Chronology of Events in Israel and Palestine - IEMed
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Chronologies
Appendices
Chronology of Events
in Israel and Palestine
Chronologies
2016 begins with new attacks in the Israeli security forces, Israel repeatedly fairs, in February, Qatar hosts a new
West Bank and East Jerusalem carried evacuates and closes the Old City and round of talks between Fatah and Ha-
out by Palestinian citizens on Israelis steps up security measures in East Je- mas in the inter-Palestinian reconcilia-
and members of Israel’s security forces. rusalem and in the West Bank. Con- tion process, which make no significant
Known as the Stabbing Intifada, the struction of the separation wall is also progress. In September, the High Court
attacks began in October 2015 as a accelerated and, in July, the Knesset of Ramallah suspends the municipal
protest against Israeli occupation of (Parliament) approves a law authorizing elections scheduled for 8 October
Palestinian territories, but more spe- the indefinite suspension of deputies 2016 after courts in Gaza, which are
cifically as a rejection of the pressures that act against the interests and secu- not recognized by the PNA, cancel
from ultra-Orthodox sectors of the Is- rity of the State of Israel, after a parlia- electoral lists close to Fatah, and in
raeli government to change the status mentary majority approves the tempo- view of the inability to hold elections in
of the Temple Mount / Noble Sanctuary rary suspension of four Arab Joint List East Jerusalem. In May, in the Gaza
of Jerusalem. In October, the United MPs after they visited families of Pal- Strip, Hamas gains parliamentary ap-
Nations Educational, Scientific and estinians who took part in the Stabbing proval to reintroduce the death penalty,
Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Intifada. Added to this is June’s ap- despite opposition from the PNA. In the
adopts a resolution submitted by Pal- proval of the new anti-terror law with a same month, the first three death sen-
371
estine, which denies any relation be- generalized agreement among deputies tences since 2007 are carried out.
tween Judaism and the Temple Mount from the coalition government and the With regard to Israel’s internal political
or the Western Wall and describes Is- opposition to toughen penalties, not panorama, the year is marked by the
rael as an “occupying power,” prompt- only for those carrying out attacks, but jailing of a former Israeli Prime Minister,
ing Israel to suspend collaboration with also for their accomplices, for whom the Ehud Olmert, after being found guilty
the international organization. same sentences are established as in the Holyland corruption case; the
Violence in the context of the Stabbing those given to the perpetrators. The death in September of the former Pres-
Intifada, mostly knife attacks, but also harsher sentences also apply to minors, ident and former Prime Minister Shimon
vehicle rammings and shootings, con- with the law passed in July allowing Peres; the reconciliation agreement
tinue throughout the year, despite the prison sentences to be served from 14 with Turkey, thus putting an end to the
Palestinian National Authority (PNA) years of age. crisis started in 2010 with the sinking
declaring it is doing all it can to stop Other noteworthy events in the area of of the Freedom Flotilla, as it tried to
them. In November, the Palestinian security are a number of gunfights in break the maritime blockade imposed
President Mahmoud Abbas is re-elect- the area of the Golan Heights and in by Israel on the Gaza Strip; and, in May,
ed as leader of Fatah amid increasing the south of Syria between the Tsahal the reincorporation into the coalition
controversy over his policies and inter- (Israeli army) and the Syrian army, in government of Avigdor Lieberman’s
nal divisions in the Palestinian party, connection with the Syrian Civil War. ultra-nationalist party Yisrael Beiteinu
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the most significant of which arises Likewise, the end of the year sees the (Israel Our Home), which leads to the
from supporters of Mohammed Dahlan, first fighting between Israeli troops and departure of the Environment Minister
who lives in exile in the United Arab Islamic State (Daesh) members in the Avi Gabbay, from the centrist Kulanu
Emirates. Dahlan, who was thrown out area. Furthermore, at the beginning of party (All of Us) and Moshe Yaalon,
of the party in 2011 but maintains a May, Israel and Hamas exchange gun- from Likud, as Defence Minister, a post
powerful influence over the Revolution- fire for the first time since the Gaza War taken over by Lieberman.
ary Council and its Central Committee, in 2014. Subsequently, in September, This represents a shift even further to
is sentenced in December by Ramal- Israel begins construction of an under- the right for the government led by Ben-
lah’s anti-corruption court to three years ground barrier along the border with the jamin Netanyahu’s conservative Likud
in prison for misuse of public funds. Gaza Strip to block the smuggling tun- (Consolidation), which does not show
In reaction to the rise in violence and nels and hinder possible infiltrations. promise for the peace talks that have
the demonstrations and clashes with With respect to Palestine’s internal af- been frozen since 2014, when the lastattempt to reactivate them was made inviting the parties to resume the talks, Peace Negotiations
Appendices
by the US State Secretary John Kerry. in a gesture praised by the Israeli De-
The Israeli authorities’ approval of new fence Minister Avigdor Lieberman and • On 31 January the Israeli President
settlements or the expansion of already which comes weeks before the first Reuven Rivlin rejects the French ini-
existing ones in Palestinian territory official visit in nine years by an Egyp- tiative to hold an international confer-
continues to be both one of the non- tian Foreign Minister, Sameh Shoukry, ence to negotiate a two-state solution
negotiable priorities of Yisrael Beiteinu to Israel, where he is received by Ben- to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, say-
Chronologies
and one of the main stumbling blocks jamin Netanyahu. However, a third ing that dialogue among “allied coun-
for reactivating the peace process, de- initiative from Russia is perhaps the tries” on issues that affect the secu-
spite demands by the Middle East most significant in view of the coun- rity of Israel and its citizens should be
Quartet -the UN, US, EU and Russia- try’s quick and strong positioning as a undertaken directly. France’s Foreign
that they be stopped, or the draft reso- rising power in the Middle East. In this Minister Laurent Fabius declares that
lution written by Egypt and the PNA, regard, in early September, the Krem- if the initiative fails, Paris will con-
which condemns the construction of lin confirms its readiness to organize sider officially recognizing a Palestin-
Israeli settlements on Palestinian terri- a meeting in Moscow, between the ian state.
