Chronological Review of Events/October 2014 – DPR review

Division for Palestinian Rights

Chronological Review of Events Relating to the

Question of Palestine

Monthly media monitoring review

October 2014

1

Israeli Defence Forces arrested at least 22 Palestinians during the night across the West Bank. The Israeli army also entered Fara’a refugee camp, near Tubas in the northern West Bank, provoking confrontations with local residents, including two who were shot by rubber-coated metal bullets. (WAFA, IMEMC)

Twelve Israeli military vehicles entered the southern Gaza Strip and soldiers opened fire towards Palestinian agricultural areas in an apparent ceasefire violation. (Ma’an News Agency)

Speaking days before Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was due to address the UN General Assembly, Israeli Justice Minister Tzipi Livni criticised him and said he should continue peace negotiations with Israel. The war on Hamas and the Islamic movement’s attempts to depose Abbas prove that he should ask the Israeli army to protect him instead of turning to the UN. Abbas had taken the easier route of going to the UN and forgoing negotiations, she said, “because in negotiations you have to pay a price and concede things, whereas when you go to the UN, you can get everything you want, but it will not give you a state… There is no state via the UN.” Blaming Abbas for ending the negotiations, she said: “I have grievances with him, over how the negotiations ended, over his turning to the UN, his joining up with Hamas in the Palestinian unity government.” (middleeastmonitor.com)

When the British Parliament returns on 13 October a vote will be held to recognise the State of Palestine. The debate has been called for by the chair of the Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East and MP for Easington, Grahame Morris and been supported by Crispin Blunt MP, Sir Bob Russell MP, Caroline Lucas MP and Jeremy Corbyn MP. The debate is not opposed, but some MPs have added the amendment that such recognition should only come “on the conclusion of successful peace negotiations between the Israeli Government and the Palestinian Authority”. Given that some are uncomfortable with supporting recognition of a Palestinian State, it is not yet clear which way the vote will go. Solidarity organisations in the UK have been campaigning for such recognition and a number of MPs have been lobbied by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign. (middleeastmonitor.com)

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, according to a statement issued from his office, complained to the Secretary-General that the Human Rights Council was focusing its investigation on Israel, rather than on Hamas which used UN facilities over the summer to attack Israel. (The Jerusalem Post)

Detailed accounts by minor Palestinian prisoners, incarcerated in Israeli jails, have indicated a surge in maltreatment and torture by the Israel authorities before and during their detention and interrogation, reported Heba Eghbaria, an attorney with the Committee for Prisoners’ Affairs. (WAFA)

Several Palestinians were suffocated by tear gas and three minors were arrested during clashes with Israeli forces in the Al-Arub refugee camp, north of Hebron, which erupted after the forces closed the entrances of the camp. (WAFA)

Before a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu at the White House, US President Obama said, “We have to find ways to change the status quo so that both Israeli citizens are safe in their own homes and schoolchildren in their schools from the possibility of rocket fire, but also that we don’t have the tragedy of Palestinian children being killed as well. And so we’ll discuss extensively both the situation of rebuilding Gaza but also how can we find a more sustainable peace between Israelis and Palestinians.” Mr. Netanyahu said, “I remain committed to a vision of peace of two states for two peoples based on mutual recognition and rock solid security arrangements on the ground. And I believe we should make use of the new opportunities, think outside the box, see how we can recruit the Arab countries to advance this very hopeful agenda.” (www.whitehouse.gov)

UN diplomats said that Palestine had drafted a Security Council resolution calling for an end to Israeli occupation by November 2016 and shared it informally with Arab states and some Council members. It calls for “the full withdrawal of Israel … from all of the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem, as rapidly as possible and to be fully completed within a specified timeframe, not to exceed November 2016.” (Reuters)

Israeli soldiers stationed at the border opened fire at Palestinian homes and agricultural land east of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip. No injuries were reported. (WAFA)

A 12-year-old Palestinian boy was seriously injured when an explosive device left by the Israeli army during training detonated south-east of Bethlehem. (IMEMC)

A Palestinian official said the first cabinet meeting of the Palestinian national consensus Government would take place in Gaza after the Eid al-Adha holiday. (Ma’an News Agency)

The head of the Palestinian crossings, Nathmi Mhanna, said that Israel had agreed to allow Palestinians to export vegetables and fresh fish from the Gaza Strip to the West Bank for the first time since 2007. (Ma’an News Agency)

The Palestinian Water Authority signed a US$11.7 million agreement with the World Bank with an aim to repair the damages incurred by the water sector during the recent Israeli aggression on Gaza. (Ma’an News Agency)

During a visit to Silwan in East Jerusalem, Israeli Minister of Economy Neftali Bennett described the recent takeover of Palestinian houses in the neighbourhood as a historic achievement as it made the majority of the population Jews. (IMEMC)

Israel’s Civil Administration issued a decision to confiscate 1.2 acres of Palestinian land to expand a road used by settlers of “Adam”, east of Jerusalem. (IMEMC)

US State Department Spokesperson Jen Psaki said during a daily press briefing: “We are deeply concerned by reports that the Israeli Government has moved forward the planning process in the sensitive area of Givat Hamatos in East Jerusalem. This step is contrary to Israel’s stated goal of negotiating a permanent status agreement with the Palestinians, and it would send a very troubling message if they proceed with tenders or construction. This development will only draw condemnation from the international community, distance Israel from even its closest allies; poison the atmosphere not only with the Palestinians, but also with the very Arab governments … ; and call into question Israel’s ultimate commitment to a peaceful negotiated settlement with the Palestinians.” (www.state.gov)

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) is outraged by the twin bomb attacks on Al Makhzoumi School in Homs. The United Nations Secretary-General has also condemned the attack. Initial reports indicate that at least 39 people were killed in the incident, of whom 30 were children. Three Palestine refugee children lost their lives and a further two were injured. (unrwa.org)

2

Israeli forces injured two Palestinians, including a disabled youth, during a predawn raid on the Jenin refugee camp. (WAFA)

Egyptian authorities will close the Rafah crossing for the Eid al-Adha holiday from 3 to 7 October. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israeli police broke up an event for foreign diplomats in East Jerusalem sponsored by the Palestinian Government after Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch issued an order barring the event, allegedly based on the Oslo Accords in which the PLO has agreed not to conduct political activities in Jerusalem. (Haaretz)

Israeli authorities will impose wide-ranging closures on the West Bank and Gaza during the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, limiting the movement of Palestinians just as the Islamic Eid al-Adha festival begins. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israel is to press ahead with the planned construction of 2,610 settler homes in annexed East Jerusalem, a watchdog. The housing units, which have been slated for construction since 2012 in the neighborhood of Givat Hamatos, were given final approval last week, Peace Now said.(Ma’an News Agency)

The Palestinian and Israeli sides discussed a plan to facilitate and expand the work of the Gaza crossings and borders, said the Palestinian Government Media Center in a news brief. The Center said that the meeting was arranged by the Ministry of Civil Affairs, on behalf of President Mahmoud Abbas, with the United Nations Envoy for the Middle East Peace Process Robert Serry and the Israeli side. The plan aimed at easing the entry and access of essential materials in order to immediately implement the reconstruction program. (WAFA)

3

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said that the just approved Israeli construction plans meant establishing the first new settlement in occupied East Jerusalem in 15 years, and expressed his country’s full rejection to the plan. (IMEMC)

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Cairo later this month to hear if he has any new proposals on the peace process, senior Palestinian Authority officials said Thursday. Kerry is due in Egypt on 12 October for the donors conference on reconstructing the Gaza Strip. (Haaretz)

Sweden’s new center-left Government will recognize the State of Palestine in a move that will make it another major European country to take the step, Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said. The UN General Assembly approved the de facto recognition of the sovereign State of Palestine in 2012 but the European Union and most EU countries have yet to give official recognition. (Reuters)

Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah urged the British Government to establish new development projects in the Gaza Strip, stated that the Government Media Center in a news brief. The Center noted that the Prime Minister (PM) commended the continuous British support to the Palestinian people and their Government on various levels especially building state institutions and aiding its infrastructure in vital sectors such as health and education. (WAFA)

Twelve Israeli military tanks entered Gaza in the early morning hours, and opened fire at Palestinian farms. Sources say that the tanks entered Gaza from Al-Fukhari town in Khan Younis district. (PNN)

High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton condemned the recent Israeli decisions to approve a plan for new settlement activity in Givat Hamatos and to allow for further settlement expansion in the neighbourhood of Silwan in East Jerusalem. In a statement she said: “This represents a further highly detrimental step that undermines prospects for a two-State solution and calls into question Israel’s commitment to a peaceful negotiated settlement with the Palestinians.” (WAFA)

Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah said that his Government had reached an understanding with Qatar by which the latter would help pay the salaries of civil servants in the Gaza Strip hired by Hamas since 2007. (Alray)

4

Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Didier Reynders condemned the destruction by Israeli Forces of an electrical network financed by Belgium and implemented by the Belgian Technical Cooperation in the village of Khirbet Al Taweel in the West Bank. (PNN)

PLO Executive Committee Member Hanan Ashrawi said that she welcomed Sweden’s decision to recognize Palestine as a State and criticized Israel and the US’s reaction to the decision. “Conditioning recognition of the State of Palestine on the outcome of negotiations with Israel is equivalent to making our right to self-determination an Israeli prerogative,” Ashrawi said in a statement. “This fails to address the very basis of the values upon which the United Nations was founded, including its responsibility to protect and act accordingly.” (Ma’an)

Senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh told worshippers during the prayers marking the Muslim Eid al-Adha feast that his movement will continue to develop resistance tools with the objective of ending the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands. (MEM)

5

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized the White House’s rebuke of his country’s settlement constructions as “against American values.” Netanyahu, on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” called the administration’s condemnation of the project ‘baffling.’ “It’s against the American values. And it doesn’t bode well for peace,” he said. (FoxNews) 

Around 500 Palestinians left the Gaza Strip en route to East Jerusalem to pray at the Al-Aqsa Mosque for the first time since 2007. Israel has allowed Gazans to pray at the holy site as part of “facilities” offered to Palestinians during the Muslim Eid al-Adha feast. (MEM; AFP; Ma’an)

Israeli forces notified residents of Khirbet Um al-Jimal locale in the eastern part of the Tubas governorate in the West Bank, of their intentions to demolish their homes. (IMEMC)

Thousands of Palestinians detained in Israeli jails are denied family visitation by the Israeli authorities under the pretext of security preventive measures, reported the Palestinian Prisoner’s Club. Israel took away around 120 visitation permits obtained through the International Committee of the Red Cross. (WAFA)

6

Israeli troops assaulted three Palestinian children near the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem. The three boys, from Beit Fajjar village, were crossing a military checkpoint at the entrance of their village. Israeli Forces detained and assaulted them with their rifle butts and batons. (IMEMC)

The US Government rejected criticism from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accusing him of refusing to acknowledge how much help the United States has been to Israel over the years. At his daily briefing, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said: “It did seem odd for him to try to defend the actions of his government by saying our response did not reflect American values. “The fact is, American policy has been clear and unchanged under several administrations, both Democrat and Republican.” Earnest added: “We oppose any unilateral actions that attempt to prejudge final status issues, including the status of Jerusalem. (Reuters)

The Israeli Foreign Ministry summoned Sweden’s ambassador to protest over Stockholm’s declared intention to recognize a Palestinian State. Ambassador Carl Magnus Nesser was called in by the Ministry’s Deputy Director General for Europe, Aviv Shir-On, who warned that such a move would “not contribute to the relations between Israel and the Palestinians, but in fact worsen them.” (AFP)

