The Palestine Chronology

In the West Bank, 6 Israeli settlers attacked 3 Red Cross workers monitoring the olive harvest with pepper spray in Burin. Israeli settlers also uprooted 25 olive saplings in al-Masara. Israeli forces demolished 4 Palestinian stores under construction in Deir Qaddis. Israeli forces also delivered stop-work orders for 4 houses under construction in Idhna. 8 Palestinians were arrested, including 6 during late-night raids in Dheisheh refugee camp, Hebron, Beit Umar, and Dura; 1 was arrested at the Container checkpoint and 1 in his shop in Arrabah. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces violently dispersed Palestinians protesting the demolition of graves at al-Yusufiya Muslim cemetery; 1 was arrested. (HA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 10/26; MEMO 10/27; PCHR 10/28)

Israel’s public security minister Omer Bar-Lev ordered a ban on a cultural festival put on by the Catholic Church, claiming it was connected to the PA. The festival funded by Austria and France was set to take place for 3 days at Beit Abraham at the Mount of Olives in East Jerusalem. Israeli forces closed a performance attended by the French consulate general. The organizer Bernard Thibaud said he was shocked by the Israeli behavior and would speak to the French foreign ministry to complain and possibly take Israel to court. (HA 10/26; I24 10/27; WAFA 10/28)

The U.S. state department said it was “deeply concerned about the Israeli government’s plan to advance thousands of settlement units, many of them deep in the West Bank. In addition, we are concerned about the publication of tenders on Sunday [10/24] for 1,300 settlement units in a number of West Bank settlements.” Haaretz reported that U.S. officials secretly had conveyed to Israel that the main concern for the U.S. is construction deep within the West Bank. When asked about the state department’s harsher tone toward Israel, state department spokesperson Ned Price said, “our public messaging on this is consistent with what we are seeing transpire so far. It only stands to reason that our public messaging may shift over time.” It was later reported by Axios that secretary of state Antony Blinken had a “tense” phone call with Israeli defense minister Benny Gantz over the issue of settlements. According to an Israeli official, the Israeli understanding was that the U.S. gave Israel a “yellow card,” a soccer reference for a warning. (AJ, AX, DW, FOX, HA, HILL, REU, TOI, TOI 10/26; ALM, AX, MDW, TOI 10/27)

Israel rebuked the U.S. statement that the U.S. had not been informed about Israel’s decision, from 10/22, to designate 6 Palestinian rights organizations as terrorists. The Israeli deputy director-general of strategic affairs in the foreign ministry Joshua Zarka said that he had told the U.S. about the Israeli decision when he visited the U.S. the week of the announcement. Deputy Director Zarka said that Spokesperson Price probably had not been updated on the issue. UN human rights commissioner Michelle Bachelet also condemned the terrorist designations by Israel, saying they should be overturned immediately. The Swedish foreign ministry said Israel had made such allegations before but never provided evidence. (HA 10/25; HA, HA, MEMO, WAFA 10/26)

An Israeli private jet landed in Saudi Arabia, marking the 1st time a direct flight from Israel landed in the country. On 10/25, the 1st ever direct flight from Saudi Arabia landed in Israel. It was an aircraft registered in the UAE. (JP, MEMO 10/27)

Israel launched a 2-day military drill, Southern Storm, simulating war with Hamas in Gaza. (TOI 10/26)

The U.S. secretary of homeland security Alejandro Mayorkas said Israel was among 4 countries the U.S. is considering for its visa waiver program. The subject of an Israeli visa waiver was discussed when Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett met President Joe Biden in August. (REU 10/26; HA, TOI 10/27)

It was announced by Israel that the country will join the EU Horizon Europe research program. The program provides funding for research and innovation and has a budget of $110 billion. Israel will be prohibited from using program funds to invest in East Jerusalem, the Golan Heights, and the West Bank, according to the deal with the EU. Israel will formally join the EU program in December. (HA 10/26; MEMO 10/27)

Republican senators in the U.S. congress introduced a bill co-sponsored by 35 senators seeking to block the Biden administration from reopening the U.S. mission to Palestinians in Jerusalem. The bill “Upholding the 1995 Jerusalem Embassy Law of 2021” was introduced by Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Bill Hagerty (R-TN). (TOI 10/27)

In the West Bank, Israeli settlers attacked 2 Israeli soldiers and 1 Palestinian man with tear gas when the 2 soldiers were asking the Palestinian about settler vandalism at al-Mughayyir near the Adei Ad settlement outpost. Israeli settlers from the Ariel settlement also vandalized Palestinian property in Marda, spraying racist graffiti on walls and vehicles and puncturing tires. Elsewhere, Israeli settlers stole olive harvesting equipment in Burin. Israeli forces issued a demolition notice for a newly built road connecting Ya‘bad and Khirbat Emreha. Israeli forces also delivered notices for the seizure of 40 dunams (9.9 acres) of land in Yasuf. 10 Palestinians were arrested during late-night raids in and around ‘Azzun, Beita, Burqa, Nawawrah, Beit Umar, and Hebron; during the raid in Beit Umar, Israeli forces damaged 2 vehicles and fired tear gas at Palestinians confronting the soldiers. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces violently dispersed Palestinians from the Damascus Gate plaza, forcing them to leave the area. Off the coast of Gaza, Israeli naval forces opened fire at Palestinian fishermen within 6 nautical miles west of Gaza; no injuries were reported. (HA, MEMO, TOI, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 10/13; HA, PCHR 10/14; AJ 10/17)

The Jerusalem local planning committee approved the expropriation of land in the planned East Jerusalem Israeli settlement of Givat Hamatos, where 1,257 housing units are planned, along with filing plans to expand Pisgat Ze’ev. (AJ, HA, MEE, MEMO 10/14; AP, TOI 10/15)

