Hamas leaders agreed to abide by an Egypt-brokered cease-fire to halt an escalation of fighting with Israel along the Gaza border that began Monday (Al Jazeera)
Israeli opposition leaders and some residents in targeted towns criticized the truce (New York Times)
Israel Carries Out Air Strikes on Gaza Strip
Israel carried out dozens of air strikes on the Gaza Strip today, a day after the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched more than four hundred rocket attacks across the Israeli border (Reuters)
Palestinian Authorities Call to Suspend Recognition of Israel
The Palestinian Central Council authorized the Palestine Liberation Organization to suspend recognition of Israel, stop security coordination, end agreements laid out in the 1994 Paris Economic Protocol, and invalidate the legitimacy of the Oslo Accords “in light of Israel’s continued denial of signed agreements” (Al Jazeera)
Israel Ends Fuel Blockage to Gaza Strip
Israel will end a twelve-day fuel blockage and allow diesel shipments to the Gaza Strip to resume. Israel had suspended the fuel deliveries after Israeli troops killed five Palestinians who, the army said, broke through a border fence to attack a military post (Agence France-Presse)
Netanyahu, Trump Talk Israel-Palestine at UN General Assembly
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday that Israel “will not relinquish security control west of Jordan” to any future Palestinian state (Haaretz)
His comments came after U.S. President Trump said at a joint press conference with Netanyahu that he supports both one- and two-state solutions to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (Reuters)
Two Dead After Israeli Troops Fire on Protesters
Israeli forces opened fire during a demonstration in the northern Gaza Strip yesterday, killing two Palestinian protesters and injuring forty-six. The Israeli military indicated that it had confronted people allegedly tampering with the border fence (Reuters)
Palestinians File New Claim Against Israel at ICC
The Palestine Liberation Organization filed a new request for the International Criminal Court to investigate Israel’s planned demolition of a West Bank village, PLO Secretary-General Saeb Erekat said yesterday. The move came a day after U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton threatened to sanction the ICC if it targets the United States or its allies (Associated Press)
U.S. to Close Palestinian Office in DC
National Security Advisor John Bolton is expected today to announce the closing of the Palestinian Liberation Organization’s office in Washington over its alleged unwillingness to negotiate with Israel. Palestinian envoy Husam Zomlot said early today that U.S.-Palestinian relations are at a “historic low” (Wall Street Journal)
Israel Approves New Settlement Homes in the West Bank
Israel’s governing body in the West Bank approved the construction of 1,015 new residences in Jewish settlements there. Some six hundred thousand Israelis live in settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem (Associated Press)
Israel Reopens Kerem Shalom Crossing with Gaza
Israel reopened the Kerem Shalom cargo crossing with Gaza in response to a period of relative calm. Israel also restored the fishing zone off Gaza’s coast to seventeen kilometers (BBC)
Israeli Air Strikes Hit Gaza
Israel carried out strikes on 150 targets in Gaza overnight after militants fired 180 rockets into southern Israel; three Palestinians were killed in the strikes (Haaretz)
Israeli Military Kills Two Hamas Militants in Gaza
The Israeli military said it killed two members of the al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, in response to fire from Gaza (Haaretz)
Israel and Gaza Truce Talks Underway
Israel said the focus for truce talks was on a proposal to ease its blockade of Gaza in exchange for a cessation of hostilities by Hamas militants (Reuters)
Israeli Military Strikes Incendiary Kite Launch Site in Gaza
Israel’s Air Force struck a cell in northern Gaza yesterday from where Palestinians launched flaming kites. Earlier, Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman said two days without border violence, incendiary kites, or rockets are necessary before Gaza crossings will be reopened (Jerusalem Post)
Separately, Israeli soldiers fatally shot a Palestinian teenager during an overnight raid in Dheisheh refugee camp in the West Bank (Al Jazeera)
Hamas to Gradually Decrease Incendiary Kite Attacks on Israel
Hamas will gradually decrease the launching of flaming kites from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel, according to Palestinian media (Times of Israel)
Israel Adds More Restrictions to Gaza Border Crossing
Israel said it will further restrict the Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza to allow only basic food items and medicines, cutting off the strip’s access to fuel, after a rocket was fired into southern Israel. Egypt announced it would temporarily close its Rafah crossing into Gaza (Ynet)
Gaza Cease-Fire Appears to Halt Weekend Fighting
Israel carried out dozens of air strikes in Gaza, killing at least two people, while militants fired rockets across the border on Saturday. The two sides announced a cease-fire later that day that appeared to hold through the rest of the weekend (Reuters)
UN Warns Israel Over Ban on Goods Into Gaza
Israel halted the flow of all commercial goods except humanitarian supplies, such as food and medicine, into the Gaza Strip via its Kerem Shalom crossing. A top UN envoy for the Middle East urged Israeli officials on Tuesday to reverse the decision (Jerusalem Post)
Israel Closes Crossing Between Israel and Gaza
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered an immediate closure of the primary cargo crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip in response to incendiary kites and balloons launched into Israel by Palestinians (Associated Press)
Former Ambassadors Call to Restore Palestinian Aid
Seven former U.S. ambassadors to the United Nations called on Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to restore U.S. funding to the UN Relief and Works Agency, which provides health care, education, and food to Palestinian refugees (Reuters)
Rockets Launched From Gaza Into Israel
The Israeli military said at least twelve rockets had been fired from Gaza into southern Israel today, following an Israeli strike on a Hamas positions after dozens of fires were started by militants launching incendiary kites (Associated Press)
Israel Strikes Hamas Targets Following Rocket Attacks from Gaza
Israeli warplanes struck Hamas positions in Gaza after Palestinian militants fired dozens of rockets and mortars at southern communities (Associated Press)
Israeli Aircraft Strike Hamas Targets in Gaza Strip
Israeli aircraft hit several Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip in response to Palestinian arson attacks over the weekend. Palestinian militants fired three rockets at southern Israel from the Gaza Strip earlier today, and Israeli army gunfire killed a Palestinian man when a group of Palestinians tried to breach the Gaza border fence (Haaretz)
Rights Group Says Israel May Have Committed War Crimes in Gaza
Human Rights Watch says that Israel’s use of lethal force against Palestinian protesters in the Gaza Strip may constitute war crimes, ahead of an emergency UN General Assembly meeting to vote on a resolution condemning Israel’s “excessive use of force” (Associated Press)
U.S. to Oppose UN Resolution on Palestinian Protections
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said she will veto a Kuwait-drafted Security Council resolution that calls for providing protections to Palestinians in Gaza after more than one hundred Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces in recent weeks (France24)