NYT: Secret Talks Aim to Water Down Israel’s Proposed Judicial Overhaul
A group of lawmakers and legal experts have been meeting at the home of Israeli President Isaac Herzog to try to reach a compromise on less-severe versions of reforms that would significantly weaken Israel’s judiciary; the plans have spurred weeks of mass protests (NYT)
An Israeli military raid in the West Bank city of Jenin killed six Palestinians, including the raid’s target, a man suspected of killing two Jewish settlers (CNN)
General Milley Meets With IDF For Talks on West Bank, Iran
U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark A. Milley arrived in Israel today for talks with military officials that are expected to cover tensions with Iran and violence in the West Bank (Times of Israel)
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will also begin a trip to the Middle East this weekend (Al-Monitor)
Israel Lifts Jericho Blockade
The Israeli army killed a man it claimed was responsible for an attack that killed an American-Israeli; the military subsequently lifted a three-day blockade on the Palestinian city of Jericho (Al Jazeera)
Israeli Police Crack Down on Protests Against Judiciary Overhaul
Police used stun grenades and water cannons against Israelis protesting proposed reforms to the justice system; it was the first such violence of Israel’s weekslong anti-government demonstrations (AP)
Meanwhile, Israeli authorities arrested six suspects in connection with a settler rampage in Huwara; the rampage followed an attack by a Palestinian gunman that killed two Israelis (Reuters)
Israeli Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich said the Palestinian village of Huwara should be “wiped out” by Israel (Al Jazeera)
Israeli Settler Suspects Released
Israeli authorities released all suspects arrested in relation to the rampage by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank; two of the eight suspects were released on house arrest, according to Israeli police (Al Jazeera)
West Bank Violence Escalates
Israel sent hundreds of troops to the West Bank after a Palestinian gunman killed two Israelis and Israeli settlers subsequently torched homes and vehicles in a Palestinian town; health officials said a Palestinian man was killed in the rampage (AP)
Israeli Government and Palestinian Authority Pledge to Reduce Violence
At a summit in Jordan, Israeli and Palestinian security chiefs made a joint commitment to take immediate steps to de-escalate the recent surge in violence; according to the released statement, Israel agreed to stop discussing new settlement construction for four months with an understanding that Palestinians will refrain from acting against Israel at the UN (BBC)
However, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted just hours after the summit that there “will not be any freeze” to the construction of settlements in the occupied West Bank (Al Jazeera)
Israeli Government Greenlights Over Seven Thousand New Settlement Homes
Organizations of settlement backers and opponents both said the government approved the homes in the occupied West Bank, appearing to contradict recent assurances of a settlement freeze; earlier this week, the UN Security Council issued a statement condemning Israel’s settlement construction (AP)
Israel, Gaza Militants Trade Fire After West Bank Raid Kills Eleven
Fighters in the Gaza Strip launched rockets into Israel and Israel carried out air strikes on Gaza today following the Israeli military’s deadly raid in the West Bank yesterday; no casualties were immediately reported after today’s exchange of fire (Times of Israel;AFP)
Envoys from Egypt and the United Nations were attempting to mediate the situation; six militants and five civilians were killed, and some one hundred people were wounded (Reuters)
The Israeli military said yesterday’s raid in the West Bank city of Nablus aimed to arrest a senior leader of the Lion’s Den terrorist group (ABC)
While no Palestinian group claimed responsibility for today’s rocket fire, the leader of Islamic Jihad said it was the group’s duty to respond to the raid (Al Jazeera)
Sixty-two Palestinians and ten Israelis have been killed in 2023, according to Israeli and Palestinian officials (Reuters)
Israeli Raid Kills Eleven Palestinians
In a raid on Nablus in the occupied West Bank, the Israeli military killed eleven Palestinians, including at least four gunmen and four civilians, while wounding over a hundred others (Reuters)
Israeli authorities said in a joint statement that the raid targeted and “neutralized” three suspects who were “planning attacks” (CNN)
Israel to Halt Approval of New West Bank Settlements for Six Months
The announcement appears to result from behind-the-scenes talks among U.S., Israeli, and Palestinian officials; additionally, the Palestinian Authority withdrew a proposed UN resolution that would have condemned the settlements (BBC)
Meanwhile, lawmakers advanced a plan to overhaul the country’s judiciary by passing the first of three required votes; tens of thousands of people demonstrated outside of Israel’s legislature to protest the measure (Haaretz)
Law To Revoke the Citizenship of Arab Israelis With Terrorism Convictions
The country passed a law revoking the citizenship of Arab citizens who have terrorism convictions and receive financial aid from the Palestinian Authority (BBC)
