Israel and the West Bank
Three Palestinians stabbed and killed an Israeli Border Police officer near the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem on June 16. The female officer was identified as Staff Sergeant Hadas Malka, 23. The leading Palestinian political party, Fatah, praised the three attackers, accusing Officer Malka of committing “war crimes.” Both Hamas and the Islamic State, have claimed the attack. The IDF, later the same Friday, sealed off the West Bank village of Abu Masha’al near Ramallah, where the attackers resided.
A Palestinian attempted to lethally stab an Israeli civilian in the West Bank settlement of Alon Shvut, near Bethlehem, on June 17. The Israeli was able to defend himself, only sustaining light injuries. IDF soldiers pursued and arrested the attacker, without discharging their weapons.
A new mayor for the Palestinians takes office in the contentious city of Hebron. Tayseer Abu Sneineh was a former PLO fighter who participated in a deadly attack against Israeli citizens in Hebron thirty-seven years ago that left six Israelis dead and sixteen wounded.
Gaza
Israel decided to reduce the amount of electricity supplied to the Gaza Strip after numerous requests from the Palestinian Authority. Israel originally refused to reduce the electricity output provided to Gaza, despite the PA’s decision to withhold full payment for the power.
Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian in Gaza after the man tried to damage a security fence at the Gaza-Israel border on June 7. The incident may be connected with the uptick of protests in Gaza against Israel’s reduction of electricity output.
Israel’s Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Israel has “no interest in retaking the Gaza Strip” during an interview with an Israeli news station, on June 11.
Golan Heights
Israel has been discovered of secretly providing direct funding to Syrian rebels near the Israeli border, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Furthermore, the rebels, who claim to be familiar with Israelis, said that the IDF has also directed a special unit aimed at aiding the supply operations. In response to the reports, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel only provides humanitarian assistance and does not intervene militarily in the Syrian War.
A jihadist detonated a suicide bomb at a checkpoint in Khan ‘Arnabeh, Syria on June 17. The checkpoint was operated by the National Defense Forces (NDF), a pro-Assad militia, according to a pro-government source. The bomb killed two NDF soldiers and wounded five others.
Sinai
Egyptian forces killed three militants and arrested another on June 16. The group of four was targeted after an Egyptian citizen was murdered in his house in Northern Sinai the previous day.
Regional Developments
A roadside bomb exploded outside Cairo, Egypt, on June 18, killing one Egyptian policeman and wounded four. Islamic State’s Sinai affiliate has taken responsibly for similar attacks in the past, targeting Egyptian officials and religious minorities.
