What happened: Officials from Israel, Palestinian Authority (PA), Egypt, Jordan and the US met in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Sunday.

• Israel was represented on a professional level by the Director of the Shin Bet Security Service Ronen Bar and on a political level by the head of the National Security Council Tzachi Hanegbi.
• The Palestinian delegation was led by PA Civil Affairs Minister Hussein al-Sheikh and head of Intelligence Majed Faraj.
• Middle East adviser Brett McGurk represented the US alongside the foreign ministers of Jordan and Egypt.
• According to Israeli media reports the Israeli delegation stressed the need to take uncompromising action against terrorism in order to prevent any escalation during and after Ramadan.
• Israel and the PA reaffirmed their shared commitment to immediately refrain from taking unilateral action for a period of between three and six months. That includes an Israeli commitment to stop any discussion about building new housing units in the settlements for a four-month period, and to stop recognising unauthorised outposts for six months.
• Efforts were also made to find a mechanism for Israel and the PA to cooperate and avoid any further deterioration in security for both Israelis and Palestinians.
• The sides also agreed to establish a forum that would discuss Palestinian demands to receive tax funds that Israel has withheld after deducting the equivalent of terrorists’ salaries.
• Meanwhile yesterday in Hawara a terrorist opened fire from point blank range at an Israeli car and injured a 30-year-old Israeli man alongside his wife.
• The driver, David Stern, a resident of nearby Itamar settlement, who trains the security teams in the area, is also a US citizen and an ex-Marine. He managed to return fire and injure the terrorist, who dropped his gun and fled.
• The injured terrorist was later found by IDF forces and taken for questioning.
• On Saturday night a single rocket was fired from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory. It fell in uninhabited territory close to the border and no one was injured. The IDF retaliated by shelling a Hamas military outpost.
• Also over the weekend a senior member of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) was assassinated near his home in Damascus.  Ali Ramzi Al-Aswad was a senior engineer in the PIJ military wing. Israel was blamed for his death.

Context  This meeting in Sharm was the second regional summit focusing on Israeli – Palestinian arena following Aqaba conference at the end of February.

• There remains a shared Israeli – PA agenda to deescalate the situation in the West Bank and on the Israeli side.
• From the Palestinian perspective the purpose of the summit was to address their security concerns particularly related to limiting IDF incursions into Palestinian cities during Ramadan.
• The Israelis are keen to fully re-establish security coordination with the PA Security Forces (PASF) and for the PASF to reassert themselves as they have recently begun to do in Nablus.
• The US are also keen to see calm in the West Bank and thought to encourage Israel to take confidence building measures to improve economic conditions in the West Bank.
• It is possible that the PIJ operative targeted in Damascus built the bomb that exploded in Megiddo junction last week.
• Meanwhile over the weekend PIJ leader Ziyad al-Nakhalah met with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut.  This meeting suggests further evidence of Iranian support via Hezbollah for Palestinian terror groups.
• The rocket fired on Saturday night was the first in eleven days.  Already this year thirty-six rockets have been fired from Gaza Strip towards Israel.  Most have occurred following Palestinian fatalities as a result of an Israeli counter-terror operation in the West Bank.
• In parallel, the Jerusalem municipality announced steps to help East Jerusalemites celebrate Ramadan. Street decorations can already be seen in the eastern part of the city,  The municipality has also distributed food vouchers for the poor and deployed extra street cleaning. They are planning to hold several sporting and cultural activities to keep youngsters engaged over the holiday.

Looking ahead: IDF troops in the West Bank have completed their training and preparation ahead of Ramadan.

• They remain on high alert, particularly in Hawara so as to prevent any vigilante responses from settlers.
• Whilst the IDF remain on alert for potential attacks they will also be taking measures to facilitate freedom of worship for Palestinians to visit Al-Aqsa on the Temple Mount.
• The agreements reached in Sharm are aimed at securing quiet in the months ahead.

What happened: Three Israelis were injured, one critically, after a terrorist gunman opened fire in Tel Aviv on Thursday night.