Countering the Israeli criticism, the Swedish Foreign Minister, Margot Wallstrom, wrote on her Twitter account that “We must respect Israeli reaction — but we are prepared to lead the way.” (The New York Times; Haaretz)

Spokesman for the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Romain Nadal, said that there was an “urgent” necessity to move ahead with the two-State solution, “which requires mutual recognition and the will of both Israel and the people of Palestine to co-exist peacefully. Nadal indicated that Paris may ‘at some point’ recognize the Palestinian state. (AFP; WAFA)

Palestinian presidency spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeinah described the latest Swedish and French statements that the two countries would recognize the State of Palestine as “encouraging”. (MEM)

Israeli settlers from Tuffah chopped down around 100 olive trees on Palestinian agricultural lands in the Nablus district, belonging to Palestinians in the village of Yasuf. (Ma’an)

Bulgarian Deputy Foreign Minister Valentin Poriazov condemned new Israeli settlement plans of ‘Givat Hamatos’ as well as the takeover of Palestinian houses in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan by the Ir David Association. He stressed that his country would not recognize unilateral steps taken to change the pre-1967 borders, including Israeli changes in occupied East Jerusalem. (WAFA)

The PA has approved a proposal presented by the Gaza reconstruction committee, Palestinian Deputy Prime Minister and Head of the committee Muhammad Mustafa. He added that the proposal was being presented to representatives of donating countries in Ramallah to encourage them to support Gaza. (Ma’an)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the Israeli security services to “aggressively” crack down on Palestinian protesters in East Jerusalem. The meeting was attended by Jerusalem’s mayor and government legal advisors. (MEMO)

7

At least four youth were injured and others were treated for the effects of tear gas inhalation when troops attacked residents at the village of Taqu’a near Bethlehem. (IMEMC)

Israeli soldiers kidnapped eleven Palestinians in different parts of the occupied West Bank, and took them to a number of military bases for interrogation. (IMEMC)

The Ir David Foundation has published an announcement on social media networks that it is offering to pay Jewish settlers a financial reward to live in captured Palestinian homes in the town of Silwan in East Jerusalem. The payment offered amounts to 500 shekels ($136) per day. (Haaretz)

The PS has warned against Israeli plans to allocate a new gate for Jewish settlers to enter the Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem. “This [Israeli] step is rejected and unacceptable as Jerusalem and its holy sites are a red line,” the PA in a statement on 6 October. (MEM; WAFA)

Residents of the Bethlehem-area village of Wadi Fukin have begun weekly demonstrations against Israel’s planned expropriation of 4,000 dunams in the West Bank. (IMEMC)

The elite Israeli Givati Brigade within the IDF has been trying to understand the reasons why three of the soldiers who took part in the recent aggression on Gaza committed suicide. The family of one of the soldiers said that their son “could not part with the images of the corpses of children he used to see in the streets.” The family held the Israeli army responsible for the incidents of suicide among its soldiers. (MEM; Channel 2)

Israeli navy boats and a navy chopper opened automatic fire on a number of Palestinian fishing boats close to the shore in the al-Waha area, northwest of the Gaza Strip, causing damage but no injuries. (IMEMC)

Some 138 Palestinian students in UNRWA-run schools have been killed in the recent Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip, UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness said in a statement. He said that additional 814 UNRWA students were injured and 560 have become orphans due to the Israeli onslaught. (MEM) 

Israeli authorities ordered the closing the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron for Muslim worshippers on Sunday and Monday. (PNN)

Several Palestinians suffered from suffocation during clashes that erupted with Israeli forces in Nablus city, according to witnesses. The Israeli forces attempted to arrest an elderly Palestinian legislator. (IMEMC, WAFA)

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier met Pierre Krähenbühl, UNRWA Commissioner-General, in Berlin and announced his intention to provide the agency with additional funding to the tune of two million Euros for humanitarian operations. (www.auswaertiges-amt.de)

Israel’s Ambassador to the UN fiercely denounced the Palestinian UN envoy for “legitimizing terrorism.” The strong statement by Ron Prosor came after the Palestinian Ambassador penned a letter to the UN Secretary-General decrying Israel’s 23 September killing of Marwan Kawasme and Amar Abu Aysha — the two men Israel believes were behind the June kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers — as a violation of international law. (The Times of Israel)

The Israeli authorities delayed indefinitely the entry of 60 truckloads of building materials into the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian official said. The move came despite Israeli “promises” to allow the entry of the construction supplies into the Strip through the Kerem Shalom crossing, he added. (MEMO)

Incoming EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherni, said before the European Parliament that the Union will have an important role in the Gaza reconstruction process. She also pointed out that she would participate in the Gaza conference to be held in Cairo next Sunday, as Secretary of Foreign Affairs of Italy. (Alray)

A group calling itself “Islamic State in Gaza” has claimed responsibility for the late night explosions at the French Cultural Center in Gaza City, which it described as a “center of moral corruption.” Hours later, another outfit using the same name put out a statement saying it had nothing to do with the blast. (Haaretz) 

8

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appointed Col. (res.) Lior Lotan as new coordinator on the issue of POWs/MIAs. It was reported that such decision could indicate that a deal to retrieve the bodies of Sec.-Lt. Hadar Goldin and St.-Sgt. Oron Shaul, who were killed during Operation Protective Edge, might be in the works. (Haaretz) 

Israel announced a project of 700,000 Euros sponsored by the EU to boost tourism along its historic paths, as the sector is still struggling to recover from the recent Operation Protective Edge on the Gaza Strip. (Xinhua) 

Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman rejected claims by Stockholm that its planned recognition of a Palestinian State is designed to jumpstart peace talks, writing in a Swedish newspaper that the announced move aimed to scapegoat Israel as a salve for local ills. (The Times of Israel)

Recently appointed UK Middle East Minister Tobias Ellwood, who will be opening a debate in the House of Commons next Monday concerning Palestinian Statehood, is visiting Israel and Palestine this week on a post-Gaza-conflict fact-finding tour. (The Jerusalem Post) 

It was reported that the EU was inconspicuously but determinedly threatening to re-evaluate its bilateral ties with Israel if the current Government failed to make progress toward a two-State solution and continued its current policy of allowing construction beyond the pre-1967 lines. (The Times of Israel)

President Mahmoud Abbas warned the Israeli Government of the repercussions of its actions against the Al-Aqsa Mosque which could turn the current political conflict into a religious one, stressing that the Palestinian people will not accept the latest Israeli measures. (WAFA)

It was reported that the Kenyan President’s appearance before the ICC could remove numerous obstacles that would have blocked Palestinians from successfully getting the court to take up cases against Israelis. (The Jerusalem Post)

Palestinian medical sources have reported that a man was injured after a number of Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian villagers who were picking their olive trees near the town of Burin, south of Nablus. (IMEMC) 

The Japanese Government issued a statement denouncing the recent Israeli decision to build 2,600 additional units in Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem. (IMEMC)

The Israeli police confiscated the identity cards of Palestinian worshipers from the Gaza Strip who were praying at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, witnesses said. (Ma’an News Agency)

Jordanian Minister of State for Media Affairs and Communications Mohammad Al Momani said that Israeli soldiers refused to allow Muslim worshippers, Islamic waqf employees, the mosque’s guards and students into the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The Minister added that scores of Jewish extremists were allowed by Israeli soldiers to break into the Mosque and perform their Talmudic rituals. (Petra)

Israeli police and masked rioters clashed on Jerusalem’s Esplanade of the Mosques as tensions ramped up ahead of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot. A police force entered the compound and pushed the assailants back into the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex; four officers were wounded and were treated by medics on location. (The Times of Israel, Ynetnews)

Israel decided to expel 20 families of the northern Jordan Valley claiming that its forces will carry out military exercises in the area. (Alray, Petra)

Israeli authorities handed over notices to nine Palestinian families in Bethlehem, intimating them that their houses would be demolished on the pretext that they were built without construction permits. (IMEMC)

Israeli authorities issued eviction orders to 40 families in a town near Nablus, a Palestinian official said. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israeli forces attacked the funeral procession of killed Jerusalem teenager Abd al-Majid Sinokrot after mourners marched from his neighbourhood of Wadi Joz to the Al-Aqsa Mosque. (Ma’an News Agency)

Masked men threw rocks at Israeli police forces in East Jerusalem and were met with crowd control measures by security forces. (Ynetnews)

The Israeli navy arrested four Gaza fishermen and seized their boat. (Ynetnews)

President Abbas concluded a three-day official visit to Egypt, during which he held meetings with top officials, including his Egyptian counterpart Abdul-Fattah al-Sisi. During his visit, President Abbas spoke to the Conference of the Foreign Ministers of the Arab League and discussed the Palestinian issue. He also met with multiple Egyptian intellectuals and media figures, as well as with the Egyptian Intelligence Chief Mohammad Tuhami. (WAFA)

Speaking at a conference held by the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism in Herzliya, Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz said, “Every examination of what happened in Gaza, and every look at what is happening around Israel, leads to the conclusion that the demand for Israel to withdraw to the 1967 lines, without holding on to the Jordan Valley, without defensible borders, without security control, and without the demilitarization of Gaza… is a recipe for collective suicide.” (The Jerusalem Post)

Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah reaffirmed that the national consensus Government was responsible for providing for the basic and urgent needs to Gaza residents despite obstacles. (WAFA)

Azzam al-Ahmed, who headed the Palestinian delegation to the Cairo cease-fire talks during “Operation Protective Edge”, said that the Gaza Strip “won’t get a penny” unless there’s a “legitimate authority” there. He also reiterated the refusal of the Palestinian Authority to pay the salaries to tens of thousands of Hamas-appointed employees in the Gaza Strip stating that they had been appointed by an illegitimate [Hamas] Government. (The Jerusalem Post)

The Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture said Israel violated the ceasefire agreement, allowing Gaza fishermen to sail up to only five nautical miles off the coast. Israeli warships fired on fishing boats which exceeded that distance, according to a statement issued by the Ministry. (Alray) 

It was reported that senior officials from donor countries and several Arab and foreign businessmen, as well as investors were going to meet in Zurich to discuss details about the cost of the reconstruction of Gaza, and the most prominent sectors to be focused on. (Alray)

The Head of the International Federation of Journalists, Jim Boumelha said the federation will investigate the war crimes committed by Israel during “Operation Protective Edge”. Mr. Boumelha arrived at the Rafah crossing with a delegation of 12 international journalists. (Alray)

Hamas official Ismail Radwan warned that his movement would consider any international troops in the Gaza Strip as an occupying power and would treat them as such, responding to reports that the Israeli Foreign Ministry had proposed to deploy international forces in the Strip. He added that international bodies should remove the occupation and lift the blockade, rather than talk about the resistance weapons. (MEMO)

Norway’s Foreign Minister Børge Brende said in Gaza that a conference of donors on rebuilding the Strip would be held in Cairo on 12 October. He also told reporters that the world and Israel “bear the responsibility for the hard situation in Gaza.” (Ma’an News Agency, Xinhua)

Hamas stated that the movement distributed a total of $32 million to owners of houses destroyed during “Operation Protective Edge.” (PNN)

Some 38 Palestinian children injured in the last Israeli assault on Gaza left the Strip through the Rafah crossing and were set to fly to Germany for treatment. (Ma’an News Agency)

An aid convoy dispatched by the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organization arrived in the Gaza Strip. (Petra)

