Israel could be forced to hold its fourth elections in two years after the country’s leaders failed to resolve a dispute over the budget (Reuters)
Since establishing a unity government in May after three inconclusive elections, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who leads the Likud party, and Defense Minister Benny Gantz, who heads the Blue and White alliance, have been unable to agree on the 2020 budget. Lawmakers in the Knesset rejected a proposal overnight to postpone the deadline to reach a deal (Haaretz)
If the two sides cannot pass a budget by tonight, the government will dissolve and elections will be automatically set for March 23 (Washington Post)
The budget dispute comes as Israel has normalized relations with several Arab nations through U.S.-brokered deals; the first direct flight from Israel to Morocco took off today (Times of Israel)
Israel Begins COVID-19 Vaccination Campaign
Around ten thousand health-care workers and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received COVID-19 vaccines yesterday as Israel kicks off its vaccination campaign. More than 170,000 people have scheduled appointments, sparking logistical concerns (Haaretz)
Palestinian Territories Wait for COVID-19 Vaccine
Though Israel is set to begin COVID-19 vaccinations next week, millions of people living in the Palestinian territories will have to wait for vaccines to be distributed by the Palestinian Authority (Associated Press)
Officials in Gaza have warned that the health-care system there is at risk of collapse due to a sharp increase in COVID-19 patients (Haaretz)
Israel Establishes Diplomatic Ties With Bhutan
The country established full diplomatic ties with Bhutan over the weekend. The deal was not linked to recent U.S.-brokered agreements between Israel and Arab countries (Times of Israel)
Morocco Agrees to Normalize Ties With Israel
Morocco will normalize relations with Israel under a deal brokered by the Donald J. Trump administration, making it the fourth Arab country to set aside hostilities with Israel in recent months. The two countries will establish full diplomatic relations, open liaison offices, and allow direct flights between them. Palestinian factions have criticized the normalization agreements, with a Hamas spokesperson saying they allow Israel to “increase its aggression” (Al Jazeera)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised “a very warm peace” between Israel and Morocco (Haaretz)
As part of the deal, the United States agreed to support Morocco’s sovereignty over the disputed region of Western Sahara, where Algeria-backed separatists known as the Polisario Front have sought independence for decades (New York Times)
Palestinian Child Killed at West Bank Protest
Israeli forces shot and killed a fifteen-year-old Palestinian boy who was at a protest in the West Bank on Friday. He was the fifth Palestinian child to be killed by Israeli forces using live ammunition this year, according to the rights group Defense for Children International – Palestine (Al Jazeera)
Israeli Government Transfers Tax Revenue to Palestinian Authority
The Israeli government handed over $1.14 billion worth of backlogged tax revenue to the Palestinian Authority (PA) in a sign of thawing relations. The transfer, which usually occurs monthly, was the first since June after the PA rejected it due to Israel’s now-suspended plans to annex parts of the West Bank (Reuters)
Israel’s Netanyahu Reportedly Meets With Saudi Crown Prince
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia yesterday, according to unnamed Israeli and Saudi sources (Haaretz)
If confirmed, it would be the first known trip by an Israeli leader to Saudi Arabia and the first known meeting between the two current leaders (Wall Street Journal)
Pompeo Makes Unprecedented Visit to West Bank Settlement
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made an unprecedented visit to an Israeli settlement in the West Bank during a three-day trip to Israel. Pompeo also referred to the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel as anti-Semitic and said the United States would withdraw support from groups that “engage in hateful BDS conduct.” Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department announced that products made in the settlements can list Israel as their country of origin (Haaretz)
Palestinian Authority to Resume Cooperation With Israel
The Palestinian Authority announced it will resume security and civil cooperation with Israel, which it had halted in May over Israel’s plans to annex parts of the West Bank. Those plans were suspended pursuant to Israel’s deal to normalize relations with the United Arab Emirates (Haaretz)
Top Palestinian Negotiator Saeb Erekat Dies
Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Secretary-General Saeb Erekat died today after contracting COVID-19 last month. He was sixty-five. Erekat, the lead Palestinian peace negotiator, had participated in every round of negotiations with Israel since the tenure of former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in the 1990s (Haaretz)
UN: Israel Forces Raze a Village in the Occupied West Bank
Israeli forces razed a village in the occupied West Bank, displacing seventy-three people, including forty-one children, according to the United Nations. It was the largest such displacement in recent years (Guardian)
Israel, Sudan Agree to Normalize Ties
