Since the late 19th century, successive waves of migration of European Jews, known as Aliyah, punctuated by episodes of anti-Semitic unrests and economic hardship in the region, have driven them to establish settlements in Palestine.

• Aliyah is a Hebrew word that means “going up” or “ascension”. Aliyah is then the practical movement of returning to Israel but also “a spiritual and personal decision of return.” The ascension also referred to an elevated life of national commitment.
  - Forward

• Aliyah represents “the arrival of Jews as individuals or groups from exile, or Diaspora, to live in Eretz Israel”. “Traditionally, when the Hebrews travel to the Land of Israel, they ascend”.
  - Department for Jewish Education

• There were several waves of Aliyah throughout the modern era. The First Aliyah (1882-1903) occurred during a period of increased anti-Semitism in Eastern Europe, prompting thousands of Jews to immigrate to Palestine. “Between 1882 and 1903, approximately 35,000 Jews immigrated to the southwestern area of Syria, then a province of the Ottoman Empire. The majority, belonging to the Hovevei Zion and Bilu movements, came from the Russian Empire with a smaller number arriving from Yemen. Many established agricultural communities.”
  - Jewish Virtual Library

• This first wave of Aliyah coincided with the rise of Zionist ideology in the late 1800s. Zionism was first used to describe “Jewish nationalism first used by the Austrian journalist Nathan Birnbaum in 1890.”
  - History Today

As the momentum of Aliyah was weakened by European nationalism, Zionism emerged as a revitalizing force in the quest for a ‘homeland’ for the Jewish people. Championed by intellectuals, financiers, and community leaders, such as Theodor Herzl, it gained traction across Europe and garnered support from influential figures.

• “Zionism is a nationalist movement that advocates for a homeland for the Jewish people in the Biblical Land of Israel. It is the organization of ideas that actively sought and achieved the existence of the Israeli state in 1948.”
  - The Conversation

• As the biblical concept of Aliyah was rivaled in the 18th and 19th century by the development of nation state and the promise of emancipation for minorities, Zionism emerged to reaffirm the idea of a Jewish national commitment and answer the identity crisis. “Expanding beyond France’s borders, emancipation created an identity crisis in the Jewish community. Before 1791, communal leaders were able to maintain something approaching a cohesive group identity within the confines of the ghetto […] After emancipation, however, as the ghetto gates creaked open and modern ideas encroached on sacred terrain, what had been a distinctive identity began to blur. What did it mean to be Jewish in a world where reason trumped belief and individualism challenged communal identities?” Thus, “Zionism emerged from this world. […] a minority of Jewish thinkers concluded that the only way to secure their community would be to build a Jewish national home”.
  - History Today

• Theodor Herzl is considered as the historical leader of Zionism. Herzl “was raised in a secular Jewish household in Hungary. In Vienna, he had a brief career as a lawyer before becoming a journalist and writer of plays and literature. Initially, he firmly believed European Jews should assimilate into European culture, […] But his views changed after witnessing antisemitic riots in Paris in 1895. He decided antisemitism was not something that could ever be defeated. Instead, he encouraged European Jews to abandon the continent and create their own national home. […] He argues Jews possess a national identity that should be embraced. However, he said, they would never be safe from antisemitism unless they lived in a community in which they were the majority.”
  - History Today

• At the beginning of his endeavor, he aimed at “attracting to his vision the European Jewish moneyed aristocracy. […]Herzl had in mind primarily two banking magnates: Baron de Hirsch, known for extending to the Ottoman Empire the credit that made, among other things, the building of railways there possible, and who was already involved in Jewish philanthropy, mainly by supporting the establishment of Jewish agricultural settlements in Argentina; and the Paris Rothschilds, who were already known for their support of some of the first Jewish villages in Palestine, which they had rescued from bankruptcy.[…] Herzl's initial plan was to present himself before these financiers and convince them that he held the only key to the solution of the Jewish problem: the establishment of a Jewish commonwealth, preferably in Palestine (though at that time, mainly in deference to Hirsch's philanthropic projects in Argentina, he did not rule out South America as an option).”
  - Berman Jewish Policy Archive

• “In Basel in 1897, and at subsequent Zionist congresses, Herzl and delegates from various countries and societies created the institutions that would form the basic structure of the future State of Israel. They also strove to gain international recognition and support for a Jewish state. The First Zionist Congress adopted the Basel Program, which stated: “Zionism aims at establishing for the Jewish people a publicly and legally assured home in Palestine.”
  - Government of Israel

• Thus, Zionism “was a national movement that sought to liberate an oppressed community. However, Zionism was a national movement for a people without a land; it needed a land without a people, a terra nullius on which a new society could be crafted. And here we come to its second aspect. In building a Jewish homeland in Eretz Israel – a territory also known as Ottoman Palestine or Greater Syria or the Holy Land – at the expense of the Arab population, the Zionist movement would acquire a settler-colonial dimension, bearing a family resemblance to other ‘New World’ societies such as the United States or Australia.”
  - History Today

• In parallel to the development of Zionism, waves of Aliyah continue, such as the Second Aliyah (1904-1914) and the Third Aliyah (1919-1923), were influenced by similar factors, including anti-Semitism and political unrest in Europe, as well as the aftermath of World War I. With every new wave of antisemitism and new pogroms, Emigration rose. “Between 1919 and 1923, 40,000 Jews, mainly from Eastern Europe arrived in the wake of World War I”. “In spite of immigration quotas established by the British administration, the Jewish population reached 90,000 by the end of this period”. Between 1924 and 1929, 82,000 Jews arrived, many as a result of anti-Semitism in Poland and Hungary. “Between 1929 and 1939, with the rise of Nazism in Germany, a new wave of 250,000 immigrants arrived; the majority of these, 174,000, arrived between 1933 and 1936, after which increasing restrictions on immigration by the British made immigration clandestine and illegal, called Aliyah Bet.” This emigration during Nazi Germany was called the Fifth Aliyah.
  - Jewish Virtual Library

• “When war broke out between Israel and the Arab states in 1948, many of the Jews living in Arab countries fled to Israel under threat of persecution and a desire to fulfill the Zionist dream. As anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism increased in the Arab world, Jewish emigration continued until the early 1970s. Many were forced to abandon their properties and belongings before leaving. Today, there are only a few very small Jewish communities remaining in the Middle East outside of Israel.”
  - Reform Judaism

More recently, Aliyah found a new fervor in other part of the world. Russian migration was sparked by the end of the Soviet Union, and nowadays, Beta Israel, the Ethiopian Jews, sometimes called the Falasha are an important contribution to this practical movement towards Israel. Even though they sometimes face racism from their new homeland.

