The Palestine Chronology

In the West Bank, Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian during a raid in Qalandia. Israeli forces also raided Jenin, injuring 7 and uprooting streets. Elsewhere, Israeli forces shot and injured 4, including a disabled man, in Qalqas, al-Arroub refugee camp, and Baqa al-Hatab. Israeli forces also sealed 2 printing facilities in Dawha, claiming they were printing incendiary materials. Meanwhile, Israeli forces uprooted 31 olive trees in Nahalin. Israeli forces also seized a vehicle in Qablan. 38 Palestinians were arrested during raids in and around Bethlehem, Qalandia, Nablus, Ramallah, and Jenin. In East Jerusalem, Israeli settlers toured the Haram al-Sharif compound. Israeli forces demolished a building in Bayt Hanina, displacing 13 people. In Gaza, at least 300 people were killed in Israeli attacks on Nuseirat refugee camp, Dayr al-Balah, Gaza City, al-Bureij refugee camp, and Khan Yunis. Israel said it had surrounded and invaded Khan Yunis. Israeli troops also laid siege to the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya. 2 Israeli soldiers were killed in combat. Rockets were fired at Israel, injuring 2 in Ashkelon. In Lebanon, Israeli forces killed a Lebanese soldier and injured 3 others in an attack on a Lebanese military base; Israel later expressing regret, saying it would review the incident. 3 rockets were fired at Kiryat Shmona. (AJ, AJ, AJ, AJ, AJ, AJ, AP, AX, HA, HA, HA, NYT, REU, REU, UNOCHA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 12/5; AJ, HA, HA, NYT, WAFA 12/6)

More than 16,248 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza, including at least 6,387 children and 4,257 women, and around 43,616 have been injured since 10/7. At least 7,000 people were missing in rubble, including 1,700 children. 252 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 10/7, including 65 children. More than 3,325 people have been injured. Israel reported that 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed and 5,431 have been injured since 10/7. 87 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza since the ground invasion began on 10/27. Over 1.9 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 11/18, at least 45,000 housing units had been destroyed and 233,000 had been damaged in Israeli airstrikes since 10/7, constituting 60% of all housing units. The Gaza Ministry of Health said at least 1,207 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire ended on 12/1. UNRWA said 130 of its staff members have been killed by Israeli forces since 10/7. The UN said dozens of trucks carrying aid, including fuel, entered Gaza but did not provide the actual number. Rafah was the only area to receive aid for the third day in a row. (AJ, HA, UNOCHA, UNOCHA, WAFA 12/5)

At the beginning of the day, PA health minister Mai al-Kaila said at least 15,900 Palestinians have been killed and 40,900 injured in Israeli attacks on Gaza since 10/7, saying the final number of dead will be much higher since many are buried in rubble. (REU, WAFA 12/5)

The PA Ministry of National Economy said 29% of business in the West Bank have been completely or partially closed since 10/7 due to Israeli actions. (WAFA 12/5)

UNICEF spokesperson James Elder said Israeli calls for Palestinians to evacuate do not work, stating the “so-called safe zones . . . are not scientific, they are not rational, there are not possible, and I think the [Israeli] authorities are aware of this.” (AJ 12/5)

Amnesty International released an investigation saying that 43 Palestinian civilians were killed on 10/13 in Israeli attacks where U.S.-made JDAM bombs were used. The U.S. said it was reviewing the Amnesty investigation. (AJ 12/5; REU 12/6)

The PA warned against reported Israeli plans to flood tunnels in Gaza with seawater, saying it would lead to the collapse of residential buildings and infrastructure and to the mixing of ground, sea, and wastewater. (AJ 12/5)

Israeli police approved the “March of Maccabees” in the Old City of Jerusalem on 12/7, where Israeli right-wingers will march in support of removing the Islamic Waqf in order to replace it with full Israeli control over the Haram al-Sharif compound. (AJ, HA, HA 12/5)

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed Israel has killed half of Hamas’ military commanders in Gaza. Netanyahu also said that Israel is the only power that can keep Gaza demilitarized after Israel’s war, rejecting suggestions that an international force be deployed in Gaza. (AJ, AX, HA 12/5; NYT 12/6)

Prime Minister Netanyahu also met with families of Israeli captives held in Gaza. Some of those who attended the meeting labelled it a farce and insulting. (HA, HA, REU 12/5; AJ 12/6)