tory, submitted to the United Nations Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas
Security Council in December. The and the Israeli Prime Minister Benja- Conflicts between the Parties
resolution is approved thanks to a US min Netanyahu, which would be the
abstention, in the Obama Administra- first such meeting in six years. Two • On 1 January two people are killed
tion’s last decision in the region, de- contexts form the backdrop to Russia’s and another seven injured in a shooting
spite pressure from Israel and the future offer. The first is the Russian President in a bar on Dizengoff Street in central
Trump Administration. Vladimir Putin’s moves to improve rela- Tel Aviv, carried out by a Palestinian
In 2016, thousands of new construc- tions with both parties; in Israel’s case citizen from the town of Arara.
tions are authorized in the 100 tempo- through the materialization of both • On 9 January Israeli soldiers shoot
rary settlements and 150 permanent countries’ wishes to increase incorpo- dead two Palestinians who tried to stab
settlements in the West Bank and East ration in Defence and create a free them at the Bekaot checkpoint in the
Jerusalem. In addition, a law is passed trade area between the Eurasian Eco- West Bank.
by the Parliament allowing the retroac- nomic Union (EAEU) and Israel. The • On 9 January Israeli troops demolish
tive legalization of temporary settle- second is the decline of Washington’s the house of the Palestinian Muhannad
372
ments (known as outposts), which hitherto clear leadership in the peace Halabi in Surda, near Ramallah. Halabi
precede permanent settlements, in oc- process and the end of the Obama era, helped to spark the current wave of
cupied territories of the West Bank. two months before the Republican violence known as the Stabbing Inti-
Until now, an absence of permits has candidate Donald Trump’s election vic- fada when he murdered two Rabbis on
meant that such settlements have been tory confirms a change in the US ad- 3 October 2015 in Jerusalem’s Old
illegal under Israeli legislation. The law, ministration. Trump’s pro-Israeli stance City, after which he was shot dead by
approved in December, excludes the augurs a complicated role for the US Israeli security forces.
case of Amona, an outpost in the West as a mediating power, one of his first, • On 17 January a resident from the
Bank awaiting a definitive ruling from controversial decisions being to an- settlement of Otniel, south of Hebron,
the Supreme Court, which is finally nounce his intention to move the Unit- is stabbed to death in her home. Her
pronounced on 22 December when ed States embassy in Israel from Tel assailant, presumed to be Palestinian,
the court orders its eviction and demo- Aviv to Jerusalem. then flees the scene.
lition before 8 February 2017, after ac- • On 17 January the Shin Bet
cepting a 45-day delay requested by (Shabak), Israel’s intelligence and in-
the government. January 2016 ternal security service, arrests around
In 2016, several states launch initia- thirty Palestinians suspected of par-
tives to try to reactivate the peace pro- Israel ticipating in terrorist activities and vio-
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cess in a context of regional destabi- lent unrest.
lization and competition for influence • On 4 January Israel launches scores • On 18 January an Israeli woman is
in the region. The most visible of these of missiles into the Lebanese border seriously injured when she is stabbed
is the Paris Conference on 3 June, led area of Rweiset el-Alam, in Shebaa by a Palestinian in the Israeli settlement
by France and attended by represent- Farms. The attack may have been in re- of Tekoa, in the south of the West
atives of more than thirty countries, sponse to an explosion near an Israeli Bank.
although with the notable absence of border patrol in the area. • On 23 January an Israeli security
both Palestine and Israel, the latter op- • On 22 January the Israeli army evicts guard shoots dead a 13-year-old Pal-
posing the initiative because of its around 80 settlers who had illegally oc- estinian girl, who, according to police
multilateral nature. The Egyptian Pres- cupied two buildings in the centre of sources, was attempting a stabbing
ident Abdel Fattah el-Sisi reiterates his Hebron, close to the Cave of the Patri- attack outside the Israeli settlement of
country’s traditional role as mediator archs / Ibrahimi Mosque. Anatot, in the West Bank.February 2016 significant progress. Fatah warns it will that took place during the protests in
Appendices
resume unilateral control of the Gaza the area.
Israel Strip, which has been under Hamas rule • On 18 February two Palestinian mi-
since 2007 after bloody armed clashes nors stab an Israeli soldier to death and
• On 7 February after four months of with Fatah supporters. seriously injure another at a supermarket
a rise in Palestinian attacks, which have • On 25 February the Iranian ambas- in the south of the West Bank.
already left around 200 dead, the La- sador to Lebanon Mohammad Fathali • On 19 February a Palestinian citizen
Chronologies
bour Party endorses its leader Isaac announces that Iran will make payments stabs two Israeli police officers before
Herzog’s plan to accelerate the comple- to the value of 7,000 dollars to the fam- being shot down by police at one of the
tion of the separation wall around the ilies of Palestinians killed in protests entrances to Jerusalem’s Old City.
