The Palestine Chronology

In the West Bank, unknown assailants opened fire at a car carrying 4 settlers to Joseph’s Tomb, causing the driver to lose control of the vehicle, lightly injuring the 4 settlers. Israeli forces violently dispersed Palestinian protesters in Kafr Qaddum, injuring 5 with baton rounds and others with tear gas. Palestinians protested U.S. president Joe Biden in Bethlehem ahead of the president’s visit (see below). (JP, MDW, WAFA 7/15; PCHR 7/21; UNOCHA 7/22)

U.S. president Joe Biden continued his 4-day Middle East trip, leaving Israel for East Jerusalem and the West Bank. In East Jerusalem, President Biden visited the Augusta Victoria Hospital, announcing $100 million in aid for the East Jerusalem Hospital Network that serves Palestinians from East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza. The funding of the hospital will need U.S. congressional approval. Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump had cut U.S. funding in medical aid for the PA. Biden’s visit was the 1st by a sitting U.S. president to East Jerusalem, outside of the Old City. In Bethlehem, Biden and PA president Mahmoud Abbas met and held a press conference, where President Abbas stressed that a 2-state solution will not be tenable forever and called for accountability for Israel’s killing of Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. Additionally, Abbas called on the U.S. to reopen its consulate to Palestinians and delist the PLO from the U.S. list of terrorist organizations, saying “we are not terrorists.” Biden for his part called for a “full and transparent” investigation into the killing of Abu Akleh, voiced support for a 2-state solution along the 1967 borders with land swaps, and announced that Israel had said it would allow Palestinian phone companies to connect to 4G networks by the end of 2023. Biden also announced $201 million in funding for UNRWA and $15 million in aid for food security via the UN World Food Program and 2 NGOs. Additionally, it was reported that Israel will open the Allenby Bridge on a 24-hour basis and assess if the PA should have a presence at the crossing. It was reported by Palestinian sources that the 2 leaders gave separate statements after failing to agree on a joint statement. After meeting with President Abbas, Biden headed to Saudi Arabia where he was greeted by Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman with a “fist-bump,” despite promising during his presidential campaign to make Saudi Arabia a pariah due to Crown Prince bin Salman’s involvement in the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. It was announced by U.S. national security advisor Jake Sullivan that Saudi Arabia had opened its air space to all Israeli flights as part of the 2 countries’ path to normalization and Saudi officials said they would start discussions to approve flights from Israel to Saudi Arabia for Muslim pilgrims. Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir told CNN in an interview that his country remains committed to the Arab Peace Initiative, saying “we need to have a process, and this process needs to include the implementation of the Arab Peace Initiative. Once we have committed to a two-state settlement with a Palestinian state in the occupied territories with East Jerusalem as its capital, that’s our requirements for peace.” (ALM, HA, NYT 7/13; JP, POL, REU, TOI 7/14; AJ, AJ, AJ, AJ, ALM, ALM, AP, AP, AP, AX, AX, AX, AX, AX, AX, FOX, GDN, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, JP, MDW, MEE, MEE, NYT, NYT, REU, REU, REU, REU, REU, REU, REU, REU, REU, REU, TOI, TOI, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 7/15; AJ, ALM, AP, HA, HA, HA, JP, REU, WAFA 7/16; AJ, CNN, HA, HA, HA, INT, TOI, TOI 7/17; AJ, HA 7/18; HA 7/20; ALM 7/30)

As president Biden left the West Bank for Saudi Arabia, the UAE said it is opposed to a confrontational approach to Iran, seeking to send an ambassador to Iran to mend ties. (HA 7/15)

In the West Bank, Israeli settlers grazed their cows on Palestinian-owned land in Khirbet Samra, destroying crops. Israeli forces violently dispersed Palestinian protesters in Kafr Qaddum, injuring 4 with rubber-coated bullets, including 1 minor, and others with tear gas. Israeli forces also violently dispersed Palestinian protesters in Bayt Dajan, injuring 14 with rubber-coated bullets, including 1 medic, others with tear gas, and damaging 1 ambulance. Elsewhere, Israeli forces violently dispersed Palestinian protesters in Hebron, causing tear-gas related injuries. (MEMO, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 1/28; PCHR 2/3)

