2015–2016 protests in Moldova, Timeline, Autumn protests
Clashes broke out with police at the prosecutor general's headquarters, where activists attempted to set up an occupy-style tent encampment. Opposition leaders have accused the prosecutor general of being an instrument of political persecution. Supporters of the radical left Red Bloc Party tried to break the police cordon and forcibly enter the prosecutor's office. Police detained seven activists, including Antifa movement leader, Grigory Petrenko. A team from a local television station in Moldova was accosted by demonstrators. Likewise, six policemen were injured and one woman was hospitalised. According to Interior Minister Oleg Balan, "their scope was to devastate the prosecutor's office". Police removed tents in front of the prosecutor's office. However, more than 90 tents were set up by protesters in Grand National Assembly Square, vowing to continue their protest until demands are met.


2015–2016 protests in Moldova, Timeline, Autumn protests
Three Russian journalists from the pro-Kremlin television LifeNews were detained at Chișinău International Airport. They were forbidden to enter the Republic of Moldova. The film crew intended to publicize the protests. Russian officials reacted to the arrest of three journalists. "Actions of the new leadership in Chișinău demonstrate their unwillingness to have constructive relations with Russia", stated Maria Zakharova, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry. In the same context, Zakharova mentions that authorities' actions against Russian journalists "violate freedom of speech and access to information".


2015–2016 protests in Moldova, Timeline, Autumn protests
Prime Minister Valeriu Streleț invited protest organisers to "talks", at the Ministry of Agriculture headquarters, but they announced they will not attend the meeting. A group of representatives of the Platform previously participated in a meeting with Streleț, at the Government headquarters, where they asked him to sign the list of claims, which was presented in the square. Amid the protests against the oligarchic regime, Vladimir Plahotniuc fled Moldova the same day for Geneva.


2015–2016 protests in Moldova, Timeline, Autumn protests
Concomitantly with the meeting, the Unité phone company, belonging state-owned telco Moldtelecom, announced intentions to organise a free, open air concert, immediately criticised as an attempt to undermine the protest. Under the pressure of comments on social networks, many artists, starting with Ștefan Bănică, Jr., have declined participation, which could be interpreted as a political gesture.


2015–2016 protests in Moldova, Timeline, Autumn protests
A week later, another major protest took place in Chișinău, attracting 20,000 people from all over Moldova. Clashes between supporters of the Dignity and Justice civic platform and a group advocating Moldova's unification with Romania broke out soon after the rally began. The city centre has been cordoned off and many law enforcers were deployed on the streets. A resolution was adopted at the end of the demonstration, in which protesters call for a general strike and formation of a political movement and a so-called government of popular trust.


2015–2016 protests in Moldova, Timeline, Autumn protests
On 29 November, another protest organized by DA Platform took place in the Grand National Assembly Square. Demonstrators and supporters of the platform have expressed dissatisfaction with the political and economic situation in the country and called for early elections. To ensure security, hundreds of police formed two cordons in front of the Government. During the protest, DA Platform representatives said they will create a political party. Protests also took place in Bălți, Orhei, Cahul, Hîncești, Ungheni and Soroca.


2015–2016 protests in Moldova, Timeline, Political crisis
On 13 January 2016, 56 deputies of the parliamentary coalition formed around PD proposed controversial businessman Vlad Plahotniuc for the position of prime minister. The proposal was immediately rejected by President Nicolae Timofti, invoking integrity reasons. Timofti asked coalition representatives to propose another name until 14 January at 12 a.m. In the evening of 13 January, the coalition announced that will propose again Plahotniuc, thus escalating the constitutional conflict. The same day, two rallies took place in Chișinău, one that supports Vlad Plahotniuc for the position of prime minister and another that opposes the nomination.


2015–2016 protests in Moldova, Timeline, Political crisis
Next day, protests continued, with tens of thousands of people demonstrating in central Chișinău against Plahotniuc. By night, Timofti nominated the Secretary General of the Presidency, Ion Păduraru, candidate for this position, defying PD's proposal. However, Ion Păduraru announced his withdrawal from the race in less than 24 hours after the announcement of his nomination. He justified his gesture by the fact that the parliamentary majority has already nominated another proposal of premier, and President Timofti will consider it as a compromise solution.


2015–2016 protests in Moldova, Timeline, Political crisis
On 16 January, the parliamentary coalition grouped around the Democratic Party of Vlad Plahotniuc announced that disagrees with the proposal of President Timofti and came up with a new proposal for premier, instead of Plahotniuc – Pavel Filip. Later that day, up to 20,000 people joined three different rallies that were organized by both the left Socialist Party of Moldova and the centre-right Civic Platform DA. The protesters called on the Moldovan president and chief prosecutor to resign, demanding early elections and prompt measures against corruption. They also opposed the nomination of Pavel Filip to the post of Prime Minister.


2015–2016 protests in Moldova, Timeline, Political crisis
On 20 January, a majority of 57 MPs voted in favor of PD-backed Pavel Filip Government. During the parliamentary meeting, the Parliament building was surrounded by about 1,000 protesters that demanded the interruption of the vote. They broke a side door of the Parliament and entered the building, forcing the cordon of gendarmes. Many gendarmes offered no resistance, being dragged out of the device and giving up shields and batons. After several hours, police intervened in force, removing the protesters from the Parliament and cordoning the building off. 15 people, six protesters and nine gendarmes, suffered contusions after confrontations at Parliament. One of them was President of the Liberal Party, Mihai Ghimpu, who had his head broken, being hit by protesters while leaving the Parliament.