West Bank and 28 Palestinian districts against Israel or by the Israeli army. Hours later, another Palestinian at-
of East Jerusalem, and which leaves the • On 26 February Omar Nayef Zayed, tempts to drive a vehicle into a group of
large Jewish settlements on the Israeli a member of the Popular Front for the Israeli soldiers in the West Bank, after
side. The plan, which aligns with the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and which he is shot dead by the soldiers.
ideas of the governing, conservative wanted for 25 years after being sen- A third incident also takes place in the
Likud, also gives the PNA greater au- tenced to death by Israel, is found dying West Bank when a Palestinian is shot
thority, on the condition that the Israeli in the Palestinian embassy in Bulgaria. dead by Israeli soldiers during clashes
army remains in control of security on Zayed had sought refuge in the em- between Palestinian demonstrators and
the Palestinian side. bassy after, in December 2015, the Is- security forces.
• On 8 February the Ethics Committee raeli Ministry of Justice sent a letter to • On 23 February the Israeli army de-
of the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) bans the Bulgarian government requesting molishes the houses of two Palestinians,
the deputies Haneen Zoabi, Basel Ghat- his extradition. The PFLP and Hamas al-Haroub and Raed Masalmeh, who
tas and Jamal Zahalka, from the Balad accuse Mossad, Israel’s foreign intelli- killed five people in November 2015 in
party (Democratic National Election), a gence agency, of Zayed’s death, al- the West Bank and Tel Aviv respec-
member of the Joint List, from entering though the Bulgarian public prosecutor tively, in the so-called Stabbing Intifada.
the plenum and parliamentary commit- says that his death, apparently from
tee sessions for four months, for meet- defenestration, was not the result of
ing with families of Palestinians from murder. March 2016
Jerusalem who were killed by security
373
forces after carrying out attacks on Is- Conflicts between the Parties Israel
raelis.
• On 14 February Israel resumes its • On 1 February Israeli soldiers kill a • On 8 March the US Vice-President
ties with the EU following a three-month Palestinian who tried to attack them with Joe Biden travels to Israel to push for-
dispute over Europe’s November 2015 a knife in the settlement of Salit, in the ward the negotiations of the strategic
ruling that special labels be used for West Bank. cooperation agreement between the US
products imported from Jewish settle- • On 3 February one Israeli police of- and Israel. The visit comes a day after
ments in occupied territories, a measure ficer is killed and another injured in an the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Ne-
deemed by Israel to be a “boycott.” attack carried out by three Palestinians tanyahu cancels an official visit to the
• On 15 February Ehud Olmert be- from Jenin, at one of the main entrances US, scheduled mid-month and during
comes the first former Prime Minister to to Jerusalem’s Old City. The three as- which he was to meet with the US
be jailed in Israeli history after entering sailants are shot dead by border guards President Barack Obama and attend the
the Maasiyahyu prison, in Tel Aviv, con- at the Damascus Gate. annual conference of the pro-Israel
victed of bribery and obstruction of jus- • On 4 February a court in Jerusalem lobby at the US Congress AIPAC. The
tice when he was mayor of Jerusalem, sentences two Israeli teenagers to life cancellation is greeted with surprise at
in the Holyland housing development and 21 years in prison respectively for the White House, whose spokesperson
scandal. the kidnapping and murder, on 2 July says it “found out through the media,”
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• On 18 February three Israeli rockets 2014, of a Palestinian minor. Abu Kh- while Israeli sources cite difficulties in
land in Jabal al-Manaa, a position held deir, from Shuafat, East Jerusalem, was scheduling the meeting with Obama as
by forces loyal to the Syrian regime of burnt to death by the two Israelis as an it coincided with the dates for the Pres-
Bashar al-Assad to the south of Damas- act of revenge for the recent murder of ident’s official visit to Cuba. However,
cus. three Israeli teenagers in Hebron. the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reports
• On 7 February the Israeli police that the cancellation may have been
Palestine shoots dead a Sudanese citizen after caused by the failure to advance in the
he stabs a soldier and attempts to flee. negotiations of the strategic coopera-
• On 7 and 8 February a new round of • On 14 February the Israeli police tion agreement regarding Israel’s re-
talks between Fatah and Hamas is held announces it killed five Palestinians at quest to receive greater military aid from
in Qatar in the inter-Palestinian recon- the Damascus Gate in the Old City of the US, currently set at around 3 billion
ciliation process, which fails to make any Jerusalem in three separate actions dollars a year.• On 20 March around 1,500 falashas • On 12 March two Palestinian chil- after they attempted to stab officers at
Appendices
-Israeli citizens of Ethiopian origin- protest dren are killed in an Israeli airstrike in the the Kalandia checkpoint.
during the meeting of the Council of Min- north of the Gaza Strip, in retaliation for
isters in Jerusalem, against the Israeli missiles launched into southern Israel.
government’s announcement at the be- • On 14 March three Palestinians are May 2016
ginning of the month to limit the number shot down by Israeli soldiers after at-
of Ethiopians entering the country in tacking Israeli settlers in Kiryat Arba, in Israel
Chronologies
2016, despite having previously commit- the West Bank.
ted to bringing over thousands of mem- • On 17 March two Palestinians stab • On 20 May Benjamin Netanyahu re-
bers of the Falash Mura community as an Israeli soldier on the outskirts of the incorporates the ultra-nationalist party
quickly as possible, who are living in tran- Ariel settlement in the West Bank, after Yisrael Beiteinu into the coalition, led by
sit camps in Gondar and Addis Ababa. which they are shot dead by the Israeli Avigdor Lieberman, a minister under
• On 22 March 19 Yemeni Jews arrive army. Netanyahu between 2009 and 2015.
