Chronological Review of Events/August 2016 – DPR review

Division for Palestinian Rights

Chronological Review of Events Relating to the

Question of Palestine

Monthly media monitoring review

August 2016

August 2016 chron

1 Aug

Israeli forces arrested 23 Palestinians and shot and injured two others during raids across the West Bank. (WAFA)

Israeli Security Forces arrested four Palestinians including two PA intelligence personnel following claims of weapon manufacturing and dealing in Nablus. (The Jerusalem Post)

Israeli forces opened fire at Palestinian farmers working near the southern Gaza town of Khan Yunis (Ma’an News Agency)

Israeli Forces shot and killed a Palestinian man who attempted to stab Israeli soldiers at a West Bank checkpoint. (Jewish Journal)

Israel delivered demolition notices for seven agricultural structures and water wells in the Nablus village of Qusra. (Ma’an News Agency)

The Israeli Prison Service (IPS) returned Palestinian prisoners from Israel's Ohalei Kedar prison back to Ramon prison. Nevertheless the mass hunger strike persists. (Albawaba News)

Palestinian prisoner Bilal Kayid decided to escalate his hunger strike and refuse any medical treatments or tests until an Israeli court agreed to hear his case. (Ma’an News Agency)

The “Youth Bill,” which will allow Israeli authorities to imprison minors convicted of serious crimes such as murder, attempted murder or manslaughter even if they are under the age of 14, passed its second and third readings in the Knesset plenum. (WAFA. The Knesset website)

During a meeting of the United Nations Security Council which focused on Children in Armed Conflict, countries including Venezuela, Iran and Saudi Arabia criticised Israel for committing violations against Palestinian children. (Jerusalem Post).

The Israeli army handed out demolition notices for three agricultural structures and four water wells in Qusra, near Nablus, in the occupied West Bank. (Palestine Monitor)

2 Aug 

Clashes broke out between IsraeliForces and Palestinian youths as the troops escorted hundreds of Israeli worshippers to Joseph’s Tomb near the Balata refugee camp in Nablus. At least two Palestinians were injured. (Ma’an News Agency)

At least 25 Palestinians were detained in raids as Israeli forces entered multiple villages and cities across the West Bank, and sealed off the main road to the southern city of Hebron. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israeli soldiers arrested ten Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem. (IMEMC)  

During his meeting with the EU Special Representative for the Middle East Peace Process Fernando Genteliny, the Secretary General of the Arab League Ahmad Abul-Gheit called on the international community to assume its responsibility for reaching a comprehensive settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict within a set timeline. (KUNA)

Israeli bulldozers demolished at least two Palestinian shops in the occupied East Jerusalem village of Sur Bahir on the grounds that they were built on land owned by the Israeli Land Authority (ILA). (Ma’an News Agency)

3 Aug

Israeli police officers detained four employees of the Rehabilitation Committee of the Islamic Endowment (Waqf), which manages the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem. (Ma’an News Agency)

Two days after detaining his mother and brother, Israeli forces detained three other siblings of Malik Ubeid, a Palestinian from the West Bank village of Farun wanted by Israeli authorities, in an apparent attempt to pressure Malik to turn himself in. (Ma’an News Agency, IMEMC)

Israeli bulldozers carried out limited incursions into Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip. (Ma’an News Agency)

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas issued a new decree in connection with municipal elections scheduled for October 2016. According to the decree nine municipal councils (Bethlehem, Beit Sahour, Beit Jala, Birzeit, al-Zababda, Ramallah, Abud, Ein Arik and Jifna councils) must be headed by a Christian and the quota for Christians should be more than for Muslims. (Palestinian Information Center)

Israeli forces closed the Beit El checkpoint in Ramallah, blocking access in both directions, after a suspicious object was found by Israeli soldiers near the checkpoint. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israeli bulldozers demolished a Palestinian home in the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Beit Hanina – the sixth time since the family began seeking an Israeli-issued building license more than a decade ago. (Ma’an News Agency)

A senior official in Gaza’s Chamber of Industry and Commerce said Israeli authorities continue to prevent the entry of 400 commodities into the Gaza Strip and tighten their restrictions as they withdrew more than 1,500 travel permits from traders and businessmen. (Middle East Monitor)

Israel issued a plan to build a massive concrete wall along its border with the blockaded Gaza Strip, with the stated aim of destroying cross-border tunnels. (IMEMC)

4 Aug

Israeli navy boats opened fire at Palestinian fishermen off the coast of the Gaza Strip in two separate incidents. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israeli forces detained six employees of the Islamic Endowment (Waqf), which manages the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem’s Old City. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israeli forces raided the town of Yatta in the West Bank and demolished the family homes of two Palestinian cousins who had carried out a deadly shooting attack in Tel Aviv in June that killed four Israelis. (Ma’an News Agency)

Three hundred Hamas members held in the Nafha Prison in southern Israel declared an open-ended hunger strike in protest of a decision to transfer hundreds of prisoners from the high-security facility to other jails around the country. (Times of Israel, IMEMC)

Israeli forces detained at least 13 Palestinians during predawn raids across the West Bank and East Jerusalem. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israeli forces demolished residential structures in the al-Moarajat area in Jericho. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israel announced that it is committed to providing sufficient electricity to the World Bank project, Gaza’s sewage treatment plan. (The Jerusalem Post)

The Australian government suspended some funding to World Vision pending the completion of a probe into allegations that one of the group’s employees diverted organization monies to Hamas. Nevertheless World Vision denies the allegations (Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Haartez)

The Knesset passed a bill into law permitting the imprisonment of children under the age of 14 if the child committed acts of terrorism. (Ma’an News Agency)

41 Palestinian women and girls, including 12 minors, are currently being held in Israel’s HaSharon prison, according to a statement released by the Palestinian Committee of Prisoners’ Affairs. (Ma’an News Agency)

5 Aug

Israeli forces closed several roads leading to the village of Beita in Nablus with large dirt mounds, and cement blocks and added a check point on the main road leading to the village. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israeli forces entered and searched homes in several cities in the West Bank including Qalqilia, Jenin and Hebron. (IMEMC)

