2010 in Israel

Gaza flotilla raid – photo of the MV Mavi Marmara on which the violent clash erupted.

Benjamin Netanyahu, Mahmoud Abbas, George J. Mitchell and Hillary Clinton at the start of direct talks on September 2, 2010.

The most prominent events related to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict which occurred during 2010 include:

• March 10 – Israel's government approves construction of an additional 1,600 apartments in a large Jewish housing development in northeastern Jerusalem called Ramat Shlomo.[22] The Israeli government's announcement occurs during a visit by U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden and the U.S. government subsequently issues a strongly worded condemnation of the plan.[23]
• May 31 – Israeli naval forces raid and capture a flotilla of ships, organized by the Free Gaza Movement and the Turkish Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief (IHH), which are attempting to break the Israeli and Egyptian blockade of Gaza. During the takeover, a violent confrontation erupts on board the largest ship of the flotilla. As a result, nine activists are killed[24][25] and several dozen passengers and seven IDF soldiers are wounded.[26][27]
• June 14 – The Israeli government announces the formation of the Turkel Commission of Inquiry to investigate the Gaza flotilla raid and the blockade of Gaza.[28][29]
• September 2 – 2010 direct talks: U.S. launches direct negotiations between Israel and The Palestinian Authority in Washington D.C.[30]
• September 14 – 2010 direct talks: A second round of Middle East peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority concludes in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.[31]
• September 26 – The Israeli 10-month moratorium in construction of new settlement homes in the West Bank expires at 22.00 (GMT).[32]
• September 28 – The Israeli Navy intercepts the ship Irene, heading from Cyprus towards Gaza and carrying nine Jewish activists from the US, the UK, Germany and Israel, which was attempting to break the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza.

Notable Palestinian militant operations against Israeli targets

The most prominent Palestinian militant acts and operations committed against Israeli targets during 2010 include:

• February 1 – The Popular Resistance Committees (PRC), a Palestinian militant group in the Gaza Strip with close ties to Hamas, tries to carry out an attack on Israel by means of bombs placed in barrels and sent into the Mediterranean Sea from the Gaza coast.[33]
• February 24 – Murder of Neta Sorek
• March 26 – A team of IDF soldiers from Golani Brigade, who cross the border into the Gaza Strip pursuing several people are seen placing explosive devices near the Israeli border fence, is ambushed and attacked with mortar shells and gunfire from inside the Strip. Two IDF soldiers are killed and three are injured. Hamas and Islamic Jihad claim responsibility for the attack.[34]
• June 11 – A Palestinian militant attempts to run over two Israeli border policemen in the Jerusalem neighbourhood of Wadi al-Joz, close to the Old City Walls. Other members of the border police force, who are at the scene, shoot and critically wound the driver as he tries to escape. The two policemen are lightly injured and receive medical treatment on the spot.[35]
• June 14 – One Israeli policeman is killed and three policemen are injured when Palestinian militants open fire on their vehicle on Highway 60, south of Hebron.[36]
• August 31 – 2010 Palestinian militancy campaign: August 2010 West Bank shooting – Four Israelis, including a pregnant woman, are killed by Palestinian militants in a shooting in the West Bank next to Kiryat Arba, when a gunman opens fire on their car. Hamas claim responsibility for the attack.[37][38][39]
• September 1 – 2010 Palestinian militancy campaign: Rimonim junction shooting: Palestinian militants open fire on an Israeli car near Kochav HaShachar in the West Bank moderately injuring an Israeli man and lightly injuring an Israeli woman. Hamas has claimed responsibility for the attack.[40]
• September 26 – 2010 Palestinian militancy campaign: Palestinian gunmen open fire on a pregnant woman and her husband in their car, wounding them both in the legs. The gunmen also shoot at another car, whose occupants evade injury.[41][42][43][44][45] Fatah and Palestinian Islamic Jihad claim responsibility for the attack.[46]
• December 18 – Murder of Kristine Luken: An American Christian missionary, Kristine Luken, is murdered and her British-born Israeli friend is seriously wounded by two knife-wielding Palestinian militants while hiking in a forest near Beit Shemesh, on the outskirts of Jerusalem.[47] Four Palestinians, members of a Palestinian terror cell, are later indicted for the attack, which was described as nationalist orientated.[48]

Notable Israeli military operations against Palestinian militancy targets

The most prominent Israeli counter-terrorist operations (military campaigns and military operations) carried out against Palestinian militants during 2010 include:

• May 26 – Israel launches two night-time air strikes on the Gaza Strip in response to mortar attacks and the detonation of 200 kg of explosives laden on a donkey-cart next to the border fence.[49][50]
• July 21 – Two militants of the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine are killed and another six wounded by Israeli shelling as they approached the Gaza Strip-Israel border near Beit Hanoun. A ten-year-old girl is also wounded.[51][52][53]
• September 5 – Israeli F-16 warplanes launch airstrikes on Gaza smuggling tunnels, with one Palestinian dead and several injured, in retaliation for recent attacks from the Gaza Strip.[54][55]
• September 12 – IDF soldiers identify a group of armed men approaching Israel from Gaza near Kibbutz Erez, killing three; Palestinian sources claim that two were farmers.[56][57][58]
• September 14 – One Palestinian gunman is killed and four more are wounded in a Gaza firefight after launching RPGs and missiles at IDF soldiers.[59]
• September 28 – Three al-Quds Brigades militants are killed by an Israeli airstrike. The IDF claims they were preparing to fire into Israel.[60]