from the city of Raida after being evac- • On 24 March two Palestinians are Thanks to this agreement, the coalition
uated from the country in a secret Is- shot dead by the Israeli army after stab- government gains six more seats in the
raeli army operation and thus conclud- bing an Israeli soldier. Parliament giving it a strong parliamen-
ing a 67-year-long repatriation process tary position ahead of France’s plans to
of Yemen’s Jewish community to Israel, reactivate the peace process. On the
which began with the arrival of 50,000 April 2016 same day, claiming that the country is
Yemeni Jews between 1949 and 1950 being taken over by “extremist and dan-
in the so-called Operation Magic Car- Israel gerous elements” –in reference to the
pet. Since then, arrivals have been much agreement with Yisrael Beiteinu-, Moshe
more isolated, but in recent months Is- • On 7 April a study by Israel’s Macro Yaalon resigns as Defence Minister, a
rael and the US have cooperated to Center for Political Economics reveals post Netanyahu hands over to Lieber-
accelerate the evacuation of all Jews that the country spends more money on man.
from Yemen because of the country’s Israeli settlers living in the West Bank • On 25 May the Environment Minister
ongoing conflict. that on its other residents, and that it Avi Gabbay, from the centrist Kulanu
has increased its budget for the settle- party, resigns, citing a shift to the right
Palestine ments by 28.4% in 2015, with respect in Benjamin Netanyahu’s government
374
to the previous year. coalition with the inclusion of Yisrael
• On 4 March Hamas announces the Beiteinu, a move which gives the gov-
execution on 7 February of Mahmoud Conflicts between the Parties ernment 66 of the 120 parliamentary
Ishtiwi, head of one of the battalions of seats.
the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades. Ishti- • On 18 April an explosion on a bus at
wi was sentenced to death by a reli- the Patt junction, in southeast Jerusa- Palestine
gious and military court for “moral turpi- lem, claimed by Hamas, leaves at least
tude” after being held for a year without 21 injured. The act of terrorism comes • On 6 May the Palestinian Finance
charge. According to The New York hours after Israel announced the discov- Minister announces an agreement
Times, Ishtiwi was the victim of a purge ery of an underground tunnel on the reached with Jordan and supported by
after being accused of embezzling funds border with Gaza, and is praised by the International Quartet that will allow,
from his unit and of having homosexual Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Fatah and the for the first time, exports of Palestinian
relationships. PFLP, which describe the attack as a products to the Hashemite Kingdom,
“natural” response to the occupation of after their prior inspection by Israel.
Conflicts between the Parties Palestine and the al-Aqsa Mosque. • On 12 May Egypt opens the Rafah
• On 24 April the Israeli authorities crossing, on the border with the Gaza
• On 1 March Israeli soldiers kill a Pal- evacuate the Temple Mount / Noble Strip, which has been closed for 85
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estinian citizen during an operation to Sanctuary and arrest two Palestinians in days.
rescue two soldiers who were attacked yet another episode of tension in the Old • On 25 May Hamas announces that
after entering the Kalandia refugee City of Jerusalem, this time coinciding the Parliament in Gaza has approved
camp, according to the Israeli army. with the celebration of Jewish Passover. the death penalty, despite opposition
• On 8 March an American tourist is • On 24 April Israel releases a 12-year- from the PNA and human rights groups.
killed and 11 Israelis injured by a Pales- old Palestinian girl, after she served two In a statement, the Islamist movement
tinian armed with a knife close to the and a half months in an Israeli jail. The that controls the Gaza Strip declares
headquarters of the Peres Centre for minor, arrested on 9 February in Karmei that the law was passed by the Islamist
Peace in south Tel Aviv, where the US Tzur, near Hebron, was charged with lawmakers in the Palestinian Legislative
Vice-President is meeting the former planning a knife attack on Israelis. Council, a body that has failed to bring
Israeli President Shimon Peres. The as- • On 27 April the Israeli border police together its 132 deputies since Hamas
sailant is shot down by police. shoot and kill two Palestinian brothers took control of the Strip in 2007.• On 31 May three Palestinians from fence cooperation and create a free the country’s border with the Gaza Strip
Appendices
Khan Yunis serving sentence for murder trade area between the Eurasian Eco- for four days to allow students, the sick
are executed by firing squad in Gaza, in nomic Union (EAEU) and Israel. The and dual-nationality citizens to leave or
the first act of capital punishment since announcement comes against the back- enter Gaza.
2007. drop of a bilateral rapprochement, which
is also intended to give both countries Peace Negotiations
Peace Negotiations a stronger position in the Middle East.
Chronologies
• On 13 June the Israeli ambassador • On 3 June France hosts a meeting
• On 19 May the French Foreign Af- to the United Nations Danny Danon is aimed at relaunching talks between Is-
fairs Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault an- elected to chair the UN General As- raelis and Palestinians based on the
nounces that the international confer- sembly’s Legal Committee, charged creation of two states in the region.
ence, promoted by France, aimed at with sensitive issues, including the fight Around 30 ministers and representa-
relaunching the peace talks will be held against international terrorism. This is tives of Arab and Western countries, the
on 3 June. the first time an Israeli representative will UN and EU take part in the meeting, to
• On 30 May Avigdor Lieberman is head a permanent committee of the UN. which neither representatives from Is-
sworn in as Defence Minister. His first • On 15 June the Parliament approves rael nor Palestine are invited, who have
act in his new post is to voice his sup- the new anti-terror law with 57 deputies not held direct negotiations since 2014.
port for negotiations with the Palestini- in favour -including a large part of the Although the secretary general of the
ans based on a two-state formula and opposition- and 16 against, which Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)
he repeatedly praises the initiative of the toughens sentences not only for those Saab Erekat describes the initiative as
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi who carry out attacks, but also for their hopeful, Israel opposes it because of its
for resuming the peace process. accomplices, who will receive the same multilateral approach.