The New York Times reported that the Israeli government under then-prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu used authorization of the NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware as a bargaining chip for foreign policy gains in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Oman, India, Hungary, and Poland, among many other countries. 1 example from the NYT reporting was the reinstating of the NSO license to Saudi Arabia after the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which was directly linked to Saudi Arabia opening its airspace to Israeli flights. Saudi Arabia regained its Pegasus license the same day as Saudi crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman called Prime Minister Netanyahu, striking the deal to open Saudi air space to Israel. Similarly, the UAE restarted cooperation with Israel on security issues in 2013 after being offered Pegasus spyware. The UAE had severed ties with Israel in 2010 after Israel assassinated Mahmoud al-Mahbouh at a Dubai hotel. Another example brought out of the investigation is a correlation between Panama and Mexico changing their votes at the UN after gaining access to Pegasus spyware. The NYT also said that the NSO Group had sold its Pegasus spyware to the FBI and tried to sell a special version of its spyware product to the FBI, called Phantom. The Phantom spyware is able to hack into American phones, unlike the Pegasus spyware. The Finnish foreign ministry also said that Finnish diplomats working at Finnish missions outside of Finland were targeted by the Pegasus spyware. (AP, HA, HA, MEE, MEMO, NYT 1/28; HA 1/31)

A federal court in Texas blocked the state from enforcing its anti-BDS law against 1 Palestinian American business owner. The man filed a lawsuit against the state in October due to its requirement that he promise not to boycott Israel. (AX 1/29; WAFA 1/30)

It was reported that the African Union will vote on 2/2 to decide if Israel will have its observer status revoked. Israel was readmitted as an observer state in July 2021. (HA 1/28; JP 1/30; F24 2/1)

In the West Bank, Israeli settlers uprooted 50 olive trees in Tarqumiyah as part of an effort to make a road to the Telem settlement. Israeli forces shot and killed 1 Palestinian man near a checkpoint in the Nablus area; Israel claimed that the man had attempted ramming soldiers with his car; no soldier was injured. Israeli forces demolished a 2-story house in Nahalin; Israeli forces also violently dispersed Palestinians protesting the demolition, causing tear-gas related injuries. 1 Palestinian was arrested during a house raid in Jericho. In East Jerusalem, 1 Palestinian family demolished their own home in Jabel Mukaber, displacing 5. Israeli forces detained 3 Palestinian minors and seized their Palestinian flags after they had raised the flags on the Haram al-Sharif compound. 4 others were arrested in the Old City. In Israel, the Israeli member of the Knesset from the Religious Zionist party Itamar Ben-Gvir threatened 2 Palestinian Israeli parking garage employees with a gun when the 2 told Ben-Gvir not to park in a prohibited zone. (AP, HA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 12/21; MEE, MEMO, WAFA, WAFA 12/22; MEMO, PCHR 12/23)

Israeli media reported that Israel had handed over 2 Palestinians to the PA. The 2 were allegedly wanted by the PA when they were arrested in Israel. (MEMO 12/23)

PA president Mahmoud Abbas met with U.S. acting assistant secretary of state for Near East Affairs Yael Lambert in Ramallah. (WAFA 12/21)

The Fatah central committee convened without making any significant announcements. (WAFA 12/21)

Hamas spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri said Hamas supports reconciliation talks with Fatah sponsored by Algeria. The talks were 1st announced by Algeria during a meeting between president Abdelmadjid Tebboune and PA president Mahmoud Abbas in Algiers on 12/6. (MEMO 12/22)

United Arab List leader Mansour Abbas said during a conference hosted by the Hebrew newspaper Globes that “Israel was born as a Jewish state. And that was the decision of the Jewish people, to establish a Jewish state. The question is not ‘what is the identity of the state?’ That’s how the state was born, and so it will remain.” Leader of the Joint List coalition Ayman Odeh criticized Abbas’s remarks, saying that “the state’s identity should interest every citizen.” PA president Mahmoud Abbas also criticized Mansour Abbas for his comments, saying that he has abandoned his own people to side with the “Zionist colonial project.” (JP, TOI 12/21; ALM, WAFA, WAFA 12/22; HA, MEMO 12/23; HA 12/25)

