Chronological Review of Events/November 2014 – DPR review

Division for Palestinian Rights

Chronological Review of Events Relating to the

Question of Palestine

Monthly media monitoring review

November 2014

1

The PA sent extra security forces to Hebron in the southern West Bank, days after they announced they would be conducting an extensive campaign in the city to arrest “outlaws.” (Ma’an)

Dozens of Israeli military jeeps invaded a number of towns south of Jenin, installed roadblocks, and broke into a number of homes and lands before searching them. (IMEMC)

Nasr Al-Tatar, the General Director of the Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City said that companies in Gaza have stopped providing the hospital with food for meals in protest against not being paid for five months. The hospital owes approximately $211,000 to the companies for food. Al-Shifa hospital serves about 1,500 meals a day, and this number doubled during the Israeli offensive on Gaza in July and August. (Ma’an)

The health condition of ten Palestinian prisoners with disabilities in Israel’s Al-Ramla hospital is deteriorating, Hanan al-Khatib, a lawyer with the Department of Prisoner’s Affairs said. He warned in a statement that they were in “dangerous” condition. Around 7,000 Palestinians are currently being held in Israeli prisons, more than 2,000 of whom were arrested by Israeli forces over the summer. (Ma’an)

2

A Palestinian was shot and injured with live ammunition, while many others were injured with rubber-coated steel bullets, fired by Israeli forces during confrontations that erupted at Qalandia checkpoint to the north of Jerusalem. (WAFA; Ma’an)

Israeli forces arrested five Palestinians in the West Bank, witnesses and an Israeli army spokeswoman said. (Ma’an)

Israeli security sources said that Hamas has arrested five suspects in the firing of a rocket from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel over the weekend. Hamas denies that its operatives were behind the rocket fire and remains committed to maintaining quiet on the border and finding those responsible for the rocket fire. Israel closed the crossings into Gaza as a result of the fire, a move Hamas said was a violation of the cease-fire agreement. (The Jerusalem Post; Xinhua)

The League of Arab States called upon the international community to promptly act to stop the ongoing Israeli violations on the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem. During its extraordinary permanent representatives’ session the League held the Israeli Government fully responsible for the recent escalation in Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque. (WAFA; Ma’an)

Israeli authorities have cancelled the weekly visits by Palestinian families from the Gaza Strip to their relatives detained in Israeli jails, the International Committee of the Red Cross, said. Israel closed the Kerem Shalom, Gaza’s only functioning commercial crossing, and Erez Crossing, which is used for the movement of people between Gaza and the West Bank, citing a rocket attack from the strip. (The Daily Star)

The Israeli cabinet approved an amendment to the Israeli penal code to enable more severe punishment of up to 10 years in prison against Palestinians convicted of involvement in stone-throwing attacks against Israeli targets, and up to 20 years in case of targeting vehicles for the purpose of endangering passengers. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the weekly cabinet meeting that the new legislation aimed at restoring “peace to all parts of Jerusalem.” “We will dedicate massive force and an aggressive legislation to restore quiet and security to every part of our capital,” he added. (MEM; WAFA)

Moshe Feiglin, a far-right Israeli member of the Knesset from the Likud Party, entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem, vowing to “change the reality” of a ban on Jewish prayer at the site. (The New York Times; Ma’an; Ynetnews)

Deputy Head of the Political Office of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, warned against Israeli plans to demolish the Al-Aqsa Mosque and liquidate the Palestinian cause. “Al-Aqsa Mosque is beyond the phase of division already and into the phase of demolition, something that aims at liquidating the Palestinian cause altogether,” Haniyeh said during a conference on the history of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict at the Islamic University in Gaza. (MEM)

3

The initial autopsy report of Mutaz Hijazi, 32, slain by Israeli soldiers last week, shows that he was shot all over the body at least 20 times and that his death was caused by severe bleeding from his chest, neck, hands, legs, lungs, and heart. The report is expected to add fuel to allegations by Palestinians that Israeli officers charged with arresting him instead executed him. (Ma’an)

A senior Palestinian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the US Secretary of State John Kerry, who is set to convene with chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat today, will propose a ‘compromise’ to convince the Palestinians not to go to the UN. The official said that if the sides could reach an agreement that would answer most of the Palestinian demands – particularly regarding borders – there could be some flexibility about the date for ending the occupation. “Instead of two or three years, we will be able to extend the timeframe,” the official said. The US Administration is planning to present a proposal after the mid-term elections for the US Congress on Tuesday. (Haaretz; WAFA; Al-Hayat; Al-Ayyam; The Jerusalem Post)

Thousands of Palestinians took to the streets after Friday prayer in the West Bank condemning the Israeli decision to close the Al-Aqsa Mosque to Palestinian worshipers. (MEM)

Palestinian community officials say the wave of unrest gripping Jerusalem is fuelled by a sense of hopelessness resulting from Israel’s policies in East Jerusalem, which have left many young people with a sense that they have nothing to lose. (Ma’an)

The Palestinian Prisoner’s Club reported that medical negligence by the Israeli prison administration could cause prisoner Jaber A’wies, detained in the Megiddo Israeli prison, to lose sight in his right eye due to severe infections left untreated. Palestinian Minister of Prisoners’ Affairs Issa Qaraqe stated that the number of sick prisoners detained in Israeli jails have reached 1500, of whom 80 prisoners are suffering from serious health problems and do not receive the necessary treatment. (WAFA)

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, told Le Monde that she would like to see a Palestinian State by the end of her term in five years. Ms. Mogherini is set to visit Israel and Palestine on 7 and 8 November. She said that her trip emphasized the significance she places both on the need to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the need to increase Europe’s role in making that happen. (The Jerusalem Post)

The US condemned the Jerusalem Planning Committee’s decision to promote a construction plan for hundreds of new housing units in the “Ramat Shlomo” settlement. Jen Psaki, State Department Spokesperson said the US was continuing to engage with the Israeli Government to make its stance against settlement construction clear. (Haaretz)

The Knesset approved a law preventing the release of Palestinians prisoners convicted of murder as part of any future political agreement or prisoner swap. The law grants judges the power to sentence people for “murder under extraordinarily severe circumstances” which would make them ineligible for release. (Haaretz)

Israeli forces demolished two Palestinian homes in an East Jerusalem neighbourhood that has been at the heart of clashes between Israeli police and Palestinian protesters. Israeli Authorities knocked down the buildings near the district of Abu Tor, southeast of the Old City, in the early hours, saying they had been built without construction permits. (The Daily Star Lebanon)

4

Chief Palestinian Negotiator Saeb Erakat said Israel’s plan for roughly 500 new settler homes in East Jerusalem is a “slap in the face” to the US, the international community, the Palestinian people and to peace. He said, “As an emergency move to protect the two-State solution, we call upon all countries to intensify their efforts to support recognition of a Palestinian State on the 1967 borders”. (AFP)

In a statement, Hamas called on Palestinians to participate in a demonstration entitled “Human Chain” to be held in Ramallah in support of Palestinian access to the Al-Aqsa Mosque. (Ma’an News Agency)

Jordan’s King Abdullah said in a speech that Jordan will “continue to confront, through all available means, Israeli unilateral policies and measures in Jerusalem and preserve its Muslim and Christian holy sites, until peace is restored to the land of peace,” Petra reported. (The Jerusalem Post)

In a statement UN Special Coordinator, Mr. Robert Serry confirmed that the temporary Gaza reconstruction mechanism has begun operations. Some 700 beneficiaries have purchased construction materials. The mechanism led by the Palestinian Government of National Consensus is now in urgent need to accelerate to rebuild some 60,000 homes. He called upon donors to honour their pledges made at the Cairo conference. The Government of National Consensus must also be empowered to assume its rightful responsibilities in Gaza. (unispal.un.org)

Robert Turner, UNRWA Director of Operations in Gaza, said the extent of damage after the July-August war was worse than first thought. The latest estimates suggested reconstruction would take two to three years if all went well, he said. “If we do not have political stability… if we do not have a national Palestinian Government, I think if we do not have at least an easing of the blockade, yes there will be another war,” Turner told reporters. (The Jerusalem Post)

Maria ARENA, a member in the European Parliament, said that Israeli settlement goods are listed as banned goods in the Belgian and European markets as part of the campaign of boycotting settlement products. ARENA headed a delegation of 11 members of the Belgian Socialist Party, Workers’ Party of Belgium, Green Party, the Christian Social Party and a number of Belgian social institutions to Ramallah. The visit is a part of a campaign to boycott the Israeli settlement products. (Alray.ps)

5

Israeli soldiers raided various villages and neighbourhoods in East Jerusalem, and the Abu Dis nearby town, broke into and ransacked dozens of homes, and detained at least 17 Palestinians.(IMEMC)

Palestinian Authority security forces have carried out a major series of arrests of Hamas and Islamic Jihad operatives in recent weeks in an effort to prevent riots and unrest against Israel from spreading throughout the West Bank. Palestinian officials said over 250 Hamas and Islamic Jihad operatives have been detained in PA-controlled areas of the West Bank in the weeks since the end of “Operation Protective Edge”. (The Times of Israel)

The Socialist group at the French National Assembly is preparing a parliamentary motion calling on the Government to recognize Palestine as a State, “as an instrument to obtain a final settlement of the conflict,” reads the provisional motion. The proposal is due to be discussed next week at a meeting with Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius and Socialist senators are working on a similar initiative. The vote could take place within weeks. (Ha’aretz)

Unilateral recognition of Palestine as a State is non-effective because there would be no consensus between Palestine and Israel, Czech Foreign Minister Lubomir Zaoralek told a breakfast meeting of The Israel Council on Foreign Relations at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem. Mr. Zaoralek is in the region to meet with Israeli and Palestinian officials and is due to travel to Ramallah on 6 November. (The Jerusalem Post)

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) announced a US contribution of $100 million in budget support for the Palestinian Authority said the Organization in a press release. Today’s transfer would be used to directly pay for fuel purchases and to support six hospitals in East Jerusalem, allowing them to continue to provide critical services to the public, said the USAID statement. At the October 2014 Gaza Donors Conference in Cairo, US Secretary of State John Kerry announced $414 million in U.S. assistance to the Palestinians, which designated $212 million to be delivered through USAID. (WAFA)

The European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, said Israel’s approval of the construction of over 500 new housing units in East Jerusalem jeopardizes the on-going efforts to resume a diplomatic process. (WAFA)

The Government of Spain has expressed its condemnation for Israel’s construction plan for 500 housing unit in East Jerusalem. Meanwhile, the Government of Japan urged Israel to desist from implementing its construction plans. (WAFA)

Dozens of Jewish settlers stormed Al Aqsa Mosque yards under the protection of Israeli police. Clashes erupted between Palestinians and Israeli police when settlers made a provocative tour in the Mosque’s yards and performed their Talmudic rituals. Israeli police used incendiary bombs and toxic tear gas bombs, as well as rubber bullets, leaving a number of Palestinians suffocating. (petra.gov.jo)

The Temple Mount compound was closed to visitors in the morning shortly after Palestinians clashed with security forces, throwing rocks and launching fireworks, as a large group of right-wing activists waited at the entrance to the holy site. One Palestinian was wounded in the clashes. (Ynetnews)

