Chronology of Events in Israel and Palestine - IEMed
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Chronologies
Appendices
Chronology of Events in Israel
and Palestine
Chronology of Events in Israel and Palestine
In Israel, 2019 is a year with an elec- iteinu. And the other is the centrist can- the hope of avoiding a possible trial
toral focus, with the country holding two didate Kajol Lavan (Blue and White) and, in turn, refloating negotiations to
legislative elections. The economic formed by Benny Gantz’s centrist Ho- form a government, given that the three
slowdown, the corruption scandals in- sen L’Israel (Resilience for Israel), Yahir court cases constitute one of the main
volving the Prime Minister and Likud Lapid’s Yesh Atid (There Is a Future) stumbling blocks. However, after the
leader Benjamin Netanyahu and the and Moshe Yaalon’s Telem (National hearings, in November the public pros-
relentless divisions in the most con- Statesmanlike Movement). A draw in ecutor decides to officially indict Net-
servative coalition government in Is- the elections, with both alliances taking anyahu for accepting bribes, fraud and
raeli history formed by Likud (Consoli- 35 seats each, forces Netanyahu to ne- breach of trust. At the end of December,
dation, conservative), Kulanu (All of Us, gotiate a coalition government again the sitting Prime Minister announces his
centre-right), HaBayit HaYehudi (Jew- with the ultra-Orthodox and extreme intention to file an appeal before the
ish Home, ultra-nationalist), Yahadut right-wing parties. An agreement is not Knesset in order to safeguard his par-
Hatorah (United Torah Judaism, ultra- forthcoming, and so on 29 May new liamentary immunity.
orthodox Ashkenazi) and Shas (World- elections are scheduled for 17 Septem- The successive demonstrations of the
wide Association of Torah-Observant ber. These second elections once again Great March of Return in the occupied
Sephardim, ultra-Orthodox), lead to confirm the deadlock which began in territories of the West Bank and on the
369
early elections being held on 9 April, April, with the Blue and White Alliance border between Israel and the Gaza
seven months before the end of the winning 33 seats and Likud 32. After Strip have also been one of the year’s
government’s term in office. There are Netanyahu’s offer to form a national major events. Since they began, in
two specific triggers that lead to the unity government comes to nothing, es- March 2018, the demonstrations have
decision to hold elections: firstly, the sentially due to Gantz’s demand that protested against the recognition of Je-
resignation in November 2018 of the the Likud leader renounces parliamen- rusalem as the capital of Israel by the
Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman tary immunity and accepts being sec- US and claim the rights of Palestinian
following Netanyahu’s decision not to ond in an eventual rotation as head of refugees to return to their homes prior
launch a major offensive against the government, Netanyahu gives up his to the creation of the State of Israel in
Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) task to form a government thereby giv- 1948. This sustained period of tension
in the Gaza Strip in response to the ing the responsibility to Gantz, who is further aggravated by the US Presi-
launching of 460 missiles into southern obtains the backing of Israel’s main dent Donald Trump’s decision in March
Israel. The resignation leads to the with- Arab parties in the hope of preventing 2019 to officially recognize Israel’s sov-
drawal of Lieberman’s party, the Zionist Netanyahu from serving another term in ereignty over the Golan Heights, oc-
Yisrael Beiteinu (Israel Our Home, right- office. However, Gantz is also unable cupied by Israel since the 1967 war
wing) from the government, leaving the to gather together the support needed and annexed since 1981.
coalition government with the support to form a government, and the country The alignment of the Trump Administra-
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of just 61 of the 120 members of the is thus set on the path to a third elec- tion’s new foreign policy with the inter-
Knesset (Parliament); and secondly, the tion, called on 12 December and ests of the Israeli government, and also
failure, in early January 2019, to pass scheduled for 2 March 2020. with Benjamin Netanyahu’s electoral
the law on drafting ultra-Orthodox Jews With regard to the court investigations perspectives, leads to the establish-
for military service, supported espe- into corruption involving Benjamin Ne- ment, throughout 2019, of new settle-
cially by Zionist and secular parties, as tanyahu, known as cases 1000, 2000 ments and the extension of existing
well as the Supreme Court, which, in a and 4000, in February, Israel’s Attorney settlements in Area C of the West Bank
ruling in 2017, set 15 January 2019 as General Avichai Mandelblit indicts the and the Golan Heights, as well as oth-
a deadline for approving the legal text. Prime Minister. At the beginning of Oc- er measures, such as the decision not
There are two major alliances in the 9 tober, Netanyahu becomes the first Is- to renew the mandate of the observer
April elections. The first is led by Likud, raeli head of government to appear mission of the Temporary International
which has the support of Yisrael Be- before the state prosecutor’s office in Presence in Hebron (TIPH), present inthe city since the Cave of the Patriarchs renew the lease agreement with Israel of Gaza and the West Bank. A close
Appendices
massacre in 1994. for both territories. confidant of the President Mahmoud
In June, the Commission of the Great On a regional level, the outgoing Is- Abbas and key figure in both the nego-
March of Return and Breaking the raeli Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot and tiations with Israel and in Fatah’s po-
Seige calls a general strike in all the the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu litical apparatus, Shatyyeh represents
Palestinian territories, coinciding with confirm in January 2019 the direct in- an increase in Fatah’s control within the
the US-sponsored Manama summit as volvement of the Israeli army in the Syr- Palestinian administration. As a conse-
Chronology of Events in Israel and Palestine
part of the peace initiative set up by the ian conflict with thousands of attacks in quence, the move is rejected by Hamas,
US President’s son-in-law and adviser 2018 on Iranian and Syrian army tar- which has to deal with increasing pro-
Jared Kushner, dubbed by its propo- gets. In addition, on 13 January, Israel tests in Gaza over the economic situa-
nents the “Deal of the Century.” The announces the end of Operation North- tion and claims the appointment lacks
Palestinian National Authority (PNA) ern Shield, launched on 4 December national consensus and is damaging for
rejects the initiative considering it a 2018 to locate and destroy tunnels dug the reconciliation process. In light of
bribe to get Palestine to renounce its by the Lebanese Shia group Hezbollah this situation, Egypt resumes its efforts
historical rights in exchange for money. to penetrate into Israeli territory. Iran to reactivate talks between the factions
On 25 July, the Palestinian President and Hezbollah’s involvement in the Syr- in July 2019, and on 1 October
Mahmoud Abbas announces that the ian conflict is a constant cause of ten- Mahmoud Abbas forms a committee for
PNA will stop complying with the sion throughout 2019, with Israel con- holding elections throughout Palestine,
agreements with Israel, a move that demning Tehran’s use of this territorial a pledge made by the Palestinian Pres-
particularly has an impact on security in presence to plot actions against the ident during the United Nations Gen-
the West Bank amid high tension in the security of the Israeli State from Syrian eral Assembly in September. For its
region. and Lebanese territory. Another note- part, Hamas announces it is ready to
In connection with the Great March of worthy event related with Iran is the take part in a general election and even
Return protests, the tit-for-tat attacks 11-year prison sentence handed down elections for the Palestinian National
between Israel and the Palestinian fac- to the former Israeli Minister of Energy Council (PNC), the supreme legislative
tions in the Gaza Strip also continue and Infrastructure between 1992 and body of the Palestinian Liberation Or-
unabated throughout 2019. In this re- 1995, Gonen Segev, for spying for the ganization (PLO), which the Islamist
spect, at the end of January Israel sus- Islamic Republic. movement is not a member of.
