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  • September 14, 2022

    In the West Bank, 2 Palestinians, including a member of the PA security service’s intelligence branch, and the Israeli deputy commander of the Nahal brigade’s special reconnaissance unit, were...

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  • August 17, 2022

    In the West Bank, Israeli settlers threw stones at Palestinian vehicles near Ya‘bad. Israeli forces shot and killed 1 Palestinian and injured 5 Palestinians with live ammunition during a late-...

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In the West Bank, 2 Palestinians, including a member of the PA security service’s intelligence branch, and the Israeli deputy commander of the Nahal brigade’s special reconnaissance unit, were killed during an exchange of gunfire near the Jalamah checkpoint. Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades said the 2 Palestinians were members of its organization. Israeli forces raided Burqa, causing tear-gas related injuries. Israeli forces also demolished 2 agricultural structures and 20 olive trees in Rujeib, delivered stop-work notices for 1 house and 1 agricultural structure in Husan and demolition notices against 3 residential tents in Ras al-Ahmar. Elsewhere, Israeli forces seized 2 residential tents in the Masafer Yatta area. 12 Palestinians were arrested during late-night raids in Jamma‘in, ‘Ayn Bus, Nablus, al-Janiya, Silwad, and Hebron. In East Jerusalem, 2 Palestinians were arrested, including 1 at a checkpoint and 1 in Isawiya. (AJ, AP, HA, HA, MEE, MEMO, REU, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 9/14; HA, PCHR 9/15; UNOCHA 9/16; UNOCHA 9/30)

Israel shut down the Jalamah and Salem checkpoints and prohibited Palestinians from Kafr Dan from entering Israel as a punitive measure for the early morning shooting (see above). Both the Palestinians killed were from Kafr Dan. (HA 9/14)

It was reported that Palestinian children in Tuba had been unable to attend school for 2 days as Israeli soldiers began refusing escorting the children to their school. Since 2004, Israeli soldiers have escorted children in Tuba to their school to protect them from settler attacks. Residents in Tuba said they believe canceling the escorting of the children was related to an incident on 9/12 where 1 Israeli settler was reported injured nearby after armed Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians working their land. The Israeli military said that they had not changed their policy, but had decided to temporarily cancel the escorts. (HA 9/14)

The U.S. senate foreign relations committee passed an amendment to the Manager’s package of the State Department Authorization Act, requiring secretary of state Antony Blinken to submit a report on the circumstances surround the killing of Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. (HA 9/15; WAFA 9/16)

U.S. assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs Barbara Leaf told reporters that the U.S. is concerned about the security situation in the West Bank and cited economic conditions as a direct factor. (AX, HA 9/14; MEMO 9/15)

Axios reported that the EU special envoy for the Israeli-Palestinian peace process Sven Koopmans had complained to the Israeli foreign ministry that his requests for meetings with prime minister Yair Lapid, president Isaac Herzog, and defense minister Benny Gantz had been denied. (AX 9/14)

In an interview with the French newspaper Le Point, Qatari leader Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani dismissed the idea of normalizing relations with Israel, saying “are things normal in Israel? No! There are still occupied Arab lands, refugees who have not been able to return to their homes for over 70 years, Muslims and Christians, living under siege in Gaza.” Sheikh Al Thani further called the “Israeli-Palestinian question” the most important, saying there will not be peace in the Middle East without it being solved. (HA, LePoint 9/14)

UN commissioner Lynn Welchman criticized Israel for its air strike on the Damascus Airport in June, which suspended UN deliveries of humanitarian aid to Syrians. (AP, HA, REU 9/14; MEE 9/15)

The Washington Post reported that in the upcoming book, The Divider: Trump in the White House, 2017-2021 by Peter Baker and Susan Glasser, it is said that former U.S. president Donald Trump offered King Abdullah II of Jordan the West Bank. According to the authors’ sources, King Abdullah said he thought he was having a heart attack when he was made the offer. (WP 9/14; HA, JP, MEE, TOI 9/15)

In the West Bank, Israeli settlers threw stones at Palestinian vehicles near Ya‘bad. Israeli forces shot and killed 1 Palestinian and injured 5 Palestinians with live ammunition during a late-night raid in Balata refugee camp while securing the Joseph’s Tomb site for a settler incursion; others sustained tear-gas related injuries. Israeli forces also demolished 4 agricultural structures in Kafr ad-Dik and 1 agricultural structure in Bruqin. Elsewhere, Israeli forces delivered stop-work notices for 1 mosque and 4 homes in Khashem al-Karam and seized 6 vehicles in al-Twana in the Masafer Yatta area. Israeli forces also uprooted 120 citrus and palm tree saplings and damaged water pipes in al-‘Awja. 40 Palestinians were arrested during late-night raids in Tuqu‘, Ya‘bad, Nablus, Balata refugee camp, Kobar, Beit Sira, and Tulkarm. In East Jerusalem, 1 Palestinian family started demolishing their own home in al-Thawri. (AP, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 8/17; AJ, HA, MDW, MEE, PCHR, REU, WAFA, WAFA 8/18; UNOCHA 8/19; UNOCHA 9/2)

Commander of the PA security forces Nidal Abu Dukhan met with Russian deputy defense minister Alexander Formin during a security conference in Moscow, discussing military and security cooperation. (REU 8/17; MEMO 8/18)

Israeli prime minister Yair Lapid and Türkiye president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan agreed to restore full diplomatic ties during a phone call, reinstating ambassadors and consuls. Diplomatic ties between the 2 countries were severed in 2018 in the wake of the U.S. decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. (AJ, AP, AX, HA, NYT, REU 8/17; ALM, HA 8/18)

Axios reported that U.S. secretary of state Antony Blinken asked Israeli defense minister Benny Gantz to review Israel’s rules of engagement in the West Bank as a measure of accountability in relation to Israel’s killing of Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. (AX 8/17; MEE 8/18)