• Mutaz Salah al-Khawaja, 23, began shooting at passersby at the intersection of Dizengoff Street and Ben-Gurion Boulevard at around 9.00pm.
• He then fled to a nearby building before later leaving and being shot dead by four people, including police officers and an off-duty reserve IDF officer.
• Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv confirmed that one of the shooting victims was given emergency life-saving surgery on arrival but that their life remained in danger.
• Injuries to the other two were described as non-life threatening and their condition as “serious and light-to-moderate”.
• Clashes later occurred between troops and locals in al-Khawaja’s West Bank home village of Ni’lin when troops entered to map out his home following Defence Minister Yoav Gallant’s order for its immediate razing.
• The IDF confirmed one “hit”, while Al-Khawaja’s father and another family member were arrested as locals launched Molotov cocktails, hurled stones, and set up flaming roadblocks.
• Earlier on Thursday, three Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorists were shot dead after opening fire on undercover Israeli forces personnel attempting an arrest raid in the West Bank village of Jaba’, south of Jenin.
• Weapons and explosives were found in the suspects’ car, while the IDF confirmed that a Skylark drone was downed during the operation.
• In further raids netting 15 arrests on Thursday morning, troops also came under fire in other West Bank locations.
• In a separate incident on Thursday, A Palestinian man was shot and killed attempting to launch an attack with a knife and IEDs after breaking into the Havat Dorot Illit farm near the West Bank settlement of Karnei Shomron.
• Elsewhere, troops searched Beitar Illit after an IED was found on a bus in the West Bank settlement.
• IDF troops also came under fire from Palestinian gunmen while operating in Tulkarem last night

Context: Thursday’s events follow a previous week in which deadly terror attacks killed brothers Hallel and Yagel Yaniv and Elan Ganeles, and also saw the riot by settlers in Huwara claim the life of one Palestinian resident.

• The rise in terrorism in recent months has left 14 Israelis dead and many others, including the latest victims, injured.
• At least 74 Palestinians have been killed, the vast majority either in the midst of terrorist activity or during clashes with Israeli troops.
• On Tuesday, six Palestinians were killed, including the terrorist responsible for the murders of the Yaniv brothers in Huwara last week, during an IDF raid in Jenin.
• A seventh Palestinian, a fourteen-year-old boy succumbed yesterday morning to wounds sustained in the operation.
• Defence Minister Yoav Gallant yesterday hosted US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin, with their talks including discussion of the escalation in violence.
• In public remarks Gallant highlighted the importance of seeking stability and security with a priority on the “economic prosperity and well-being of the Palestinian people”. However, “This should never come at the expense of the life of a single citizen of Israel.”
• Dizengoff Street is a busy and popular area of Tel Aviv and was crowded with post-Purim revellers at the time of Thursday’s attack.
• It was also the site of deadly terror attacks last year (killing three) and in 2016 (killing two).
• Israeli Police Chief Kobi Shabtai noted that the attack could have proven even worse. “We had a lot of luck here,” he said; “the fast reaction of the cops and citizens on the site prevented the murder of hundreds of people.”
• Protests against the government’s judicial reform were occurring nearby and diverted from their planned arrival in Dizengoff Street.
• Hamas claimed al-Khawaja as a member and called the attack a “natural response” to recent Israeli raids, without explicitly claiming responsibility.
• Al-Khawaja was in Israel without a valid permit and had previously served two Israeli prison sentences for weapons smuggling.
• British Ambassador to Israel Neil Wigan tweeted “A shocking attack in Tel Aviv tonight – close to the British Embassy and somewhere we walk past often. I wish a swift recovery to the injured. The UK condemns such terrorism.”
• In the context of rising violence, five former police commissioners, three former senior Prison Service officials, and dozens of other former law enforcement officials wrote to Netanyahu urging the removal of Itamar Ben Gvir as National Security Minister.
• The letter said that Ben Gvir’s policies, including his plans to continue house demolitions in East Jerusalem during the flashpoint period of Ramadan, were akin to “throwing a lit match into a barrel of gunpowder, which could in the best case bring about a third intifada, and in the worst case ignite an unnecessary fire in the Muslim world.”
• Tel Aviv District Police Commander Amichai Eshed rushed to attend the scene of the Tel Aviv shooting on the same day he was fired by Ben Gvir, reportedly over the latter’s view that he had been too soft in his response to protesters.

Looking ahead: Netanyahu’s office confirmed that he will remain in Italy until Sunday, as scheduled.

• Israeli officials remain braced for further escalations in the run-up to and during Ramadan, which this year begins on March 22^nd and partially coincides with Pesach.

What happened: President Herzog presented five principles for dialogue about the proposed reform, with the goal of reaching a “broad agreement.”