pends a Qatari funds transfer to Pales- As regards Palestine’s interior politics,
370
tine over the violence at the Gaza 2019 begins with Hamas taking control
border, and in March the Palestinian of the border between Gaza and Egypt January 2019
missile attacks from Gaza, attributed to following the withdrawal of Palestinian
Islamic Jihad, target Tel Aviv, for the first National Authority civil servants amid Israel
time since 2014. In December, Israel reports that hundreds of them are being
announces it has killed Baha Abu Al- harassed and detained. Since 2017, the • On 1 January the Zionist Union, a
Ata, the leader of the al-Quds Brigades, PNA had taken back control of the bor- party formed in 2014 from the fusion of
the armed wing of Islamic Jihad, in an der as part of the attempts of the Egyp- the Israeli Labor Party and the Hatnua
airstrike on Gaza City. Islamic Jihad tian mediation to try and revive inter- Party ahead of the 2015 elections, is
responds with intense rocket fire into Palestinian negotiations, which brought dissolved with a view to the elections
southern and central Israel. factions Fatah and Hamas together in scheduled for April 2019.
In another of the conflict’s hotspots, the Cairo in October 2017 to sign a new • On 3 January there are clashes dur-
Temple Mount, the arrest in February of reconciliation agreement, which, in turn, ing the evacuation carried out by the
Sheikh Abdel-Azeem Salhab, head of would have allowed joint elections to Israeli paramilitary police of dozens of
the Waqf Council and custodian of the be held in the West Bank, Gaza and Israeli settlers, who, since December,
holy sites of Jerusalem as appointed by East Jerusalem for the first time since have occupied the illegal Amona settle-
the King of Jordan, increases tensions 2006. ment, in the West Bank.
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in relations between Israel and Jordan. However, the attack on the Palestinian • On 6 January five far-right Israeli
The arrest, related with the reopening Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah’s con- teenagers are arrested for the murder
of the Golden Gate, sparks protests voy in March 2018, during his first of a Palestinian woman in Tapuach, the
both in Jordan and in East Jerusalem. visit to Gaza, marked a new worsening West Bank, on 12 October 2018.
Other events during the year which of relations between Fatah and Hamas, • On 7 January the death in Savion is
strain relations with Amman are the ar- suspending the application of the reported of Moshe Arens, the former
rest in September of Jordanian Hiba agreement signed in the Egyptian cap- Israeli Foreign Minister and three times
al-Labadi and Abdul Rahman Miri at the ital. The election, in April 2019, of Mo- the Israeli Defence Minister.
Allenby border crossing, and the return, hammad Shtayyeh to replace Rami • On 9 January the former Israeli En-
in November, of Baqura and Ghamr, Hamdallah as the new Prime Minister ergy and Infrastructure Minister be-
following on from Abdullah II’s an- of the beleaguered unity government tween 1992 and 1995, Gonen Segev,
nouncement in October 2018 not to deepens divisions between the leaders is found guilty of spying for Iran, forwhich he is sentenced to 11 years’ im- Peace Negotiations caust” in the latest chapter of mounting
Appendices
prisonment. tensions between both countries. The
• On 13 January after more than a • On 19 January Hamas confirms the crisis began in January 2018 with the
month of underground and technologi- beginning of talks with Israel to reach a approval in the Sejm (Polish Parliament)
cal work carried out by the army on the prisoner-exchange agreement before of the controversial Holocaust law, un-
Lebanese border, Israel announces the the early elections scheduled for April der which anyone using the term “Polish
end of Operation Northern Shield, in Israel. death camps” or accusing Poland of
Chronology of Events in Israel and Palestine
launched on 4 December with the pur- complicity in the Holocaust could be
pose of locating and destroying tunnels Conflicts between the Parties sentenced to up to three years in prison.
dug by the Shia group Hezbollah to The US and Israel’s condemnation of
penetrate into Israeli territory. • On 5 January at least 15 Palestinians the new law, describing it as an attempt
• On 13 January in an interview for the are injured, 12 of them by shots fired by to cover up the complicity of certain
New York Times, the outgoing Israeli Israeli forces, following a new Palestin- sectors of Polish society in crimes
Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot and the ian march to the fence separating Israel against Jews, led to the approval in the
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from the Gaza Strip. The demonstration Sejm in June 2018 of a new version that
confirm the direct involvement of the forms part of the Great March of Return, removed the prison sentences.
