The Palestine Chronology

Israeli forces arrest 5 Palestinians during raids near Bethlehem, Jenin, and the Old City of Jerusalem, and patrol near Hebron. In 3 separate incidents off Gaza’s coast, Israeli naval forces open fire on Palestinian fishing boats near Bayt Lahiya and Jabaliya refugee camp, causing no damage or injuries. (PCHR 9/1)

The Egyptian authorities partially open the Rafah border crossing, allowing a group of Palestinian Muslims to leave Gaza on their pilgrimage to Mecca. (MNA 8/27; OCHA 9/14)

Israel’s Justice Ministry announces that the Israeli settler families that took over the 2d and 3d floors of the Palestinian-owned Abu Rajab house in central Hebron on 7/25 have been ordered to leave within 1 week. Israel’s state prosecutor says that they took over the building without finalizing a legal purchase. (HA, TOI 8/27; MNA, WAFA 8/28)

Israel’s Defense Ministry announces that it has finalized a deal with U.S. defense contractor Lockheed Martin to buy 17 additional F-35 stealth fighter jets. The initial order of 33 jets was set to be complete by 2021. Five of the jets have already been delivered. The new order will bring the total size of the fleet to 50 jets by 2024. The Israeli cabinet authorized the purchase in 11/2016. (JP, JTA, TOI, YA 8/27)

An IDF vehicle strikes and kills a Palestinian girl in the Jordan Valley near Nablus. Elsewhere in the West Bank, IDF troops arrest 9 Palestinians during late-night raids near Hebron, Bethlehem, and Jericho, and patrol near Qalqilya, Hebron, and Salfit. Off Gaza’s coast, Israeli naval forces open fire on Palestinian fishing boats near Bayt Lahiya and Jabaliya refugee camp, causing no damage or injuries. (MNA, TOI 8/26; PCHR 9/1)

PA PM Rami Hamdallah announces that the PA will re-hire the 6,145 Gazan civil servants it forced into early retirement on 7/4 (see JPS 47 [1]). “The government decided with approval from [PA pres.] Abbas to allow employees of the ministries of health and education from the Gaza Strip, who were pensioned, to return to their work and serve our brothers in the Gaza Strip,” Hamdallah says, without offering further details. (HA, MNA, TOI 8/26)

IDF troops violently disperse Palestinians, Israelis, and international activists at Friday protests against Israel’s occupation, settlements, and separation wall in 3 villages near Ramallah (Nabi Salih, Bil‘in, and Ni‘lin), Kafr Qaddum near Qalqilya, and along Gaza’s border near Jabaliya refugee camp, al-Bureij refugee camp, and Gaza City; at least 11 Palestinians are injured. Meanwhile, IDF troops conduct raids in the Burham and Jibiya villages near Ramallah overnight, sparking clashes with stone-throwing Palestinians; there are no serious injuries. They also arrest 1 Palestinian and issue 1 arrest summons during late-night raids in Jenin and Hebron, and patrol near Hebron during the day. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces arrest 2 Palestinians and issue 1 arrest summons during a raid in Shu‘fat refugee camp. (MNA 8/25; MNA 8/26; PCHR 9/1)

IDF troops violently disperse Palestinians, Israelis, and international activists at Friday protests against the Israeli occupation, separation wall, and settlements in 3 villages near Ramallah (Bil‘in, Ni‘lin, and Nabi Salih), central Qalqilya, and along Gaza’s border near al-Bureij refugee camp, Khan Yunis, Rafah, and Jabaliya refugee camp; at least 5 Palestinians are injured and 2 are arrested. IDF troops also open fire on Palestinian youths near Jabaliya refugee camp along Gaza’s border, injuring 1. Meanwhile, IDF troops issue arrest summons to 4 Palestinians during late-night raids near Bethlehem, and patrol near Hebron and Nablus. Israeli settlers throw stones at Palestinian homes in central Hebron, causing no serious damage. (MNA, WAFA 8/18; MNA 8/19; PCHR 8/24)