Israeli police barred Adnan al-Husseini, the Palestinian Minister for Jerusalem Affairs, from entering the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex. Speaking to Anadolu Agency by phone, al-Husseini said he had been slightly injured when Israeli forces assaulted him and a group of other Palestinian Muslim worshippers gathered at the northern entrance of the complex. As al-Husseini spoke, gunfire and stun grenades could be heard in the background. (Middleeastmonitor.com)

Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement released. The Israeli killed in the car attack was police Chief Inspector while the driver of the car was a Palestinian from Shuafat refugee camp in East Jerusalem, and was known to security authorities as a Hamas operative, police say. “We call on the people of Jerusalem and the West Bank and all of the Palestinians to carry out more of these activities with full force in order to defend al-Aqsa,” read the Hamas statement. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attack was a result of “incitement” by both the Palestinian Authority and Hamas. (BBC, The Jerusalem Post) 

Jordan has recalled its Ambassador to Israel over what it called the “unprecedented Israeli escalation” at holy and sensitive sites in Jerusalem and “repeated violations in the holy city.” Jordan will also log a complaint to the Security Council, against the Israeli aggression in Jerusalem. (Petra.gov.jo, BBC, The New York Times)

Israeli authorities allowed a limited amount of goods, including construction material, to enter the Gaza Strip, an official said. Some 53 truckloads of cement, steel, and aggregate were allowed to enter the Strip for international projects. (Ma’an News Agency, The Jerusalem Post)

About 20,000 civil servants in the Gaza Strip went on strike to protest the Palestinian unity government’s refusal to pay military and security employees of Hamas. All ministries and other institutions run by Hamas in Gaza were shut and gated, except for schools, after the walkout by mostly administrative workers, an AFP correspondent said. (The Daily Star Lebanon)

Egyptian authorities have closed the Rafah crossing with Gaza for the second week in a row, a Gaza official said. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israel rejected an Amnesty International report that suggests Israel had committed war crimes during its recent military operation in the Gaza Strip, saying it provides “no evidence.” “Amnesty ignores documented war crimes perpetrated by Hamas,” the Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement, adding that the report serves as “a propaganda tool for Hamas and other terror groups.” (Xinhuanet.com)

More than 350 human rights groups, trade unions and political parties from across Europe have called for the EU to hold Israel accountable for its massacre in Gaza earlier this year by suspending the EU-Israel Association Agreement, the main treaty between the EU and Israel. In a press release issued by the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign on behalf of European Coordination of Committees and Associations for Palestine (ECCP) the groups stated ”Through the continued existence of the EU-Israel Association Agreement and the strengthening of the bilateral relations, the European Union and its member states are sending Israel the message that it does not have to abide by international law”. The declaration had been jointly issued by major civil society bodies from across 19 countries and was delivered to the advisors for Federica Mogherini, the new EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy who began her first trip to Palestine and Israel. (Palestine News Network)

A senior Israeli security source said the hit and run incident in the West Bank in which 3 soldiers were injured may have been an accident. Hamas said the incident was “a continuation of our resistance plans.” (The Jerusalem Post, Ynetnews)

At least 14 people were injured, and one killed, in a vehicular attack in Jerusalem. The Palestinian driver was shot and killed by police. (The Jerusalem Post)

Permanent Observer Riyad Mansour called on the Security Council to demand withdrawal of extremist Israelis desecrating Islamic holy sites in East Jerusalem, helping to end a “very explosive situation” and stave off a “religious confrontation.” (Xinhua)

6

Hundreds of right-wing Israeli settlers under heavy military escort visited at Joseph’s Tomb near Balata refugee camp east of Nablus. A group of young Palestinian men was hurling stones and empty bottles at the soldiers, who responded with tear gas canisters and stun grenades. (Ma’an News Agency)

The UN Secretary-General, EU and Canada joined the US in condemning the attack in Jerusalem in which a Palestinian man ran over groups of pedestrians before being shot dead. The Secretary-General’s spokesperson said the situation in Jerusalem and Israeli restrictions on access at the holy sites “need to be urgently deescalated.” (The Times of Israel)

Prime Minister Netanyahu has pushed back against calls from right wing MKs and ministers to lift restrictions on Jews praying at Al-Haram Al-Sharif (Temple Mount), insisting there will be no change in its status quo. (The Times of Israel)

The PLO has called on the international media to desist from using the term Temple Mount, saying its use does not “adhere to international law.” (Haaretz)

PLO Executive Committee member, Hanan Ashrawi, said in a statement that “Israel is employing a deliberate policy to generate grave violence and chaos. Under the guise of security, it will impose unilateral facts that violate international law and foment conflict and instability. With its acts of terror and injustice, Israel is inciting a holy war in Palestine and throughout the region with global ramifications.” (WAFA)

An official source in the Egyptian Foreign Ministry has expressed “extreme surprise” over the UN’s decision to deduct $30 million in administrative costs from the aid donated for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, Palestinian newspaper Al-Resalah reported. (MEMO)

Qatar announces a $40 million grant for the education sector in Gaza and said it would also buy fuel for Gaza’s sole power plant which is idled for lack of fuel. (Alray, MEMO)

Israeli forces may have committed war crimes when they stormed a 2010 Gaza aid flotilla, but the possible crimes were not grave enough to merit a prosecution at the ICC, the court’s prosecutor said. Ms. Bensouda had opened a preliminary investigation into the flotilla raid last year after the Comoros — an ICC member — filed a complaint as the “Mavi Marmara” boat was flying a Comorian flag. (BBC)

The Palestinian Ministry of National Economy has said that Israeli factories based in the settlements have been illegally using international trademarks to trick Palestinians who are boycotting products made in settlements. (Gulf News)

Top Israeli Government officials, NGOs, and academics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem debated whether Israel has a legal obligation to permit cement to enter Gaza following this summer’s war. Gisha founder Sari Bashi presented statistics that showed Hamas’s tunnels required less than 1 percent of cement rebuilding Gaza requires. Bashi added that currently the IDF is permitting only 500 tons of cement into Gaza per day, at that rate it would take 19 years for Gaza to be rebuilt. (The Jerusalem Post)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed to Palestinian leaders that Turkey will start an initiative at the Security Council to stop the Israeli aggression in Al-Aqsa compound. (MEMO)

A total of 100 Palestinian students arrived in Venezuela to study medicine, through the scholarship program “Yasser Arafat 2014” coordinated by Fundayacucho Government programme. (avn)

Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem published a statement in which they expressed their concern about the outbreak of violence and the rapid deterioration of the situation in the city. They also called for the respect of the status quo, especially on the esplanade of the Mosques. (PNN)

7

The Palestinian national consensus Government will hold its upcoming weekly session in the Gaza Strip, the Gaza-based Minister of labour said. (Ma’an News Agency)

The EU’s new foreign affairs High Representative, Federica Mogherini warned of a new wave of Israeli-Palestinian violence if there is no progress towards peace talks. (AFP)

A new poll showed strong support among the Palestinian public for the two-State solution amid fears that tensions in Jerusalem could lead to a violent confrontation with Israel. (Ma’an News Agency)

The Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo, expressed his concerns over the stagnation of the peace process between Palestinians and Israelis, as well as the increased tensions following the recent conflict in Gaza, stressing the need to return to the negotiating table as soon as possible. (WAFA) 

Israeli police imposed fresh restrictions on access to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem, amid rising tension in the holy city. (Anadolu Agency)

Around 150 Jewish extremists marched in Jerusalem to protest over deteriorating security and pray near the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, but were prevented by police from reaching the flashpoint shrine. Israel promised Jordan that it would not allow Jews to pray at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound. (AFP)

Israel’s Economy Minister Naftali Bennett criticized the Government for its handling of the wave of violence in East Jerusalem and called for a shift from a defensive stance to a military offensive. (Haaretz)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Israel that its “provocations” and “vicious” actions against Al-Aqsa may lead to a “new intifada”. (The Jerusalem Post)

Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef urged Israelis to stop attempting to enter the flashpoint religious site, saying that doing so was a religious offense. (Ynetnews)

Clashes broke out in East Jerusalem between Palestinians holding a mock funeral for the Palestinian behind the recent vehicular attack, and police. (Ynetnews)

Prime Minister Netanyahu has ordered officials to demolish the homes of Palestinians in East Jerusalem who carried out attacks on Israelis, an unnamed official told AFP. (AFP)

Israel allowed the export of agricultural products from Gaza to the West Bank for the first time since 2007 and officials said more would be allowed in in the coming week. (AFP)

Dozens of Palestinian doctors and patients held a sit-in at the Rafah border crossing in southern Gaza demanding Egypt reopen the frontier to allow people out for medical treatment. (Times of Israel)

The highest-ranking US military officer, General Martin Dempsey, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said that Israel went to “extraordinary lengths” to limit civilian casualties in the recent war in Gaza and that the Pentagon had sent a team to see what lessons could be learned from the operation. (Reuters)

Israeli forces blocked the entrance of Abud village northwest of Ramallah with a large cement block to prevent residents from coming in or out, locals said. Clashes broke between Palestinians and Israeli forces on the following day. (Ma’an News Agency)

At least 30 Palestinians were injured after Israeli forces raided Shuafat refugee camp in East Jerusalem, sparking pitched battles between police armed with guns and protestors with rocks. (Ma’an News Agency)

Dozens of Palestinians were shot and injured with Israeli rubber-coated steel bullets, while dozens others suffered from excessive tear gas suffocation during clashes that took place in various parts in the Jerusalem area, according to the Palestine Red Crescent Society. (WAFA)

A number of key European countries are threatening to follow the decision of the Swedish Government and unilaterally recognize a Palestinian State if efforts are not made to renew the peace talks between Israelis and the Palestinians, the Wall Street Journal reported, basing the claim on comments made by top US and European officials. (Ynetnews)

Israeli Arab lawmakers could quit the Knesset en masse to protest Israel’s “harmful actions” against Al-Aqsa Mosque, an Arab parliamentarian warned. (The Jerusalem Post)

Unidentified assailants targeted the homes and cars of several Fatah leaders in the Gaza Strip with explosives, officials told Ma’an. A spokesman for the Palestinian security services accused Hamas of responsibility for the attacks, hours after the group’s leaders condemned the incidents and denied any responsibility. (Ma’an News Agency)

Hamas declared the formation of a “popular army” at the Jabalya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, according to a report by the AFP. (The Jerusalem Post)

8

Police said officers arrested two residents of Shuafat on suspicion of throwing stones at the Jerusalem light rail. (The Time of Israel) 

EU’s Foreign Affairs chief Federica Mogherini visited the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. She appealed for the establishment of a Palestinian State and said that Jerusalem “should be the capital of two States.” She also stated that the Gaza Strip cannot afford a fourth war and affirmed the EU’s commitment and support to Gaza reconstruction. (Ma’an News Agency, PNN, WAFA)

The Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Børge Brende, expressed deep concerns over the latest developments taking place in Jerusalem, said a statement issued. (WAFA)

President Abbas stated that the Palestinian leadership will seek a UN Security Council resolution to define the 1967 occupied territories, including East Jerusalem, as Palestinian State, as well as to seek an end to the Israeli occupation. (WAFA)

The Israeli soldiers, settlers and Jewish worshippers finding free access to Jerusalem’s Al-Haram Al- Sharif compound while denying the Muslims their right to pray at the holy site is tantamount to “religious and intellectual terrorism,” Jordanian politicians and lawmakers said. (Petra) 

