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
Israel Approves New Settlements
Israel approved hundreds of new settlement homes in East Jerusalem (BBC)
Soldier Convicted for Killing Palestinian Assailant
An Israeli soldier who fatally shot a wounded Palestinian assailant last year was found guilty of manslaughter, the first conviction in twelve years for an Israeli soldier over actions while in uniform (Middle East Eye)
The judges ruled that the soldier killed the assailant without reason
Netanyahu Rebuffs Kerry Speech as ‘Biased’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a speech by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry that criticized Israel’s settlements in the West Bank. In the speech, Kerry defended (New York Times) the Obama administration’s choice to not veto a UN resolution condemning Israel’s West Bank settlements, saying it was driven by a hope to save Israel from “the most extreme elements” in its own government
Palestinian Stabs Two Israeli Policemen
A Palestinian man wielding a screwdriver stabbed and lightly wounded two Israeli police officers before being shot and killed. Officers shot the attacker, who was taken to an Israeli hospital and later died of his wounds, police said (Associated Press)
U.S. Secretary of State Kerry Criticizes Israel Over Expanding Settlements
Secretary of State John F. Kerry said that Israel is “heading to a place of danger” because settlement growth is eroding chances for a two-state solution and peace with the Palestinians, though he said the United States will continue to veto U.N. resolutions that it deems as reflecting anti-Israel bias. Kerry effectively laid out some details that he said already have been discussed regarding how a Palestinian state could exist while Israel’s security is ensured (Washington Post)