Chronological Review of Events/June 2016 – DPR review

Division for Palestinian Rights

Chronological Review of Events Relating to the

Question of Palestine

Monthly media monitoring review

June 2016

1 June

A Palestinian man from the southern Gaza Strip, who managed to cross into Israel, was arrested by Israeli soldiers. (The Times of Israel)

Israeli forces detained at least 47 Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank districts of Hebron, Qalqiliya and Tubas governorates. (Ma’an News Agency)

Armored Israeli military vehicles and bulldozers entered Palestinian agricultural lands in the southern and central parts of the Gaza Strip and fired several live rounds. (IMEMC)

Egyptian authorities opened the Rafah border crossing with the besieged Gaza Strip for the first of four consecutive days.  Priority was given to passengers who did not make it through the crossing when it was last opened three weeks earlier. (Ma’an News Agency)

In a meeting with the Israeli coordinator of activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory Maj. Gen. Mordechai last week, the EU ambassador to Israel Andersen warned that a continuation of the massive demolition of Palestinian homes in Area C of the West Bank, including some that were built with EU funding, is liable to harm relations between the EU and Israel. (Haaretz)

Nickolay Mladenov, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process criticised Israeli Justice Minister Shakelet, a key ally of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu for “killing hope” for a peace settlement. A day earlier the Justice Minister said that “As long as we are in the government, there will be no Palestinian state, there will be no settlement evacuations and we will not give any land to our enemies.” (AFP)

The International Committee of the Red Cross confirmed that as of July 2016 it would be forced to reduce family visits to Palestinians detained in Israeli jails from two to one a month, as a result of budget cuts. (The Times of Israel)

2 June

Israeli military bulldozers entered the al-Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, razing and levelling land near the border fence. (Ma’an News Agency)

A Palestinian woman was shot and killed at an Israeli army checkpoint in the northern West Bank, after allegedly attempting to stab an Israeli soldier. (Haaretz, Ma’an News Agency, Middle East Online, Times of Israel)

Israeli soldiers detained 12 Palestinians across the West Bank. (IMEMC)

An Israeli woman who claimed to have been raped by two Palestinians in Tel Aviv confessed to police that she had lied about the allegations. The 22-year-old woman, who is mentally challenged, said that she had been in a consensual relationship with one of the Palestinians and that her family fabricated the rape allegations to put an end to their affair. (Haaretz)

Finland’s Foreign Minister Timo Soini, visiting the region on 2 June, met with Palestinian President Abbas and Foreign Minister Riad Malki, and in a separate meeting, with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. Netanyahu explained why Israel opposes the French peace initiative, while Soini expressed Finland’s opposition to BDS activities. (Reuters, Ynetnews)

Israel reportedly transferred information on the 2014 conflict in the Gaza Strip to the International Criminal Court, but issued a clarification noting that it does not recognize the court’s authority. (The Times of Israel, Ma’an News Agency)

3 June

Four Palestinians were injured in clashes with Israeli security forces in Nablus and Ramallah. (KUNA)

Top diplomats from nearly 30 countries gathered in Paris for the Ministerial Conference on the Middle East Peace Process. Representatives of Israel and Palestine were absent. French President Francois Hollande said at the start of the talks that it was particularly important to find a peace agreement in the context of widespread extremism and conflict. A final communique was issued. (DPA)

In his remarks to the participants of the Ministerial Conference, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that with the support of the international community, the leadership of Israel and Palestine must pull back from the brink by undertaking serious efforts to create the conditions for a return to meaningful negotiations. The obstacles include terror, violence and the incitement that fuels them; the ongoing settlement enterprise, and the lack of unity between Gaza and the West Bank. (www.un.org)

In an opinion piece in Haaretz, PLO Secretary-General Saeb Erekat said there is confidence that the French initiative will provide a clear framework with defined parameters for the resumption of negotiations. The international conference should be viewed as an opportunity to create a negotiating environment in which power is equalized and law and human rights prevail. (Haaretz)

Egyptian power lines to Gaza went out of order, causing electricity blackouts in the districts of Rafah and parts of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip. (Ma’an News Agency)

UNRWA closed all its offices in the northern West Bank this week, leading some to warn of a "humanitarian disaster" due to people's reliance on UNRWA’s aid and services. (www.alaraaby.co.uk)

Foreign Ministers from 29 countries convened in Paris to discuss the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Upon the conclusion of the five-hour debate the ministers released a statement saying that the international community expects Israel and the Palestinians to demonstrate “with policies and actions, a genuine commitment to the two-state solution in order to rebuild trust.” The joint communiqué also asserted that the two-state solution represents the only path to peace. Participating representatives also stressed that that conditions must be created “for fully ending the Israeli occupation that began in 1967 and resolving all permanent status issues through direct negotiations based on resolutions 242 (1967), 338 (1973).” The closing statement also took note of the Arab Peace Initiative's “potential for regional peace and security.” France will coordinate how international community will incentivize the two sides to advance the two-state solution.