Israeli forces will open Karim Abu Salem crossing for the entry of 400 trucks to the Gaza Strip, Gaza official said. (Alray) 

9

Israeli forces raided the village of Kafr Qalil south of Nablus and detained lawyer Ibrahim Nawwaf al-Amir, family members told the Ahrar Centre for Prisoners Studies and Human Rights. (Ma’an News Agency)

The IDF arrested 16 Palestinians from East Jerusalem during night and predawn raids reported the Palestinian Prisoner’s Club. (WAFA)

It was reported that the IDF will deploy protective barricades at 20 hitchhiking posts and bus stops in the West Bank. (The Jerusalem Post) 

An Israeli Ministerial Committee approved a bill to extend Israeli laws to the West Bank. Israeli sources said that the bill needs to be submitted to the Knesset for voting and must pass three readings before becoming law. In response, Palestinian Chief Negotiator Saeb Erekat called for joining the ICC. (WAFA) 

US Consul General Michael Ratney participated in the 10^th annual olive harvest festival in Jenin where he visited with local farmers and met Canaan Fair Trade Olive Harvest Festival Director Nasser Abufarha. (PNN) 

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry in a statement strongly denounced the Israeli Government’s decision to take over around 13 thousand dunums of land belonging to the village of Bit Ikssa, northwest of Jerusalem. Israeli officials denied those reports. A COGAT spokeswoman said that there were only Israeli military orders to renew a confiscation order for 163 dunums (41 acres) in the area. (WAFA) 

Prime Minister Netanyahu accused Hamas and the Israel-based Islamic Movement of orchestrating the current unrest in Jerusalem, warning that anyone who called for the destruction of the State of Israel would have their citizenship revoked. (The Jerusalem Post)

President Abbas said that he intends to move the shrine for late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to Jerusalem, Ma’an News Agency reported. (The Jerusalem Post) 

Hamas forced the cancellation of a memorial ceremony in the Gaza Strip that was meant to mark the 10^th anniversary of the death of Yasser Arafat. (Times of Malta) 

The Israel Navy fired on a fishing boat that left Gaza and loaded cargo in Egypt, the IDF Spokesperson’s office said. (The Jerusalem Post) 

The former spokesman of Israeli military forces, Avi Benayahu called on the Israeli Government to improve the life conditions of Gazans before it is too late. (Alray) 

Palestinian Minister of Civil Affairs Hussein Al-Sheikh asserted that his Government would continue exerting efforts for facilitating the entry of construction materials into the Gaza Strip, Anadolu news agency reported. (MEMO)

Israel transferred Ebola screening tools to the Palestinian Government in the hopes it will help Palestinian officials in diagnosing the virus among those entering the West Bank from Jordan and the Gaza Strip. The transfer was made following a Palestinian request. (Ynetnews)

10

Several Palestinian students were suffocated by teargas fired by the Israeli army during confrontations that erupted in the village of al-Abidiya, east of Bethlehem, according to local sources. (WAFA) 

Israeli police arrested four Palestinians, including a teenager after severely beating him up, from the Jerusalem area, while army forces arrested two others in Hebron, said security sources and local activist. (WAFA)

The IDF has deployed portable surveillance balloons in the West Bank in recent weeks; a move the army says provides field units with advanced visual intelligence capabilities in real time. (The Jerusalem Post)

Assailants stabbed several Israelis, killing a young woman at a bus stop in the West Bank and gravely wounding an Israeli soldier in Tel Aviv. Israeli police suspects an 18-year-old Nablus resident, who was illegally in Israel, for the attack on the soldier. (The Washington Post)

Israel’s Strategic Affairs Ministry director-general, Brig.-Gen. (res.) Yossi Kuperwasser, said that hateful beliefs regarding Jews were ingrained into the Palestinian psyche at birth, via textbooks, social media, cultural activities, and by President Abbas. (The Jerusalem Post) 

The EU declared a contribution of approximately €17.5 million to the payment of October salaries and pensions of around 69,000 Palestinian civil servants and pensioners in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. (WAFA)

The Israeli authorities handed notices to demolish a school, three houses, and two tents near the town of Yatta, south of Hebron, according to local sources. (WAFA)

Israeli authorities imposed further restrictions on access of Palestinian worshippers to the Al-Aqsa Mosque for the second consecutive day. (Petra) 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a speech during the Likud conference that he gave orders to intensify the police presence in Jerusalem. (PNN) 

Israeli authorities allowed 43 Gazans to visit relatives detained at Israel’s Eshel Prison, the ICRC said. (Petra) 

Palestinian Minister for Prisoners’ Affairs Fadi Ubeidat said that the health of a number of prisoners held in Negev and Megiddo “continue to deteriorate due to deliberate medical neglect”. (MEMO) 

Shurat Hadin – Israel Law Centre filed a war crimes complaint with the ICC Prosecutor against President Abbas. (The Jerusalem Post)

The IDF soldier stabbed by a Palestinian in Tel Aviv died of his wounds (The Times of Israel)

A family from Silwan neighborhood south of Jerusalem, was shocked to hear Israeli forces intended to arrest their 2-year-old son, when an Israeli occupation intelligence officer stormed into their house, arrested another son and stole three computers. The family refused the arrest of the 2 year old. (Palestine News Network)

The Secretary-General has established an internal and independent United Nations Headquarters Board of Inquiry into certain incidents that occurred in the Gaza Strip between 8 July and 26 August 2014. The Board will be led by Patrick Cammaert (The Netherlands) and includes as its other members Maria Vicien-Milburn (Argentina), Lee O’Brien (United States), Pierre Lemelin (Canada) and K.C. Reddy (India). It will review and investigate a number of specific incidents in which death or injuries occurred at, and/or damage done to, United Nations premises. The Board will also review and investigate incidents in which weapons were found to be present on United Nations premises. The Secretary-General expects that the Board will enjoy the full cooperation of all parties concerned. (www.un.org)

The Bureau of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People issued a statement expressing its alarm at recent developments and increased tensions in occupied East Jerusalem. The Bureau is particularly concerned by the increasing incursions by Israeli extremists and political leaders under the protection of Israeli occupation forces on the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound. (www.un.org)

Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations Ron Prosor expressed strong criticism of the Security Council’s silence following multiple terror attacks against Israelis in the past three weeks. He accused the Council of “not uttering a word to denounce attacks against Israelis. Ignoring incitement and terrorism is similar to supporting terrorism.” (The Times of Israel)

Israeli settlers destroyed the windows of about 30 cars owned by Palestinians in a protest demonstration against the latest stabbing incident in Tel-Aviv. About 200 Israeli settlers participated in the demonstration, which was repressed by the Israeli military. (Palestine News Network)

Following the stabbing attack of an IDF soldier, Israeli troops forced Palestinians in Huwwara, a town to the south of Nablus, to shut down their shops in anticipation of a demonstration organized by Israeli settlers from “Yitzhar” settlement junction to the Za’tarah military checkpoint. Settlers vandalized Palestinian vehicles parked near the checkpoint. Several hours later, dozens of settlers closed the main entrance of Beit Fajjar, a town to the south of Bethlehem. (WAFA)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed security officials to demolish the homes of Palestinians who perpetrated deadly attacks on Israelis, his office said in a statement. (Xinhuanet.com) 

An Israeli delegation arrived in Egypt. The Israeli security delegation will meet Egyptian national security officials to discuss developments in the Gaza Strip, the Sinai situation and to prepare for the next indirect negotiation session with Palestinian factions. (Ma’an News Agency)

11

A Palestinian with an improvised weapon was shot by IDF soldiers during a riot at Al-Arroub, southwest of Bethlehem .According to Palestinian reports, the man died of his wounds after being evacuated to a PA hospital. An army spokeswoman said some 200 Palestinians took part in the riot, hurling rocks at an IDF unit, which responded with non-lethal riot dispersal means. (The Jerusalem Post)

Palestinian medical sources have reported that two teenagers were shot and wounded by Israeli army fire in Beit Forik village, east of Nablus. Eyewitnesses said several military vehicles invaded the town, especially the area close to the Beit Forik School, and clashed with local youths. The soldiers fired rounds of live ammunition, rubber-coated metal bullets, and gas bombs. (IMEMC) 

A Palestinian worker was shot dead by an unidentified gunman in Israel in the town of Zemer in Triangle area near the border with the West Bank, Palestinian security sources said. The shooter has not yet been identified, and the motive behind the attack remains unclear. An Israeli police spokesman did not answer calls seeking comment. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israeli forces arrested ten Palestinians from across the West Bank and Jerusalem, including several family members of two Palestinian terrorists who carried out separate attacks on 10 November. Israeli forces raided “Askar” refugee camp, east of Nablus, where they broke into the house of a Palestinian suspected of stabbing an Israeli soldier in Tel Aviv on 10 November, ransacking it and arresting his father, along with his three brothers. Meanwhile in Jerusalem, Israeli police arrested two Palestinians, after breaking into and ransacking their houses. In Hebron, forces raided ‘Ein Sarah Street, where they arrested the brother of the Palestinian who reportedly stabbed three Israeli settlers on 10 November, after breaking into and ransacking his family’s house. (The Jerusalem Post; WAFA)

In Jenin district, forces arrested two teenagers from Ya’bad town to the southwest of the city. (WAFA)

The Government of Colombia decided to upgrade the Palestinian representative office in Bogota to a Mission, said a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Colombia’s decision came one day after Israel denied Colombian Foreign Minister María Ángela Holguín access to the West Bank through the Israel-run Karamah (Allenby) border crossing.(WAFA)

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman lashed out at Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas describing both him and Yasser Arafat as “Jews haters” and “supporters of terror”, adding that Abbas was more dangerous than his predecessor, as he masked his “true face”. Liberman’s comments came after Abbas spoke at a memorial marking ten years since Yasser Arafat’s death. (The Jerusalem Post)

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the State of Palestine in a statement expressed its grave concern regarding the continued incitement by the Israeli government, including by the Israeli Foreign Minister against President Mahmoud Abbas. (Palestine News Network)

Armed Israeli settlers intercepted and chased down female Palestinian students while they were on their way home from school in the village of Kisan, east of Bethlehem, according to a local activist. (WAFA)

Israeli settlers attacked a number of Palestinian homes south of Hebron with stones, while, in a separate incident, settlers sabotaged the content of a Palestinian-owned stone-cutting factory, reported local and security sources. (WAFA)

In Hebron, settlers from the nearby illegal settlement of Hagai broke into the Harayek area, south of the city, where they pelted stones towards Palestinian houses, yet no casualties were reported. (WAFA)

A Palestinian reportedly attacked three Israeli settlers outside the illegal settlement of “Alon Shvut”, part of the Gush Etzion bloc of settlements between Bethlehem and Hebron, killing a woman and injuring three other people. The Palestinian is currently unconscious in the intensive care unit in Jerusalem after being shot and critically wounded by soldiers stationed near the scene. Another Palestinian from the same neighbourhood was also arrested. (WAFA)

Israel denied that it plans to confiscate some 3,000 acres around the West Bank village of Beit Iksa outside Jerusalem for military purposes. A spokeswoman of COGAT, the Israeli Defense Ministry unit in charge of civil administration in the Palestinian territories, said in a statement that there were Israeli military orders only to renew a confiscation order for 163 dunams (41 acres) of land in Beit Iksa north of Jerusalem. (The Times of Israel)

