{"id":198232,"date":"2016-04-30T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-03-12T17:33:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/?p=198232"},"modified":"2019-03-12T17:33:35","modified_gmt":"2019-03-12T17:33:35","slug":"auto-insert-198232","status":"publish","type":"document","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/auto-insert-198232\/","title":{"rendered":"Chronological Review of Events\/April 2016 – DPR review"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Division for Palestinian Rights<\/p><\/div>\n

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Chronological Review of Events Relating to the<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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Question of Palestine<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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Monthly media monitoring review<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

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April 2016<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

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Monthly highlights<\/strong><\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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• Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA announced construction of about 1,000 new housing units this year for Palestinians whose homes were destroyed during the war in the Gaza in 2014. (3 April)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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• The Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ head of humanitarian affairs for the OPT told the EU to raise political pressure on Israel over accelerating West Bank demolitions. (8 April)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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• The Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs issued a statement stating that Israel’s demolition of homes in the OPT had displaced hundreds of Palestinians. (8 April)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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• Human Rights Watch reported that Israeli security forces are abusive when arresting and detaining Palestinian children in the West Bank. (11 April)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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• A group of Palestinians affected by Israel’s activities have filed a US$34.5 billion lawsuit against US and Israeli entities supporting settlements. (11 April)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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• Peace Now revealed that Israeli settlement plans have been tripled in the first three months of 2016 in comparison with the same period of the previous year. (12 April)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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• The spokesman of Turkish President Erdogan stated that Turkey will not drop its demand for an end to the blockade of Gaza in order to normalize relations with Israel. (12 April)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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• According to a Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ survey, around 75,000 Palestinians remain homeless nearly two years after Israel’s last offensive on the Gaza. (12 April)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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• The U.S. State Department, in its “US Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2015”, accused Israel of an “excessive use of force” against Palestinians. (14 April)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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• A World Bank report estimates that the PA is losing US$285 million in revenues annually under current economic arrangements with Israel. (18 April)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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• Palestinian President Abbas stated that his administration rejects “all forms of terrorist activity that affect Israeli and Palestinian civilians”. (19 April)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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• The Israeli High Court temporarily banned the Israeli Electric Corp. from cutting power to the West Bank as a punitive measure for outstanding Palestinian debts. (20 April)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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• Israeli PM Netanyahu said that the IDF would continue to operate in Area A of the West Bank, which is officially under PA security and civilian control. (20 April)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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• Foreign Minister Ayrault said that France will hold an international conference in Paris on May 30 in a bid to relaunch talks between Palestinians and Israelis. (21 April) <\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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• Palestinian FM Malki said that a push for a resolution demanding an end to Israeli settlement expansion will be put on hold to focus on the French initiative. (21 April)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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• Israeli authorities delivered notices to the Palestinian village of Jalud, alerting residents that 5,000 dunams of private land were slated for confiscation. (23 April)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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• The General Federation of Trade Unions in Gaza reported that 60 per cent of the population of Gaza is unemployed, while 70 per cent live in poverty. (24 April)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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• Israeli forces imposed a strict military cordon on the West Bank and Gaza on the occasion of the Jewish Holiday of Passover. (28 April)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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• Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu officially rejected the French initiative to convene an international peace conference. (28 April)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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• Defence for Children International-Palestine said statistics from the Israeli Prison Service showed that there are about 440 Palestinian children imprisoned by Israeli authorities. (28 April)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

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1<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

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Israeli forces detained 11 Palestinians in predawn raids across the West Bank, locals and Israel’s army said. (Ma’an News Agency<\/i>) <\/p><\/div>\n

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A new World Bank <\/span>report<\/u><\/a> “Missed Opportunity for Economic Development” estimated the Palestinian mobile sector revenue losses at more than US$1 billion in the last three years. The Palestinian Authority’s fiscal losses for the same period are as high as US$184 million, counting non-collected VAT alone, up to 3.0 per cent of the GDP. The report highlights how the Palestinian telecom sector is hindered by years of delay in mobile broadband, presence of unauthorized Israeli operators in the Palestinian market, restrictions on importing equipment, and absence of an independent regulator. (<\/span>www.worldbank.org<\/i><\/a>) <\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

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Around 4,300 runners from Palestine and all over the world joined the Free to Movement Marathon in Bethlehem that was held for the fourth year in a row and is aimed at highlighting the severe movement restrictions. Israeli authorities reportedly refused to allow 103 runners from Gaza, including 19 females, to travel from Gaza to Bethlehem to join the Marathon. In a statement, the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Resident Coordinator for Humanitarian Aid and Development Activities, Robert Piper, said that numerous humanitarian and development actors, including Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ agencies, were joining the run in support of Palestinians’ right to liberty of movement. (Ma’an News Agency, Xinhua<\/i>) <\/p><\/div>\n

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The family of Palestinian prisoner Muhammad Dawod from Bethlehem informed the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS) that he launched a hunger strike eight days ago to protest his administrative detention. Dawod was sentenced to serve 10 years in prison and served five years before being released in the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange in 2011. (WAFA<\/i>) <\/p><\/div>\n

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Palestinian legal rights group Badil has published key findings on alleged war crimes during the 2014 Gaza war that the group submitted to the International Criminal Court earlier this month. The report titled “No Safe Place” focused in particular on mass forced displacement of some half-a-million Palestinians at the height of hostilities, which is around 28 per cent of Gaza’s population. (Ma’an News Agency<\/i>) <\/p><\/div>\n

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Israeli forces shot and injured a Palestinian when clashes broke out near al-Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. (Ma’an News Agency)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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2<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

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Israeli forces shot a Palestinian teen in the head with a rubber-coated bullet while he was walking to school in the Silwan neighbourhood of occupied East Jerusalem. (Ma’an News Agency)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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Israeli forces shot at Palestinian border areas in Rafah, in the Gaza Strip, injuring two Palestinians. The Israeli navy opened fire at Palestinian fishermen off the coast of Rafah, sinking one boat. (WAFA, Ma’an News Agency)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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Israeli soldiers arrested a Palestinian in Ath-Thaheriyya, near Hebron. (IMEMC)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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3<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