4 June

Israeli forces detained 12 Palestinians during raids across the West Bank. (Albawaba, Ma’an News Agency)

Israeli forces opened fire at farmers and shepherds east of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip. (Ma’an News Agency)

A Palestinian teenager was injured with live fire during clashes with Israeli forces in the village of Kafr Qaddum in the West Bank. (Ma’an News Agency)

Palestinian President Abbas and the Secretary-General of the Arab League al-Arabi said that they reject any amendments to the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative. (Ma’an News Agency, Middle East Monitor)

5 June

Israeli forces detained at least 17 Palestinians after raiding several areas in the West Bank. (Farsnews, IMEMC)

Israeli soldiers detained the head of the Jerusalem office of the Palestinian Prisoners Society, Nasser Qous. (IMEMC)

Israeli forces arrested a 17-year-old Palestinian from Gaza, and said they learned many details on Hamas’ tunnel network across the Gaza Strip. (The Jerusalem Post)

Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman green-lighted a series of steps to ease conditions for Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip ahead of Ramadan. (The Jerusalem Post)

Egypt closed the Rafah crossing for passengers leaving the Gaza Strip. On the day before, some 800 Palestinians had been left stranded there overnight waiting to enter Egypt due to the curfew imposed in Northern Sinai. (Ma’an News Agency)

An Israeli court denied a petition to bar the “Jerusalem Day” march from passing through the Muslim Quarter in East Jerusalem’s Old City, as more than two hundred Israelis entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and thousands more gathered around the Western Wall to begin celebrations. (Ma’an News Agency)

6 June

Israeli forces detained at least 7 Palestinian youths, including one minor, across the West Bank and East Jerusalem. (Ma’an News Agency, IMEMC)

A Palestinian youth died in the hospital after having been shot in the head by Israeli forces on 3 June near Nablus in the occupied West Bank. (Ma’an News Agency)

The Israeli Jerusalem municipality announced its intent to build an illegal settlement outpost comprising 15,000 units in the Qalandiya Airport area, renamed Atarot. Speaking to the Israeli radio, Jerusalem’s deputy mayor Turjman said: “I intend to build a neighborhood to meet the demands of the Haredi [orthodox Jewish] community.” The new settlement is expected to be ready within four years. (Palestinian Information Center)

7 June

Israel announced that it will increase its supply of electricity to the Gaza Strip to enable the operation of a new sewage treatment facility that would lower the level of sea water pollution that had affected a desalination plant in the nearby Israeli city of Ashkelon. (Ynet News)

The PLO protested Israel’s recent approval for the construction of 82 housing units in the illegal settlement of “Ramat Shlomo” in occupied East Jerusalem. “The latest approval of settlement construction in the Palestinian capital, in defiance of International law and UN resolutions, serves as yet another reminder to the international community to hold Israel liable for the crimes it continues to commit against the land and people of Palestine,” PLO Secretary General Saeb Erekat said in a statement. The recent construction approval is part of Israel’s larger plan to push the development of 1,600 settler housing units in the ultra-Orthodox Jewish settlement near the Palestinian neighbourhood of Shuafat, which was first announced in 2010 during a visit by US Vice President Biden to Israel. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israeli authorities notified the owners of two buildings in Nablus district of the occupied West Bank that their properties were slated for demolition. The notices were the latest in a series of demolition orders targeting homes and other structures in the area. (Ma’an News Agency)

8 June

Israeli forces detained 16 Palestinians, including a minor, mostly during raids into the occupied West Bank, in Bethlehem, Al-Bireh, Hebron, Jenin, Jerusalem, Qalqilia and Ramallah districts. (WAFA)

The Israeli navy detained three Palestinian fishermen after reportedly attacking and sinking their boat off the Gaza coast. (Ma’an News Agency)

Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Executive Committee member Hanan Ashrawi criticised a decision of the Western European and Others Group to nominate Israel to chair the United Nations General Assembly Sixth (legal) Committee as “asking the wolf to guard the sheep. […] It is ironic that Israel, a state that continues to breach international law and conventions, international humanitarian law and countless UN resolutions, is being nominated to head a legal committee that aims to promote international law and protect basic human rights and freedoms.”. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israeli settlers entered Palestinian agricultural lands south of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank and bulldozed them while Israeli forces were deployed around the area. The lands are located close to the illegal Israeli settlement “Daniel”. (IMEMC)