President Mahmoud Abbas said Hamas was behind the Gaza explosions which targeted leaders of his Fatah movement last week. The blasts prompted the cancellation of a rare memorial service in Gaza for Yasser Arafat. Hamas denied the allegation. (The Daily Star Lebanon)

In a speech marking the 10th anniversary of the death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, President Mahmoud Abbas accused Israel of dragging the region into a religious war and vowed that the Palestinians would never agree to divide prayer times at the Al-Aqsa Mosque. (Ynetnews.com)

Unknown assailants slashed the tires of five cars in east Jerusalem’s Beit Safafa neighborhood. Spray-painted on a sidewalk next to the cars was the slogan, “No cars, No Arabs,” an apparent reference to recent vehicular terror attacks in the capital. (The Jerusalem Post)

Israeli authorities prevented a shipment of goods from entering the Gaza Strip following deadly blasts on the Palestinian side of the crossing, an official said. A Palestinian official responsible for the entry of goods into Gaza said that a shipment of diesel fuel, in addition to 300 truckloads of goods for the trade, agricultural, transportation, and aid sectors, were scheduled to enter Gaza via the Kerem Shalom crossing, but that Israeli authorities cancelled the shipments. (Ma’an News Agency) 

One Palestinian was killed and two others injured when a fuel truck exploded at the Kerem Shalom commercial crossing in southern Gaza, medics said (The Daily Star Lebanon)

Unidentified assailants attacked a health ministry official in Gaza, relatives said (Ma’an News Agency)

Israeli forces carried out multiple predawn raids across the West Bank and Jerusalem and detained 19 young Palestinian men. A statement by the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society said that the detentions were in Hebron, Nablus, East Jerusalem and Ramallah. (Ma’an News Agency)

Palestinian prisoner Raed Moussa proceeds his hunger strike for the 53rd day in a row, protesting the administrative detention though his health conditions deteriorated severely. He was transferred from the solitary confinement in Beer Sheva to Barzillai hospital after the deterioration of his health conditions (Alray)

Renowned musician Peter Gabriel has contributed songs to a new benefit compilation album titled 2 Unite All, which goes toward funding humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza. “Although I am sure both the Palestinian and Israeli people would benefit enormously from a just and fair two-state agreement based around the ‘67 borders,” Gabriel said in a statement, “we have watched the Palestinians subjected to more and more suffering for far too long, especially in Gaza. Meanwhile, their long held land is repeatedly stolen by force for illegal settlements.” Gabriel goes on to clarify his stance, assuring that he is “not and has never been anti-Israeli or anti-Semitic,” but rather “anti-Israeli government policy, anti-injustice, anti-oppression and anti-occupation.” (The Jerusalem Post)

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon voiced his deep concern about “the upsurge in violence and killings over the past days in Israel and the West Bank,” calling on all sides to “do everything they possibly can to avoid further exacerbating an already tense environment.” (www.un.org)

Israeli forces opened fire at Palestinians during clashes in the Sinjil village in northern Ramallah injuring two youths. (Ma’an News Agency)

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Israeli forces arrested ten Palestinians from across the West Bank and Jerusalem, including two minors, and summoned a PFLP activist for interrogation, said security sources and local activists. (WAFA)

Israeli forces shot and wounded Ahmed Hassouna, a Palestinian youngster, by three bullets, and arrested another after they broke into a residential building in Beitunia near Ramallah. (Ma’an News Agency)

Clashes took place between Israeli forces and dozens of Palestinians in the area. (PNN)

Quartet Representative Tony Blair expressed deep concern over the escalation of violence and tension in the West Bank and Jerusalem. “The international community wants to see a full halt of all forms of violence and a complete respect and adherence to the traditional agreed upon practices in holy sites,” said the statement. (WAFA)

A mosque was set ablaze near Ramallah and a few hours later a synagogue in Shfaram, northern Israel, was attacked with a fire bomb. (Ynetnews) 

Israeli security officials said they believed Arab rioting would end soon, because the protests, though intense, remained relatively contained and were not receiving mass support. They said despite the fiery rhetoric coming from Ramallah, security coordination with the PA remained strong. (The Times of Israel)

An Israeli border police officer has been arrested on suspicion of involvement in the fatal shooting of two Palestinian teenagers in the West Bank during a protest in May, officials said. (The New York Times)

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman said that he believes that the area known as “the Arab triangle” in Israel should be part of a Palestinian State in exchange for Israel’s annexation of parts of the West Bank. He expressed hope that the residency card carried by some East Jerusalemites would be cancelled. (MEMO)

The US State Department said it was deeply concerned about the latest Israeli decision to approve construction of 200 new homes in East Jerusalem. (The Jerusalem Post)

Hamas’ wealth is eclipsed only by ISIS, according to Forbes Israel, with annual revenues of $1 billion coming from donations, taxes, and a cut of the aid sent to Gaza. (Haaretz)

The Palestinian Information Technology Association (PITA) and Palestinian Telecommunication Group (Paltel) have launched the 11^th Palestine Technology Week, “Expotech” 2014 in coordination with the Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technology and the Ministry of National Economy. The exhibition’s theme is “smart cities” and it is being held in Ramallah and Gaza. (MEMO)

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu slammed Israel for its attacks on Jerusalem, vowing to defend the city and its holy sites, even if Turkey would be doing so alone. Turkish university students marched to condemn Israeli raids on Al-Aqsa Mosque. (Alray, The Jerusalem Post)

International hacker group Anonymous has reportedly threatened to launch a cyber-attack against Israeli banks, public institutions and military websites in response to “repeated Israeli attacks on the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem.” (The Jerusalem Post)

Some 56 per cent of Israeli Jews have said that they support the current policy prohibiting Jews from praying in Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, while 38 per cent said that this policy must be cancelled, even if it leads to bloodshed. (MEMO)

Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah signed a $3 million funding agreement with Sweden for a UNDP led project for the removal of rubble in the Gaza Strip. (Ma’an News Agency)

Strengthening economic ties between the UK and Israel prove that BDS attempts are failing, UK Ambassador Matthew Gould said. Trade between Israel and the UK is up 26 per cent this year and eight more Israeli companies have gone public on the London Stock Exchange. (The Jerusalem Post)

A letter was addressed to all Members of the Folketing (Danish Parliament) and signed by 660 Israeli public figures calling upon them to vote in favour of Denmark recognizing the State of Palestine. The Danish Parliament is due to vote on such a motion later this week. (PNN)

Israel denied an entry request by a Human Rights Council-appointed team lead by William Schabas seeking to probe the July-August Gaza war. Israel also formally announced it would not cooperate with the commission of inquiry, accusing the body of bias. (dpa)

The Israeli human rights organization Yesh Din showed that from 2005 to 2014, a mere 7.4 per cent of investigation files led to indictments of Israeli civilians suspected of attacking Palestinians and their property. (www.yesh-din.org)

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Israeli forces opened fire towards the houses and lands of Palestinian farmers east of the town of Khuza’a to the east of Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip. (ALRAY)

Israeli naval boats fired at and sank a Palestinian fishing off the coast of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israeli forces arrested 18 Palestinians in raids in different parts of the West Bank. (ALRAY)

A group of Israeli hackers calling themselves “UP” claim to have successfully taken down a number of official websites run by the PA, Israeli media reported. (MEMO)

The UAE Red Crescent Authority (RCA) has signed two agreements with Palestine Tomorrow for Social Development under which it will finance development projects in Palestine at a total cost of DH 22 million ($6 million). (UAEinteract)

King Abdullah II of Jordan warned of repeated and provocative Israeli violations in Jerusalem and against Al-Aqsa Mosque. The king called on the international community to increase its efforts and place pressure on Israel to resolve the Palestinian issue, which is the core of conflicts in the Middle East. (Reuters)

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki called for an emergency summit of the OIC to discuss recent “dangerous” developments in Jerusalem and continued Israeli violations against the Al-Aqsa Mosque. (Anadolu Agency)

The council of Islamic Waqf and the Supreme Muslim Council warned against Israel’s plans to install electronic gates at the entrances leading to Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem. (WAFA)

When they meet in Amman today, US Secretary of State Kerry, King Abdullah II of Jordan and Prime Minister Netanyahu “will focus on ways to restore calm and de-escalate tension in Jerusalem”, the State Department said. President Abbas met with Kerry in Amman earlier today and with Abdullah yesterday. (The Jerusalem Post)

More than 60 foreign ambassadors and diplomats gathered at the Israeli Foreign Ministry for a special briefing held by Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino and Deputy Foreign Minister Tzachi Hanegbi on the escalation of violence in Jerusalem, with a focus on the clashes that have occurred at the Al-Haram Al-Sharif (Temple Mount). (Ynetnews)

Public Security Minister Aharonovitch announced that visitors to the Al-Haram Al-Sharif (Temple Mount) will soon be scanned by a facial-recognition surveillance system that can pick out faces from a crowd. Also, the minister said members of Knesset and Jewish visitors will be prevented, where necessary, from going to the compound so as to avoid a deterioration of the already tense security situation in East Jerusalem. (Haaretz, The Times of Israel)

An 11-year-old Palestinian boy who was shot in the face by Israeli forces with a sponge bullet during clashes in Al-Issawiya in East Jerusalem lost vision in one eye. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israeli forces arrested 27 Palestinians in raids across East Jerusalem and the West Bank overnight. (Ma’an News Agency)

After meeting with Jordan’s Foreign Minister Judeh in Amman, US Secretary of State Kerry said, “We particularly talked about … the absolute need to uphold the status quo regarding the administration of the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount and to take affirmative steps to prevent provocations and incitement. … The Jordanians and the Israelis have agreed … to make sure that they de-escalate the situation, and that the steps they take will instil confidence that the status quo will be upheld.” (www.state.gov)

Family members of some of the Palestinians involved in the latest attacks against Israelis received demolition notices. The decision to demolish the homes was made by Prime Minister Netanyahu in an emergency security cabinet meeting held with legal officials earlier in the day. (Ynetnews) 

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Ten Palestinians were injured in clashes with Israeli forces in the West Bank. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israel denied this week a request by Colombian Foreign Minister María Ángela Holguín Cuéllar to visit Ramallah. According to a statement by Colombia’s Foreign Ministry, Israel would only permit her to visit Ramallah if she agreed to visit Jerusalem on the same visit to the region. (Haaretz)

Spain’s Parliament plans to hold a vote on a resolution to recognize a Palestinian State on 18 November. The non-binding resolution was presented by the Socialist opposition party. (AP)

The Israeli police spokesperson said men of all ages would be allowed to attend the main Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque for the first time in many months. The decision came after Prime Minister Netanyahu, US Secretary of State Kerry and Jordan’s King Abdullah met in Amman the day before to discuss the rising tensions in Jerusalem. (Ynetnews)

At the Bil’in weekly demonstration near Ramallah Palestinian photographer Haitham Al Khateeb was injured by a tear gas canister, while dozens of participants suffered from teargas inhalation. (IMEMC)

A Palestinian man was shot by a live round, while many suffered the effects of teargas inhalation during clashes with Israeli soldiers near the disfunctional Qalandia Airport, north of East Jerusalem. (IMEMC)

Five Palestinians have been injured and three others kidnapped by Israeli soldiers when they invaded Silwad town, north-east of Ramallah. (IMEMC)