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Israeli forces detained a Palestinian man at a checkpoint in the northern West Bank after he allegedly tried to carry out a stabbing attack. (Ma’an News Agency)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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Israel formally halted all cement deliveries into the blockaded Gaza Strip. However, the decision did not apply to limited quantities of cement supplied to projects being carried out by Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA. (Albawaba)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas asked to form the first ever Palestinian constitutional court. The court is to include nine members, president of the court Mohamed al-Haj Qassem, his deputy Asa’ad Mubarak and seven others including two from the Gaza Strip. (Xinhua)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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An Israeli decision to extend the fishing zone off some parts of the Gaza Strip coast to nine nautical miles took effect. (Albawaba, IMEMC)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA announced construction of about 1,000 new housing units this year for Palestinians whose homes were destroyed during the war in the Gaza Strip in 2014. (KÄ¢¹½ÊÓƵA)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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4<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

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Israeli soldiers have arrested 13 Palestinians in various communities in different parts of the occupied West Bank. (IMEMC, Ma’an News Agency)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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Israeli settlers hurled stones at Palestinian vehicles traveling between Ramallah and Nablus, breaking the windshield of one vehicle and disturbing families. (WAFA)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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Israeli President Rivlin stated the need for direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians and said he was willing to meet Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to further this goal. (The Jerusalem Post)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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Israeli forces demolished the family homes of three Palestinians, whom Israel accused of carrying out a fatal attack against an Israeli soldier, in Qabatiya near Jenin in the West Bank. (WAFA)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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Israeli authorities demolished five Palestinian homes in Nablus and Hebron districts, as well as in East Jerusalem, because the dwellings had been constructed without Israeli permits. (WAFA, Ma’an News Agency)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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The Israeli human rights group, Yesh Din revealed that Israel is embarking on a new master plan for the “Ma’aleh Michmash” area of settlements east of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. The plan aims to transform a number of settlements including “Ma’aleh Michmash”, “Rimonim”, “Kochav Hashahar”, and “Psagot” into a residential suburb. Under the plan, about 77,000 Jewish settlers will be brought to live in this suburb until 2040, and two outposts, including “Mitzpeh Danny”, in the area will be retroactively recognized and regularized. (Yesh Din, Palestinian Information Center)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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5<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

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Israeli forces detained at least 25 Palestinians, including 3 minors, in overnight raids in the occupied West Bank, in Bethlehem, Hebron, Jenin, Nablus, Ramallah, and Tulkarem districts and occupied East Jerusalem. (WAFA)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinian farmers and levelled lands in the southern Gaza Strip. No injuries have been reported. (Ma’an News Agency)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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Secretary-General of the PLO Saeb Erakat stated that there will be no unconditional negotiations with Israel; first [Prime Minister] Netanyahu had to announce the halt of settlements release the fourth batch of prisoners and recognize all previous agreements. He was referring to a presumptive meeting between Netanyahu and President Abbas. (Middle East Monitor)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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According to Quds Press<\/i>, an Israeli court refused to release the world’s youngest prisoner, an 11 year-old Palestinian Ali Alqam, describing him as a “terrorist”. The court ruled that he be sent to a Ministry of Welfare-supervised residence. (Middle East Monitor)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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The European Union announced that it would contribute more than US$ 17 million to the payment of March salaries and pensions of over 66,000 Palestinian civil servants and pensioners in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip, amid an ongoing Palestinian funding crisis. The contribution is part of the 2016 package of US$ 194.5 million direct financial support for the Palestinian Authority. (Ma’an News Agency)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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6<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

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Israeli forces imprisoned 12 Palestinians following predawn raids across the West Bank, while threatening punitive measures against the village of al-Khadr if the residents did not stop throwing stones. (Ma’an News Agency)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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The Israeli police cleared out a memorial garden that had been set up in East Jerusalem to commemorate Palestinian “martyrs”. (Fars News Agency)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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A Palestinian was shot and injured during clashes after Israeli settlers attempted to raid the village of Duma. (Albawaba News)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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The Israeli Electric Corporation came to an agreement with the PA, whereby the PA will pay NIS 20 million of their outstanding debt, after the IEC had cut electricity to the West Bank over outstanding payments. If both sides do not come to an agreement by the end of the week, the PA-controlled areas may be subject to rolling blackouts. (Ma’an News Agency)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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The Israeli Municipality of Jerusalem forced a Palestinian family to demolish two rooms in their house in Beit Hannina, under the pretext of unlicensed construction. ( WAFA )<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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According to local sources, Israeli forces demolished six structures in Khirbet Umm al-Kheir, south of Hebron, leaving 35 Palestinian families homeless. (Palestine Monitor)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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Israeli police imposed several restrictions on the entry and exit of Palestinians to and from al-Issawiya, on the northern outskirts of Jerusalem. The restrictions were implemented one day after clashes erupted between Israeli policemen and Palestinian youths where more than 17 youths were injured by rubber coated steel bullets, and dozens suffocated due to teargas. (WAFA)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA completed the third phase of its rehousing project for refugees in Rafah, in southern Gaza. The project includes 230 housing units accommodating 1,310 refugees. In addition, the construction project has created jobs for 10,000 labourers in the Gaza Strip. (Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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An Israeli court refused to release the world’s youngest prisoner, an 11-year-old Palestinian, describing him as a “terrorist”, and ruled that Ali Alqam should be sent to a Ministry of Welfare supervised residence until his next birthday in under a year’s time. Under current Israeli law its police are unable to arrest or interrogate him because he is below the age of criminal liability, which is 12 years. Ali Alqam and a 14-year old Palestinian, both residents of the Shuafat refugee camp, were arrested in October 2015 after they allegedly stabbing an Israeli security guard on Jerusalem’s light rail. During the event, Israeli police shot and wounded Ali. (Middle East Monitor)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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An estimated 1,000 Israelis escorted by the IDF prayed at Joseph’s Tomb in the West Bank. Clashes erupted with Palestinians, leading to the injury of three Palestinians by live fire and rubber-coated steel bullets while others suffered from tear gas inhalation. (Ma’an News Agency)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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7<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

