Monday, February 24, 2020

In the West Bank, Israeli forces arrested 21 Palestinians during raids in and around Ramallah, Hebron, Bethlehem, Jericho, Qalqilya, Tubas, Jenin, and Nablus. Israeli forces injured 2 Palestinians with rubber-coated bullets during a raid in Bayt Sira. In East Jerusalem, 15 Palestinians were arrested during late-night raids in Issawiyya. In Gaza, the rocket exchange continued from 2/23; there were no reports of casualties but reports of damage in Gaza, including to the power grid in Khan Yunis. A truce between Islamic Jihad in Palestine and Israel was implemented at the end of the day. Israeli forces also opened fire on Palestinian agricultural lands east of Khan Yunis and Dayr al-Balah; no injuries were reported. (AJ, BBC, CNN, HA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA, WAFA 2/24; AJ, HA 2/25; PCHR 2/27)

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered 12 West Bank settlement outposts, deemed illegal by Israel, to be connected to Israel’s electrical grid. The Israel Lands Authority also issued tenders for the construction of 1,077 housing units in the East Jerusalem settlement Givat Hamatos. (HA, HA 2/24)

The PA prime minister Mohammed Shtayyeh called on all Palestinians working in Israeli settlements to stop working there. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, around 23,000 Palestinians work in settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. (WAFA 2/24)