A group of Israeli settlers attacked and beat a Palestinian girl in the Bedouin village of Rammun in the district of Ramallah, and stabbed and killed several sheep she was herding. (Ma’an News Agency)

Some 400 Israeli settlers entered the village of Awarta in Nablus under the protection of Israeli soldiers and performed religious rituals leading to clashes and the detention of seven Palestinians. (Ma’an News Agency)

The Chairman of the Qatari Committee for Reconstruction of the Gaza Strip has stressed Qatar’s commitment to the implementation of all projects in the Strip by the Palestinian local construction companies and through recruitment of local manpower and local suppliers. (Gulf Times)

ICRC announced that on 7 August it will shut down their services in the Jerusalem office in response to protests and prisoners’ families storming the office. (Ma’an News Agency)

Four Palestinian prisoners suspended their open hunger strikes in Israel’s HaDarim prison after receiving promises by Israeli Prison Service (IPS) officials that efforts would be made to reinstate regular family visits for the prisoners. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israeli forces shot and injured six Palestinians with live rounds during clashes east of al-Bureij refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. (WAFA)

6 Aug

Israeli forces detained a Palestinian in Bethlehem district in the occupied West Bank. (Ma’an News Agency)

A member of Hamas’ military wing was killed in the Gaza Strip when an underground tunnel he was digging collapsed. (Israel HaYom)

Hamas-affiliated prisoners reached an agreement with the Israel Prison Service (IPS) to end their days-long mass hunger strike, which included ending all types of “humiliating searches”, specifically strip searching, improving the living conditions of Hamas-affiliated prisoners in Israel’s Nafha prison by installing proper ventilation and reducing prisoner congestion, returning the head of the Higher Commission of Hamas Prisoners, Muhammad Irman, from Israel’s Hadarim prison back to Nafha prison within a period of six months, as well as returning all prisoners who were previously moved to other prisons, back to their original locations. The IPS also agreed to several other demands for prisoners concerning daily life, which included allowing books to be brought in during family visitation, and prisoners to watch an additional news channel. (Ma’an News Agency)

7 Aug

Israeli forces opened gunfire at Palestinian farmers east of Khan Younes, in the southern Gaza Strip. No injuries were reported, as the farmers quickly evacuated their land. Meanwhile, Israeli gunboats shot at Palestinian fishermen off the Gaza shore, causing damage to at least one of their boats. There were no reports of injuries. (WAFA)

Israeli forces detained at least eleven Palestinians, among them four minors, in the West Bank districts of Hebron and Bethlehem, as well as in Jerusalem. One minor was arrested for allegedly having thrown a Molotov cocktail at an Israeli settler’s car, and another for alleged possession of a weapon. Israel is implementing a crackdown on Palestinian children in Jerusalem, following the passage of legislation permitting the imprisonment of Palestinians as young as 12 years old. (WAFA)

The Israeli government announced that it was launching a task force to identify and deport members from the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement. Without citing any names, the statement estimated that “hundreds” of pro-Palestinian activists and dozens of organizations were currently in Israel “to gather information and use it to boycott Israel, and harm its citizens,” and that the task force would also try to prevent the entrance of activists in the future. It remained unclear whether the task force would only focus on foreign activists, or whether its activities would also extend to tracking and monitoring Palestinian and Israeli advocates of BDS. (Ma’an News Agency)

8 Aug

Israeli forces detained 18 Palestinians and seized the equipment of a printing house in raids across the West Bank, in Bethlehem, Hebron Qalqiliya, Ramallah and Tulkarem districts. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israeli forces destroyed large portions of a water pipeline under construction in Tubas district of the occupied West Bank. The pipeline was funded by NGO Action Against Hunger. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israeli forces demolished a number of structures owned by Palestinians in Nablus, including a restaurant and a porcelain workshop. (IMEMC)

Members and leaders of the PFLP announced at a sit-in in front of the office for ICRC in Gaza that they would begin open ended hunger strikes in solidarity with Palestinian hunger strikers in Israeli prisons. (Ma’an News Agency)

Media reported that the Israeli Government is working on a NIS 1.28 billion plan to double the amount of water available for the West Bank to alleviate the water crisis impacting settlers and Palestinians. (The Jerusalem Post)

9 Aug

Israel accused UNDP employee Wahid Borsh of taking advantage of his position to assist Hamas in the Gaza Strip. (Times of Israel)

Israeli Border Police officers reportedly thwarted a stabbing at the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron when a Palestinian woman drew a knife at a checkpoint. (Yediot Ahronot)

Israeli forces raided the Dheisheh refugee camp in Bethlehem, re-arresting a Palestinian activist and injuring seven Palestinians with live bullets. (Ma’an News Agency)

The Israeli Jerusalem municipality has reportedly been working on plans to construct a new settlement southwest of Jerusalem. Israeli news website Walla reported that the municipality filed the plan for 2,500 housing units. Israeli Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem Meir Turgeman expressed confidence that the construction would be approved once the plan is formally presented. (Ma’an News Agency)

A number of Israeli military jeeps and bulldozers entered the Um al-Kheir village near Hebron and demolished five residential structures, three of them built by the EU. (IMEMC)

UNRWA was able to disburse over $2.2 million for the reconstruction of totally destroyed homes. The funds will reach 189 families across the Gaza Strip. (UNRWA)

Israeli soldiers arrested four Palestinians in Sa’ir village, al-Fawwar refugee camp, Doura, and Beit Ummar. (IMEMC)

Islamic Jihad announced it would boycott the upcoming municipal elections. (The Jerusalem Post)

Israeli police announced a plan to substantially increase its presence in Palestinian neighbourhouds in East Jerusalem, as well as the installation of more CCTV cameras, in the coming years. (Xinhua)

Palestinian security forces fired in the air at Palestinian protesters at the site of a proposed landfill in Area C of the West Bank. (The Jerusalem Post)

An 85-year-old Palestinian died after he was run over by an Israeli settler driving a motorcycle near the community of Khirbet al-Marajim near Nablus in the occupied West Bank. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israel bulldozed EU-funded Palestinian homes, leaving 27 people homeless including 16 minors. The U.S. was troubled by this event and indicated concern about the Jewish state’s commitment to peace. (Middle Easy Eye, The Israel Times)

