The Palestine Chronology

In the West Bank, PA officials said that 144 settler attacks were recorded in the Nablus area overnight, including damage to some 120 vehicles and 22 shops. Israeli settlers set a Palestinian-owned vehicle on fire and wrote racist graffiti on nearby walls in Jalud. Israeli settlers also threw stones at Palestinian vehicles traveling near Rawabi and Yasuf. Elsewhere, Israeli settlers set fire to a house and a vehicle and threw stones and sprayed racist graffiti at other houses in Turmus ‘Ayya. Israeli settlers also assaulted 1 Palestinian near Shaab al-Batum in the Masafer Yatta area. Meanwhile, Israeli settlers vandalized some 200 olive trees in Majdal Bani Fadil and Aqraba and vandalized crops and an agricultural structure in Ein al-Beida. Israeli forces violently dispersed Palestinian protesters in Nabi Salih, injuring 2, including 1 minor, with baton rounds. Israeli forces also seized artifacts from an archeological site in Sabastia. Elsewhere, Israeli forces issued demolition notices for 4 homes in Yatta. Separately, Israeli forces began a siege of Jericho after an unidentified assailant opened fire at a restaurant at a nearby settlement; no injuries were reported. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces sealed the family homes of 2 Palestinians killed during attacks on Israelis on 1/27 and 1/28. The homes in al-Tur and Silwan were sealed in preparation for punitive demolition. Israeli forces also demolished a house in Jabel Mukaber, displacing 2 families. Meanwhile, Israeli forces violently dispersed Palestinian protesters in Jabel Mukaber, injuring 1 with live ammunition and others with tear gas. 7 Palestinians were arrested during raids. (AJ, AP, GDN, HA, HA, JP, REU, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 1/29; F24, HA, HA, TOI, WAFA 1/30; MEE 2/1; HA, HRW, PCHR, WAFA 2/2; UNOCHA 2/3; HA 2/5)

PA president Mahmoud Abbas met with CIA director William Burns in Ramallah. Director Burns arrived in Israel earlier in the week and have held meetings with Israeli and Palestinian officials. (WAFA 1/29)

In Iran, Israel attacked a weapons manufacturing site in Isfahan with suicide drones, causing damage and wounding 1. The Iranian defense department said 2 of the 3 drones had been shot down before reaching the facility. (AJ, AN, HA, MEE, MEE, NYT, REU 1/29; BBC 1/30; AJ, AP, HA 2/2; AP, HA 2/3)

In Syria, Israel conducted airstrikes attacking a convoy of trucks after it entered eastern Syria from Iraq, killing 10 people. (HA 1/29; HA, MEE 1/30)

Israel recorded 35 cases of “nationalist crimes” targeting Palestinians since Friday evening on 1/27. No arrests had been made. (HA, TOI 1/30)

Israeli national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir released a video showing the family of the accused assailant from the 1/27 shooting removing their belongings from their home before their house was sealed. Israeli police criticized the release of the video saying National Security Minister Ben-Gvir wanted to humiliate the family. (HA 1/29)

In the West Bank, 1 Palestinian succumbed to injuries inflicted by Israeli forces on 8/3 in Jenin. Israeli forces demolished 1 poultry farm in al-Walaja, 1 rainwater collection well in Khallet al-Dabe’, 1 car wash in al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya, and 1 agricultural structure in al-Fakhit. Israeli forces also handed an evacuation order to Palestinians near Tuqu’ for their livestock, forcing them to remove their livestock and dismantle their agricultural structures within 14 days. Elsewhere, Israeli forces violently dispersed Palestinians protesting Israeli construction at al-Ibrahimi Mosque, leading to tear-gas related injuries; 3 were arrested. 9 other Palestinians were arrested during late-night raids in and around Jaba‘, Huwwara, and Yatta. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces summoned 2 Palestinian activists for questioning after they protested the arrest of a local activist in Sheikh Jarrah on 8/10. In Israel, Israeli authorities said they shot down a drone entering the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights from Lebanon, claiming the drone was operated by Hezbollah. Israel also said it had shot down a drone flying from Gaza into Israel, claiming it was operated by Hamas. (WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 8/11; HA, PCHR, REU 8/12; HA, MEMO 8/13)

