Biden Arrives in Israel for First Middle East Visit
U.S. President Joe Biden arrives in Israel yesterday to kick off his first visit to the Middle East as president; he discussed Iran’s nuclear program and economic cooperation with Israeli officials before meeting with Palestinian officials in the West Bank and traveling to Saudi Arabia (Associated Press)
Israel’s Defense, Justice Ministers Announce Party Pact for November Vote
The Blue and White party of Defense Minister Benny Gantz and the New Hope party of Justice Minister Gideon Sa’ar have announced their intention to run together in Israel’s November 1 elections; Gantz described the bloc as a centrist option for voters (Times of Israel)
Meanwhile, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and acting Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid held a phone call to coordinate security measures ahead of U.S. President Joe Biden’s visit to Israel and the West Bank, their first call in years (ABC)
Israeli Knesset Votes to Dissolve Itself
Israel’s Knesset unanimously voted to dissolve itself, paving the way for elections on November 1; incoming caretaker Prime Minister Yair Lapid will replace his coalition partner Naftali Bennett, who said he will not run in the upcoming elections (Haaretz)
On a separate note, the U.S. State Department said the bullet that killed Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was too damaged for a U.S. probe to be conclusive, and that officials found no evidence that the shooting was intentional, contradicting the investigative findings of CNN and the Palestinian Authority (CNN)
Meanwhile, the European Union (EU) has informed two prominent Palestinian NGOs that it will resume funding them following a thirteen-month suspension prompted by what the EU has concluded to be unfounded terror allegations by Israel (Al Jazeera)
Additionally, Israeli forces killed a Palestinian Islamic Jihad fighter during a raid (Al Jazeera)
In a separate raid, a young Palestinian man was shot by Israeli forces in the West Bank (Al Jazeera)
Israel Forces Arrest Seventeen Palestinians in Overnight West Bank Raid
Israeli forces arrested seventeen Palestinians in the West Bank, accusing the Palestinians of involvement in terrorism; the arrests mark a continuation of near-nightly raids since a wave of terror attacks by Palestinians hit Israel earlier this year (Haaretz)
In a separate incident, a Palestinian teenager shot by Israeli forces while allegedly amongst a group of Palestinians throwing stones along a major highway died in Israeli custody, prompting a general strike in the village of Silwad (Al Jazeera)
Meanwhile, three family members of a Palestinian man stabbed to death by an Israeli settler in a confrontation last week were arrested by Israeli security forces without official elaboration on the reason for the arrests (Times of Israel)
Israeli Governing Coalition Announces Intention to Dissolve
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Lair Lapid have announced their intention to voluntary dissolve Israel’s governing coalition following months of crises; the Knesset has begun its vote for dissolution, which could send Israel to its fifth general election in less than four years (Times of Israel)
Meanwhile, several violent incidents have occurred in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza, including the stabbing of a Palestinian man by an Israeli settler (Al Jazeera; the shooting of a Palestinian man accused by Israeli border patrol of vandalizing the security fence (Al Jazeera); and the exchange of rockets and air strikes between Israel and Hamas (France 24)
Palestinian Health Ministry: Israeli Forces Kill Three, Wound Ten in Jenin Raid
The Palestinian health ministry said that Israeli forces killed three people and wounded ten more in a raid in Jenin in the West Bank (Al Jazeera)
UN Releases New Report Rebuking Israel for its Treatment of Palestinians
The report by the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry looked at the root causes of the Israel-Palestine conflict and says “ending Israel’s occupation” is critical to stopping the violence; Israel’s foreign ministry called it “biased and one-sided” (Reuters)
Israeli Forces Kill Four Palestinians in Forty-Eight Hours
Israeli forces shot dead four Palestinians across the West Bank over the past two days, including journalist Ghufran Warasneh; while Israeli forces allege Warashneh was wielding a knife, witnesses say she posed little threat (Al Jazeera)
Palestinian Authority President Criticizes United States on Call With U.S. Secretary of State
On a call with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas criticized the United States’ “silence” on recent Israeli actions, according to a Palestinian readout; Abbas cited what he called attacks at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound as one of the actions (Axios)
Palestinian Medics: Israeli Forces Injure Almost Ninety Palestinian Protesters in West Bank
The Palestinian Red Crescent reported that Israeli forces injured almost ninety Palestinians who were protesting in the occupied West Bank (Reuters)
United States Sanctions Hamas Financial Facilitators
A Hamas official and companies based in Algeria, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates are among those targeted (Al-Monitor)
Israel Avoids New Elections After Lawmaker Rejoins Governing Coalition
Days after quitting, Ghaida Rinawie Zoabi reportedly offered to return (Haaretz) to the coalition in exchange for greater economic benefits for Israel’s Arab citizens; her departure threatened to cause Israel’s fifth elections in four years (Haaretz)