2015–2016 protests in Moldova, Timeline, Renewed protests
Thousands of people calling for Moldova's reunification with Romania took to the streets of Chișinău on 27 March in a so-called "march of reunion". The rally organizers say some 50,000 people took part in the protests while police put the number at 5,000–6,000 people. The rally was meant to mark the 98th anniversary since  Bessarabia was unified with the Kingdom of Romania on 27 March 1918. A bomb alert was triggered at Nicolae Sulac National Palace, during the formation of platform Sfatul Țării 2, that brings together the unionist organizations in Moldova fighting for the unification with Romania. Sappers and firefighters were deployed on the spot, but found that the alarm was false. Representatives of Voievod Movement held a counter manifestation. They were surrounded by law enforcers in order to avoid the degeneration of the situation.


2015–2016 protests in Moldova, Timeline, Renewed protests, 2017
On 11 June 2017 a new protest took place at Chișinău: around 4.000 citizens took part at a protest against adopting a law of mixed voting system, promoted by the Democratic Party of Moldova, seen by the Venice Commission and European rights experts as inappropriate for Moldova. On 17 September 2017 a new protest took place: the protesters have manifested again against the mixed voting system. In 2018, a popular movement rocked the country. Police clashed with demonstrators staging sit-ins and Rallies from June-August demanded the resignation of Igor Dodon and an end to corruption.


2015–2016 protests in Moldova, Aftermath
Former prime minister Vlad Filat, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova, was detained in parliament on 15 October over the theft of $1 billion from the banking system. Masked officers entered the Moldovan parliament to handcuff and arrest Filat, while anti-government protesters had blocked the exits to the building for most of the day to prevent him leaving. Moments earlier, the lawmakers voted to strip Filat of his parliamentary immunity. Vlad Filat is accused of passive corruption and influence peddling. He would preted bribe €250 million from Ilan Shor to determine legislative decisions to diminish the position of the Moldovan state in the Savings Bank. Ilan Shor, Mayor of Orhei, is also accused in the "Robbery of the century" corruption case, that is, the 2014 Moldovan bank fraud scandal.


2015–2016 protests in Moldova, Aftermath
On 16 October, the National Bank of Moldova has withdrawn the licenses of financial activity for Savings Bank, Social Bank and Unibank. Thus has begun the process of liquidation thereof.


2015–2016 protests in Moldova, Aftermath
On 29 October, three months after formation, the Streleț government was dismissed through a motion of censure, voted in favour by 65 MPs. The government's dismissal was enacted through the votes of the Socialist, Communist, and Democratic Party deputies. The stated reason underlying the motion was "suspicion of the corruption of Prime Minister Valeriu Streleț". Soon after the vote, the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs reacted, saying that stability of government should be allowed to prevail and the pro-European mandate given in the results of the November 2014 elections should be executed.


2015–2016 protests in Moldova, Reactions, Domestic
Igor Dodon, leader of the country's largest opposition party, the influential Moscow-friendly Socialist Party, has denounced the government's silence toward what he described as "officials and representatives of right-wing extremist, nationalist and "neo-Nazi" groups from Romania who attended the 5 July gathering.


2015–2016 protests in Moldova, Reactions, Domestic
After a first meeting with the leaders of the protesters, Moldovan PM Valeriu Streleț stated that his government would resign only in case of a no-confidence vote in Parliament. In a message published on the Presidency page, Nicolae Timofti cataloged the 6 September demonstration as a democratic exercise. As for his resignation, Timofti said he won't resign because "such a decision would bring instability to the Republic of Moldova".


2015–2016 protests in Moldova, Reactions, Domestic
According to Dorin Chirtoacă, Mayor of Chișinău, pressure from society must exist, but organizers of protests should correctly calculate their forces and actions. He also stated that eventual early elections would further destabilize the situation in Moldova. A similar position was adopted by Moldova's parliament speaker, Andrian Candu, saying such a move would leave the country stuck in economic crisis. During the September protests, Dorin Chirtoacă has called for the tents to be removed from the central boulevard and claimed that not only is the protest illegal, but that it is being fomented by Moscow. He has claimed that Renato Usatîi and Igor Dodon are puppets of Vladimir Putin.


2015–2016 stock market selloff
The 2015–2016 stock market selloff was the period of decline in the value of stock prices globally that occurred between June 2015 to June 2016. It included the 2015–2016 Chinese stock market turbulence, in which the SSE Composite Index fell 43% in just over 2 months between June 2015 and August 2015, which culminated in the devaluation of the yuan.


2015–2016 stock market selloff
Investors sold shares globally as a result of slowing growth in the GDP of China, a fall in petroleum prices, the Greek debt default in June 2015, the effects of the end of quantitative easing in the United States in October 2014, a sharp rise in bond yields in early 2016, and finally, in June 2016, the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, in which Brexit was voted upon.


2015–2016 stock market selloff
By July 2016, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) recovered and achieved record highs. The FTSE 100 Index did not do so until later in 2016.


2015–2016 stock market selloff, Stock market performance in mid-2015
The DJIA closed at a record 18,312 on May 19, 2015 before slowly falling to a low of 17,504 and then partially recovering to its secondary closing peak of 18,102 on July 16.


2015–2016 stock market selloff, Stock market performance in mid-2015
The stock market slowly slid thereafter, reaching a low of 17,403. The NASDAQ Composite peaked on July 17, 2015 at 5,219. Apple Inc.'s stock peaked at $133.00 on February 20, 2015, reached $132.37 on July 20, 2015 and slid to $105 by August 21, 2015.


2015–2016 stock market selloff, The downturn, Stock market performance between August 18, 2015 and August 21, 2015
On August 18, 2015, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) fell 33 points. On August 19, 2015, it lost 0.8% and on August 20, 2015, it lost 2.1%. A steep selloff then occurred on August 21, 2015, when the DJIA fell 531 points (3.12%), bringing the 3-day loss to 1,300 points.


