In the West Bank, Israeli settlers set up 4 caravans on Palestinian-owned property north of ‘Abwayn; the outpost was dismantled by Israeli forces the same day. Israeli forces raided the family house of an alleged Palestinian attacker near Nablus and took measurements in preparation for a punitive demolition of the property. Israeli forces also demolished 1 house under construction and delivered 1 demolition order for a carpentry shop in ‘Araba. 13 Palestinians were arrested during raids in and around Bethlehem, Hebron, Ramallah, Qalqilya, Biddu, and Qatanna; during a raid in al-Fawar refugee camp, Israeli forces assaulted 2 Palestinians, fracturing the nose of 1 of them; they also claimed that Israeli forces stole 5,800 NIS ($1,700). In Gaza, Israeli forces opened fire on agricultural lands east of Rafah. In Israel, Israeli forces demolished the bedouin village al-‘Araqib for the 177th time since 2000. (HA, TOI, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 8/27; PCHR 9/3)
The Israeli high court of justice ruled that 1 Israeli settler outpost with some 50 homes, Mitzpeh Kramim, is to be evacuated. The court found that the settler outpost was built in bad faith as the authorities knew it was being built on Palestinian-owned land. (AJ, HA, REU 8/27)
Israeli foreign minister Gabi Ashkenazi said in a news conference with German foreign minister Heiko Maas that, “I think it’s very clear and it’s very tangible that Israel government policy moved from annexation to normalization.” (HA 8/27)
U.S. secretary of state Mike Pompeo met with Omani Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said in Oman to advocate for the Gulf state to normalize ties with Israel. Oman was the 5th stop on Secretary Pompeo’s Middle East trip, having visited Israel, Sudan, Bahrain, and the UAE prior. (HA, REU 8/27)