Israeli army in the Syrian conflict with which began in late March 2018 to • On 19 February Immigration Minister
thousands of attacks on Iranian targets claim the right of Palestinian refugees Yoav Gallant calls for Jews living in
on Syrian soil -2,000 in 2018 alone. to return to their homes and protest France to “come home” to Israel follow-
• On 16 January the police arrest three against the US and other countries’ rec- ing the vandalism of 80 graves in the
people involved in a scheme of ex- ognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli Quatzenheim Jewish cemetery, near
changing sexual favours for judicial ap- capital. Strasbourg, amid a rise in acts of anti-
pointments. The Justice Minister Ayelet • On 12 January the Israeli Air Force Semitism in France. In 2018, 541 such
Shajed and Supreme Court President attacks two of Hamas’ underground fa- acts were recorded, 74% more than in
Esther Hayut are two of the senior mem- cilities in response to a rocket fired from 2017. The surge in anti-Semitism is also
bers of the judicial selection committee the Gaza Strip. cause for concern in the United King-
that may be required to testify in the • On 18 January at least 14 Palestin- dom where the number of anti-Semitic
court investigation into the case. ians are injured after Israeli forces re- acts in 2018 rose by 16%, to above
• On 20 January Benjamin Netanyahu spond to a large protest in the Gaza 1,650, the highest since 1984, accord-
371
travels to Yamena to announce, to- Strip. ing to Community Security Trust data,
gether with the President of Chad Id- • On 23 January Israel suspends the and where in Februrary, eight members
riss Deby, the renewal of diplomatic transfer of Qatari funds to Palestine in of the British Labour Party, including
ties after a 47-year rupture. The an- light of the ongoing violence on the Luciana Berger and Joan Ryan, left the
nouncement comes after the Chadian Gaza border and a day after the Israeli party over their differences with Jeremy
President travelled to Israel in Novem- Air Force bombs Hamas positions in the Corbyn’s leadership, one of the main
ber 2018. Strip, following another border confron- reasons being their concern over accu-
• On 20 January the Russian Defence tation which leaves one Israeli soldier sations of anti-Semitic behaviour within
Minister confirms the shooting down of wounded. the party. In 2018 in Germany, accord-
seven Israeli missiles fired at Damascus • On 29 January the Palestinian Na- ing to official data from the German
International Airport, which was not hit tional Authority (PNA) condemns the government, 1,646 acts of anti-Semitic
in the attack. Shortly after, the Israeli Israeli government’s decision not to re- violence were counted, 9.4% up from
army attacks Iranian and Syrian targets new the mandate of the Temporary In- 2017 and the highest figure in the last
in response to a missile fired at the Go- ternational Presence in Hebron (TIPH) decade.
lan Heights, occupied by Israel. observer mission, which has been pre- • On 20 February Benjamin Netan-
sent in the city since the mid-nineties. yahu’s Likud reaches an electoral deal
Palestine with Avigdor Lieberman’s ultra-con-
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servative party HaBayit HaYehudi (The
• On 7 January Hamas takes control February 2019 Jewish Home) ahead of the election on
of the border between Gaza and Egypt 9 April. According to the agreement,
following the withdrawal of Palestinian Israel The Jewish Home would obtain two
National Authority employees amid re- ministries in exchange for allowing
ports that hundreds of them are being • On 18 February the summit of the Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Force) to join
harassed or detained. Visegrad Group in Jerusalem is can- its ranks, a far-right, racist party found-
• On 29 January the Palestinian gov- celled after Poland announces it will not ed in 2012 by followers of the ultra-
ernment, led by the Prime Minister Rami attend in protest against the words of Orthodox anti-Arab rabbi Meir Kahane,
Hamdallah, resigns, although it will con- Israel’s acting Foreign Minister Israel assassinated in New York in 1990, and
tinue to function until a new cabinet is Katz, who condemns the Polish for “co- considered a successor to Kahane’s
formed. operating with the Nazis in the Holo- outlawed Kach party.• On 21 February Benny Gatz’s Hosen another day of clashes in the Gaza Strip, al-Bureij, Nuseirat, Khan Yunis and Ra-
Appendices
L’Israel and Yahir Lapid’s Yesh Atid an- as part of the Great March of Return. fah and thousands of people are ar-
nounce that the two parties will run to- • On 28 February, according to the rested and interrogated.
gether as a centrist alliance called Kajol conclusions of a UN inquiry, Israeli
Lavan (Blue and White) in the 9 April forces may have committed war crimes Conflicts between the Parties
elections. This coalition also includes and crimes against humanity in their
the Moshe Yaalon’s Telem party. repression of the protests in the Gaza • On 7 March officials from Israel and
Chronology of Events in Israel and Palestine
• On 24 February Sheikh Abdel- Strip at the end of March 2018, which Jordan – custodian of the Temple Mount
Azeem Salhab, head of the Waqf Coun- left 189 Palestinians dead. – hold talks to try to resolve the tensions
cil, the Islamic foundation that manages at the Golden Gate or Gate of Mercy,
Temple Mount / The Noble Sanctuary in near to where the offices of the Waqf,
Jerusalem, is arrested by Israeli police, March 2019 the Islamic heritage of East Jerusalem
only to be released hours later on the committee are located, which is overseen
condition he does not return to the holy Israel by Jordan. The building was closed under
city in the next week. Salhab is also the an Israeli court order in 2003 due to al-
highest representative of the King of • On 20 March the 6th trilateral summit leged political activity there, but Waqf’s
Jordan and custodian of Jerusalem’s takes place in Jerusalem between Cy- recent reopening of the site, contrary to
holy sites, according to the peace prus, Greece and Israel with the partici- the order, ratified in 2017, to undertake
agreement undersigned by Israel and pation of the US State Secretary Mike restoration works has allowed access to
Jordan in 1994. His arrest for breaching Pompeo and which primarily addresses Muslims who in February began work on
a 2003 court order, under which access energy security and the exploitation of oil an additional mosque to the five the Tem-
to the Golden Gate or Gate of Mercy / and gas in the eastern Mediterranean. ple Mount currently houses. This, to-
Bab al-Rahma is forbidden, by reopen- • On 25 March the US President Don- gether with the Waqf’s opposition to the
ing the site under pressure from hun- ald Trump officially recognizes Israeli presence of Israeli observers at the res-
dreds of Palestinian demonstrators, sovereignty over the Golan Heights, oc- toration works raises tensions in the area,
sparks tensions between both coun- cupied by the Israeli army since the which on 12 March has to be evacuated
tries, and leads to protests both in Jor- 1967 war and annexed since 1981. after an explosive device is thrown at
dan and the Old City of Jerusalem. Trump makes this announcement along- Israeli police, while talks continue be-
• On 26 February the former Energy side the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin tween Israeli and Jordanian officials.
