Chronology: July 16, 2010 - October 15, 2010

Abbreviations

ABC, ABC News

AFP, Agence France Presse

Al-Arabiya, Alarabiya.net

Al-Bawaba, Albawaba.com

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.org

The Guardian

GN, Gulf News

Haaretz

Hurriyet

JP, The Jerusalem Post

KT, Khaleej Times

MEO, Middle East Online

The National

NPR, National Public Radio

NYT, New York Times

RFE-RL, Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty

RNW, Radio Netherlands Worldwide

Reuters

VOA, Voice of America

WP, The Washington Post

The Washington Times

Ynet, Ynet News

Zaman

Arab-Israeli Conflict

See also Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey

July 21:

The Middle East Quartet released a statement signed by special envoy Tony Blair commending the Bank of Israel's transfer of $13 million into the Gaza Strip and the exchange of $8.2 million of spoiled currency for new bills. The move came as the blockade eased and the approach of Ramadan created more demand for cash. The Palestinian Monetary Authority had requested a $62 million transfer earlier in 2010. [YNET, 7/28]

July 28:

Israeli police in East Jerusalem helped Jewish settlers move into a house occupied by a Palestinian family. The Qirrishes returned from a wedding ceremony to discover the eviction and were barred from entering the property or collecting their personal effects. The settlement group Ateret Cohanim and the Palestinian inhabitants had been in dispute over the building since the 1970s. [LAT, 7/30]

Aug. 2:

Fayez Karam, former head of the Lebanese counter-terrorism and counterespionage units, was arrested and charged with spying for Israel. He allegedly relayed information relating to Hizbullah and the Free Patriotic Movement. His was the latest in a string of espionage arrests since Lebanon launched an investigation into Israeli spy rings in 2009. Karam was the first politician to be charged. [MEO, 8/8, BBC, 8/10]

Aug. 3:

Four people were killed in the worst clash along the Israel-Lebanon border since the 2006 war. The violence erupted when, for strategic purposes, Israeli troops attempted to clear a tree near the site of a 2006 month-long rocket exchange. The following day the UN confirmed that Israel had not crossed its border while cutting down the tree. [LAT, WP, 8/4]

Aug. 5:

Israel released the Mavi Marmara and two other Turkish ships from the May 30 flotilla. The vessels were bound for Turkey. The Israeli government kept possession of three non-Turkish vessels and the Rachel Corrie, which had sailed for Gaza a few days after the Turkish flotilla. [BBC, 8/4, Al-Jazeera, 8/7]

Aug. 9:

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu testified for an Israeli state-sponsored inquiry into the flotilla incident. He defended Israel's actions, saying that it had not broken international law. He also said that his and Turkey's governments had been in negotiations for weeks to prevent conflict, but Ankara was not keen to take the case seriously. [The Guardian, 8/9]

Aug. 10:

Ehud Barak testified in the Israeli flotilla inquiry, stating that he took responsibility for the nine deaths on the flotilla in a broad sense, but blamed the military for bungling the raid. He accused the Turkish flotilla of intentionally provoking the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). [The Guardian, 8/10, BBC, 8/10]

Amidst generally friendly relations and following a series of violent border skirmishes, the IDF announced that it had changed its policy toward the Lebanese Army. According to the new rules, IDF soldiers would increase the intensity with which they responded to Lebanese aggression fourfold. Israel considered the Lebanese Army to be working toward regional stability along with the UN Interim Forces in Lebanon. [YNET, LAT, 8/10]

Aug. 11:

Lieutenant General Gabi Ashkenazi, Israel's top military chief, testified for the Israeli flotilla inquiry that the activists had fired first on IDF soldiers. He defended the use of lethal force, but said that greater precautions should have been taken to neutralize resistance before boarding the flotilla. [NYT, BBC, 8/11]

Aug. 17:

The Yesha Council and the...