sentences as those given to the perpe-
Conflicts between the Parties trators. Conflicts between the Parties
• On 20 June at least 65 Palestinian
• On 3 May the Jerusalem District prisoners, mostly from the PFLP, declare • On 8 June at least four people are
Court hands down a life sentence to an open-ended hunger strike in the Is- killed and another six injured in an attack
30-year-old Yosef Haim Ben David for raeli prisons of Megiddo and Gilboa in carried out with automatic weapons in
the murder in 2014 of a Palestinian mi- solidarity with the PFLP member Bilal the Sarona shopping centre, near the
375
nor, who he and two Israeli minors, also Kayed, who was put on administrative Ministry of Defence and Army HQ in Tel
sentenced in February, burnt alive. detention after serving a 14-year prison Aviv. After the attack, which Hezbollah
• On 4 May in response to Palestinian sentence. describes as a “heroic operation,” Israel
militants shelling Israeli troops undertak- • On 26 June a court in Israel hands freezes the 83,000 special permits it
ing search and destroy missions on down a life sentence to Yishai Schlissel, had granted Palestinian citizens from
underground tunnels on the border, the the ultra-Orthodox Jew who carried out the West Bank and Gaza to travel
Israeli air force attacks several Hamas an attack on several people taking part through its territory during the month of
targets in Rafah. Against the backdrop in the 2015 Gay Pride parade in Jeru- Ramadan.
of this exchange of fire, the first since salem, leaving one person dead and six • On 21 June Israeli soldiers kill a Pal-
the Gaza War in 2014, on 5 May a Pal- injured. estinian citizen when responding to a
estinian woman dies from injuries suf- • On 27 June Israel announces it has rocket and incendiary bomb attack on
fered by shots from an Israeli tank in reached a reconciliation agreement with Israeli vehicles on the road that joins
Khan Younis. Turkey to put an end to the bilateral cri- Jerusalem and Tel Aviv where it crosses
• On 10 May the trial begins against sis that began in 2010 and under which through the West Bank.
the Israeli soldier Elor Azaria accused the victims of the Freedom Flotilla will • On 29 June Hallel Yafa Ariel, a
of shooting in the head and killing a receive compensation amounting to 20 13-year-old Israeli girl is stabbed to
badly injured attacker on 24 March in million dollars. death in her bed at home in the settle-
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Hebron. This is the first such trial of an • On 28 June the Israeli police an- ment of Kiryat Arba, by a Palestinian
Israeli soldier in more than a decade. nounce a three-day closure of the Tem- citizen from Hebron, who is shot down
ple Mount / Noble Sanctuary in Jerusa- by police after the attack.
lem after dozens of young Palestinians
June 2016 barricade themselves into the al-Aqsa
Mosque in protest against the area’s July 2016
Israel Israeli occupation.
Israel
• On 7 June, in Moscow, the Russian Palestine
President Vladimir Putin and the Israeli • On 1 July the Quartet on the Middle
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu an- • On 2 June for the first time in three East -the UN, US, EU and Russia- urg-
nounce their intention to increase de- weeks the Egyptian authorities reopen es Israel to stop its policy of construc-tion and expansion of illegal settlements served a 14-year prison sentence for the State of Israel, with the aim of de-
Appendices
in Palestinian territory. belonging to the PFLP. porting them.
• On 4 July Tzipi Livni, the former For- • On 26 July the Israeli Parliament • On 10 August the Public Security
eign Minister and currently deputy in the passes a law allowing minors involved Minister Gilad Erdan announces the
Knesset returns from a trip to the United in murder or attempted murder who are creation of five new Israeli police sta-
Kingdom where she avoided question- between 12 and 14 years of age when tions in East Jerusalem, where there is
ing by the British police over war crimes they are convicted to serve sentence currently just one police station, in the
Chronologies
committed in the war in the Gaza Strip. when they turn 14. historic Old City. The new stations will
Livni was summoned to appear voluntar- • On 27 July Israel reopens the border be located in the neighbourhoods of
ily in the investigation into the Israeli with Syria for the first time since the Ras al-Amud, Jabal Mukaber, Silwan,
military’s Operation Cast Lead in 2008- beginning of the war to allow the entry Issawiya and Shur Baher.
2009, in which 1,391 Palestinians were of humanitarian aid. • On 25 August after 71 days of fast-
killed -including 759 civilians- and 5,300 ing, lawyers of Bilal Kayed, a member of
injured. Palestine the PFLP, announce that he is suspend-
• On 5 July General Gadi Eisenkot, the ing his hunger strike after reaching an
Israeli chief of general staff, revokes the • On 4 July, a week after the normaliza- agreement with the Israeli authorities to
so-called Hannibal Directive, the contro- tion of Turkish-Israeli relations, the Pan- end his administrative detention in De-
versial military code name in use since ama-flagged ship Lady Leyla, which set cember, after serving six months in jail.
the Israeli intervention in Lebanon be- out from Turkey, arrives at the Israeli port In exchange, Kayed agrees to a four-
tween 1982 and 1985 and which author- of Ashdod with 11,000 tonnes of sup- year exile from Israel and the Palestinian
izes indiscriminate attacks to prevent the plies, food and toys for people living in Territories.