• Aliyah nowadays refers mainly to the Ethiopian and Russian migration to the State of Israel. There was mass immigration from the Soviet Union from1989 “The million-plus citizens of the former Soviet Union who migrated to Israel in the past 20 years have not only made new lives of their own but they have transformed their adopted country. They have influenced the culture, hi-tech industry, language, education and, perhaps most significantly, Israeli politics. Jews in the former Soviet Union were largely banned from making aliya – migrating to Israel – before the collapse of the empire. But from 1990 onwards they came in their thousands, and they now constitute around 15% of Israel's 7.7 million population.”
  - Guardian

• As to the Ethiopian Jews, the organization of their migration came with successive famines and political instability in the region. Several operations were set into motion for their return. “Operations Moses and Joshua together airlift about one-third of the Ethiopian Jews to Israel. In May 1991, Operation Solomon carries 14,000 Ethiopian Jews directly to Israel in military aircraft. Subsequent efforts enable most of the remaining 8,000 members of the Ethiopian Jewish community to make aliyah.”
  - Center for Israel Education

• “In May 1991, famine once again hit North Africa. In addition, the acting government was weak, and the likelihood of it falling to Eritrean rebels was high. Ethiopia’s Jews were in danger. […]The Israel Air Force allocated six El Al Boeing 707s and 18 Hercules planes capable of carrying 18,000 people. The mission had two stages: a three-hour flight to Addis Ababa (using the Boeing 707 plane) and another five hours to Israel, using the Hercules aircraft. [...] The first Boeing plane took off at noon, followed by the rest. At one time, 27 planes were in the air. The IAF airlifted nearly 15,000 Jewish men, women, and children in 41 sorties. Less than 24 hours separated the first takeoff from the last. “Never before,” IAF Commander Maj. Gen. Avihu Ben-Nun said, “did so few pilots transport such a great number of people in such a short time.”
  - Jewish Virtual Library

• Under the ‘Law of Return’, they were granted citizenship. There are still Jewish Ethiopians today trying to benefit from the law of return, even if their endeavor is hindered, “many opponents of immigration from Ethiopia are motivated by racism; […] non-Jews of Jewish descent from the former Soviet Union are granted citizenship under the Law of Return while those of similar status in Ethiopia are not.”
  - Jerusalem Post

Palestine became a British colony as an outcome of World War 1. The Zionist movement lobbied the British government to allow them to establish their own Zionist colony in Palestine. At the time, the land was known and explicitly referred to as “Palestine” and the Balfour Declaration is the document that established official British government support for the European Zionists to establish their own state in Palestine.

• The British diplomat, Mark Sykes, renowned for having negotiated the Sykes-Picot Agreement in 1916, dividing the Ottoman Empire between France and Britain, was also a supporter of Zionism, for peculiar reasons. A year after having signed the agreement with the French, Sykes and the British administration looked to rescind it, considering that it was too favorable to the French, and too limiting for the influence of the British over the region : “his Sykes-Picot agreement would have prevented the Zionists from making much progress on their objectives regarding the future of Palestine because it would have resulted in a northern area under French protection and a southern one under British control. France would control much of Syria including most of the Galilee, and British influence was mainly to be in the Acre/Haifa region. The area around the Holy Places of Jerusalem was to be under international administration. For the British administration, Zionism and British imperialism had therefore a common interest: “more than anyone, Sykes was aware of the French wish to be in control of Palestine to prevent the British from gaining control of the country. And the growing strength of Zionism, especially with its interest in having some British involvement, allowed him to find a way of gaining exclusive British influence in Palestine”. Additionally, he had strong connections with spies and Zionist advocates in the region, and with the approval of the Prime Minister, he came to discard the Sykes-Picot Agreement and pursue the Zionist agenda: “It resulted in Sykes bringing the Zionist issue into the strategy for the Middle East that he was developing that was aimed at getting Palestine under British and not French control.”
  - Theodor Herzl Foundation

• Ever since the first Zionist congress in Bale in 1897, Zionists were advocating for the creation of a Jewish national home in Palestine. Chaim Weizmann specifically was heralded as the leading advocate for Zionists: “in the collective memory of Zionists and Israelis, there is another factor: the persuasive genius of one man, Chaim Weizmann. That telling goes like this: Weizmann, famed biochemist and later head of the English Zionist Federation, managed single-handedly to win over Britain’s leading politicians and opinion-makers to the Zionist idea. The Weizmann saga unfolds behind the scenes in London drawing rooms, where this Russian Jewish immigrant, having arrived in England only in 1904, succeeds in persuading—some might say, seducing—the likes of Balfour, Mark Sykes, Alfred Milner, and David Lloyd George, who would soon hold the fate of the Middle East in their hands.” Weizmann would eventually end up as the first president of Israel. Nahum Sokolow was also instrumental to the work towards European powers. He engaged in advocating, diplomacy throughout Europe to convince dignitaries of the legitimacy of Zionists’ claim: “Sokolow was also given credit because he accomplished what many thought impossible: during the spring of 1917, he secured the explicit or tacit assent of the French and Italian governments, and even of the Catholic pope, to a Jewish “national home” under British auspices. How did he surprise everyone, including Weizmann, by his achievement? Why has it been forgotten? And how might its recovery benefit the centennial retrospective on the Balfour Declaration? IV. Britain as a Repository of Zionist Hopes”.
  - Mosaic Magazine and Harvard University

• Lord Balfour was a British-Scottish Statesman in the Conservative Party. His uncle was the marquess of Salisbury, Robert Cecil. He joined the government of his uncle and started to gain recognition as the Chief Secretary of Ireland, where he came to be known “for his severity in repressing insurrections” earning him the name of “Bloody Balfour”. Rising quickly, he served as Prime Minister, from 1902-1905, and foreign Minister, from 1916-1919. He was a defender of the British Empire and worked to maintain British control over territories of the United Kingdom. He was Foreign Minister during the First World War and was during his mandate also instrumental in the British recognition of Zionism claim over Palestine. He was a Zionist, and had met the leader of the movement, Chaim Weizmann several times, between 1906 and 1917, before writing his declaration.
  - Britannica

