In East Jerusalem, a Palestinian family demolishes their own 2 homes in Silwan in order to avoid paying Israeli demolition fees. Israeli forces arrest 2 Palestinians during a late-night raid in Silwan. In the West Bank, IDF troops arrest 7 Palestinians during raids in and around Bethlehem and Nablus; and patrol near Hebron. (WAFA 12/8; PCHR 12/13)
An IDF spokesperson announces that Israeli forces have discovered another Hezbollah-built cross-border tunnel in the context of Operation Northern Shield. “The tunnel is booby-trapped right now in a manner that would endanger the life of anyone attempting to enter it from the Lebanese side,” the spokesperson adds. Earlier in the day, IDF troops stationed along the Israel-Lebanon border fire warning shots at 3 people approaching the border fence from the other side. “Troops fired towards the suspects following fire procedures. The 3 fled, and work [to dismantle the tunnels] continues,” an IDF spokesperson later says of the incident. (HA, HA, JP, TOI, YA 12/8; AP, JP 12/9)
In a speech at a conference in Ramallah, PA president Mahmoud Abbas outlines his plans for reforming his relationships with Israel, the U.S. and Hamas. “For the Israelis, we told them that we want to amend or cancel the Paris Agreement. They responded, ‘We will give you the answer after 2, 3 or 4 days.’ Two days later, [DM Avigdor Lieberman], who we were talking to, resigned and now we do not know who we are talking to.” The U.S., Abbas says, asked the Palestinians not to join international organizations. “But after the U.S. decision on Jerusalem, we decided to gradually accede to these organizations, and indeed we acceded to the Universal Postal Union.” Regarding Hamas, Abbas says that “there are a lot of issues between us that we will follow in order to ensure the interests of our people.” He also announces plans to dissolve the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), the PA’s parliament. The announcement is widely seen as Abbas’s latest effort to marginalize Hamas, which won 74 of the PLC’s 132 seats in the most recent election, in 2006. (MNA, REU 12/8; TOI, WAFA 12/9)