Deadline for West Bank Annexation Comes Without Announcement
Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have yet to signal imminent action to annex parts of the West Bank, even though Netanyahu set today as the potential start date. Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi said it was unlikely that any major action would happen today (Times of Israel)
UN Condemns Israel’s Annexation Plans
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Israel to abandon plans to annex parts of the West Bank, calling the move a “most serious violation of international law” in a report to the UN Security Council (Agence France-Presse)
United States, Israel Discuss West Bank Annexation
The Trump administration and Israeli government are discussing plans for Israel’s “gradual” annexation of parts of the West Bank. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu set a July 1 deadline to begin the annexation, which has drawn international criticism (Haaretz)
Germany, Jordan: Stopping West Bank Annexation Is a Priority
In a joint statement with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh, Germany and Jordan’s foreign ministers called Israel’s plan to annex parts of the West Bank a violation of international law and said stopping it is a priority. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas also warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that other nations could sanction Israel or recognize a Palestinian state if he moves forward with annexation (Haaretz)
Israel’s Supreme Court Rejects 2017 Law on Settlement Construction
In an eight-to-one ruling, Israel’s Supreme Court rejected a 2017 law passed by Parliament which would have legalized the construction of Jewish settlements on land in the West Bank (New York Times)
Israelis Protest Annexation Plans
Thousands gathered in Tel Aviv to protest the government’s plan to annex parts of the West Bank. U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders addressed the rally via video conference (Haaretz)
Netanyahu: West Bank Annexation Independent of U.S. Plan
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu privately told settlers that his plans to annex parts of the West Bank will be independent of the Trump administration’s peace plan. His office later released a statement saying Israel is committed to negotiations with Palestinians under the Trump plan (Haaretz)
Police Killing in Israel Sparks Protests
Police killed an unarmed, autistic Palestinian man in East Jerusalem, sparking protests in Jerusalem and Jaffa (Haaretz)
Palestinian Authority Rejects Coronavirus Aid
The Palestinian Authority rejected medical aid from a shipment the United Arab Emirates sent via Israel, citing insufficient coordination with Palestinian leadership. The aid was redirected to the Gaza Strip (Haaretz)
Palestinian Leader Declares Agreements With Israel, U.S. Void
In response to the Israeli government’s intent to annex parts of the West Bank, Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas declared that the PA will no longer abide by agreements with and Israel and the United States, including those regarding security cooperation (Haaretz)
In a speech in Ramallah, Abbas said the planned annexation “annulled the Oslo agreement” and subsequent pacts, referring to the accords signed by Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization in the 1990s. Abbas and other Palestinian leaders have threatened to cut security ties with Israel in the past but never followed through (New York Times)
Israeli Convicted of Murdering Three Palestinians
An Israeli settler was convicted of murdering three members of a Palestinian family, including an infant, in a 2015 arson attack. He had confessed to the crimes multiple times but earlier confessions had been ruled inadmissible (Haaretz)
Violence Continues in the West Bank
Israeli forces killed a Palestinian teenager in the West Bank after a suspected car-ramming attack injured a member of the Israel Defense Forces. An Israeli soldier and another Palestinian teen were killed in separate incidents earlier this week (Haaretz)
Pompeo Visits Israel on Eve of New Government’s Inauguration
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed the coronavirus and regional efforts to counter Iran on the eve of a new Israeli coalition government’s inauguration (Haaretz)
Pompeo appeared to deliver a cautionary message about new Israeli annexations in the West Bank (New York Times)
Palestinian Teen Killed in West Bank Clashes
A Palestinian teenager was killed by the Israel Defense Forces at a refugee camp near Hebron, according to the Palestinian health ministry. A day earlier, an Israeli soldier was killed by a brick thrown at his head during a raid in the West Bank, the military said (Times of Israel)
Israel Warned Against West Bank Annexation
Envoys from the European Union and the United Nations warned the incoming Israeli government not to annex parts of the occupied West Bank. The move would violate an internationally backed two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (Al Jazeera)
Washington to Give $5 Million in Aid to Palestine
The White House approved $5 million in aid for the Palestinian response to the coronavirus after previously cutting all aid to the Palestinian Authority (Times of Israel)
UN Reaffirms Support for Israel-Palestine Two-State Solution
All fifteen countries on the UN Security Council endorsed a statement yesterday that supported a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as well as a multilateral approach to negotiations (Associated Press)
Israel Strikes Palestinian Militants in Gaza, Damascus
Israeli military forces and the militant group Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) exchanged strikes in Gaza after a Palestinian news agency posted footage of an Israeli army bulldozer dragging the body of a Palestinian man (Washington Post)
Israel also announced it had struck PIJ targets in Damascus, Syria (BBC)
Israel Bars Palestinian Agriculture Exports Via Jordan
The Israeli military will no longer allow Palestinian agricultural products to be exported via Jordan, officials from both countries said, marking the latest escalation in Israel and the Palestinian territories’ monthslong trade war (Associated Press)
Unrest Leads to Casualties in West Bank, Jerusalem
Israeli troops killed a Palestinian man at a West Bank protest against the new U.S. peace plan for the Middle East, and a car ran down a group of Israeli soldiers in Jerusalem, injuring twelve, Israeli and Palestinian authorities said (Reuters)
EU Foreign Policy Minister Rejects Middle East Peace Plan
Josep Borrell, the EU foreign affairs minister, criticized the Trump administration’s proposed peace plan for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, stating that it departs from “internationally agreed parameters” and eliminates mechanisms for negotiations over disputed territory (Reuters)
Trump Plan Envisions Israeli Control of Jerusalem, West Bank Settlements
U.S. President Donald J. Trump unveiled a peace plan that proposes Israel’s control of a unified Jerusalem and all of its current settlements in the West Bank, while a new Palestinian state would receive $50 billion in investment (New York Times)
Trump Set to Release Israeli-Palestinian Peace Deal
U.S. President Donald J. Trump is scheduled to release his plan for a resolution to the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians today in a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (New York Times)
Palestinian leaders, who have boycotted negotiations with the Trump administration since 2017, have already rejected the new plan, which is expected to propose Israeli sovereignty over much of the Jordan Valley (Al-Monitor)
Gantz, Netanyahu to Join White House Peace Plan Talks
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his political rival, Benny Gantz, accepted invitations from the White House to visit next week to discuss an Israeli-Palestinian peace plan, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said (Haaretz)
Israel Expands Settlements in West Bank
The country plans to build a new settlement in the West Bank city of Hebron, the defense minister announced. A top Palestinian diplomat called the move “the first tangible result of the U.S. decision to legitimize colonization” (Haaretz)