During a terrorist attack, 4 Israelis were killed and 16 injured as 2 Palestinians opened fire on passersby at the Sarona Market in Tel Aviv. Israeli security forces arrested the attackers, who had hailed from Yatta, near Hebron in the occupied West Bank. Tel Aviv Mayor Huldai blamed the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory for the attack, saying that “You can’t hold people in a situation of occupation and hope they’ll reach the conclusion everything is alright.” In response to the attack Israeli forces raided the town of Yatta and closed it off until further notice following a “security assessment”. Also, the Israeli military announced that it was deploying two additional battalions to the West Bank “in accordance with situation assessments,” and froze entry permits for 83,000 Palestinians that had been granted during the month of Ramadan. (Haaretz, Ma’an News Agency, The Jerusalem Post, WAFA)

UN Secretary-General condemned in a statement the “terrorist attack” in Tel Aviv and reiterated that “there is no justification for terrorism nor for the glorification of those who commit such heinous acts”, adding that he “is shocked that the leaders of Hamas have chosen to welcome this attack and some have chosen to celebrate it.” (www.un.org)

9 June

Israeli soldiers detained at least 12 Palestinians in different parts of the West Bank. (IMEMC, WAFA)

Following the terror attack in Tel Aviv, the office of Palestinian President Abbas issued a statement “reaffirming its rejection of all operations that target civilians from any background regardless of the justifications.” (The Times of Israel)

10 June

Israeli authorities sentenced Hasan Safadi, Palestinian journalist, activist and media coordinator of the prisoner rights group Addameer, to six months of administrative detention. (Ma’an News Agency)

12 June

Israeli forces detained at least four Palestinians in Hebron district in the southern occupied West Bank, including a Hamas member of parliament. (Ma’an News Agency)

On the occasion of the World Day Against Child Labour, the International Labour Organization estimated that nearly half of the Gaza Strip’s 1.9 million inhabitants live under the poverty line, with 80 per cent surviving on humanitarian aid. Unemployment had risen dramatically to reach around 45 per cent – one of the highest in the world – forcing many children to become bread-winners. Over the previous five years, child labour had doubled, with 9,700 children aged between 10 and 17 now working in the enclave. (AFP)

Four Palestinians were detained and two extremist Israelis were expelled from the Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound as over 130 Israelis entered the site to perform rituals in celebration of the Jewish holiday of Shavuot. (Ma’an News Agency, Middle East Monitor)

Israeli forces raided the village of Beit Amra in the municipality of Yatta and destroyed the family home of a 16-year-old Palestinian accused of stabbing and killing an Israeli settler, a mother of six, in the illegal Israeli settlement “Otniel” in January. (albawaba, Associated Press) 

13 June

Over the weekend, Israeli police detained at least 27 undocumented Palestinians in Tel Aviv and another 12 on construction sites in central Israel amid an ongoing crackdown on Palestinian movement in the wake of the terrorist attack in Tel Aviv. Also, one Israeli was arrested for employing an undocumented Palestinian worker in his shop, and two additional Israeli suspects were arrested for transporting Palestinians who lacked necessary permits to be in Israel, she added. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israeli forces detained 15 Palestinians in several raids across the occupied West Bank, in Bethlehem, Hebron, Nablus, and Tulkarem districts as well as East Jerusalem. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinian lands and houses in the central Gaza Strip on 12 June, and Israeli naval forces fired at Palestinian fishing boats off the coast of the southern Gaza Strip. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu told ministers of his cabinet that he will never accept the original Arab Peace Initiative as a basis for negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. “If the Arab nations grasp the fact that they need to revise the Arab League proposal according to the changes Israel demands, then we can talk,” Netanyahu said, “but if they bring the proposal from 2002 and define it as 'take it or leave it' – we’ll choose to leave it.” According to Netanyahu, the positive part of the plan was the willingness of the Arab nations to achieve peace and normalization with Israel, but he is opposed to the demand that Israel retreat to the 1967 borders in the West Bank with territorial adjustments, and leave the Golan Heights, as well as the return of the Palestinian refugees. (Haaretz)

According to the 5th annual report on the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), titled “Fragmented Lives”, the Palestinians’ conflict with Israel, including the occupation in the West Bank and the blockade of Gaza, is the primary cause for Palestinian “humanitarian vulnerabilities,” with the major cause being Israeli actions and policies. The report presents other parties, including Palestinian factions such as Hamas and the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority, as well as Egypt’s role in bolstering the blockade of Gaza, as second-tier causes. (Times of Israel)

Two Palestinian security officers sustained injuries after Israeli settlers threw stones at their vehicle south of Nablus in the northern West Bank. (Ma’an News Agency, The Times of Israel, IMEMC)

Israel reopened crossing points from the West Bank and Gaza into Israel following a three-day closure put in place after last week’s fatal shooting in Tel Aviv. (Ma’an News Agency)