2015–2016 stock market selloff, The downturn, Stock market performance on Monday, August 24, 2015
On Monday, August 24, world stock markets were down substantially, wiping out all gains made in 2015, with interlinked drops in commodities such as oil, which hit a six-year price low, copper, and most of Asian currencies, but the Japanese Yen, losing value against the United States Dollar. With the stock market plunge on Monday, an estimated ten trillion dollars had been wiped off the books on global markets since June 3.


2015–2016 stock market selloff, The downturn, Stock market performance on Monday, August 24, 2015
The 8% drop in China on August 24 was termed "Black Monday" by the Chinese state media. The term gained wide usage in the next 48 hours.


2015–2016 stock market selloff, The downturn, Stock market performance on Monday, August 24, 2015
In India, the Sensex recorded its biggest single-day fall of 1,624.51 points on August 24, ending the day down 5.94%. Indian investors registered losses worth over ₹7 lakh crore (₹7 trillion (US$98 billion)).


2015–2016 stock market selloff, The downturn, Stock market performance on Monday, August 24, 2015
In Europe, the main stock markets dropped at least 3% on August 24. The FTSE lost -4.4% (£78bn) but upon opening on August 25, shot up 116 points (1.97%).


2015–2016 stock market selloff, The downturn, Stock market performance on Monday, August 24, 2015
The DJIA opened 1,000 points lower on August 24, but gained nearly half of it back in the first 30 minutes. The New York Times used the term "upheaval" to describe the market situation. It remained down 588 points at the close of trading. Hedge funds, which, for the most part, had long positions on the eve of the downturn, suffered substantial losses as stocks such as Apple, Citigroup, Facebook and Amazon lost value.


2015–2016 stock market selloff, The downturn, Stock market performance on Tuesday, August 25, 2015
On Tuesday, August 25, the DJIA rose 442 points in early trading but plunged again in the last hour of trading, leaving the DJIA another 204 points off from its opening level. U.S. markets recovered 4% the next day and recouped the losses in October.


2015–2016 stock market selloff, The downturn, Stock market performance on Tuesday, August 25, 2015
Tuesday August 25 was another day of sharp losses on the SSE Composite Index, which dropped 7.6%, making a 40% downturn in the market since June. The two day loss for the SSE Composite Index was over 15%. The BSE SENSEX fell 1,600 points on August 24 as the rupee fell to 66.69 per dollar.


2015–2016 stock market selloff, The downturn, Stock market performance on Tuesday, August 25, 2015
Also on August 25, 2015, Asian and European markets finished higher, and the day began with a major 440 point upsurge for the DJIA; however, the gains turned to losses, with the DJIA plunging in the final hour to lose over 200 points for the day (1.3%).


2015–2016 stock market selloff, The downturn, Stock market performance on Wednesday, August 26, 2015
On Wednesday, August 26, 2015, the SSE Composite Index swung widely and ended down another 1.3%. This was in spite of a cut in the borrowing rate in China. Late the previous day, it was announced that the Chinese legal authorities were investigating Citic Securities, the largest brokerage in the country, for possible illegal securities trading. In addition to eight executives at the firm under scrutiny, a news reporter and members of the  China Securities Regulatory Commission were reportedly taken into custody.


2015–2016 stock market selloff, The downturn, Stock market performance on Wednesday, August 26, 2015
On August 26, the U.S. markets rallied, with the three major indexes, the DJIA, NASDAQ Composite, and the S&P 500 Index all registering gains of about 4%. It was the 3rd largest point gain on the list of largest daily changes in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.


2015–2016 stock market selloff, The downturn, Stock market performance on Thursday, August 27, 2015
The DJIA rose another 319 points on August 27, causing the aforementioned record to be set.


2015–2016 stock market selloff, The downturn, Stock market performance on Tuesday, September 1, 2015
On the following Tuesday, September 1, the SSE Composite Index declined 1.23%, Britain's FTSE dropped 3%, and the German DAX index declined 2.4%. In the U.S, the DJIA dropped to 16,058.35 points (2.8%) and the Nasdaq Composite fell 140.40 (2.9%).


2015–2016 stock market selloff, The downturn, Stock market performance on September 18, 2015
On September 18, 2015, the Federal Reserve did not raise interest rates at its meeting. On that day, after a multi-week recovery in which the DJIA had recovered to 16,700, the DJIA plunged 290 points. The Nasdaq Composite fell 70 points, the FTSE 100 fell 65 points and the Nikkei 225 fell 362 points.


2015–2016 stock market selloff, The downturn, Stock market performance in late September 2015
World stock markets continued to fall in late September, with the DJIA down to 16,004 by September 29, 2015. This, coupled with other stocks (FTSE100, Hang Seng Index, Nikkei) falling the same or more, set the stage for billions to be lost.


2015–2016 stock market selloff, The downturn, Stock market performance on January 20, 2016
On January 20, 2016, due to crude oil falling below $27 a barrel, the DJIA closed down 249 points after falling 565 points intraday. The FTSE 100 fell 3.62% in a single day and entered bear market territory.


2015–2016 stock market selloff, The downturn, Stock market performance in February 2016 as a result of Brexit vote announcement
In February 2016, British Prime Minister David Cameron announced that the Government was to recommend that the UK should remain in the EU and that the referendum would be held on 23 June, marking the official launch of the campaign. He also announced that Parliament would enact secondary legislation relating to the European Union Referendum Act 2015 on 22 February. With the official launch, ministers of the UK Government were then free to campaign on either side of the argument in a rare exception to Cabinet collective responsibility. This announcement led British pound fell to  $1.393, the lowest since 2009 and lead the uncertainty in stock markets around the world.