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Israeli forces detained at least 17 Palestinians in raids across the occupied West Bank, including threatening a prisoner’s family with house demolition, in Bethlehem, Hebron, Jenin, Ramallah, and Qalqiliya districts and occupied East Jerusalem. Some of the locations are in Area A of the West Bank, where under the Oslo Accords Israeli security forces are forbidden to operate. (Ma’an News Agency)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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A Palestinian was shot and injured by Israeli forces during clashes that erupted as hundreds of Israeli settlers entered Joseph’s Tomb, east of Nablus, where they performed religious rituals, triggering clashes with Palestinian locals. Israeli soldiers opened live fire at Palestinian locals who attempted to prevent settlers from entering the religious site. (WAFA)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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According to a recent study by the Israeli think tank Macro Center for Political Economics, the Israeli Government spends considerably more on a West Bank settler than it does on a resident of the outlying Negev or Galilee regions, and twice as much as it does on a resident of the centre of Israel The additional budgets the Government transfers to settlement residents and local governments grew 28.4 per cent in 2015 over 2014, to US$ 369.1 million, of which settlement residents received US$ 150 million The per-capita support to settlers was US$ 1,026, and those in settlements outside the security barrier received US$ 1,621 in 2015. “The ongoing settlement enterprise in the West Bank involves high costs and a heavy burden on the Israeli economy and society, and it doesn’t matter if the reason is defense or civilian expenditures in the West Bank, reduced investment or the threats of boycotts,” says the report. (Haaretz)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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The Israeli authorities reopened a road in eastern Hebron, five months after it was first sealed as part of Israeli restrictions on Palestinian movement in the city. (Ma’an News Agency)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said State of Palestine President Abbas “is taking a step that will push negotiations further away. The only way to advance peace is by direct negotiations and [Abbas] is avoiding this.” (Times of Israel)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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Israeli naval forces detained four Palestinian fishermen off the coast of Rafah in the Gaza Strip and seized their fishing boats. (Ma’an News Agency)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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8<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

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Palestine has distributed a draft resolution to a number of Security Council Members condemning construction in the settlements, according to Western diplomats and Palestinian officials. Palestinians said President Abbas would like to bring the resolution to a vote during his visit to the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Headquarters in two weeks. Mr. Abbas will make a round of diplomatic visits to Paris, Berlin and Moscow to garner support for the Palestinian move before arriving in New York. (Haaretz)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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Israel has begun the construction of a wall around the Cremisan Monastery in the West Bank. (RFI)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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“The pace of demolitions has exceeded any previous records,” Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Humanitarian Coordinator Robert Piper warned; around 140 aid projects by donors were destroyed, including more than 200,000 Euros’ worth of EU projects. “The EU needs to reflect on its strategy and how it’s going to respond … It’s a provocation,” Piper said. While there was much diplomacy behind closed doors, there was a need for more public statements, he said, adding that the EU could also deploy diplomats to the sites affected to send a political message. “We also need to talk about forms of seeking financial compensation,” he added. (Haaretz)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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The French Foreign Ministry called on Israel to halt renewed construction of the Israeli separation wall in the southern occupied West Bank’s Cremisan Valley. (Ma’an News)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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The Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ head of humanitarian affairs for the Occupied Palestinian Territory told the European Union to raise political pressure on Israel over accelerating West Bank demolitions that run against international law and increasingly affect aid projects sponsored by the bloc. (The Jordan Times, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵSCO)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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The Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs issued a statement stating that Israel’s demolition of homes in the Occupied Palestinian Territory had displaced hundreds of Palestinians, including 124 in just one day. (Middle East Monitor)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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9<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

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Israeli forces launched multiple predawn raids across the Occupied Palestinian Territory detaining four Palestinians. (The Peninsula, Ma’an News)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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Israeli naval forces opened fire on Palestinian fishermen working off the coast of the northern Gaza Strip for the second time in one day, forcing them to return to shore. (Ma’an News, WAFA)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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Israeli soldiers stationed on the border between the southern Gaza Strip and Israel opened fire on Palestinians shepherds. (WAFA)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that a six-month-long wave of street attacks by Palestinians against Israelis has started to wane due to efficient Israeli policies. (Xinhuanet)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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Gaza’s only power plant went offline because the Strip’s Energy and Natural Resources Authority has been unable to pay a fuel tax imposed on it by the Palestinian unity government. (Anadolu Agency)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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10<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

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The Palestinian Authority police arrested three Palestinians on allegedly planning major attack against Israelis. (Jewish Telegraphic Agency)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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Three Palestinian were killed as a result of the collapse of an underground tunnel in Gaza’s southern Rafah area near the border with Egypt, which led Hamas to impose a complete media blackout on the details of the incident. (The Jerusalem Post)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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Israeli forces detained 11 Palestinians, including a journalist and the head of a prisoners’ right center, during raids across the West Bank districts and in Jerusalem city. (WAFA, Ma’an News)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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Six Israeli bulldozers escorted by Israeli military vehicles made an incursion into the Shujaiya suburb in eastern Gaza City to level lands. (Ma’an News)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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11<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

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Israeli settlers resumed their tours to Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem, amid calls by Jewish organizations for mass visits to the holy site to mark the beginning of the Jewish Passover holiday. (WAFA)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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Human Rights Watch reported that Israeli security forces are abusive when arresting and detaining Palestinian children in the West Bank — stating that “Palestinian children are treated in ways that would terrify and traumatize an adult”. (Human Rights Watch)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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Israeli authorities issued administrative detention orders to 35 Palestinian detainees. (WAFA)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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Israeli forces overnight detained 19 Palestinians, including two minors, and summoned two others from a number of West Bank districts. (WAFA)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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A draft resolution distributed by the Palestinian Authority to several members of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Security Council asserts that Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem are illegal, calls to renew the peace talks and sets a timeframe of a year to reach a permanent solution to the conflict. (Haaretz)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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Palestine established a constitutional court without fanfare by presidential decree on April 3, which will be inaugurated once its ninth member is sworn in at a ceremony today. (ABC News)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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Israeli soldiers shot and injured a 13-year-old Palestinian child in central Gaza, while he was herding the family cattle in Palestinian lands, close to the border fence. (IMEMC News)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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The Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union voted to move to expel the Knesset from the international IPU due to the “racist laws” it allegedly legislates. (JPOST)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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A group of Palestinians affected by Israel’s activities have filed a US$34.5 billion lawsuit against US and Israeli entities supporting West Bank settlements. (Middle East Monitor)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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The Palestinian Preventive Security Services (PPS) arrested three Palestinians who tried to smuggle an ancient statue of King Herod from Tulkarm into Israel. (The Jerusalem Post)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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12<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