capture of Israeli soldiers by enemy mili- the Gaza Strip, following inspection by • On 31 August the government body
tias, even at the cost of hostages’ lives. the Israeli authorities. in charge of managing the occupied ter-
• On 20 July more than 200 French ritories authorizes the construction of
Jews arrive in Israel. Since the attacks Peace Negotiations 466 new homes in different parts of the
in France in 2015 it is estimated that West Bank, 179 of which have retroac-
more than 12,000 French Jews have • On 10 July the Egyptian Foreign Af- tively received legal authorization after
made Aliyah, the return to the Land of fairs Minister Sameh Shoukry urges Is- being built illegally. According to the
Israel. According to the director of the raelis and Palestinians to resume peace Israeli NGO Shalom Ajshav (Peace
376
Jewish Agency for Israel in France, Dan- talks during his official visit to Israel, the Now), 2,623 new homes in the settle-
iel Benhaim, 5,000 people are expected first undertaken by an Egyptian head of ments have been approved in the last
to make the journey from France in diplomacy in the last decade. year, 756 of them retroactively.
2016, 30% fewer than in 2015. With
600,000 members, the Jewish commu- Conflicts between the Parties Palestine
nity in France is the largest in Europe
and third largest in the world, behind • On 5 July a young Palestinian from • On 24 August Egyptian security
Israel itself and the US. az-Zawiya is injured when she tries to sources reveal that Abu Suleiman, one
• On 21 July the Parliament’s plenum stab two Israeli soldiers at a bus stop at of the main Daesh commanders in the
approves, with 62 votes in favour and 45 the Gitai Avisar junction, close to Ariel Sinai Peninsula, was admitted mid-June
against, the law that allows lawmakers in the north of the West Bank. to a European-funded Gaza hospital,
suspected of having supported enemies • On 27 July during a raid in Surif, near after being injured in fighting with the
of the State of Israel to be indefinitely Hebron, Israeli soldiers kill a fighter from Egyptian army.
suspended from their parliamentary du- Hamas’ military wing the al-Qassam
ties, if said suspension enjoys the sup- Brigades, who was responsible for the Conflicts between the Parties
port of 90 of the 120 members of the attack that killed Rabbi Michael Mark on
house. The text received approval in a 1 July in the West Bank. Another three • On 24 August unrest erupts in the
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first reading from the parliamentary Jus- Hamas members are arrested. vicinity of the Damascus Gate in Jeru-
tice Committee on 29 March with 59 salem when Israeli security forces forci-
votes in favour and 52 against. bly dispel a demonstration in solidarity
• On 22 July dozens of Palestinians August 2016 with the prisoner Bilal Kayed.
held prisoner in Israeli jails go on hunger
strike in solidarity with the prisoner Bilal Israel
Kayed, hospitalized because of the seri- September 2016
ous deterioration in his health. Kayed • On 8 August the Interior and Public
has been fasting since 15 June in pro- Security Ministries announce the crea- Israel
test against the decision to put him in tion of a joint taskforce to gather infor-
administrative detention, taken a day mation on foreign activists in Israel or • On 4 September Israel shells a Syr-
before his release and after he had the West Bank looking to delegitimize ian armed forces position in responseto mortar hitting Israeli-controlled terri- • On 28 September Israel’s former ence in Jerusalem and the West Bank
Appendices
tory in the Golan Heights. President and Prime Minister and Nobel in view of the eight attacks carried out
• On 8 September Israel begins con- peace prize laureate Shimon Peres dies by Palestinian citizens in the last five
struction of an underground barrier aged 93, two weeks after suffering a days, in a reactivation of the so-called
along the border with the Gaza Strip to stroke. Stabbing Intifada.
block the smuggling tunnels and pre-
vent infiltrations. Palestine
Chronologies
• On 8 September an Israeli court October 2016
hands prison sentences down to five • On 8 September the High Court in
Arab-Israelis for attempting to join the Ramallah suspends the Palestinian mu- Israel
ranks of Daesh. nicipal elections scheduled for 8 Octo-
• On 8 September the Labour and ber in view of the inability to hold elec- • On 5 October the Israeli army inter-
Social Affairs Minister Haim Katz (Likud) tions in East Jerusalem, territory cepts the sailing boat Zaytouna-Oliva in
authorizes permits for carrying out es- controlled by Israel since 1967 and international waters on its way to the
sential work on the railways in Tel Aviv where 250,000 Palestinians live, who Gaza Strip in an attempt to break the
for 10 September, coinciding with the would be excluded from the elections, blockade in place since 2007.
Jewish Shabbat. However, on 9 Sep- and after courts in Gaza, which are not • On 14 October Israel announces
tember the Prime Minister Benjamin recognized by the PNA, disqualify Fatah that it is suspending cooperation with
Netanyahu suspends the order giving in electoral lists. UNESCO after the executive board of
to pressure from the coalition govern- the UN Educational, Scientific and Cul-
ment’s two ultra-Orthodox members Peace Negotiations tural Organization adopts a resolution
who are against the “violation of the drafted by Palestine and backed by
sanctity of Shabbat.” Netanyahu’s deci- • On 8 September the Russian For- Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Lebanon,
sion, which causes chaos in the Israeli eign Ministry confirms its readiness to Oman, Qatar and Sudan, which is
financial capital’s circulation system, organize a meeting in Moscow between critical of Israeli actions against Mus-
ignites a debate on the excessive influ- the Palestinian President Mahmoud Ab- lims’ freedom of worship and access
ence of the 12 haredi (ultra-Orthodox) bas and the Israeli Prime Minister Ben- to the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem
deputies in government decisions with jamin Netanyahu. Should this offer be and which denies the Jewish connec-
respect to the percentage of the popu- accepted, just a few weeks ahead of an tion with the Temple Mount and West-
377
lation -around 10%- at a time when Li- official visit by the Russian Prime Minis- ern Wall, describing Israel as an “oc-
kud is losing support in the polls to the ter Dmitry Medvedev to the region, it cupying power.” In reaction to the
centrist Yesh Atid (There is a Future) would be the first meeting between the resolution, criticized by the Director-
party of Yair Lapid. Consequently, the two leaders in six years. Moscow also General of UNESCO herself Irina
Prime Minister’s decision is nullified by points out that both the Israelis and Pal- Bokova, the Prime Minister Benjamin
the Supreme Court, which reminds Ne- estinians have requested Russian me- Netanyahu declares that “To say that
tanyahu that the power to authorize diation –also backed by Egypt- for an Israel has no connection to the Temple
such permits corresponds to the Labour eventual reactivation of the peace pro- Mount and the Western Wall is like say-
Minister. cess, which has made no advances ing that China has no connection to the
• On 10 September the Christian since Washington’s failure in April 2014 Great Wall of China and that Egypt has
charity World Vision cancels around to bring Abbas and Netanyahu to the no connection to the Pyramids.”