Spokesman of the German Foreign Ministry Martin Schaefer said that his country supported investigating the recent Israeli war on the Gaza Strip. Schaefer regretted the Israeli decision to ban the UN Human Rights Council investigation team from heading to the Gaza Strip in order to carry out the mission. (MEM)

Under the name “Heading to Jerusalem,” about 100 Palestinian and foreign activists from the Popular Resistance against the Wall succeeded in crossing the Wall near Qalandia Airport, protesting Israel’s ban on Palestinians from accessing their holy sites in Jerusalem. (MEM; Quds Net) 

Israeli forces delivered an order for the demolition of the home belonging to the Palestinian family of Abd al-Rahman al-Shaludi, suspected of intentionally running over Israeli civilians in Jerusalem nearly a month ago. Their home is located in the Al-Bustan neighbourhood in Silwan, south of Jerusalem. (Ma’an)

15

At least eight Palestinians were arrested by the Israeli authorities in East Jerusalem and at least five others in the West Bank were summoned to appear for interrogation before the Israeli intelligence. (WAFA)

A 10-year old Palestinian girl was shot and injured in her head by an Israeli rubber-coated metal bullet near the Shu’fat military roadblock, north of East Jerusalem while her grandfather was driving her home along with her younger brother and sister. (IMEMC)

Thousands marched in the streets of Bethlehem to mark Palestinian Independence Day and the 10th anniversary of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat’s death. The celebrations came on the anniversary of the Palestinian declaration of independence, signed by the Palestinian National Council on 15 November 1988. In the document, Palestinian leaders led by Arafat declared the existence of a State of Palestine inside the 1967 borders and the State’s belief “in the settlement of international and regional disputes by peaceful means in accordance with the Charter and resolutions of the United Nations.” (Ma’an)

Germany’s Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier travelled to Israel and Palestine for talks with leaders on both sides. He met Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas and other officials in the West Bank town of Ramallah on Saturday, and held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and several other ministers, including Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman, on Sunday. (AFP)

Fatah Central Committee member Mohammad Shtayyeh accused the Israeli Government of seeking to reduce the Palestinian population in occupied Jerusalem in order to turn it into a Jewish city, Anadolu news agency reported. (MEMO)

The UAE Vice President and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum received Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah and assured him the Gulf Arab State’s support for keeping an Arab character in Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem, UAE news agency WAM reported. (Xinhua)

16

Israeli authorities delivered demolition orders to five Palestinian families in the northern West Bank village of Hajja. Authorities are claiming that the families have built their homes without licenses. (Ma’an)

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman at a news conference with his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier stated that his country would never stop building Jewish settlement units in East Jerusalem, dismissing international criticism of the Israeli policy in this regard. “One thing should be clear: we will never accept the definition of building in Jewish neighbourhoods of Jerusalem as settlement activity,” he said. (Reuters; AFP; MEM)

The fifth meeting of the Mediterranean Citizens’ Assembly (MCA), held in the French city of Marseille, called on the Governments of their countries to recognize the State of Palestine. At the closing session of the three-day meeting, the Mediterranean Citizens stressed that ending the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Territory, including Jerusalem, was a key condition for the establishment of a Mediterranean space of peace, security, and collaboration among its nations. (WAFA)

Divisions within Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Governing coalition delayed a preliminary vote on a proposed law to declare Israel the nation-State of the Jewish people. Israeli Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, who heads a centrist party, expressed concern that the rightist-backed legislation would put preservation of Israel’s Jewish character above democratic values and blocked its discussion in a ministerial committee she chairs. (Reuters)

Palestinian women were forced to perform prayers outside the Al Aqsa Mosque after Israeli authorities allowed only conditional entry to female worshipers to the holy site. The renewed restrictions on female worshipers entailed that women leave their identity cards at the Israeli checkpoints that surround the Mosque. Many Palestinian women refused to leave their ID cards as Israeli authorities frequently confiscate them. (Ma’an)

59 Jewish settlers stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem under the protection of Israeli police. (MEM; Anadolu News Agency; Ma’an)

A Palestinian bus driver was found hanged in his vehicle at a bus depot in Har Hotzvim, an industrial zone in north Jerusalem. Family members identified him as 32-year-old Yusuf Hasan al-Ramuni from Al-Tur in East Jerusalem. They categorically ruled out suicide by the father of two, claiming instead that settlers killed him. Fellow bus driver Muatasem Fakeh said he had seen signs of violence on the body and that he was hanged over the steps at the back of the bus in a place where it would be impossible to hang yourself alone. Israeli Police said the body had been sent to Abu Kabir forensic institute for a post-mortem in coordination with his family. (Reuters; AFP)

A 35-year old Jewish resident of Jerusalem was stabbed in the back, apparently with a screwdriver. His condition was described as moderate later on. Police are treating the incident as a possible terrorist attack. (Haaretz)

Israeli forces patrolling the border with the Gaza Strip shot and seriously wounded a 10-year old Palestinian boy as he approached the border fence and took him to an Israeli hospital, according to the Israeli military. Israeli soldiers open fire at Palestinians along the border areas almost on a daily basis, in violation of the declared Egyptian-brokered truce agreement reached between the Palestinian and Israeli sides on 26 August. (The New York Times; WAFA)

It was reported that an IDF officer stated that a clarification regarding rules of engagement for using live fire against firecracker attacks was recently issued. While there was no real change to the rules on the issue, the clarification went into some more detail in stating to soldiers the circumstances in which they can use live fire in confronting firecracker attacks due to feeling their lives were being threatened. (The Jerusalem Post)

17

The EU’s European External Action Services distributed a classified document to the EU’s 28 Members that contained a proposal for sanctions if Israel took actions in the West Bank that could make the two-State solution impossible. It said sanctions stipulated in the document included marking products made in Israel’s West Bank settlements and recalling EU Ambassadors if settlement construction were advanced in sensitive areas of the West Bank and East Jerusalem. (MEM; Haaretz)

EU Foreign Ministers were seeking ways to revive peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini said “Our effort will be today to understand … what kind of role the European Union can play to restart a process that is at the moment dramatically blocked. We desperately need to have a political perspective for Palestine, and also for Israel and for its security,” she added. (DPA)

The Israeli control of Area C, which is rich of natural resources, particularly stone, deprives the Palestinian economy of over US$3 billion a year, according to a report published by the Palestinian Ministry of National Economy. According to the World Bank, Area C is contains estimated deposits of some 20,000 dunums of quarryable land. (WAFA)

Norwegian volunteer physician Dr. Mads Gilbert has been banned by Israel from ever returning to the Gaza Strip. Dr. Gilbert has been a vocal critic of Israeli policy against Palestinians, particularly in the Gaza Strip. (IMEMC)

Palestinians clashed with Israeli security forces in East Jerusalem neighbourhood after the body of Palestinian bus driver Yusuf Hasan Al-Ramuni was found hanged inside his vehicle. “We don’t have any indication on the ground that it’s an event other than suicide,” Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said. Angry residents of the man’s East Jerusalem Al-Tur neighbourhood and the town of Abu Dis threw stones at Israeli police. Other Palestinian drivers working for Israel’s Egged bus company, Al-Ramouni’s employer, declared a strike. Some shops were closed in Abu Dis, where a strike was also called. (DPA)

Four Palestinians have been shot and injured by Israeli settlers who invaded Deir Nitham village, north of Ramallah. (IMEMC)

The IDF said that home destruction notices have been issued over the past several weeks to the families of several Palestinians in the West Bank implicated in attacks against Israelis. The move signals the resumption of a much maligned policy suspended nine years ago after security officials questioned its efficacy. Israeli police said they have targeted several homes in East Jerusalem for destruction or sealing, but are awaiting final Government approval before going ahead. (AP; Ynetnews)

PLO Executive Committee member Hanan Ashrawi denounced Israel’s isolating of Palestinian parliamentarian Marwan Barghouti in solitary confinement as politically motivated. “Israel must respect international norms dealing with the immunity of elected officials. Marwan is a credible Palestinian leader who is being targeted only for political purposes,” said Ashrawi. (WAFA)

The Commission of Inquiry of the UN Human Rights Council spent a week in Jordan after Israel denied its members entry to the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and listened to testimonies of victims’ families and civil society organizations. The Committee will use videoconference technology this week to listen to testimonies of Gaza families. It is scheduled to visit Gaza in January. The final report will be discussed during the regular session of the Human Rights Council, which starts on 1 March 2015. (Ma’an)

Yoav Mordechai, Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, said reports that Yousef al-Ramouni, who was found hanged to death in Jerusalem, was murdered were untrue. (Ma’an News Agency)

The IDF said that it sent notices to the families of several Palestinians in the West Bank to vacate their homes ahead of their impending demolitions. The Israeli Police also said they designated several homes in East Jerusalem for destruction or sealing, but were awaiting final Government approval before going ahead. (Gulfnews)

The Justice Ministry announced on that the Jerusalem District Court Juvenile Section had ruled in its favour to remand a 15-yearold minor to police custody until the end of his trial for rock-throwing, reversing a lower court ruling to free him. (The Jerusalem Post)

The Palestinian Minister of Civil Affairs said that reconstruction material for Qatari construction projects will enter the Gaza Strip upon agreement with the Israeli side. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israeli forces detained four Palestinian women and two men at one of the entrances to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, witnesses said. (Ma’an News Agency)

Palestinian prisoners club said that Israeli forces arrested 11 Palestinians from Bethlehem, Jerusalem and Nablus districts. (PNN)

Israeli forces closed the main road to Ramallah near the al-Ram neighbourhood after an Israeli soldier was hurt by fireworks during clashes in the area, witnesses said. (Ma’an News Agency)

The EU has no intention of imposing sanctions on Israel if it takes steps to block a two-State solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the EU Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini said. EU’s Foreign Ministers also recalled that the future development of the relations with both the Israeli and Palestinian partners will depend on their engagement towards a lasting peace based on a two-State solution. (The Jerusalem Post)

Grant Contracts for three projects were signed by Junya Matsuura, Ambassador for Palestinian Affairs and Representative of Japan to the PA, and the representatives of the three grantee local authorities at the Representative Office of Japan in Ramallah for a total amount of USD 300,642. (WAFA)

Israeli forces stationed at Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem prevented women of all ages from entering the mosque for the second day in a row, while Israeli settlers were permitted to storm the compound from the Al-Magharbeh Gate. An official from the Islamic Waqf Department in Jerusalem said Israeli police allowed men to enter. (MEMO)

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh urged Prime Minister Rami Hamallah to carry out his responsibilities in Gaza. He said that Palestinians in the Strip have been disappointed with the performance of the National Consensus Government. (Ma’an News Agency)

Hamas slammed Israel for not allowing the UN inquiry committee from arriving in Gaza to probe the results of the latest Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip. (Xinhua)

Jens Anders Toyberg-Frandzen, ASG ad interim for Political Affairs, called upon both Israeli and Palestinian leaders to make the “difficult compromises” that will promote stability and ensure long-term security in the region. He made the statement as he was briefing the UN Security Council on the current situation in the Middle East. (Xinhua)

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Israel is to ease controls on carrying weapons for self-defence in the wake of a deadly Palestinian attack on a Jerusalem synagogue, Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch said. (The Daily Star)

