The Palestine Chronology

In the West Bank, Israeli forces seized a tractor from a Palestinian farmer in al-Shuyukh. Off the coast of Gaza, 1 Palestinian fisherman was injured when Israeli naval forces fired rubber-coated bullets at him. (PCHR, WAFA, WAFA 4/8; PCHR 4/9)

11 members of U.S. congress issued a statement expressing concern about reports that Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former political rival Benny Gantz had agreed to a unity government partly based on annexation of parts of the West Bank. The statement said that the effects of such an annexation “could yield additional [coupled with the COVID-19 virus] catastrophic consequences for all parties in the region and beyond.” The 11 members issuing the statement were David Price (D-NC), Alan Lowenthal (D-CA), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Gerald Connolly (D-VA), Peter Welch (D-VT), John Yarmuth (D-KY), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Andy Levin (D-MI), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Deb Haaland (D-NM), and Lloyd Doggett (D-TX). (David Price 4/8; WAFA 4/9)

The UK contributed with $1 million and materials through UNICEF and the World Health Organization to help fight the spread of the COVID-19 virus in the West Bank and Gaza. (WAFA 4/8)

In the West Bank, Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian herders in al-Twana, injuring 1 who was treated at a hospital. Israeli forces violently dispersed Palestinians during the weekly anti-settlement protests in Kafr Qaddum; 1 Palestinian was injured by a rubber-coated bullet, others suffered tear-gas related injuries. In Gaza, Israel struck targets belonging to Hamas after a rocket was fired at Israel. Israeli authorities said it believed that Hamas operatives did not fire the rocket. Israeli forces also opened fire on agricultural lands east of Dayr al-Balah; no injuries were reported. Off the coast of Gaza, Israeli naval forces opened fire on Palestinian fishermen 2 nautical miles west of Bayt Lahiya; no injuries were reported. (WAFA, WAFA 3/27; WAFA 3/28; HA 3/29; PCHR 4/2)

In a letter to the U.S. State Department, 6 senators from the Democratic Party urged the Trump administration to release the funds allocated to humanitarian aid for Palestinians by U.S. congress to help curb the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Congress had allocated $75 million in aid to Palestinians for the 2020 fiscal year. The 6 senators who signed the letter were Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Tom Udall (D-NM), Tom Carper (D-DE), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Bernie Sanders (D-VT). (WAFA 3/28; HA, HILL 3/30)