The IDF patrols in 2 villages nr. Ramallah and 1 nr. Jericho in the morning, and in al-Bireh, 3 villages nr. Tulkarm, 3 nr. Jenin, and 1 nr. Ramallah late in the evening; conducts late-night arrest raids, house searches nr. Hebron. Palestinians (sometimes accompanied by Israeli and international activists) hold weekly nonviolent demonstrations against the separation wall, land confiscations, and settlement expansion in Bil‘in, Ni‘lin, and al-Nabi Salih. IDF soldiers beat and fire rubber-coated steel bullets, tear gas, and stun grenades at the protesters, causing no serious injuries. (PCHR 9/8; OCHA 9/9)
The UN’s Palmer commission releases its long-delayed investigative report on the 5/2010 Gaza flotilla raid in which 9 Turkish activists attempting to break the siege of Gaza were killed in the IDF raid on the Mavi Marmara. The report concludes that Israel had the legal right to impose a naval blockade of Gaza and to stage an armed raid of the boat, but that the force used by IDF soldiers to subdue protesters was “excessive and unreasonable.” In response, Turkey expels Israel’s amb. and several other senior diplomats, suspends military agreements with Israel, and vows to expand its naval presence in the Mediterranean to protect its ships. (NYT, WP 9/2; HA, NYT, WP 9/3; WP 9/5; NYT, WP 9/7)