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The decline in terror attacks in recent months is a result of both Israeli activity and Palestinian activity on the matter, Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon said. (Haaretz)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas cut off funds for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, which spoke out against Abbas and urged him to step down. (Gulf News)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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Israeli military vehicles entered and levelled Palestinian land, in the borderline area to the east of Khan Younes, in southern Gaza Strip. (WAFA)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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The Israeli watchdog organization “Peace Now” revealed that Israeli settlement plans in occupied West Bank have been tripled in the first three months of 2016 in comparison with the same period of the previous year. (Palestine News Network)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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Israel gave initial approval to a Palestinian request to build a power plant in the northern occupied West Bank. (Ma’an News Agency)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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Israeli forces detained 12 Palestinians during predawn raids throughout the West Bank, including from areas under Palestinian jurisdiction. (Ma’an News Agency)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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According to a Palestinian Olympic Committees source, Israeli forces detained nine Palestinians from the West Bank and Palestine karate team coach at a Gaza border crossing. (WAFA)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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According to local sources, Israeli army re-closed with cement obstacles the entrance to the village of Aqraba to the south of Nablus. (WAFA)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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The spokesman of Turkish President Erdogan stated that Turkey will not drop its demand for an end to the blockade of Gaza in order to normalize relations with Israel. (Reuters)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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According to local sources, Israeli forces demolished three homes in the village of al-Waljeh, to the northwest of Bethlehem, under the pretext of construction without a permit. (WAFA<\/i>)<\/p><\/div>\n

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According to a Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ survey, around 75,000 Palestinians remain homeless nearly two years after Israel’s last offensive on the Gaza Strip. (Ma’an News Agency)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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A 12-year-old Palestinian girl charged by an Israeli court with attempted manslaughter is expected to be released early following requests filed by her parents. (Ma’an News Agency)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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13<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

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Israeli forces arrested 17 Palestinians, including a number of minors, in various West Bank cities. (Jordan News Agency, IMEMC News, Ma’an News Agency)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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A top Palestinian Mufti warns that Jews visiting Jerusalem’s Temple Mount compound during the upcoming Passover festival could inflame tensions and must be stopped. (Times of Israel, Middle East Monitor)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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The IDF suspended the commander of a group of Israeli soldiers suspected of torching a Palestinian flag this morning at the West Bank checkpoint where they were stationed near Nablus. (The Jerusalem Post, Ma’an News Agency)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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About 20 Palestinian students suffocated as Israeli forces fired tear gas canisters at a girls’ school in Jaba’ town, south of Jenin. (WAFA)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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A Palestinian detainee in an Israeli jail has entered 40 consecutive days of hunger strike against his administrative detention; without charge or trial. (WAFA)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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Dozens of Palestinian prisoners were injured, one critical, when Israeli forces raided section 14 of the Nafha prison. (Ma’an News Agency)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah urges donor countries to “make good on their pledges”, which they made at the 2014 Cairo Conference on the reconstruction of Gaza. (WAFA)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said there was an “urgent” need for a Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ resolution on Israeli settlements as he embarked on a multi-country tour. (The Daily Star)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

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The EU Missions in Jerusalem and Ramallah condemned the latest death sentence issued by a civil court in the Gaza Strip on 12 April, the fifth death sentence issued in Gaza this year. (Ma’an News Agency<\/i>) <\/p><\/div>\n

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14<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

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A Palestinian was shot and killed by Israeli forces at the entrance of the al-Arroub refugee camp in the West Bank after reportedly attempting to attack a soldier. (Ma’an News Agency<\/i>) <\/p><\/div>\n

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Citing unpermitted building, Israeli forces knocked down a Palestinian-owned charcoal facility in the village of Barta’a to the southwest of Jenin, according to a local official. Clashes broke out between soldiers and Palestinians. Meanwhile, Israeli forces also demolished an agricultural structure and solar cells in the area, citing the same pretext. (WAFA<\/i>) <\/p><\/div>\n

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Israeli forces detained at least 17 Palestinians. (WAFA<\/i>) <\/p><\/div>\n

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Israeli armed forces broke into the campuses of two Palestinian primary schools in the town of al-Khadr to the south of Bethlehem, according to witnesses. (WAFA<\/i>) <\/p><\/div>\n

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President Abbas is scheduled to arrive 18 April in Moscow for a meeting with President Putin, where they are set to discuss the holding of an international peace conference, a Security Council resolution on settlements and Russia’s possible role in efforts to revive negotiations. (WAFA<\/i>) <\/p><\/div>\n

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Israeli and Palestinian officials have reached an agreement to increase the number of Palestinian construction workers inside Israel, Israel Radio reported. (Middle East Monitor<\/i>) <\/p><\/div>\n

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A tourism seminar was held in Indonesia to draw more Indonesian tourists to Palestine and to foster partnerships, including among travel agents. (Antara News<\/i>) <\/p><\/div>\n

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An Israeli military court confirmed that it would charge an Israeli soldier with manslaughter over the killing of a Palestinian in Hebron in March. (Ma’an News Agency<\/i>) <\/p><\/div>\n

\n

In a <\/span>statement<\/a>, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA Spokesperson Chris Gunness said Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA is extremely concerned by the humanitarian consequences of intense armed conflict between extremist armed groups inside Yarmouk since 6 April, adding that the continuous, highly intense fighting is not only causing civilian casualties and fatalities, but has also acutely aggravated shortages of food and clean water for the approximately 6,000 civilian families residing inside Yarmouk. (<\/span>www.unrwa.org<\/i><\/a>) <\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Israeli Prime Minister’s office denied the report by “Peace Now” that the Israeli Government approved another 267 homes in settlements, saying in a statement that the approval was for “upgrading” homes that were already built. Peace Now in turn has rejected this claim, saying the approval will go toward new housing units. (Ma’an News Agency<\/i>) <\/p><\/div>\n

