Tuesday, August 18, 2015

As tension escalates in East Jerusalem, Israeli forces deploy heavily in the Old City and deny a number of Palestinians entry to Haram alSharif, arresting 1 woman. During raids in the Old City and al-‘Izzariya, they assault and arrest a Palestinian photographer and arrest 8 other Palestinians. Israeli forces also erect mobile checkpoints in Issawiyya, sparking minor clashes with stone-throwing Palestinian youths and arresting 2. In the West Bank, Israeli forces demolish 17 Palestinian structures in a village nr. Jericho, leaving 127 Palestinians homeless in the largest-scale demolition in 3 years. IDF troops conduct house searches and raids nr. Hebron, Jericho, and Ramallah, issuing arrest summons to 2 Palestinians; patrol nr. Ramallah, Hebron, and Jericho. Israeli settlers assault 2 Palestinians with stones in the Old City of Hebron. Palestinian youths throw stones at a bus in al-Tur, injuring 4 Israeli teenagers and 1 Palestinian. (MNA, WAFA 8/18; HA 8/19; PCHR 8/20)

In Paris, French FM Laurent Fabius meets with Palestinian Authority (PA) FM Riyad al-Maliki to discuss the French initiative to renew Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations, including the possibility of a new UNSC res. (JP 8/19)