2015–2016 stock market selloff, The downturn, Stock market performance in June 2016 as a result of Brexit vote
On June 14, 2016, polls showed that a vote in favor of Brexit was more likely. The FTSE 100 fell 2% and markets sold off globally. On June 20, 2016, after further polls suggested a move back towards Remain, the pound and the FTSE recovered. Global markets also recovered.


2015–2016 stock market selloff, The downturn, Stock market performance in June 2016 as a result of Brexit vote
On June 22, 2016, the day of the referendum, Sterling hit a 2016 high and the FTSE 100 climbed to a 2016 high of $1.5018 and 6338.10 respectively as a new poll suggested a win for the Remain campaign. Initial results suggested a vote for 'remain' and the value of the pound held its value. However, when the result for Sunderland was announced, it indicated an unexpected swing to 'leave'. Subsequent results appeared to confirm this swing and sterling fell in value to $1.3777, its lowest level since 1985. However, the following Monday when the markets opened, Sterling fell to a new low of $1.32.


2015–2016 stock market selloff, The downturn, Stock market performance in June 2016 as a result of Brexit vote
When the London Stock Exchange opened on the morning of 24 June, the FTSE 100 fell from 6338.10 to 5806.13 in the first ten minutes of trading. It recovered to 6091.27 after a further 90 minutes before further recovering to 6162.97 by the end of the day's trading. When the markets reopened the Following Monday, the FTSE 100 showed a steady decline losing over 2% by mid-afternoon. Upon opening later on the Friday after the referendum, the DJIA dropped nearly 450 points or about 2½% in less than half an hour. The Associated Press called the sudden worldwide stock market decline a stock market crash. George Soros called the referendum a Black Friday for Britain.


2015–2016 stock market selloff, The downturn, Stock market performance in June 2016 as a result of Brexit vote
The vote led to stock market crashes around the world. Investors in worldwide stock markets lost more than the equivalent of 2 trillion United States dollars on 24 June 2016, making it the worst single day loss in history. The market losses amounted to a total of 3 trillion US dollars by 27 June 2016. By June 29, 2016, the markets had largely recovered. Britain's sovereign debt credit rating was lowered by Standard & Poor's, as was the European Union's.


2015–2016 stock market selloff, The downturn, Stock market performance in June 2016 as a result of Brexit vote
The euro fell by almost 4% against the United States dollar, while traditional "safe haven assets" such as gold and the Japanese Yen surged. Crude oil prices fell below $48 per barrel. The  French CAC 40 and German DAX initially fell by over 10% upon opening, while bank shares from the two countries fell by more. Likewise, the Spanish IBEX 35, Greek ATHEX, Dutch AEX index, Czech PX Index and Polish WIG30 all fell by eight to 15 percent.


2015–2016 stock market selloff, The downturn, Stock market performance in June 2016 as a result of Brexit vote
The Swiss franc, a traditional save haven asset, rose sharply, thus prompting the Swiss National Bank to intervene in the foreign exchange market to cap the rise. It issued a statement that read: "Following the United Kingdom's vote to leave the European Union, the Swiss franc came under upward pressure. The Swiss National Bank has intervened in the foreign exchange market to stabilise the situation and will remain active in that market." Yields on European sovereign bonds spiked, with 10-year bonds in Spain and Italy rose as much as 0.40% in early trades. Sweden's Riksbank issued a statement that read it was "following the financial market developments closely and has a continuing dialogue with other authorities. We have contacts with the Swedish banks and other central banks. We are ready to take the necessary actions to handle financial market distortions."


2015–2016 stock market selloff, The downturn, Stock market performance in June 2016 as a result of Brexit vote
By mid afternoon on 27 June 2016, the sterling was at a 31-year low, having fallen 11% in two trading days and the FTSE 100 had surrendered £85 billion. By 29 June it had recovered all its losses since the markets closed on polling day.


2015–2016 stock market selloff, The downturn, Stock market performance in June 2016 as a result of Brexit vote
In the Asian-Pacific region, markets also fell, with Nikkei 225 lead the Asian selloff, fell 7.92% to 14,952.02, the biggest selloff since March 2011 and the lowest level since October 2014. Meanwhile, an unnamed official at the Bank of Korea in South Korea declined to comment on rumours it intervened in the foreign exchange market, but Vice Finance Minister Choi Sang-Mok said the government would take all efforts to minimise the impact of the result.


2015–2016 stock market selloff, The downturn, Stock market performance in June 2016 as a result of Brexit vote
An unnamed policymaker with knowledge of the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) plans for related market management said that it was "prepared to deal with any volatility". Unnamed officials at SEBI said that they were in touch with the RBI on the market developments amid surveillance being beefed up to curb excess volatility and possible manipulations in various trading segments, including currency derivatives. The Australian dollar, which has traditionally been sold off in times of financial market uncertainty, fell strongly against the dollar and the yen.


2015–2016 stock market selloff, The downturn, Stock market performance in June 2016 as a result of Brexit vote
Other traditional markers of uncertainty, such as interbank dollar funding rates in Singapore and Hong Kong, were more steady. Hong Kong Financial Secretary John Tsang said: "Because of this matter, we have made preparation in many aspects. We have reserved sufficient liquidity and we are able to handle in different situations." The Hong Kong Monetary Authority asked banks within its jurisdiction to maintain ample cash conditions and that no unscheduled monetary liquidity injection operations had been taken. The Singapore Exchange sought to reduce volatility by raising margins on Nikkei futures traded on its exchange.


2015–2016 stock market selloff, The downturn, Stock market performance in June 2016 as a result of Brexit vote
The Chinese yuan fell to its weakest level against the US dollar since January 2011 while its offshore counterpart slipped to its weakest level in more than four months, despite a possibly unrelated People's Bank of China injection of 170 billion yuan into the system. The Philippines Central Bank issued a statement that read it was closely monitoring the foreign exchange market and would be prepared to act to ensure orderly transactions and smooth volatility.