\n

The U.S. State Department, in its “US Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2015”, accused Israel of an “excessive use of force” against Palestinians, amounting to a violation of human rights, and highlighted numerous allegations of Israeli rights abuses, including the arbitrary arrest and torture of Palestinians, as well as restrictions on their freedom of movement and speech.<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

15<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Israeli security forces detained 11 Palestinians in the West Bank. (The Times of Israel<\/i>) <\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with Russian President Putin in Moscow on 21 April, to discuss regional security issues. (The Times of Israel<\/i>) <\/p><\/div>\n

\n

The Palestinian Authority has made an official request to Israel to extend a gas pipeline to the power station in the Gaza Strip. The project was submitted to Israeli authorities following a meeting between Israeli and Palestinian technical advisers held in Jerusalem. (The Middle East Monitor<\/i>) <\/p><\/div>\n

\n

The EU mission to the West Bank and Gaza said it was “deeply concerned” by Israel’s renewed construction of the separation wall in Bethlehem’s Cremisan Valley. The mission said that once finished, the wall would severely restrict access by nearly 60 Palestinian families to their agricultural land, likely devastating their livelihoods. (Ma’an News Agency<\/i>) <\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Three Palestinians were injured by Israeli forces amid clashes across the Occupied Palestinian Territory. (Ma’an News Agency<\/i>)<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Israeli Agriculture Minister Ariel voiced on criticism at what he called the dismal state of checkpoints in the West Bank, saying the manner Palestinians were forced to stand waiting for hours without shade or water was “a disgrace and shame on Israel and the defence establishment.” (Haaretz<\/i>)<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

A Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵESCO resolution stated that the Al-Haram al-Sharif\/Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound and the holy sites in Hebron and Bethlehem are an “integral part of Palestine.” (Jerusalem Post<\/i>)<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

16<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

The Committee to Support Palestinian Journalists said that Israel has detained 43 journalists in the Occupied Palestinian Territory since October 2015. (The Peninsula<\/i>)<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinian farmers and levelled lands in the southern Gaza Strip. (Ma’an News Agency<\/i>)<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA warned that thousands of civilians are trapped in desperate humanitarian conditions in a Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus where fighting has been raging for days between Islamic State fighters and other extremists. (The Guardian, PBS<\/i>)<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

17<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

The Palestinian Prisoners Society said that 7,000 Palestinian prisoners, including 400 children and 69 women, are currently held behind Israeli bars. (ABNA 24<\/i>)<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA decided to suspend its decision to reduce medical services to Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. (ABNA 24<\/i>)<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

18<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Israeli forces detained at least seven Palestinians throughout the occupied West Bank, in Bethlehem, Hebron, and Nablus districts. (Ma’an News Agency<\/i>)<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Eleven Palestinian schoolgirls suffered tear gas inhalation after Israeli forces threw gas canisters into a school in the occupied West Bank district of Hebron. (Fars News Agency<\/i>)<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

The Israeli military announced it has discovered and destroyed a tunnel burrowing from Gaza into Israel, the first to be discovered since the 2014 Gaza War. (Time Magazine, Washington Post<\/i>)<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

An Israeli soldier who had shot and killed a wounded Palestinian assailant in Hebron on March 24 was charged with manslaughter. (Haaretz<\/i>)<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

An explosive device caused an Israeli bus to catch fire in southern Jerusalem, injuring 21 people. (Ma’an News Agency<\/i>)<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

More than 90 per cent of the United States House of Representatives have signed a letter urging Obama to veto “any resolution at the United Nations that sets parameters for Israeli-Palestinian talks.” (Ma’an News Agency<\/i>)<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

A new World Bank report estimates that the Palestinian Authority is losing US$285 million in revenues annually under the current economic arrangements with the Government of Israel. Further, of the US$3.5 billion pledged by donors after the 2014 war on Gaza, only US$1.4 billion have been dispersed. The United States and the Netherlands have given 100 per cent of their pledges, Germany 88 per cent and the EU 72 per cent. Turkey has only given 32 per cent, Qatar 15 per cent and Saudi Arabia 10 per cent of their pledges. “Only 9 per cent of totally damaged houses and 45 per cent of partially damaged houses have so far been rebuilt,” the report states. The World Bank does not expect the Gaza economy to return to pre-2014 war levels until 2018. (The World Bank, DPA, The Jerusalem Post, WAFA<\/i>)<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon during a Security Council meeting stated that the two-State solution appears to be more distant than it has been for many decades. (Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ News Centre<\/i>) <\/p><\/div>\n

\n

19<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Israeli forces shot a Palestinian teen and imprisoned 10 others, including three female university students, during detention raids in the West Bank. (Ma’an news Agency<\/i> ) <\/p><\/div>\n

\n

The Israeli navy forces captured four Palestinian fishermen and seized their boats off the coat of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. (WAFA<\/i>) <\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Russian President Putin said that Russia will support Palestine’s efforts to settle its conflict with Israel through a negotiation process. (WAFA<\/i>) <\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA disbursed over US $ 4.65 million for reconstruction and major repair work in Gaza. The funds will reach a total of 710 refugee families. (Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA<\/i>) <\/p><\/div>\n

\n

According to the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society, Mahmoud Sweiti, a Palestinian prisoner in an Israeli jail, has been on hunger strike for eight days, demanding permission for his family to visit him. (WAFA<\/i>) <\/p><\/div>\n

\n

A senior Israeli official stated that his country remains in favour of installing security cameras at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem, even after Jordan stopped the project after Palestinian reservations. (AFP<\/i>)<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

During a press conference in Berlin,  Palestinian President Abbas, speaking a day after an attack on an Israeli bus in Jerusalem, stated that his administration rejects “all forms of terrorist activity that affect Israeli and Palestinian civilians”. After meeting with German Chancellor Merkel, he told reporters that Palestinians “want to achieve an end to the occupation and the building of settlements through diplomatic means, and through peaceful resistance by the Palestinian people.” (Associated Press<\/i>)<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

