The Palestine Chronology

Tensions remain high at Haram al-Sharif, as Palestinians hold a “day of rage” across the oPt. Muslim worshippers clash with Israeli forces after midday prayers at the Lion’s Gate to the Old City; 2 Palestinians are injured and arrested. Elsewhere, Palestinian, Israeli, and international protesters clash with Israeli forces at Qalandia checkpoint, Shu‘fat, Ramallah, and Bethlehem; at least 8 Palestinians are injured. Protests in Nablus and Tubas are without incident. Meanwhile, after a number of Jewish settlers perform religious rituals at Haram al-Sharif, the Israeli police temporarily suspended Jewish visitation rights to the sanctuary. (HA, JP, MNA, TOI, WAFA, YA 7/19; PCHR 7/20)

In the West Bank, Israeli forces confiscate water pumps and tanks from Bedouin villages in the n. Jordan Valley. IDF troops arrest 8 Palestinians during late-night raids nr. Hebron, Nablus, and Tulkarm; and patrol nr. Hebron during the day. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces arrest 10 Palestinians during raids in Silwan, al-Tur, Issawiyya, and Shu‘fat r.c. Off Gaza’s coast, Israeli naval forces open fire on Palestinian fishing boats nr. Bayt Lahiya, causing no damage or injuries. (HA, MNA, TOI, WAFA 7/19; PCHR 7/20; PCHR 7/27)

After consulting with top security officials, Israeli PM Netanyahu says, “We want to solve this crisis in the quietest way possible and to bring back the calm.” Israel’s security agencies reportedly support removing the new metal detectors. Separately, a White House spokesperson says that the U.S. is “very concerned” about the situation and calls on “the State of Israel and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to make a good faith effort to reduce tensions and to find a solution that assures public safety and the security of the site and maintains the status quo.” (TOI 7/19; SA, TOI 7/20)

Israel’s Knesset passes a preliminary reading of the “United Jerusalem Law,” which the Ministerial Comm. for Legislation approved on 7/16. (KNE, MNA, TOI 7/19; HA 7/20)

Israeli police shoot and kill a Palestinian in Sheikh Jarrah, East Jerusalem, after he injures 6 Israelis in a drive-by shooting nr. an Israeli police headquarters (2 succumb to their injuries later in the day). The Palestinian was reportedly supposed to turn himself into the Israeli authorities today to begin serving a 4-mo. sentence for attacking a police officer in 2013. Israeli forces later conduct a series of raids in Silwan and al-Ram, interrogate the attacker’s family, and spark clashes with stone-throwing Palestinians; 7 Palestinians are detained, and 1 Associated Press photographer and 2 Israeli soldiers are injured (1 seriously). Israeli troops return to al-Ram late at night, arrest the attacker’s teenage daughter, and threaten punitive demolition of the attacker’s home. (HA, JP, MNA, TOI, WAFA, YA 10/9; HA, MNA, NYT, YA 10/10; PCHR 10/13)

Around 1,200 right-wing Jewish activists visit Joseph’s Tomb nr. Nablus, sparking clashes between their IDF escort and stonethrowing Palestinians; there are no serious injuries. Meanwhile, IDF troops arrest 13 Palestinians and damage 1 workshop during raids and house searches nr. Tulkarm, Hebron, and Qalqilya. Inside Israel, Israeli forces demolish multiple homes in the bedouin village of Bir Hadaj nr. Beersheba. The IDF also demolishes 22 residential and agricultural structures in the n. Jordan Valley, 8 homes in a bedouin community nr. Bethlehem, and a number of residences, agricultural structures, solar panels, and the main water pipeline in a bedouin village nr. Jerusalem. Along Gaza’s border, Israeli forces open fire on Palestinian farmers nr. al-Maghazi r.c., causing no injuries; and conduct a limited incursion to level land nr. al-Bureij r.c. (MNA, WAFA 10/9; MNA 10/10; PCHR 10/13)

