U.S. President Donald J. Trump met Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas in Bethlehem on the final day of his Middle East tour. A White House schedule referred to Tuesday’s event as a visit to “Palestine;” the United States does not recognize Palestinian statehood and has traditionally referred to the “Palestinian Authority” (Haaretz)
Dozens of Hunger-Strikers in Israel Under Medical Watch
Israel placed dozens of the eight hundred and forty-three Palestinian prisoners who have been on a hunger strike for a month under additional medical supervision. U.S. Ambassador David Friedman arrived in Israel on Tuesday to assume his post days before a visit by President Trump (Associate Press)
Israel’s Netanyahu Defense Relocating U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem
The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended possibly relocating its U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, saying such a move would support peace negotiations with Palestinians by correcting a historic injustice“ (Haaretz)
Israel Moves to Downgrade Arabic as an Official State Language
Israeli ministers approved a bill that would downgrade the Arabic language from an official state language to one of “special status” (Haaretz)
Abbas, Trump to Talk Israel-Palestine Peace Efforts
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas will meet U.S. President Donald J. Trump in Washington following calls by the U.S. administration to restart peace negotiations between Israel and Palestine, which have been stalled since 2014 (Associated Press)
Hamas Issues First Charter Since 1988
A new charter issued by Hamas says that it would accept a Palestinian state that includes the territories occupied by Israel since 1967 and that it seeks war with “occupying Zionist aggressors.” The document does not recognize the state of Israel (Guardian)
Abbas Pressures Hamas to Cede Gaza
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas threatened to cut health and education funds to the Gaza strip in order to pressure militant group Hamas to relinquish its control of the area, according to an aide. He will meet President Trump to discuss an Israel-Palestine peace plan (Wall Street Journal)
Israeli Minister Claims Damascus Airport Strike
Israel’s intelligence minister said that a strike near the Damascus International Airport against a suspected Hezbollah arms supply point was carried out by Israel (Guardian)
Netanyahu Cancels Meeting With German Foreign Minister
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called off a meeting with the visiting German foreign minister after the latter visited an activist group of Israeli veterans who oppose the occupation of Palestinian territories (New York Times)
Israel Refuses to Negotiate With Palestinian Strikers
Israel’s public security minister said that Israel has “no reason to negotiate” with the estimated one thousand Palestinian prisoners who are on a hunger strike there. Marwan Barghouti, who is leading the strike, was placed in solitary confinement (Deutsche Welle)
Jailed Palestinians Begin Mass Hunger Strike
Over one thousand Palestinian prisoners in Israel are participating in a hunger strike called for by Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti, who received five life sentences in 2004 for alleged murders during the Second Intifada (BBC)
Russia Backs West Jerusalem as Israeli Capital
Russia’s foreign ministry announced that it endorses a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict in which West Jerusalem is the Israeli capital and East Jerusalem the Palestinian capital. Russia had previously supported East Jerusalem as part of a Palestinian state without mentioning the fate of the western part of the city (Radio Free Europe)
Hamas Executes Three Palestinians Accused of Working with Israel
Militant group Hamas executed three Palestinians it accused of working with Israel. The executions followed the assassination last month of a senior Hamas commander, which the group blamed on Israel and Gaza “collaborators” (Associated Press)
Document Purports to Show Hamas Statehood Terms
A leaked document published by pro-Hezbollah Beirut television channel Al Mayadeen purports to show Hamas would accept a Palestinian state in the Gaza Strip and West Bank as part of a “national consensus formula” (Middle East Eye)
Israel Approves First New Settlement in Two Decades
Israel approved the first new West Bank settlement in twenty years to house settlers who were evicted from the Amona settlement, which a court ordered the government remove because it was built on private Palestinian land. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also stated that construction of two thousand additional homes in existing settlements was approved (New York Times)
Hamas Announces Gaza-Israel Border Closure
Hamas has announced the closure of the Gaza border with Israel following the murder of senior commander Mazen Faqha. Those with humanitarian cases will be allowed to cross (Al Jazeera)
Palestinian Authority Violently Breaks Up Protest
Palestinian Authority security forcefully broke up a peaceful protest, injuring several people. Protestors were demonstrating against the death of youth activist Basil al-Araj (Al Jazeera)
Israel Passes Bill to Ban Pro-Boycott Foreigners
Israel’s Knesset approved legislation to forbid granting entry visas or residency rights to foreigners who call for economic, academic, or cultural boycotts of Israel or its West Bank settlements (Haaretz)
New Organization to Represent Palestinian Diaspora
Leaders of a conference held in Istanbul announced the creation of a new entity to represent the Palestinian diaspora (Al Jazeera)
Netanyahu, Trump Meet as White House Signals Policy Shift
U.S. President Donald J. Trump meets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington before the Israeli leader meets with lawmakers from both parties. A White House official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the administration believed that a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict does not need to include a two-state solution, a position that would break from long-standing U.S. policy (New York Times)
Hamas Elects New Gaza Leader
Hamas elected Yahya Sinwar, who spent twenty-three years in Israeli prison, as its new chief in Gaza (Al Jazeera)
Israeli Parliament Passes Law to Legalize Jewish Settlements on Palestinian Land
The law would retroactively legalize Jewish settlements on privately owned Palestinian land in the West Bank (Haaretz)
The bill is expected to be overturned by Israel’s high court (New York Times)
White House Says Israeli Settlements ‘May Not Be Helpful’
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said that new or expanded Israeli settlements in the West Bank “may not be helpful” in achieving peace, but that the administration does not believe settlements themselves are an impediment (Washington Post)
Israeli Police Wounded in Settlement Evacuation
Forty-one police officers and several civilians were reported wounded in an operation to evict about forty families and their supporters from a West Bank settlement ruled illegal for being built on privately owned Palestinian land (Haaretz)
Israel Approves Three Thousand Settlement Homes
Israel approved three thousand new housing units in the West Bank, raising the total in the West Bank and East Jerusalem it has announced since the inauguration of President Donald J. Trump to six thousand (New York Times)
The announcement came as the Israeli army began to evacuate the several dozen families in the Amona outpost after a court found it was built on private Palestinian land