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  • ChronologyOctober 16, 2009 – January 15, 2010

Abbreviations

  • ABC, ABC News

  • AFP, Agence France Presse

  • Al-Arabiya, Alarabiya.net

  • Al-Jazeera, Aljazeera.net

  • AA, Asharq Alawsat

  • AP, Associated Press

  • BBC, www.bbc.co.uk

  • CSM, Christian Science Monitor

  • CNN, www.cnn.com

  • Dawn, www.dawn.com

  • DS, Daily Star

  • DT, Daily Times

  • EurasiaNet, www.eurasianet.orgs

  • The Guardian

  • GN, Gulf News

  • Haaretz

  • Hurriyet

  • JP, The Jerusalem Post

  • KT, Khaleej Times

  • MEO, Middle East Online

  • The National

  • NYT, New York Times

  • RFE-RL, Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty

  • RNW, Radio Netherlands Worldwide

  • Reuters

  • VOA, Voice of America

  • WP, The Washington Post

  • Ynet, Ynet News

  • Zaman

Arab-Israeli Conflict

See also Israel, Palestinian Affairs

Oct. 16: The United Nations Human Rights Council voted to endorse a report containing evidence of war crimes committed by the Israel Defense Force (IDF) and Hamas militants during Israel’s 2008–2009 invasion of Gaza. The report, known as the Goldstone report after lead author Richard Goldstone, had been commissioned by the Human Rights Council. [NYT, 10/16]

Oct. 19: Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Interior Minister Eli Yishai agreed to create a task force to facilitate settlement construction in the West Bank. The task force would be responsible for ensuring that construction only took place on land owned by Jews. A similar task force had ceased operations about three years prior to Barak and Yishai’s agreement, and many building plans had been delayed as a result. [Haaretz, 10/20]

Oct. 21: Israel’s government agreed to compensate the families of seven Arab Israelis who were killed during the 2000 October Riots, and acknowledged its responsibility for their deaths. The families would each receive about $300,000, and would still be allowed to sue Israeli officials suspected of involvement in the killings. Israel had already agreed to compensate the families in 2006, but had not recognized its responsibility for the deaths, and had tried to prevent the families from filing lawsuits in the future. [Ynet, 10/21]

Oct. 25: Israeli police arrested at least 12 Palestinians during clashes on the Temple Mount. The clash was precipitated by an increased police presence following incitement by both Jewish and Muslim activists. [NYT, BBC, 10/25]

Oct. 27: Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu approved the creation of a task force that would advise Israel’s government on how to counter the Goldstone report legally, diplomatically, and through public relations efforts. During the preceding week, Netanyahu had said that no military personnel would be brought before a commission of inquiry because of allegations in the Goldstone report. [Haaretz, 10/27]

Nov. 1: Israeli Attorney General Menachem Mazuz decided to indict Arab Israeli MK Muhammad Baraka on charges of assaulting a police officer. Baraka allegedly attacked the officer during a 2005 demonstration at the West Bank separation barrier. [Haaretz, 11/1] [End Page 269]

Nov. 2: Israel released six Hamas members of the Palestinian Parliament that had been held, along with 39 other Hamas Members of Parliament (MPs), since 2006, following the abduction of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. Israeli officials said that the six Hamas officials had completed their prison terms and were not part of a prisoner exchange. [BBC, 10/2]

Nov. 4: Israel’s navy intercepted a ship that defense officials said was delivering hundreds of tons of weapons from Iran to Hizbullah via Syria. This shipment, constituting the largest arms seizure in Israel’s history, included hand grenades, mortars, and thousands of rockets and missiles. Syria, Iran, and Hizbullah denied involvement. [BBC, JP, 11/5]

Nov. 5: The UN General Assembly voted 114 to 18, with 44 abstentions, to endorse the Goldstone Report. The resolution, which the US voted against, called for the Palestinians and Israelis to carry out independent investigations of crimes committed during the 2008–09 Gaza conflict within three months. Israel rejected the resolution. [NYT, 11/5, BBC, 11/6]

Nov. 17: The Jerusalem District Planning and Building Committee approved the construction of 900 new housing units in the South Jerusalem settlement of Gilo. Earlier in the day, it was reported that aides to George Mitchell, the US Special Envoy to the Middle East, had asked the Prime Minister’s Bureau to prevent the construction...

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