The United Nations said that it was “greatly concerned” at Israeli claims one of its staff helped Hamas fighters in Gaza and promised “a thorough internal review of the processes and circumstances surrounding the allegation.” (AFP)

The Israeli government admitted to the High Court of Justice that it had mistakenly expropriated 45 dunams of privately owned Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank for the settlement of “Ofra”. It therefore plans to revise the settlement’s master plan to exclude these areas.(Haaretz)

Palestinian President Abbas approved a decision to cover all financial expenses of a second family visitation session for families of Palestinian prisoners currently held in Israeli prisons. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israel Prison Service in Israel’s Megiddo prison banned 15 hunger-striking prisoners from receiving visits from their lawyers. (Ma’an News Agency)

The Israeli authorities released Sheikh Kamal al-Khatib, deputy head of the “Islamic Movement in the 1948 Occupied Lands”, and placed him under house arrest for five days, pending further investigation. (Palestinian Information Center)

Israeli police arrested five Palestinians for allegedly stealing Israeli army weapons and selling them. (Ma’an News Agency)

10 Aug

Israeli forces injured four Palestinian youth with live fire during clashes in al-Amari refugee camp near Ramallah. (Ma’an News Agency)

Egypt permits opening of its Rafah border crossing with Gaza, for only the third time this year, to give Palestinians in the territory a chance to reunite with family and in some cases access urgent medical treatment not available to them. (Radio Australia)

Eight Palestinians were injured when a tunnel collapsed in al-Shujaʽiyya in eastern Gaza. (Ma’an News Agency)

Fatah responded to a recently circulated “Thank you, Hamas” video, showing a prosperous Gaza Strip, with a video showing Gaza hardships such as frequent power outages. A Hamas spokesman said that the group is merely highlighting that it has governed well under tough circumstances. (Associated Press)

Israeli forces announced plans to build five new police stations in East Jerusalem. (Morning Star Online)

Israeli soldiers opened fire on dozens of locals of Qusra, south of Nablus, as Israeli bulldozers and settlers resumed the uprooting and bulldozing of Palestinian lands. (IMEMC)

An Israeli military jeep rammed a Palestinian child, south of Jenin; soldiers then arrested and interrogated him without providing the needed medical aid. (IMEMC)

The US State Department strongly warned Israel against destroying the Palestinian Sussiya village in the West Bank and said its demolition would have a “very damaging impact” on the lives of Palestinians living there. (Press TV)

Five Palestinian left-wing parties announced that they would participate in the local elections due to be held in October on a joint list under the name “Democratic Alliance.” The five parties are the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), the Palestinian Popular Party, the Palestinian Initiative and the Palestinian Democratic Union (Fida). (Middle East Monitor)

11 Aug

An Israeli youth was reportedly stabbed and lightly injured in the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of al-Tur. (Ma’an News Agency, Times of Israel)

Israeli naval forces opened fire at Palestinian fishermen off the coast of Gaza City. (Ma’an News Agency)

The Israeli Government admitted to the Supreme Court that it had “mistakenly” expropriated more than 11 acres of private Palestinian land in the settlement of “Ofra”. (Yedioth Ahronoth)

The Israeli military began seizing abandoned private Palestinian property in the West Bank, so that it can relocate the 40 settler families who live in the “Amona” outpost. (The Jerusalem Post)

An Israeli court rejected the appeal of Hassan Youssef, a Hamas leader in the West Bank, and sentenced him to an additional six months in administrative detention without charges or trial based on undisclosed evidence. (Ahlul Bayt News Agency)

Israeli forces opened fire at Palestinian farmers and shepherds in the eastern part of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israeli forces raided the Shufat refugee camp leading to clashes with Palestinian youths and the arrest of five Palestinians. (Ma’an News Agency)

After meeting with his Palestinian counterpart in Ankara, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu stressed that his country was eager to contribute to the Middle East peace process. The Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım added that Turkey planned to send humanitarian aid to Gaza in September. (Hurriyet Daily News)

France condemned the demolition of humanitarian structures in the West Bank by Israeli security forces. France expressed “its serious concern over the accelerating pace of demolitions and confiscations of humanitarian shelters for the Palestinian population in Area C” and called on Israeli authorities "to stop these operations which are contrary to international law. (The New Indian Express, Xhinuanet)

The United States criticized Israeli plans to seize abandoned Palestinian property, so that it could relocate 40 settler families who live in the West Bank outpost of Amona. (The Jerusalem Post)

The Palestinian foreign ministry called on the international community and the United Nation Security Council to act expeditiously to halt Israeli settlement construction in East Jerusalem. (The Middle East Monitor)

12 Aug

Israeli naval forces opened fire at Palestinian fishermen off the coast of the northern part of the Gaza Strip, before detaining five fishermen and confiscating their boats. (Ma’an News Agency, IMEMC)

In raids across the West Bank town of Hebron, Israeli soldiers arrested at least twelve Palestinians. (IMEMC)

Israeli soldiers arrested seventeen Palestinians in the Old City of East Jerusalem. (IMEMC)

According to the most recent weekly report by OCHA on the protection of civilians, Israeli authorities have demolished 726 structures in the Occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem in 2016 thus far on the grounds they lacked ‘building permits’. The demolitions have displaced more than 1,000 Palestinians. (The Middle East Monitor)

France, the US and the UN raised concerns over the pace of Israeli demolitions in the West Bank. (Middle East Eye)

Turkey stated that a Turkish-funded hospital would open its doors in Gaza in 2017, and would be the largest in Gaza. (Anadolu Agency)

13 Aug

Israeli forces expelled a Palestinian family of 10 from their home in the village of Harmala east of Bethlehem, in order to use the house as an Israeli military post. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israel detained at least 10 Palestinian youths across Jerusalem’s Old City, two near Nablus and another at the Allenby crossing into Jordan. (Fars News Agency, IMEMC, Ma’an News Agency)

A member of the military wing of Hamas was killed by an electric shock inside a tunnel in the Gaza Strip. (Ma’an News Agency)

Amnesty International urged Israel to either charge or release Mr. Bilal Kayed who is on hunger strike. (Fars News Agency)