The new UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, opened the 27^th regular session of the Human Rights Council. While highlighting the human rights situation in the Middle East, the Commissioner said that “the Israel-Palestine conflict was another example of the need to end persistent discrimination and impunity, the recurring violence and the destructive repetition of crises in Gaza.” (unog.ch)

9

Israeli forces brutally assaulted a Palestinian youth from Artas, south of Bethlehem, according to security sources. (WAFA)

Israeli soldiers arrested 15 Palestinians in the West Bank, according to Palestinian sources. (Petra)

Israel’s Channel 2 radio station reported that Israeli Deputy Finance Minister, Mickey Levy, warned that Palestine stood on the brink of a third intifada and outbreaks of violence may be imminent if moves are not taken soon towards lasting peace. (PNN)

Israeli Justice Minister Tzipi Livni proposed an initiative to deal with the Gaza Strip, which includes the disarmament of the Strip, controlling the entry of goods and funds, as well as the establishment of a “legitimate” Government which recognizes Israel and international conventions. (MEMO)

President Abbas wants the UN to replace the US as a leading peace broker between Israelis and Palestinians, senior Fatah official Nabil Sha’ath told Bloomberg in an interview. (The Jerusalem Post) 

The Jerusalem Court’s magistrate, Judge Mordechai Burstyn, decided to cancel an agreement which handed control of a section of the Western Wall complex in East Jerusalem over to the right-wing archaeological association Elad and a settler group. (Haaretz) 

The High Court of Justice ordered the demolition of uninhabited structures located on private Palestinian land built by the West Bank settlement of “Beit El.” (Haaretz) 

An analysis of Israeli Government financial subsidies to municipalities shows that the West Bank settlements have for decades been receiving vastly preferential treatment, according to a new report by the Adva Centre. (Ynetnews)

The head of the Prisoner Affairs Committee said Raed al-Jabari, a Palestinian prisoner, died in Israel’s Soroka Medical Centre after being moved there from the Eshel prison. Issa Qaraqe, the former Minister of Prisoners’ Affairs, held Israel responsible for al-Jabari’s life and demanded an investigation into the cause of his death. (Ma’an News Agency)

Around 500 economic facilities constituting 60 per cent of the production capacity in Gaza were destroyed during “Operation Protective Edge” said the spokesperson of the Palestinian Ministry of the Economy, Azmi Abdul Rahman. (Alray)

It was reported that Israel fabricated videos showing Palestinian fighters in Gaza hospitals during “Operation Protective Edge”. (IMEMC)

It appears that a serious diplomatic miscommunication between Israel and the US may have led to the breakdown of a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas during “Operation Protective Edge”, according to Army Radio. The Israelis were led to believe that Hamas agreed to an unconditional ceasefire, whereas Hamas never agreed to stop attacks on troops already on the ground in Gaza. (The Jerusalem Post)

Leila Zerrougui, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, told the Security Council that during “Operation Protective Edge” the IDF bombed 244 schools, 75 out of which were UNRWA’s. She added that the Israeli military killed more than 500 and injured 3,106 children; more than a third under the age of 12. (Alray)

Israeli forces imposed heavy restrictions on Palestinian movement at two major military checkpoints in Nablus. Israeli forces set up additional checkpoints at the main road near the Israeli settlement of “Yitzhar” and inspected all Palestinian vehicles travelling on that road in both directions. (Ma’an News Agency)

The Palestinian national consensus Government held its first ever meeting in Gaza City. Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah visited some of the areas of the Strip worst-hit by the 50-day Israeli military operation and declared that the rebuilding of Gaza was a top priority for the Government. (Ma’an News Agency)

Palestinian factions applauded the national consensus Government for visiting the Gaza Strip for its first cabinet meeting. A spokesman of the Fatah movement, Osama al-Qawasmi said in a statement that holding the meeting in Gaza was an important step toward maintaining Palestinian national unity. (Ma’an News Agency)

Palestinian farmers and Israeli settlers clashed in the Yanun valley near the Aqraba village south of Nablus. Dozens of Israeli settlers protected by soldiers burned and damaged olive trees on Palestinian lands in the Yasuf village near Salfit, the second such attack in the last two days. The villages south of Nablus are frequent sites of settler violence and Palestinian clashes with Israeli forces as they are located in proximity of the Israeli settlements of “Yitzhar”, “Bracha”, and “Itamar”. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israeli forces seized and levelled Palestinian-owned cropland in al-Khader, a village south of Bethlehem, adjacent to the Israeli settlement of “Daniel”, ahead of taking over the land for settlement expansion, said a local activist. (WAFA)

Israeli Authorities renewed the administrative detention of six Palestinian members of the Palestinian Legislative Council affiliated with the Hamas political movement, sources in the party reported. The parliamentarians had already completed between three and six months each in administrative detention. (Ma’an News Agency)

Prisoners’ Club officials announced that the Israeli Authorities detained 88 Palestinians since the beginning of October, according to legal records from the Prisoners’ club. The highest number of arrests was in Hebron (25 prisoners), followed by Jerusalem (20 prisoners). In Bethlehem the number reached 11, in Salfit 10, and the remaining prisoners were from in Nablus, Ramallah, Al Bireh, Tubas, Qalqilya and Tulkarim districts. (Palestine News Network)

UNRWA was to make its largest ever financial plea at the Gaza donors’ conference to take place on 12 October in Cairo, asking for $1.6 billion to rehabilitate war-battered Gaza, spokesman Christopher Gunness said. UNRWA plans to prioritise reconstruction of housing, UNRWA facilities – some of which were shelled during the war – and healthcare, including providing clean drinking water. (Ma’an News Agency, AP)

10

Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah and a number of Ministers from the Palestinian national consensus Government was expected to leave Gaza today for Cairo to take part in the Gaza donors’ conference. The Palestinian delegation to Cairo is expected to return to Gaza after the end of the conference there. (Ma’an News Agency)

Senior Palestinian Christian leaders sent a letter to members of the British parliament, calling on them to support the motion that the United Kingdom recognizes the Palestinian State. The non-binding motion, presented by Labor MP Grahame Morris, will be put before the House of Commons on 13 October. “Christians have a duty to resist oppression,” the Christian leaders said in the letter. “We believe the international community and particularly Europe has not done enough in order to achieve a just and lasting peace. Europe has a moral, legal and political duty to hold Israel accountable and support Palestinian non-violent initiatives to end the Israeli occupation, including the recognition of the State of Palestine on the 1967 border with East Jerusalem as its capital.” The letter was signed by over 100 Palestinian church leaders, diplomats, and civil society leaders and organizations, including Patriarch Emeritus Michael Sabbah, former Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Atallah Hanna, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, and Bishop Mounib Younan, head of the Lutheran Church in Palestine and Jordan and head of the World Lutheran Federation. (Haaretz, Palestine News Network)

11

Israeli Forces arrested seven Palestinians, after raiding Zwata, Balata and Al-’Ayn refugee camps near Nablus. (WAFA)

Israeli Forces notified residents of Al-Khader village to the south of Bethlehem of their intention to seize about 80 dunums of Palestinian-owned cropland. (WAFA)

Israeli settlers assaulted Palestinian olive harvesters in Yasuf to the northeast of Salfit, inflicting injuries to a 30-year old woman, and vandalizing a vehicle. (WAFA)

12

Israeli Forces raided a private Palestinian home in Hebron and turned the third floor of the house into a military post. (Ma’an; WAFA)

Israeli Forces arrested eight Palestinians from across the West Bank, including a 13-year-old boy from in front of his house in Ramallah, and led him to Ofer Israeli military detention centre. (WAFA)

Israeli Forces clashed with Palestinian residents in the village of Al-Araqa to the west of Jenin. (WAFA)

Dozens of Palestinian students suffered from the effects of tear gas after Israeli Forces fired tear gas and acoustic canisters into a school in the East Jerusalem town of Abu Dis. Israeli Forces also fired live ammunition near the school, with no injuries reported. (WAFA)

Israeli Forces stormed an area adjacent to the “Gevat Harsina” settlement to the east of Hebron. (WAFA)

International envoys pledged about $5.4 billion in reconstruction aid for the Gaza Strip at the Cairo Conference on Gaza, which was boosted by a hefty $1 billion contribution from Qatar. Norway’s Foreign Minister Børge Brende said that half of the pledges will go for reconstruction and the rest as unspecified aid to the PA. (AFP, The New York Times)

Palestinian President Abbas met UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon and High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton. They discussed international efforts for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip. (WAFA)

Palestinian President Abbas met with US Secretary of State John Kerry following the Cairo Conference on Gaza. The two discussed international efforts for rebuilding Gaza and reviving the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Kerry said that US President Barack Obama was committed to achieving peace, believing a two-State solution and the reasons behind achieving it had proved vital more than at any time before. He stressed that the time had come for all world leaders to uphold their role, establish a vision for the future and return to peace talks. Kerry said that US efforts were underway to boost the Palestinian economy, including major investments in all sectors to bring down unemployment rates during the next three years. (Ma’an; WAFA)

Palestinian President Abbas during the Cairo Conference on Gaza reiterated that Israel’s failure to abide by the international terms of reference, UN resolutions, and its lack of respect for the two-State solution had been leading to the renewal of the cycle of conflict and violence. (WAFA)

Quartet Representative Tony Blair said in an address at the Cairo Conference on Gaza that “Gaza should be free, open and connected to the world.” He said that the international community agreed that a new approach was needed, and that Gaza and the West Bank should be united in one sovereign, independent and viable State of Palestine. Mr. Blair said that his Office would work closely with the PA on a long-term strategy for Gaza, including issues of governance and rule of law, as well as with the private sector in Gaza and the West Bank to restore economic growth. (WAFA)

Palestinian Director of Gaza crossings Mahir Abu Sabha and Gaza Interior Ministry official Kamil Abu Madhi denied reports claiming that the Palestinian national consensus Government would begin taking charge of crossings between Israel and Gaza on Sunday, raising doubts regarding the promised opening of the border. (Ma’an)

In remarks to the Cairo Conference on Palestine, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for the establishment of a strong and committed political foundation to enable the successful reconstruction of the Gaza Strip. He said “almost one-third of Gaza’s population was uprooted from their homes with many no longer having homes to return to it.” (UN Spokesperson’s Office; UN News Centre; WAFA)

Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said in Cairo that Russia plans to back a Security Council resolution on [ending the occupation]. He said, “So we say [to Palestinians], if you find one option or another suitable, then we will support you as friends…. We think that the Palestinian cause is fair, meaning that people have a right to self-determination, up to establishing their State”. (The Times of Israel)

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No date has been set yet for the beginning of the reconstruction process in Gaza, said Yasir Al-Wadiya, a PLO leader and participant in the Cairo Conference on Gaza. He said that despite the lack of a set date, the wheels were in motion for the rebuilding to begin. (Ma’an)

British MPs are preparing to debate and vote on whether the UK should recognise Palestine as a State. Labour MP Grahame Morris was to present the motion, which has the backing of the Labour shadow cabinet. The vote, in which coalition ministers are set to abstain, is symbolic and would not change government policy, but could have international implications. (BBC)

British Prime Minister David Cameron will not take part in a parliamentary vote on whether the UK Government should recognise Palestine as a State, his spokesman said ahead of a debate designed to raise the political profile of the issue. The spokesman said the vote, called by an opposition lawmaker, would not change Britain’s diplomatic stance. Britain does not classify Palestine as a State, but says it could do so at any time if it believed it would help peace efforts between the Palestinians and Israel. (Haaretz)

The French Government intends to hold a joint meeting with the Palestinian national consensus Government in Paris at the beginning of 2015, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius announced. He called for the international community to take a more active role in restarting peace talks between the Palestinians and Israel. (The Times of Israel)