2015–2016 stock market selloff, The downturn, Stock market performance in June 2016 as a result of Brexit vote
In the US, government bonds effectively priced in a small Federal Open Market Committee interest rate cut from a rate increase in July. When American markets opened there was a dramatic fall from Canada to Brazil.


2015–2016 stock market selloff, The downturn, Stock market performance in June 2016 as a result of Brexit vote
The referendum result also had an immediate negative economic impact on a number of other countries. The South African rand experienced its largest single-day decline since the Great Recession in 2008, dropping in value by over 8% against the United States dollar. Other countries negatively affected include Canada, whose stock exchange fell 1.70%, Nigeria, and Kenya. This was partly due to a general global financial shift out of currencies seen as risky and into the US dollar, and partly due to concerns over how the UK's withdrawal from the EU would impact on the economies and trade relations with close economic links to the United Kingdom.


2015–2016 stock market selloff, The downturn, Stock market performance in June 2016 as a result of Brexit vote
However, by September 2016 British media had reported that ignoring so-called 'Project Fear' scaremongering had rewarded those shareholders with the insight to ignore the pessimism after the FTSE250 broke all records in the months following the referendum to leave the EU.


2015–2016 stock market selloff, The downturn, Stock market performance in June 2016 as a result of Brexit vote
During a press conference on 27 June 2016, Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne attempted to reassure financial markets that the UK economy was not in serious trouble. This came after media reports that a survey by the Institute of Directors suggested that two-thirds of businesses believed that the outcome of the referendum would produce negative results as well as the dropping value of the sterling and the FTSE 100 which began on Friday, 24 June 2016. British businesses had also predicted that investment cuts, hiring freezes and redundancies would be necessary to cope with the results of the referendum.


2015–2016 stock market selloff, The downturn, Stock market performance in June 2016 as a result of Brexit vote
Osborne indicated that Britain was facing the future "from a position of strength" and there was no current need for an emergency Budget. "No-one should doubt our resolve to maintain the fiscal stability we have delivered for this country .... And to companies, large and small, I would say this: the British economy is fundamentally strong, highly competitive and we are open for business." Later that afternoon, the sterling was at a 31-year low, having fallen 11% in two trading days and the FTSE 100 index had surrendered £85 billion. Trading in Barclays Bank and Royal Bank of Scotland was briefly suspended after their prices fell sharply. At the close of trading, the domestically-focused FTSE 250 index was down approximately 14% as compared to the day before the referendum results were published (23 June 2016).


2015–2016 stock market selloff, The downturn, Stock market performance in June 2016 as a result of Brexit vote
By 1 July, the FTSE 100 had risen above pre-referendum levels, indeed, risen further to a ten-month high. Taking the previous fall into account, this represented the index's largest single-week rise since 2011. On 11 July, it officially entered bull market territory, having risen by more than 20% from its February low. However, the weak pound meant that when measured in US dollars, the FTSE 100 index remained 6% below pre-Brexit levels. The FTSE 250 Index, which contains more British companies and fewer multinationals, moved above its pre-referendum level on 27 July. In the US, the S&P 500, a broader market than the Dow Jones, reached an all-time high on 11 July. The DJIA and Nasdaq Composite, both reached an all-time high on 12 July and 8 August respectively.


2015–2016 stock market selloff, The downturn, Stock market performance in June 2016 as a result of Brexit vote
It was expected that the weaker pound would benefit aerospace and defence firms, pharmaceutical companies, and professional services companies; the share prices of these companies were boosted after the EU referendum.


2015–2016 stock market selloff, The downturn, Stock market performance in June 2016 as a result of Brexit vote
The pound remained low, and became the worst performing currency of the year to date against 31 other major currencies.


2015–2016 stock market selloff, Reactions
Several politicians have indicated strong personal opinions about the stock market selloff. Speaking on August 24, German chancellor Angela Merkel and France's President François Hollande described the world economy as "solid" and expressed confidence that the China market crash and subsequent market swings would ease up. Merkel stated "China will do everything in its power to stabilize the economic situation."


2015–2016 stock market selloff, Reactions
On the other hand, U.S. businessman and candidate for the Republican presidential nomination Donald Trump stated on August 24 that he felt that the stock selloff could get "messy". Trump was critical of policies that bound the Chinese and U.S. economies together. Also on the 24th, a fellow candidate for the Republican nomination, Chris Christie, blamed President Obama for borrowing too much money from China, saying that the U.S. and Chinese economy had become "interdependent". Christie commented figuratively that "If the Chinese get a cough, we get the flu."


2015–2016 stock market selloff, Reactions
On the day after the referendum, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney told a press conference:


2015–2016 stock market selloff, Reactions
The capital requirements of our largest banks are now 10 times higher than before the financial crisis. The Bank of England has stress-tested those banks against scenarios far more severe than our country currently faces. As a result of these actions UK banks have raised over a £130bn of new capital and now have more than £600bn of high quality liquid assets. That substantial capital and huge liquidity gives banks the flexibility they need to continue to lend to UK businesses and households even during challenging times.


2015–2016 stock market selloff, Reactions
Moreover, as a backstop to support the functioning of the markets the Bank of England stands ready to provide more than £250bn of additional funds through its normal market operations. The Bank of England is also able to provide substantial liquidity in foreign currency if required. We expect institutions to draw on this funding if and when appropriate. It will take some time for the UK to establish a new relationship with Europe and the rest of the world. So some market and economic volatility can be expected as this process unfolds, but we are well prepared for this. Her Majesty's Treasury and the Bank of England have engaged in extensive contingency planning and the chancellor and I have remained in close contact including through the night and this morning. The Bank of England will not hesitate to take additional measure as required, as markets adjust.


