Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett instructed security services March 28 to hold any “terror suspects” in “administrative detention,” even without charge. The order extends to Palestinians within Israeli a policy long applied to Palestinians on the West Bank. Bennett cited “a new situation that requires suitable preparations and adjustment by the security services to the circumstances within which extremist elements of Arab society, directed by extremist Islamic ideology, are carrying out terror attacks and taking lives.” The order came a day after two Border Police officers were killed in a shooting attack at the coastal city of Hadera by two Israeli citizens who were said to be supporters of the so-called “Islamic State.” The assailants were both shot dead by security forces.
The day after the order was issued, five were killed in shootings in two different areas of Bnei Brak, an Orthodox Jewish suburb of Tel Aviv. The shooter, armed with an assault rifle, was later shot dead by police.
A week earlier, on March 22, four Israelis were killed in a stabbing attack at a gas station in Beersheba. The assailant, who was said to have served time in an Israeli prison for promoting ISIS, was likewise slain by police.
‘Summit of Shame’
The Hadera attack took place as US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken flew to southern Israel’s Kedma resort, in the Negev Desert, to join his counterparts from Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Bahrain and Morocco for a diplomatic summit, at which the Israel-Palestinian conflict is not on the agenda. Blinken is also to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah.
The Hadera attack was condemned by the Abbas administration, but praised as “heroic” by Hamas and Islamic Jihad, with latter saying it was in response to the Negev Summit “of humiliation and shame.”
Most of the Arab states participating in the summit recognized Israel as a part of the so-called “Abraham Accords,” an initiative of the Trump White House. (Times of Israel, ToI, ToI, Jerusalem Post, Middle East Eye, NYT, BBC News)
Photo: Wikimedia
Israeli raid on raid on Jenin refugee camp
One Palestinian was killed when Israeli forces raided the Jenin refugee camp April 9, targeting the home of a suspect in a shooting attack that left three dead in Tel Aviv two days earlier. The suspect, Ra’ad Hazem, was killed by police outside of mosque in Jaffa, where he hid after the attack. (MEE, MEE, ToI)
Palestinian woman killed at West Bank checkpoint
Israeli forces April 10 shot dead a Palestinian woman after they opened fire at her while she was crossing an Israeli military checkpoint near the village of Husan, to the west of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank. (PNN)
Deadly raids continue on West Bank
Israeli soldiers have killed five Palestinians in the West Bank over the past 48 hours following the series of deadly attacks inside Israel that have now left 14 dead. Among those slain in the raids was a 14-year-old boy, killed by Israeli army fire in Husan, a village near Bethlehem. (Al Jazeera, AP)
New violence at al-Aqsa Mosque
Israeli police raided al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem on April 15 as thousands of worshippers were gathered at the mosque for early morning prayers. At least 150 Palestinians were injured and hundreds detained in an operation witnesses described as senselessly brutal but which police said was needed to break up a violent crowd. (TNH)
New violence at al-Aqsa Mosque —again
Israeli police on April 17 entered the al-Aqsa Mosque compound to secure the way for Jewish visitors to the holy site, sparking clashes that left 17 Palestinians wounded.
This year the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Christian holy week culminating in Easter Sunday and the week-long Jewish Passover are all occurring at the same time, with tens of thousands of visitors flocking to Jerusalem.
Israeli police accused Palestinians of "defiling and desecrating" a holy site, while Palestinian officials accused Israel of trying to divide the sensitive site. "What happened in Al-Aqsa Mosque is a dangerous escalation, the repercussions of which are to be borne by the Israeli government alone," said Nabil Abu Rdeneh, spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. (AP)
Israeli air-strikes on Gaza Strip
The Israeli air force attacked southern Gaza April 18 in response to a rocket launched from the Strip earlier in the day, according to the military. The strikes targeted a Hamas weapons manufacturing site. Hamas said that militants responded with anti-aircraft weapons, but failed to hit the Israeli jets. No injuries were reported. (Haaretz)
Israeli police raid al-Aqsa Mosque —again
Israeli forces raided al-Aqsa Mosque early on April 19 for a fourth time in a week, clearing out Palestinian worshippers to allow entry for a group of Israeli settlers marking the Jewish festival of Passover. Large numbers of officers were deployed in the courtyards of the complex, forcing out Palestinians and closing the doors of the prayer halls with people inside them. Police fired tear-gas towards the main Qibli prayer hall to clear the way for settlers to come in. Guarded by the heavily armed officers, a group of around 40 settlers then stormed al-Aqsa through the Mughrabi Gate, toured the courtyards and performed prayers on the eastern side of the complex. (MEE)
Israeli air-strikes on Gaza Strip —again
Israel carried out new air raids in central Gaza, with the IDF saying its fighter jets attacked an underground complex used to produce rocket engines. There were no immediate reports of casualties. (Al Jazeera)
Israeli police raid al-Aqsa Mosque —again
Israeli forces stormed al-Aqsa Mosque in a fresh raid on the third Friday of the holy month of Ramadan, wounding dozens of Palestinian worshippers.
Shortly after dawn prayer, Israeli police and special forces entered the mosque and began firing teargas, stun grenades and rubber-tipped bullets at Palestinians. At least 31 worshippers, including children, were wounded, 14 of whom were hospitalized with two in a serious condition, according to the Palestine Red Crescent Society.
