The Palestine Chronology

In the West Bank, 4 Israeli soldiers were injured by an explosive device thrown at them at a military checkpoint near Nabi Saleh. Israeli settlers threw stones at Palestinian vehicles near the Ofra settlement, seriously injuring 1 Palestinian. Israeli forces shot and killed 1 Palestinian and injured 1 other during a raid in Qabatiya; 5 were arrested. Israeli forces also delivered a demolition notice against retaining walls in al-Khader. 12 Palestinians were arrested during late-night raids in Ramallah, al-Bireh, Nablus, Qabalan, Hebron, and Bani Na’im. (ABC, AJ, AP, HA, MEE, MEMO, NA, PCHR, REU, TOI, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 9/5; PCHR 9/8; UNOCHA 9/16)

Israel said its probe into the death of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh found that an Israeli soldier “highly probably” shot and killed Abu Akleh in Jenin on 5/11. The Israeli army claimed that Abu Akleh likely was shot by a soldier using a telescopic scope, misidentifying Abu Akleh as a Palestinian militant during crossfire. Abu Akleh was wearing a vest and helmet clearly marking her as a journalist and eyewitnesses and several independent investigations have concluded that no crossfire happened during the killing of Abu Akleh. The Israeli military advocate general’s office said that it will not open an investigation into any potential wrongdoing by any of the soldiers involved. PA president Mahmoud Abbas condemned Israel’s report, calling it “another Israeli attempt to evade responsibility for murder.” U.S. state department spokesperson Ned Price said “[w]e welcome Israel’s review of this tragic incident, and again underscore the importance of accountability in this case, such as policies and procedures to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.” (AA, AJ, AJ, AJ, AX, DW, FOX, GDN, HA, HA, HA, MDW, MEE, MEMO, NBC, NPR, NYT, REU, TOI, SKY, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WSJ 9/5; AJ, AP, CNN, HA, HA, JP, MEMO, REU, WAFA 9/6; ALM, GDN, MEE, MEMO 9/7; AP, HA 9/8; HA 9/12)

Haaretz reported that the Israeli civil administration was seeking to legalize 30 of 35 agricultural settlement outposts using a new regulation that allows legalizing outposts on “state land.” The move will need the approval of the defense minister and justice ministry. (HA, HA, MEE 9/5)

The Jerusalem municipality planning and building committee approved construction of 700 new settlement units in East Jerusalem in the Givat HaShaked settlement adjacent to Beit Safafa. In addition to the housing units, a school and commercial buildings were also approved. (ABC, AP, HA, PCN 9/5; MEMO 9/7)

Israel delayed the implementation of new regulations for foreigners visiting the West Bank outside of Israeli settlements after criticism from the U.S. and others. The coordinator of government activities in the territories (COGAT) also updated the new regulations called “Procedure for entry and residence of foreigners in the Judea and Samaria area,” scrapping some of the most controversial new rules, such as forcing foreign spouses of Palestinians to leave the West Bank for a minimum of 6 months for a “cooling off” period and requiring foreigners to tell the Israeli government if they have started a relationship with a Palestinian resident of the West Bank. U.S. ambassador to Israel Tom Nides expressed concerns regarding Israeli limitations to who can study and teach at Palestinian academic institutions. The regulations were originally released by COGAT in April. PA prime minister Mohammed Shtayyeh called the regulations racist and said they were aimed at Palestinians with foreign passports. (MEE, TOI, WAFA 9/3; JP, MEMO, TOI 9/4; AJ, AJ, AP, CNN, MDW, MEE, MEMO, WAFA, WAFA 9/5; HA 9/7)

The EU provided $35 million to the PA to help pay for salaries and pensions for August. (WAFA 9/5)

In the West Bank, Israeli forces violently dispersed Palestinian protesters in Hebron, injuring 1 child with live ammunition. Israeli forces also violently dispersed Palestinian protesters in Taqqua, causing tear-gas related injuries. Elsewhere, Israeli forces delivered a demolition notice for an EU-funded school in al-Samiya. Israeli forces also demolished 1 house and 1 agricultural structure in al-‘Awja and 1 carpentry shop in Husan, and delivered 4 demolition orders for houses in Fasayil. 11 Palestinians were arrested in al-Mughayyir, Deir Jarir, Abud, Jaba‘, al-Khader, and Bethlehem. In East Jerusalem, 1 Palestinian family demolished their own home in Bayt Hanina, displacing 6, including 4 children. 3 Palestinians were arrested at the Mount of Olives. (WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 8/10; MEMO, PCHR 8/11; AN 8/15; UNOCHA 8/19)

The Israeli government told the supreme court that the Homesh settlement outpost will be evacuated, but that no time frame has been set. (HA 8/10)

PA prime minister Mohammed Shtayyeh met with Türkiye president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Konya. Prime minister Shtayyeh also met with president of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev. (WAFA 8/10)

U.S. ambassador to Israel Tom Nides said in an interview that the U.S. fully backed Israel’s attack on Gaza over the weekend, calling Islamic Jihad “bad guys.” Ambassador Nides further said that the U.S. was not informed about Israel’s Operation Breaking Dawn beforehand but was not surprised. (TOI 8/11)