2015–2016 stock market selloff, Reactions
Nonetheless, share prices of the five largest British banks fell an average of 21% the morning after the referendum. By the end of Friday's trading, both HSBC and Standard Chartered had fully recovered, while Lloyds, RBS Group and Barclays remained more than 10% down.


2015–2016 stock market selloff, Reactions
All of the Big Three credit rating agencies reacted negatively to the vote: Standard & Poor's cut the UK credit rating from AAA to AA, Fitch Group cut from AA+ to AA, and Moody's cut the UK's outlook to "negative".


2015–2016 stock market selloff, Reactions
To try to arrest the downturn and increase financial stability, on 5 July 2016 the Bank of England released £150 billion in lending by reducing the countercyclical capital buffers that banks are required to hold.


2015–2016 stock market selloff, Reactions
Fears of a crash in property values led investors to begin redeeming investments in property funds, prompting Standard Life to freeze trading on 4 July, and Aviva followed suit the next day. Other investment companies including Henderson Group and M&G Investments cut the amount that investors cashing in their funds would receive.


2015–2016 stock market selloff, Reactions
On 12 July, the global investment management company BlackRock predicted the UK would experience a recession in late 2016 or early 2017 as a result of the vote to leave the EU, and that economic growth would slow down for at least five years because of a reduction in UK investment.


2015–2016 stock market selloff, Reactions
On 18 July, the UK-based economic forecasting group EY ITEM club suggested the country would experience a "short shallow recession" as the economy suffered "severe confidence effects on spending and business"; it also cut its economic growth forecasts for the UK from 2.6% to 0.4% in 2017, and 2.4% to 1.4% for 2018. The group's chief economic adviser, Peter Soencer, also argued there would be more long-term implications, and that the UK "may have to adjust to a permanent reduction in the size of the economy, compared to the trend that seemed possible prior to the vote".


2015–2016 stock market selloff, Reactions
Senior City investor Richard Buxton also argued there would be a "mild recession". On 19 July, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reduced its 2017 economic growth forecast for the UK from 2.2% to 1.3%, but still expected Britain to be the second fastest growing economy in the G7 during 2016; the IMF also reduced its forecasts for world economic growth by 0.1% to 3.1% in 2016 and 3.4% in 2017, as a result of the referendum, which it said had "thrown a spanner in the works" of global recovery.


2015–2016 stock market selloff, Reactions
On 20 July, a report released by the Bank of England said that although uncertainty had risen "markedly" since the referendum, it was yet to see evidence of a sharp economic decline as a consequence. However, around a third of contacts surveyed for the report expected there to be "some negative impact" over the following year.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict
An increase of violence occurred in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict starting in the autumn of 2015 and lasting into the first half of 2016. It was called the "Intifada of the Individuals" by Israeli sources, the "Knife Intifada", "Stabbing Intifada" or "Jerusalem Intifada" by international sources because of the many stabbings in Jerusalem, or "Habba" by Palestinian sources.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict
In the latter half of 2015, there were on average three Palestinian attacks per day. It decreased to one per day in 2016 but continued at that level for months. Between October 2015 and March 2016 there were 211 stabbings or attempted stabbings of Israelis by Palestinians, 83 shootings and 42 car-ramming attacks killing 30 Israelis and two Americans. Over 200 Palestinians were killed by Israeli security forces, 130 of them while allegedly carrying out attacks on Israelis.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict
The Palestinian violence during this period was characterized by its uncoordinated nature; most attacks were opportunistic "lone wolf" assaults on Israelis, carried out by individuals acting alone and not attributable to any political faction. That Israeli security forces frequently killed attackers was condemned by human rights organizations and others who claimed that it often amounted to summary executions. Others insisted that Israel had the right to defend itself.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict
Several events have been attributed as the starting point of the renewed hostilities. On 9 September, Israel outlawed Palestinian groups engaged in aggressive protests against Jewish groups visiting the Temple Mount. On 13 September, Palestinian youths clashed with Israeli police at al-Aqsa. Daily clashes, encouraged by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, continued for several days. On 22 September, Hadeel al-Hishlamoun was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers, allegedly while trying to stab them. Tensions escalated further on 1 October 2015 when an Israeli couple were killed by Palestinian militants, followed by the 3 October Lions' Gate stabbings.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict
Different explanations have been given for the Palestinian unrest. These include Israel appearing to seek to change the "status quo" surrounding the Temple Mount, social-media campaigns that may have motivated the attackers, frustration over the failure of peace talks and the suppression of human rights, and incitement.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, What caused the wave of violence?
According to many analysts, the key issue was access to what is known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif or the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as the Temple Mount. A "status quo" have been in place since 1967 which safeguards Muslim access to the site and prevents Jewish groups from performing religious rituals there.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, What caused the wave of violence?
Late in the summer of 2015, suspicion spread among Palestinians that Israel was attempting to change the status quo of the Mount by imposing age and gender restrictions on Muslim access while allowing entry to larger groups of Jewish activists. The suspicions were strengthened by calls from Jewish religious activists to visit the Mount on 13 September, eve of Rosh hashana, the Jewish new year. Visitors on that date included Agricultural Minister Uri Ariel, who was filmed praying at the site in front of his police escorts, openly flaunting the prohibition against Jewish prayers.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, What caused the wave of violence?
On 9 September 2015, Israel outlawed two Palestinian groups, "Mourabitoon" and "Murabitat", involved in aggressive protests at the Temple Mount against Jewish visiting groups. Israeli police enforce exclusively Muslim prayer at the site and visits to the site by Jewish campaigners have led to clashes with Mourabitoon and Mourabitaat activists. Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon, who signed the ban, said in a statement that the Mourabitoon and Mourabitaat are a "main cause in the creation of tension and violence on the Temple Mount (al Aqsa compound) specifically and Jerusalem in general". The Palestinian Authority opposed this ban and supported the activists.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, What caused the wave of violence?
Israeli generals have claimed that, to a notable degree, Palestinian violence was driven by anger at and revenge for Israeli actions, and that frustrations over the stagnation of diplomatic initiatives also contributed. A report by Israeli intelligence services stated that the unrest was motivated by Palestinian "feelings of national, economic and personal deprivation."