• As a first stage he called for the government to show restraint in passing the new legislation in its first reading. In fact prior to his speech last night, Justice Minister Yariv Levin announced he was delaying the vote, scheduled for this afternoon till next Wednesday.
• The president’s second principle relates to the court’s workload and the unfavourable ratio of judges to citizens. He said the drawn out processes, “damaged efficiency, quality and public trust in the system.”
• The president agreed with reformers in criticising the lack of diversity among the judiciary, saying “The fact that there aren’t enough Mizrahi (Jews of eastern origin) justices on the Supreme Court has troubled me for many years.”
• Relating to the government’s plans to change the Judges Selection Committee, the President said the changes should reflect equality among all parts of Israeli society. He proposed that none of the three branches of government should enjoy and automatic majority on the committee, and that each one should instead have equal representation, as well as public representatives who are to be chosen in an agreement between the justice minister and the Supreme Court president.
• The president also spoke about grounds of reasonability, saying, “There is room for use of those grounds, which today is restricted to cases of extreme unreasonableness. I believe that the parties can and need to reach a broad agreement on that issue too.”
• In response to the speech Justice Minister Levin said, “The president’s proposal contains positive elements, and it has elements that perpetuate the improper existing situation. As I have said the entire time, I am prepared and wish to engage in genuine dialogue with the members of the opposition who agree to that,” however added, “no linkage should be made between dialogue and moving forward with the legislative process.”

Context: The President believes the five principles above are the starting point, with the emphasis on maintaining unity within the country.

• For further background on the proposed reforms read our explainer here 
• For the sixth week running protesters demonstrated in Tel Aviv and across the country on Saturday night. Protest organisers claimed overall 250,000 people participated in the demonstrations.
• Over the weekend more groups sent letters and issued statements warning against aspects of the reforms. Former heads of the National Security Council wrote to the Speaker of the Knesset warning, “that the force of the societal and political clash is endangering Israel’s social resilience.” They called on the leaders of coalition and opposition parties, “to enter into serious talks without preconditions and to them to reach an agreement on the powers between the legislative, executive and judicial branches.” Notable among the signatories was Yossi Cohen who went on to lead the Mossad and is considered a close ally of the prime minister. Similarly, Yaakov Amidror and Yaakov Nagel – both of whom have also worked closely with Netanyahu – were also among the eleven signatories.
• A group of 18 Retired Supreme Court justices’ released a harsher statement, calling the proposed changes, “a serious threat not only to the justice system but also to the substance of the regime and to our way of life, and especially to the possibility of defending the basic rights of every individual in a fair and effective way. We feel we have a responsibility to warn about this danger before it comes to pass. The changes that have been presented are causing a serious and dangerous polarisation in society and they could bring disaster on Israel.”
• In addition a group of seven Nobel Prize winners also released a letter suggesting the proposed changes would “have clear negative impacts on research and institutions of higher education, which are the country’s economic and security engine and ensure its ongoing existence.” Their letter noted that “countries where the political regime set the agenda for research and higher education”, such as Turkey, Poland and Hungary, “lost their scientific excellence.”

In parallel to the judicial debate, there remains heighted concern over the security situation, following Friday’s terrorist ramming attack in northern Jerusalem that resulted in two children and a 20-year-old student killed. This took the Israeli civilian deaths to 10 victims of terror attacks in the last two weeks.

• In response to the attack security forces sealed the home owned by the family of the terrorist in the A-Tur neighbourhood in East Jerusalem. In addition, the security cabinet decided to legalise nine outposts in the West Bank in response to the recent terror attacks in Jerusalem. Minister Ben Gvir came to the meeting requesting the legalisation of 77 outposts.
• Four rockets were fired this morning out of the Gaza Strip. One landed in an open field and the other three exploded in mid-air, without being intercepted. No one was injured and no damage was caused.
• In retaliation, IDF tanks attacked Hamas military positions on the Gaza border. Earlier Israeli Air Force targeted an underground rocket factory in the central Gaza Strip. That attack was carried out in retaliation for the rocket that was fired and intercepted on Saturday.

Looking ahead: Leaders of the protest movements are today holding widespread strikes.

• This morning a mass prayer “to save democracy” is being held at the Western Wall.
• The main protest will be outside the Knesset, at 1200 (local time) it is expected to continue throughout the day and will include a mix of speeches and musical performances, with tens of thousands expected to attend.
• Inside the Knesset the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee will hold it vote today on a bill changing the composition of the Judges Selection Committee and to deny the High Court of Justice ability to intervene or reject basic laws. The first reading in the Plenum will be delayed till next week.

What happened: CIA Director William Burns, returning from a trip which included meetings with Israeli officials and with Palestinian Authority head Mahmoud Abbas, has said he fears that current Israeli-Palestinian violence echoes the pattern of the Second Intifada.