The 2014 olive harvest in Palestine is expected to yield only half the amount of olive oil as usual, or about 15,000 tons, said Faris al-Jabi, Chair of the Palestinian National Centre for Research and Agricultural Development. The olive industry supports the livelihoods of roughly 80,000 families in the West Bank. (Ma’an)

Israel has started building around 600 settlement units in East Jerusalem, while construction works continue in various other settlements in the city and the West Bank. (MEM)

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned what he called “provocations” at Jerusalem’s holy sites, hours after the Israeli police said officers had locked Palestinians inside Al-Aqsa Mosque to thwart a riot as Jews visited for the holiday of Sukkot. (The New York Times)

35-year-old Raed Moussa has been on hunger strike for 24 days in a row in protest against being held without charge or trial for nearly a year, the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society said. (Ma’an)

US Secretary of State John Kerry announced $414 million in US assistance to the Palestinians. This includes more than $212 million that will be delivered through USAID. Of this, approximately $75 million will support critically needed relief and early recovery efforts in Gaza; $100 million will support the Palestinian Authority’s budgetary needs, including through financial support to the East Jerusalem Hospital Network; and $37 million will further strengthen the institutions of the Palestinian Authority, support economic growth, provide health and humanitarian assistance, and build the infrastructure and water resources of the West Bank. (PNN)

Responding to the billions in aid pledged during the Cairo donor conference to rebuild the Gaza Strip, Oxfam International has warned that this money could take decades to reach Palestinians. “The bulk of [the] money pledged at the global donor conference to rebuild Gaza will languish in bank accounts for decades before it reaches people,” the organization said in a press release. (MEM)

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced that he will travel to Gaza on Tuesday to visit several sites destroyed during last summer’s conflict, spotlighting the need to help the enclave “look ahead and build a better future” and advance reconstruction efforts. The Secretary-General said that while he felt confident that the international community clearly recognized the massive needs in Gaza, “this must be the last Gaza reconstruction conference.” The Secretary-General will visit three sites including an UNRWA Compound, a UNDP Fishing Project and the Jabalia school. (UN News Centre)

Israeli settlers set fire to a Mosque in the Nablus area village of Aqraba, said Ghassan Daghlas the Palestinian official monitoring settlement activities. Locals managed to prevent the fire from burning down the whole Mosque. (Ma’an News Agency)

Prime Minister Netanyahu called on UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to prevent the Palestinians from taking unilateral diplomatic measures at the United Nations which would “undermine” peace. He said, “A real peace can only be achieved through bilateral negotiations,” ahead of meeting Mr. Ban. (AFP)

Senior Palestinian official Nabil Sha’ath said the Palestinians had mustered the support of 7 Security Council members for the resolution on ending the occupation. Sha’ath said that the PA was facing opposition from the US, who was not only threatening to veto it, but also was urging other Security Council members to oppose it and push back the vote until after US midterm elections in November. (The Jerusalem Post)

UK Members of Parliament took part in a debate on a motion entitled: “That this House believes that the Government should recognise the State of Palestine alongside the State of Israel, as a contribution to securing a negotiated two State solution”. The motion was approved by a 274 to 12 vote. (www.parliament.uk)

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Nabil Abu Rudeineh, Spokesman for the Palestinian Presidency, said the UK vote would “enhance the prospects of peace” in the Middle East. He urged the UK Government to follow suit by recognizing Palestine as a State and supporting its UN Security Council resolution. (The Jerusalem Post)

In a Foreign Ministry statement, Israel said that the vote by the British Parliament risked undermining the prospects for peace. “Premature international recognition sends a troubling message to the Palestinian leadership that they can evade the tough choices that both sides have to make, and actually undermines the chances to reach a real peace,” the statement said. (Ma’an News Agency)

In an interview with Israel Radio, British Ambassador to Israel Matthew Gould said the UK would recognize a Palestinian State at a time that is “most helpful for the peace process,” emphasising direct negotiations. He said the UK parliamentary vote reflected a broader shift in the British public opinion in the wake of the conflict in Gaza and announcements of settlement construction. (The Times of Israel)

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon arrived in the Gaza Strip where he was driven through the ruins of Gaza City’s Shejaiya neighbourhood and the nearby Jabalya refugee camp. After meeting members of the National Consensus Government, Mr. Ban made the following remarks: “The destruction which I have seen while coming here is beyond description. This is a much more serious destruction than what I saw in 2009”. He added, “I’d like to take this opportunity to express my deepest condolences to people who lost their lives…and loved ones”. (www.un.org, The Times of Israel)

Israel opened the border to allow the first rebuilding materials including 600 tonnes of cement, 50 truckloads of gravel and 10 truckloads of steel into Gaza for rebuilding homes and public buildings. The shipments were being monitored by the UN and the PA. (Reuters)

A survey conducted in Israel to promote the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 found that two-thirds of the Israeli public think women should be included in the peace negotiations. Some 75 per cent of women and 59 per cent of men in Israel say that including women will contribute to the peace process. (Haaretz)

Italian Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini said during a meeting in Rome with her Israeli counterpart, that resuming the peace talks was “essential” to the “birth” of a Palestinian State, along with guarantees of Israel’s security. “Italy is ready to contribute to such a process,” the Italian Foreign Minister affirmed. (MEMO)

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said after touring an infiltration tunnel discovered by the IDF: “I have repeated … that rocket attacks killing civilian population are not acceptable… Nobody should live under the constant threat or fear by these rockets and the penetrating, alarming underground tunnels.” (The Jerusalem Post)

The Secretary-General who was speaking at an UNRWA school in Jabalya, where Israeli shells had killed at least 14 people sheltering there, said: “The shelling of the United Nations school is absolutely unacceptable. These actions must be fully and independently investigated. I repeat here in Gaza — the rockets fired by Hamas and other military groups must end. They have brought nothing but suffering,” he added. (Ma’an News Agency)

At the meeting of CEIRPP, Prof. Noam Chomsky delivered a lecture on the prospects for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, followed by Q&A. (Division for Palestinian Rights)

A number of Israeli settlers smashed the doors of a mosque in the village of Aqraba, south of Nablus, burned parts of the mosque and wrote racist graffiti on its inner walls. (IMEMC)

15

Israeli soldiers arrested 9 Palestinians in the West Bank, according to Palestinian sources, in Hebron, Bethlehem and Jenin. (Petra)

French Minister for Foreign Affairs, Laurent Fabius said that France will recognize the State of Palestine once a two-State solution has been achieved. He explained, “Recognition should be linked to negotiations, but if we reach the point where negotiations are impossible or don’t have any conclusion, France should naturally face its responsibilities.” The recognition should not be merely symbolic, he added. (WAFA, Ynetnews)

Israel’s Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon stated in an interview that no Palestinian State would be established in the West Bank, but a disarmed self-governed authority. He said Israel keeps full security control over the air and ground of the West Bank. “Israel does not seek a solution with Palestinians, but tries to manage the conflict,” he said. Ya’alon stressed that President Abbas is not a partner in peacemaking but a part of conflict management. (Alray)

 “Going to the ICC is the final divorce,” said Palestinian Ambassador to the Netherlands, Nabil Abuznaid. “I don’t think Palestinians and Israelis are ready for a final divorce.” ( Haaretz)

Clashes broke out between Palestinian worshipers and Israeli forces at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound amid visits by right-wing Jews, witnesses told Ma’an. Israeli forces fired stun grenades and rubber-coated bullets towards worshipers and chased them out of the compound, the sources said. Three Palestinians were injured. Jordan’s parliament asked for the Government to take all “political and legal measures” to challenge Israel’s encroachment of Al-Aqsa Mosque and to stop the occupation authorities from carrying out “racist” activities against the Mosque and other Islamic sites, (Ma’an News Agency, MEMO)

Israeli authorities returned trucks loaded with 14 tonnes of agricultural produce that were on their way from the Gaza Strip to the West Bank hours after its decision to allow them to be exported, Gaza official Tahseen Al-Sakka said. No reason was given. “The renaissance of Gaza’s economy depends on returning exports to the level they had reached in previous years,” the official added. (MEMO)

EU Representative John Gatt-Rutter, and Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah signed a new EU assistance document, the Single Support Framework (SSF) which confirms the EU’s continuing support for the PA, for East Jerusalem, and for UNRWA in the coming year. The SSF includes a particular emphasis upon Gaza in line with the commitments made at the recent Cairo conference. (PNN) 

Israel was excluded from the Gaza donor conference in Cairo because the participating countries did not want it represented there, Egypt’s Foreign Minister said. Egypt accepted the position because its main concern was the success of the conference, Sameh Shukri said in an interview with Egyptian media. He added that the US did not push for Israel’s inclusion. (The Times of Israel)

A delegation of international observers arrived in the Gaza Strip to monitor the Gaza reconstruction process. (Alray)

Israeli forces detained 17 Palestinians in Jerusalem during renewed clashes following a day of unrest. (Ma’an News Agency)

A local official said that dozens of Israeli settlers had damaged Palestinian-owned water wells in the Khirbet Samra area of the Jordan Valley. (IMEMC)

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Hamas official Moussa Abu Marzook said that indirect talks between Hamas and Israel would resume at the end of October. (Ynetnews)

PLO Secretary-General Yasser Abed Rabbo said that the Palestinian leadership was planning to ask the Security Council to adopt a resolution requiring Israel to withdraw to the pre-1967 lines in the coming weeks. He added that China and Russia were among the members that would vote in favour of the plan, which envisages the establishment of an independent Palestinian State within three years. (The Jerusalem Post)

A 13-year-old boy died after he was shot in the chest from close range by the IDF in the village of Beit Liqya northwest of Ramallah. The IDF Spokesperson’s Office said that Israeli forces were leaving Beit Liqya when residents began hurling firebombs at them. The military opened fire in response, confirming a direct hit. (The Jerusalem Post)

The Spanish Parliament is set to vote on recognizing the Palestinian State, Al Arabiya News channel reported. (The Times of Israel)

The Irish Parliament discussed recognizing Palestine as a State following the Swedish example, said a press release issued by the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It said that a number of questions were directed to Irish Foreign Minister Eamon Gilmore regarding the country’s plans to recognize Palestine in a similar action taken by the Swedish Parliament. Gilmore affirmed during the session Ireland’s support for the Palestinian State which should be fulfilled soon. (WAFA)

Achieving peace between Israel and the Palestinians is more critical than ever, US Secretary of State John Kerry said. He said that during his trips in the Middle East in discussions of ISIS the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was brought up by various leaders as a factor fuelling violence and leading to recruitment by the jihadist organization. Israeli Economy Minister Naftali Bennett charged: “Asserting that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict reinforces ISIS gives a boost to global terrorism.” (The Jerusalem Post)

Palestine will submit a draft resolution to the Security Council demanding the end of Israel’s occupation, by the end of October, a senior official said. President Abbas declared his intention to go to the Security Council despite a request from Secretary of State Kerry to postpone the move until the beginning of next year. (Ma’an News Agency, Middle East Monitor)

President Abbas said that he would hand over control of the PA to Hamas if the movement wins a future election. Abbas told an Egyptian TV station that despite its 2006 victory, Hamas then staged a coup against the Palestinian Government, resulting in a seven-year blockade on the Gaza Strip. “The only solution to the situation in the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian territories is holding fair and transparent elections in order to complete the process of reconciliation,” he said. (The Jerusalem Post)

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for the world to “spare no effort” in rebuilding Gaza and reviving the two-State solution in a press conference, following the conclusion of his recent trip to the region. “The scale of the destruction in Gaza has left deep questions about proportionality”, he added. (www.un.org)