20<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

At least 13 Palestinians were detained by Israeli forces across the occupied West Bank in Bethlehem, Hebron, Jericho and Ramallah districts. (WAFA<\/i>)<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Israeli forces entered Qalandia refugee camp, north of Jerusalem, and demolished the family house of Hussein Abu Ghush, 17, who had been killed on 25 January during an attack against Israeli soldiers. In the course of the demolition operation, Israeli troops used live ammunition and rubber-coated bullets against Palestinian protestors, injuring at least eight of them. Dozens of others, meanwhile, suffered suffocation due to inhaling teargas against them used by the forces. One Palestinian was detained. Two Israeli soldiers were slightly injured. (Haaretz, WAFA<\/i>)<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Israeli forces began an intense campaign against Palestinian residents of the occupied East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Issawiya, detaining at least 31 people, the majority of them children, and summoning another 18 for questioning. (Ma’an News Agency<\/i>)<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

The Israeli domestic intelligence agency, Shin Bet, announced that it broke up a Jewish terrorism cell, which had carried out a series of dangerous attacks on Palestinians in the northern West Bank. According to the statement, in the second half of 2015 six members of the cell had been behind a number of terror attacks and violent acts, in particular arson attacks on Palestinian homes. (The Jerusalem Post<\/i>)<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

The U.S. Congress has released US$108 million in blocked aid to the Palestinians last week following growing pressure from the U.S. State Department, leaving only US$51 million frozen. The latest holds had been placed after Palestinian President Abbas’ assertion in September 2015 that the Palestinians were no longer bound by the Oslo agreements of the 1990s, which he has since retracted. (Al-Monitor<\/i>)<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

The Palestinian leadership is leaning toward freezing its effort to secure a United Nations Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. According to senior Israeli and Palestinian officials, the French government had been pressing to suspend the effort on the grounds that it would undermine French attempts to convene an international peace conference this year. In addition, Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia are not keen to move the draft resolution ahead at this time. (Haaretz<\/i>)<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

The Israeli High Court of Justice temporarily banned the Israeli Electric Corporation (IEC) from cutting power to the occupied West Bank as a punitive measure for outstanding Palestinian debts. In early April, IEC had stopped supplying power to the West Bank districts of Hebron, Jericho, and Bethlehem, among others, to punish the Palestinian Authority for unpaid debts amounting to more than US$450 million. (Ma’an News Agency<\/i>)<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Hamas claimed that one of its affiliates was responsible for detonating a bomb that exploded on an Israeli public bus earlier this week and injured more than 20 people in Jerusalem. (Washington Post<\/i>) <\/p><\/div>\n

\n

The suspected perpetrator of Monday’s bus bombing in Jerusalem, identified as 19-year-old Palestinian male from the Aida refugee camp near Bethlehem, died of his injuries at Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center. (Israel Hayom<\/i>) <\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu that the IDF would continue to operate in Area A of the West Bank, which is officially under full Palestinian Authority security and civilian control. (Times of Israel<\/i>) <\/p><\/div>\n

\n

21<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

After 50 days of hunger strike against being held in jail without charge or trial, the health condition of Palestinian detainee Sami Janazra has deteriorated. (WAFA<\/i>) <\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Israeli forces detained four Palestinians, including a 14-year-old child, during raids into West Bank cities of Bethlehem, Abu Dis, Beit Fajjar and Tulkarem. (WAFA<\/i>) <\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Israeli forces carried out raids in the villages of al-Eizariya and Abu Dis in occupied East Jerusalem, injuring 16 Palestinians with rubber-coated steel bullets and tear gas and detaining a youth. (Ma’an News Agency, WAFA<\/i>) <\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Israeli forces discovered equipment used to make weapons during a night raid east of Jerusalem in the Palestinian town Abu Dis. (Sputnik News<\/i>) <\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Israeli security forces said that the attack on a Jerusalem bus this week that wounded 15 people was linked to Hamas, and that security forces arrested several suspects. (Reuters)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said that France will hold an international conference in Paris on May 30 in a bid to relaunch talks between Palestinians and Israelis by the end of the year. “The two sides are more divided than ever. I’m not naive, but am acting in good faith. There is no alternative,” he said in an interview. (Haaretz)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Malki said that a push for a resolution demanding an end to Israeli settlement expansion will be put on hold to focus on the French initiative. (The Times of Israel)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

A report<\/u> by Human Rights Watch said that Israeli authorities’ closure of 35 Palestinian quarries in the West Bank since March is threatening the livelihoods of 3,500 workers and may constitute “collective punishment”. (Ma’an News Agency)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

As part of a wider effort to boost Israeli-Palestinian economic ties, the Finance Ministry of Israel is planning to improve the much-criticized conditions at crossings where tens of thousands of Palestinians enter Israel daily from the West Bank to work, a ministry spokesperson told The Times of Israel<\/i> (The Times of Israel)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Israeli authorities have seized 115 dunums (28 acres) as “State land” in the northern West Bank, Peace Now said, in addition to 1,264 dunums (312 acres) already declared “State land” in the area. (Ma’an News Agency)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

The Palestinian Committee on Prisoners’ Affairs said that prisoner Sami Janazreh, 43, who is on his 50<\/span>th<\/sup><\/span> day on hunger strike, suffered from a head wound after fainting while being transferred to another prison. <\/span>(Ma’an News Agency)<\/i><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

22<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Jerusalem police detained ten Jewish activists as they attempted to ascend the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound carrying baby goats intended to be used as Passover sacrifices. (Haaretz)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

A Palestinian bus was attacked by Israeli settlers throwing stones while driving near the Israeli settlement “Immanuel” near Qalqiliya in the northern occupied West Bank. (Ma’an News Agency)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

As Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas signed the Paris Agreement on Climate Change in the United Nations headquarters in New York, he condemned Israel’s settlements for “ruining the environment”. (Ma’an News Agency, Times of Israel)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Israeli forces entered the Silwan neighbourhood of occupied East Jerusalem, issuing five demolition orders and threatening indictments against their Palestinian homeowners. (Ma’an News Agency)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

An Israeli soldier charged with manslaughter after shooting a prone and wounded Palestinian assailant in the head was released from custody for the Jewish Passover festival. (AFP)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Israeli police banned 29 Palestinian worshippers from the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and detained 7 right-wing Jewish Israelis amid heightened tensions over the holiday of Passover. Israeli forces detained 20 Palestinians in East Jerusalem as part of tightened security for the holiday. (Ma’an News Agency)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Israeli authorities announced the closure of all points of entry between the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and Israeli territory for Passover. (AFP)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