• The Balfour Declaration was written on November 2, 1917, under the format of a statement from Balfour, the British Foreign Secretary to Lionel Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rotschild, one of the leaders of the Anglo-Jewish community. There are theories as to why the declaration was written to the banker and not to another leader of the Jewish community in Britain. The businessman was sympathetic to Zionism, and we can assume that his political connections, his renown, and influence over the Jewish community were the main reasons for being chosen as recipient. We can also imagine that his financial fortune may have been a motive; addressing the letter to Rothschild could have been a gambit to garner financial support for the war effort. All these theories are nonetheless unsubstantiated. The letter declares “sympathy with Jewish Zionism aspiration which has been submitted and approved by the cabinet” and the Kingdom endorses “the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish People” and ensures that they will facilitate such endeavor. Additionally, the documents stipulate that “nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious right of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine”, without providing any more details as to the identity of these communities, their rights and how to enforce them.
  - Multiple Sources (UK Parliament, BBC, Yale University, Times of Israel)

• Right after the declaration, there was a vigorous pushback coming from the Arab and Palestinian communities. Right after the war, commissions were set up by the US, news articles were published and Palestinian congresses were held in Palestine, and the conclusion was unequivocal: “Our country is Arab, Palestine is Arab, and Palestine must remain Arab.” The pushback was all the more important as initially the British had have exchanges with Arab dignitaries, and an informal bargain was struck: Arab support of the Allies in WW1, against the promise of Arab independence, once the war was won.
  - Al Jazeera

The State of Israel was created in the 1940s by partitioning Palestinian land. Palestinians were violently displaced from lands that were declared to be a part of the newly-created State of Israel. Historically and presently, “Israel” only exists as a result of being allowed to destroy entire communities of people and occupy their lands. The “Nakba” refers to the initial mass displacement that took place in the late 1940s.

• “Before the Nakba, Palestine was a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural society.” Conflict between native Arabs and European settlers “intensified in the 1930s” as a result of “the Zionist movement aiming to establish a Jewish state in Palestine.” The Zionist movement later got its wish granted by the international community. “In November 1947, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution partitioning Palestine into two states, one Jewish and one Arab, with Jerusalem under a UN administration” but Arabs inside and outside of Palestine “rejected the plan, arguing that it was unfair and violated the UN Charter.” In response, European “Jewish militias launched attacks against Palestinian villages, forcing thousands to flee. The situation escalated into a full-blown war in 1948, with the end of the British Mandate and the departure of British forces, the declaration of independence of the State of Israel and the entry of neighbouring Arab armies. The newly established Israeli forces launched a major offensive. The result of the war was the permanent displacement of more than half of the Palestinian population.”
  - UN

• “Israel’s military occupation of Palestine remains at the core of this decades-long conflict that continues to shape every part of Palestinians’ lives. Between 1947 and 1949, Zionist military forces attacked major Palestinian cities and destroyed some 530 villages. About 15,000 Palestinians were killed in a series of mass atrocities, including dozens of massacres. On April 9, 1948, Zionist forces committed one of the most infamous massacres of the war in the village of Deir Yassin on the western outskirts of Jerusalem. More than 110 men, women and children were killed by members of the pre-Israeli-state Irgun and Stern Gang Zionist militias.”
  - Al Jazeera

• “On 14 May 1948, Israel declared independence, and in a war which began the next day, up to 750,000 Palestinians who had lived on that land fled or were expelled from their homes.” In other words, “Most of the Arabs who lived in the area which became Israel fled or were expelled by Israeli forces in the 1948-49 war”.
  - BBC

• The “Nakba” refers to “the expulsion and displacement of more than 700,000 Palestinians from their homes, villages and cities during the one-year conflict that created Israel in 1948.” It “has been engraved in Palestinian collective consciousness as a story of relentless dispossession.”
  - Amnesty International

The background to the war stems from the Nakba which was the ethnic cleansing of previously Palestinian-occupied lands and the first Arab-Israeli war in 1948 which saw Arab states declare war against Israel in opposition to their colonialist policies and ethnic cleansing.

As a result of the 1948 war, Egypt barred Israeli access to the Straits of Tiran which was home to a strategic Israeli port. This blockade, along with British and French designs on the Suez Canal following its nationalization by Col Nasser led to the 1956 Suez Crisis.

Access to this port had been deemed of strategic importance and on multiple occasions, Israeli leaders stated that they would go to war if they were blocked from accessing the Red Sea port.

• “Interference, by armed force, with ships of Israeli flag exercising free and innocent passage in the Gulf of Aqaba and through the Straits of Tiran will be regarded by Israel as an attack entitling it to exercise its inherent right of self-defence under Article 51 of the Charter and to take all such measures as are necessary to ensure the free and innocent passage of its ships in the Gulf and in the Straits.
  - Government of Israel

Israel lies about who started the war. On the 5th of June 1967 war broke out between the Arab coalition and Israel. Despite Israel at first stating that they were attacked by Egypt and responded in retaliation, they later admitted that they had struck the Arab Coalition first in a surprise attack.

• Both sides claim that the other struck first with Israel claiming that “the first onslaught came from Egyptian tanks and planes in the Negev”. Meanwhile, the Egyptians alleged that “fighting started when Israeli aircraft raided Cairo and other parts of Egypt at 9 o’clock local time.”
  - The Guardian

• “The Israeli war plan depended on a surprise attack, called Operation Focus, which would destroy the Arab air forces on the ground, starting with Egypt. They had trained for it for years and the first wave of attacks was about to go in.”
  - BBC

During the 6 days war, Egypt and other members of the Arab Coalition accused the Israel of participating in war crimes. Egypt has on numerous occasions called on Israel to investigate allegations that Israeli troops killed Egyptian prisoners of war in 1967.

• Israel faces accusations of digging “mass graves in the Sinai” which contained the “remains of Egyptian prisoners of war and unarmed civilians shot by Israeli soldiers during the 1967 war.”
  - NYT

The impact of the war is long. Following the war, Israel occupied all Palestinian lands and began moving settlers into the occupied territories as they “absorbed the whole of historical Palestine, as well as additional territory from Egypt and Syria.”