A number of Israeli settlers invaded the Ishaqiyya area of the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron, designated for Muslim worshipers. Local sources said dozens of soldiers accompanied the settlers, and detained the local mosque guards. (IMEMC)

The ICRC said it had delivered its first medical supplies in a year to Palestinian refugees living in the Yarmouk camp in Syria, where 20,000 people are believed to remain. (ICRC)

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A US official said envoys from the Quartet will meet in Brussels on 24 October to discuss the latest developments in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because there has been no official announcement. (The Washington Post)

Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon said in an interview: “I am seeking a way to manage the [Israeli-Palestinian] conflict and our relations in a way to strengthen our mutual interests… It is time to free ourselves of the concept that everything leads to a framework that is called a State. From my standpoint, they can call it the Palestinian empire… It would basically be autonomy.” Ya’alon revealed to the newspaper Ma’ariv Hashavua that, before “Operation Protective Edge”, the Security Cabinet evaluated the cost and benefit of capturing Gaza and destroying Hamas. “If we entered, there would be no one to replace us when we left. Not Abbas, the Egyptians, the Arab League, NATO, or the UN,” he said. “That meant entering without finishing the job or getting stuck there [which] means … all the responsibilities, including rebuilding Gaza.” (The Jerusalem Post)

Overnight clashes took place in the Old City of East Jerusalem, after the army closed the Al-Aqsa Mosque, preventing all Muslim worshipers below the age of 50 from entering. Hundreds of police officers and soldiers have been deployed in different parts of the city, especially in areas close to the Mosque. (IMEMC)

Hamas organized a march in Gaza to call attention to what it sees as threats to the Al-Asqa Mosque. Senior Hamas leader Ismail Radwan told crowds that a “dangerous level of Judaization” is taking place in Jerusalem and that Israel plans to demolish the Mosque. At the same time, hundreds of Palestinian refugees in Ain Al-Hilweh, Lebanon, also protested against Israel limiting access to the Mosque compound. Islamist parties in the camp called for the demonstration. (Ma’an News Agency, The Daily Star Lebanon)

Arab Knesset Member Hanin Zoabi is to appeal to the Israeli court against the Israeli police’s “arbitrary” ban on Palestinian women from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque. (Middle East Monitor)

A number of Israeli settlers assaulted two young Palestinian men in Jerusalem, while chanting anti-Arab slogans, and hurled stones at them. (IMEMC)

A Palestinian political prisoner from Sielet ath-Thaher, south of Jenin, has entered the 28^th consecutive day of his hunger strike in an Israeli detention center, demanding an end to his arbitrary administrative detention. The detainee, 34, is facing various health complications, but insists on continuing his strike until his detention is over. (IMEMC)

Eleven Israelis yelling racial epithets assaulted a young Palestinian while he was working at the Rimonim Shalom Hotel in West Jerusalem. The attackers tried to strangle the young man. (Ma’an)

Israeli troops detained 19-year-old Osama Bassam Khlayyil from the town of Beit Ummar in the southern West Bank. The soldiers took him into custody and transferred him to Gush Etzion detention center. (Ma’an)

Thousands of people in the central West Bank village of Beit Laqiya attended the funeral of 13-year-old Bahaa Samir Badir, who was shot dead by Israeli soldiers a day earlier. (Ma’an)

Two Palestinians were injured and dozens suffered from tear-gas inhalation as Israeli Forces dispersed a weekly protest in Bilin village near Ramallah. (Ma’an)

PLO official Saeb Erekat said that the UN Security Council was the pathway to international legitimacy and should not be closed for Palestine. Erekat met with the EU representative in Palestine, John Gatt-Rutter, and representatives of Russia, China, India, South Africa, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Venezuela and Argentina. He said that Palestine had the “full right to join international organizations, institutions, statutes, conventions and protocols, especially the ICC.” (Ma’an)

Israeli authorities imposed strict restrictions on Muslim worshipers entering the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem for the second week in a row. A statement released by Israeli police forces said that men under the age of 50 would not be allowed to enter the holy compound in order to “maintain security” in the area, while women of all ages would be allowed to pray in Al-Aqsa. (Ma’an)

Thousands of Palestinians performed prayers in the streets and alleyways of the Old City of Jerusalem because of the restrictions on entering the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound imposed by Israeli authorities. (Ma’an)

Hamas organized a march in Gaza to call attention to what it sees as threats to the Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem. Senior Hamas leader Ismail Radwan told crowds that a “dangerous level of Judaization” was taking place in Jerusalem and that Israel planned to demolish the Al-Aqsa Mosque. (Ma’an)

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Israeli soldiers attacked dozens of Palestinian residents and international peace activists near Surif Town, northwest of Hebron, and prevented them from rehabilitating agricultural lands. (IMEMC)

Several Palestinians in the town of Ya’bad to the west of Jenin suffered from tear gas inhalation during an Israeli army raid on the town. (WAFA)

The PLO called for a comprehensive strategy against Islamic extremism while addressing the conflict with Israel, alluding to remarks by US Secretary of State John Kerry, who said after his return from a Middle East trip, that the unresolved conflict was fueling recruitment for the Islamic State group. Reacting to that, PLO Secretary General Yasser Abed Rabbo said that “linking the fight against terrorism and the end of the Israeli occupation is a strategic position that we support.” (AFP)

Palestinian President Abbas said that legal measures would be taken to prevent Jewish settlers from attacking the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound. “The Palestinian leadership will be taking the necessary legal measures, at the international level, regarding the aggression of settlers on the Al-Aqsa Mosque,” Abbas said in a speech to the Revolutionary Council of his Fatah party. (AFP)

The Tunisian Foreign Ministry in a press statement said that the ongoing storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound by extremist Israeli settlers aims to impose a new reality that will undermine the two-State solution and hamper the peace talks between the Palestinians and Israelis. It called on the international community to expose Israeli systematic practices against Palestinians. (WAFA)

Israeli settlers severely beat up a Palestinian in the city of Hebron, while other settlers destroyed olive trees in the village of Jab’a to the west of Bethlehem. (WAFA)

The Block the Boat coalition of Los Angeles prevented an Israeli cargo ship, the Zim Savannah, from docking at the port of Long Beach for 34 hours. (PNN; Electronic Intifada)

PLO Executive Committee Member, Hanan Ashrawi, in a speech delivered at the 16th Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation (HCEF) stated that Israel’s illegal steps in Jerusalem are “transforming it into an exclusively Jewish city” where Palestinian Christians and Muslims have become temporary residents in their own homeland. (WAFA)

19

Israeli Forces detained two Palestinian men from the southern West Bank village of Husan west of Bethlehem. (Ma’an; Palestinian Prisoners Society)

Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh urged the international community to pressure Israel to end its unilateral actions in the yards of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and said it is considering legal options that could be resorted to. He told the Ambassadors of the permanent members of the Security Council, of the EU and of Italy that His Majesty King Abdullah II has instructed the Government to take all measures, including legal, to stop the Israeli moves in the holy compound. (Petra News Agency)

Israeli settlers known as “Students for the Temple Mount” broke into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, protected by special police guards. (WAFA)

A five-year old Palestinian girl was hit by a car driven by an Israeli settler near the central West Bank town of Sinjil and passed away at a hospital in Ramallah hours later. Residents of Sinjil accused the settler of deliberately hitting the girl. (Ma’an)

Senior Hamas official Moussa Abu Marzouq in a statement expressed growing concern with the PA’s failure to pressure Israel to open the border into Gaza and facilitate the entry of construction material into the Strip, despite two negotiation meetings with Israeli officials. PA officials have repeatedly promised that they would take over the crossings between Israel and Gaza, but have yet to take meaningful steps. (Ma’an)

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif expressed his country’s full support for Palestinian “resistance” movements as he met with Ramadan Abdullah Shallah, leader of the Islamic Jihad. (The Jerusalem Post)

Israel’s construction in Jerusalem will continue, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the inauguration of a new road to be named after the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir. (IMEMC)

Yaakov Amidror, former Israeli national security advisor, said in an article “Despite the limited military capabilities of Palestinian organisations, Israel failed to achieve significant gains during their ground offensive in the Gaza Strip although it used all of its military power. With all of this, they failed to break through the Palestinians’ defence lines. (MEMO)

A fundraiser concert hosted by well-known Irish singers took place in Kinvara, Ireland, in solidarity and in support of children in Gaza, said a statement by the Palestinian Foreign Ministry. (WAFA)

20

Israeli soldiers invaded communities in different parts of the West Bank and kidnapped seven Palestinians, including a journalist, after invading their homes and ransacking them. (IMEMC)

Dozens of armed Israeli settlers and soldiers occupied two apartment buildings and land in Jerusalem’s Batn al-Hawa area, south of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. (IMEMC)

Leader of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine Qais Abdel Karim said that Egypt issued invitations for Palestinian and Israeli officials to continue the second session of indirect ceasefire talks in Cairo next week. He added that the indirect negotiations will focus on Palestinian demands that Israel allows the construction of a sea and an airport in Gaza and that it frees Palestinian prisoners. (PNN)

Israeli officials are expected to testify before the UN Human Rights Committee that monitors the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) in Geneva with regard to its military activities in Gaza this summer during Operation Protective Edge. “At this stage it is the only UN forum to which Israel will provide information with regard to Operation Protective Edge,” an Israeli Justice Ministry spokeswoman said. Israel ratified the Covenant in 1991. (YnetNews; The Jerusalem Post)

Basketball fans joined with human rights supporters in several US towns to call for a boycott of the Israeli basketball tour and to challenge what they call a “public relations tour” by Israeli teams in the US. They gathered outside and inside the exhibition games to try to bring attention to the ongoing Israeli occupation and called on supporters to post on Twitter at hashtag #pdx4palestine. (IMEMC)

An Israeli military court has convicted Abdullah Abu Rahma, a Palestinian activist, regarded by the EU as a human rights defender, for “interfering” with the work of a soldier, his lawyer said. Abu Rahma, who had spent 15 months behind bars for organising weekly demonstrations against Israel’s Separation Wall in the town of Bil’in, was convicted by the Ofer military court near Ramallah. (The Daily Star)

Israeli forces arrested two Hamas members in the West Bank for suspected involvement in “illegal activity”, the Israeli army said. (Xinhua)

Jordan’s King Abdullah II equated “Zionist extremism” to Islamic extremism in remarks regarding the fight against terrorism he made in a meeting with Jordan’s President and Members of the Lower House’s Democratic Gathering Bloc, The Jordan Times reported. (The Jerusalem Post)

According to Israeli sources, the Knesset was expected to decide on a new bill next month which calls for both a temporal and spatial division of Al-Aqsa Mosque compound between Muslims and Jews. (WAFA)

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas issued an order that would toughen punishment for Palestinians involved in real estate deals with “hostile countries” and their citizens. Abbas’s decision came following reports that Palestinians have sold houses in Jerusalem’s Silwan neighbourhood to Israeli settlers. (The Jerusalem Post)

Palestinian residents in East Jerusalem’s Silwan threw Molotov cocktails and firecrackers at a building into which nine Jewish families moved the night before. No one was hurt and no damage was caused. (Ynetnews)

Israeli forces broke into section five of Ramon prison as part of a regular search campaign, according to the Palestinian Prisoners Studies Center. (IMEMC)

Palestinian Minister of Labour Mamoun Abu Shahla said that the reconstruction in the Gaza Strip will be delayed if construction materials are not permitted immediately. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israeli and Palestinian negotiators are to resume indirect talks on a durable Gaza ceasefire on 27 October in Cairo, a senior Hamas official said. (Haaretz, Ma’an News Agency)