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, What caused the wave of violence?
Some also pointed out the increasing incitement and involvement of the Islamic State group in regard to Palestinian youth, with Islamic State cell members arrested in the West Bank in January 2015.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Palestinian attacks
During the events, Palestinians from the West Bank and East Jerusalem have carried out assaults against Israeli soldiers, policement as well as against civilians. Most of the attacks were carried out by unaffiliated assailants and have been described by Israeli and sometimes by other sources as acts of terrorism.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Palestinian attacks
The Israeli Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center has published a breakdown of the attacks on 24 May 2016, about 8 months from the start of the events. Out of 215 attacks recorded between 13 September 2015 and 24 May 2016, the most prominent type was stabbing attacks with a total of 149 incidents (69%). Stabbing attacks have been the most frequent type of assault in 2013 and 2014, but during the events of 2015-2016, they increased. The stabbings were followed by vehicular attacks with 29 incidents (14%), shooting attacks with 21 incidents (10%) and other attacks including the use of Improvised explosive devices and combined assaults.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Palestinian attacks
Over half of the attacks (134) occurred in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. About a quarter (58) took place in the city of Jerusalem (including East Jerusalem) and the rest (23) occurred within the recognized boundaries of Israel, which saw an increase in the number of attacks since the preceding years.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Impact on Israeli society
The near daily attacks affected Jewish Israeli society and Jewish Israeli opinions toward the Palestinians in various ways. A poll conducted by the Israel Democracy Institute in October 2015 found that 53 percent of Jewish Israeli respondents believed that a Palestinian suspect of a "terrorist attack should be killed on the spot, even if he has been apprehended and no longer poses a threat" and 80 percent said that the home of the family of a Palestinian who has murdered Jews on a nationalist background should be demolished."


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Impact on Israeli society
In the same report 57 percent reported that they feared either for themselves or for someone they knew and only 23 percent believed that Palestinian despair over the lack of progress in peace talks was behind the spike in attacks. A poll in December 2015 found that 77 percent of Israelis felt unsafe and that nearly half were reluctant to attend public Hanukkah celebrations.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Impact on Israeli society
After an attack in a supermarket, one of Israel's major grocery chains, Rami Levy pulled all knives, kitchen scissors and pizza cutters from the aisles so that they would not be used as weapons by Palestinian attackers.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Impact on Israeli society
In October in the weekly magazine Mishpacha, popular among ultra-Orthodox Haredi Jews, a letter that went viral appeared to beg Arabs not to kill Haredim appeared. The letter, written in Arabic, began "We, the Hareidim do not go up to the Temple Mount, you do not see Hareidim on the Temple Mount, Hareidim do not want to change the status quo, and the Hareidim have no part in this – so please, stop murdering us." Many Haredi Jews had been targeted in the Old City of Jerusalem, ostensibly because of their distinguishable clothing. According to Mishpacha's editor, Yossi Elituv the appeal was meant as a literary device and was misunderstood.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Impact on Israeli society
During the unrest, demand for handguns soared and Israeli leaders encouraged licensed gun owners to carry their weapons. The mayor of Jerusalem, Nir Barkat in October 2015 compared it to "military reserve duty" and claimed that bystanders shooting Palestinian attackers had prevented many attacks. Netanyahu, echoing his comments, said that "Civilians are at the forefront of the war against terrorism and must also be on maximum alert."


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Impact on Palestinian society
Initially, Palestinians were broadly supportive of attacks against Israelis but the support waned over time. In a poll conducted by the Palestinian think tank Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PCPSR) among Palestinians released in December 2015 showed that 57 percent of Palestinians in the West Bank supported knife attacks. That number had shrunk to 44 percent in March 2016. However, a majority still believed that an armed intifada would serve them better than negotiations.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Impact on Palestinian society
The same opinion polls showed that the unrest didn't affect public opinion about Abbas and the Palestinian Authority - they remained widely unpopular. In the fall of 2015 over half of the respondents of PCPSR:s poll favored dissolving the PA altogether and two years later in poll conducted among West Bank Palestinians, 46 percent viewed the PA as a "burden" and 60 percent wished Abbas would resign.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Extrajudicial killings
Human rights organizations, such as B'Tselem and Amnesty International, and Palestinian leaders, and others said that some killings of Palestinian attackers and others by Israeli security forces were extrajudicial killings.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Extrajudicial killings
In a joint statement with the Israeli NGO B'tselem, Amnesty International stated that in some instances Israeli forces have engaged in extrajudicial killings, which Israeli politicians are accused of openly endorsing as a response to Palestinians merely suspected by police of terrorist intentions of unarmed civilians. Netanyahu made a point of saying when the US killed the San Bernardino shooters, nobody said they were extrajudicial killings and claimed that Israel was unfairly criticized. Human Rights Watch, raising the possibility that Israel may be engaged in violations of international law, has expressed concern over what it calls Israel's "indiscriminate and even deliberate" shooting of protesters.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Extrajudicial killings
On 27 October 2015, Amnesty called for Israel to end its "pattern of unlawful killings." The organization examined four cases, 19-year-old Sa'ad Muhammad Youssef al-Atrash, 17-year-old Dania Jihad Hussein Ershied, 19-year-old Fadi Alloun, and 18-year-old Hadeel al-Hashlamon, which it claimed were deliberately shot while they posed no imminent threat to life and that the killings therefore were extrajudicial. It also noted some cases in which the person shot were not given medical assistance and was left bleeding to death on the ground. Philip Luther, Director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Amnesty International, stated:


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Extrajudicial killings
"There is mounting evidence that, as tensions have risen dramatically, in some cases Israeli forces appear to have ripped up the rulebook and resorted to extreme and unlawful measures. They seem increasingly prone to using lethal force against anyone they perceive as posing a threat, without ensuring that the threat is real."