IDF troops violently disperse Palestinians, Israelis, and international activists at Friday protests against the Israeli occupation, separation wall, and settlements in 3 villages nr. Ramallah (Bil‘in, Ni‘lin, and Nabi Salih) and along Gaza’s border nr. al-Bureij r.c. and Jabaliya r.c.; at least 8 Palestinians are injured. Elsewhere in the West Bank, IDF troops patrol nr. Hebron during the day. Israeli settlers chase a Palestinian child and throw stones at her home in Hebron. Off Gaza’s coast, Israeli naval forces arrest 2 Palestinian fishermen working nr. Bayt Lahiya overnight. (MNA 8/11; MNA 8/12; PCHR 8/17)

In the West Bank, IDF troops arrest 11 Palestinians and issue 1 arrest summons during raids in and around Bethlehem, Hebron, Salfit, and Qalqilya; and patrol nr. Hebron and Nablus during the day. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces assault and arrest 9 Muslim worshippers at Haram al-Sharif; arrest 11 Palestinians during raids in the Old City, Wadi al-Juz, and Silwan. Along Gaza’s border, IDF troops arrest a Palestinian attempting to cross into Israel nr. Jabaliya r.c. (MNA, TOI, WAFA 8/6; MNA 8/7; PCHR 8/10)

Thousands of Palestinians pray at Haram al-Sharif, celebrating the success of their 2-week campaign against the Israeli authorities’ attempt to impose new security measures at the sanctuary. Israeli forces arrest 9 worshippers on their way to the sanctuary and 1 Palestinian during a late-night raid in nearby Qalandia r.c. In the West Bank, IDF troops violently disperse Palestinians, Israelis, and international activists at Friday demonstrations against Israel’s occupation, settlements, and separation wall in 3 villages nr. Ramallah (Bil‘in, Ni‘lin, and Nabi Salih) and along Gaza’s border nr. Jabaliya r.c.; at least 5 Palestinians are injured. In c. Hebron, the IDF violently disperses Palestinians participating in a sit-in protest against the planned construction of a new IDF watchtower outside nearby Dura village (Israeli forces leveled land for the project on 7/31); there are no serious injuries. Israeli settlers throw stones at Palestinians and Palestinian homes in c. Hebron late at night; 3 Palestinians and 1 settler are injured. Off Gaza’s coast, Israeli naval forces open fire on Palestinian fishing boats nr. Bayt Lahiya, causing no damage or injuries. (MNA, TOI 8/4; MNA, YA 8/5; PCHR 8/10)

The Israeli authorities release to their families the corpses of 4 Palestinians killed during confrontations with Israeli forces in 7/2017. (MNA 8/4; YA 8/5)

Israel’s Min. of Justice announces that the state prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation into the killing, by an Israeli, of 2 Jordanians at the Israeli Embassy in Amman on 7/23. A Jordanian govt. spokesperson calls it a step in the right direction, but adds that Amman still expects a full and orderly inquiry. (HA 8/4; GH, MNA, YA 8/6)

In the West Bank, Israeli forces confiscate a Palestinian garbage truck during a raid nr. Nablus. IDF troops arrest 4 Palestinians during late-night raids nr. Nablus and patrol nr. Hebron during the day. In East Jerusalem, at least 700 Jewish settlers tour Haram al-Sharif in the morning to commemorate Tisha B’Av. Israeli police remove 9 who attempt to pray at the sanctuary. Israeli forces conduct an arrest raid in Shu‘fat, sparking minor clashes with stone-throwing Palestinians; there are no serious injuries. Off Gaza’s coast, Israeli naval forces open fire on Palestinian fishing boats nr. Bayt Lahiya and later nr. Jabaliya r.c., causing no damage or injuries. In s. Israel, Israeli forces demolish the Bedouin village al-‘Araqib for the 116th time since 2010. (HA, MNA, TOI, WAFA 8/1; MNA 8/2; PCHR 8/3)

PA pres. Abbas meets with a Hamas delegation in Ramallah to discuss national reconciliation. Earlier in the day, the Arab press reports that Abbas has put together a new framework, essentially a broad outline of an agreement in which the PA would increase the electricity supply in Gaza to precrisis levels, and allow banks in Gaza to trade in foreign currency again in exchange for Hamas dismantling its new administrative comm. and publicly renouncing its power-sharing agreement with exiled Fatah leader Dahlan. Hamas responds, demanding that the PA take responsibility for paying all employees of the Hamas-run govt. in Gaza and allowing a new leadership group, including representatives of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine, to take control on an interim basis until a new round of elections can be held. (TOI 8/1; MNA, WAFA 8/2)