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon met with Moshe Ya’alon, Israeli Minister of Defence, and stressed the vital importance of the Israelis and Palestinians returning to dialogue to resolve their issues. (www.un.org)

The Human Rights Committee completed its consideration of the fourth periodic report of Israel on its implementation of the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The UN experts questioned Israeli officials over alleged rights abuses ranging from the demolition of Palestinian houses to mistreatment of detainees and limited Palestinian access to water. (Ynetnews, www.unog.ch)

UNRWA called on Israel to speed up the shipment of construction materials to the Gaza Strip. (Xinhua)

Israeli human rights group B’Tselem released a video showing Israeli soldiers in Hebron briefly detaining a developmentally disabled Palestinian boy suspected of throwing stones. (The Jerusalem Post)

The Israel Football Association said it is to take disciplinary measures against Bnei Sakhnin, a club in the Premier League, over a tribute it paid to a fugitive former member of the Knesset, Azmi Bishara. (Ma’an News Agency) 

21

Israeli forces arrested 9 Palestinians from various parts of the West Bank. (Petra)

Dozens of soldiers raided the town of Budrus, near Ramallah, broke into several homes, and attacked a local reporter. The army also confiscated agricultural machinery. (IMEMC)

The EU and Palestinian officials are meeting in Ramallah today and tomorrow as part of an annual policy dialogue. The two days are dedicated to the work of two separate sub-committees: Economic and Financial Matters; and Energy, Transport, Climate Change, Environment, and Water. (PNN)

Chief PLO Negotiator Saeb Erekat said that if the US vetoed the Palestinian UN resolution for a timetable to end the Israeli occupation, Palestine would apply for membership to 522 international organizations and statutes. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israeli settlers have been illegally constructing two outposts on a land they have unlawfully stolen from Palestinian residents in the village of Yanoun, southeast of Nablus, according to a local activist. (WAFA)

Israeli bulldozers demolished 4 houses in the town of Jifiltik near the Jordan Valley, under the pretext that the structures had been built without permits. (PNN)

The Israeli army notified a local resident of the southern Hebron village of at-Tuwani, to remove his two tents and a shed, according to an activist. (WAFA)

The Israeli authorities demolished three Palestinian homes in addition to three animal sheds in the Jerusalem neighbourhood of al-Tur, under the pretext of construction without a permit, according to local sources. (WAFA)

Helping Hand for Relief and Development (HHRD) and UNRWA agreed to provide US$50,000 for urgently needed emergency relief assistance to Palestinian refugees in the Gaza Strip. (WAFA)

The Jordan Hashemite Charity Organization sent a humanitarian aid convoy to the Gaza Strip, which includes 12 trucks containing flour and other food supplies donated by several local institutions and charity associations. (Petra)

Palestinian American businessman Farouk Shami, who has used his entrepreneurial success and his high public profile activism to strengthen a more positive image of Palestinians, urged the attendees at the 16^th Annual Convention of the Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation (HCEF) to build a Palestinian State by directly investing in Palestine. (PNN)

The American Studies Association appears to have backed down from a threat to boycott Israeli academic institutions at its annual conference next month, The Jerusalem Post has learned. (The Jerusalem Post)

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said during his briefing to the Security Council: “I look forward to a thorough investigation by the Israeli Defence Forces of incidents in which UN facilities [in Gaza] sustained hits and many innocent people were killed. I am planning to move forward with an independent Board of Inquiry to look into the most serious of those cases, as well as instances in which weaponry was found on UN premises.” (Reuters, UN News Centre)

The Palestinian unity government formed a national team to supervise and observe the Gaza reconstruction process during its weekly cabinet meeting held via video conference between Ramallah and Gaza. (Xinhua)

22

Israeli naval forces opened fire on a group of Palestinian fishermen and detained five of them off the coast of Gaza City. No injuries were reported. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israeli forces detained eight Palestinians in the Jenin district overnight. (Ma’an News Agency)

Palestinian Minister of Housing and Public Works Mufid al-Hasayneh said private companies would begin removing the rubble of destroyed buildings in Gaza in November. (Ma’an News Agency)

In a position paper submitted to President Abbas and the PLO Executive Committee, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat suggested that security cooperation with Israel be suspended if the US vetoed a Security Council resolution recognizing a Palestinian State and setting a timetable for Israel’s withdrawal from the West Bank. (Haaretz)

The Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, James Rawley, visited two olive-producing Palestinian communities in the central West Bank along with members of the diplomatic and donor communities, and called for support for the Palestinian olive sector. (www.ochaopt.org)

Israeli settlers from “Yitzhar” set fire to around 100 olive trees belonging to Palestinian families in the town of Huwwara, south of Nablus. (WAFA)

An internal EU document revealed that the EU was interested in opening negotiations with Israel with the aim of preventing a series of Israeli moves in the West Bank deemed “red lines” that might jeopardize the possibility of a future Palestinian State alongside Israel. (Haaretz)

A Palestinian resident of East Jerusalem killed a 3-month-old baby and injured eight Israelis when he slammed his car into a group of pedestrians at a light-rail station in northern Jerusalem. The driver was shot by police and later died. Police spokesman Mikey. Rosenfeld said there was a “strong possibility” that the driver had deliberately run people over. (JTA, The New York Times)

The Palestinian Ministry of Health said a four-year-old Palestinian boy was killed after a leftover missile exploded while he was playing in his backyard in Beit Hanoun, in southern Gaza. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israeli forces detained 17 Palestinians across the West Bank and East Jerusalem overnight, locals and Israel’s army said. (Ma’an News Agency)

Palestinians and Israeli forces clashed in Silwan after the Jerusalem rail attack. Israeli security forces also reportedly raided the home of the suspect in the attack, who is a nephew of a former head of Hamas’ armed wing, killed in 1988. (The Times of Israel)

A Hamas spokesperson said: “The attack in Jerusalem is an act of heroism and a natural response to the crimes of the occupation against our people and our holy places”. (The Jerusalem Post)

Prime Minister Netanyahu said: “This is how Abu Mazen’s [Abbas’] partners in Government act, the same Abu Mazen who — only a few days ago — incited toward a terrorist attack in Jerusalem.” (JTZ)

Netanyahu ordered tightened security in Jerusalem, while the city’s Mayor, Nir Barkat, called for the reinforcement of police forces. (Ynetnews)

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Islamic Jihad released an official statement, saying: “This attack is a strong response to the Israeli occupation, whose crimes are unable to break the resistance.” It called on the PA to “halt its security coordination with Israel.” (The Jerusalem Post)

The assailant’s mother said that the incident was a car accident, and that her son was “killed in cold blood.” She said he had spent the past two years in and out of Israeli prisons and his mental state had deteriorated after he was interrogated by the Shin Bet. (The Times of Israel)

PLO Chief Negotiator Saeb Erakat said that the PA rejects and condemns Netanyahu’s statement blaming President Abbas for the Jerusalem attack, and the statement represents a “dangerous new low”. (Palestine News Network)

US State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki said, “The United States condemns in the strongest possible terms today’s terrorist attack in Jerusalem… We urge all sides to maintain calm and avoid escalating tensions in the wake of this incident.” (JTA)

Egypt had sent invitations for the indirect negotiations between Palestinians and Israel to resume on 27 October, Khalid al-Batsh, an Islamic Jihad leader said. He said the agenda will focus on expanding the zone allowed to Gaza fishermen as well as other topics raised in earlier rounds of talks. He pointed out that putting an end to Israeli violations of the ceasefire will be on the Palestinian delegation’s agenda. (Ma’an News Agency)

Asharq al-Awsat reported that the Palestinians had agreed to delay by two months their plan to seek a Security Council resolution calling for an Israeli withdrawal to the pre-1967 lines. The paper quoted sources in Ramallah as saying that the leadership will give Secretary of State Kerry a two-month window to present his own plan for peace. The leadership is prepared to return to the negotiations with Israel but not according to “old mechanisms.” (The Jerusalem Post)

Naftali Bennett, leader of the Jewish Home party, warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that his party will destabalise the coalition government if the premier does not expedite settlement construction in the West Bank. Haaretz newspaper, which reported the news, said: “Economy Minister Naftali Bennett and Housing and Construction Minister Uri Ariel met with Netanyahu and asked for clarifications regarding construction in the settlements, which they say has been essentially frozen over the past five months. “The Knesset is due to hold a vote of no confidence in the government on 27 October. Bennett has threatened that his party’s ministers will be absent from the vote if settlement expansion is not restarted. (MEMO)

Israel took a low profile approach to the passage through the Upper House of the Irish parliament this week of a nonbinding resolution calling on Ireland to recognize “Palestine.” The motion was proposed by the head of the country’s main opposition party, and passed without a vote. The motion called on the government to “formally recognize the State of Palestine and do everything it can at the international level to help secure a viable two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.” The move followed fast on the heels of an announcement by Sweden’s new prime minster earlier this month that his country would recognize “Palestine,” and a non-binding vote in support of such move by the British House of Commons. (The Jerusalem Post)

Local sources said that Israel intends to a plan into effect in November, to coincide with the Palestinian efforts in the United Nations (the Palestinian bid to end the ongoing illegal Israeli occupation). Al Ray Palestinian Media Agency noted that the occupied West Bank was divided into A, B, C areas as a part from the interim agreement of Oslo. This division was meant to be temporary, allowing a gradual transfer of power to the Palestinian Authority, to otherwise become a permanent arrangement in place for 21 years. The Israeli plan would place Area C, which represents 60% of West Bank territory, under full Israeli control — with some180 thousand Palestinians living there — to be independent from the rest of West Bank. Furthermore, Palestinians are prevented from any construction or development actions in 70% of this area, under a pretext of its categorization as official “State Land” or “Closed Military Zones”. The Israeli state also refuses to recognize the majority of the villages in this region, and prevents any expansion or development. (IMEMC)

The International Committee of the Red Cross began removing rubble from agricultural land in south-eastern Gaza. The spokeswoman for the Red Cross, Masada Seif, told the Andolu Agency that the organisation began its efforts by removing rubble from Khanons, in the eastern part of the Gaza Strip, in order to allow farmers to access their fields. This was considered an initial step that was taken to enable farmers to work towards re-cultivation. (MEMO)

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On 27 October, an Israeli parliamentary committee will look into recommendations regarding securing the entry of settlers to Al-Aqsa Mosque, despite the ongoing protests. According to the Knesset’s website, the Committee will hear details of a “report by Yitzhak Ohranovic, the Internal Security Minister, on personal safety in Jerusalem, and to discuss the recommendations of the sub-committee on the issue of the Temple Mount [Al-Aqsa]”. According to a statement issued by the Knesset at the time, Regev said at that meeting, if “there are government directives on allowing Jews to visit the Temple Mount, they must be abided by.” (MEMO)

The Palestinian government said that closed circuit cameras will monitor the thousands of tons of cement that will be needed to rebuild homes in the Gaza Strip that were destroyed or damaged during the summer’s fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. A Palestinian security source told The Media Line that the cameras have been installed and the purpose is to ensure that Hamas will not be able to rebuild the network of tunnels that were built under Gaza including some that were meant to be used to attack Israel. (Ynetnews) 