372
Minister Gonen Segev is sentenced to Netanyahu, who is in Washington to • On 7 March the Israel Defence Forc-
11 years’ imprisonment for spying for Iran. participate in the annual assembly of the es confirm attacks on several Hamas
• On 28 February Israel’s Attorney American-Israeli Public Affairs Commit- targets in the Gaza Strip, in response
General, Avichai Mandelblit, indicts the tee (AIPAC) the main organization of the to incendiary balloons and a rocket
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for pro-Israeli lobby in the US. launched from the Palestinian enclave.
fraud, breach of trust (Case 1000 and • On 31 March as part of the Brazilian • On 8 March around 40 Palestinians
Case 2000) and bribery (Case 4000), President Jair Bolsonaro’s official visit are injured by shots fired by Israeli se-
a little more than a month before the to Israel, Brazil announces the opening curity forces in another day of protests
elections on 9 April. of a trade office in Jerusalem, thereby in the Gaza Strip.
ruling out initial plans to transfer the • On 8 March the Israeli army bombs
Palestine Brazilian embassy from Tel Aviv. several Hamas military positions in
Gaza, after a missile is fired into Israel
• On 20 February the PNA announces Palestine from the Strip hours earlier.
that it will no longer accept the money • On 12 March a Palestinian man is
from taxes collected on its behalf by the • On 10 March the President of the killed in clashes with Israeli soldiers fol-
Israeli government after the latter re- Palestinian National Authority Mahmoud lowing a raid in Salfit, the West Bank.
duces the transfer amount in response Abbas appoints Fatah Central Commit- • On 15 March for the first time since
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to the financial support the PNA gives tee member Mohammad Shtayyeh as 2014, an armed group from the Gaza
to families of alleged terrorists. the new Prime Minister, tasked with Strip fires missiles at Tel Aviv. The at-
forming a government. tack, attributed to Islamic Jihad, pro-
Conflicts between the Parties • On 14 March protests begin in the vokes an immediate reaction from Israel,
Gaza Strip against the increase in the which bombs hundreds of Hamas tar-
• On 4 February Israeli soldiers shoot cost of living, tax hikes and the poor gets in Palestinian territory.
one Palestinian dead and wound an- economic situation, called by the group • On 20 March the Israeli army kills
other close to Jenin, the West Bank, We Want to Live! and which are harsh- two Palestinians who threw explosive
who were thought to be carrying out a ly dispersed by Hamas security forces, devices at soldiers posted close to Jo-
bomb attack. particularly in the Jabalia and Deir al- seph’s Tomb, in Nablus.
• On 15 February at least 20 Palestin- Balah refugee camps, the movement’s • On 25 March a missile fired from the
ians and an Israeli soldier are injured in epicentres. Protests are also held in Gaza Strip at the residential area of Sha-ron, north of Tel Aviv, leaves seven people operation in the Qalandiya refugee the last two days leaves dozens dead.
Appendices
injured. Thought to be the work of either camp in the West Bank. The ceasefire also comes ahead of the
Hamas or Islamic Jihad, this is the fur- • On 22 April the Israeli army opens upcoming Eurovision song contest,
thest a missile has reached since 2014. an investigation after the press pub- which is to be held in Tel Aviv.
• On 27 March the Israel Defence lishes images of a Palestinian teenager • On 31 May a Palestinian citizen stabs
Forces launch a series of attacks on shot and wounded by Israeli soldiers two Israelis in Jerusalem, after which he
Hamas targets after intercepting an- while handcuffed and blindfolded. The is shot dead by police.
Chronology of Events in Israel and Palestine
other rocket fired from the Gaza Strip boy was trying to run away after his ar-
into southern Israel. rest in Tekoa, the West Bank, under
suspicion of throwing stones at the sol- June 2019
diers during a protest against military
April 2019 vehicles patrolling the area. Israel
Israel • On 2 June at least three Syrian sol-
May 2019 diers are killed and a further seven in-
• On 9 April Israel holds early parlia- jured in Quneitra, in the second Israeli
mentary elections which end in a draw Israel bombing on Syrian soil in less than a
between Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud week following the two rocket launches
and Beni Gantz’s central-left Blue and • On 12 May the Prime Minister Ben- into the Golan Heights.
White. Both parties win 35 seats in the jamin Netanyahu announces the start of • On 6 June Benjamin Netanyahu ap-
Knesset (Parliament) with 26.46% and the process to set up a new Israeli set- points the openly gay Likud MP Amir
26.15% of the vote respectively. De- tlement in occupied territory in the Go- Ohana as interim Justice Minister, an
spite the 24-seat increase for the coali- lan Heights, in honour of the US Presi- unprecedented milestone in the coun-
tion parties led by Gantz, Netanyahu dent Donald Trump, who in March try’s history.
secures another four years in office after recognized Israeli sovereignty over the • On 16 June the Israeli Prime Minis-
reaching an agreement for a new gov- territory. ter’s wife Sara Netanyahu is ordered to
erning coalition with the two religious • On 25 May thousands of Israelis pro- pay a 2,500€ fine and return 11,250€
parties Shas and United Torah Judaism, test in Tel Aviv against legislative steps to the public treasury for misuse of pub-
the centrist Kulanu, the Union of Right- that could grant the Prime Minister Ben- lic funds in the Catering Case.