23<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinian farmers in the southern Gaza Strip. (Ma’an News Agency)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Five Palestinians were injured when clashes broke out across the Gaza Strip after Israeli forces attempted to suppress the weekly protests (Ma’an News Agency)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Israeli authorities delivered notices to the Palestinian village of Jalud in the northern occupied West Bank, alerting residents that 5,000 dunams (1,250 acres) of private land were slated for confiscation in what appeared to be the retroactive legalization of illegal outposts in the area. (Ma’an News Agency)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

24<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

A Palestinian prisoner who has been on hunger strike for over 50 days against his administrative detention by Israel was transferred to an Israeli hospital. (Ma’an News Agency)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Two Palestinians were detained and nine Israelis were evacuated from the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound amid rising tensions at the holy site during the Jewish holiday season. (Ma’an News Agency)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Israeli authorities released 12-year-old Dima al-Wawi to her family after she spent two-and-a-half months in Israeli prison for attempted manslaughter carried out at an illegal Israeli settlement. (Ma’an News Agency)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Israeli forces reopened a main entrance to Bani Naim village, in Hebron district, after nearly seven months of military closure. (Ma’an News Agency)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Israeli forces detained at least four Palestinians, and injured two others, when clashes broke out between Palestinian youths and Israeli forces in Bethlehem, Qalqiliya and Ramallah districts in the occupied West Bank. (Ma’an News Agency)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

The General Federation of Trade Unions in Gaza reported that 60 per cent of the population of Gaza is unemployed, while 70 per cent live in poverty. (Middle East Monitor, Ma’an News Agency)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

25<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Israel indicted seven Israelis, including an IDF soldier and two minors, suspected of carrying out attacks against Palestinians near Ramallah in the West Bank. (Haaretz)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Israeli forces detained four Palestinians during raids in Hebron. (Ma’an News Agency)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Israeli authorities closed the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron for two days and barred most Palestinians from entering the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound as part of a series of restrictions enforced by the Israeli military during the year’s Jewish Passover holiday. (WAFA, Gulf News)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

The military court in Gaza sentenced a 30-year-old Palestinian to 12 years in prison after he was found guilty of collaborating with Israeli since 2012. (Ynet News)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

A public opinion poll published showed that 67 per cent of young Palestinians believe that talks will not succeed in resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The poll furthermore showed that 47 per cent of Palestinian youth in the West Bank opposed stabbing attacks against Israelis, while 28 per cent of youth in the Gaza Strip supported their continuation. (Jpost)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Israel’s Shin Bet security service accused a Palestinian journalist member of the general secretariat of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, arrested at the weekend, of belonging to a “terror group” after colleagues called for international support for his release. (The Daily Star)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem called for Muslims to unite in order to protect Al-Aqsa Mosque and the other Islamic holy sites in Jerusalem, noting that the Israeli occupation is exploiting the bloodshed in the Arab world to increase its violations against Jerusalem. He stated that “the position of the Arab and Islamic governments does not match the level of the challenge despite the convention of the OIC summits in Jakarta and Istanbul.” (Middle East Monitor)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Leaders of the Knesset “Land of Israel” caucus submitted 10 separate bills calling to annex different settlement blocs, making up most of Area C of the occupied West Bank. The legislation calls for Israeli law, judiciary and administration to apply to the areas in question. (The Jerusalem Post)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

26<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Israeli forces injured two Palestinian journalists during a demonstration held outside of Ofer prison near Ramallah demanding that Israel release the journalist detained the previous day. (Ma’an News Agency)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Clashes broke out on the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound after two Jewish visitors began bowing and praying at the contested holy site in violation of visitation rules. In response, they were attacked by dozens of Palestinians and representatives of the Waqf, the Muslim religious trust that manages the site. Throughout the day, eight Jewish visitors were removed from the area by Israeli police for violating visitation rules. (Haaretz)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Three Palestinians from Nablus who declared that they planned to carry out a terror attack in Jerusalem were detained and taken in for questioning by Israeli security services. (Haaretz)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Israeli forces arrested a 12-year old boy in Silwan, in East Jerusalem. (IMEMC)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Israeli forces arrested 17 Palestinians throughout the occupied West Bank in Bethlehem, Hebron, Jenin, Nablus, and Tulkarem districts and a number of neighborhoods in the Jerusalem. (Petra News)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Five Israeli military vehicles entered the area on the Gaza-Israel border and levelled agricultural lands while opening sporadic gunfire indiscriminately. (WAFA)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Israeli naval boats opened heavy machine gun fire on Palestinian fishermen, despite the latter sailing within the unilaterally designated allowed fishing zone. No injuries were reported; the fishermen fled the scene for fear of being detained, injured or killed. (WAFA)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Israeli forces detained well-known Palestinian astrophysicist Imad Barghouthi at the Nabi Saleh checkpoint in the West Bank. Barghouthi, a 53-year-old father of five, is a professor of theoretical space plasma physics at Al-Quds University in the East Jerusalem town of Abu Dis. (Ma’an News Agency)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Settlers in Israeli settlement “Mevo Dotan” in the northern West Bank held a cornerstone laying ceremony for a project of 89 homes that will double the size of the settlement, which is located outside the Israel security wall. (The Jerusalem Post)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

27<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Israeli forces arrested four Palestinians in Hebron district and East Jerusalem. (WAFA)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Israeli naval boats opened heavy machine gunfire on Palestinian fishermen boats, despite the boats sailing within the six-nautical-mile zone allowed for the Palestinian fishing industry. (WAFA)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Israeli bulldozers and armoured tanks crossed the border fence with the Gaza Strip and levelled land east of Al-Bureji refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. (WAFA)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Israeli forces shot and killed a 24-year-old Palestinian woman and her 16-year-old brother after they allegedly attempted to carry out a stabbing attack on border police at Qalandiya military checkpoint near Ramallah. The Palestinian Red Crescent stated that Israeli forces denied Palestinian paramedics’ access to the woman and child for medical treatment. (Ma’an News Agency, WAFA)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Clashes continued at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem when five Israelis were evacuated for violating visitation rules as hundreds toured the area for Passover. A group of over a hundred right-wing Israelis entered the mosque compound via Dung Gate, four of whom performed religious rituals in violation of longstanding agreements regarding worship at the site. (Ma’an News Agency)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