14 Aug

At least 18 Palestinians, including a minor, were injured at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound when clashes erupted between Palestinians and Israeli forces who were escorting hundreds of worshipers commemorating the Jewish fasting holy day of Tisha B'av. King Abdullah of Jordan vowed to fight violations and attacks by Israel and the extremists which he described as efforts to Judaize the site. (Ma’an News Agency, The Jerusalem Post)

A Palestinian woman was arrested after she stabbed and injured a female soldier at a checkpoint in the northern West Bank. (The Times of Israel)

Israeli soldiers seized, at dawn, four Palestinians in the districts of Tulkarm, Jerusalem and Hebron. (IMEMC)

Japanese youth sponsored a business contest in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza to support the economic independence of young people in the territory. (The Japan News)

President Abbas appealed to Israeli Arab leaders to help broker a new reconciliation deal between Fatah and Hamas. (Israel Hayom)

The UNDP said that its Gaza employee charged by Israel with aiding Hamas had actually received instructions from the PA. (Arutz Sheva)

Social media activists all over the world took part in a solidarity campaign to send the message “Water is a Right” to spread awareness on the deteriorating situation of water rights in Palestine. (Coalition of Women for Peace)

Anonymous death threats were made against a staff member of Palestinian human rights organization Al-Haq advocating for an investigation by the ICC into war crimes in Palestine. (Human Rights Watch)

15 Aug

Israeli troops demolished the home of a Palestinian who had stabbed to death a 13-year-old in June. (The Israel Times)

For the third time since 2012, the UNRWA Gaza football team won the world’s largest football tournament for youth, the Norway Cup, in Oslo (UNRWA)

Israeli authorities took preparatory measures, such as embarking on a land survey, for the construction of an illegal settlement of “Givat Eitam” in the southern part of the West Bank that would essentially split Palestinian territories in two. (Press TV)

The EU called on Israel to halt the demolitions of Palestinian structures as a response to the pending demolition of the Arab village of Susiya. (Jerusalem Post)

Israeli naval forces detained five Palestinian fishermen and confiscated their fishing boat off the coast of northern Gaza. (Ma’an News Agency)

The hunger striking detainee Waleed Masalma was moved to the Soroka Israeli medical centre, after suffering a serious health setback. (IMEMC)

16 Aug

Israeli soldiers entered the village of Shoufa, south of Tulkarm, and uprooted many olive trees. (IMEMC)

Israeli soldiers entered the Jenin refugee camp and Ya’bad town, in the northern Jenin area, searched homes and detained four Palestinians. (IMEMC)

A Palestinian infant suffered severe effects of teargas inhalation, after Israeli soldiers entered Kufur Qaddoum, east of Qalqilya. The soldiers also arrested one Palestinian. (IMEMC)

A 17-year-old Palestinian boy was shot to death and at least 33 Palestinians were injured, during clashes when Israeli forces stormed the al-Fawwar refugee camp in the southern Hebron. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israeli military vehicles and bulldozers entered the Anata town, northeast of Jerusalem, and demolished a car repair garage, and a tree nursery. They also demolished eight Palestinian homes in the town of Sa’ir, northeast of Hebron and two homes and a room in Beit-Jala, leaving at least 70 Palestinians homeless. (IMEMC)

Israel approved the construction of 4,200 settlement units in the “Modi’in” settlement, west of Ramallah and the expansion of an existing plan for new settlement units at the East Jerusalem settlement of “Ramot”. (Palestinian Information Centre)

PLO Secretary-General Saeb Erekat called on the ICC to make a ruling on the PLO's complete dossier regarding Israel's expansion of settlements within Palestinian territory, and to open a legal investigation into these crimes (ANSAmed)

Sufian Bakri Abdu who planned to poison Israeli cafe-goers in Jerusalem was released from prison after spending fourteen years there. (Ynetnews)

Moussa Abu Marzouq, member of Hamas' political bureau said that the differences with Fatah regarding the municipal elections should not lead to a stalemate in the reconciliation effort, affirming that Hamas’ intention to participate in the elections was no surprise to Fatah and stressing that their sole enemy was the occupation. (Palestinian Information Centre)

Political bureau chairman of Hamas Khaled Mishaal met in Doha, with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister and Special Presidential Envoy for the Middle East and North Africa Mikhail Bogdanov. The Hamas media office said that the discussion tackled latest Palestinian developments. (Palestinian Information Center)

Hamas spokesman Abu-Zuhri reiterated Hamas’ insistence on the need to hold elections on time and denied recent claims on Hamas’ intended withdrawal from the local elections, set to be held on October 8. (Palestinian Information Center)

The Arab League vehemently condemned Israel's practices in the occupied East Jerusalem, especially fabricating stories to justify settlers' storming of Al Aqsa Mosque. Arab League Deputy Secretary General Ahmed ben Helli said that imposing more military laws and intransigent policies against Jerusalemites is part of an Israeli scheme to promote settlement policies and change the demography and geography of the occupied Jerusalem. (Arab Today)

Israeli forces evacuated the headquarters of the International Committee of the Red Cross in occupied East Jerusalem after ICRC personnel allegedly complained to Israeli forces that their headquarters had been raided when families of Palestinian hunger striking prisoners staged a sit-in inside the building. (Ma’an News Agency)

During a visit, Israeli Construction and Housing Minister Galant estimated that a half-a-million people will live in the Gush Etzion settlement bloc within the next decade. Israel has plans to build a new city in Gush Etzion, called Gevaot, but approvals are still pending for its construction. The Palestinians have opposed the Givat Eitam project, which they refer to as the creation of a new settlement that would be located right next to Bethlehem in a way that would hamper that city’s growth in the future. US State Department deputy spokesperson expressed concerns that these plans, if carried out, would have the effect of isolating Bethlehem from the southern West Bank, fundamentally incompatible with the pursuit of a two-State solution. (The Jerusalem Post)

Palestinian Committee of Prisoners’ Affairs head Issa Qaraqe announced that Israeli forces have detained 560 children from occupied East Jerusalem since the beginning of 2016, and that 110 minors were still being held in Israeli prisons, including four girls and 10 boys in juvenile detention centers. (Ma’an News Agency)