373
Wing Parties and Avigdor Lieberman’s jamin Netanyahu immunity from prose- • On 16 June the Prime Minister Ben-
ultra-Orthodox Yisrael Beiteinu. With cution and limit the powers of Israel’s jamin Netanyahu meets with the Coun-
this right-wing bloc, Netanyahu garners Supreme Court. cil of Ministers in the Golan Heights to
the backing of 65 MPs in total. • On 29 May, 50 days after winning reinaugurate the settlement Ramat
• On 25 April the United Nations In- the elections, the acting Prime Minister Trump (Trump Heights), renamed be-
terim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) confirms Benjamin Netanyahu, calls early elec- cause of the US President’s recognition
the existence of a third tunnel that cross- tions for 17 September after failing in of Israeli sovereignty over the Syrian
es the Blue Line, along the border be- his attempt to form a government before territory, occupied by Israel since 1967.
tween Lebanon and Israel, after the Is- the end of the legal deadline and to pre-
raeli authorities report that Hezbollah has vent another party from doing so. Palestine
dug a total of six tunnels in the border
area. Palestine • On 17 June the Israeli company Me-
korot begins work on a Qatar-funded
Palestine • On 21 May Israel announces the ex- pipeline to improve the water supply in
tension of the fishing zone for the Gaza Palestine.
• On 13 April Mohammad Shtayyeh is Strip from 10 to 15 nautical miles, after • On 25 June a general strike is held
appointed as the new Prime Minister of it was reduced during the wave of at- in the Palestinian territories, called by
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the PNA to replace Rami Hamdallah, tacks between the Israeli army and Pal- the Commission for the Great March of
who announced his resignation in Janu- estinian militias. Return and Breaking the Seige, coincid-
ary after five years at the head of the ing with the US-sponsored Bahrain
unity government and in light of his un- Conflicts between the Parties Summit, held as part of the Trump Ad-
successful efforts to reach an agree- ministration’s peace plan.
ment with Hamas. • On 2 May the Israeli army bombs • On 26 June the Sultan of Oman Qa-
several Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip boos bin Said Al Said announces his
Conflicts between the Parties in response to incendiary balloons intention to open a diplomatic delega-
launched from the Palestinian enclave. tion in the Palestinian territories, in the
• On 2 April soldiers from the Israel • On 5 May the ceasefire between middle of the Bahrain conference.
Defence Forces kill a young Palestinian Israel and Hamas for Ramadan enters • On 28 June the European Council
man and injure two others during an into force, after the violence in Gaza of extends the mandate of the Europeanmissions in Palestine: EUPOL COPPS, • On 8 July the Jerusalem District Peace Negotiations
Appendices
which assists the PNA in building the Court issues a landmark ruling blaming
institutions of a future State of Palestine the PNA for acts of terrorism commit- • On 31 July the US President Don-
in the areas of policing and criminal jus- ted against Palestinian citizens, even ald Trump’s advisor and son-in-law
tice, and EUBAM Rafah, the Rafah bor- those perpetrated by Islamic Jihad or Jared Kushner begins a tour of the
der crossing assistance mission, until Hamas. Middle East to promote his peace plan,
30 June 2020. • On 13 July the Israeli Education called by its proponents “the deal of
Chronology of Events in Israel and Palestine
Minister Rafi Peretz declares he is in the century.”
Peace Negotiations favour of gay conversion therapy,
sparking calls for his resignation. Conflicts between the Parties
• On 25 and 26 June Manama hosts a • On 23 July Israel accuses Iran of
conference on the economic aspect of using civilian companies and maritime • On 22 July tensions rise with the Is-
a peace plan that casts doubt over the channels to supply Hezbollah with raeli demolition of dozens of homes in
idea of a future Palestinian state and in weapons-manufacturing equipment. the Palestinian neighbourhood of Wadi
which neither Palestine nor Israel par- • On 30 July the Israeli authorities ap- Hummus, East Jerusalem, on the
ticipate. The priority of the Trump Admin- prove the construction of 6,000 new grounds that they were too close to the
istration’s new peace plan, led by the US homes for Israeli settlers and 700 for separation barrier.
President’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, Palestinians in Area C of the West • On 31 July, according to Israeli
would be to create the conditions nec- Bank, despite the UN questioning the military sources, a Palestinian man who
essary for trade and the reactivation of legality of such a move. had crossed the Gaza fence to shoot
the Palestinian economy as the first step at Israeli troops is shot dead by sol-
to understanding the advantages of nor- Palestine diers, three of whom are wounded by
malizing relations with Israel. The PNA the assailant. During the same incident,
rejects the US plan describing it as an • On 6-7 July a Jordanian-Palestine an Israeli tank attacks a Hamas military
attempt to bribe Palestine into giving up ministerial committee agrees to create post.
its historical rights in exchange for mon- a joint Palestinian-Jordanian customs
ey. Morocco, Egypt and Jordan attend administration, in coordination with the
the conference, despite Palestinian re- Industry, Economy and Transport Min- August 2019
quests for them not to do so. istries of both countries, to discuss the
374
details of of the establishment of a lo- Israel
Conflicts between the Parties gistics zone for bilateral trade ex-
change. • On 21 August the Israeli army mis-
• On 13 June Israel attacks Hamas • On 11-12 July Egypt resumes its takenly fires on an Israeli crop-dusting
positions in the Gaza Strip after a mis- mediation efforts towards Palestinian plane from the Golan Heights, confus-
sile fired at Israel from the Palestinian reconciliation and sends a delegation ing it for an infiltrated Syrian aircraft.
territory is intercepted by the Iron Dome to Ramallah and Gaza. • On 26 August the Israeli Prime
Defence System. • On 12 July Israel announces plans Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders
to ban Palestinian dairy and meat ex- the construction of 300 new homes in
ports to East Jerusalem. If the decision the West Bank Dolev settlement, in
July 2019 eventually comes into effect, the Pal- response to the murder on 23 August
estinian government warns it will ban a of a young Israeli woman, killed by the
Israel number of Israeli companies from ex- blast from a homemade explosive de-
porting their products to Palestinian vice.
