“Israel announced on Thursday it was halting the import of fuel into the Gaza Strip, a day after launching strikes against Hamas targets in response to a wave of incendiary balloons dispatched from the besieged Palestinian territory in recent days…Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum called the measure a “grave act of aggression” that “aims to worsen the crisis of our people in the blockaded Strip”. The Mediterranean coastal enclave relies on Israel for most of its fuel and gas. The halt in fuel could shut down Gaza’s sole power plant and lead to further electricity cuts for households and businesses, according to Mohammad Thabet, an official with Gaza’s main power distribution company. Palestinians in Gaza currently get six hours of electricity followed by a 10-hour power cut dure to chronic fuel shortages.”

“Israel announced it would stop all import of fuel into the Gaza Strip on Thursday following a week of escalating confrontations between Israel and Gaza-based groups. The decision was taken by Defense Minister Benny Gantz, following consultations with security officials, “in light of the continued spate of incendiary balloons launched from the Gaza Strip into the territory of the State of Israel, and the undermining of security and stability,” the IDF said.”

“The Israeli military announced that it is limiting Gaza’s fishing zone Wednesday night in light of the recent resumption of cross-border attacks with explosive-laden balloons. A statement from the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) said that following consultations, Defense Minister Benny Gantz approved the recommendation of the IDF chief of staff, the COGAT and other security officials and instructed them to immediately limit the fishing zone from 15 to eight nautical miles until further notice.”

“Twelve fires broke out near the Israeli city of Ashkelon on Wednesday, apparently caused by incendiary balloons launched from the Gaza Strip. That would make Wednesday the seventh consecutive day that incendiary balloons have caused conflagrations near the border with the Strip.”

“Palestinians attempting to cross into Israel on Tuesday were turned away by tear gas and smoke grenades, Palestinian media said, putting an end to a brief relaxing of the rules that saw thousands of Palestinians enter without permits for beach outings, with tacit approval from the Israeli authorities.”

Also See: “Army Forcefully Stops Palestinians From Slipping Into Israel After Briefly Turning Blind Eye” (Haaretz)

“The Justice Ministry unit in charge of probing police misconduct submitted indictments on Thursday against five Border Police officers for 14 instances of robbery and assault against Palestinian men entering Israel. The officers are accused of taking thousands of shekels from these men and beating them, in some instances drawing blood. They were also charged with breach of trust and obstructing an investigation. Some of the cases were even filmed by the officers. A senior source in law enforcement said that ‘they behaved like a gang of criminals in every sense of the term.'”

“Israeli occupation forces today paved a settlers-only road and razed large tracts of Palestinian–owned land in Kafr al-Labad village, east of the northern West Bank city of Tulkarm, according to the head of the village council, Ihab Ghazaleh. He told WAFA that occupation soldiers escorted bulldozers into an area of the village where they leveled large tracts of lands and paved a 10 meter–long road for settlers leading to the illegal colonial settlement of Avni Hefetz.He added that this land, which amounts to 600 dunums in area, has been a regular target of the settlers and Israeli army and any attempt by Palestinians to reclaim their land and plant it was fiercely attacked by the settlers and soldiers, who often sabotage the work and steal equipment used in the work. Ghazaleh said the land in question is owned by village residents who have official documents proving ownership, explaining that building a road for settlers there would close main access to the village that connects it to Tulkarm city.”

“Residents of two Palestinian villages on Thursday morning found damaged vehicles and Hebrew-language slogans graffitied on the wall of a kindergarten, following apparent hate crimes overnight, according to the Yesh Din rights group. Around midnight, a number of residents of Asira al Kabalia reportedly discovered that a tractor located in the quarry between their village and a neighboring village, Urif, had been set alight, causing heavy damage, Yesh Din said.”

“He said the settlers, who came from Yitzhar, an illegal settlement inhabited by hardcore fanatic Jews, attacked a house situated on the outskirts of the village. The villagers managed to fend off the settlers’ attack, prompting confrontations with Israeli occupation forces who provided protection to the settlers. The soldiers fired a barrage of stun and tear gas grenades towards the villagers and their houses, causing several to suffocate.”