Egyptian foreign minister Sameh Shoukry met with senators Ted Cruz (R-TX), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Chris Coons (D-DE) in Washington D.C., discussing efforts to end Israel’s war on Gaza. (AJ 12/5)

The leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council called for an end to the Israeli attacks on Gaza at a summit in Doha. Qatari emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani said at the summit that Israel was committing genocide, called support for Israel’s actions “a disgrace,” and urged the UN Security Council to force Israel back to the negotiations on a ceasefire. (AJ, AJ, HA 12/5)

U.S. vice president Kamala Harris’s National Security Advisor Phil Gordon met with Israeli president Isaac Herzog, war cabinet members Benny Gantz, Tzachi Hanegbi, Ron Dermer, and Gadi Eisenkot, and opposition leader Yair Lapid, updating them on meetings Harris and Gordon held with Arab leaders in Dubai during the COP28 climate conference. Harris is leading the Biden administration’s efforts on securing another ceasefire. (AX, HA 12/5)

U.S. secretary of state Antony Blinken announced that that the U.S. has put new visa restrictions on violent Israeli settlers, saying Israel is not doing enough to combat settler violence. Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant later condemned Israeli settler violence, saying only the military, the police, and the Shin Bet have a right to use violence against Palestinians. USAID administrator Samantha Power visited El Arish airport in Egypt where aid to Gaza arrives, saying more “must be done to protect civilians” and for aid to enter Gaza. (AJ, AJ, AP, AX, HA, HA, NYT, REU, REU 12/5)

U.S. president Joe Biden said at a fundraiser that he had heard reports “of women raped, repeatedly raped, and their bodies being mutilated while still alive” by Hamas militants on 10/7. Hamas denied the accusations. (REU 12/5)

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution, H.R. 894, declaring that anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism in a 311-14 vote; 94 Democrats voted present. The resolution also condemned the phrase “from the river to the sea.” (AJ, HA, NYT 12/5; AJ 12/6)

5 U.S. pro-Israel organizations, the American Jewish Committee, the Jewish Federation of North America, the Anti-Defamation League, AIPAC, and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, created a joint lobbying arm called The 10/7 Project to promote pro-Israel narratives to journalists and U.S. lawmakers. (HA 12/5)

Deutche Welle reported that applicants for citizenship in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt will be required to declare their support for Israel’s right to exist to obtain German citizenship. (AJ 12/5)

CNN reported that the U.S. expects Israel to end its mass ground invasion of Gaza in January 2024. (AJ, HA 12/5)

The Washington Post reported that Israeli sources have estimated that 5,000 out of 30,000 Palestinian militants in Gaza have been killed since 10/7. (AJ, WP 12/5)

Dabke, the Palestinian national dance, was included on the UNCESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. (WAFA 12/5)

In Gaza, unknown assailants open fire on trucks at the Kerem Shalom border crossing, causing light damage to 1. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts house searches and raids in Qalqilya, 1 village nr. Ramallah, Tulkarm r.c. and 1 village nr. Tulkarm, as well as al-‘Arub r.c. and 1 village nr. Hebron, arresting 18 Palestinians; patrols in 2 villages nr. Jenin, 1 each nr. Qalqilya and Hebron, and ‘Aqabat Jabir r.c. nr. Jericho. Meanwhile, a group of armed men from the Balata r.c. shut down a main road in Nablus in protest of the PASF crackdown on the camp. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces confiscate the contents of a store in Hizma and demolish a residential building under construction in Wadi al-Juz. They also conduct raids in Silwan, assaulting 2 Palestinians and arresting 3. Meanwhile, the Jordan-funded Islamic Waqf begins renovations at Haram al-Sharif, and Israeli minister Uri Ariel calls for the project to be halted. In the Galilee, Palestinians in Kafr Kanna conduct a general strike in protest of the demolition in the village on 4/12. (MNA, TOI, WAFA, YA 4/13; MNA 4/14; PCHR, WAFA 4/16)

PA Pres. Abbas meets with Russian pres. Vladimir Putin in Moscow to discuss Russian-Palestinian relations, the Middle East peace negotiations, and other issues. (AFP 4/9; AFP, HA, TOI 4/13; REU 4/14)

U.S. Pres. Obama meets with several U.S. Jewish groups to discuss the “key parameters” announced on 4/2 by the P5+1 and Iran, and their concerns about Israel’s security. The groups include the AJC, ADL, the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, the Jewish Federations of N. America, AIPAC, and J Street. (HA 4/13; HA, TOI 4/14; JP 4/23)

