General Information

On January 17, 2022, a Palestinian tried to stab an IDF fighter near the Gush Etzion Junction. The fighter shot and killed him. The Palestinians accused Israel of the deaths of two Palestinians, aged 75 and about 80, who apparently died as the result of IDF actions, and are trying to raise international protests. Mahmoud Abbas met with the mother of terrorist prisoner Nasser Abu Hamid, whose health has deteriorated, and the PA continues its efforts to secure his release, accusing Israel of medical negligence of prisoners. A Palestinian family in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah barricaded itself in its house when Israeli police forces came to evict them after the municipality had issued an eviction notice. Isma'il Haniyeh, head of Hamas' political bureau, met with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian at the Iranian embassy in Doha, Qatar. Read more...

Terrorist attacks: This past week a vehicular ramming attack in northern Samaria and two shooting attacks, one near al-Bireh and the other near Nablus, targeted Israeli security forces. No casualties were reported. However, relative calm continues in the Gaza Strip, accompanied by threats from Hamas and the other terrorist organizations to gradually escalate the "struggle" against Israel because of Israel's [alleged] delaying tactics in easing the daily lives of the Gazans and in rebuilding the Gaza Strip. The PA, Hamas and the PIJ strongly condemned the remarks made by Knesset Member Mahmoud Abbas, who stated that Israel was a Jewish state and would remain as one. The coronavirus: There was a slight decrease in the number of active cases in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip. In Judea and Samaria 35 Palestinians were found to have contracted the omicron variant; the first case of the variant was detected in the Gaza Strip. Read more...