“The Home Front Command and the Jerusalem Municipality say that links between East Jerusalem and the West Bank are contributing to the spiking infection rates. A source in city hall said local Palestinian families have recently held weddings in the West Bank to bypass the prohibition on large gatherings in Jerusalem. A Home Front Command representative at the meeting proposed closing the crossings between Israel and the West Bank. The city says that mass prayers on Fridays on Temple Mount are contributing to the growing number of infections.”

“An eight-year-old child from the town of Idna, in the southern West Bank Hebron district, has died last night after contracting coronavirus, said the Ministry of Health. It said the boy was suffering from asthma and congenital heart defects.”

“Israel recorded 15 deaths on August 3, the previous high. There have been around 10 fatalities a day since mid-July, as the second wave of the virus has showed few signs of slowing down. On Tuesday, Israel surpassed China in total number of cases since the pandemic began. Coronavirus czar Ronni Gamzu earlier on Wednesday visited the Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital in Jerusalem, which has been operating above capacity amid an influx of coronavirus patients. During his visit, Gamzu pledged to push for greater funding for the Jerusalem hospital.”

“Levy’s statement came as the National Security Council was reportedly pushing for further restrictions to be imposed to try to stop the spread of the coronavirus, and a day after Israel appeared to mark its deadliest day since the start of the pandemic. According to a report from Army Radio, the NSC warned the government that if further steps to impose restrictions were not taken immediately, the country could soon see hundreds of patients in serious condition, with the health system unable to cope. The outlet reported that the message was sent to ministers although the Health Ministry does not currently have plans to recommend further restrictions.”

“How can the PLO maintain accountability as both a national liberation movement and governing body? How might Hamas and Islamic Jihad be integrated after decades of exclusion? What models of Palestinian youth leadership can be further developed? Al-Shabaka analysts address these and other questions in this full-length report, a year-long exercise facilitated by Alaa Tartir and Marwa Fatafta.”

“Israel says the attack was thwarted, but a cybersecurity firm says it was successful. Some officials fear that classified data stolen by North Korea could be shared with Iran.”

Also See: “Contradicting Israel, cybersecurity firm says N. Korea breached defense industry” (The Times of Israel); “Israel says it thwarted foreign cyber attack on defence industry” (Reuters)

“Congressman Doug Lamborn has called on the Trump Administration to sever all ties with Palestinian Authority leadership until it “gives up its obsession with violence”. On August 2nd, Palestinian Liberation Organization Secretary General Saeb Erekat condemned Rep. Lamborn’s call for officially designating the PA/PLO Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs and its Director Qadri Abu Bakr as “sponsors of terror” for their continued role in providing generous payments to families of murderers. Erekat called the official request by Congressman Lamborn “incitement”, “thuggery and blackmail”, and “punishing the victim”.”

“Until now, Trump has paid little attention to the issue, as crisis after crisis has washed over the United States, laying bare the failures of his leadership and imperiling his reelection. He left it to Kushner to arrange the parameters of U.S. support for annexation, but there is no evidence the issue is on the minds of most American voters. But as the election heads into the home stretch, Trump’s interests could change. Specifically, as polls show him continually trailing Biden by 5 to 8 percentage points, including in most swing states, and as a large majority of Americans say they disapprove of his management of the coronavirus pandemic, Trump’s best chance of eking out a narrow victory is to boost enthusiasm among his base so that they turn out to vote in disproportionate numbers. There is scant evidence that Jewish voters, even those who might vote for Trump, are enthusiastic about annexation. But the calculation might be different for a much larger portion of Trump’s base, evangelical Christians.”

“[Netanyahu] is not happy with the marriage, and that he has to rotate [the premiership] in a year from now. There’s a competition with Gantz on everything. He has a backseat driver, and he can’t stand it,” said Aviv Bushinsky, a former spokesperson for Netanyahu. “They don’t trust each other. They don’t work well together. It’s horrific.”

“But this miracle will not occur and neither Netanyahu – nor Alternate Prime Minister Benny Gantz– would agree to the parameters of this deal. No Palestinian leader would accept less than this and therefore, no negotiations will take place in the foreseeable future.”