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat vowed to crack down on a wave of Palestinian unrest, as police beefed up security after a Palestinian assailant crashed his car into a light rail train station, killing a baby girl. Police and Magen David Adom emergency crews were placed on high alert ahead of the weekend’s Friday prayers and large forces will secure the Old City and other flashpoints across Jerusalem in the early morning hours. (Ynetnews)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that Israeli occupation authorities would order the “strongest possible response” to any future Palestinian civil protests, what he referred to as “riots”, in occupied Jerusalem. (Ynetnews)

Israel reassured Jordan that it would not allow Jewish prayer at Jerusalem’s flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound, after reports of a possible change raised concerns in the Arab world. “There is no intention of changing the status quo on the Temple Mount,” a source in the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated, using the Israeli term for the compound which is located in the Old City. (AFP)

The World Bank is set to allocate millions of dollars for emergency aid to the war-torn Gaza Strip, a top official said. Inger Andersen said that the aid is expected to be approved on 30 October, will fund repairs to damaged infrastructure and help the cash-strapped Palestinian Authority recover losses incurred in Israel’s five-week war. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israeli forces shot and killed a 14-year old Palestinian-American teenager, during clashes in Silwad village near Ramallah. (Ma’an News Agency)

Six young Palestinians and a 10-year-old child were shot by live rounds, fired by Israeli soldiers during clashes near the Ofer Israeli detention centre, west of Ramallah. (IMEMC)

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Palestinians jailed in Ramon prison in southern Israel have been subject to several search raids by guards since the beginning of October, the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society said in a statement. The Israel Prison Service has also banned several TV channels and refused to provide prisoners with sheets, blankets, and clothes, a PPS lawyer said. (Ma’an News Agency)

Palestinian Minister of Civil Affairs Hussein Al-Sheikh said that President Abbas had proposed forming a committee to supervise the use of the funds pledged for Gaza’s reconstruction. It would consist of Palestinian, Egyptian, Saudi, and EU officials, and would focus on following up on the Cairo conference’s resolutions. (Ma’an News Agency)

26

Israeli forces arrested 15 Palestinians in the West Bank overnight, most in the district of Hebron. (WAFA; Ma’an News Agency)

Jordan warned Israel that its peace treaty with Israel would be threatened by continued settlement building and any effort to change the religious status of the area of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. (The Jerusalem Post)

President Abbas sent an urgent letter to Washington, demanding the Americans to interfere in order to stop the “Israeli escalation in East Jerusalem.” (Ynetnews)

At least five Palestinians were arrested during fresh clashes in East Jerusalem, where hundreds of extra police have been deployed to tackle mounting unrest. (AFP)

The family of Abd Al-Rahman Al-Shaloudi, killed after running over Israelis, accepted Israel’s terms for his funeral. Seven Palestinians were injured as Israeli forces dispersed the symbolic funeral procession for him from Silwan to the Al-Aqsa Mosque. (AFP; Ma’an)

Two photographers, including one working for The Associated Press, were struck by rubber-coated bullets fired at close range by an Israeli Border policeman. (Ynetnews) 

27

The Spanish Parliament is set to hold a vote on a resolution calling for the recognition of a Palestinian State in the coming weeks. (The Jerusalem Post)

The US Administration persuaded the PA to postpone its intention to seek a Security Council resolution calling for an Israeli withdrawal to the pre-1967 lines, Palestinian sources said. Secretary of State John Kerry made it clear that the move would embarrass Washington by forcing it to veto the resolution. (The Jerusalem Post)

Prime Minister Netanyahu is reportedly in the advanced stages of negotiations to approve 2,000 new housing units in the West Bank settlements. He also recommended that plans be advanced for approximately 660 units in “Ramat Shlomo” and another 400 in “Har Homa” in Jerusalem. (Ynetnews)

Israeli settlers continue to bulldoze private Palestinian lands in several areas across the Salfit district in the central West Bank. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israeli Forces detained a Palestinian man from the village of Susiya south of Hebron after he took down a tent set up by Israeli settlers on his family land. (Ma’an News Agency)

A new measure, announced by Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon, at the urging of settler groups, due to go into effect next month, will effectively ban Palestinian workers from traveling on Israeli-run public transportation in the West Bank. (AFP, Haaretz)

Head of the Palestinian negotiations team Azzam Al-Ahmad said that indirect ceasefire talks with Israel in Cairo had been postponed until the second half of November due to the ongoing military operation in the Sinai. (WAFA, Ma’an News Agency)

“Gaza has nothing to do with what is happening inside Egypt,” Hamas’ spokesman Iyad Al-Bozum asserted. Egypt’s deputy Interior Minister, Samih Bashadi, had told Asharq Al-Awsat that security in the Sinai can only be achieved through a buffer zone with the Gaza Strip. (The Times of Israel)

Gaza workers in the Nuseirat camp employed by UNRWA to clean up debris from the Gaza war, were on strike for the sixth consecutive day, demanding that UNRWA pay them a bonus for “the hazardous nature” of their job. (Ma’an News Agency)

A group of protesters gathered outside the Hummus House restaurant in Washington DC to denounce the parent company’s ties to the Israeli army. (IMEMC)

Clashes erupted at the funeral of 14-year-old Palestinian-American Orwa Abd al-Hadi Hammad, killed by the Israeli military last Friday, in the small village of Silwad, close to Ramallah. (PNN)

Israel has stolen 80,000 Palestinian books and manuscripts and kept them in its national libraries since 1948, Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Al-Arabi said at an event organised by the Arab League in Cairo. Al-Arabi also called for efforts to be made to regain archives stolen by imperialist powers, whose purpose was to hide Arabic identity and Palestinian history. (MEMO)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the opening of the winter session of the Knesset that no external or internal pressure would force him into making concessions that would put Israel’s security at risk. He charged that only Israel was under duress to give in at the negotiation table, adding that the Palestinians were making demands for Statehood without giving guarantees for peace. (Haaretz)

The Head of the Jordanian Parliament, Atef Tarawneh, told the visiting Foreign Minister of Malta, George Villa, that the actions of Israel towards the Palestinians are no less dangerous than the actions of ISIS. (The Jerusalem Post)

Jordan is demanding that the UN Security Council convene an emergency session to discuss the Israeli Government’s recent announcement of plans to build new homes in contested areas of Jerusalem and the West Bank, according to Israel Radio. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on also called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council in an effort to halt Israel’s expansion of settlements in Jerusalem. (The Jerusalem Post, Xinhua)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opened the Knesset’s winter session with a wide-ranging speech emphasizing Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem. “Israel has every right to build in Jewish neighbourhoods of Jerusalem,” he said, but stressed that the “violence against us [Israelis] is not the result of construction in Jerusalem.” (Ynetnews)

As rioting in East Jerusalem continued, Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah visited the Al-Aqsa Compound where he declared that East Jerusalem is the eternal capital of the Palestinian State. “Jerusalem is a red line, and so is the Al-Aqsa Mosque,” Hamdallah told reporters. “We will go to all international institutions and Islamic and Arab countries to request that they stand against Israeli violations in Jerusalem.” (The Jerusalem Post) 

Saudi Arabia has warned of the danger of Israeli plan to “Judaize” and divide Al-Aqsa Mosque, calling it a flagrant violation of the sanctity of the mosque, the principles of international law and UN resolutions, Anadolu news agency reported. (Anadolu News Agency)

Raed Moussa, a Palestinian prisoner in Israel under administrative detention and who has been on hunger strike for 37 days, was moved from Beersheba prison to Barzilai hospital after his health deteriorated, officials said. (Ma’an News Agency)

Oren Hod, CEO of Africa Israel Residences announced: “We won’t be building beyond the Green Line.” This change in policy does not apply only to the company’s entrepreneurial arm, Hod’s domain, but to its executive arm, too, including the Danya Cebus construction firm, which also built for other companies. (Ynetnews)

Attorney-General Yehuda Weinstein sent a message to Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon that he may not be able to order separate Israeli and Palestinian buses in parts of the West Bank on his own authority. (The Jerusalem Post)

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a press release that the current Israeli Government was working in accordance to the Israeli settlers’ priorities in the West Bank, contradicting claims of its willingness to end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict through peace negotiations. (WAFA)

The Palestinian Government condemned Israeli plans announced to authorize planning to advance 1,060 new housing units in neighbourhoods in East Jerusalem. Senior Fatah official Jibril Rajoub warned that “such unilateral acts will lead to an explosion.” (The Jerusalem Post)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to expedite construction of 1,060 housing units in East Jerusalem is incompatible with peace, the Obama administration warned, outlining “unequivocal opposition” to the move. “If Israel wants to live in a peaceful society, they need to take steps that will reduce tensions,” State Department Spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a briefing with journalists. (The Jerusalem Post)

Israeli forces demolished another seven structures in the Bedouin village of Umm al-Khair, south of Hebron south, said a press release issued by Operation Dove. (WAFA) 

Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah urged donors to deliver on pledge of US$5.4 billion in order to commence Gaza reconstruction. Hamdallah made his remarks during a meeting with the Local Aid Coordination Secretariat (LACS) at his office in Ramallah. He said, the funds pledged by donor countries at the Gaza reconstruction conference will reconstruct Gaza and support the Palestinian Government’s budget. (WAFA)

It was reported that the Palestinian Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip stated that hundreds of critical patients are paying a high price as a result of Egypt’s complete closure of the Rafah Crossing. The Egyptian authorities have been closing down the Rafah crossing five days in a row, consequent to the emergency after the terrorist attacks in the Sinai desert. (Anadolu News Agency, PNN)

Israel revoked the VIP status of the spokesman for the Palestinian security forces, General Adnan Damiri, following his statement that Prime Minister Netanyahu was “more dangerous” than the leader of ISIS. (Haaretz)

Palestinians had “approached the security fence” in the northern Gaza Strip. (Ma’an News Agency)

Palestinian medics located the remains of a 22-year-old Palestinian man under the rubble of Al-Qassam Mosque in Gaza, which was bombarded by the Israeli army on 9 August. (IMEMC)

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Israeli soldiers arrested at least six Palestinians targeting various communities in the West Bank, and East Jerusalem. Several children were injured in Bethlehem. (IMEMC)

Russia is planning to take a more active role in efforts to advance the Palestinian issue at the UN, diplomatic sources in New York estimate, following a recent speech by Russian President Vladimir Putin which touched on the subject. (The Jerusalem Post)

Israel has agreed to allow Palestinian children born abroad to enter the West Bank without special permission from Israel as long as they are under 14, an interior ministry official said Monday. (Ma’an News Agency)

Support for Hamas and for armed struggle against Israel is gaining popularity in the OPT, a new survey carried out by the Jerusalem Media and Communications Center showed, despite languishing rehabilitation efforts in the Gaza Strip. Some 57 percent of those polled claimed that Hamas was victorious — a strong majority, albeit far short of the 70% who thought Hamas had won after 2012’s Operation Pillar of Defense in Gaza. Only 8% thought that Israel had won. (The Times of Israel)

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat visited the Al-Aqsa Compound, his office said, prompting criticism from the site’s Muslim authorities following weeks of tension at the flashpoint shrine. (AFP)

Construction must continue all over Israel, Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein said, following US criticism of Government plans to build homes and infrastructure in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. “Against the background of American condemnation, I strengthen the Government and the Prime Minister for his intention to authorize construction and development in “Judea and Samaria”,” Edelstein said. (The Jerusalem Post)

It is the condemnation of Israeli building in Jerusalem that distances peace, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a response to US and EU condemnations of plans to move forward with another 1,060 settlement units in the capital. (The Jerusalem Post)

The EU said on 27 October it was seeking Israeli clarification of reports it planned to build another 1,000 homes in East Jerusalem, voicing new concern about the peace process. If the reports are confirmed, “it will call once again into serious question Israel’s commitment to a negotiated solution with the Palestinians,” an EU spokeswoman said. (The Daily Star)