28<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Israeli forces imposed a strict military cordon on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip on the occasion of the Jewish Holiday of Passover. According to the new measures “Palestinians are not be allowed to enter Jerusalem and the Palestinian territories occupied in 1948”. The closure will remain in place until Saturday evening. (Petra News<\/i>)<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Israeli forces arrested 10 Palestinians from Hebron, Jenin and Ramallah districts and East Jerusalem. (WAFA)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Israeli soldiers and settlers engaged in clashes near Joseph tomb east of Nablus with dozens of local youth; as a result a 17-year-old Palestinian was shot and injured. (WAFA)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Israeli forces opened gunfire on Palestinian farmers while accessing their land near east of Khan Younes, in the southern Gaza Strip, forcing them to leave their land. (WAFA)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu officially rejected the French initiative to convene an international peace conference, ahead of a foreign minister’s summit France has initiated and planned for May 30 in Paris. In a short statement issued a few hours before the start of the second Passover holiday in Israel, the Prime Minister’s office insisted formally that it saw no benefit to a proposed French peace conference mooted for later this year. (Haaretz, The Guardian)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

The Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Security Council plans to hold an informal meeting on “protection of Palestinian civilians” on 6 May. The meeting organized by Venezuela, Malaysia, Egypt and Senegal will include a representative of Amnesty International. (Haaretz)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Two 14-year-old Palestinian girls were arrested, one of whom was shot and injured by Israeli forces, after the two allegedly attempted to stab an Israeli soldier at a military checkpoint in the village of Beit Ur Al-Tahta in the West Bank. (Ma’an News Agency, The Jerusalem Post)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

The Palestinian leadership across the political spectrum issued official condemnations of the “execution” of two Palestinian siblings shot dead by Israeli forces in Ramallah after an alleged stab attack the day prior. (Ma’an News Agency)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Israeli authorities issued administrative detention orders to 27 Palestinian detainees, according to the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS). Fourteen of the detainees received administrative detention orders for the first time, the remaining detainees received renewed administrative orders. (WAFA)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

“Defence for Children International-Palestine” said that the latest statistics from the Israeli Prison Service showed that there are about 440 Palestinian children currently imprisoned by Israeli authorities, inclusion 116 aged between 12 and 15, and 12 girls among them, ten under administrative detention. (The Middle East Monitor)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

29<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Palestinian residents of Nablus clashed with IDF soldiers as they escorted 26 buses of Jewish worshipers visiting the Joseph’s Tomb. (The Times of Israel)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Nabil Abu Rdineh, an aide to Palestinian President Abbas, said in an official statement that the Israeli rejection of the French initiative is a rejection of the peace process, adding that the State of Palestine will keep backing and supporting the French peace initiative and will continue its bids to join all international agencies and treaties in order to preserve the legitimate rights of the Palestinians (Xinhua)<\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

The Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Committee against Torture is due to review Israel on 3 and 4 May in sessions that would be webcast live. <\/span>(<\/i><\/span>www.ohchrc.org<\/u><\/i><\/a>)<\/i><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Reconstruction aid to over 1,000 families in Gaza has been suspended due to a lack of materials, after Israel banned the private import of cement over claims that some of the supplies were diverted. (AFP)<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

***<\/p><\/div>\n

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Division for Palestinian Rights Chronological Review of Events Relating to the Question of Palestine Monthly media monitoring review April 2016 Monthly highlights • Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA announced construction of about 1,000 new housing units this year for Palestinians whose homes were destroyed during the war in the Gaza in 2014. (3 April) • The Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ head of […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"country":[],"document-category":[2665,2589],"document-source":[2173],"committee-meeting":[],"document-subject":[2517,1769,1945,1829,2033,5358,1937,2441,1853,2005,2533,2401,2029,1741,5200,1801,1857,2021,2613,2365,1961,2185,2349,2181,1805,1797,1905,3589,2465,2285,2309,1638,3157,2153,2385,2137,2729,1917,2097,2741,2117,2273],"entity":[1729],"document-language":[6542],"class_list":["post-198232","document","type-document","status-publish","hentry","document-category-chronology","document-category-publication","document-source-division-for-palestinian-rights-dpr","document-subject-access-and-movement","document-subject-armed-conflict","document-subject-assistance","document-subject-casualties","document-subject-children","document-subject-ClosuresCurfewsBlockades","document-subject-economic-issues","document-subject-education-and-culture","document-subject-environmental-issues","document-subject-gaza-strip","document-subject-health","document-subject-holy-places","document-subject-house-demolitions","document-subject-human-rights-and-international-humanitarian-law","document-subject-humanitarian-relief","document-subject-inalienable-rights-of-the-palestinian-people","document-subject-incidents","document-subject-incursions","document-subject-internally-displaced-persons","document-subject-international-presence","document-subject-jerusalem","document-subject-legal-issues","document-subject-living-conditions","document-subject-negotiations-and-agreements","document-subject-occupation","document-subject-peace-process","document-subject-peace-proposals-and-efforts","document-subject-population","document-subject-poverty","document-subject-prisoners-and-detainees","document-subject-protection","document-subject-quartet","document-subject-reconciliation","document-subject-refugee-camps","document-subject-security-issues","document-subject-settlements","document-subject-shelter","document-subject-situation-in-the-opt-including-jerusalem","document-subject-social-issues","document-subject-statehood-related","document-subject-terrorism","document-subject-water","entity-united-nations-system","document-language-english"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/198232","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/document"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/198232\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=198232"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=198232"},{"taxonomy":"document-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-category?post=198232"},{"taxonomy":"document-source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-source?post=198232"},{"taxonomy":"committee-meeting","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/committee-meeting?post=198232"},{"taxonomy":"document-subject","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-subject?post=198232"},{"taxonomy":"entity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/entity?post=198232"},{"taxonomy":"document-language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-language?post=198232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}