In the West Bank, IDF troops arrest 1 Palestinian during a raid near Ramallah and patrol near Tulkarm and Hebron. (PCHR 5/24)
The Egyptian authorities open the Rafah border crossing for passage in both directions for a fifth consecutive day. In the evening, Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi announces that he has ordered the crossing to remain open for the entire month of Ramadan, which begins in the evening today, in order to “alleviate the burdens of the brothers in the Gaza Strip.” (TOI, YA 5/17; AP, HA, JP, MNA, TOI 5/18)
Kuwaiti diplomats circulate a draft resolution to the rest of the UN Security Council (UNSC) calling for a UN-led military force to be posted along Gaza’s border. The resolution, which the U.S. is expected to block, also calls for Israel to “immediately cease its military reprisals, collective punishment, and unlawful use of force against civilians, including in the Gaza Strip.” (AP, HA, YA 5/18)