• “I was a senior US diplomat 20 years ago during the Second Intifada,” said Burns, “and I’m concerned – as are my colleagues in the intelligence community – that a lot of what we’re seeing today has a very unhappy resemblance to some of those realities that we saw then too.”
• Meanwhile, five terrorists were confirmed killed in an IDF raid targeting members of a cell affiliated with Hamas’s al-Qassam Brigades in the Aqabat Jaber refugee camp, near Jericho, on Monday.
• Troops entered the camp in pursuit of cell members believed to have carried out an attempted attack in Vered Yeriho, near the Almog junction, on January 28^th, following which Israeli forces tightened restrictions around Jericho.
• The Shin Bet and IDF Intelligence Directorate discovered that those responsible were in an apartment in the camp and planning further attacks.
• Having identified the apartment, troops came under fire and responded in kind, killing gunmen, all of whom are thought to have belonged to the cell.
• Troops also discovered a significant and sophisticated arsenal of weapons, many of which – including rifles equipped with sniper scopes, Carlo submachine guns, and pistols – are comparable with the IDF’s own weapons.
• The targets of the mission having been killed, forces then withdrew from the camp in the face of hundreds of locals, some of them armed.
• No Israeli casualties were reported, while Palestinian media shared footage of a seemingly downed Israeli Sky Rider drone.
• The raid also netted the arrest of senior Hamas official Shaker Amara, as well as relatives of the Vered Yeriho attackers.
• Yesterday, Israeli officials indicated their belief that a car which exploded in Jenin in Monday evening was a prematurely detonated car bomb planned for use in an attack in revenge for the Jericho mission.
• In separate incidents, a 17-year-old member of the Lion’s Den terrorist group was killed during clashes with Israeli forces in Nablus on Tuesday, while 22 Palestinians were also arrested in the village of Burkin, west of Jenin. This follows the arrest by Israeli forces on Sunday of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) leader Khader Adnan in the village of Arrabeh, near Jenin, on Sunday.
• Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem predicted that the Jericho raid would “fuel a revolution” amongst Palestinians.

Context: The Hamas Jericho cell, calling itself the Aqabat Jaber Battalion, is a new phenomenon, with the Vered Yeriho incident indicating an escalation in a city previously noted for its relative quiet.

• Last Saturday, the Aqabat Jaber Battalion publicly announced itself with a local parade and public statement.
• Monday’s IDF mission followed a previous raid targeting members of the cell last Saturday, in which at least 13 Palestinians were injured.
• While several arrests of cell members were secured in that mission, those responsible for the Vered Yeriho attack were not among them.
• In response to Saturday’s raid, the Aqabat Jaber Battalion announced a “days of rage” period, encouraging locals to initiate conflict with Israeli troops. “Let us all make them days of fire against the occupation,” a statement said, calling on Palestinians to “pour out their anger against the occupation.”
• In the attempted attack on January 28^th, four members of the cell travelling in two cars sought to open fire close to a restaurant but fled when one of their M-16 rifles jammed.
• The gun failure averted what could have been a major terrorist attack, with over 30 people dining in the restaurant at the time.
• While the past year has seen multiple Israeli raids into the West Bank, as part of Operation Breakwater, such operations have tended to target unaffiliated individual suspects or else localised militia independent (at least formally) from both the Palestinian Authority’s dominant Fatah faction and Hamas. An operation targeting such a well-resourced Hamas cell inside the West Bank is therefore unusual.
• The location of the raid is also significant. Jericho, in the PA-run Area A has previously been considered a place of comparative quiet and relatively secure PA control. Such a significant Hamas base of operations, together with Israel’s assessment that its neutralising required a unilateral operation, provide further proof of the decline in the PA’s influence in the West Bank and its ability to be considered a reliable security partner.
• The PA also opted to suspend formal security cooperation with Israel in the wake of the IDF’s raid in Jenin on January 27^th, though informal cooperation is known to have been ongoing since then.
• The operation was notable for being conducted not by one of the IDF units usually designated with such a mission, but by its gender-integrated Lions of the Jordan Valley Battalion, formed in 2014.
• The chief of the military’s Central Command, Maj. Gen. Yehuda Fuchs, commended the “commanders and troops who led the battle” as “an example of professionalism and leadership.” The operation will doubtless signify an important endorsement of mixed battalions at a time when they are under fire from ultra-Orthodox political figures.
• Egypt has continued mediation between Israel and the Palestinian factions. On Saturday, PIJ Secretary-General Ziyad al-Nakhaleh met in Cairo with Abbas Kamel, Director of the Egyptian General Intelligence Directorate to discuss recent violence, especially in the PIJ stronghold of Jenin, while Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh is due to arrive in Cairo shortly.

Looking ahead: Israel is braced for a violent response from Hamas.

• With several members of the cell killed or arrested, quiet from Jericho might reveal that Hamas’s presence in the city has been fatally degraded.