• On 1 July thousands of Beta Israel, territories. • On 29 August the Israeli Armed
Jews originally from Ethiopia, who were • On 25 July, following the demolition Forces report an alleged Iranian-Hez-
evacuated to Israel in 1991 during Op- of 70 Palestinian homes in a neigh- bollah plan to convert rockets into pre-
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eration Salomon, take to the streets to bourhood of East Jerusalem, under cision missiles in Lebanon.
protest against the death in Haifa of military occupation since 1967, the
young Solomon Teka, shot by an Is- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Conflicts between the Parties
raeli police officer during a brawl, and announces that the PNA will stop im-
to denounce the discrimination they plementing its agreements with Israel, • On 6 August the Israeli authorities
have suffered since their arrival in the a decision that will particularly affect claim to have thwarted plans by Hamas
country, despite being Jewish. Teka’s security in the West Bank, amid high to carry out an attack in Jerusalem, after
death adds to that of another young tensions. finding a laboratory and explosives ar-
Ethiopian Israeli, Yehuda Biadga, who • On 30 July the Federation of Saint senal in Hebron, the West Bank.
was shot down by police in Tel Aviv in Christopher and Nevis becomes the • On 10 August clashes break out in
January. The unrest continues over the 138th country to recognize the State the West Bank between around a hun-
ensuing days leading to 130 arrests. of Palestine. dred Palestinians and Israeli soldiersduring the arrest of two Palestinians Israeli settlements in Hebron if he wins • On 6-7 September the Israeli army
Appendices
accused of murdering the Israeli sol- the elections on 17 September. bombs targets in Gaza following rocket
dier Dvir Sorek at the beginning of the • On 17 September Israel holds early and drone attacks launched from the
month. legislative elections, the definitive re- Palestinian enclave.
• On 10 August four alleged Palestin- sults of which confirm the deadlock of • On 11-12 September the Israeli
ian militants are shot dead by Israeli the previous elections in April, with nei- army bombs Hamas targets in the Gaza
soldiers as they try to cross the border ther Benny Gantz’s Blue and White Al- Strip after several missiles are fired from
Chronology of Events in Israel and Palestine
between Israel and the Gaza Strip. liance, with 33 of the 120 seats in the the Palestinian territory into southern
• On 11 August a group of Israeli sol- Knesset (two fewer than in April), nor Israel on 10 and 11 September.
diers kill a Palestinian militant in the Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud, with 32
Gaza Strip after he approaches the bor- seats (six fewer than in April), likely to
der fence and opens fire on them. be able to forge an alliance with other October 2019
• On 11 August at least 14 Palestini- parties to attain the 61-seat majority
ans are injured in clashes with the police needed to form a government. Israel
at the Temple Mount, during the Muslim • On 19 September the acting Israeli
Eid al-Adha celebrations, the Festival of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in- • Between 2-6 October Benjamin Ne-
the Sacrifice. vites his rival Benny Gantz to form a na- tanyahu appears before Israel’s Attorney
• On 15 August two Palestinians are tional unity government, given the similar General in an attempt to avoid standing
shot dead by the police after stabbing provisional results from the elections on trial for bribery and fraud in corruption
a police officer in the Old City of Jeru- 17 September, to avoid third elections cases 1000, 2000 and 4000. This is
salem. being called. Gantz rejects the offer. the first time that an Israeli Prime Min-
• On 18 August Jordan summons the • On 22 September Israel’s main Arab ister has appeared before the state
Israeli ambassador to Amman to protest parties give their backing to the former prosecutor’s office.
against the Israeli police action taken military chief Benny Gantz as Prime Min- • On 21 October after failing to reach
against Muslims at the Temple Mount ister, in the hope of removing Benjamin a coalition agreement, Benjamin Netan-
on 11 August, when they dispersed Netanyahu. This is the first time in 27 yahu gives up on forming a government
protests over the access to the com- years that the Arab parties have broken three days before the deadline set by
pound for the Muslim Eid al-Adha festi- their traditional abstentionism over the the President Reuven Rivlin. The re-
val, as it coincided with the Jewish Tisha investiture of an Israeli premier. sponsibility is handed over to the cen-
375
B’Av celebration, which commemorates • On 30 September the deadline es- trist leader Benny Gantz, whose Blue
the destruction of the First Temple of tablished in the Spanish Parliament in and White Movement was the second
Jerusalem by the army of Nebuchadnez- 2015 allowing members of the Se- most voted party, very close behind Ne-
zar II of Babylonia. phardic community expelled from Spain tanyahu’s Likud, in the elections of 17
• On 22 August the Israeli Air Force by the Edict of Expulsion in 1492 to September, the results for which gave
bombs several Hamas targets in the apply for Spanish citizenship expires. A none of the parties the minimum of 61
Gaza Strip in response to two rockets total of 132,226 descendants of Span- of the 120 seats of the Knesset required
fired at Israel from the territory. ish Jews have applied. to govern alone.
• On 23 August at least 127 Palestin- • On 27 October Benjamin Netanyahu
ians are injured by Israeli repression at Palestine and Benny Gantz begin a new round of
the border between Gaza and Israel. talks to try to reach a coalition agree-
• On 28 August the Israeli Air Force • On 9 September Hamas announces ment and avoid a third election in less
bombs a Hamas outpost in the north Saudi Arabia’s arrest on 4 April of one than a year.
of the Gaza Strip in retaliation for an of its most prominent leaders, the liaison • On 29 October WhatsApp files a
attempted rocket launch into southern officer between the movement and Ri- lawsuit in a court in California against
Israel. yadh, Mohammed al-Khodari. the Israeli company NSO Group for al-
• On 26 September the President of legedly hacking its service to spy on
IEMed. Mediterranean Yearbook 2020
the PNA Mahmoud Abbas calls for Pal- over a hundred journalists and human
September 2019 estinian elections to be held during the rights activists.
annual United Nations Assembly. • On 31 October the Israeli security
Israel forces arrest the prominent left-wing
Conflicts between the Parties Palestinian politician and former mem-
• On 9 September an Israeli Parlia- ber of the defunct Palestinian Legislative
ment committee rejects the plans of • On 6 September at least two Pales- Council Khalida Jarrar, at her home in
Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to tinians are killed and a further 70 injured Ramallah. Jarrar was released on 28
install surveillance cameras in polling in intense clashes on the border be- February 2019 after being held without
stations. tween Israel and the Gaza Strip, during charge for 20 months.