Secretary General of the Arab League Nabil Elraby cancelled a scheduled visit to Ramallah where he was to meet with President Abbas, on 14 June. (Ma’an News Agency)

Two Israeli settlers were reportedly arrested when they clashed with Israeli Civil Administration forces during the demolition of an unauthorized movable structure in the district of Hebron in the West Bank. (Ma’an News Agency)

The Knesset voted to extend Israel’s “Citizenship and Entry into Israel” provision, which prohibits Palestinians from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip from automatically obtaining legal status in Israel or East Jerusalem through family reunions. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israeli authorities decided to hold Bilal Kayid, a Palestinian prisoner who was due to be released  in  June  after completing nearly 15 years in jail, under administrative detention. (Middle East Monitor)

Israeli authorities decided to extend the administrative detention of 23-year-old Palestinian circus performer Mohammad Abu Sakha.   He has been held without charge since December 2015. (Ma’an News Agency, Haaretz)

14 June

Israeli forces detained at least 9 Palestinians during morning raids across the West Bank and East Jerusalem.  (Ma’an News Agency)

Palestinian sources claimed Israeli jets launched an airstrike on the southeastern Gaza Strip.  The airstrike hit an agricultural area near the border fence with Israel, causing damage but no casualties.  The Israeli army said the explosions were the results of an air force exercise. (The Times of Israel)

Johannes Hahn, EU Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy, visited the West Bank and Gaza to examine relations between the EU and Palestine. "The EU is and will remain in future the most significant and reliable donor for Palestinians," said Hahn. "All our efforts are directed towards the needs of Palestinians and, above all, to support the creation of a future Palestinian state in the context of the two-state solution," he added. In Gaza he visited the EU-funded seawater desalination plant and announced an additional funding of 10 Million Euros for the second phase of construction. When fully operational, the plant will produce 6,000 m3 of potable water daily, which will provide over 75,000 Gazans with safe drinking water. (IMEMC, Ansamed)

Israeli soldiers invaded Section 3 of the Nafha Israeli Prison, in the Negev Desert, wounding at least three detainees, and moved dozens into solitary confinement. The Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) said the soldiers used excessive force in removing detainees out of their rooms, beating them with batons and hurling several gas bombs into the rooms. (IMEMC)

Dozens of Palestinians marched throughout Gaza City, calling attention to nine years of Palestinian political divisions since Israeli forces blockaded the Gaza Strip in 2007. The march, called by the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), winded through the streets of Gaza City and ended at the Unknown Soldier square, where security forces of the Hamas-led government dispersed the rally. A similar rally was organized in Ramallah at the same time. No clashes were reported there. (Ma’an News Agency)

The Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon was nominated as head of the Sixth Committee of the General Assembly, in charge of legal issues. The appointment of Israel as the head of the UN legal committee is a slap for international law, the Palestinian Authority’s Foreign Ministry said. In a statement, the ministry said that it is looking at this measure with “deep concern” and asked how the Western European nations agreed on the nomination of the Israeli official while Israel has a “long history of violations of international law and international resolutions.” (Middleeastmonitor.com)

Israel's military said it will take no legal actions against an officer who ordered a "revenge shelling" of a Gaza clinic during Israel's 2014 offensive in the Palestinian enclave. The Military Advocate General said in a statement that battalion commander will only be reprimanded as the investigation didn't yield enough evidence to press criminal charges. (Xinhuanet.com)

In an open letter, published in the Irish Times and Irish Independent, thirteen of Ireland’s best-known musicians, writers, artists and sports stars have called on the Irish government to join them in supporting the growing worldwide boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel. (IMEMC)

 Nearly two dozen Members of the Israeli parliament signed a document rejecting the Arab Peace Initiative, saying the plan would not provide security or peace and “completely contradicts” their “moral and political position”. (The Times of Israel, The Jerusalem Post)

15 June

Israeli forces raided the town of Yatta, south of Hebron, fired stun grenades while they carried out houseto-house inspections, including those of two Palestinians detained for allegedly carrying out an attack in Tel Aviv on 8 June. A Palestinian teenage boy was reportedly hurt by a stun grenade which exploded near him. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israeli forces detained at least 17 Palestinians in predawn military raids across the West Bank in Qalqiliya, Ramallah, Nablus and Bethlehem. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israeli navy ships fired live rounds at several Palestinian fishing boats, in the Sudaniyya Sea area, in Gaza territorial waters, arrested ten fishermen and confiscated four boats. (IMEMC)

Israeli soldiers fired several rounds of live ammunition targeting Palestinian homes and lands, in Central Gaza. (IMEMC)

Since the beginning of the month of Ramadan, the Israeli national water company Mekorot has cut crucial water supplies to the entire municipality of Jenin, several villages near Nablus, the city of Salfit and surrounding villages leaving tens of thousands of Palestinians in desperate need of water (Albawaba.com, Abna24.com)