Israeli military sources stated that Palestinians opened fire at an Israeli military jeep driving on the Yitzhar settlement road, south of Nablus. (IMEMC)

At least four Palestinians, including a press cameraman working for Reuters, were injured during confrontations with Israeli forces and settlers in the village of Urif, south of Nablus, where dozens of settlers attacked a Palestinian school, according to local sources and witnesses. (WAFA) 

Two Palestinians from Jabal Al-Mukabber in East Jerusalem killed four people (three Americans — including a prominent rabbi — and a British) and injured six others in a synagogue located in the ultra-orthodox Israeli settlement of Har Nof near Jerusalem. The two assailants were eventually killed by the Israeli police. (The Jerusalem Post, PNN, The Washington Post) 

The Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, Lilianne Ploumen, stressed her country’s rejection of the recent Israeli escalation in the OPT. (MEMO)

Hamas reacted to the terror attack at the synagogue, saying the deadly incident was in response to the death of a Palestinian bus driver found hanged in his vehicle earlier in the week and called for additional attacks. Prime Minister Netanyahu stated that the attack was a direct result of incitement led by Hamas, President Mahmoud Abbas and irresponsibly ignored by the international community. He added that Israel will respond decisively. US Secretary of State John Kerry has branded the attack as “pure terror”, and demanded that Palestinian leaders condemn it. (The Jerusalem Post, Ynetnews)

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) said that two of its members were responsible for the deadly synagogue attack. President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the deadly incident. In a statement his office denounced “the killing of civilians by any party” and also called for an end to “incursions and provocations by settlers against the Al-Aqsa Mosque.” (The Jerusalem Post, Xinhua)

Egypt will double to 1 km the depth of a security buffer zone it is clearing on its border with the Gaza Strip after a series of violent incidents. (The Daily Star)

The United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Robert Serry, called in a statement on the Israelis and Palestinians to exert all possible efforts to avoid further escalation. (WAFA)

The Palestinian Prisoners’ Centre for Studies announced that 475 Palestinians are currently serving life sentences inside Israeli jails, Anadolu news agency reported. (MEMO) 

19

Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon said he would be freezing planned steps to reopen some roads to Palestinians in the West Bank in light of the recent wave of Palestinian violence. (The Jerusalem Post)

“Abbas is not interested in terror and is not inciting to terror. He’s not even doing so behind closed doors,” Shin Bet head Yoram Cohen told the Knesset. Nonetheless, Cohen did say that “some part of the Palestinian public views his statements as legitimizing terror.” According to Cohen, the central factors behind the current violence was the murder of Palestinian teen Mohammed Abu Khdeir last June and visits and attempts by Israeli legislators to change the status quo on the Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound. (Ynetnews)

A policeman critically wounded in the Jerusalem synagogue attack succumbed to his wounds, raising the number of casualties to 5. (Haaretz)

Speaking during a meeting with his Likud party members, Prime Minister Netanyahu said it was time for the country’s courts “to recognise … our being the nation State of the Jewish people”. He said he would propose the law during the next meeting for his Government on Sunday. (MEMO)

The Spanish Parliament called on its Government to recognize the State of Palestine, albeit only when the Palestinians and Israel negotiate a solution to their conflict. Following the motion’s passing with 319 votes in favour, two opposed and a single abstention, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Garcia-Margallo said he was pleased with the results. He added that just as Spanish politicians must arrive at accords in the Parliament, “so too we have to arrive at accords in the European Union if we want a foreign policy that’s common and truly continental.” (Ynetnews, WAFA)

Sources close to President Abbas have said that he asked the German Foreign Minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, to pass along a serious message to Israel about his intention to dissolve the PA if the current Israeli escalations and provocations continue. (MEMO)

Jerusalem’s municipal planning committee authorized 50 new housing units in “Har Homa” and 28 in “Ramot”, a municipal spokeswoman said. (Ynetnews)

The IDF Engineering Corps demolished the East Jerusalem home of the Palestinian who killed a baby and a woman from Ecuador last month when he rammed his vehicle into a crowd of people in Jerusalem. (The Jerusalem Post)

Clashes erupted in the Shuafat refugee camp in Jerusalem after the Israeli Minister of internal security, Yitzhak Aharonovitch, entered the camp. (Ma’an News Agency)

Pope Francis is condemning what he calls an “unacceptable” attack on a Jerusalem synagogue and is calling for Israel and the Palestinians to take “courageous” steps to forge peace. Condemnations were also issued by the UN Secretary-General, the EU, US, UK, Canada, Japan, Italy, Norway, Spain, Russia, France and Germany. (Haaretz)

Egypt expressed grave concerns over the recent escalation in East Jerusalem, stated the Egyptian Foreign Ministry in a press release, and affirmed its rejection for all forms of violence and provocative actions carried out for the purpose of imposing a fait accompli policy. (WAFA)

For the first time in decades, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the deployment of checkpoints at the entrance to East Jerusalem’s Arab neighbourhoods. The Prime Minister also instructed security forces to carry out raids on the homes of suspected terrorists in the city. (The Times of Israel)

Woolworths’ shareholders are planning to use the South African retailer’s annual general meeting this month to tell it to stop selling figs, pretzels and pomegranates from Israel. According to a report in Bloomberg News, supporters of BDS movement against Israel have bought shares in the company, and intend to pressure management to stop the sale of Israeli goods. (Haaretz)

Israeli Police Chief Yohanan Danino has raised the police alert in Jerusalem to the second-highest level, the Israeli police said. (Alray)

Several Israeli military vehicles raided Hawara town, south of Nablus, and imposed a curfew. (IMEMC)

PLO Executive Committee member Hanan Ashrawi met with the appointed Head of the Representative Office of Austria to the State of Palestine, Andrea Nasi, at the PLO Headquarters in Ramallah to discuss the latest political developments and the situation on the ground. (PNN)

Palestinian leadership has instructed its officials to avoid appearing in the international or Arab media and speaking about the attack at a Jerusalem synagogue, an unnamed Palestinian source told the Palestinian daily Al-Quds. (The Times of Israel)

Three Palestinians survived a car-ramming settler attack near Yatta, south of Hebron, said a local activist. (WAFA)

A number of Israeli settlers raided the town of al-Mogheer, east of Ramallah, and attempted to burn a home. (IMEMC)

The US criticized Israel following an announcement that the Jerusalem Local Planning and Building Committee approved the construction of 78 new homes in two East Jerusalem settlements. (The Times of Israel) 

Israel imposed a curfew in Jerusalem’s Ras Al-Amoud neighbourhood, Arabi21 reported. (MEMO)

Disruptions to public transportation in Jerusalem were expected again, as Palestinian drivers working for the Israeli bus company Egged begun their second day of strike in protest of the death of fellow-driver Yousuf Hasan al-Ramouni. (IMEMC)

Palestinian Foreign Ministry held the Israeli Government responsible for the deteriorating conditions in Jerusalem. (WAFA)

Prime Minister Netanyahu described his Government’s strict measures against Palestinians in Jerusalem as part of a battle over the holy city. (MEMO)

Clergy representing Christians, Jews and Muslims met near the Jerusalem synagogue where five people were killed in a Palestinian attack to plead for tolerance. (The Times of Israel)

The Security Council condemned in the strongest terms the “despicable terrorist attack” that took place in a synagogue in Jerusalem on 18 November. (un.org)

The Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP) approved four draft General Assembly resolutions relating to the question of Palestine. CEIRPP is also convening on 21 November at UNHQ the UN International Meeting of Parliamentarians in Support of Israeli-Palestinian Peace, under the theme “The role of parliamentarians in ensuring respect for international law.” (www.un.org)

UNRWA Commissioner-General Pierre Krähenbühl warmed that the Gaza reconstruction process was moving very slowly and was very ineffective. With winter coming, there is little progress on houses’ reconstruction for many homeless families, including those who still live in UNRWA schools used as shelters. (Alray)

20

The IDF arrested 20 Palestinians from the West Bank, mostly from South Hebron. (PNN)

Israeli soldiers raided the Askar refugee camp, east of Nablus, and clashed with local youths, injuring three. Clashes also took place in Jabal Al Mukabber and Shu’fat, in East Jerusalem. (IMEMC)

Dozens of youths blocked a street on the outskirts of the “Armon Hanatziv” settlement in East Jerusalem and threw stones at police who arrived at the scene and dispersed the crowd. (The Times of Israel)

Israel will return its Ambassador to Sweden on the date marking the historic UN vote on the partition of Palestine. (Ynetnews) 

Hundreds of Israeli settlers entered the Joseph Tomb east of Nablus under the protection of Israeli forces. (Petra)

The Government of Japan announced a new donation to WFP of $ 3.1 million to assist the most vulnerable Palestinians in Gaza. (WAFA)

For the fourth time in 24 hours a rocket was launched from the Gaza Strip into the Mediterranean Sea, the IDF spokesperson said. According to the IDF, the launches suggest that “Gaza terrorists are experimenting in order to increase rocket launching capabilities.” (The Jerusalem Post) 

Israel agrees to participate in the UN board of inquiry investigating attacks on UN facilities during “Operation Protective Edge” as long as a number of conditions are met, reports Haaretz. (PNN)

The Israeli authorities handed over orders to demolish the family houses of two Palestinians suspected of being involved in anti-Israeli attacks during the past weeks. (WAFA)

At least 600 Palestinian children were arrested in Jerusalem since last June, of whom nearly 40 percent were exposed to sexual abuse during arrest or investigation by the Israeli authorities, said a report by the Palestinian Prisoner’s Club. (WAFA)

The US plaintiffs in a possible billion-dollar terrorism-related civil damages case against the PA announced that they had defeated most of the legal challenges, paving the way for a possible first ever full trial against the PA. (The Jerusalem Post)

Israel released a 45-year-old Hamas-affiliated member of the PLC, Yasser Mansour, after two years of imprisonment without trial. (Ma’an News Agency)

21

Friday prayers in the Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound in occupied East Jerusalem proceeded calmly, after Israel lifted age restrictions for worshippers. (The Daily Star)

Protestors followed Hamas’ call for a “Day of Rage” on 21 November in Al-Khalil (Hebron), Nablus, Ramallah, Qalqilya and Qalandia. (The Times of Israel)

A Hamas spokesperson said that Israeli leaders “who are responsible for the killing of children and women and for defiling the sacred sites are legitimate targets for the resistance.” (The Times of Israel)

Israeli authorities have seized a shipment of knives, swords and fireworks originating from China and destined for East Jerusalem, and arrested five Arab citizens of Israeli in connection with the case. (The New York Times)

Israeli forces have detained at least 380 Palestinians in raids across the West Bank and East Jerusalem over the last three weeks. (Ma’an News)

Israeli authorities have arrested four girls from a West Bank settlement on suspicion of spraying Arabs in Jerusalem with tear gas. (Haaretz)

Israeli authorities have arrested dozens of members of a Hamas network operating throughout the West Bank in recent weeks suspected of planning a series of attacks against Israeli targets. According to Palestinian officials the network was funded and directed by Hamas officials in Turkey. (The Times of Israel)

The Israeli Military Prosecutor’s Office in the occupied West Bank has indicted three Palestinians for a plan to assassinate Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman in August of this year, in order to stop the Israeli military operations against Gaza. (The Jerusalem Post)

An Israeli woman was injured when the car she was driving in was hit by rocks near Dimona in the Negev, inside Israel. (The Jerusalem Post)