U.S. Governor Chris Christie signed legislation that would bar the New Jersey State's public pension fund from investing with companies that boycott Israel or Israeli businesses. The legislation had passed with overwhelming support in the Democrat-led state Legislature in June. Christie said New Jersey does $1.3 billion in trade with Israel every year (AP)

More than 50 Palestinians of the same extended family, including several children, were left homeless after Israeli forces demolished eight homes in the outskirts of Sair in Hebron district, while another 20 lost their home in a house demolition near Bethlehem. (Ma’an News Agency)

17 Aug

Israeli soldiers arrested overnight 24 Palestinians in different parts of the occupied West Bank, 14 of which were from Hebron. (IMEMC)

Palestinian political parties began registering candidates for municipal elections, the first step in years toward a democratic vote but one that threatens to re-inflame tensions between Fatah and Hamas. (Reuters)

Israeli forces arrested the Hamas representative on the organising committee for October Palestinian municipal elections. Hamas condemned what it called an "attempt to influence" the outcome of the elections. (France 24)

According to the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society, the Israeli authorities issued 38 administrative detention orders against Palestinian prisoners, including a parliament member and prisoners who previously went on hunger strikes against administrative detention. (Ma’an News Agency)

UNDP has denied Israeli claims that detainee Wahid al-Barsh, a construction contractor working for the agency, deviated from its principles and abused its resources to aid Hamas, according to Haaretz. UNDP special representative Roberto Valent was quoted as saying that the agency conducted an investigation into the Israeli claim and found the material was transferred to the right place. (Palestinian Information Center)

Israeli authorities arrested a Palestinian youth in East Jerusalem allegedly over involvement in a stabbing attack last week, in which an Israeli youth was injured. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israeli Defence Minister Lieberman unveiled a new policy toward Palestinians, including harsher punishment for families and villages from which “terrorists” originate and economic benefits for those areas that have not produced terrorists. The new plan has three principles: carrots and sticks; dialogue with the Palestinian public; and the drawing up of a list of those considered close associates of the Palestinian Authority and Hamas. The areas that will get benefits immediately are Beit Sahur (Bethlehem), in which a hospital will be built; western Nablus, in which an industrial zone will be built; and Kafr Bidia (Salfit), in which a soccer field will be built. Infrastructure plans will also be expanded in Qalqilya district, and an economic corridor will be opened from Jericho to Jordan in accordance with a plan being promoted and paid for by the Japanese Government. However, Lieberman did not intend to allow Palestine to build a new city in the West Bank. (Jerusalem Post)

The Turkish Government submitted a bill to the Parliament ratifying the rapprochement agreement with Israel. The bill annuls all legal claims filed against Israeli soldiers who participated in the raid on the “Mavi Marmara” aid flotilla to Gaza in May 2010 and would grant Israelis immunity before any future suits related to the incident. The bill also stipulates that 24 days after ratification Israel will transfer USD20 million to a humanitarian fund to be set up by the Turkish Government, which will pay out compensation to the families of Turks killed during the raid. (Haaretz)

A Palestinian girl whose bicycle was taken and broken by Border Police officers earlier this month received a new bicycle that had been donated by an Israeli humanitarian. (Times of Israel)

Hamas-appointed civil servants in the Gaza Strip began receiving their July salaries through a USD31 million grant from Qatar. However, some 2,800 employees were not included on the list of beneficiaries because the Israeli authorities – or, according to some reports, the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority – had deemed them “active members of Hamas”. The funds, which will be dispersed through the UN, will not go towards paying salaries owed to members of Hamas-run security forces in Gaza. (Albawaba)

Three Israeli soldiers were court-martialled for having thrown a smoke grenade without apparent provocation at a group of young Palestinian men in the northern West Bank earlier this week. (Times of Israel)

18 Aug

Israeli forces detained five Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, in Hebron, Jenin, Nablus and Salfit districts. (Ma’an News Agency, WAFA)

The only power plant in Gaza announced that it was unable to operate more than one generator as it had run out of fuel. (IMEMC)

Three days after ending 14 years in jail for a poison plot, Sufyan Abu Bakri got rearrested for incitement after Hamas flags were flown at his welcome party. (The Times of Israel)

It was stated by the Palestinian Committee on Prisoners’ Affairs that three Palestinian minors were currently being held without charge or trial in Israel’s Ofer prison. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Liberman unveiled a new plan which is based on offering economic intensives to Palestinian communities from which no attacks had been launched. In return, he proposed tightening the punitive measures against Palestinian villages and among the communities where attackers had come from. (IMEMC)

19 Aug

Israeli troops demolished Palestinian-owned structures in several Bedouin villages in the Negev desert. (PressTV)

250 Palestinians travelled from Gaza to Al-Aqsa in Jerusalem to attend Friday prayers (Ma’an News Agency)

President Mahmoud Abbas has reportedly informed Egypt he is no longer opposed to participating in a regional or international peace summit in Cairo. (The Times of Israel)

20 Aug

UN Coordinator for Humanitarian Assistance Robert Piper issued a statement expressing concern over the situation of Palestinian hunger strikers. He called for all administrative detainees to be charged or released without delay.  (UNSCO)

The Israeli authorities opened four tenders for leasing land, establishing a hotel, and constructing a park in the settlement of “Ma’ale Adumim”, according to Israeli media.  (Ma’an News Agency)

21 Aug

After rockets were fired from Gaza into Sderot, the IDF was reported to have launched a combined air and artillery assault on Hamas targets in Gaza.  Five Palestinians were reported as injured.  Hamas denied its role in the rocket fire blaming a local ISIS group.  (Haaretz, Ma’an News Agency, Ynetnews)

Israel was supporting Palestinian criminal gangs, the spokesman of the PA security forces Adnan Al-Damiri charged.  (MEMO)

Israeli forces detained at least 19 Palestinians during raids in Jerusalem and the West Bank, according to local and security sources.  (WAFA)

Egyptian President Sisi announced that President Putin had told him that Russia was ready to host direct negotiations between Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Abbas.  He added that Israel was becoming more and more convinced of the need for peace.   (Ynetnews)