New Video Emerges Contradicting Israeli Government Claims About Journalist’s Killing
Al Jazeera verified a video from moments before journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was reportedly killed by an Israeli soldier; the video shows relative calm in the area, contradicting Israel’s initial claim that Israeli forces and Palestinian fighters were clashing when she was killed (Al Jazeera)
Israeli Ruling Coalition Becomes Minority in Parliament Following Lawmaker’s Resignation
Lawmaker Ghaida Rinawie Zoabi resigned from Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s coalition over objections to its hard-line positions on relations with Arabs; the move leaves the coalition with only 59 out of 120 seats in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament (Haaretz)
Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Forces announced that there would be no criminal investigation into the killing of high-profile U.S.-Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Aqleh; the Israeli military had previously said it could not determine whether Palestinian gunmen or Israeli soldiers had killed Abu Aqleh (The Guardian)
Thousands Demonstrate Following Killing of Al Jazeera Journalist
Thousands of people demonstrated across the West Bank following the shooting of Al Jazeera Journalist Shireen Abu Akleh (Associated Press)
In Jerusalem, Israeli police violently beat Palestinian mourners with batons during the journalist’s funeral procession (CNN)
Meanwhile, Israel’s military said it was investigating the possibility that one of its soldiers was responsible for Abu Akleh’s death; Israel has walked back its initial claim that she was killed by Palestinian fighters (Washington Post)
Palestinian American Journalist Killed During Israeli Raid in West Bank
Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was shot and killed while covering an Israeli military operation; Al Jazeera and the Palestinian Health Ministry said Israeli forces killed Abu Akleh (Al Jazeera)
While Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) initially claimed Palestinian gunmen were likely responsible for the attack, a preliminary IDF internal investigation said it was still unclear who killed Abu Akleh (Haaretz)
Eyewitnesses, including two journalists, disputed Israeli claims that she was killed during a crossfire and said the area was quiet before she was shot (Washington Post)
Search Underway for Two Palestinians Suspected of Killing Three Israelis
Police are searching for two Palestinian suspects after ax-wielding assailants in the central Israeli city of Elad killed three people and wounded four others (Haaretz)
Meanwhile, fighting between Israelis and Palestinians at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound erupted again, following ten days of cooling tensions (Agence France-Presse)
Israeli High Court: One Thousand Palestinians Can Be Evicted from Area in West Bank
Following a twenty-year legal battle, an Israeli court found that approximately one thousand Palestinians could be evicted from seven thousand acres in the Masafer Yatta area that have been designated for military use; the land, which is under full Israeli control, is currently home to several Palestinian villages (The Guardian)
Israeli Police Injure Forty-Two Palestinians During Al-Aqsa Compound Raid
At least forty-two Palestinians were injured when Israeli police raided the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, the Palestine Red Crescent Society said; the police said they were responding to people throwing rocks and fireworks toward the Western Wall, a sacred Jewish site (Al Jazeera)
Israeli Forces Kill Palestinian Man During West Bank Raid
Israeli forces killed a Palestinian man during a raid on a refugee camp in the West Bank city of Jericho (Al Jazeera)
Egypt, Jordan, UAE Hold Talks on Jerusalem
Egypt, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) held talks in Egypt on coordinating to de-escalate tensions in Jerusalem (The National)
At Least Fifty-Seven Palestinians Reportedly Injured in Israeli Raid at Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound
Israeli police entered al-Aqsa mosque compound in full riot gear firing rubber bullets and stun grenades after Palestinian youths reportedly threw rocks at Israeli police (Associated Press)
Israeli police said they intervened at the compound after hundreds of people started throwing rocks and fireworks close to nearby Jewish worshippers; at least fifty-seven Palestinians were injured, Palestinian medics said (Reuters)
Jordan Hosts Emergency Meeting as Jerusalem Tensions Continue
Jordan is convening the regional meeting after Palestinian militants launched two rockets toward Israel from the Gaza Strip; Israeli aircraft reportedly struck militant targets in response (Associated Press)
U.S. Officials Will Travel to the Middle East for Peace Talks
Senior U.S. State Department officials will travel to several Middle Eastern countries to speak with officials from Egypt, Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinian Authority in an effort to de-escalate recent violence in Israel and the Palestinian territories (Axios)
Meanwhile, thousands of Israeli settlers marched in the West Bank, calling for a dismantled settlement to be rebuilt (Associated Press)
Israel Strikes Gaza Strip Targets in Response to Rocket Fire
Israel’s military said it targeted sites in Gaza including a weapons-manufacturing facility used by Hamas, the militant group that governs Gaza (Times of Israel)