• The end of the war also saw the forced expulsion of “300,000 Palestinians from their homes, including 130,000 who were displaced in 1948”.
  - Al Jazeera

• Since 1967 and its occupation of the West Bank, Israel has “established 237 settlements there, housing approximately 580,000 settlers.” In these areas, Palestinians live in what has been described as a state of apartheid where “Israel applies Israeli civil law to settlers, affording them legal protections, rights, and benefits that are not extended to Palestinians living in the same territory who are subjected to Israeli military law.”
  - HRW

Following the death of its first president Yasser Arafat, Palestine held presidential elections in January 2005. Fatah candidate Mahmoud Abbas won 62% of the vote; turnout stood at nearly 70%.

• The president-elect faced a double bind on what to do with movements deemed "militant" such as the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). According to Guardian coverage at the time, Abbas reportedly "would not go after militants". Yet, it also noted that “Israel's deputy prime minister, Ehud Olmert, said a Palestinian crackdown on militants was a precondition for any progress in the peace process”.
  - Guardian

• The electoral process did some have some irregularities. The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights documented power outages mostly affecting polling stations in the Gaza Strip. Israeli occupation force firing upon polling stations, also in Gaza. The subsequent impact was that "a number of polling centres were temporarily closed and voters were extremely terrified." This episode of violence compounded upon a “negative environment created by the continuous Israeli belligerent occupation and attacks launched by Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) against Palestinian civilians that directly impacted the electoral process in the preceding weeks.”
  - PCHR

• The European Union's observation mission for the presidential election noted Israeli refusal to permit Palestinian electoral staff entry into East Jerusalem. It commented further, stating that “[Israeli authorities] refusing to allow adequate preparation by the DEC, together with their closing down of the registration of voters in September, had a profoundly negative impact on the electoral process in Jerusalem.” This amounts to Israel enaging in voter repression and disrespecting the electoral result.
  - EU

In response to international pressure from the International Court of Justice and Israeli allies, the Israeli military conducted the withdrawal of the final Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip.

• Contemporary reporting indicated that “Palestinians welcome[d] the withdrawal but fear[ed] Israel will use it as an excuse to tighten its hold on the West Bank, where Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, with American acquiescence, plan[ned] to strengthen large settlement blocs.”
  - Al Jazeera

• In fact, a Democracy Now interview revealed noting contradictions between Israeli messaging: “When Sharon’s Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert held a press conference last week with the foreign press, he said categorically, 'There is no attempt to use this to consolidate our position in the West Bank. It's simply untrue, there’s no Israeli government policy of that kind.’ Interestingly, Ariel Sharon told the Israeli press today that getting out of Gaza protected the Israeli settlement — Jewish settlement blocks in the West Bank, a twin message depending on the audience.” In this way, Israel’s perceived control over the West Bank would be connected to the fate of Gaza.
  - Democracy Now

• The 2005 withdrawal only reduced the physical presence of settlements in the Gaza Strip. “Israeli troops will be out of Gaza but will maintain a presence at entry points and will have control over airspace and territorial waters. Ehud Olmert, the new Israeli finance minister, said Sunday that Israel's decisions will be based on its security -- ‘on whether there will be terror or not.’” Israel’s new security policy would form the basis for the comprehensive blockade to come less than two years.
  - CNN

• A sector of Israeli society viewed the presence of settlements as key to Israeli national security - including several-time (and current) prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu, in his letter resigning from his post as then-Finance Minister, stated that “[he] cannot be part of this irresponsible move that divides the people and harms Israel's security and will in the future pose a danger for the wholeness of Jerusalem.”
  - BBC

• Additionally, despite Israeli government advisories to the contrary, coverage a year prior to the disengagement indicated that the withdrawal plan as proposed before its implementation "serve[d] to dispel the claims regarding Israel’s responsibility for the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip". It follows from this that the 2005 withdrawal was used to shirk obligations under international law, from ensuring the provision of essential goods to prevention of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.
  - HRW

In January 2006, Hamas won the the Palestinian legislative election under the “Change and Reform” banner.

• Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's was quoted as reacting to Hamas's electoral victory by saying, “The state of Israel will not negotiate with a Palestinian administration if even part of it is an armed terrorist organization calling for the destruction of the state of Israel.” Notably, the occupier’s immediate reaction was not to try rebalancing talks, but to refuse negotiation.
  - NYT

• In his observations on the 2006 election, former US president Jimmy Carter remarked, “Naturally, [Olmert] will continue Sharon's policies, and made it plain that he would resume peace talks with Abbas, but only if radical Palestinian groups are completely disarmed (a hopeless prospect).” In the same report, former US president Jimmy Carter also condemned Israel's sanctions against Hamas leaders and legislators, observing that, “I called the Prime Minister's office and was told that no Hamas party member would be given a pass to change location anywhere within the occupied territories. This would prevent the results of the election from being implemented, and could provoke an intense reaction and perhaps violence among all Palestinians, regardless of party.” Twice in as many years, Israeli would make impositions against the Palestinian democratic process.
  - Carter Center

• Israel escalated further with a policy of detaining Palestinian legislators in 2006 towards securing the release of Israeli soldier and prisoner of war Gilad Shalit. Hamas legislators were targeted in particular, but not for supposed militancy. One parliamentarian was “[...] considered a Hamas moderate who opposes violence. When he arrived at his home in Ramallah yesterday, a squad of Israeli soldiers in jeeps were waiting nearby. They surrounded the house and summoned him by loudspeaker before tying him up and taking him away.”
  - Guardian

Political conflict between Fatah and Hamas, as well as external intervention against the latter movement, escalated into civil war resulting in and forming the basis for isolation of Palestine by the Israeli occupation and its allies.