Israeli Defence Minister Liberman’s plan to open a direct dialogue with prominent Palestinians would ultimately come to naught, PLO Executive Committee Member Ahmad Majdalani said on.  “The very few Palestinians who [will] work with Liberman will be outside of the national camp and considered violators of the law,” he said.  (The Jerusalem Post)

Hunger-striking prisoner Mahmoud Balboul was evacuated to a hospital, the Palestinian Committee for Prisoners’ Affairs said.  He had been on hunger strike for 49 days to protest his detention without trial.  Another hunger striker had been evacuated to a hospital on 20 August after suffering a heart attack.  (Ma’an News Agency)

22 Aug

Israeli forces detained nine Palestinians and summoned another for interrogation, according to security sources.  (WAFA)

A majority of Palestinians (51%) and Israelis (59%) support a two-State solution, according to a new poll funded by the EU. When presented with a peace agreement package based on previous rounds of negotiations, 39% of Palestinians and 46% of Israelis said they would support such a package.  One-quarter of those opposed to the package said they would change their minds if the agreement included a regional Arab-Israeli peace.  (Ynetnews)

The family of a Palestinian prisoner, whom Israel accused of being an accomplice in a shooting attack last month which left one settler dead, said that an Israeli court had decided to demolish their family home in the village of Dura. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israeli army forces notified the family of a Palestinian prisoner of its intent to demolish their house in the city of Salfit.  (WAFA)

Activists blocked the UN building in Ramallah to protest the UN inaction over Palestinian hunger strikers.  (WAFA)

Teenage Palestinians in Israeli prisons say they have been tortured, verbally abused, kicked, and slapped by Israeli interrogators, according to a lawyer from the Palestinian Committee for Prisoners' Affairs.  (Ma’an News Agency)

Israel plans to expand the settlements in Hebron for the first time in over a decade, even if the extension would only be small, sources familiar with the plan said.  (Haaretz)

Following a visit to the Bedouin community of Abu Nuwar in the Jerusalem governorate, the UN Coordinator for Humanitarian Assistance, Robert Piper, warned that many Palestinian communities in the West Bank were facing a heightened risk of forcible transfer.  (OCHA)

The EU and the Government of Finland have joined forces to provide €14 million to help East Jerusalem hospitals maintain critical medical services to Palestinians.  (Office of the EU Representative)

UNRWA urged investigations into the recent Israeli killing of a Palestinian teenager in al-Fawwar refugee camp near Hebron. (Middle East Monitor)

Palestinian protesters demonstrated outside a UN building in Ramallah to denounce what they saw as the UN’s lack of involvement in saving hunger-striking Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli custody. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israeli human rights group Peace Now revealed further information about a planned settlement in the location of an Israeli military base in the district of Hebron, saying that the settlement plan would increase the number of Israeli settlers by 100. (Ma’an News Agency)

23 Aug

Israeli forces detained at least eight Palestinians during raids across the West Bank districts of Hebron, Qalqilya, Ramallah and Tulkarm. (WAFA)

Israeli forces arrested two Palestinians for weapons trafficking, uncovered weapon factories and recovered firearms in the West Bank in the largest operation against weapon trafficking this year. (Xinhua)

Clashes broke out between Palestinians and Israelis after Jewish Israelis entered Area A in the West Bank to pray at Joseph’s Tom in Nablus, under the protection of Israeli forces. (Jerusalem Post)

Fans of the Scottish soccer club Celtic F.C. have raised over USD 100,000 for Palestinian charities in efforts to match an impending fine from UEFA for flying Palestinian flags during a Celtic match against Israel’s Hapoel Beer Sheva team. (Middle East Monitor)

The spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Cécile Pouilly, expressed deep concerns regarding the deteriorating health of Bilal Kayed, who has been on hunger strike in Israel since 15 June to protest against his administrative detention. (Palestine News Network)

Nablus was gripped by violent protests after the death of a Palestinian detainee shortly after he was seized by Palestinian security forces. (Ynetnews)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed regional issues and the Israeli-Palestinian peace process via telephone. According to the Kremlin “the two leaders exchanged opinions on issues surrounding the settlement in the Middle East and current aspects of the general situation in the region.” (Haaretz, Times of Israel)

Hussam Al-Dabbas, the Palestinian Authority (PA) General Consul in Alexandria, announced that peace talks between Palestinians and Israelis were due to be held in Cairo soon. (The Middle East Monitor)

The US State Department warned against "all travel" to Gaza and urged those present to depart "as soon as possible when border crossings are open." The warning came after the Israeli army bombed dozens of targets in Gaza. (Petra)

Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman demanded that the demilitarisation of the Gaza Strip be a precondition for its reconstruction. (The Middle East Monitor)

The Arab League condemned the recent Israeli army’s shelling of different locations in the Gaza Strip. (WAFA)

24 Aug

 Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian near the town of Nablus after he allegedly attempted to stab an Israeli soldier. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israeli forces detained a Palestinian woman in the southern West Bank for allegedly carrying a knife. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israeli forces detained at least 12 Palestinians during raids across the West Bank. (Palestinian Prisoners’ Society)

Turkey condemned Israel’s “disproportionate” attacks on the Gaza strip by air and with tank fire which reportedly injured four people, after a rocket fired from Gaza crashed into the Israeli city of Sderot. (Ma’an News Agency)

The Israeli army demolished three Palestinian-owned residential structures in the village of Um al-Kheir near Hebron, in the southern West Bank. (WAFA)

The Israeli army demolished three houses in Kherbit om al-khair, east of Yatta, located south of Hebron in the West Bank. (Alray)

Several Israeli bulldozers entered Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip from the border between Gaza and Israel. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israeli authorities issued administrative detention orders against 66 Palestinian detainees, placing them in jail without charge or trial. (The Palestinian Prisoners’ Society)

Four days after being released from a 14-year sentence, a Palestinian man from East Jerusalem was re-detained, according to local sources. (Ma’an News Agency)

A group of Palestinian activists (former prisoners, and prisoners’ families) demonstrated outside the office of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Ramallah in protest of what demonstrators called the ICRC’s negative role in attempting to save the lives of several hunger striking Palestinian prisoners in Israeli custody. (Ma’an News Agency)

In a statement Mr Robert Piper, the UN Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, expressed his optimism about the upcoming local elections in Palestine. (UNSCO)