After years of setbacks, Palestinians are proudly starting to move into Rawabi, their first planned city being built in the West Bank, located about 40 kilometres (25 miles) north of Jerusalem. — a move that isn’t just about real estate but also a symbol of their quest for statehood after nearly 50 years of Israeli military occupation. Though Rawabi is still unfinished, its high-rises and shopping centres bring a rare sense of pride and excitement to the territory. (arabnews.com)

The Jerusalem's Local Planning and Building Committee approved a new four-storey building in Silwan, a neighbourhood in East Jerusalem. A statement by the municipality said that "the city will continue to build in all areas." Israeli human rights watchdog, Ir Amim said the project is an enterprise of Ateret Cohanim, a settler organization that has constructed buildings and taken over existing Palestinian buildings in Silwan in order to "Judaize" the neighborhood. (Xinhuanet.com)

Egypt has permitted a rare opening of its Rafah border crossing with Gaza to give Palestinians in a chance to reunite with family and in some cases access urgent medical treatment not available to them. It is only the third time this year the crossing has been opened and there are 30,000 people on the waiting list to leave the besieged territory. (www.abc.net.au)

Tthe Israeli Navy arrested 10 Palestinian fishermen off the Gaza coast and confiscated their four fishing boats. (Middle East Monitor)

Israeli forces resealed the entrances to Yatta, in the southern West Bank district of Hebron, following a slight reprieve of the closure that was implemented in response to an attack in Tel Aviv last week. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman revoked the VIP entry permit of a Palestinian liaison official to Israel over alleged “subversive activity”. (The New York Times, Xinhuanet)

Israeli authorities approved a permit for a settlemer organization to construct a four-story building in the Palestinian neighbourhood of Silwan in East Jerusalem. (Ma’an News Agency)

The Israeli parliament gave final approval to a new counterterrorism law, which significantly expands both the state’s counterterrorism powers and its definitions of terrorist organizations and terrorist acts. (Haaretz)

16 June

Israeli forces arrested three Palestinians, in Bethlehem and Qalqilia districts of the occupied West Bank. (Ma’an News Agency, IMEMC)

Israeli authorities are set to allow Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to visit the Al-Aqsa Mosque, following a one-week ban after a deadly gun attack in Tel Aviv. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israel cut water supplies to large areas of West Bank leaving thousands of Palestinians without sufficient drinking water during the holy month of Ramadan. (Pakistan Today, The Express Tribune)

17 June

Israeli authorities closed the streets of Jabal al-Mukabbir, in occupied East Jerusalem, with large cement blocks. Israeli police were deployed around the neighbourhood after four firebombs were reportedly thrown at an Israeli settler’s house. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israeli forces prevented hundreds of Palestinian men from the West Bank from entering Jerusalem to attend Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque, despite having special permits to do so. Among Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, only men over the age of 60 were allowed access for prayers. (Middle East Monitor)

The Israeli Government plans to build a concrete wall along the border with the Gaza Strip, which would be above ground as well as reach tens of meters underground. The barrier would cost an estimated USD 570 million. (Ma’an News Agency, Ynetnews)

The Palestinian and Egyptian foreign ministries initiated negotiations to determine the undersea border between their territories, Palestinian ambassador to the UN said. However, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry denied the existence of talks about that topic. (Ma’an News Agency, Associated Press, Daily News Egypt)

18 June

An Israeli military jeep chased after four Palestinians while they were walking down a street near Qalqilia in the occupied West Bank, running over a youth and detaining the rest. (WAFA, IMEMC)

A 23-year-old Palestinian was injured as undetonated Israeli ordnance exploded in the al-Shujaiyyah neighborhood in eastern Gaza City. (Ma’an News Agency)

According to a report released Israeli opposition leader Herzog had held secret talks with Palestinian President Abbas during the 2014-2015 election cycle, and reached a preliminary agreement on the parameters of a future peace deal. According to the agreement, the Palestinian state should include an area equivalent to 100% of the territory Israel occupied in 1967, which would be adjusted through land swaps equivalent to 4% of this territory. East Jerusalem would be the capital of a Palestinian state and Israel would withdraw from neighbourhoods in that part of the city, but both halves of the city would be governed by a single municipal administration. A multinational force would operate on Al-Haram al-Sharif / Temple Mount, but Israel would retain sovereignty in the area of the Western Wall. On refugees, the parties agreed that that the solution would be based on UN Resolution 194, as called for in the Arab Peace Initiative. Most refugees would receive financial compensation, while a symbolic number would be allowed to ‘return’ to Israel. In the Jordan Valley, Israeli would have a symbolic presence and would able to monitor the border crossings between Jordan and Palestine via technological means. (The Times of Israel, The Jerusalem Post)

