The Palestine Chronology

In the West Bank, Israeli forces uproot olive trees and demolish a car wash on about 20 dunams (around 5 acres) of Palestinian land nr. Bethlehem; confiscate grocery stalls along bypass road Route 60. IDF troops conduct raids and house searches in Jenin, Qalqilya, and 1 village nearby, and 1 village each nr. Ramallah and Bethlehem, arresting 8 Palestinians and assaulting 1; patrols in 2 villages nr. Jericho and 1 nr. Hebron. In n. Israel, Israeli forces demolish a Palestinian home in Kafr Kanna claiming that it was built without a permit. Palestinians in the village recently rebuilt the home after Israeli forces demolished it in 4/2015. (HA, MNA, REU, WAFA 6/15; PCHR 6/18)

Hebron mayor Dawud al-Zaatari announces that Israel’s Coordinator for Govt. Activities in the Territories (COGAT) office has approved the reopening of around 70 Palestinian shops in c. Hebron on 6/19. The IDF closed over 500 Palestinian shops in Hebron at the beginning of the 2d intifada in 2000. Meanwhile, the Knesset votes to extend for another year a law that allows the govt. to withhold citizenship or residency from Palestinians from the oPt who are married to Palestinian citizens of Israel (PCI). Originally passed in 2003, its authority has been extended every year since. (AFP 6/15; HA 6/17)

UNRWA comm.-gen. Pierre Krähenbühl reiterates that the agency is operating with a $101 m. deficit for core programs, and says that it might be forced to suspend all activities by 9/2015 unless donors give more money. UNRWA’s operating costs run at around $35 m. per mo. (MNA, UNRWA 6/15)

Cypriot pres. Nicos Anastasiades and Israeli PM Netanyahu meet in Israel and discuss the possibility of Netanyahu addressing the EU at an upcoming meeting in Brussels. The news of Anastasiades’s proposal to invite Netanyahu to Brussels will break on 6/29. (HA 6/19)

An Israeli delegation headed by National Security Adviser Yossi Cohen arrives in Washington, for talks with U.S. officials on the P5+1’s ongoing negotiations with Iran ahead of the 6/30 final agreement deadline. According to the Israeli official who announced the trip on 6/11, it is part of the effort to improve U.S.-Israeli communication surrounding the deal. (HA 6/11; JP 6/16)

SLA shells a village in s. Lebanon, killing 1 Lebanese civilian. In response, Hizballah fires 12 rockets into n. Israel, causing no injuries. In retaliation, outgoing PM Netanyahu orders the IDF to strike bridges along Lebanon's coastal highway, main power station in Beirut, power substation in Baalbeck, in total killing 8 civilians, wounding 62, causing a blackout in Beirut. 5 of the dead are fire fighters killed during a 2d IDF raid on the Beirut power plant, where they were trying to contain a blaze started by the 1st attack. (Netanyahu informs PM-elect Barak of the operation after it has begun.) Hizballah strikes back, firing 36 rockets into n. Israel, killing 2 Israeli civilians, injuring 5--the 1st civilian deaths in n. Israel related to the Lebanon conflict in 4 yrs. (AFP, RL, VOL 6/24 in WNC 6/25; MM, NYT, WP, WT 6/25; AFP, IDF Radio, IRIB Television, IRNA, JTV, KSC Television [Kuwait], MENA, RJ, RL, RMC, Saudi Arabia Kingdom Radio, VIRI, VOL 6/25, AFP, Iran News, IRNA, MBC, Petra-JNA, RL, RMC 6/26, IRNA, AFP 6/27 in WNC 6/28; NYT, WP, WT 6/26; al-Quds 6/27, ATL, IRA, IRNA, QA, RMC 6/28 in WNC 6/29; AYM 6/27 in WNC 7/1; WP 6/28; WT 6/30; WJW 7/1; JP, MEI 7/2; MEI 7/16) (see 6/23)

Israeli, PA teams hold mtg. on civil issues, including advancing tourism in the framework of Bethlehem 2000. (YA 6/25 in WNC 6/28)

The Israeli daily Ma'ariv reports that the IDF is renovating, fortifying positions along the n. border with Lebanon, suggesting that the IDF mat be making plans for a withdrawal fr. s. Lebanon. (MA 6/24 in WNC 6/25)