120 contracts in Gaza after Israel ac- negotiating table.
cuses its director in the Strip Mohamed Palestine
el-Halabi of diverting millions of dollars Conflicts between the Parties
to Hamas. • On 6 October a demonstration is
• On 11 September the Israeli Su- • On 4 September the Israeli army at- staged against the government of
preme Court denies a petition against tacks two Hamas targets in Beit Lahia, Mahmoud Abbas by hundreds of sup-
IEMed. Mediterranean Yearbook 2017
force feeding prisoners on hunger strike, in the north of the Gaza Strip. porters of Mohamed Dahlan, the former
arguing that the measure is constitu- • On 13 September Hamas rejects leader of a Fatah faction critical of
tional. Israel’s offer to exchange 19 of the Yasser Arafat and Mahmoud Abbas’
• On 13 September the Syrian military movement’s fighters captured in 2014 leadership of Palestine and the PNA,
command says it has used surface-to-air and the bodies of another 14 of its who, in 2011, was expelled from the
missiles to shoot down an Israeli fighter members for the bodies of the Israeli movement accused of corruption –
jet and drone in its airspace. The Is- soldiers Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul, awaiting a court ruling- and of being
raeli army denies the disappearance of who were killed during Israel’s Protec- behind Arafat’s death in France in No-
any of its aircraft which were participat- tive Edge offensive in the summer of vember 2004. Dahlan, however, now
ing in reprisal missions after missiles 2014. has a strong influence among members
were launched from Syria into the Golan • On 20 September Israel significant- of the Revolutionary Council and Cen-
Heights. ly steps up its police and military pres- tral Committee. The demonstrators callfor Dahlan’s return to Palestine from his roundings of Jerusalem. The causes of opposition from Israel and the future US
Appendices
exile in the United Arab Emirates and for the fires are being investigated by the Trump administration.
greater efforts to be made in the recon- secret services, as the government sug- • On 27 December an Israeli court
ciliation process between Fatah’s fac- gests terrorists may be responsible. orders the 10-day house arrest of the
tions ahead of the party’s 7th congress, • On 27 November Israeli defence Arab-Israeli MP Basel Ghattas accused
scheduled for the end of the year and forces sees its first clashes with a of illegally supplying mobile telephones
in which Dahlan’s supporters fear Daesh-linked group, Jaysh Khalid Bin to Palestinian prisoners convicted of ter-
Chronologies
changes may emerge in Fatah’s party al-Waleed (Khalid Bin al-Waleed Army) rorism.
line that will leave them on the sidelines. on the border between the Golan
Heights and the Yarmouk basin in the Palestine
Conflicts between the Parties Syrian province of Dera.
• On 3 and 4 December, during the
• On 5 October a delegation of the Palestine 7th Fatah Congress, Jibril Rajoub -pres-
International Criminal Court (ICC) trav- ident of the Palestinian Football Federa-
els to Israel and Palestine for the first • On 29 November the Palestinian tion and former head of Preventive Se-
time since the Gaza war in 2014 with President Mahmoud Abbas, is re-elect- curity in the West Bank- and Marwan
the aim of promoting a better under- ed leader of Fatah at the party’s 7th Barghouti –in prison in Israel since
standing of its work and thus dispelling congress in Ramallah, the first held by 2002 charged with murder during the
any mistrust regarding its investigations the movement since 2009. Abbas was Second Intifada- are the two major vic-
into the perpetration of crimes of war the only candidate, despite growing tors of the internal elections to renew
and against humanity in the Palestinian doubts among the population over his the members of the Palestinian national-
territories, with Palestine officially ac- politics and the internal rifts inside the ist movement’s Central Committee (ex-
cepted as an ICC member on 1 April Palestinian group. ecutive body), gaining 930 and 878 of
2015. the nearly 1,300 votes respectively.