The mayor of Ashkelon, near Gaza, has imposed a partial ban on employing Arab workers in his city in a sign of mounting security concerns after a surge in deadly attacks, and said that guards would be posted at about 40 pre-schools near construction sites where Arabs work. (The Times of Malta)

After a meeting of Fatah Central Committee headed by President Mahmoud Abbas, Fatah Spokesperson and Member of Central Committee Nabil Abu Rudeineh said that the policies adopted by the Israeli occupation against the Palestinian people risk sliding into the abyss of a serious religious war. (WAFA)

Members of the US House of Representatives Appropriations Committee sent a letter to President Abbas, warning him that US aid to the Palestinian Authority is predicated on a commitment to countering incitement of violence against Israelis. (The Jerusalem Post)

A student-led movement for solidarity with Palestine on U.S. college campuses has seen a steady growth, with The Students for Justice in Palestine organization, one of the major solidarity coalitions, now counting more than 110 active chapters. (Alray)

The undergraduate student government of the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) passed a resolution that calls for the University to divest from US companies used by the Israeli military to violate Palestinian human rights in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. (Haaretz)

Tens of thousands of Palestinians are stuck at the Rafah crossing with Egypt as the border closure by Egyptian authorities enters its fifth week, with 6,000 waiting on the Egyptian side and 30,000 on the Palestinian side. (Ma’an News)

Israeli authorities served residents of ‘Ein ad-Duyuk at-Tahta to the northwest of Jericho with over 70 stop construction notices, with the argument that the land is part of Jerusalem district. (WAFA)

Israeli forces seized an agricultural tractor and four water tanks from an area to the south of Al-Khalil (Hebron). (WAFA)

Israeli police handed house demolition notices to four families of Palestinian attackers from East Jerusalem, including assailants who killed five people in a synagogue earlier this week, as Israel was pushing ahead with the revival of its much-criticized policy of house demolitions. (Xinhua)

Israel has rejected an appeal by the five biggest members of the European Union – Germany, France, the UK, Italy and Spain – not to raze the homes of Palestinians who carried out lethal attacks in Jerusalem, saying that the tactic was designed to deter further violence, and that the measure was consistent with Israeli law and would be pursued. (The Daily Star)

Israeli military bulldozers demolished mobile homes to the east of Ramallah. (WAFA)

The International Conference of Local Authorities in Solidarity with the Palestinian People begun in Ramallah. More than a 100 international participants were held up by Israeli authorities at Tel Aviv airport and the Allenby Bridge border crossing with Jordan and could not attend the meeting. (WAFA)

The Secretary-General on 20 November called both Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Abbas,

German Chancellor Angela Merkel told a news conference in Berlin after meeting with Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel: “From our point of view, a unilateral recognition of the Palestinian State would not move us forward on the way to a two-State solution.” (Reuters)

UNSCO said in a statement: “under the trilateral agreement between Israel, the Palestinian Government of National Consensus and the United Nations reached in September, a further understanding was reached between the parties that starting next week some 25,000 home owners in Gaza will be enabled to access building materials for the repair of their damaged homes.” (www.unsco.org)

A 29-year-old Palestinian woman was struck by a car driven by an Israeli settler near Shuafat in East Jerusalem. The vehicle reportedly accelerated suddenly before hitting her and speeding off. (Ma’an News Agency)

An Israeli settler opened fire at a vehicle driven by a Palestinian near the village of Beit Ummar, north of Hebron. The car was hit but no injuries were reported. (Ma’an News Agency) 

Human Rights Watch said that Israel should impose an immediate moratorium on its policy of demolishing the family homes of Palestinians suspected of carrying out attacks on Israelis, and, that when carried out in occupied territory, including East Jerusalem, it amounts to collective punishment, a war crime. (www.hrw.org)

The Palestinian Prisoners’ Club said in a report that at least 600 Palestinian children had been arrested in Jerusalem since June, of whom nearly 40 per cent had been reportedly exposed to sexual abuse by Israeli authorities. (IMEMC)

At the UN International Meeting of Parliamentarians in Support of Israeli-Palestinian Peace convened by CEIRPP, parliamentarians from around the world joined diplomats and UN officials to discuss ways of advancing the Israeli-Palestinian peace process towards a two-State solution, a goal Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said could still be achieved if the parties, supported by the international community, demonstrated collective political will needed to implement the existing constructive proposals. (UN News Centre)

23

Israeli forces shot dead a 32-year-old Palestinian, Fadel Mohammed Halawa, in the Gaza Strip near the border with Israel, the first such fatality since the end of the recent war. The Israeli military said it had fired at two Palestinians approaching the fence, hitting one of them, after they ignored shouts to halt and warning shots. (Reuters)

A 44-year-old Palestinian sheepherd died of wounds he had sustained when an explosive device left behind by the Israeli army near Tubas detonated. (WAFA)

An Israeli court charged an Israeli border policeman with manslaughter in the shooting death of a 17-year-old Palestinian during a demonstration on 15 May. (AFP)

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi said in remarks published in Corriere Della Sera that Egypt was prepared to send troops into a future Palestinian State to assist local police and guarantee Israel’s security. He said the troops would be stationed there temporarily to establish confidence. In a clarifying statement later, his office said the idea was a way to encourage Israel to accept a two-State solution. (AP)

Israeli settlers threw a fire bomb into a Palestinian home in the village of Khirbet Abu Falah, north-west of Ramallah. A number of rooms were burned but no injuries were reported. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israeli settlers beat up three Palestinian herders in the village of Aqraba, south of Nablus, and attempted to abduct them. (WAFA)

24

Israeli forces detained 11 Palestinians in overnight arrest raids in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. (Ma’an News Agency)

Three young Israelis attacked a Palestinian youth in Jerusalem. An Israeli police spokesperson said the youth was in good condition in a Jerusalem hospital. (Haaretz)

Two yeshiva students were stabbed in the Old City of Jerusalem during a brawl with Palestinians that turned violent. One of them is in a moderate condition and the other sustained light wounds. (Haaretz)

CEIRPP held a special meeting at UN Headquarters in observance of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. (UN News Centre)

A senior Palestinian official denied that the Palestinian leadership had postponed its Security Council initiative after a Ma’an News Agency report quoted Foreign Minister Riad Malki earlier in the day as saying that Palestinians had decided to delay its intention to go to the Security Council. (Haaretz)

At the closing session of the International Conference of Local Authorities in Solidarity with the Palestinian People held in Ramallah on 21 November, participants endorsed the formation of “The International Network in Solidarity with the Palestinian Local Authorities”. (WAFA)

Eight Palestinians, including children, were arrested by Israeli security forces in Jerusalem (IMEMC)

The British Government is undertaking a second review of arms export licenses to Israel to ensure equipment could not be used in a way that would breach international law, the government said. The government has already conducted one such review, in August, in response to the Jewish state’s conflict with Hamas in Gaza after which it said it would suspend 12 licenses to export military items to Israel if hostilities resumed. It was conducting another review a day after Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian in the Gaza Strip near the border with Israel, the first such fatality since the conflict ended in August. (Ynetnews.com)

In the Romena neighborhood in West Jerusalem, a Palestinian teenager sustained injuries when an Israeli ran into him with his car and fled the scene, the teen’s father said. (Ma’an News Agency)

Haaretz newspaper revealed Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu approved a plan to construct 300 settlement units to expand the West Bank settlement of “Beit El” north Ramallah. Netanyahu ordered the Israeli Finance ministry to allocate $18 million to move a Border Police base in order to make room for additional housing in “Beit El” but Israeli Finance Minister Yair Lapid refused the order demanding instead that the issue be brought to the cabinet for a vote. .(Palestine News Network, Alray) 

Israeli settlers assaulted a young Palestinian man near the illegal Israeli settlement of “French Hill”, the man told Ma’an. (Ma’an News Agency)

After Israel refused to let shipment of 135 tons of vegetables bound from the Gaza Strip to the West Bank and Jordan through the Kerem Shalom crossing, Gaza’s agriculture ministry threatened to stop importing Israeli fruit to the Palestinian territory. (Ynetnews.com)

Six Palestinians detained in Israeli Rimon prison were injured after a special police contingent stormed the prison cells, brutally attacking prisoners. Two prisoners, who sustained critical injuries, were subsequently transferred to a nearby hospital for medical treatment, said Issa Qaraqe, head of the Committee for Prisoners’ Affairs. He said four other prisoners were also injured in the Israeli offensive but were not transferred for treatment. (WAFA)

During the General Assembly meeting on the question of Palestine, Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Ron Prosor lashed out at the “hypocrisy” displayed toward Israel as the UN marked the “International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.” “To the nations that continue to allow prejudice to prevail over truth, I say J’accuse. I accuse you of hypocrisy. I accuse you of demanding concessions from Israel, but asking nothing of the Palestinians,” Prosor said, drawing inspiration from Jewish writer Emil Zola’s famous open letter written in response to the anti-Semitism of the Dreyfus Affair. (The Jerusalem Post)

Israeli forces raided the headquarters of the Palestinian Football Association in al-Ram, near Jerusalem. (Ma’an News)

25

The Palestinian Authority official in charge of the entry of goods into Gaza from Israel through the Kerem Shalom crossing said 28 trucks, each carrying 40 ton of cement, had crossed into the Strip. This was the second delivery of building materials for the private sector since the conflict , an official said, “But it is not enough, it is only a tiny amount for the reconstruction.” (The Times of Israel)

Israeli soldiers detained the secretary of the Fateh movement of President Mahmoud Abbas, in East Jerusalem, from his home in Silwan town, south of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The soldiers also detained his brother .(IMEMC)

Israeli soldiers detained fifteen Palestinians in different parts of the occupied West Bank, and East Jerusalem, and moved them to a number of interrogation centers. (IMEMC)

On 28 November, the European parliament will vote on a resolution to recognize the Palestinian State on the 1967 borders, after the official Swedish government recognition of Palestine and symbolic votes in the UK, Ireland and Spain. The motion calls “all EU member states … to recognize the state of Palestine on the basis of the 1967 borders with Jerusalem as the capital,” and was initiated by the Unified European Left Party (GUE), and Socialists and Democrats Group (S&D) in the EU assembly. (Palestine News Network) 

Israeli officials today derided US concerns voiced by US spokeswoman Jen Psaki’s statement that demanded Israel remain democratic and just to all of its citizens. The statement referred to the “Jewish State” Bill that was adopted by the Israeli government on 23 November, on which the Israeli cabinet is set to vote and approve on 26 November 2014. The bill was also opposed by Israeli ministers Livni and Lapid who said that this move was deliberate by [Israeli Prime Minister] Benjamin Netanyahu, to resolve the coalition and jockey for position ahead of possible early elections. “The bill submitted [on Sunday] puts the Jewish state before democracy,” Lapid said during a speech at Tel Aviv University. “Neither I, nor the Yesh Atid party, will vote for the law.” On the other hand, Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah, said that the “Jewish State bill” paves the way for more discriminatory laws, and counts as an announcement of Israeli apartheid policies against Palestinians. (Palestine News Network) 

Recognition of Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people is the basis of any future peace accord, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said responding to critics both domestic and abroad claiming that the controversial “Jewish state” legislation will water down the country’s democratic character. We will continue to make clear the fact that Israel is a Jewish democratic state.” Hamas warned on 24 November that the “Jewish state bill” is “a dangerous development aimed at changing historic realities on the ground.” (The Jerusalem Post)

