The Palestine Chronology

In the West Bank, a Palestinian man from East Jerusalem driving with Israeli license plates on his car is shot and killed in a drive-by shooting near the Ofra settlement north of Ramallah; it is unclear who the assailants are. Israeli settlers uproot 250 olive trees in Khallet al-Nahlah. Israeli settlers also assault several farmers and steal agricultural equipment in Maeen in the Masafer Yatta area. Elsewhere, Israeli settlers raid al-Juwaya in the Masafer Yatta area and Shuwe’er in the Jordan Valley, assaulting Palestinians. Israeli forces raid Jenin, killing 7 Palestinians in a drone strike in Jenin; 1 Israeli soldier is killed and 3 others are injured when an explosive device hits their car during the raid. Israeli forces also shoot and kill 3 Palestinians, including a 3-year-old girl, at a checkpoint near Beit Iksa; Israel claims the 2 adults had rammed and injured an Israeli soldier and says the girl was accidentally shot and killed and was in a different car not related to the alleged ramming incident. Elsewhere, Israeli forces shoot and kill a Palestinian man and injure another during a raid in Abwein. Israeli forces also assault a Palestinian near Deir Sharaf. In Gaza, Israeli forces bomb Khan Yunis, Maghazi, Faluja, Jabalia refugee camp, Nuseirat refugee camp, Dayr al-Balah, and Rafah, killing at least 85 people, including Al Jazeera Gaza bureau chief Wael Dahdouh’s son Hamza, who is also a journalist, and his colleague Mustafa Thuraya in an airstrike on their car in Khan Yunis. Israel has targeted Dahdouh and his family previously, killing his wife, 2 of his other children, and a grandchild among other relatives in October and injured Dahdouh in December. Medical Aid for Palestinians and the International Rescue Committee say their staff have been forced to evacuate al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital due to Israel declaring the area around the hospital a “red zone.” Rockets are fired at Sderot, Yakhini and Nirim, lightly injuring 1 in Yakhini. In Lebanon, Hezbollah militants fire a missile at an Israeli tank across the Blue Lin near Metula. Israeli forces attack Aita al-Shaab, Bint Jbeil, and Majdal Zoun. (AJ, AJ, AJ, AP, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, NYT, NYT, REU, REU, REU, UNOCHA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 1/7; AJ, AP, WAFA 1/8)

More than 22,835 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza, including at least 8,800 children and 6,300 women, and around 58,416 have been injured since 10/7. At least 7,000 people are missing in rubble, including 1,700 children. 330 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 10/7, including 81 children. More than 4,042 people have been injured. Israel reports that 1,139 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed and 5,400 have been injured since 10/7, including Israeli soldiers. In addition, 174 Israeli soldiers have been killed and 1,023 injured in Gaza since the ground invasion began on 10/27. Over 1.93 million Palestinians, nearly 85% of the population of Gaza, have been displaced since 10/7. There has been a complete electricity blackout in Gaza since 10/12 due to the Israeli blockade. As of 12/23, at least 65,000 housing units had been destroyed and 290,000 had been damaged in Israeli airstrikes since 10/7, constituting over 60% of all housing units. 102 trucks carrying aid enter Gaza via the Rafah and Karim Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossings. (UNOCHA, UNOCHA 1/7)

WAFA reports that the Israeli-run Jerusalem municipality has approved the Silicon Valley settlement project, to be built on the Wadi al-Juz industrial area in East Jerusalem, and approved a landfill near Isawiya. (WAFA 1/7)

Save the Children says more than 1,000 Palestinian children in Gaza have had 1 or both legs amputated after being hit by Israeli bombs, many of the amputations are done without anesthetics. Save the Children notes that on average 10 children are subject to amputations every day. The WHO says it has canceled plans to bring medical supplies to northern Gaza because “[h]eavy bombardment, movement restrictions, and interrupted communications, makes it too dangerous. UNRWA says 142 of its staff have been killed since 10/7. (HA, UNOCHA, WAFA 1/7; REU 1/8)

Authorities in Gaza call on Egypt to open the Rafah crossing further to allow more wounded Palestinians into Egypt, noting that 6,000 people are awaiting approval to cross to Egypt while 10-20 wounded people are evacuated daily. Hamas official Osama Hamdan says Israel has destroyed more than 200 heritage sites in Gaza and calls on the OIC, the Arab League, and the African Union to support South Africa’s filing at the ICJ. (AJ, HA 1/7; AJ 1/8)

The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor releases a report based on testimonies from Palestinians abducted by Israeli forces in Gaza and taken to Israel, saying civilians were tortured in detention, including being beaten, subject to electric shocks, burned with cigarettes, and tied up in stress positions. Euro-Med says many of the Palestinians taken from Gaza are being held at the Sde Teiman camp between Gaza and Beersheba in what was described as a Guantanamo-like prison. (Euro-Med 1/7)

Israeli military chief of staff Herzi Halevi says Israel will be fighting in Gaza all year. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant tells the Wall Street Journal that Hezbollah leaders “know we can copy-paste [Israel’s attacks on Gaza] to Beirut,” adding Israel’s priority is not a war in Lebanon. (AJ, HA, WSJ 1/7; AJ, HA 1/8)

Israeli national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir reiterates his calls for the displacement of Palestinians in Gaza to other countries and the resettlement of Gaza. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich calls Palestinians in Gaza “Nazis,” saying Israel must resettle Gaza. (HA, HA 1/7; AJ, AP 1/8)