• On 10 October the Israeli security Only 1,400 members of the party are
forces and emergency services are de- December 2016 invited to the controversial congress,
ployed around the Ammunition Hill light something that the factions critical of
rail stop, close to Israel’s police head- Israel the direction of the recently re-elected
quarters, after an armed Palestinian leader of the party and Palestinian Pres-
378
opens fire from his vehicle and drives • On 7 December the first reading of ident, as well as PLO leader, Mahmoud
away still shooting, killing two Israelis. a draft bill that will allow the legalization Abbas consider a move to rid the party
of 4,000 settlers’ homes built on private- of political rivals. Mohamed Dahlan is
ly-owned Palestinian land in the West one of the foremost critics, the former
November 2016 Bank receives the support of a parlia- Preventive Security chief in Gaza and
mentary majority. A decision which, for staunch opponent of Abbas from his
Israel the Education Minister and leader of the exile in the Persian Gulf, who has the
ultra-Orthodox party HaBayit HaYehudi backing of Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia
• On 14 November the Israeli govern- (Jewish Home), Naftali Benett, means and the United Arab Emirates and is one
ment unanimously approves a draft bill “the future imposition of Israeli sover- of the main candidates to succeed
to retroactively legalize temporary set- eignty on Judea and Samaria,” or, ef- 81-year-old Abbas, along with Rajoub,
tlements (outposts), which precede fectively, the end of the two-state solu- Barghouti and al-Qidwa, Yasser Arafat’s
permanent settlements in occupied ter- tion defended by the international nephew and former Palestinian UN rep-
ritories in the West Bank, which until community as a way of resolving the resentative. The other candidates to the
now have been illegal under Israeli law conflict. The approved text excludes the Central Committee in order of the votes
as they lack permits. The vote takes West Bank settlement of Amona which they won are: Mohammad Ishtayeh (798
place despite the Prime Minister Benja- is under a Supreme Court order to be votes), Hussain al-Sheikh (791),
IEMed. Mediterranean Yearbook 2017
min Netanyahu’s request to postpone it evacuated before 25 December, against Mahmoud al-Aloul (745), Tawfiq Tirawi
until the Supreme Court rules on the which an appeal has been filed. (745), Saeb Erekat (672) and Nasser
seven-month extension requested by • On 15 December the US President- al-Kidwa (647).
the public prosecutor on 1 November elect Donald Trump announces the ap- • On 14 December the Ramallah anti-
to carry out the court-ordered eviction pointment of David Friedman as the US corruption court sentences Mohamed
of the Amona outpost, which is to be ambassador to Israel. Dahlan, one of the Palestinian President
carried out before 25 December. • On 23 December the United Nations Mahmoud Abbas’ main political rivals,
• On 24 November more than 80,000 Security Council approves a draft reso- to three years in prison and fines him 16
people are evacuated from Haifa and lution presented by Egypt and the PNA million dollars for embezzling funds.
various nearby towns because of a mas- condemning the construction of Israeli • On 15 December the former pilot of
sive wave of fires in different parts of the settlements in Palestinian territory, Tunisian airlines and aviation engineer
country, mostly in the north and sur- thanks to a US abstention and despite specialized in drones, Mohammed al-Zoari, a Hamas member, is murdered end to the construction and expansion Al-Ahram
Appendices
in Sfax. The Tunisian Interior Minister of settlements in Palestinian territory. Al-Jazeera
Hedi Majdub says that the role of for- Al-Masry al-Youm
eign intelligence agencies in the as- Conflicts between the Parties Al-Monitor
sassination cannot be ruled out. The Associated Press
Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieber- • On 19 December an Israeli man is BBC World
man refuses to comment on the assas- shot and wounded in the West Bank Carnegie Endowment for International
Chronologies
sination. town of Halamish, hours after a Palestin- Peace
• On 17 December Egypt announces ian is shot dead by Israeli forces during Chatham House
the reopening of the Rafah border clashes in Beit Rima, near Ramallah. The Council of Foreign Affairs
crossing for a six-day period. perpetrator of the shooting flees the El Mundo
• On 22 December the Israeli Su- scene, El País
preme Court approves the 45-day • On 21 December a Palestinian citi- Euronews
moratorium requested by the govern- zen is shot dead by Israeli soldiers dur- Europa Press
ment to evacuate the West Bank settle- ing clashes in Kafr Aqab, East Jerusa- Europe Media Monitor
ment of Amona, which was to be demol- lem. The unrest was sparked by soldiers Foreign Affairs
ished by court order before 25 initiating the demolition of the home of Foreign Policy
December for being built illegally on Misbah Abu Sbeih, who was killed by Haaretz
privately-owned Palestinian land. The the Israeli security forces after, on 10 Il Corriere della Sera
definitive date for the settlement’s evic- October, he carried out an attack on a International Crisis Group
tion and demolition is moved to 8 Febru- police station in East Jerusalem, which International Relations & Security Net-
ary 2017, which is “the last extension, left one woman injured. work
whether an alternative arrangement is • On 22 December Shabak agents ar- Le Figaro
reached or not.” rest more than twenty Hamas members Le Monde
• On 28 December Egypt destroys a in Nablus accused of planning suicide Le monde diplomatique
1,700-metre-long underground tunnel in attacks in different Israeli cities. L’Orient Le Jour
the Rafah area. • On 26 December a young Palestin- Medarabnews
• On 28 December the Jordanian For- ian is injured by shots fired by Israeli Observatorio Político Electoral del Mun-
eign Minister Nasser Judeh hands the forces during clashes close to Jo- do Árabe y Musulmán (OPEMAM)
379
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas seph’s Tomb, in Nablus –in Area A of Press Releases of the European Com-
an invitation to attend the next annual the Oslo Accords-, which began with mission
Arab League summit in March 2017 in the arrival of Israeli pilgrims escorted Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty
Amman, where the Palestinian issue will by the army. Reuters
top the meeting’s agenda. RTVE
SwissInfo
Peace Negotiations Sources The Guardian
The Huffington Post
• On 28 December the Palestinian ABC The New York Times
President Mahmoud Abbas says he Affaires Stratégiques - IFRI The Telegraph
would resume peace talks under the Agencia EFE The Washington Post
condition that Israel puts an immediate Agence France Presse United Nations News Centre
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