Israel
The state of Israel will grant temporary visas to 300 asylum seekers coming from conflict areas inside Sudan. These new asylum seekers will join 200 other displaced persons who were granted A-5 visas and will have an option to apply for permanent residency after living in Israel for four years. Approximately 37,000 Eritrean and Sudanese migrants who illegally entered the country via Egypt’s Sinai Desert currently remain in the Jewish state.
West Bank
Israeli security forces arrested seven Palestinians suspected of terrorist activities in the West Bank over the weekend of June 2-3. Additionally, two Palestinian men sighted approaching the Mitspe Yishay area of Samaria and were subsequently arrested. The two men were detained and questioned revealing that they had hidden a knife, guns, and bullets near the Jewish community.
Israel approved the construction of 2,070 homes in existing settlements in the West Bank. According to Israel’s Civil Administration, 696 of the units were sanctioned for construction, with plans for 1,262 settlement units progressing to an earlier planning stage referred to as a deposit.
Gaza
Palestinian terrorists fired a barrage of dozens of rockets and mortar shells into southern Israel on May 29. While the Iron Dome Missile Defense System intercepted many of the missiles, some landed in Israeli territory and others fell back into Gaza. Shrapnel from the rockets also injured three Israeli Defense Force (IDF) soldiers. In retaliation for the strike, the Israeli army launched over 60 airstrikes throughout Gaza, targeting military training facilities and a rocket manufacturing facility amongst other sites.
Following the missile exchange between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants, the Israel-Gaza border experienced a short-lasting “ceasefire” was established. with Hamas on June 2. According to a Palestinian official, Egyptian mediation led to the truce. Nevertheless, the following day Palestinian terrorists in Gaza fired five projectiles toward Israel, which responded by launching airstrikes on ten Hamas targets in Gaza. The Israeli military has noted that the intended targets of the attack were a military compound as well as two munitions manufacturing and storage facilities. Additionally, Palestinians launched kites and balloons from Gaza carrying incendiary devices, burning about seven square miles of Israeli territory.
Israeli troops killed one of two Palestinians attempting to infiltrate the Israeli border from Gaza on June 4. In a video posted to the internet, two men can be seen carrying an ax and damaging a portion of the security fence before soldiers from the Golani Brigade engage them.
The IDF General Staff has also launched an investigation into the death of a Palestinian medic along the Gaza border. The IDF said that the nurse was not an intended target of the Israeli army and no shots were directed intentionally at the medic.
Sinai
Human Rights Watch accused Egypt of mass demolition of homes to punish the families of Islamists in the Sinai Peninsula. An Egyptian military spokesman denied the report claiming that it was based on undocumented sources and asserted that Egypt was working through a legal framework to create a buffer zone along the Gaza border.
Islamic State affiliate militants killed two Egyptian conscripts and injured four soldiers during clashes in Sinai in late May, according to a government statement. During the operations, the military arrested 64 suspected jihadists, uncovered a weapons cache that included 15 IEDs (improvised explosive devices), and seized or destroyed 20 vehicles.