Israeli Police chief Yohanan Danino said that Jewish activists bent on gaining greater access to Temple Mount should be prevented from visiting there because “you don’t know what you’re inflaming.” (AP)

Israeli forces detained a former Palestinian prisoner in Hebron, the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society said in a statement. The prisoner was released two months ago upon an order by the Israeli supreme court after spending almost two years in administrative detention, the statement said. (Ma’an News Agency)

The United Nations Special Rapporteurs on the situation of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Makarim Wibisono) and on the Right to Adequate Housing (Leilani Farha) called on the Government of Israel to end its punitive demolition of Palestinian homes in response to alleged acts of violence by Palestinians in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory.(www.unog.ch)

Human rights groups have accused Israel of encouraging a shoot-to-kill policy after a wave of incidents in which police shot dead Palestinians who were involved in, or were accused of, attacking Israelis. The alleged practice of killing suspects without trying to arrest them has caused concern after a series of deadly Palestinian attacks also resulted in the perpetrators’ deaths – and not always at the scene. (The Daily Star Lebanon)

Barclays Bank traded shares that rose in price after the extensive use of drone technology during Israel’s summer conflict in Gaza, which killed more than 2,100 Palestinians, 500 of them children. The British bank has come under fire for its holdings in Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest military company and the main supplier of drones used to attack and kill Palestinian civilians in Gaza. The bank is the named owner of $2.9 million worth of shares in Elbit. More than 1.7 million people have signed a petition calling on Barclays to divest from “projects that finance illegal settlements and the oppressive occupation of the Palestinian people” and campaigners have occupied and protested at bank branches across the UK. (Palestine News Network)

Twenty-eight trucks with building material, each carrying 40 tons of cement, entered the Gaza Strip, in only the second delivery of building materials for the private sector since a 50-day summer war. (Ma’an News)

Israeli settlers assaulted a Palestinian resident of Jerusalem in the western part of the city causing injuries in neck and back. (IMEMC News)

The General Assembly adopted six draft resolutions by recorded vote on the “Question of Palestine” and the “Situation in the Middle East”, offering a range of solutions for moving the Middle East peace process forward while regretting the steps backward due to escalation of violence in recent months. (UN News)

26

Israeli forces on Wednesday took a physically disabled Palestinian woman into custody during a court hearing for her daughter. (Ma’an News)

An Israeli bus ran over two Palestinians near the West Bank city of Jenin on Tuesday, killing one person and injuring another. (The Times of Israel)

Israeli forces arrested 13 Palestinians in overnight West Bank raids. (Ma’an News)

The European Parliament postponed a planned vote on the recognition of a Palestinian state, scheduled for 27 November, by three weeks as lawmakers failed to reach a consensus on the exact wording of the motion. Despite the delay, it is expected that the European Parliament will eventually pass a resolution calling for Member States to recognize a Palestinian state. (The Times of Israel)

The UK Government has launched a new inquiry into whether any arms exported to Israel have been used for “internal repression” in the occupied territories. (The Jerusalem Post)

Egyptian authorities will open the Rafah crossing with Gaza on 26 and 27 November to allow thousands of Palestinians, stranded for weeks on the Egyptian side, to return home to the Strip, an official said Wednesday. (Reuters)

Gaza will stop importing Israeli fruit after Israeli authorities prevented vegetables from the besieged enclave to enter the West Bank, and further Jordan, via Kerem Shalom crossing. The ban caused Palestinian farmers huge financial losses. (Ma’an News)

Israel’s settlements policy is “undermining” prospects for a two-State solution, South African President Jacob Zuma said as he welcomed President Mahmoud Abbas on a state visit. Zuma told a joint news conference with Abbas, South Africa was ready to assist with negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians and had appointed two special envoys for the task. (Ma’an News Agency)

27

Israel said that it had foiled plans by Islamist group Hamas to attack Israelis in Jerusalem’s largest soccer stadium, other parts of the city and the occupied West Bank, though Hamas said it had no information on the allegations. (Reuters)

Israeli forces fired a tank shell at eastern Gaza after shots hit an army vehicle patrolling the border area, Israel’s army said.

28

French President Francois Hollande said that France had a role to play in renewing stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and was seeking to organize an international peace conference for the purpose. (AP)

French lawmakers debated a motion urging the Government to recognise Palestine as a state, amid growing European frustration at the moribund Middle East peace process. The symbolic motion is expected to pass comfortably on 2 December when the lower house of parliament votes on the text proposed by the ruling Socialists. (AFP)

King Abdullah II of Jordan said the Middle East will continue to suffer from instability and lack of security if no just solution was found to the Palestinian issue, the state-run Petra news agency reported. (Xinhua)

Pope Francis expressed concern about the situation in Jerusalem, as well as fear for the fate of Christians in Iraq and Syria. (ynetnews)

Eight Israeli human rights organisations petitioned the High Court of Justice against the state’s policy of demolishing the homes of terrorists, which they said constituted a form of collective punishment that violated international law and could in some cases be a war crime. (Haaretz)

A United Nations agency declared a “state of emergency” in Gaza City, after two days of heavy rains and flooding in the war-ravaged Palestinian enclave. “Hundreds of residents in the flooded areas around Sheikh Radwan storm water lagoon have evacuated their homes,” the UN agency for Palestine refugees said, referring to a northern district. (AFP)

Israeli Forces raided the Bethlehem-area village of Tuqu, firing large amounts of tear gas into several homes and firing rubber-coated steel bullets at locals who came out to protest. (Ma’an)

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told parliament that the Government was working at the UN to get a resolution adopted that would set a two-year timeframe to reach a negotiated solution between Israel and Palestine. “If this final effort to reach a negotiated solution fails, then France will have to do what it takes by recognising without delay the Palestinian state,” he added. (Ynetnews)

29

Arab Foreign Ministers in a meeting at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo backed a Palestinian bid to resort to the UN Security Council to determine a timetable for ending Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories. They also backed a bid by the Palestinians to establish their own State within the June 1967 borders. Secretary-General of the Arab League Nabil Elaraby said Jordan would present the draft to the Security Council within days. (The Times of Malta; MEM; WAFA)

Israel’s Prime Minister and Defense Minister announced that the country’s next military Chief of Staff will be Major General Gadi Eisenkot. Currently deputy chief of staff, he will replace Lieutenant General Benny Gantz, whose four-year term ends in February 2015. (AFP)

Firefighting teams were dispatched to the Hebrew-Arab bilingual school in Jerusalem after a fire broke out in the building. After extinguishing the fire, the firefighters found anti-Arab slogans including “Death to Arabs”, “Kahane was right” and other phrases against Israeli-Arab coexistence nearby. (Ynetnews)

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, in a press release expressed “its profound appreciation to all nations, citizens and institutions around the world that expressed their solidarity with the our people’s aspirations to attain their legitimate national and political rights to self-determination, end of the occupation and establishment of an independent State with Jerusalem as its capital.” (WAFA)

The Portuguese parliament, in a statement issued on the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, confirmed its support for the inalienable rights of the Palestinians, including the right for self-determination. The statement called on Israel to comply with international law for a solution based on two States and relevant UN resolutions. (IMEMC)

On the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People the Thai Government reaffirmed its support for the Palestinian people in their quest for freedom and basic rights. (WAFA)

Approximately 800 Israelis demonstrated in Jerusalem against a controversial draft law enshrining Israel as a “Jewish state.” The rally was organized by Israel’s Peace Now NGO. (AFP)

Russian ambassador Alexander Rudakov in Ramallah delivered a letter from Russian President Vladimir Putin to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. According to the letter, Russia continues to support the establishment of an independent Palestinian State, but it should come about via negotiations rather than a unilateral declaration. “Russia has consistently advocated in favor of the earliest execution of the legitimate rights of the Palestinians for establishment of an independent, contiguous and viable state,” Putin said in a letter, according to a report in Newsweek. “We are ready within multilateral efforts and in close cooperation with you to continue promoting resumption of the Palestinian-Israeli negotiation process,” Putin wrote. “We believe that Palestine’s acquisition of national sovereignty on the common international legal base will be an important factor in ensuring comprehensive, just settlement in the Middle East.” Putin concluded by saying that Russia “intends to continue to provide all possible assistance to the Palestinian Authority in the establishment of state institutions and addressing the pressing social and economic problems.” (Haaretz)

30

Five Israelis assaulted a 26-year old Palestinian man at a light rail station near the Old City of Jerusalem, beating him with a steel bar before fleeing the scene. Israeli security guards were present in the area but did not intervene or arrest the attackers. (Ma’an)

Israeli Forces detained seven young Palestinian men from Surif town, Beit Ommar and the Al-Fawwar refugee camp in the Hebron district. (Ma’an)

Israeli authorities decided to jail the Secretary-General of the Fatah movement in Jerusalem, Ahmad Gheith, to five months administrative detention without trial. (Ma’an)

A group of 50 right-wing Israelis entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and tried to provoke Muslim worshipers. (Ma’an)

Israeli forces detained five young Palestinian men in Jerusalem overnight after raiding their houses and transferring them to the Russian Compound interrogation centre. (Ma’an)

Israeli forces delivered stop-work orders to two Palestinian citizens in the town of Beit Ummar north of Hebron in the southern West Bank, demanding that they stop construction work on a two-story house and on a sheep farm. Israeli troops also stormed several other structures under construction. (Ma’an)

A Palestinian youth in his twenties was hit by live fire and sustained moderate injuries when Israeli soldiers shot at Palestinians east of Jabaliya near the border of the Gaza Strip. (Ma’an)

Some 238 Palestinians returned to the Gaza Strip after Egypt opened the Rafah crossing for two days. The crossing had been closed for 31 continuous days. (Ma’an)

The Israel Defence Forces opened machine-gun fire and launched electromagnetic bombs on farmland, causing mild damages to crops at the edges of Khan Younes in the south of the Gaza Strip. (MEM)

A senior Fatah official said that there was never any agreement that the Palestinian unity government would last only six months, hours after a Hamas spokesman said the government’s term had expired. (Ma’an)

Security coordination between the PA and Israel had become an obstacle to Palestinian national unity, Islamic Jihad spokesman Yousef al-Hasayna said in a statement. He said that Israeli support of security coordination caused a state of alienation between Palestinian security forces and the Palestinian people. Israel used security coordination as a tool “to prevent any attempt to start a sweeping Palestinian uprising in the West Bank and Jerusalem,” he said. “The only beneficiary of this coordination is the Israeli occupation.” (Ma’an)

The Palestinian Football Federation called on FIFA to show Israel “the red card” after Israeli soldiers stormed its offices in Ramallah last week, Arabs48.com reported. On 24 November, three military Israeli patrols raided the headquarters of the Palestinian Football Federation, blocked the employees and thoroughly inspected the offices without giving any information about the reasons behind their acts. Asian Football Confederation (AFC) president condemned the “unjustified aggression” on one of the Federation’s affiliates, calling it “unacceptable” Meanwhile, Palestinian Football Federation president expressed his fears that the Israeli restrictions on travel might prevent Palestine from dispatching its best players to the first major international tournament, the AFC Asian Cup, due in January next year in Australia. (Middle East Monitor)