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  • January 24, 2023

    In the West Bank, Israeli forces rammed into 2 Palestinians riding a motorcycle near Arrabah, injuring both. 15 Palestinians were arrested during late-night raids in Fasayil, Tammun, Balata...

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  • January 13, 2011

    After receiving a warning fr. Egypt that Israel is serious about preventing further rocket and mortar fire fr. Gaza, Hamas authorities hold a 2d mtg. (see 1/11) with smaller factions to urge them...

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  • December 29, 2010

    IDF troops on the Gaza border e. of Jabaliya fire warning shots at Palestinian farmers who stray nr. the border fence, causing no injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF makes a late-night raid on the...

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  • June 11, 2005

    The IDF bars an ambulance transporting a Palestinian heart attack victim fr. crossing a checkpoint to reach a hospital in Tulkarm, allowing him to die; conducts arrest raids, house searches in...

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In the West Bank, Israeli forces rammed into 2 Palestinians riding a motorcycle near Arrabah, injuring both. 15 Palestinians were arrested during late-night raids in Fasayil, Tammun, Balata refugee camp, Tulkarm, Jifna, and Bayt Rima. In East Jerusalem, 2 Palestinians were arrested during late-night raids. In Gaza, Israeli forces made incursions and leveled land east of Dayr al-Balah. (WAFA, WAFA 1/24; WAFA 1/25; PCHR 1/26; UNOCHA 2/3)

The Knesset extended the emergency orders that extend Israeli law to Israeli settlers in the West Bank for 5 years. (HA 1/24)

PA prime minister Mohammad Shtayyeh met with EU high representative for foreign affairs Josep Borell in Brussels. (WAFA 1/24)

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with King Abdullah II of Jordan in Amman. It was reported that Prime Minister Netanyahu promised King Abdullah II Israel would maintain the status quo of the Holy Sites. (AJ, AX, HA, MEE 1/24)

UNRWA said it needs $1.6 billion in funding to be able to continue its basic services. In a statement the agency said “[c]ompounding challenges over the last year including underfunding, competing global crises, inflation, disruption in the supply chain, geopolitical dynamics and skyrocketing levels of poverty and unemployment among Palestine refugees have put immense strain on UNRWA.” UNRWA workers in the West Bank began a general strike on 1/23 demanding higher wages. (AJ, HA, WAFA 1/24; MEE, REU 1/25)

After receiving a warning fr. Egypt that Israel is serious about preventing further rocket and mortar fire fr. Gaza, Hamas authorities hold a 2d mtg. (see 1/11) with smaller factions to urge them to adhere to a cease-fire, then deploys IQB mbrs. along the border and at makeshift checkpoints on roads leading toward the border to deter groups fr. firing into Israel. In the West Bank, the IDF steps up patrols dramatically, operating in 8 villages nr. Qalqilya, 3 nr. Jenin, 1 nr. Ramallah, and 1 nr. Tulkarm between late morning and late afternoon, arresting 1 stone-throwing teenager nr. Tulkarm and summoning several residents of Bayt Qad nr. Qalqilya for questioning; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Jenin and Qalqilya. Jewish settlers fr. a settlement outpost nr. Nablus attack a Palestinian farmer working his field nearby; when nearby villagers come to the farmers aid, IDF troops intervene, firing rubber-coated steel bullets and tear gas at the Palestinians, seriously injuring 2 and moderately injuring 1. (NYT, WP 1/14; PCHR 1/20; OCHA 1/21)

In Tunisia, opposition forces call for massive antigovernment demonstrations after Friday prayers on 1/14 to demand Pres. Ben Ali’s immediate resignation. In the days since 12/29/2010, protests have increasingly come to reflect deep-seated frustration with overall government corruption and lack of political freedom, rather than just economic angst. The major riots that first roiled the countryside have become increasingly violent and spread nationwide, reaching the capital on 1/12 and the key resort city of Hammamet (where Ben Ali and his extended family have residences) on 1/13, leaving at least 30 dead. In effort to quell protests, Ben Ali has simultaneously moved to appease and clamp down on critics, pledging to investigate government corruption and recent “excesses” by the security forces and firing his interior minister (directly responsible for orchestrating the crackdown on demonstrators), but also deploying army units and riot police around Tunis and imposing a nighttime curfew, blaming “foreign terrorists and Islamic radicals capitalizing on the frustrations of the unemployed.” Rumors suggest that close relatives of Ben Ali, including billionaire businessman Muhammad Sakher El Materi (his son-in-law and heir apparent), have already fled the country. Today, Ben Ali gives a hastily prepared television address. Appearing unsettled, he orders security forces to hold their fire and release jailed protesters, agrees to make other minor reforms, and pledges to give up the presidency when he turns 75 (in 2014) in keeping with the constitution, but rejects demands to step down immediately and end his 23-yr. authoritarian rule. In a threatening move, however, he withdraws the army fr. Tunis, replacing them with special police and other security forces more loyal to his ruling party. Credible rumors say the shift has come about because Tunisia’s army chief Gen. Rachid Ammar has refused Ben-Ali’s orders to shoot demonstrators. By this date, small protests inspired by Tunisian demonstrators have been held in Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Libya, and Morocco denouncing unemployment and corruption among the ruling elites, but are not perceived as destabilizing. (NYT, WP 1/13; NYT 1/14, 1/17, 2/24; see also WP 1/10, NYT 1/12)

IDF troops on the Gaza border e. of Jabaliya fire warning shots at Palestinian farmers who stray nr. the border fence, causing no injuries. In the West Bank, the IDF makes a late-night raid on the home of Hamas-affiliated PC mbr. Khalil Rab‘ie nr. Hebron, arresting him. The IDF also patrols in Rummana village nr. Jenin, confiscating an unlicensed tractor; makes a late-night raid on a Palestinian store nr. Jenin, confiscating fireworks; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches in and around Nur al-Shams r.c. nr. Tulkarm. Jewish settlers fr. Suissa settlement nr. Hebron set fire to 3 Palestinian tents nearby. Israel’s Jerusalem municipal authorities level several rooms of homes, stores, and poultry farms and swaths of agricultural land in al-Tur village in the East Jerusalem environs. (PCHR 12/30; OCHA 12/31; PCHR 1/6; OCHA 1/7)

Tunisian pres. Zine El Abidine Ben Ali reshuffles his cabinet in response to 11 days of nationwide popular demonstrations against his government. The protests denouncing rising unemployment and the lack of job opportunities for youths began on 12/17, sparked by the attempted suicide of a 26-yr.-old, college-educated street vendor in the southern town of Sidi Bouzid who set himself on fire in despair after police seized produce he was selling without a license. (WT 12/30)

The IDF bars an ambulance transporting a Palestinian heart attack victim fr. crossing a checkpoint to reach a hospital in Tulkarm, allowing him to die; conducts arrest raids, house searches in Hebron, Yatta. Masked Palestinian gunmen fire on the PA preventive security forces headquarters outside Gaza City, causing no injuries. (PR 6/15; PCHR 6/16)

At its annual conference, the New England United Methodist Church passes a resolution calling for divestment and economic action against Israeli occupation. The resolution denounces Israel’s construction of the separation wall, settlement expansion, confiscation of Palestinian property, as well as the “unemployment, malnutrition, restrictions on movement, denial of medical cared, denial of access to their agricultural lands, humiliation at checkpoints, and extended lockdowns called curfews” caused by the IDF. (United Methodist Church press release 6/20)