• Throughout summer 2006, Palestinian officers in the Presidential Guard received training from US counterparts in the Secret Service. One of the trainees was quoted as saying, “Ever since the Hamas election victory, security has been tightened around (Abbas)," said the officer, speaking on condition of anonymity. ‘The fear is that someone from Hamas will try to assassinate him, and we must be ready to deal with this threat. The main threat to the security of the president is from the militia of Hamas.’”
  - SFGATE

• Additionally, by September/October 2006, the US, Israel and Fatah all planned for the ouster of the Hamas government failing the latter's compliance with external demands imposed by the Quartet (of the United States, European Union, Russia and United Nations). “The U.S. administration, Israel, many Arab governments, and much of Fatah – including most of Abbas’ key advisors – have a different view. They continue to believe that if Hamas does not unambiguously accept the Quartet’s conditions, it should and can be forced out of power, through early elections, its dismissal and appointment of an emergency government or a popular referendum seeking Palestinian agreement to the Quartet’s conditions.” Yet it was known that doing so could lead to a conflict, potentially isolating the West Bank and Gaza from each other. “Hamas cannot be ignored or wished away. Legal obstacles aside, any attempt to force it out of power undoubtedly would provoke significant internal strife, escalation of the conflict with Israel, and a possible split between the West Bank (where Fatah is strongest) and Gaza (where Hamas predominates and has consolidated its position).”
  - International Crisis Group

• Despite elections taking place in January 2006, by December of the same year, president Abbas called for early elections to settle the dispute between government branches. “Aides have said Abbas did not believe in a ‘two-headed government’, arguing that Palestinians should be given the chance to choose between his programme of seeking a two-state solution with Israel and that of Hamas.” Hamas would reject these calls: “However, Hamas said the president had no authority to call early elections and was launching a coup. The movement's leaders said they would never allow early elections to be held but did not say how.”
  - SMH

• By March 2007, the Palestine Legislative Council approved the formation of a Fatah-Hamas unity government. “Prime Minister Haniyeh of Hamas said the coalition wants to set up a Palestinian state in the lands Israel occupied in the 1967 Mideast War. He said the Palestinians affirm the right to resist occupation, but will also seek to expand a truce with Israel.” Haniyeh also said “the government wants to expand a cease-fire with Israel, yet also ‘affirms that resistance in all its means, including the popular resistance against occupation’ is a Palestinian right. Popular resistance is jargon for demonstrations and other nonviolent protests.” Reportedly, “the platform fell short of international conditions for acceptance, including explicit recognition of Israel and renunciation of violence. Israel reiterated [...] that it will not deal with the new government.”
  - Arab News

• Less than three months after the formation of the unity government, Abbas dissolved it in a state of emergency. “We have decided to do the following: to dismiss Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh. We are declaring a state of emergency in all the lands of the Palestinian Authority ... and establishing a government authorized with implementing the regulations and instructions of the state of emergency [...]”
  - Reuters

• In the context of Fatah’s overtures against it, Hamas engaged in internal conflict against Fatah forces in June 2007, at this point instrumentalised by Israel and the US alike to crush the movement. Desperate to support their proxy, “Israel and the US [were] expected to ease an embargo on the Palestinian Authority in order to boost Mr Abbas and his secular Fatah group, now that there are two warring Palestinian entities.” Hamas would eventually seize control of the entirety of Gaza.
  - Guardian

In the aftermath of Hamas cementing control in Gaza, Israel imposed a land and sea blockade on the territory. From June 2007 onwards, the Israeli occupation severely stemmed the flow of goods, even those essential to life.

• “For much of the three years since Hamas took control of Gaza, its 1.5m people have relied on less than a quarter of the volume of imported supplies they received in December 2005. In the wake of the Hamas takeover, Israel said it would allow only basic humanitarian supplies into the Strip. It has a list of dual-use items such as steel pipes and fertiliser which it says could be used to manufacture weapons. These are not allowed in, with the exception of ‘special humanitarian cases’. Other than that, no specific list of what is and is not allowed in has been published, and items gaining entry vary over time.”
  - BBC

• Household items, appliances, electronics and inputs for construction have all been restricted at times, inhibiting economic activity and recovery from Israel's routine attacks on Gaza. “The UN relief agency for Palestinian refugees Unrwa's list of household items that have been refused entry at various times includes light bulbs, candles, matches, books, musical instruments, crayons, clothing, shoes, mattresses, sheets, blankets, pasta, tea, coffee, chocolate, nuts, shampoo and conditioner. Many other items - ranging from cars to fridges to computers - are generally refused entry. Building materials such as cement, concrete and wood were nearly always refused entry until early 2010, when some glass, wood, cement and aluminium were allowed in.”
  - BBC

• “The WHO says that shortages of drugs are a problem, with 15-30% of essential drugs out of stock over 2009. But it blames problems in the supply chain, including the rift between Fatah and Hamas. However it says the blockade is a major factor in the "dire state" of much of Gaza's medical equipment, with delays in approval of machines and spare parts, and engineers denied access to fit them. The medical system has also struggled with lack of spare parts and, at times, fuel for back-up generators, and lack of building work because of the shortage of materials.”
  - BBC

• In 2011, various UN rapporteurs condemned Israel's blockade on Gaza as violating the human rights of Gazans. “For the UN experts, ‘decisive steps must be taken to defend the dignity and basic welfare of the civilian population of Gaza, more than half of whom are children.’ They continued, ‘The Israeli blockade of Gaza must end immediately and the people of Gaza must be afforded protection in line with international law.’” The rapporteurs clarified that, “[u]nder human rights law and international humanitarian law the people of Gaza, even while living under occupation, have the right to an adequate standard of living, and to the continued improvement of living conditions. This right includes access to affordable and adequate food, and sufficient quantities of safe, accessible and affordable water, as well as proper sanitation services and facilities. Gazans also have the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, but for many years have been experiencing declining and subsistence standards that are below minimum levels.” Those same UN experts viewed Israel as legally responsible for the humanitarian situation in Gaza. “Israel, as a State Party to many of the international human rights conventions, continues to bear responsibility for implementing its human rights obligations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. The International Court of Justice, United Nations human rights treaty bodies and special procedures, and successive High Commissioners for Human Rights have consistently confirmed that international human rights law and international humanitarian law apply concurrently in all of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.”
  - OHCHR

• A 2008 report from several organisations, including Amnesty International, the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development, Oxfam, CARE and Save the Children UK viewed the blockade as an aggravating factor and called for internatonal pressure to end it. “The blockade has effectively dismantled the economy and impoverished the population of Gaza. Israel's policy affects the civilian population of Gaza indiscriminately and constitutes a collective punishment against ordinary men, women and children. The measures taken are illegal under international humanitarian law.”
  - PCHR

• Doctors Without Borders (MSF) called for an end to the blockade: “As occupied territory, Gaza depends – both for its immediate survival and its development - on the goodwill of the Israeli authorities. The relaxation of the criteria for goods and people entering will improve the population’s living conditions today, but the easing of the current catastrophe cannot wait for some future date.”
  - MSF

