The Palestine Chronology

Thousands of Palestinians gather along Gaza’s border fence to continue the Great March of Return. A small group of protesters detonate an explosive along the border fence, ripping a hole in the barrier that allows approximately 20 of them to cross into Israel; 3 are killed when Israeli soldiers open fire on the group. Throughout the day, IDF troops violently disperse the demonstrations near Rafah, Khan Yunis, Gaza City, al-Bureij refugee camp, and Jabaliya refugee camp; 4 more Palestinians are killed at approximately 150 are injured. The killings bring the death toll stemming from the Great March of Return to 177. In the West Bank, Israeli settlers throw stones at a Palestinian vehicle south of Nablus, killing 1 occupant and injuring the other. IDF troops arrest 4 Palestinians during raids near Bethlehem and Tulkarm; and patrol near Hebron, Nablus, and Qalqilya. They also violently disperse Palestinians gathering in Ras Karkar near Ramallah and Kafr Qaddum near Qalqilya to protest the Israeli occupation; 7 Palestinian are injured. Israeli forces seal off all entrances to Hadida, the northern Jordan Valley village where they demolished several structures yesterday. Israeli border security guards arrest a Palestinian attempting to cross into Israel near Qalqilya armed with a knife. In central Israel, an incendiary balloon is found on the side of the street in Rishon Lezion, causing no damage or injuries. (HA, NYT, TOI, TOI, WAFA 10/12; EI, HA, MNA, MNA, MNA, TOI, WAFA 10/13; PCHR 10/18)

A Palestinian prisoner dies in Israel’s Ayalon Prison. It’s unclear exactly what circumstances led to his death. He was arrested in 2015 and sentenced to 7 years in prison. He is reportedly the 4th Palestinian prisoner to die in Israeli custody since the beginning of the year. (MNA, WAFA 10/12)

After another Friday of mass protests and violence along Gaza’s border fence, Israeli defense minister Avigdor Lieberman orders a halt of all Qatari-funded fuel transfers into Gaza. Lieberman previously barred fuel transfers for a few weeks in 8/2018 after a similar surge of resistance activities in Gaza. (HA, TOI 10/12; MNA, TOI, TOI, YA 10/14)

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh says that Hamas is still working to reach “understandings” with Israel on a possible long-term cease-fire agreement. “We are working with a number of parties, including Egypt, Qatar and the UN, to reach understandings in order to break the blockade,” he says. “It is possible to reach the kind of understandings that would lead to quiet in exchange for the lifting of the blockade,” he adds, before alluding to the Egyptian goal of incorporating a new intra-Palestinian reconciliation agreement into the process. “The quiet does not have to come at a political price or at the expense of the intra-Palestinian reconciliation.” (YA 10/12)

The Tel Aviv District Court rejects an appeal from Lara Alqasem, the U.S. student who was denied entry to Israel on 10/2, determining that her ongoing support for BDS is grounds for denial. Her lawyers may still petition Israel’s High Court of Justice. (HA, TOI 10/12)

Along Gaza’s border, 10 Palestinians cut through the border fence near Rafah and set fire to an IDF post. They then return to Gaza. Israeli tanks shell a Hamas observation post in the area, causing no major damage or injuries. Late at night, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) conducts air strikes on Gaza City’s port and an allegedly Hamas-built tunnel east of the city; 2 boats are damaged and there are no major injuries. Meanwhile, IDF troops open fire on the Great March of Return tent camp near Khan Yunis, injuring 1 Palestinian. Off Gaza’s coast, Israeli naval forces open fire on Palestinian fishing boats near Jabaliya refugee camp and Bayt Lahiya, causing no damage or injuries. In the West Bank, unidentified armed assailants open fire on an Israeli vehicle near Ramallah, causing no major damage or injuries. IDF troops arrest 2 Palestinians during late-night raids in Nablus and near Hebron and patrol in and around Qalqilya and Hebron. The raid in Nablus sparks minor clashes with stone-throwing Palestinians; 1 Palestinian is injured. (HA, MNA, TOI, WAFA, YA 5/22; PCHR 5/24)

PA FM Riyad al-Maliki submits a formal request to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for an investigation into Israeli settlement policies in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, which he calls “grave crime[s].” In response, ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda says that her office’s preliminary examination of alleged war crimes committed in the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt), which began on 1/16/15, has seen “important progress.” (JP, MNA, NYT, TOI, WAFA, YA 5/22)

IDF troops on the Gaza border, shoot, wound, detain, and transport to Israel a mentally handicapped Palestinian who strays nr. the border barrier nr. Jabaliya. The IDF makes an incursion into Abu Safiyya nr. Bayt Hanun, searching homes, arresting 12 Palestinians. Palestinians fire a rocket fr. Gaza into Israel, hitting a home, injuring 1 Israeli. In the West Bank, the IDF conducts arrest raids, house searches in Qalqilya, firing on stone-throwing Palestinians who confront them, injuring 14 (including 9 children). Meanwhile, armed clashes erupt in Khan Yunis when ESF officers attempt to arrest a wanted Fatah mbr., leaving 17 Palestinians injured. Hamas closes 4 private medical clinics in Gaza that were adhering to a Fatah work slowdown. In Nablus, suspected Fatah mbrs. kidnap, beat, release a Hamas mbr. (WT 8/29; IFM 8/29; OCHA 8/29; PCHR 8/30)