The Israeli government gave its initial approval for the construction of more than 2,000 new settlement units in the West Bank and 863 housing units for Palestinian villages in Area C, including 150 units in Ma‘asara, 270 in Bir al-Basha, 223 in al-Masqufa, 160 in Khirbet ‘Aaba, and 50 in Khirbet Zakariya. Of the advanced settlement expansion plans, 908 are expected to get final approval next week, including 58 in Beit El, 285 in Har Brakha, and 105 in Alon Shvut. An Israeli official told Haaretz that the move was a “calculated risk” made by the government vis-à-vis the U.S. Biden administration. The Meretz party wrote a letter to Israeli defense minister Benny Gantz, calling the decision to expand Israeli settlements “a dangerous move.” The U.S. later criticized Israel’s decision to expand Israeli settlements, on 8/13, saying that settlement activity is an obstacle to a 2-state solution. (AA, AX, HA, REU 8/11; MEMO, WAFA, WAFA 8/12; HA, MEMO 8/13; JP 8/16)

IDF chief of staff Aviv Kochavi said the Israeli army will take harsher measures against Israeli soldiers who do not follow regulations, in response to the killing of 40 Palestinians by Israeli forces in the West Bank since May. The statement came after Chief of Staff Kochavi met with senior staff of the Israeli central command on 8/8 and urged them to take steps to reduce lethal shootings. Kochavi said the military will back soldiers who make mistakes in their judgements in relation to lethal shootings, but not if the soldiers act reckless. (HA 8/12)

Israel’s police commissioner Kobi Shabtai inaugurated a new police department focused on combatting crime in Palestinian Israeli communities, which seeks to increase the number of Palestinian Israeli police officers by 300%. 69 Palestinian citizens of Israel have been killed in Israel since 2021 and only 23% of the cases have been solved, whereas 71% of the cases involving Jewish Israelis have been solved by Israeli police. (HA 8/12)

Israeli foreign minister Yair Lapid visited Morocco to meet with his Moroccan counterpart and open the new Israeli mission to Morocco as part of the 2 countries’ normalization deal. The 2 foreign ministers signed cooperation agreements related to air travel, culture, sports, and youth. Foreign Minister Lapid said the 2 countries would open mutual embassies within 2 months. The leader of the PJD party in Morocco condemned the decision to establish full diplomatic relations with Israel. Part of the 2 countries’ normalization deal was for the U.S. to recognize Moroccan sovereignty over the Western Sahara during the Trump administration, a controversial recognition that the Biden administration has not reversed. (MEMO 8/10; AJ, AJ, AX, HA, MEMO, REU 8/11; AJ, ALM, AX, HA, HA, MEMO, REU 8/12; ALM 8/13; MEE 8/16)

U.S. CIA director William J. Burns met with Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennet and other Israeli officials during a trip to Israel. Director Burns is expected to meet with PA president Mahmoud Abbas and other senior PA officials on 8/12. Axios reported that Director Burns voiced concern to Prime Minister Bennett about Chinese investment in Israel. (AX 8/9; HA, MEMO 8/10; ALM, HA, MEMO, MEMO, REU 8/11; AX, HA, HA 8/12; AX 8/18; MEE, MEMO, TOI 8/19)

The private equity firm KKR announced that it will be funding a server farm in Israel to be completed in the 2d quarter of 2023. The server farm will be located underground in Petah Tikva. (HA 8/11)

Palestinian Israeli NGO Combatants for Peace asked the ICC to open an investigation into potential war crimes committed by Israel in demolishing the bedouin village Khirbet Humsa on 7/7. (HA 8/11; MEMO 8/13)

Human Rights Watch (HRW) said its investigation into the events of the Israeli assault on Gaza in May, dubbed Operation Guardians of the Wall, had showed that Hamas’s rockets fired at Israel “violated the laws of war and amount to war crimes.” HRW also said that Hamas’s rockets had killed 12 civilians in Israel and a misfired rocket had killed 7 Palestinians in Gaza. HRW released its investigation into Israeli actions during the assault on 7/27, finding that Israel had also committed war crimes. (HA, HRW 8/12; ALM 8/23)

France donated $575,000 to the UN World Food Programme for its programming in Gaza. (WAFA 8/11)

In the West Bank, Israeli settlers uprooted some 400 grape saplings in Turmus ‘Ayya. Israeli forces violently dispersed the weekly anti-settlement protests in Kafr Qaddum, seriously injuring 1 Palestinian minor who was hospitalized with a fractured skull after being hit by a rubber-coated bullet; 14 others were also injured by rubber-coated bullets and others suffered tear-gas related injuries during Israeli crackdowns on protests in Bayt Dajan and Kafr Malik. 10 Palestinians were arrested during raids in and around Bayt Dajan, Jenin, and Bethlehem. (WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 11/27; HA, WAFA 11/28; PCHR 12/3)

In the West Bank, a PA-issued 48-hour lockdown commenced to halt the spread of the COVID-19 virus. The lockdown will last until 11/29. (AJ, WAFA 11/27)