• The blockade actively worsens health and economic outcomes for Gazans. By early 2022, “Unemployment levels in Gaza are amongst the highest in the world: the Q1 jobless rate in 2022 was 46.6%, compared with an average of 34.8% in 2006. Youth unemployment for the same period (age 15-29) stands at 62.5%. (PCBS) 31% of households in Gaza have difficulties meeting essential education needs such as tuition fees and books, due to lack of financial resources. 1.3 million out of 2.1 million Palestinians in Gaza (62%) require food assistance. At its current operating capacity, the Gaza Power Plant can only produce up to 80 megawatts (MW), supplemented by 120 MW purchased from Israel, meeting about 50% of the electricity demand in Gaza (400-450MW). In 2021, rolling power cuts averaged 11 hours per day. 78% of piped water in Gaza is unfit for human consumption.”
  - UNICEF

• Three days before the October 7 incursion across the Gaza border fence, Reuters stated that “A recent International Monetary Fund report said that for any stable long-term economic recovery in Gaza, ‘lifting of the blockade and easing of the Israeli-imposed restrictions are essential’. It noted that Gaza had lagged far behind the West Bank over the past 15 years, mainly due to the years of isolation and repeated conflict after Hamas came to power in 2007, with 77% of households receiving aid, mainly cash or food.” The coverage continued, saying “With an official unemployment rate in Gaza of over 46%, Hamas itself has faced rumbling discontent over its economic management although for its part, the movement blames the Israeli blockade for the enclave's economic woes.”
  - Reuters

Since Hamas won the general elections in 2006, the enclave has faced an onslaught of attacks from Israel. They’ve targeted mainly journalists, residential areas, schools, hospitals and farming villages, but have stated that these attacks were mere oversights made while trying to kill Hamas members. Contrary to that statement, they have killed mostly women and children, torturing and imprisoning thousands of Palestinians in the process. Israeli and western media have not only vilified Hamas as a rouge government, but have also completely changed the narrative amongst the international audience.

• “It was the third hospital Israel's military has struck since launching a ground offensive in Gaza last week. The four people killed at al-Aqsa Hospital on Monday included one patient and three visitors, health officials told NBC News” in July 2014.
  - NBC

• “The Israeli military carried out attacks on or near three well-marked schools where it knew hundreds of people were taking shelter, killing and wounding scores of civilians”.
  - HRW

• Even with no proof of Palestinians being part of Hamas or trying to harm Israeli settlers, they are detained or killed. “A usual case is one of a Palestinian found in possession of a knife being charged with attempted murder without any real evidence to indicate that he or she actually used or intended to use the weapon to kill,” said Sahar Francis, director of Addammer, an organization that assists Palestinian prisoners. “In the case of children, stone-throwing is the most common act defined as a crime against the security of the State of Israel. Children can be sentenced to months in prison for throwing stones.”
  - WaPo

The situation was exacerbated by the Egyptian government helping to halt exports, impose tariffs on imported goods and fuel, and restricting Palestinians who could travel across their border.

• “UK Prime Minister David Cameron has condemned the blockade of the Gaza Strip, describing the territory as a "prison camp". He also criticised Israel for launching an attack on a convoy transporting Turkish activists and aid to Gaza. Nine Turkish citizens died in the raid.” He then continued by saying “Gaza cannot and must not be allowed to remain a prison camp. People in Gaza are living under constant attacks and pressure in an open-air prison,”
  - BBC

• “Israeli officials decided to respond by keeping "the Gazan economy functioning at the lowest level possible consistent with avoiding a humanitarian crisis." They continued by stating “Israel has designated Gaza as a 'hostile entity,' and maintained an economic embargo against the territory. Under this designation, decisions on ... the territory's economy in general are treated ... as security matters. After Hamas' takeover, Israel imposed a heavy embargo on Gaza intended to just barely avoid "pushing it over the edge."
  - CBS

• “Israel’s military blockade of Gaza has left more than 1.4 million Palestinian men, women and children trapped in the Gaza Strip, an area of land just 40 kilometres long and 9.5 kilometres wide. Mass unemployment, extreme poverty and food price rises caused by shortages have left four in five Gazans dependent on humanitarian aid. As a form of collective punishment, Israel’s continuing blockade of Gaza is a flagrant violation of international law. The situation in Gaza has been made worse by the Egyptian government’s general closure of the Rafah crossing, although this was opened following the deaths of activists on the Gaza flotilla.”
  - Amnesty International

In the early 2010s, Israel carried out two major ground operations in Gaza that killed thousands and injured tens of thousands of Palestinians. In 2012, more than 167 Palestinians were killed after Hamas retaliated against Israel for their commander Ahmed al-Jaabari being killed on November 14. Then in 2014, Israel carried out another ground invasion with two months of continuous attacks on Gaza.

• “At least twenty six more Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have been killed in Israeli latest raids, raising the toll to 138, while fighters from Gaza fired rockets that killed two Israelis, bringing the death toll in Israel to five since Wednesday.”
  - Al Jazeera

• “The Israeli military offensive on Gaza began on November 14, 2012 with an air strike that killed Ahmed Jabari, a top Hamas military commander, in Gaza City. The Israeli army later posted on Twitter: “Ahmed Jabari: Eliminated”.
  - Al Jazeera

• “Two years later, in 2014, over a span of 50 days, Israel killed more than 2,100 Palestinians, including 1,462 civilians and close to 500 children. During the assault, dubbed by the Israelis as “Operation Protective Edge”, about 11,000 Palestinians were wounded, 20,000 homes were destroyed and half a million people displaced from their homes.”
  - Al Jazeera

• “According to the report’s findings, the 2014 hostilities saw a “huge increase” in the firepower used in Gaza with Israeli forces conducting more than 6,000 airstrikes and firing approximately 50,000 tank and artillery shells at targets within the enclave. The explosion of force used by Israel ultimately resulted in 1,462 Palestinian civilian casualties, a third of which were children.”
  - UN

In 2018, on the 70th anniversary of the Nakba, tens of thousands of Palestinians mobilized in front of the Israeli border to peacefully protest the settler state’s apartheid. Their cause was to their right to return to their homeland, and end the occupation and ongoing genocide. They were met with disproportionate opposition from Israel, as hundreds were killed and thousands injured.