In the West Bank, Israeli settlers raided Burqa but were chased away by Palestinian residents; no injuries were reported. Israeli settlers also uprooted some 200 olive tree saplings in Khallet Hassan and stole 4 sheep in Kafr Malik. Israeli forces shot and killed 1 Palestinian man and injured 6 others with live ammunition during a raid in Qalandia refugee camp. Israeli forces also shot and killed 1 Palestinian minor and injured 3 others with live ammunition and a concussion bomb during a raid in Balata refugee camp. Elsewhere, Israeli forces delivered demolition notices for 7 Palestinian-owned homes west of Jericho and razed lands in Beit Safafa. 21 Palestinians were arrested during late-night raids in Qalandia refugee camp, Balata refugee camp, Jenin, Salfit, Ramallah, Hebron, and Bethlehem. In the Naqab, Israeli undercover forces shot and killed 1 Palestinian man during an arrest raid in Rahat; an autopsy later contradicted the Israeli forces’ explanation that the man was pointing a gun at them when he was killed, as it revealed that he was shot twice in the back. Israeli authorities also demolished 2 Palestinian-owned homes in Umm al-Fahm. (AJ, AP, HA, HA, MEE, MEMO, MEMO, PCHR, REU, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 3/15; MEMO, MEMO, MEMO 3/16; HA, PCHR 3/17; UNOCHA 3/25)

The security coordinator at the Gilad settlement outpost was arrested by Israeli forces on suspicion of having aided settler vandalism in Fara‘ata in the West Bank on 3/14. Another security guard at the settlement was also arrested for partaking in the vandalism. (HA 3/17)

The Israeli supreme court voted to uphold the Israeli ministry of justice’s decision to seize 7.5 acres of land owned by residents in the Israeli town of Taibeh, using the Absentee Property Law despite the Palestinian owners not having left their property during the Nakba. The ministry of justice decided to seize the land in 2017 after the owners applied to fill a quarry to convert into agricultural lands. Furthermore, the 3 supreme court justices ruled that the families must pay $9,100 in court fees. (HA 3/15; HA 3/18)

The EU delayed its annual $236 million aid to the PA and various Palestinian civil society projects, as a Hungarian representative wanted to condition the aid on removing “incitement” from Palestinian schoolbooks. The European Commission will have to rule on the Hungarian demand before the aid can be released to the PA. PA representatives told Haaretz that the Hungarian delegate is behaving like the Israeli far-right by raising demands on conditioning aid to Palestine. PA foreign minister Riyad al-Maliki has told the Hungarian delegate that the PA will not accept the demand. (HA 3/15; WAFA 3/16)

U.S. ambassador to Israel Tom Nides told Americans for Peace Now, during a virtual event, that he is infuriated by Israeli settlement expansion but that he is unable to stop it. He further stated that he did everything in his capacity to stop Israeli plans to construct settlements in the E1 area. Ambassador Nides also said that the U.S. wants to reopen its consulate to Palestinians in Jerusalem but that the Israelis are “aggressively” opposing it and that both Israel and the PA are making “too big a deal” over the issue. Lastly, Nides rejected the idea that the Palestinians can be bought off by economic incentives as they do not see this as a trade-off for political negotiations. (JP 3/16; MEMO, WAFA 3/17)

More than 500 Google employees signed a petition in protest over Google’s decision to relocate 1 Jewish employee from the U.S. to Brazil after she voiced criticism of Google’s contract with the Israeli cloud server Project Nimbus. The Google employee said the company was attempting to force her out of her job by giving her 17 days to agree to relocate to São Paulo. (LAT 3/15; JP, MEMO, TOI, WAFA 3/17)

In the West Bank, Israeli settlers uprooted 50 olive trees in Kafr ad-Dik. Israeli settlers also attacked Palestinian herders in Kisan and let their dogs attack Palestinian-owned sheep. Israeli forces delivered a demolition order against 1 EU-funded school in Ras al-Tin, affecting some 50 students from 1st to 6th grade, 2 water tanks, an agricultural structure, and a residential caravan in Atuf, and a stop-work order for a cemetery in Idhna. 15 Palestinians were arrested during late-night raids in al-Twana, Beit Umar, Bethlehem, Beit Fajjar, al-Lubban al-Sharqiya, Beita, Jaba‘, and Qabatiya. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces violently removed a local activist in Sheikh Jarrah who had set up an outdoor “office” in protest over MK Itamar Ben-Gvir’s provocative field office in the neighborhood. 1 Palestinian family received a notice to demolish their own home in Jabel Mukaber. 1 Palestinian was arrested during a raid in Isawiya. (MEE, MEMO, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 2/16; PCHR 2/17; UNOCHA 2/28)

17 Israeli settlers were arrested for suspicion of assault and racially motivated vandalism for a raid against Palestinians and property in Huwwara on 1/24. 3 Palestinians were injured and several shops were damaged. (HA 2/16)

PA president Mahmoud Abbas met with İbrahim Kalın, senior advisor to Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and Turkish deputy foreign minister Sedat Önal in Ramallah before the 2 Turkish representatives were scheduled to meet Israeli president Isaac Herzog. (ALM, HA 2/17)

Axios reported that the U.S. Biden administration, through ambassador Tom Nides, has urged Israel to deescalate the situation in Sheikh Jarrah to avoid a larger scale conflict. (AX 2/16)

Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) spoke at the Knesset, calling the establishment of Israel “the greatest political achievement of the 20th century.” Accompanying Speaker Pelosi to Israel were house representatives Adam Schiff (D-CA), Ted Deutch (D-FL), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Bill Keating (D-MA), Eric Swalwell (D-CA), Ro Khanna (D-CA), and Andy Kim (D-NJ). Pelosi also met with President Herzog, addressing the Iran Nuclear Deal. The American representatives also met with members of Palestinian civil society and were given a tour of East Jerusalem by settlement expert Daniel Seidemann. (MDW 2/14; AP, HA, MEE 2/16; HA, TOI 2/17; HA 2/22)