U.S. secretary of state Antony Blinken meets with Qatar prime minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani in Doha, discussing the situation in Gaza and the Red Sea. Blinken calls the killing of Hamza Dahdouh (see above) an “unimaginable tragedy” and says Palestinians in Gaza must be allowed to return to their homes and “must not be pressed to leave Gaza.” Al Thani says the Israeli assassination of Saleh al-Arouri in Beirut has affected Qatari mediation efforts but that the negotiations continue. Blinken also meets with Jordanian king Abdullah II and foreign minister Ayman Safadi in Amman. King Abdullah II warns Blinken of “catastrophic repercussions” if Israel’s war on Gaza continues. (AJ, AJ, AJ, AP, HA, HA, REU, REU, WAFA 1/7; AJ, HA 1/8)

Israeli MK Ofer Cassif signs the petition filed by South Africa to the ICJ, accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza. Several other members of Knesset call for his removal. Cassif says he signed the petition as part of his constitutional duty to Israeli society. (JP 1/7; AJ, HA 1/8)

Israel appoints former Supreme Court president Aharon Barak to represent Israel at the ICJ hearings on the Israeli genocide in Gaza. Bolivia endorses South Africa’s case at the ICJ. (HA, HA 1/7; AJ, AP, HA, NYT 1/8)

Israeli news website Globes reports that the fourth largest shipping company in the world, Chinese COSCO, has suspended shipments to Israel due to the attacks by Yemen’s Houthi governments on ships bound for Israel. (HA 1/7)

The Washington Post reports that U.S. president Joe Biden has tasked his staff with preventing an all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah. The Post says U.S. officials are worried that Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu sees an escalation with Hezbollah as a way to stay in power. A Defense Intelligence Agency report saying that Israel would have trouble winning a war against Hezbollah while fighting in Gaza is also leaked to the press. (HA 1/8)

In the West Bank, Israeli forces violently dispersed activists protesting Israeli military drills in Masafer Yatta. Israeli forces also demolished parts of road used to access agricultural lands near Ras Karkar. Elsewhere, Israeli forces demolished a car repair shop in ‘Anata, 1 house under construction in Nil‘in, 4 structures in Nahalin, and 1 agricultural structure in al-Khader. 8 Palestinians were arrested during raids in Beit Furik, Jenin, Qabatiya, Kafr Abbush, Ein as-Sultan refugee camp, and Hebron. In East Jerusalem, Israeli authorities demolished 1 agricultural structure in Isawiya and razed land in Bayt Hanina. 1 Palestinian was arrested during a late-night raid in Shu‘fat refugee camp. In Gaza, Israeli forces made incursions to level agricultural lands east of Rafah. Israeli forces also opened fire at Palestinian herders east of Jabaliya; no injuries were reported. (WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 6/22; PCHR 6/23; UNOCHA 7/2)

The Israeli military began construction of a 45-kilomiter concrete barrier in the northern part of the West Bank that will replace a metal fenced area of the separation wall. (HA, MEMO 6/22)

Israeli military reopened an iron gate to the Abud village near Ramallah after Haaretz submitted an inquiry into why it had been closed. The iron gate to Abud had been closed since 6/8, forcing residents to take long detours to reach Ramallah. (HA 6/26)

The PA granted bail for 14 Palestinian security officers accused of partaking in the killing of PA critic Nizar Banat on 6/24/2021. The next court hearing in the case is scheduled for 7/3. (MEE 6/22)

110 of 120 members of the Knesset voted, in a preliminary vote, to dissolve the Knesset. A final vote is expected next week. (ALM, AP, AX, HA, REU 6/22)

Axios reported that the U.S. is working on a roadmap for normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia ahead of President Joe Biden’s visit to the 2 countries in July. (AX, MEE, TOI 6/22; AX, TOI 6/23)

A U.S. federal appeals court upheld an Arkansas law requiring state contractors to pledge not to boycott Israel. The judge writing the opinion claimed that “[b]ecause those commercial decisions are invisible to observers unless explained, they are not inherently expressive and do not implicate the First Amendment.” The American Civil Liberties Union said it would appeal the case to the Supreme Court. (AJ, AP, FOX, HA, HUFF, MDW, MEE, WP 6/22; TOI 6/23)

Israeli troops on the n. Gaza border fire warning shots at Palestinians scavenging for construction materials in the demolished Erez industrial zone, forcing them to flee. A Palestinian is killed and another is injured when they are crushed by construction materials being moved through a smuggling tunnel on the Rafah border. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts late-night patrols in Jericho. (PCHR 6/14, 6/21; OCHA 6/22)

Israel’s state comptroller Micah Lindenstrauss issues a long-awaited report faulting PM Netanyahu for ‘‘poor decision-making’’ in the lead-up to the 2010 Gaza aid flotilla incident that left 9 Turkish activists dead aboard the Mavi Marmara, concluding that Netanyahu did not listen to IDF warnings that the boarding of the flotilla could lead to violence and had not consulted adequately. (WP 6/14)

U.S. pres. Obama presents Israeli pres. Shimon Peres with the Congressional Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the U.S. During their one-on-one meeting at the White House, Peres gives Obama a petition signed by 75,000 Israelis seeking the release of Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard. (NYT, WP, WT 6/14; WP 6/17; JPI 6/22)

Casino magnate and major proIsrael political donor Sheldon Adelson gives $10 m. to a pro-Romney political action committee (PAC). This election marks the first time that unlimited corporate donations have been allowed under super PACs, which were deemed legal by a 2010 U.S. Supreme Court ruling. (WP 6/14)