• “Over the past eight days, tens of thousands of protesters in Gaza have breathed life into a place that is slowly being depleted of it. We have come together, chanting and singing a lullaby we’ve all longed for—“We will return”—bringing all that we have left to offer in an attempt to reclaim our right to live in freedom and justice. Despite our peaceful marches, we have been met with and clouds of tear gas and live fire from Israeli soldiers. Unfortunately, this is not new to Palestinians in Gaza, who have lived through many wars and a brutal siege and blockade.”
  - The Nation

• “Israeli forces responded by shooting tear gas canisters, some of them dropped from drones, rubber bullets and live ammunition, mostly by snipers. As a result, 214 Palestinians, including 46 children, were killed, and over 36,100, including nearly 8,800 children have been injured. One in five of those injured (over 8,000) were hit by live ammunition. During the same period, one Israeli soldier was killed and seven others were injured during the demonstrations.”
  - UN

• “Children as young as 14 have been killed in the Protests. Mohammad Ayyoub is one such child, killed by a bullet to the head. “The use of excessive force against any demonstrator is reprehensible, but children enjoy additional protection under international law” said the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein. “It is difficult to see how children, even those throwing stones, can present a threat of imminent death or serious injury to heavily protected security force personnel”. Killings from the unlawful use of force may constitute wilful killings, a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention.”
  - GICJ

• “The commission found that Israeli soldiers, in violation of international humanitarian law, intentionally shot and killed 35 Palestinian children, three paramedics, two journalists, and five persons with disabilities, who posed no imminent threat to soldiers. In an armed conflict, intentionally killing civilians who are not directly participating in the hostilities is a war crime under Article 8 of the Rome Statute. In the same vein, the commission also found serious human rights violations, including murder and other inhumane acts that inflict great suffering and serious injury on the Palestinian civilian population in violation of right to life, freedom of expression, and freedom of peaceful assembly. If such violations are committed in the context of widespread and systematic attacks against the civilian population and in pursuant of State policies, they amount to crimes against humanity under Article 7 of the Rome Statute.”
  - OHRH

At the turn of the decade, then US President Donald Trump proposed a deal which would give Israel undivided control over Jerusalem and its illegal West Bank settlements. The plan also called for the establishment of a Palestinian state with limited sovereignty and the proposed capital situated on the outskirts of Jerusalem.

• Trump gave his proposal “together with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu” on January 28 “giving Israel full control of the settlements and Jerusalem as its undivided capital.” Netanyahu said, “For years, the international community said that if Israel annexes any land in Judea and Samaria, there will be sanctions against us in the UN Security Council.” He continued, “Now, American will prevent those sanctions.” According to the plan, if certain conditions that the US and Israel set are met, “a Palestinian state could be recognized, with limited sovereignty, as Israel would have full security control.”
  - Jerusalem Post

• “Trump’s plan envisions a disjointed Palestinian state that turns over key parts of the West Bank to Israel. It sides with Israel on key contentious issues that have bedevilled past peace efforts, including borders and the status of Jerusalem and Jewish settlements, and attaches nearly impossible conditions for granting the Palestinians their hoped-for state.”
  - AP

Palestinians rejected Trump’s proposal due to its one-sided nature and the precedent it would set in future settler expansions in the West Bank.

• Mahmoud Abbas called Trump’s plan the “slap of the century”. He said, “I say to Trump and (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu: Jerusalem is not for sale, all our rights are not for sale and are not for bargain. And your deal, the conspiracy, will not pass,” and went on to call it “impossible for any Palestinian, Arab, Muslim or Christian child to accept” a Palestinian state without Jerusalem.
  - Reuters

• In an opinion poll conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Research, “94% of the Palestinians” rejected the proposal. Furthermore, “large majorities support various responses to the plan including ending the WBGS split, the withdrawal of PA recognition of Israel, the ending of security coordination with Israel, the ending of the implementation of the Oslo agreement, and the resort to armed struggle”.
  - PCPSR

When the proposal was announced, the international community largely reiterated their support of the United Nations resolutions and the two-state solution.

• Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said “This plan is an annexation plan that is aimed at killing the two state solution and stealing Palestinian lands.”
  - Reuters

• “The European Union rejected parts of U.S. President Donald Trump's peace plan for the Middle East”. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borell said the plan was a departure from “internationally agreed parameters”, and any steps taken by Israel to annex Palestinian territory in the West Bank "if implemented, could not pass unchallenged."
  - Reuters

• In an open letter, “50 former foreign ministers and leaders from across Europe” said that Trump’s plan “envisages an outcome with characteristics similar to apartheid”. The letter said, “The map featured in the plan proposes Palestinian enclaves under permanent Israeli military control, which evoke chilling associations with South Africa’s bantustans.”
  - Guardian

Some settlers also expressed their opposition to Trump’s proposal, saying that the recognition of a Palestinian state would constitute a threat to Israel.

• Israeli groups opposed Trump’s proposal, saying “they fear that the creation of a Palestinian state around their communities would curb their ability to settle the territory, which they see as their biblical right.” Leaders of an activist group known as the Sovereignty Movement said, “To us, this is no less than a grave blow to the Zionist vision of the return of the people of Israel to their Biblical Heartland.”
  - NBC

This political context emboldened even more the colonisation process and the repression.

In 2020, Khirbet Humza, a northern village in the occupied West Bank, was razed by Israeli forces three times within less than a year, and Palestinian refugee camps and villages in the occupied West Bank have been subjected to numerous raids, increasing in frequency.

In May 2021 In anticipation of a pending Supreme Court of Israel decision on the eviction of several Palestinian families from Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem, many Palestinians protesters were violently repressed by the Israelis, leading to a flare up of the conflict in May 2021. These threats of evictions, to make space for illegal settlements, are common in the West Bank where families have lived for generations.