Some 400 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons started an open-ended hunger strike to protest new restrictions imposed after 6 prisoners escaped Gilboa prison on 9/6. (MEMO, WAFA 10/14)

In Syria, Syrian officials said Israel had conducted an air strike near Palmyra, targeting a telecommunications tower and causing damage. Russia said that the Syrian air defense system did not engage the Israeli-fired missiles because the Israeli jets firing them were using civilian airplanes as cover. 9 people were killed in the attack, according to the London-based Syrian opposition group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. (AP 10/13; TOI 10/15)

Chairman of the Religious Zionist party Bezalel Smotrich told Palestinian Israeli lawmakers during a Knesset discussion that they are only in Israel because “Ben-Gurion didn’t finish the job and throw you out in 1948.” Smotrich also called the lawmakers “terror supporters.” (HA 10/13; MEMO 10/14)

Israel’s regional cooperation minister Issawi Frej and deputy minister of foreign affairs Idan Roll met with Sudanese justice minister Nasredeen Abdulbari in Dubai. They talked about promoting future projects between the 2 countries and how to further their normalization deal. (AP 10/13; ALM 10/14)

U.S. secretary of state Antony Blinken met with Israeli foreign minister Yair Lapid and later had a trilateral meeting with Foreign Minister Lapid and foreign minister of the UAE Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Washington D.C. During a press conference, Secretary Blinken said that the U.S. is moving forward with reopening the U.S. consulate to Palestinians in Jerusalem, despite Israeli opposition. Lapid also later confirmed that the U.S. had raised the issue of Israeli settlement expansion during his meetings with U.S. officials. (AJ, ALM, AX, HA, HA, MEE, REU, REU 10/13; AP, REU 10/14)

In the West Bank, Israeli settlers assaulted Palestinians outside of al-Ibrahimi Mosque. Israeli forces violently dispersed Palestinians protesting the closure of the eastern entrance to al-Mughayyir, leading to tear-gas related injuries. Israeli forces also violently dispersed Palestinian protesters in al-Twana, injuring several by hitting them with rifle butts and tear gas, and 1 was injured by a sound bomb to his head; Israel later opened an investigation into the incident as 6 Israeli activists and 2 Palestinians were said to have been physically attacked by the Israeli forces. Elsewhere, Israeli forces violently dispersed a protest in Beita, injuring 2 with rubber-coated bullets and others with tear gas. Israeli forces also violently dispersed Palestinian protesters in Bayt Dajan, injuring 2 with rubber-coated bullets and others suffered tear-gas related injuries. 4 Palestinians were arrested including 1 at his work in Beit Umar, and 3 at checkpoints in Hebron and Bethlehem. In East Jerusalem, Palestinians threw stones and Molotov cocktails at Israeli military vehicles in Silwan before being bombarded with tear gas and rubber-coated bullets. A similar scenario unfolded in al-Ram and 1 Palestinian was injured by a rubber-coated bullet. Israeli forces also violently dispersed a protest in Sheikh Jarrah, assaulting Palestinians and confiscating Palestinian flags. 1 was arrested during a house raid in the Old City. In West Jerusalem, 1 Palestinian bus driver was stabbed and injured by 3 Jewish Israelis in the Givat Shaul neighborhood. (MEE, MEMO, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 9/17; MEMO 9/18; HA, HA, HA 9/19; PCHR 9/23)

It was reported that the Israeli prison service had agreed to move all Islamic Jihad prisoners back to their original cells after dispersing them to various prisons in the immediate aftermath of the Gilboa prison break on 9/6. (HA 9/17)

The U.S. marked the 1-year anniversary of the normalization deals between Israel and the UAE, Bahrain, and Morocco in a video event. U.S. secretary of state Antony Blinken said that the Biden administration will continue to build on the normalization deals. Israel’s foreign minister Yair Lapid called on the Arab countries to help promote his plan for stabilizing Gaza through investment, while Israel continues its blockade of Gaza. Morocco and the UAE called on Israel to negotiate a 2-state solution with Palestine. Sudan was not represented at the event. (AJ, AP, HA, HA, MEE, MEMO, REU 9/17)

In the West Bank, Israeli forces shot and killed 1 Palestinian using live ammunition after violently dispersing Palestinians who were confronting raiding Israeli settlers in Qusra; 2 other Palestinians were also shot and injured. Israeli forces also violently dispersed Palestinians in al-Arroub refugee camp, leading to tear-gas related injuries. Hundreds of Palestinians protested against the PA in Ramallah, expressing anger over the canceled elections and the killing of Nizar Banat by PA forces on 6/24. Israeli forces arrested 1 Palestinian during a late-night raid in Beit Umar. In Gaza, Israeli forces conducted air strikes south of Gaza City and Jabalia refugee camp, causing damage and minor injuries to 2 Palestinians. The Israeli military said it was responding to incendiary balloons sent from Gaza toward Israel. Israeli forces also opened fire on agricultural lands east of Khuza‘a; no injuries were reported. (AJ, AJ, AP, AP, HA, HA, HA, MEE, REU, WAFA, WAFA 7/3; MEE, MEMO, PCHR, WAFA 7/4; PCHR 7/8)

PA president Mahmoud Abbas renewed the COVID-19-related state of emergency for another 30 days; the state of emergency was 1st declared in 3/2020. (WAFA 7/3)

A cargo ship previously owned by an Israeli company was hit by an object while traveling between Saudi Arabia and the UAE, causing light damage. (HA 7/3; AJ, MEMO 7/4)