Israeli Raid Kills Two Palestinians
Israeli forces killed two Palestinians, including a teenager, in the governorate of Tubas in the northern occupied West Bank during a raid on the Far’a refugee camp (Al Jazeera)
Eighty Thousand Israelis Protest Proposed Judicial Reform in Jerusalem
Tens of thousands of people protested in Jerusalem against bills that aim to overhaul Israel’s judiciary; the bills face their first parliamentary votes this week (Haaretz)
Meanwhile, Israel approved the legalization of nine illegal settler outposts in the occupied West Bank, leading the Palestinian Authority to condemn the action, calling the move an “open war” against its people; under international law, settlements in the Palestinian Territories are illegal (Al Jazeera)
Arab League Expresses Concern Over West Bank Violence
At an Arab League meeting in Cairo, senior officials warned that rising violence could worsen regional turmoil; since the beginning of 2023, Israelis have killed at least forty-two Palestinians, and Palestinians have killed ten Israelis (Al Jazeera)
Police Free All Israeli Suspects Detained Over Huwara Riot
Israel’s military chief promised to investigate Sunday’s riots by Israeli settlers in the West Bank town of Huwara; the riots occurred after a Palestinian gunman killed two Israeli men in the area (Times of Israel)
Axios: U.S. Asked Israeli, Palestinian Governments to ‘Pause’ Destabilizing Actions
During a visit to the region last week, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken asked Israel to “pause” its settlement building in the occupied West Bank and the Palestinian Authority its actions against Israel at the United Nations, Axios reported (Axios)
Israeli Raid Kills Five in Palestinian Refugee Camp
The raid on the Aqabet Jabr refugee camp was part of an IDF operation to capture suspects involved in an attempted shooting attack in a Jericho restaurant; five Palestinian men were killed, and several others were injured, according to the governor of Jericho (Times of Israel;Al Jazeera)
Jewish Settler Population Exceeds 500,000 in West Bank
Some 503,000 Jewish residents now live in the Israel-occupied West Bank, a pro-settlement group announced in a report; settlements are expected to expand under Israel’s new government, which seeks to formally annex the West Bank (WaPo)
In Israel, Blinken Expresses Democracy Concerns Amid Judicial Overhaul
Speaking alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stressed the importance of democratic institutions and consensus-building; his comments came as Netanyahu’s coalition tries to extend government control over Israel’s judiciary (Times of Israel)
Blinken Begins Middle East Trip Amid Heightened Israeli-Palestinian Tensions
In Cairo, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for calm and de-escalation between Israelis and Palestinians following a spate of “horrific terrorist attacks” (AFP; State Dept.)
Israeli-Palestinian tensions have escalated since a Palestinian gunman killed seven people outside an East Jerusalem synagogue on Friday, a day after an Israeli army raid killed ten people in the West Bank city of Jenin; Blinken will meet today with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and tomorrow with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (Al Jazeera)
Israel, Gaza Militants Trade Fire Following West Bank Raid
Israel carried out air strikes on the Gaza Strip after militants there fired rockets at the country in retaliation for a West Bank raid that killed at least nine Palestinians yesterday; two civilians and seven militants were killed in that raid, while no casualties were immediately reported after today’s strikes (AP; Reuters)
The tensions prompted calls for de-escalation from the United States, Egypt, and Qatar, as well as the United Nations (NPR)
Yesterday’s raid in the Jenin refugee camp was the deadliest single raid in the West Bank in years (The Guardian)
Palestinian officials said that CIA Director William Burns, who is visiting Israel and the West Bank for a trip arranged before the latest violence, is due to meet with Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas tomorrow; the PA said it is suspending security cooperation with Israel as a result of the raid (Axios)
Israeli Raid Kills Nine in Palestinian Refugee Camp
Israel’s military said the raid in the West Bank city of Jenin targeted an extremist group that was planning an imminent attack; three alleged members of the group and an elderly woman were among those killed in the ensuing gun battle, Israeli and Palestinian officials said (Times of Israel)
Israeli Prime Minister Discusses Holy Site With Jordan’s King
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday visited Jordan, where he and King Abdullah II discussed the legal status quo of Jerusalem’s holy site, known by Jews as the Temple Mount and Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary; King Abdullah has religious custodianship of the site (Times of Israel)
U.S., Israel Launch Their Largest Joint Military Exercise Ever
The exercise includes one hundred U.S. aircraft and forty-two Israeli aircraft; it marks a boost in bilateral military cooperation and comes amid heightened tensions with Iran (CNN)