• On 16 September Benjamin Netan- one of the weekly large-scale protests • On 31 October according to the
yahu announces that he will annex the by the Great March of Return. NGO Peace Now, on 10 October anIsraeli committee approved plans for the Conflicts between the Parties from the Palestinian territories occupied
Appendices
construction of 2,342 homes in Israeli by Israel must include a label specifying
settlements in the West Bank, 59% of • On 1 October dozens of Palestinians their place of origin and whether this is
which are in areas that Israel may likely demonstrate in Jerusalem accusing an Israeli settlement.
evacuate under an eventual peace Shabak, the Israeli intelligence and in- • On 17 November the leader of the
agreement with the Palestinians. ternal security service, of torturing the Yisrael Beiteinu party Avigdor Lieber-
Palestinian prisoner Samer Arbid, ar- man announces his support for Gantz
Chronology of Events in Israel and Palestine
Palestine rested on 28 September together with for the formation of a minority govern-
another two people charged with taking ment supported from outside of the
• On 1 October the Palestinian Presi- part in an attack in August orchestrated coalition by the Joint Arab List, with the
dent Mahmoud Abbas forms a commit- by the Popular Front for the Liberation aim of pressuring Netanyahu into joining
tee to fulfil his promise to hold a gen- of Palestine (PFLP). the coalition, and thereby moving away
eral election in the West Bank, the Gaza from Israel’s ultra-religious parties.
Strip and East Jerusalem. The last • On 19 November the US changes
presidential and legislative elections November 2019 its stance, held since 1978, with re-
were held throughout Palestine in 2005 spect to the Israeli settlements in Pal-
and 2006, respectively. Israel estinian territory, and says it no longer
• On 7 October following an agree- considers that the Israeli settlements
ment between the PNA and the Israeli • On 4 November Israel announces in the West Bank violate international
government, reached on 3 October, the that it will release the Jordanian citizens law.
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Hiba al-Labadi and Abdulrahman Miri, • On 20 November, faced with the
Shtayyeh announces Israel’s transfer to held in administrative detention since lack of an agreement to form a national
the Palestinian Finance Ministry of 428 their arrest on 2 September at the Al- unity government between Likud and
million dollars from the clearing funds lenby Bridge crossing suspected of vio- Blue and White and Avigdor Lieber-
withheld since February 2019, and lating Israeli security, after Jordan recalls man’s refusal to support either of these
which amount to 1.44 billion dollars. its ambassador in Tel Aviv for consulta- two parties, the Blue and White leader
• On 7 October the Palestinian gov- tion on 29 October. Benny Gantz gives up on forming a
ernment approves a draft bill to protect • On 5 November the Israeli Supreme government hours before the deadline
whistleblowers, witnesses and experts, Court rejects the appeal lodged by the expires. After communicating this to the
376
including their relatives, in corruption director of the NGO Human Rights President Reuven Rivlin, the mandate
cases. Watch (HRW) in Israel and Palestine is handed over to the Parliament, which
• On 24 October the Ramallah Court Omar Shakir against the decision taken has 21 days for any member to try to
of First Instance reaffirms its decision by the Interior Ministry in May 2018 not form an alliance that gathers together
on 17 October to block 59 websites to extend his work visa. He is accused of the 61 seats required to achieve a ma-
and social networks in the West Bank supporting the pro-Palestine BDS move- jority in the house. Failure to do this will
and Gaza, which allegedly threaten na- ment that advocates boycotting Israel. mean Israel has to hold a third election.
tional security, based on Article 39 of • On 10 November Israel returns • On 20 November at least 23 people
the 2018 cybercrime law. Baqura and Ghumar to Jordan, in com- – two civilians and 20 soldiers – are
• On 26 October Hamas appoints An- pliance with Abdullah II’s announcement killed, according to the Syrian Observa-
war al-Shaer the new President of the in October 2018 not to renew the lease tory for Human Rights, in wide-scale
Rafah governorate without elections of either territory to Israel, which was Israeli airstrikes on positions of the Syr-
taking place, a decision that sparks established in the annexes to the 1994 ian army and the Iranian al-Quds Force.
criticism from other Palestinian factions peace treaty. The bombing comes after four missiles
and civil society institutions in the Gaza • On 10 November Benjamin Netan- launched from Syria reach the Golan
Strip. Palestine’s last local elections yahu appoints his big rival from the na- Heights, occupied by Israel.
were held on 13 May 2016, only in the tionalist right and leader of the HaYamin • On 21 November Israel’s Attorney
IEMed. Mediterranean Yearbook 2020
West Bank. Hamas refused to hold HeHadash party (New Right), Naftali General Avichai Mandelblit announces
them in Gaza without Palestinian recon- Bennett, interim Defence Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu’s indictment in
ciliation. thereby avoiding Bennett, who Netan- Case 1000, for fraud and breach of
• On 28 October after holding a meet- yahu sacked in June as Education Min- trust for accepting gifts to the value of
ing the day before with the other Pales- ister, from approaching Benny Gantz’s around 180,000 euros from business-
tinian factions in the Gaza Strip and a Blue and White party, which only has a men in Hollywood, in exchange for fa-
delegation from Palestine’s Central few days left to form a government. Un- vours; in Case 2000, for fraud and
Elections Commission, Ismail Haniya til now, Netanyahu himself had headed breach of trust for a deal made with the
affirms that Hamas is ready to take part the Defence Ministry, alongside his post owner of the Yedioth Ahronoth news-
in Palestinian elections assuming they as Prime Minister. paper, Arnon Mozes, also accused, for
meet the necessary transparency and • On 12 November the EU Court of favourable press coverage; and in
legal requirements. Justice rules that food products coming Case 4000, for bribery, fraud andbreach of trust after negotiating with • On 15 November the Israeli army an- • On 22 December Israel says it will
Appendices
the news website Walla!, owned by nounces it has launched new attacks on allow Palestinian Christians from Gaza
Shaul Elovitch, the main shareholder of Islamic Jihad targets in Gaza, in re- to visit Bethlehem and Jerusalem over
Bezeq, the country’s telecommunica- sponse to a number of rockets fired at Christmas, despite the Israeli blockade
tions giant, to guarantee favourable Israel, despite the ceasefire that entered of the Strip.
press coverage for himself and his wife. into force the previous day. • On 26 December Benjamin Netan-
After the ruling, Netanyahu agrees to • On 26 November thousands of Pal- yahu wins the Likud party primaries with
Chronology of Events in Israel and Palestine
hold primary elections in Likud to de- estinian demonstrators take part in a day 72.5% of the votes, against the former
cide on the party’s leadership. of rage in the West Bank, leading to Minister Gideon Saar (27.5%).