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry urged the US State Department to ban its citizens from taking part in daily "incursions" into the Al-Aqsa mosque in East Jerusalem. The Ministry condemned in a press statement the participation of Utah Congressman Mike Lee in the "incursion of settlers into Al-Aqsa Mosque on Tuesday." (Xinhua)

An animal welfare group removed 15 animals from a Gaza Strip Zoo, where they were suffering from harsh conditions. Most of the animals are destined for an animal sanctuary in Jordan while the tiger is headed to a refuge in South Africa. (AP)

In a statement, the Israeli army said it had closed a total of seven investigations, clearing its forces of wrongdoing in deadly incidents in which civilians were killed during the 2014 Gaza war including an airstrike that killed 15 members of a single family. PLO Secretary-General Saeb Erakat called on the ICC to speed up its inquiry. (AP)

19-year-old Dunya Ali Musleh was released from prison after serving nine months in Israeli custody, and was met by Palestinian crowds welcoming her home in Bethlehem’s al-Deheisha refugee camp. (Ma’an News Agency)

 25 Aug

Israeli forces detained at least 13 Palestinians during predawn raids across the West Bank, according to Palestinian and Israeli sources. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israeli naval forces detained a Palestinian fisherman after opening heavy fire at his boat off the coast of the northern Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian sources. (Ma’an News Agency)

Political factions and institutions in Nablus have decided to postpone municipal elections set to take place in October in the wake of violent confrontations between armed groups and Palestinian security forces. (Ma’an News Agency)

The Palestinian private sector representatives in a press statement rejected and described as insulting the so called “stick and carrot” policy unveiled by the Israeli Minister of Defence Avigdor Lieberman. (WAFA)

According to his lawyer, Palestinian detainee Bilal Kayed, on a hunger strike for 71 days, has ended his fast following an agreement that will see him freed in December. (AP)

A 19-year-old Palestinian was indicted in Jerusalem District Court for allegedly stabbing a young ultra-Orthodox man with a wooden plank in East Jerusalem earlier this month. (The Times of Israel)

Israeli forces, cut down dozens of olive trees in the village of Huwwara, south of Nablus. (IMEMC)

The Spanish Málaga court overturned a boycott decision passed by the city council in the Costa del Sol region this week. (Jerusalem Post)

UN’s legal department demanded that Israel release the employee who has been accused of aiding Hamas in Gaza, Danny Danon and Israel’s Foreign Ministry refused the request, stating 'Immunity is not given to terrorists'. (The Times of Israel)

26 Aug

Israeli Soldiers shot and injured two Palestinians during clashes at the Deheishe refugee camp, south of Bethlehem, and detained a mother and sister of a Palestinian inside their house to pressure him to turn himself in. Israeli forces also detained two others at al-‘Arroub refugee camp, north of Hebron. (IMEMC)

An unarmed Palestinian, who suffered from a mental illness, was shot dead shot dead by Israeli forces at a military post near Ofra settlement, northeast of Ramallah as he allegedly ran towards the soldiers. (Ma’an News Agency)

The Jerusalem Municipality revives its intent to establish a cable car project on areas that do not comply by the pre-1967 borders and are within walking distance from Christian and Muslim holy sites. (Middle East Monitor)

Hamas stated that it will not submit candidates in its own name for upcoming Palestinian municipal elections scheduled, instead the movement will present academic lists, professionals, experts, people recognised for their role in the administration or for international relations. It will announce the names of official candidates on 29 August. (Middle East Monitor)

The PA asked the ICC to speed up its inquiry of alleged Israeli war crimes in Gaza, after the Israeli army's decision to close seven cases in which civilians were killed during the war. (Haaretz)

16 heads of UN agencies in Palestine call for the uninterrupted and predictable flow of material and increased funding to address humanitarian needs and boost economic prospects for Gaza’s 1.9 million residents. (Middle East Monitor)

27 Aug

The Palestinian Ministry of Education said in a statement that Israeli authorities have been impeding the entry of 300,000 textbooks from the West Bank into Gaza, jeopardizing the new school year. (Ma’an News Agency)

Four Palestinian hunger-striking prisoners were in critical condition while handcuffed to hospital beds at an Israeli hospital, as 120 other Palestinian prisoners continued hunger strikes in a mass solidarity movement. (Ma’an News Agency)

28 Aug

Israeli forces detained at least 21 Palestinians in East Jerusalem and the West Bank districts of Bethlehem, Jenin and Nablus. (WAFA)

An Israeli army vehicle broke into a high school in Jenin on the first day of the new school year, the same school where a few years ago a student had been killed after being run over by an Israeli military jeep. (WAFA)

Dozens of fans and players suffered from tear gas inhalation, after Israeli soldiers fired into a stadium during a soccer match, in ar-Ram, north of Jerusalem. (IMEMC)

Two Israeli parliamentarians from the Zionist Union met with Palestinian President Abbas in Ramallah, to talk about possibilities to advance the peace process. (Jerusalem Post)

An Israeli court postponed the hearing for a UN worker accused of aiding Hamas after a dispute over whether he should be immune from prosecution. (AFP)

The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel rejected the validity of the Israeli Army’s fifth report on its probes of alleged war crimes during the 2014 Gaza war, particularly the case of airstrikes near an UNRWA school, stating that they do not live up to international law standards and should be replaced by an outside investigation. (Jerusalem Post)

An Israeli soldier who had shot and killed an unarmed Palestinian at an Israeli military outpost in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, was being investigated for involuntary manslaughter. (Haaretz)

29 Aug

Israeli forces detained 10 Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. (IMEMC)

In Jerusalem 124 Palestinian students missed the first day of the school year, including 10 children under the age of 12. (WAFA)

Egyptian authorities are set to open the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza for three days tomorrow to allow Palestinians to cross for the Muslim Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israeli forces demolished eight Palestinian structures in the Bedouin community of Maazi Jaba in the controversial E1 zone east of Jerusalem, leaving at least 20 Palestinians homeless. (Albawaba, Ma’an News Agency)