Israel and Sudan agreed to normalize relations in a U.S.-brokered deal on Friday, making Sudan the third Arab country to establish ties with Israel this year. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said delegations would soon meet to discuss cooperation on trade and agriculture. As part of the deal, the United States will remove Sudan from its list of countries that sponsor terrorism (Haaretz)
Israel, Sudan Reportedly Nearing Deal in Normalizing Relations
The two countries are reportedly nearing a deal to normalize relations, which would make Sudan the third Arab country to do so this year, after Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (Times of Israel)
Israeli Police Officer Could Face Trial for Shooting Palestinian Man
An Israeli police officer who killed an autistic Palestinian man in May could face trial for homicide, pending a hearing. The Israeli Justice Ministry said the man posed no danger and that the officer shot him against orders (Haaretz)
Israeli Warplanes Fire Missiles at Gaza Strip
Palestinian sources said that Israeli warplanes hit two agricultural areas in Khan Younis and Deir al-Balah. However, Israeli military said that the raids hit a purported tunnel belonging to the Palestinian group Hamas and that the attack was in retaliation to a rocket fire from Gaza (Al Jazeera)
Israel, Lebanon Begin First Talks in Decades
Officials from Israel and Lebanon met today for negotiations—the countries’ first direct civilian diplomatic talks in thirty years—aimed at resolving their disputed maritime border (Haaretz)
The talks ended after roughly an hour, with an agreement to meet again in two weeks (Reuters)
Palestinian Factions Agree to First Election in Almost Fifteen Years
Rival Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas reached a deal during reconciliation talks this week to hold the territories’ first elections in almost fifteen years (Al Jazeera)
Successive elections, which will occur in the next six months, will choose the Palestinian Legislative Council, the Palestinian Authority (PA) president, and the Palestinian National Council, senior Fatah official Jibril Rajoub said. Palestinian leaders will likely meet next week to solidify the plans (Al-Monitor)
Palestinians Step Down as Arab League Chair
Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki said the territories would concede chairmanship of Arab League meetings over fellow members normalizing ties with Israel. Separately, two Palestinian factions—Fatah and Hamas—will meet today for reconciliation talks (Al Jazeera)
Authorities to Close Holy Sites in Jerusalem as Coronavirus Cases Rise
Authorities said Jerusalem’s holy site, which is known by Jews as the Temple Mount and Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, will close tomorrow as Israel’s coronavirus caseload soars and the country begins a second lockdown (Agence France-Presse)
Jerusalem’s Great Synagogue will be shuttered for the first time during the Jewish New Year (Agence France-Presse)
Israel to Sign Normalization Agreements With Bahrain, United Arab Emirates
Israel is set to sign agreements to normalize diplomatic ties with Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates in a White House ceremony today (CNN)
The agreements, championed by the Donald J. Trump administration, offer all three countries political and economic advantages (Financial Times)
But they have been roundly rejected by Palestinian factions, including Hamas and Fatah, that have recently coalesced in opposition. Protests are planned today in Gaza and the West Bank and outside embassies around the world (Al Jazeera)
Separately, a court handed a Jewish settler three life sentences plus additional time in prison for a 2015 firebomb attack that killed three Palestinians, including a toddler (Haaretz)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called the attack an act of terrorism (New York Times)
Palestinians Meet to Discuss West Bank
Rival Palestinian factions met to discuss ways to prevent Israeli annexation of the occupied West Bank. They also denounced the normalization of Israel-United Arab Emirates relations (Al Jazeera)
Hamas, Israel Reach Deal to Stop Violence
The Palestinian militant group Hamas announced it reached a Qatar-brokered deal with Israel to end a monthlong spike in hostilities. Hamas had for weeks launched incendiary balloons and rockets into Israel, while Israel struck Hamas sites in the Gaza Strip (New York Times)
Israel said it would reopen Gaza’s fishing zone and border crossings (Times of Israel)
Israel, UAE to Normalize Diplomatic Ties in Major Agreement
After months of secretive talks, Israel and the United Arab Emirates have announced a landmark deal to begin to normalize their diplomatic relations. Under the deal, brokered by the United States and announced yesterday, Israel will also temporarily halt annexation of parts of the West Bank (Wall Street Journal)
The agreement makes the UAE only the third Arab state to recognize Israel, after Egypt and Jordan. The two sides are expected to sign the agreement and establish embassies in each other’s country in the coming weeks (Al-Monitor)
Israel Strikes Targets in Gaza
Israel attacked Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip in retaliation for incendiary balloons sent into Israel from the area, the Israeli military said. The country will also halt fuel imports to Gaza and reduce the territory’s fishing zone (Haaretz)