Off the n. coast of Gaza, Israeli naval forces open fire on Palestinian fishing boats, injuring 1 fisherman with rubber-coated metal bullets. In the West Bank, IDF troops arrest a Palestinian in a village nr. Hebron and another in c. Hebron. Meanwhile, hundreds of Israeli settlers perform religious rites at Joseph’s Tomb outside Balata r.c. nr. Nablus, sparking clashes between IDF troops and Palestinians in the camp. Israeli forces seize around 1,000 dunams of land nr. Hebron for the expansion of a nearby settlement. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces assault 2 guards in Haram al-Sharif after they try to intervene in the arrest of a Palestinian woman in the sanctuary. (MNA, WAFA 4/8; PCHR 4/9)

PA PM Hamdallah confirms PA Pres. Abbas’s earlier announcement that the PA refused reduced tax revenues from Israel after PM Netanyahu’s office announced on 3/27 that it would be unfreezing the transfers. He also says that the Palestinians will lodge an official complaint about the freeze at the ICC. (WAFA 4/8)

As part of a reported deal with Israel’s COGAT, the PASF expands deployments in towns and villages nr. Jerusalem, in Area B. The PASF will begin by opening up police stations in the villages. (REU 4/8; AFP, MNA 4/9)

U.S. Pres. Obama calls Sens. Corker (R-TN) and Ben Cardin (D-MD), the 2 ranking mbrs. of the Senate Foreign Relations Comm., denouncing Corker’s proposed bill that would empower Congress to approve or disapprove of any final agreement made by Iran and the P5+1. The bill, the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act, is set for a comm. deliberation on 4/14. Meanwhile, Secy. of State Kerry and Under Secy. Wendy Sherman meet with reps. of AIPAC, the American Jewish Comm. (AJC), the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), and other pro-Israel U.S. Jewish groups to argue in favor of the agreement with Iran and further diplomacy. (AP 4/8; TOI 4/9; JTA 4/12)

Thailand officially recognizes Palestine as an independent state, becoming the 131st country to do so. (NYT 1/21)

Unidentified Palestinians fire 1 Qassam rocket fr. Gaza into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. The IDF detains Hamas-affiliated PC speaker ‘Aziz Dweik at Jaba’ checkpoint nr. Jerusalem, placing him in administrative detention; makes a late-night raid on Hamas-affiliated Change and Reform PC mbr. Khalid Thwaib’s home in Za’atara village nr. Bethlehem, arresting him and confiscating his computers, phone, and files. The IDF also conducts synchronized morning patrols in 2 villages n. of Jericho; conducts other daytime patrols in 3 villages nr Ramallah, 1 nr. Jenin, 1 nr. Jericho; conducts evening patrols in 1 village nr. Jericho; conducts late-night patrols in al-Bireh. (JP 1/19; WT 1/25; PCHR 1/26; OCHA 1/27)

The U.S.’s new Joint Chiefs of Staff head Gen. Martin Dempsey begins a 3-day visit to Israel for talks on Iran, regional security, and military-tomilitary strategic coordination. He will meet with PM Netanyahu, Pres. Shimon Peres, DM Barak, and senior IDF commanders. (NYT, WT 1/20; NYT, WP 1/21)

Pro-Israel groups (including the Anti-Defamation League [ADL] and American Jewish Committee [AJC]) publicly accuse the Center for American Progress (CAP; a Washington-based think tank seen as close to the Obama admin.) of “anti-Semitism,” citing several Twitter posts by CAP staffers to their private Twitter accounts referring to “Israel-firsters” (i.e., Americans who put Israel’s national interests before America’s) and accusing AIPAC of pushing the U.S. toward war with Iran. The ADL and AJC allege that the private Tweets are part of a “very troubling” pattern of “anti-Semitism and borderline anti-Semitism” at CAP. Former AIPAC spokesman Josh Block says that the pro-Israel groups went public with their complaints only after CAP officials ignored a compilation of CAP staffer’s writings and public statements that he quietly presented to them in 12/2011 that he said amounted to “outrageous vilification of pro-Israel Americans.” CAP says it is “baffled and appalled” by the charges. Some on the left of the pro-Israel spectrum, such as J Street, say the issue is overblown and they suspect that it is being brought forward now “to shut down needed policy debates,” cautioning groups such as the ADL and AJC to “tread lightly” with accusations of anti-Semitism or “people won’t take you seriously.”(WP 1/20)