In Gaza, a group claiming affiliation with ISIS launches a single rocket toward s. Israel, but it lands inside Gaza. The group will claim responsibility on 6/12, citing Israel’s treatment of Palestinian prisoners and the 6/10 killing of a Palestinian in Jenin r.c. as motivation. Off the coast nr. Dayr al-Balah, Israeli naval forces fire warning shots at Palestinian fishing boats, then destroy 8 nets and confiscate private property. In the West Bank, Israeli forces level at least 17 dunams (around 4 acres) of agricultural land nr. Bethlehem to make room for settlement expansion; order 30 Palestinian families to leave their homes in the n. Jordan Valley for 6 hours to conduct military drills in the area; close the c. market in a village nr. Hebron for the 2d day in a row. IDF troops patrol in a village nr. Hebron, sparking minor clashes with stone-throwing youths and arresting 1 Palestinian. They also conduct a late-night raid in al-‘Azza r.c. nr. Bethlehem, issuing an arrest summons to 1 Palestinian, and patrol in 2 villages each nr. Hebron and Ramallah. In East Jerusalem, Israeli forces detain and interrogate 3 Palestinian children who allegedly threw rocks at an Israeli settler in Silwan. Israeli settlers assault a Palestinian man from Jabal Mukabir on his way to work. In s. Israel, around 400 Palestinians march in Beersheba to protest the planned evacuation of the nearby bedouin village Umm al-Hiran. (HA, MNA, WAFA, YA 6/11; MNA, TOI 6/12; PCHR 6/18)

The IDF’s Military Advocate Gen. concludes his internal investigation into its 7/16/2014 air strike that killed 4 children on a Gaza beach during OPE, determining that the “incident took place in an area that had long been known as a compound belonging to Hamas’s Naval Police and Naval Force,” which made it a “lawful target” by IDF regulations. No criminal or disciplinary action will be taken. The IDF also closes 2 other internal investigations into similar incidents during OPE, issuing indictments to 3 soldiers for looting, and opens 3 more. (HA, MNA, NYT 6/12)

In the Gaza Strip, the Union of Civil Servants announces that all govt. employees will go on strike on 12/11, and that school workers will strike on 12/14, in protest of the PA unity govt.’s failure to pay civil servants in Gaza who were hired after Hamas came to power in 2007. An IDF tank stationed along the border e. of al-Bureij r.c. fires on agricultural land, causing damage. Hours later, 4 IDF tanks and 3 armored bulldozers cross the border fence in e. Gaza, leveling land and firing live ammunition toward Palestinian property. In the West Bank, IDF troops detain 2 Palestinians as they approach the Tekoa settlement nr. Bethlehem. Israeli forces confiscate 3 Palestinian-owned tractors while patrolling in a bedouin village in the n. Jordan Valley. They also stop work on a UN Development Program project nr. Salfit, detain 2 Palestinian workers, and confiscate 1 tractor. The IDF conducts house searches and arrest raids nr. Ramallah, Hebron, Tulkarm, and Jenin. Israeli settlers cut the wires to 4 electricity poles and chop down several olive trees nr. Burin village s. of Nablus, clearing the area for the expansion of 2 nearby settlements. In East Jerusalem, Israeli police raid the Silwan home of Ahmad al-Ghoul, head of the Fatah Youth Movement in Jerusalem, and arrest him. He was recently attacked by Israeli settlers on 11/21. Israeli authorities deliver demolition notices to several residences and commercial buildings in Silwan, al-Tur, Issawiyya, and Jabal Mukabir. Israeli police detain 2 Palestinian women at Haram al-Sharif. They also conduct arrest raids around East Jerusalem; deliver demolition notices in Silwan, al-Tur, Issawiyya, and Jabal Mukabir. (IMEMC, JP, MNA, WAFA 12/9; PCHR 12/10)

After threatening a mass action on 12/6, 70 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons launch a hunger strike in protest of Israel’s treatment of a fellow prisoner and its use of solitary confinement. (MNA 12/9; WAFA 12/10)

The Knesset Finance Comm. approves a series of public funds transfers, including PM Netanyahu’s 12/8 request for around $20 m. to support the West Bank settlements. (AFP, TOI, YA 12/9)

The Lower House of the Irish Parliament unanimously passes a nonbinding res. calling on the Irish govt. to recognize Palestinian statehood, similar to the 1 passed by the Upper House on 10/23. (REU 12/9; HA 12/11)