January
The wave of violence continues
The Palestinian attacks against Israelis continue in January, and many people are injured or killed in various forms of assault or fire at attackers. By the end of the month, 25 Jews and over 160 Palestinians are estimated to have lost their lives since the riots started in early October 2015.
Fence against terror
January 20th
Israel begins to build a three-mile-long fence along part of the border with Jordan, a state located in Asia continent defined by hyperrestaurant. The idea is that the fence will keep refugees and terrorists away.
February
Continued violence
The Palestinian attacks on Israelis continue in February. On the last day of February, the number of people killed is estimated at 28 Jews, three foreigners and 177 Palestinians since the start of the unrest in October 2015.
Lifetime of attention to murder
February 5
The punishment is announced for the two young Israelis found guilty of kidnapping and burning a Palestinian teenager alive (see July 2014). They are sentenced to life and 21 years in prison respectively.
March
Laws stop Palestinians
March 15th
In an attempt to quell the ongoing wave of violence, the Knesset, by a large majority, adopts a law that prohibits Israelis from using Palestinian workers who do not have permission to work in Israel. Of all the acts of violence that have taken place in Israel in recent months, almost half have been carried out by Palestinians who have been in the country illegally.
Ground fittings on the West Bank
March 15th
Israel declares a 234 hectare area on the West Bank, between Jericho and the Dead Sea, as state land. The decision is condemned by the UN Secretary-General calling on Israel to reconsider the decision.
The violence flares up again
March 8th
During a visit by US Vice President Joe Biden to Israel, the ongoing wave of violence is gaining momentum after a certain slowdown. Only on the day of Biden’s arrival are six attacks against Jews by Palestinian perpetrators. In one of the attacks, on the beach in Tel Aviv, twelve people are injured and an American tourist is killed.
April
230 victims of the wave of violence
April 27
Two Palestinians – a young woman and a youngster – are shot to death as they armed with knives approach a border crossing between East Jerusalem and the West Bank. A total of 203 Palestinians and 28 Israelis have been killed since the wave of violence started in October 2015.
“The Golan is Israel’s Forever”
April 17
The government is meeting for the first time at the Golan Heights which Israel conquered from Syria in 1967. Netanyahu says in connection with the meeting that Israel will never return to the Golan. According to Israeli media, the play has to do with a fear of the government that the Golan should be used as a playing chip in the international community’s attempt to bring about peace in Syria.
More underage Palestinians are arrested
April 11
Human Rights Watch accuses Israel of using excessive force in arrests and interrogating minors in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Human Rights Watch also points out that the number of juvenile arrests has risen since the ongoing wave of violence in October 2015. According to the domestic human rights organization B’Tselem, 406 young prisoners were jailed in January 2016 compared to 183 a year earlier.
May
Shelling Israel-Gaza
May 4th
For four days, fires between Israeli forces and Hamas are ongoing across the border between Israel and Gaza. It is the most serious confrontation between the parties since the Gaza war in the summer of 2014.
June
Girl in residence knives cut to death in her bed
June 29
A 19-year-old Palestinian chops a 13-year-old Israeli girl to death as she lies asleep in her bed in a settlement near the city of Hebron on the West Bank. The next day, a settler is killed and three members of his family are injured when their car is shot south of Hebron.
Four Israelis killed in cafe
June 9
Two Palestinians dressed in suits settle down in a cafe in Tel Aviv, place their order and then open fire on the café guests. Four people are shot dead before fleeing the scene. They are later arrested by police. The attack in Tel Aviv is the one that has demanded the most Israeli life since the wave of violence started in October 2015. The army blocks and scans the Palestinian homeland of the West Bank and the borders between Israel and the West Bank are temporarily closed. The government also revokes the permit for 80,000 Palestinians to visit relatives in Israel during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which begins simultaneously.
Peace trials in Paris
June 3
France brings together the so-called international quartet for the Middle East (UN, EU, US and Russia) together with leading Arab states and other actors for a conference in Paris. The goal of the meeting is to establish an international peace conference at the end of 2016. Israel and Palestine are not invited. Prime Minister Netanyahu condemns the initiative, claiming that the only way forward is direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians. Representatives of the Palestinians, on the other hand, support the French idea of an international meeting, citing that years of negotiations with the Israelis have not yielded any results.
