Palestine weekly wrap: Jerusalem Day, Nakba mark week of surging attacks

On May 14, Jerusalem Day – Israel’s yearly solemnisation of its 1967 seizure of occupied East Jerusalem – tens of thousands of ultra-nationalist Israelis marched done the Old City chanting ‘death to Arabs’ and ‘may your villages burn’, portion attacking Palestinian shops and residents.

Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir raised the Israeli flag successful the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, declaring ‘the Temple Mount is successful our hands’ – utilizing the Jewish word for the tract – portion chap Jewish Power legislator Yitzhak Kroizer prostrated himself earlier the Dome of the Rock Mosque and declared connected societal media, “the clip has travel to get escaped of each the mosques and enactment to conception the Temple”.

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Israeli authorities barred men nether 60 and women nether 50 from entering Al-Aqsa that morning, clearing it for settler incursions – much than 2,200 successful full during the week, according to the Palestinian Authority’s Jerusalem Governorate – successful gross usurpation of the ‘status quo’, which prohibits non-Muslim supplication astatine the tract and vests custodianship successful the Jordanian-administered Islamic Waqf.

Videos circulated of settlers attacking residents successful the Old City’s Christian Quarter and Silwan, reporters shoved and spat upon, and solidarity activists expelled by constabulary portion marchers were allowed through.

The week arsenic a full amounted to 1 of the astir aggravated periods of unit and dispossession successful caller weeks – driven not lone by Jerusalem Day but by a coordinated settler propulsion into Areas A and B of the West Bank that killed a 16-year-old, displaced 7 families, arsenic good arsenic subject attacks connected Gaza and legislative actions that awesome an Israeli authorities determined to enforce facts connected the crushed earlier elections aboriginal this year.

Two Palestinian teenagers killed amid surge of settler violence

The week’s astir devastating enactment of settler unit successful the occupied West Bank was connected May 13, erstwhile dozens of settlers, nether subject protection, launched a coordinated onslaught connected the villages of Jilijliya, Sinjil  and Abwein, northbound of Ramallah, according to section Palestinian activistic networks. During the attack, 16-year-old Youssef Kaabneh was changeable successful the thorax and died – with ambulances blocked from promptly reaching him by Israeli subject vehicles, videos shared by section activists showed.

Settlers stole hundreds of sheep and 2 tractors, with videos showing them being escorted with the stolen livestock done the towns by soldiers, who besides arrested 3 Palestinian residents. Kaabneh’s household had antecedently been displaced from Wadi al-Siq owed to settler unit and had sought refuge successful Jilijliya, an country nether Palestinian Authority administrative control, believing it would connection protection. The pursuing day, 7 families were forcibly displaced from the colony outskirts, according to section activistic networks.

The onslaught was portion of a broader surge of violence. On May 16, Israeli forces changeable and killed 16-year-old Fahd Awais successful al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya, southbound of Nablus, aft opening occurrence connected the conveyance helium was in; ambulances were prevented from reaching him, according to the section Red Crescent. In Sinjil, settlers stabbed a antheral successful his fifties, Jaber Shabaneh, successful the limb arsenic helium foraged for sage, according to tract show Jonathan Pollack.

Settler attacks were documented crossed dozens of different communities successful caller days. Settlers acceptable occurrence to a mosque and vehicles successful Jibiya, according to Palestinian authorities quality bureau WAFA, and burned vehicles successful Shaqba, Beit Ummar, Abu Falah, Majdal Bani Fadel and Turmusayya, wherever a location was acceptable connected occurrence arsenic well, according to section activistic networks and WAFA. They attacked farmers successful Marah Rabah, destroyed 150 effect trees successful Yasuf, burned olive trees successful Burqa, ran implicit sheep successful Khirbet al-Tawil, and blocked the Ashkara roadworthy southbound of Yatta, according to section Palestinian activistic networks and Pollack.

Political and legislative developments

The death punishment law for Palestinians convicted of deadly acts of “terrorism” successful the West Bank came into effect connected Sunday nighttime aft the Israeli military’s Central Command main Avi Bluth signed the indispensable subject order, according to the Times of Israel. The instrumentality has been condemned by United Nations experts and aggregate governments arsenic discriminatory and perchance constituting a warfare crime.

The Israeli conjugation submitted a measure to dissolve the Israeli parliament, with elections required by precocious October. Opposition person and erstwhile Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman warned Israeli reporters that Netanyahu mightiness motorboat a subject cognition for electoral purposes.

Israel’s authorities approved plans to physique an Israeli subject analyzable connected the tract of UNRWA’s demolished office successful Sheikh Jarrah, according to WAFA. Israeli authorities besides approved a program to prehend historical Palestinian properties successful the Bab al-Silsila neighbourhood adjacent to Al-Aqsa, and issued subject orders seizing onshore successful Jenin and Qabatiya, according to WAFA.

Also this week, Fatah held its Eighth General Conference – the archetypal successful a decennary – re-electing Mahmoud Abbas arsenic person and electing his lad Yasser to the Central Committee, a determination critics said prioritised loyalty implicit antiauthoritarian merit.

Gaza: Assassinations, strikes, and breadstuff lines

Israel killed Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the caput of Hamas’s equipped wing, connected Nakba Day – May 15 – successful a onslaught that besides killed his wife, girl and 4 different civilians successful a Gaza City residential building. Netanyahu confirmed successful a televised appearance that Israel present controls astir 60 percent of the Strip – beyond the ‘yellow line’ agreed nether the October ceasefire.

Strikes continued passim the week crossed the Strip. On May 14, 2 brothers, Tamer and Mohammad al-Mutawaq, were killed successful a drone onslaught connected a radical of civilians connected al-Nazha Street successful Jabalia, according to WAFA. On May 16, a Palestinian was killed successful a onslaught adjacent the Abu Hussein schoolhouse successful Jabalia camp. On May 17, 3 assemblage room workers were killed successful a onslaught connected a nutrient organisation site successful Deir al-Balah, which Hamas called “a deliberate warfare crime.” One different idiosyncratic was killed the aforesaid time successful a onslaught successful Khan Younis, according to WAFA.

While specified attacks persist, the humanitarian concern successful the Strip remains astatine situation levels, arsenic bread lines grow. According to OCHA’s May 15 concern report, lone 1 successful each 2 assistance trucks from Egypt was capable to offload astatine Israeli crossings successful the archetypal eleven days of May.

The WHO estimated this week that implicit 43,000 radical successful Gaza person life-changing injuries – 1 successful 4 of them children – with nary rehabilitation installation afloat operational. In Khan Younis, sewage pumping stations person ceased operations owed to lubricant lipid shortages, flooding residential streets, according to OCHA.

Since the October ceasefire, 877 Palestinians successful Gaza person been killed and much than 2,600 injured. Since October 7, 2023, the cumulative decease toll stands astatine 72,769.