19 June 

Israeli troops arrested 14 Palestinians in East Jerusalem and the West Bank districts of Hebron, Nablus, Ramallah and Tulkarem. (IMEMC, Ma’an News Agency)

4 Palestinians were injured and 26 were left homeless after Israeli forces demolished Palestinian structures in Susiya in the southern West Bank. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israeli soldiers opened fire at Palestinian agricultural lands east of Khuza’a, in the southern Gaza Strip district. (IMEMC, Ma’an News Agency)

The Israeli government approved the allocation of an additional $18.6 million to settlements in the West Bank due to the “worsening security situation” in the territory. (Ma’an News Agency, The New York Times)

Israeli authorities decided on to temporarily expand the designated fishing zone off the coast of the Gaza Strip to nine nautical miles for the duration of the fishing season. (Ma’an News Agency)

20 June

Israeli forces detained at least 16 Palestinians in military raids in the West Bank districts of Bethlehem, Hebron, Nablus, and Ramallah. (Ma’an News Agency)

Sixty-five Palestinian prisoners affiliated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) started a hunger strike in Israel’s Megiddo prison in protest against the administrative detention of PFLP-affiliated prisoner Bilal Kayid. (Ma’an News Agency, Albawaba)

A 22-year-old Palestinian with Down syndrome died of wounds sustained in May during clashes with the Israeli forces in Hebron. (Times of Israel, AhlulBayt News Agency)

The EU’s 28 Foreign Ministers endorsed the French initiative. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israeli Transportation Minister Katz said he is pushing for the construction of a $5billion artificial island with a port and an airport off the coast of the Gaza Strip to connect it with the rest of the world. He asserted that the Israeli Government does not object his proposition but the project has not yet been discussed with the Palestinian Government or Hamas. (Times of Israel, Daily Mail)

Egypt opened the Rafah crossing to allow the entry of a dead Palestinian’s body, identified as a leader in the Islamic Jihad who had recently travelled to Egypt for medical treatment. (IMEMC)

21 June

Israeli forces shot dead a 15-year-old Palestinian bystander and seriously injured four others, west of Ramallah, after Palestinian youth nearby threw stones and Molotov cocktails at Israeli settlers, lightly injuring them. (Ma’an News Agency, Times of Israel)

Israeli forces shot dead a 20-year-old Palestinian and seriously wounded two others near Beit Ur village, west of Ramallah. (Fars News Agency)

Israeli forces shot and injured three young Palestinian men in Tulkarm. One man was arrested in the raids. (Ma’an News Agency, IMEMC)

Israeli forces demolished the house of a Palestinian who had been shot dead by Israeli forces in March after he killed an American tourist and injured ten Israelis in a stabbing attack in Jaffa. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israeli forces shot dead a 15-year-old Palestinian bystander and seriously injured four others, west of Ramallah, after Palestinian youth nearby threw stones and Molotov cocktails at Israeli settlers, lightly injuring them. (Ma’an News Agency, Times of Israel)

Israeli forces shot dead a 20-year-old Palestinian and seriously wounded two others near Beit Ur village, west of Ramallah. (Fars News Agency)

Israeli forces shot and injured three young Palestinian men in Tulkarm. One man was arrested in the raids. (Ma’an News Agency, IMEMC)

Israeli forces demolished the house of a Palestinian who had been shot dead by Israeli forces in March after he killed an American tourist and injured ten Israelis in a stabbing attack in Jaffa. (Ma’an News Agency) 

The Palestinian Government has called for municipal elections to be held on 8 October, but it is unclear whether Hamas would participate. (Associated Press)

22 June

Israeli forces detained at least 25 Palestinians, including several teenagers and a young woman, in large-scale detention raids carried out in occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank districts of Bethlehem, Hebron, Nablus, Qalqilya, Ramallah and Tulkarem. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israeli media reported that while acknowledging cutting water supplies to major areas in the occupied West Bank during the current heat wave and the month of Ramadan, Israel claimed that the Palestinian Authority's lack of cooperation in upgrading the infrastructure had resulted in the action. The Palestinian authorities, however, strongly refuted this claim and noted that it was being required to approve a project to divert water from Palestinian areas to illegal Israeli settlements. (Haaretz)

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is expected to head to France on 24 June ahead of a Middle East tour that will take him inter alia to Israel, the State of Palestine and Jordan. In Paris, Mr. Ban will meet with President Hollande and Foreign Minister Ayrault, as France seeks to organize an international conference later this year to revive the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. In the following week, he will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Rivlin, as well as Palestinian President Abbas and Prime Minister Hamdallah. (Israel National News, Xinhua)

Israeli army boats opened fire at Palestinian fishermen off the coast of the southern Gaza Strip. (Ma’an News Agency)