During his monthly briefing to the Security Council on the situation in the Middle East, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov, who spoke via video link from Jerusalem, noted that illegal settlement construction continued, Gaza remained beyond the control of the legitimate Palestinian authority and the political leadership on both sides continued to shy away from taking steps needed for peace. He opined that those realities had eroded trust in the prospect of a two-State solution, resulting in dwindling hopes in both Israel and Palestine. (AP, DPI, The Times of Israel)

Human Rights Watch issued a report saying that the Palestinian authorities in the West Bank and Gaza are arresting, abusing, and criminally charging journalists and activists who express peaceful criticism of the authorities. Human Rights Watch documented five cases – two in the West Bank and three in Gaza – in which security forces arrested or questioned journalists, a political activist, and two rap musicians based on their peaceful criticism of the authorities. Four of those arrested, two in Gaza and two in the West Bank, say that security forces physically abused or tortured them. The authorities in Gaza denied the allegations, and in the West Bank the authorities said they could not investigate the allegations in the absence of a formal complaint. (AP, www.hrw.org)

30 Aug

Israeli forces carried out multiple predawn raids across the Occupied Palestinian Territory and detained at least 21 Palestinians. (IMEMC, Ma’an News Agency)

Israeli forces raided a Palestinian school in Nablus, arresting five students. (The Middle East Monitor)

The Israeli army demolished one Palestinian-owned residential structure in the village of Sur Baher, southeast of East Jerusalem. (IMEMC)

The Israeli army destroyed the home in Dura, southwest of Hebron, belonging to a Palestinian s accused of involvement in the murder of a rabbi. (DW, Pakistan Today, The Middle East Monitor)

Egyptian authorities temporarily opened the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip to allow a number of Palestinian worshipers through on their way to Saudi Arabia to perform the Hajj. (Ma’an News Agency)

Unidentified armed men reportedly assaulted an elections coordinator for the Fatah movement on 29 August in Bani Suheila, a town in the southern Gaza Strip district of Khan Yunis. (Ma’an News Agency)

The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said remarks by the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov "distort history" after the latter declared during a briefing to the Security Council that Israel's settlement-building was a main obstacle to peace with the Palestinians. (AP)

31 Aug

Israeli forces raided several areas of the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem overnight, detaining at least 18 Palestinians. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israeli forces raided a Palestinian radio station in the West Bank town of Dura, arrested the manager and five employees and shut the station for three months alleging its broadcasts supported violence. Palestinian reports said the Sanabel station was damaged during the raid and soldiers confiscated broadcasting equipment. (Haaretz)

Israeli bulldozers raided al-Bureij refugee camp and levelled lands in the central Gaza Strip. Witnesses added that Israeli soldiers randomly opened fire, though no injuries were reported. (Ma’an News Agency)

Following the request from the Palestinian ambassador to the Czech Republic to rectify data in the school atlas showing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, the Czech Education Ministry informed it will correct the atlas, to reflect the EU official position by showing Jerusalem as the future capital of both Israel and the State of Palestine. (YnetNews)

Palestinian Prime Minister Hamdallah told the U.S. Consul General in Jerusalem Donald Blome during a meeting in Ramallah that the U.S. should pressure Israel to end all settlement activities as called for by the U.N. special coordinator for the Middle East peace process Nickolay Mladenov. (WAFA)

During a meeting in Ramallah with China’s special envoy to the Middle East Gong Xiaosheng, President Mahmoud Abbas said that any international effort is welcomed to salvage the two-state solution and establish independent Palestinian state. He underscored the importance of international support to the French bid to convene an international Middle East peace conference before the end of 2016, to which Xiaosheng affirmed his country’s support. (WAFA)

At least 65 Israeli settlers stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem. According to witnesses, the Israeli settlers were escorted by Israeli officers, entered the compound via the Moroccan Gate and toured the area. (Ma’an News Agency)

Peace Now issued a report explaining that Israel’s Civil Administration has advanced plans for 1,531 new settler homes this year and approved the construction of 410 new units. “The Netanyahu government continues to plan and build all over the West Bank, while also giving settlers the message that any construction done without planning will be retroactively legalized,” Peace Now said. (The Jerusalem Post)

Israel’s Civil Administration has approved the building of 285 new housing units in the West Bank and legalized 178 housing units which were built in Beit Arye the 1980s. (Haaretz)

Egypt will open the Rafah border crossing between Egypt’s Sinai province and the Gaza Strip for three days to accommodate Palestinian pilgrims. (IMEMC)

Israel announced it had postponed the trial until October of World Vision’s Gaza head accused by Israel of having diverted millions of dollars in aid to Hamas. President and Chief Executive Officer of World Vision Kevin Jenkins said in a statement that an investigation was conducted by the group into Israeli claims that al-Halabi siphoned funds from the organization to Hamas, and revealed that no evidence was found that could uphold the charge. (Ma’an News Agency, YnetNews)

The United Nations and the Department of International Relations and Cooperation in South Africa launched the International Media Seminar on Peace in the Middle East in Pretoria. The Seminar aims to sensitize public opinion, prevailing media coverage on the peace processes and to enhance dialogue between Palestinians and Israelis, through documentaries and films; political satire as a peacemaker; virtual reality as the next frontier in storytelling; and the power of animation to communicate complex issues about the situation. (WAFA)

Israeli troops clashed with Palestinian protesters near the Shrine of Joseph’s Tomb in Nablus, leaving one soldier shot and wounded. (AFP)

Israel signed an agreement at a global water conference in Stockholm to transfer of 30 million cubic meters of water to the Palestinian Authority as part of its project to construct a canal linking the Red Sea to the shrinking Dead Sea. (Times of Israel)

The Israeli Civil Administration confiscated paving equipment and machines in the area of Wad al-Rakhim in the village of Susiya, claiming the vehicles entered a prohibited area. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israeli authorities approved 466 settlement homes in the West Bank, the approvals mostly involved new housing units, but a retroactive green light was also granted to 179 existing homes in the Ofarim settlement. Around 50 new units received final approval, while others were given preliminary authorisation at different stages in the review process. (AFP)

Three Palestinian prisoners from the southern occupied West Bank district of Bethlehem continued their hunger strikes against administrative detention, as another Palestinian prisoner suspended his hunger strike after reaching a deal with Israeli authorities. (Ma’an News Agency)

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