Several Israeli settlers from the “Brochan” settlement backed by Israeli bulldozers razed large area of Palestinian lands in the east of the town of Broqeen in the Salfit district, to expand their settlement, according to witnesses. (Petra)

The Ministry of Public Works and Housing began distributing cement to Gazans whose houses were destroyed during Israel’s last military offensive. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israeli navy targeted Palestinian fishing boats with gunfire offshore the coast of Gaza, according to witnesses. (WAFA) 

A referendum at the University of Exeter to boycott illegal Israeli settlement products has passed in a landslide, with 86% voting in favour. (PNN)

Former Irish manager and leading football expert, Brian Kerr, will launch an initiative on 29 October, to send a team of Palestinian children to play football in Ireland next summer. (PNN)

Israeli soldiers wounded four Palestinians, one seriously, during an incursion into Ya’bad town, south of Jenin. (IMEMC)

A 20-year-old Palestinian man who was critically injured in an Israeli air strike on his house in Jabalya in the northern Gaza Strip during Israel’s recent offensive, died in Turkey. (Ma’an News Agency)

Officials said that more than half of the employees of the former Hamas authorities would receive salaries this week for the first time in months. Palestinian Minister of Labour Mamoun Abu Shahla said Qatar had donated $30 million that would be distributed in the amount of $1,200 each to about 24,000 public workers in Gaza, excluding the security forces. He added that UN Special Coordinator Robert Serry had arranged the system. (The New York Times)

Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah signed a $10 million agreement with UNDP and the Islamic Development Bank to repair homes in Gaza destroyed by Israel. (Ma’an News Agency)

Israeli sources confirmed that Italy’s Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini, who will succeed Catherine Ashton as the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on 1 November, would visit Israel and Palestine on 7 and 8 November. (The Times of Israel)

Israeli Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat broke into Al-Aqsa Mosque from the Mughrabi Gate along with a number of his assistants, shortly after his participation in a debate at the Knesset on enforcing Israeli sovereignty over the Mosque. (WAFA)

Israel demolished a Palestinian home on Salah ad-Deen Street in East Jerusalem, leaving eight family members homeless. (IMEMC)

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Israeli soldiers arrested 12 Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. (IMEMC)

Israeli forces shot and injured a 27-year-old Palestinian man in the thigh on the beach in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip. An Israeli army spokesman confirmed the incident, saying that two

Egypt began setting up a buffer zone along its border with the Gaza Strip to prevent militant infiltration and arms smuggling. (AFP)

Israeli settlers broke into Al-Aqsa Mosque through the Mughrabi gate and toured its yards in a provocative manner under the protection of Israeli police. (WAFA)

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat has instructed the heads of municipal departments to strictly enforce municipal regulations and apply penalties against residents of East Jerusalem, including traffic citations, house demolitions, unlicensed businesses and animal confiscations. (Haaretz)

In a letter sent to the President of the IPU and other parliamentary unions, the Palestinian National Council urged them to take prompt and firm measures against the Knesset, which had presented a bill to enforce sovereignty over Al-Aqsa Mosque. (WAFA)

Israeli forces demolished a home in Silwan in East Jerusalem built without an Israeli permit. In Yatta, south of Hebron, Israeli forces demolished several structures used for housing and livestock. (Ma’an News Agency, WAFA)

The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on the Middle East situation including the Palestinian question at the request of Jordan. (AFP)

The suspect Israeli police believed had shot and wounded right-wing activist Rabbi Yehuda Glick in Jerusalem was killed after exchanging gunfire with police at his East Jerusalem home. According to police, 32-year-old Islamic Jihad member Moataz Hejazi had been released from an Israeli prison two years ago. (The Jerusalem Post)

Israeli Finance Minister Yair Lapid rejected the undertaking of expensive projects outside the main settlements blocs. “I won’t facilitate money being transferred to isolated settlements,” he said. (Ynetnews)

“If pursued, [Israeli settlement] plans would once again raise grave doubts about Israel’s commitment to achieving durable peace with the Palestinians as the new settlements threaten the very viability of the future State of Palestine,” UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman told the Security Council. (www.un.org)

30

A Hamas spokesman said [Rabbi Yehuda] Glick “is known for leading right-wing Jewish groups into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.” In a statement, Fawzi Barhoum said that the shooting “was a natural response to the ongoing Israeli crimes and raids.” (IMEMC)

Prime Minister Netanyahu said that incitement by President Abbas was partly to blame for the shooting of Glick. (The Jerusalem Post)

Following the closure of the Al-Haram Al-Sharif (Temple Mount) to Jews and Arabs following the Glick shooting, President Abbas said the move was a “declaration of war,” not only on the Palestinian people and their sacred sites, but on the entire Arab and Islamic nation. (The Jerusalem Post)

The Palestinian Prisoners Club announced that an Israeli court in occupied Jerusalem has extended the detention of six Jerusalemites and arrested two minors, while two others were conditionally released, Al-Quds newspaper reported. The Israeli police arrested two minors from the Shuafat area. (MEMO)

A Palestinian family has gone to court claiming fraud over the partial purchase of two landmark East Jerusalem properties, including the Palestinian national theatre, by settlers. (AFP)

The Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) has reported that Israeli soldiers arrested at least seven Palestinians in different communities in the West Bank. (MEMO)

Sweden’s Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom said Sweden had decided to recognize Palestine because the “criteria of international law” had been fulfilled, saying there is “a territory, a people and Government”. Sweden is also set to give Palestine up to 1.5 billion kronor ($200 million) in aid Israel recalled its Ambassador to Sweden and was said to be considering downgrading relations. President Abbas warmly welcomed the recognition. (Haaretz, The Times of Malta, PNN)

A senior Palestinian delegation is to head to the US in December for talks with US officials in Washington on the future of the peace process, Riad Malki, Foreign Affairs Minister told Voice of Palestine radio. “The delegation will include Saeb Erekat, the Chief Palestinian negotiator and Majed Farraj, the chief of Palestinian intelligence,” said al-Malki, adding that “the talks will focus on how to get out the current impasse.” (Xinhua)

“I say to the people of Israel: If you make peace with us, we will come, as will 57 other Arab and Muslim countries that would immediately begin to recognize Israel and normalize relations,” President Abbas said in an interview with Israeli media. “We do not want an intifada. We are not calling for an intifada [in Jerusalem],” Abbas said. “I told the people ‘These are our holy places and we want to keep them quiet.’“ (The Jerusalem Post)

The Obama Administration distanced itself from derisive comments attributed to Administration officials regarding Prime Minister Netanyahu published in The Atlantic. “Certainly that’s not the Administration’s view, and we think such comments are inappropriate and counter-productive,” National Security Spokesperson Alistair Baskey said on behalf of the White House. (Ynetnews)

Representatives of more than 60 charities from 27 countries have gathered in Doha to raise funds for the redevelopment of the Gaza Strip and other aid for Palestinians. The “First Humanitarian Forum to Support Palestinians” organised by the Qatar Charity is being held under the auspices of the Prime Minister of Qatar. (IMEMC)

The Palestinian unity Government started to distribute cement to owners of the houses damaged during the last Israeli war on Gaza. It was delivered in coordination with the UN and two private companies based in Gaza. (Xinhua)

Makarim Wibisono, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territories occupied since 1967, told the Third Committee he had heard a loud and clear message from the Palestinians: end impunity, the blockade, and the occupation. (www.un.org)

Israeli beverage firm SodaStream, amid intense boycott pressure, announced that it was closing a factory located in a settlement, while simultaneously reporting a 9 percent decline in sales. Another factory in northern Israel will additionally close. (IMEMC)

Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai donated $50,000 to rebuild a UN school in Gaza damaged during this summer’s Israel-Hamas war, UNRWA said. (The Times of Malta)

The Secretary-General of the OIC, Iyad Amin Madani, condemned the closure by the Israeli authorities of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. (oic-oic.org)

Iyad Ameen Madani, Secretary-General of the OIC welcomed the decision of the Kingdom of Sweden to recognize the State of Palestine. (oci-oci.org)

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bader Abdel-Atti welcomed Sweden’s decision to recognize Palestine as a State. (WAFA)

The following statement attributable to the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General was issued: In response to questions on the issue of reconstruction and the reconstruction mechanism in Gaza, the Spokesman said that the Secretary-General is encouraged by today’s first sales of construction materials for shelter rehabilitation to individual beneficiaries in Gaza under the framework of the Gaza reconstruction mechanism as led by the Palestinian Government of National Consensus. In addition, the entry today of cement, seven trucks of iron bar and many trucks of aggregate construction materials into Gaza is a further positive development. What is needed now is to continue to scale up the entry and sales of construction materials in order to expedite much needed reconstruction for Gaza before the onset of winter. We continue to count on the cooperation of all parties concerned to realize in good faith the implementation of the mechanism at the scale required. It is now all the more important for donors to honour their pledges at the Cairo conference in order to commence with much needed infrastructure projects, including some 106,000 shelters in need of repair, now that the mechanism has started to deliver construction materials to Gaza. (www.un.org)

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The US is “extremely concerned” by [the] escalating tensions and violence across Jerusalem, US Secretary of State Kerry said, condemning the shooting of an American rabbi. Kerry said he is in touch with his Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinian counterparts. He stressed that the Al-Aqsa compound “must be re-opened to Muslim worshipers.” (The Jerusalem Post)

Thousands of Palestinians prayed amid a heavy Israeli police presence at Jerusalem’s most contested sacred site, after an extremely rare daylong closing that the authorities said was to prevent further escalation of hostilities. Men under 50 were barred from the site, where an Israeli police spokesman said there were no major incidents, though officers used riot-control measures to disperse a protest in a nearby neighbourhood. (The New York Times)

The Israeli police are prepared for possible violent disturbances in Jerusalem, a senior security official said, which could continue for several more weeks, if not months. He said the security establishment did not believe the riots were organized. (The Jerusalem Post)

The Palestinian State-run agency WAFA reported that President Abbas and Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven spoke on telephone. Abbas expressed to Lofven his appreciation to the historic position taken by Sweden, adding “such a position will serve peace process in the Middle East.” (Xinhua)

The Human Rights Committee called on Israel to probe its last three Gaza conflicts and to begin working toward evacuating West Bank settlements. The Committee issued its call at the end of its session in Geneva, in which it examined Israel’s compliance with the ICCPR. Israel, the committee said in a written report, “should ensure that all human rights violations committed during its military operations in the Gaza Strip in 2008-2009, 2012 and 2014 are thoroughly, effectively, independently and impartially investigated.” (The Jerusalem Post)

UN Human Rights Committee Member Cornelis Flinterman from Holland said that the number of Israeli settlements on Palestinian land have doubled in the last 54 months. Flinterman presented the fourth stage of a report monitoring activity of Israel’s practices in Palestinian territory at a press conference held at UNOG. Flinterman also expressed his disappointment at the fact that the Israeli Government refuses to recognise that torture is a crime. “The torture and mistreatment that Israel practices in detention centres is a serious problem and we call on Israel to address them within a year’s time.” (MEM)

The World Bank endorsed a new assistance strategy for Palestine and approved $62 million in grants for post-war reconstruction in the Gaza Strip. Inger Andersen, the World Bank’s vice president for the Middle East and North Africa, said in a statement that the Bank’s new strategy would focus on supporting State-building through service delivery and job creation. (Ma’an)

A German Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman said that Germany would not follow in the footsteps of Sweden and recognise a Palestinian State. (MEM; Anadolu News Agency)

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