Palestinian President Abbas met in Brussels with European Union officials, including EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Mogherini, European Commission President Juncker and MEPs, to discuss ongoing peace efforts concerning the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. (Albawaba, The Times of Israel)

Israeli forces arrested a 41-year-old resident from Gaza at the Erez crossing as he was returning back home from escorting his 8-month-old son to a hospital in Israel, where the infant had undergone a stem cell transplantation. (Ma’an News Agency)

23 June

Israeli forces reopened several checkpoints and roads in the northern West Bank district of Nablus after several hours of closure. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israeli forces detained at least 11 Palestinians from East Jerusalem and the West Bank districts of Bethlehem, Hebron, Qalqilya, and Ramallah. (IMEMC, Ma’an News Agency)

Israeli troops excavated and destroyed a suspected explosive device found near the border with the Gaza Strip. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israeli soldiers entered Doha town, west of Bethlehem, and shot a young Palestinian man. (IMEMC)

The Palestinian Prisoners Society reported that Israeli soldiers arrested at least ten Palestinians in different parts of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.(IMEMC)

The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society said in a statement that signs of exhaustion and fatigue were showing on prisoner Bilal Kayid, as he marked his ninth day on hunger strike, following a court decision to extend his detention for six months on the day that he was set to be released after finishing a 14-year sentence. (Ma’an News Agency)

24 June

Israeli forces shot and killed an 18 years old Palestinian woman after she allegedly carried out a car-ramming attack in proximity of the entrance of “Kiryat Arba” settlement on the outskirts of Hebron. (presstv.com)

Israeli forces reopened several checkpoints and roads in the district of Nablus after several hours of closure, when an Israeli settler had been injured by rocks thrown at his vehicle near the Beita junction. (Albawaba news)

Israel has launched diplomatic efforts to halt the publication of a report by the Middle East Quartet, which is said to be critical of Israel for the current impasse in the peace talks with Palestinians. (presstv.com)

300 worshipers from Gaza, all above the age of 50, headed to Al-Aqsa via the Erez crossing to attend prayers for the holy month of Ramadan.  Thousands of Israeli police officers and border guards were reportedly deployed throughout the streets of Jerusalem’s Old City and surrounding neighborhoods. (Ma’an News Agency)

According to the Palestinian Prisoners’ Center for Studies, the number of Palestinian prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment in Israeli jails has increased to 489 after Israel’s Military Court issued new life sentences against four prisoners from Nablus. (Middle East Monitor)

The South African human rights organization “Centre of Violence and Reconciliation” (CSVR) withdrew its participation from the upcoming International Network of Genocide Scholars (INoGS) conference scheduled at Israel’s Hebrew University on 26-29 June 2016. The hosting of the INoGS conference in Israel has come under heavy criticism and last month over 250 academics from more than 19 countries issued a public call for a boycott of the conference. (IMEMC)

The Palestinian Center for Human Rights has issued its weekly report on human rights violations for 16-22 June 2016. (pchrgaza.org)

Palestinian President Abbas retracted his allegation that Israeli rabbis had called for the poisoning of Palestinian water, which he had made in a speech to the European parliament in Brussels the day before, after it became evident that the alleged statements, reported by various media outlets, were baseless. President Abbas has affirmed that “he didn't intend to harm Judaism or to offend Jewish people around the world,” Abbas’ office said. (Ma’an News Agency, Reuters)

25 June

Israeli forces detained two Palestinian youth from Yatta, near Hebron in the occupied West Bank. (WAFA)

26 June

Israeli forces raided the Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound in order to enable Jewish visitors to enter the area, clashing with Muslim worshipers, injuring at least 12 Palestinians and detaining at least two Palestinians. (Ma’an News Agency, WAFA)

Israeli forces detained at least 10 Palestinians in overnight raids in the occupied West Bank districts of Bethlehem, Hebron, Nablus and Ramallah. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israel and Turkey reached a reconciliation agreement that ends the bilateral crisis, which had begun with the killing of Turkish nationals during an Israeli military raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla in May 2010. In March 2013, Israel had already apologized for the killing of the nine Turkish nationals in the raid. The apology was one of the conditions Turkey had set for restoring normal relations
Per the deal:
– Turkey commits to pass a law that voids all old lawsuits against the Israeli soldiers that participated in the 2010 raid on the aid flotilla, and requires Turkey to compensate Israel in the event of future claims.
– Israel will transfer $20 million to a humanitarian fund that will compensate the families of the Turkish nationals killed and wounded during the 2010 raid. The money will only be transferred after the legislation mentioned in Section 1 is passed.
– Turkey yielded on its demand for Israel to remove the marine blockade on the Gaza Strip- Israel will allow Turkey to build infrastructure projects in Gaza like a hospital, power station and a desalination plant. Israel commits to allow Turkey to transfer unlimited humanitarian aid and equipment to Gaza as long as it goes through the port of Ashdod in Israel.
– Israel and Turkey will normalize bilateral relations. The level of diplomatic representation will be raised; and all restrictions on diplomatic, security, military and intelligence cooperation will be lifted. (Haaretz)