• In November 2020, Israeli forces demolished “Eighteen tents that housed 11 families in the northern village of Khirbet Humsa”. According to Al Jazeera, “The bulldozers and diggers also demolished sheds used as livestock enclosures, portable toilets, water containers and solar panels, on top of confiscating vehicles and tractors belonging to some of the residents.” One resident said, “his family had lived in the area for generations”, and that Israel was striving to “empty the Jordan Valley of its Palestinian population”.
  - Al Jazeera

• The UN reported that when compared with the first half of 2021, “The number of Palestinians killed by Israeli security forces in the West Bank and east Jerusalem increased by 46% in the first half of 2022”. The report also “accused Israeli security forces, such as the IDF, Border Police and Israel Police, of using a disproportionate response contrary to international law.” Additionally, “In a number of incidents, it appears that lethal force was used by Israeli forces as a first rather than as a last resort to confront the alleged threat.”
  - Jerusalem Post

• According to Reuters, “A long-running legal case, in which several Palestinian families face eviction from homes on land claimed by settlers, is at the heart of the confrontations during the Muslim holy month”. Furthermore, the article states that “The Palestinians say they have lived in Sheikh Jarrah since the 1950s, when they were re-housed there by Jordan after fleeing or being forced to abandon their homes in West Jerusalem and Haifa during fighting that surrounded Israel's creation in 1948.” Human rights campaigners said that “if the Palestinians lose the court battle, it could set a precedent for dozens of other homes in the area.”
  - Reuters

• In addition to the court order which “ruled in favour of Jewish settlers seeking to evict Palestinian families from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood”, several other incidents contributed to an escalation in the conflict. In April 2021, “Israeli police closed the staired plaza outside the Old City's Damascus Gate, a traditional gathering spot for Palestinians following evening Ramadan evening prayers. The closure triggered violent clashes with police who removed the barricades after several nights of unrest. Next came the clashes at the Al-Aqsa plaza following Ramadan's final Friday prayers, which wounded more than 200 people.” According to the article, one Palestinian said, “he was among thousands of people at Al-Aqsa who were breaking the fast, eating a date and drinking water”, and it was at that time "when the police starting attacking us".
  - France 24

• “After a two-decade legal battle, Israel’s high court has ruled that about 1,000 Palestinians can be evicted from an area of the West Bank and the land repurposed for Israeli military use, in one of the single biggest expulsion decisions since the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories began in 1967.”
  - Guardian

• In March 2023, a Human Rights Council session “heard the presentation of a report by the High Commissioner” which stated “that 700,000 Israeli settlers are living illegally in the occupied West Bank.” In just 10 years, “the population of Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, had grown from 520,000 to over 700,000. These settlers lived illegally in 279 Israeli settlements across the occupied West Bank, including 14 settlements in the occupied East Jerusalem, with a total population of more than 229,000 people. At least 147 of these settlements were outposts, illegal even under Israeli domestic law. The report documented a correlation between the expansion of outposts and settler attacks against Palestinians. During the past decade, the United Nations had verified 3,372 violent incidents by settlers, injuring 1,222 Palestinians.” In 2022, “settler violence reached the highest levels ever recorded by the United Nations. Israel had failed to investigate and prosecute crimes against Palestinians committed by settlers and Israeli forces.”
  - UN

In response to the Israeli attacks on Palestinians in Jerusalem and the West Bank, Hamas issued an ultimatum saying all Israeli security forces should be removed from Al Aqsa and Sheikh Jarrah. When the ultimatum expired without a response from Israel, another escalation in the conflict occurred.

• Hamas issued an ultimatum to Israel on May 10, 2021 “saying all Israeli security forces had to be removed from the Temple Mount and the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem by 6 p.m.”
  - Al Jazeera

• “The rocket fire came after Hamas […] issued an ultimatum demanding Israel stand down its security forces from the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem after days of violence against Palestinians. Israeli police stormed the compound […] for a third consecutive day, firing rubber-coated steel rounds, stun grenades and tear gas at Palestinian worshippers inside the mosque in the final days of the holy month of Ramadan.”
  - Al Jazeera

• According to Al Jazeera, Israeli bombardments on the Gaza Strip “hit the Shati refugee camp in Gaza killing at least two women and seven children, while burying several others in the rubble. At least 15 others were injured, including an infant named Omar.”
  - Al Jazeera

Hamas and Israel eventually agreed to a ceasefire.

• According to Al Jazeera, “Israel and Hamas have announced a ceasefire after 11 days of fighting in which 232 Palestinians in Gaza and 12 people in Israel have been killed.” This came after the Israeli security cabinet “said it voted unanimously” for a “mutual and unconditional” ceasefire proposed by Egypt.
  - Al Jazeera

Additionally, Israeli armed forces regularly abduct Palestinians; this includes kidnapping teenagers and children. Many Palestinian minors are thrown in Israeli military facilities, where they do not face any trial or judicial process.

• In 2021, Al Jazeera reported that Israel has been “intentionally targeting minors”. Hundreds of Palestinian minors are kidnapped and taken to Israeli prisons, not to mention the thousands of adults.
  - Al Jazeera

Violence against journalists is also widespread. On May 11, 2022, Shireen Abu Akleh was killed by an Israeli sniper while wearing a blue press vest and covering a raid on the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank. Israel initially denied responsibility but as more evidence surfaced, it gradually adjusted its narrative. However, it still refused to carry out an investigation, and the Israeli police officers brutally and indiscriminately attacked Palestinians at Shireen Abu Akleh’s funeral procession.

• According to The New York Times, “Palestinian officials said Ms. Abu Akleh was intentionally killed early on May 11 in the West Bank city of Jenin by an Israeli soldier. Israeli officials said a soldier might have shot her by mistake but also suggested that she might have been killed by a Palestinian gunman.” However, “A monthlong investigation by The New York Times found that the bullet that killed Ms. Abu Akleh was fired from the approximate location of the Israeli military convoy, most likely by a soldier from an elite unit. The evidence reviewed by The Times showed that there were no armed Palestinians near her when she was shot. It contradicted Israeli claims that, if a soldier had mistakenly killed her, it was because he had been shooting at a Palestinian gunman.”
  - NYT

• After months of denials, the IDF admitted to the possibility of an Israeli sniper killing Shireen Abu Akleh. They said in a statement, “It appears that it is not possible to unequivocally determine the source of the gunfire which hit and killed Ms. Abu Akleh. However, there is a high possibility that Ms. Abu Akleh was accidentally hit by IDF gunfire fired toward suspects identified as armed Palestinian gunmen during an exchange of fire.” In a separate statement however, it was stated that “the Israeli military does not intend to pursue criminal charges or prosecutions of any of the soldiers involved”.
  - CNN

• “Israeli police officers charged at Palestinian mourners carrying the coffin of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh […], before thousands led her casket through Jerusalem's Old City in an outpouring of grief and anger over her killing. Israeli police officers, in an apparent bid to stop them proceeding by foot rather than taking the coffin by car, burst through the courtyard gates and charged at the crowd, some beating pallbearers with batons and kicking them. At one point the group carrying her coffin backed against a wall and almost dropped the casket, recovering it just before one end hit the ground as stun grenades detonated.”
  - Reuters