tires of several Palestinian vehicles and spray-paint racist graffiti on the walls of a nearby mosque overnight in Dayr Dibwan village near Ramallah. Along Gaza’s border, IDF troops arrest a Palestinian attempting to cut through the border fence near Rafah. Israeli forces conduct a limited incursion to level land near Dayr al-Balah. (HA, HA, JP, MNA, MNA, TOI, TOI, WAFA, WAFA 2/4; EI, MNA 2/5; PCHR 2/7)

After the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) both announce that they will not be participating in Fatah’s plans for a new PA government comprising representatives of various PLO factions, a Hamas spokesperson calls their announcements a “step in the right direction.” He also reaffirms that “there is no alternative to partnership and national consensus.” (JP 2/4)