U.S. national security advisor Jake Sullivan met with Israeli president Isaac Herzog. President Herzog had said before the meeting he would raise with Security Advisor Sullivan his desire to have the yeshiva in the evacuated settlement outpost Homesh remain. 1 Israeli settler was killed at the Homesh outpost on 12/16. Meanwhile, Israeli Channel 13 reported that U.S. president Joe Biden ignored a request from Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett for a phone meeting. (TOI 12/22; ALM 12/28)

AP reported that former head of the Israeli military intelligence directorate Tamir Heyman acknowledged that Israel took part in the U.S. assassination of Iranian general Qassim Soleimani on 1/2/2020. (ABC, HILL, MEMO 12/21)

The Washington Post reported that the UAE had planted NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware on Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s then-fiancée’s phone prior to the killing of Khashoggi. The Post reported that Hanan Elatr’s devices were hacked while she was in Dubai airport due to her job as a flight attendant. While in Dubai airport, Elatr was detained and questioned as agents planted the Pegasus spyware on her devices. The Citizen Lab research group confirmed that the Pegasus spyware had been planted on her phone prior to the killing of Khashoggi. AP also reported that Citizen Lab had found Pegasus spyware on phones belonging to a Polish lawyer and a Polish prosecutor known to publicly oppose the right-wing Polish government’s attempts to undermine the judicial branch of government. (AJ, AP, HA, WP 12/21)

UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process Tor Wennesland called on Israel to cease settlement activities and displacement of Palestinians in East Jerusalem during a UN security council meeting. Special Coordinator Wennesland also warned that an increase in settler violence in the West Bank could ignite tensions between Hamas and Israel. (MEMO, MEMO 12/22)

In the West Bank, Israeli forces closed off large parts of Hebron to Palestinians, including forcing Palestinians to close their shops in the Bab al-Zawyeh area to allow Israeli settlers to tour it. Israeli forces also seized an excavator in Burin. 7 Palestinians were arrested, including 5 during late-night raids in and around Bethlehem, Burqin, and Deir Ghasana, 1 was arrested at a checkpoint near al-Khader, and 1 was arrested at the entrance to Zabbuba. In East Jerusalem, nearly 1,700 Israeli settlers toured the Haram al-Sharif compound on the Jewish holiday Tisha B’Av, drawing criticism from the Israeli governing party the United Arab List, the PA, Hamas, the EU, and Jordan. Israeli forces violently dispersed Palestinian protesters on and around the Haram al-Sharif compound who were expressing anger over the settler incursion, causing injuries and 5 arrests. (AJ, AP, HA, HA, MEMO, MEMO, REU, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 7/18; MEMO, MEMO 7/19; PCHR 7/29)

The Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt was open for 1 day. (MEMO, WAFA 7/19)

In a statement after the Israeli settlers had toured the Haram al-Sharif compound, Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett said the Israeli security forces had preserved “freedom of worship for Jews on the Mound [the Haram al-Sharif compound],” a significant departure from the status quo of the Holy Sites and a 1st from an Israeli prime minister. Under the status quo agreement, only Muslims have the right to worship on the Haram al-Sharif compound. 1 day later, Prime Minister Bennett clarified that the wording was a mistake and that he meant “visit” rather than “worship.” (HA, MEMO 7/18; AP, HA, JP, WAFA 7/19)

The Israeli high court of justice rejected a petition from Peace Now to stop the transfer of Israeli public funds to the Amana movement, which funds and builds unauthorized constructions in Israeli settlements and settlement outposts. (HA 7/19)

Israeli foreign minister Yair Lapid said that the Israeli government would examine the diplomatic ramifications of the demolition and eviction of the bedouin community Khan al-Ahmar. (HA 7/18; MEMO 7/19)

The PFLP-GC said it had elected a new leader, Talal Naji, to replace Ahmed Jibril who died on 7/7 after months of sickness. (AP, HA 7/18)