A top Iranian nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, was assassinated while driving his car in Absard some 40 miles east of Tehran. Iran said that there were “serious indications of Israeli responsibility.” An anonymous Israeli official confirmed to the NYT that Israel was behind the assassination. The NYT also had 3 other intelligence sources confirm Israel’s involvement. According to Iran’s Fars News Agency, Fakhrizadeh was killed by a remote-controlled machine gun attached to a deserted car. The NYT reported a different story of the events in which 12 assassins caught up to Fakhrizadeh’s car and shot him before leaving the scene unharmed. Israel has previously claimed that Fakhrizadeh was the scientist behind Iran’s nuclear program and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in 2018 during a press conference that people should remember Fakhrizadeh’s name. Former CIA director John Brennan condemned the assassination, calling it “flagrant violation of international law.” The EU, UN, UAE, and Jordan also condemned the assassination. Israel assassinated at least 4 Iranian scientists between 2010 and 2012. Several Israeli public officials denied knowing who assassinated Fakhrizadeh. (AJ, AJ, HA, REU, REU 11/27; AJ, AJ, AJ, AJ, HA, HA, HA, HA, NYT, REU 11/28; AJ, GDN, HA, HA, REU 11/29; AJ, FOX, HA, HA, NBC, REU, SKY, TOI, VOA 11/30; HA 12/1)

IDF kills 1 Palestinian, wounds 80 in clashes in Gaza, worst violence since DoP signed 9/13. IDF cmdr. in Gaza Maj. Gen. Matan Vilnai meets 5 Fateh leaders to discuss cease-fire. Fateh sources say Vilnai agreed to end IDF searches for PLO militants, but IDF sources say only that Israel will reduce troop levels and ease some restrictions. Jacques Neriah, aide to PM Rabin, flies to Tunis for talks with PLO Chmn. Arafat. Arafat provides Neriah with i.d. tag of IDF soldier missing during 1982 war in Lebanon. (MM 11/30, 12/1; NYT, WP, WT 12/1)

Jordanian and Israeli officials meet in Washington for talks on economic cooperation. Working group also includes U.S., hosted by special coordinator Dennis Ross. (MM 11/30, 12/1)

VP Al Gore announces formation of "Builders for Peace," a task force to coordinate U.S. private investment in o.t. Group's co-presidents are James Zogby of Arab American Institute and frmr. U.S. Rep. Mel Levine. (WP 12/1)

U.S. and Russia introduce UNGA resolution drafted by Israel and PLO supporting DoP, Israel-Jordan common agenda. (MM 12/1)

U.S. Undersecy. of Defense Frank Wisner arrives in Jordan fr. Israel to discuss joint security cooperation. Tour also includes Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Gulf states. (MM 11/30)

CIA Director Adm. James Woolsey, appearing on CNN's "Larry King Live," acknowledges that "Israel is generally regarded as having some kind of nuclear capability" in 1st public U.S. recognition of Israeli nuclear weapons. (MM 12/1)

$7 m. wind turbine farm to supply electricity to Israel opened on Golan Heights. (MM 12/1)

Social/Economic/Political:

Occupied Palestine/Israel: Palestinian Heritage Week festival exhibit destroyed in Bir Zeit U. fire; arson suspected. Israeli army denies any involvement in Ain al-Hilweh, S. Lebanon incidents (5/17/84).

Arab World: Muslim leaders march through Sabra refugee camp, protesting murder of Ain al-Hilweh refugees by Israeli-backed militia. Lebanon's PM Karami calls for united Lebanese effort to end Israeli occupation of S. Lebanon. Large rally held in Baalbek for Shi'ite soldiers, incuding Irani Revolutionary Guard. Thousands of Druze in Israeli-occupied Golan mark 40th anniversary of death of Nur al-Din Kanj Abu Salah, waving Syrian flags and shouting slogans of allegiance to Syria.

Other Countries: UN Security Council hears PLO complaint of Israeli attacks on S. Lebanon refugee camps in closed-door session. UNRWA spokesman in Vienna reports 1 killed, 20 injured in Israeli military operations in S. Lebanon refugee camp. Washington Post reports CIA director Casey allowed Israel access to sensitive satellite photographs. Pentagon officials confirm US & Israel working toward defense pact. Yeshiva U. Talmudic law prof. Rabbi Tendler decries arrests of Jewish terrorists and calls US Jews to their defense, claiming "a Jew . . . respects human life as no one else does." Fired from his Toronto congregation for denouncing Israeli invasion of Lebanon, Rabbi Slonim addresses Canadian Arab Federation, praying for better understanding between Arabs and Jews.