The Friday storming of al-Aqsa is the sixth this week carried out by Israeli forces inside the mosque. More than 170 Palestinians have been wounded in the continued assaults and more than 450 were arrested. (MEE)
Israel searches for assailants after new attack
Israeli forces are conducting a large-scale search for two Palestinians suspected of killing three Israelis in the latest attack. Two attackers, at least one armed with an ax, killed three people and wounded several others in the predominantly ultra-Orthodox town of Elad on May 5, Israel’s Independence Day.
The killings at Elad brought the death toll to 19 from a wave of Arab attacks since late March. Israel has responded with a series of raids in the occupied West Bank and nearly 30 Palestinians have been killed in the violence. (NYT)
Al Jazeera reporter killed by Israeli gunfire
Israeli forces have shot dead Al Jazeera’s journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian health ministry. Abu Akleh, a longtime TV correspondent for Al Jazeera Arabic, was killed May 11 while covering Israeli army raids in the city of Jenin. (Al Jazeera)
Israeli police attack mourners at journalist’s funeral
Israeli police on May 13 assaulted mourners at the funeral procession of a prominent Palestinian American journalist killed this week in the occupied West Bank, forcing pallbearers to nearly drop the coffin. Video showed police officers in Jerusalem beating and kicking pallbearers carrying the coffin that contained the body of Shireen Abu Akleh, striking other mourners with batons, and forcing one man to the ground. During the commotion, the pallbearers were pushed backward, causing them to briefly lose control of one end of the coffin. (NYT)
Al Jazeera reporter killed by Israeli gunfire: UN report
It was bullets fired by Israeli security forces and not indiscriminate fire from Palestinian militants that killed Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh while she was covering an Israeli army raid in the West Bank town of Jenin on May 11, the UN Human Rights Office, OHCHR, has determined, after monitoring photo, video, and audio material. (TNH)
Gaza air-strikes follow Biden visit
Two rockets were launched at Israel from the Gaza Strip in the first hours of July 16. One rocket was intercepted by the Iron Dome defense system, while the other landed in an open area near Ashkelon, where sirens wer sounded. Israel immediately responded with air-strikes, supposedly targeting a Hamas underground facility in the central Gaza Strip.
The exchange came hours after President Biden departed Israel for Saudi Arabia. Biden used the trip to announce an agreement that includes Saudi normalization of ties with Israel. Biden also met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Bethlehem. There, Biden reiterated his support for a two-state solution, but said the “ground not ripe” to restart Israel-Palestine talks. (ToI, ToI, France24)
Israeli air-strikes on Gaza Strip —again
At least 10 people have been killed by Israeli air-strikes in the Gaza Strip, apparently including Tayseer Jabari, a top commander of a Palestinian militant group. Local health officials said a young girl was among the dead, with dozens of others wounded.
Israel said the operation followed “an immediate threat” by Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) after the arrest of one of its members early this week. On Aug. 1, Israel arrested Bassem Saadi, reported to be the head of PIJ in the West Bank. He was held in the Jenin area as part of an ongoing series of operations after a wave of attacks that have left 17 Israelis and two Ukrainian visitors dead. (BBC News)
Israel expands air-strikes on Gaza Strip
The Israeli military campaign against Islamic Jihad went into its second day Aug. 6 evening with continued air-strikes on what it said were militant targets in Gaza. The Palestinian Ministry of Health said more than 200 people have been injured and 24 people killed in the escalation. Four children were among seven people killed in an apparent air-strike in Jabaliya in northern Gaza, although Israel denies carrying out any strikes there. (CNN)
Gaza ceasefire comes into effect
A ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militants has come into effect after three days of violence which left at least 43 people were killed. Leaders of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s office both confirmed the truce after talks moderated by Egypt. (BBC News)
Deadly Israeli raid in Nablus
The local head of al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades was killed in an Israeli operation in the West Bank town of Nablus. Ibrahim al-Nabulsi, 26, and two others were killed during the raid on a house. At least 40 people were injured, the Palestinian Red Crescent said. (BBC News)
Al Jazeera reporter killed by Israeli gunfire: IDF report
The Israeli army said Sept. 5 there is a “high possibility” that a soldier killed a well-known Al Jazeera journalist in May, as it announced the results of its investigation into the killing. But it said the shooting was accidental and no one would be punished. Shireen Abu Akleh’s family criticized the investigation, saying the army “tried to obscure the truth and avoid responsibility” for the killing. (AP)
Hamas executes five Palestinians
Hamas authorities in Gaza on Sept. 4 announced the execution of five unnamed Palestinians accused of espionage and collaboration with Israel. The five individuals were executed by firing squad and hanging at Ansar Security Compound, western Gaza City. Hamas has executed an estimated 32 people the organization took over authority in the Gaza Strip in 2007. (Jurist)
Last month, a report by Human Rights Watch charged that Palestinian authorities both in Gaza and the West Bank “are systematically mistreating and torturing Palestinians in detention, including critics and opponents.” (Jurist)
Nablus raid sparks gun battles, protests
Gun battles broke out in Nablus after Palestinian security forces arrested militants wanted by Israel Sept. 20. The raid also sparkedt street protests, during which 53-year-old Firas Yaish was killed. (BBC News)
Forensic findings renew calls for Abu Akleh investigation
Research group Forensic Architecture and Palestinian nongovernmental organization al-Haqused an an exact 3-D computer replica of the town of Jenin to determine where the bullet that killed Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh came from, concluding that she was intentionally targeted by Israeli occupation forces. Senate Democrats in the US are pressing for a thorough investigation. (PRI)