• On 26 November thousands of sup- clashes with Israeli security forces, to • On 28 December the Defence Min-
porters of the acting Prime Minister denounce the US’ announcement that ister Naftali Bennett authorizes the of-
Benjamin Netanyahu rally outside the it no longer believes that the Israeli set- ficial registration of territory located in
Tel Aviv Museum of Art, called by Ne- tlements violate international law. settlements in Area C in the West Bank
tanyahu himself and Likud to demand • On 27 November the Israeli Defence as Jewish-owned property.
the arrest of the state prosecutors and Forces attack several targets in the • On 29 December the acting govern-
members of the police force investigat- Gaza Strip in response to two missiles ment approves the appointment of
ing his alleged involvement in various fired into Israeli territory. Yaakov Litzman, from the ultra-Ortho-
corruption scandals. dox United Torah Judaism party, as
Health Minister, following Prime Minis-
Palestine December 2019 ter Benjamin Netanyahu’s departure
from the post.
• On 6 November Pierre Krähenbühl, Israel
head of the UN Agency for Palestinian Palestine
Refugees (UNRWA), resigns after be- • On 8 December the Likud Central
ing accused of abuse of power and Committee votes to scrap the primary • On 6 December the US House of
mismanagement in an internal investi- elections, leaving Benjamin Netanyahu Representatives approves a symbolic
gation. at the head of the party. However, on resolution that supports the creation of
• On 15 November the UN General As- 11 December, after the deadline to form two states to end the conflict between
sembly renews the mandate of UNRWA a government expires without an agree- Israel and Palestine.
377
for a further three years despite opposi- ment, the committee decides, with Ne- • On 8 December the Palestinian
tion from the US and Israel, which con- tanyahu’s backing, to hold internal elec- prisoner Musab al-Hindi puts an end
siders that the agency has no reason to tions on 26 December. to a 75-day hunger strike after reaching
exist in its current state. Israel and the • On 8 December the Israeli govern- an agreement with the Israeli authori-
US oppose the fact that Palestinians ment authorizes the construction of an ties to end four months of administra-
are able to transfer their refugee status Israeli settlement in the old central mar- tive detention.
to their children, their aim being to re- ket of Hebron, a city which, following • On 24 December the Commission
duce the number of people receiving the Oslo Accords, was divided into sec- of the Great March of Return and Break-
financial assistance from the body, a tors H1, controlled by the PNA and ing the Siege announces that the week-
position the Palestinians say is a viola- which takes up 85% of the territory, and ly demonstrations against Israeli occu-
tion of their rights. H2, which occupies the rest and is con- pation will now be held each month.
trolled by Israel, where the old market is
Conflicts between the Parties located. Conflicts between the Parties
• On 9 December the two main Is-
• On 12 November in a surgical strike raeli parties – Likud and Blue and White • On 7 December Israel launches an
in Gaza City, Israel kills Baha Abu al-Ata, – agree on the new general election to attack against Hamas in Gaza in re-
leader of the al-Quds Brigades, the be scheduled for 2 March 2020 in the sponse to the launch of three rockets
IEMed. Mediterranean Yearbook 2020
armed wing of Islamic Jihad, believed to event that there is no agreement for a fired from the Strip but intercepted by
be responsible for firing missiles at Is- unity government before 11 December. the Iron Dome air defence system.
rael in recent weeks. Islamic Jihad re- If the deadline passes and no party is • On 20 December the chief prosecu-
sponds with intense rocket fire into able to form a government, the Knesset tor of the International Criminal Court
southern and central Israel, in what may will be dissolved and new elections will opens an official investigation into the
be the beginning of the most serious be called. alleged war crimes committed in Pal-
fighting since the war in 2014. • On 18 December a week after the estinian territory by Israel since June
• On 14 November Islamic Jihad and meeting between Ismail Haniya and Re- 2014.
Israel agree on a ceasefire mediated by cep Tayyip Erdogan, The Telegraph • On 26 December Israel launches a
Egypt after two days of shelling in both reports that Turkey has allowed Hamas number of attacks on different Hamas
directions, triggered by the death of to organize operations against Israel targets in Gaza, hours after the army
Baha Abu al-Ata. from Istanbul. intercepts a missile fired from the Strip.Sources El País Observatory on Politics and Elections in the
Appendices
Europe Media Monitor Arab and Muslim World (OPEMAM)
ABC European Council of Foreign Relations Politico
Al-Masry al-Youm Haaretz POMEPS
AffarInternazionali – IAI Hürriyet Press Releases of the European Com-
Agencia EFE IFES Election Guide mission
Al-Jazeera Il Corriere della Sera Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty
Chronology of Events in Israel and Palestine
Al-Monitor International Crisis Group Real Instituto Elcano
ANSAMed International Relations & Security Reuters
Associated Press Network RTVE
Brookings Institution IRIS The Atlantic
Carnegie Endowment for International Jeune Afrique The Century Foundation
Peace Le Figaro The Guardian
Chatham House Le Monde The New York Times
Deutsche Cyprus Mail Le Monde Diplomatique The Washington Institute
Defense One Limes – La Repubblica The Washington Post
Welle L’Orient Le Jour United Nations News Centre
El Mundo Middle East Eye War on the Rocks
378
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