17 news outlets published a Forbidden Stories and Amnesty International investigation based on a leak of more than 50,000 records of phone numbers, which had been targeted for surveillance with Pegasus spyware from the Israeli spyware company NSO Group’s clients. The investigation found that at least 180 journalists from 21 countries had been targeted by 12 NSO Group clients, including the governments of Bahrain, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, India, the UAE, Mexico, Hungary, Azerbaijan, Togo, and Rwanda. The investigation also found that heads of governments, including Pakistan’s prime minister Imran Khan, France’s president Emmanuel Macron, and Morocco’s king Mohammed VI, were among possible victims. Furthermore, the investigation showed that Pegasus spyware was installed on Saudi dissent journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s fiancée’s phone and that his son had been listed for targeting before Khashoggi was murdered by special forces in Saudi’s embassy in Istanbul on 10/2/2018. Charges against NSO Group that its spyware was used against Khashoggi have been denied by the company. The Israeli government approves all sales of spyware from NSO Group to potential clients. Amazon subsequently said it had shut down its servers used by NSO Group. The investigation comes as a different investigation into another Israeli spyware company Candiru was released on 7/15. Later, after the Forbidden Stories investigation was published and with international criticism mounting, the Knesset’s foreign affairs and defense committee chairman Ram Ben Barak on 7/22 said that his committee would review the process of granting licenses to export spyware to other countries. France and Luxembourg said they would start investigations into the Israeli-made spyware. (NYT 7/17; AI, AJ, F24, GDN, HA, HA, HA, HA, MEE, NYT 7/18; AJ, ALM, AP, GDN, MEE, MEE, MEMO, MEMO, NPR, REU, REU 7/19; AJ, ALM, AP, AP, HA, HA, HA, MEE, REU 7/20; AJ, AP, HA, HA, MEE, MEE, MEE, MEMO, MEMO, MEMO, REU, REU, REU 7/21; AJ, ALM, BBC, HA, HA, HA, HA, MEE, MEE 7/22; HA, MEE, MEE 7/23; CNN, HILL 7/25)

In the West Bank, Israeli settlers stormed Kafr Haris, closing the area to Palestinians. Israeli settlers also uprooted 20 olive saplings in Kisan. Elsewhere, Israeli settlers and Israeli forces forced 4 families of Palestinian-Israelis picnicking near Jibiya to leave the area saying they were not allowed to be in the area; 1 of the settlers Zvi Bar Yosef has been filmed harassing Palestinians in the area before. Israeli settlers also hid metal rods in a road in Kafr Malik puncturing the wheels of a tractor. Israeli forces shot and injured 1 Palestinian minor with live ammunition near Ramallah. Israeli forces also violently dispersed protesters in Kafr Qaddum, Hebron, Bayt Dajan, and Dayr Jarir, leading to tear-gas related injuries; 1 Palestinian minor was taken to a hospital after being hit with a rubber-coated bullet during the protest in Kafr Qaddum. 2 Palestinians were arrested while riding a motorcycle in Ya‘bad. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces seized tents sheltering a family who’s house was demolished on 2/21 in Issawiyya. 3 Palestinians were arrested in Silwan and al-Tur. Off the coast of Gaza, Israeli naval forces opened fire at Palestinian fishermen within 6 nautical miles west of Bayt Lahiya; no injuries were reported. In Gaza, Israeli forces opened fire at Palestinian farmers east of Khan Yunis; no injuries were reported. In Israel, Israeli police violently dispersed a protest in Umm al-Fahm against gun violence in the Palestinian-Israeli community; several people were reported injured, including the mayor of Umm al-Fahm, MK Yousef Jabareen, and 1 Israeli police officer. (HA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 2/26; WAFA 2/27; HA 3/2; PCHR 3/4)

All checkpoints to Gaza and the West Bank were closed by Israel for the Purim holiday. Closures are expected to last until the evening of 2/28. (HA 2/25)

1 Palestinian man who is a resident of Israel and Gaza was indicted by Israel for providing intelligence about locations of Israeli Iron Dome batteries to Hamas. (HA 2/26)

The U.S. released a declassified report that concluded that Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman is responsible for the murder of U.S. resident and journalist Jamal Khashoggi on 10/2/2018. Despite publishing that the administration had reaching that conclusion the Biden administration said it would not move to punish Mohammed bin Salman. President Joe Biden said during his presidential campaign that he would hold Saudi Arabia accountable for its actions after the Saudi royal family had been shielded by the Trump administration. (CNN, CNN, NPR, NYT, NYT 2/26; AJ, GDN 1/3)

European members of the UN security council, Estonia, France, Ireland, Norway, and the UK, issued a joint statement expressing deep concern “at the recent repeated demolitions and confiscation of items, including of EU- and donor-funded structures carried out by Israeli authorities at Humsa Al-Baqaia in the Jordan Valley.” (AJ 2/27; WAFA 2/28)