A temporary extension imposed by Israeli authorities reducing the fishing zone off the coast of the Gaza Strip to six nautical miles after it had been set to nine miles for one week expired. A six-mile fishing zone allows only 30% of Palestinian fishermen to go on fishing trips because the area is too narrow for more. (Ma’an News Agency)

27 June 

On the Haram al-Sharif / Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound, dozens of Palestinians were hit by rubber-coated bullets and suffered from tear gas inhalation at the hands of Israeli forces who forcibly evacuated Muslim worshipers to secure an area for Israelis touring the compound for the second day in a row. For the past several years Jewish worshipers and tourists had not been allowed into the Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound during the last ten days of Ramadan, as these days are particularly sacred to Muslims. (IMEMC, Ma’an News Agency)

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in a speech at Tel Aviv University, called on Israeli and Palestinian leaders to show “responsibility” by seeing each others’ points of view, and to end the cycle of repeating the same platitudes and expecting a different result. (The Times of Israeli, United Nations)

Israeli forces opened fire at Palestinian fishermen sailing off the coast of the northern Gaza Strip, as well as at farmers in the border areas east of Gaza City. (Al Bawaba)

 Riyad al-Malki, the Foreign Minister of the State of Palestine welcomed the agreement struck between Turkey and Israel on 26 June 2016. However, he stressed that Turkey’s efforts to deliver humanitarian relief to Gaza ought to be coordinated with the Palestinian government. (Turkish Weekly, AA)

The Human Rights Council held a general debate on the human rights situation in Palestine While Israel was not in the room to take the floor as a concerned country, the State of Palestine, took the floor, noting that Israel, among many other things, continued to carry out assassinations, build settlements, and flagrantly violate international humanitarian law. (OHCHR)

28 June

Israeli forces detained at least 6 Palestinians during morning raids across the West Bank. (Ma’an News Agency)

Following two days of clashes between Israeli police and Palestinian protesters, Israeli police banned non-Muslims from the Haram al-Sharif / Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound until the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. (AP)

During remarks to students and staff at an UNRWA school in the Gaza Strip, UN Secretary-General Ban-Ki moon condemned Israel’s blockade of the enclave and stressed the importance of achieving a united Gaza and West Bank under a single, democratic, and legitimate government. (Ma’an News Agency)

A Palestinian woman was killed and six other Palestinians were injured in a terrorist attack at Atatürk Airport in Istanbul, Turkey. The injured Palestinians include a baby and a teenager from Gaza who both remain in critical condition. (Ma’an News Agency)

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Ban held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Palestinian President Abbas. In the meetings, Mr. Ban highlighted the need for peace and the difficulties Palestinians face and encouraged both sides to take courageous steps necessary to prevent a one-state reality or perpetual conflict that is incompatible with realizing the national aspirations of the Israeli and Palestinian peoples. (Tasnim News Agency, The Times of Israel)

Israeli settlers entered Palestinian lands near Bethlehem, destroying two greenhouses, tearing up and uprooting plants, and spray-painting “Death to Arabs” on Palestinian property. (Ma’an News Agency)

29 June

Egypt opened its border crossing with the Gaza Strip in order to allow Gazans in urgent need to enter and exit the besieged Palestinian enclave. The terminal is set to remain open for five days in the coming week. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israeli forces arrested at least 17 Palestinians in East Jerusalem and the the West Bank districts of Bethlehem, Hebron and Ramallah. (IMEMC, Ma’an News Agency)

Israelis attending a Ramadan meal in Ramallah were attacked by Palestinian youth hurling Molotov cocktails at their cars, lighting one of them on fire. One Israeli had to be rescued by Palestinian security officers. (The Jerusalem Post, Ynetnews)

Egyptian Foreign Minister Shoukry visited Ramallah to discuss Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations and the French Initiative. (Arutz Sheva)

In a message delivered at the International Conference in support of Israeli-Palestinian Peace in Geneva, United Nations Secretary-General Ban renewed the UN commitment to a two-State resolution for the people of Israel and Palestine and urged “political will” to make that happen. (United Nations News Center)

30 June

A 13-year old Israeli-American girl was stabbed to death in her sleep by a Palestinian young man in the illegal Jewish settlement of “Kiryat Arba” near Hebron in the southern West Bank.  (Haaretz, BBC)

The Special Coordinator for the Middle East Process Mladenov briefed the Security Council on latest developments and the key points of the Middle East Quartet report.  (un.org)

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