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Extrajudicial killings
In a B'Tselem report from 16 December 2015, the organization listed twelve incidents in which Israeli soldiers and other security forces allegedly used excessive force against Palestinians, by shooting attackers or suspected attackers even after they no longer posed any danger. B'Tselem accused Netanyahu of overseeing a "new pseudo-normative reality" in which a "shoot to kill" approach should always be adopted by police officers or armed civilians regarding suspected Palestinian attackers.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Extrajudicial killings
In February 2016, Defence for Children International accused the Israeli army of the intentional killing of Palestinian children in the West Bank. It said that the IDF had killed more than 180 Palestinians since the unrest began in October 2015, including 49 children. It said: "Repeated killing and shooting of children by Israeli army, and preventing paramedics from offering medical aid to them is considered a form of extrajudicial killing".


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Incitement
During the period of unrest, what role incitement played in triggering Palestinians to commit attacks against Israelis was debated. Israeli officials frequently blamed Palestinian leaders and organizations for incitement. Abbas was most often blamed, but many others such as Hamas, the Islamic Movement in Israel, Arab Israeli politicians, imams, Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallström, and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon were also accused of encouraging or inciting violence.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Incitement
A different source of incitement was social media. Several Palestinians were arrested over what they had posted online.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Incitement, By Abbas and the Palestinian Authority
Netanyahu and other prominent Israeli politicians repeatedly alleged that Abbas was inciting Palestinians. For example, in October 2015, Netanyahu said that "there is no question that this wave of attacks was driven directly by the incitement, the incitement of Hamas, the incitement of the Islamist movement in Israel and the incitement, I am sorry to say, from president Abbas and the Palestinian Authority." His Education Minister, Naftali Bennett, claimed in an interview with BBC that Abbas was "inciting murder of Jews."


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Incitement, By Abbas and the Palestinian Authority
American politicians, such as Secretary of State John Kerry and the Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Eliot Engel, also accused Abbas of incitement.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Incitement, By Abbas and the Palestinian Authority
Analysts, however, doubted that Abbas was inciting the violence. According to Mouin Rabbani, a senior fellow at the Institute for Palestine Studies think tank, "Abbas couldn't even incite a rabid dog" because, according to him, Abbas was a leader without authority or influence. According to Shin Bet, the violence was incited by the Islamic Movement in Israel and Hamas and not Abbas, who they claimed instructed his security forces to prevent attacks on Israelis.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Incitement, By Abbas and the Palestinian Authority
Social media expert Shimrit Meir believed that Abbas was encouraging violence, but that no one was listening to him because of his unpopularity.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Incitement, By Abbas and the Palestinian Authority
Abbas denied all allegations of incitement. In an interview sent on Israeli TV in March 2016 he claimed that Palestinian security forces were trying to prevent attacks. He proceeded to describe a raid of a school where they had found "70 boys and girls who were carrying knives. We talked to them about it and told them it was a mistake. ' We don't want you to kill and die. We want you to live and the other to live.'"


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Incitement, By the Islamic Movement
The Islamic Movement in Israel, founders of the two Temple Mount groups the Murabitat and Mourabitoun, was claimed to be a major source of incitement. The Israeli government accused it of "continuous incitement to violence and racism" by accusing Israel of seeking to change the Temple Mount "status quo." The northern branch of the movement was outlawed in November 2015.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Incitement, By the Islamic Movement
According to the Shin Bet and Israeli police, the movement was affiliated with the Muslim brotherhood and had ties with Hamas.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Incitement, By Hamas
A Shin Bet senior officer said that much of the incitement is coming from Hamas.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Incitement, By the Islamic State
While the threat of border clashes with Islamic State terrorists fighting in the Syrian civil war has concerned Israeli leaders for some time now, the recruitment of Israeli Arabs to form their own terror cells or launch lone wolf attacks inside of Israel – akin to the Paris or San Bernardino attacks late in 2015 – has recently become a more serious threat for the Jewish state.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Incitement, By the Islamic State
According to a cyber-security expert opinion of INSS, a new trend started during the "wave of terror" in Israel, with the Islamic State organization flooding social media platforms with messages tailored to Palestinians and Israeli Arabs.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Incitement, By the Islamic State
Shin Bet claimed that the attackers who killed four people at Tel Aviv tourist attraction were inspired by the Islamic State . Reportedly, this confirmed the assessment, previously made by Palestinian security services on the night of the attack. Following the June 2016 Tel Aviv shooting, Israeli newspaper "Haaretz", wrote that first signs emerged of ISIS-inspired lone-wolf terrorism in Israel.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Incitement, By individuals
According to a report by the Palestinian Detainees and Ex-detainees Committee, Israel arrested about 130 Palestinians over social media activity in 2015. 27 of those detained were accused of incitement.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Incitement, By individuals
In October 2015, it was reported that 20,000 Israelis had initiated a class action suit against Facebook who they claimed had a "legal and moral obligation" to block content "containing incitement to murder Jews."


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Incitement, By individuals
On 11 October, Palestinian poet Dareen Tatour was arrested over a poem that she had published on YouTube that the Israeli authorities claimed were inciting violence.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Incitement, By individuals
On 15 October, the Jewish non-governmental organization ADL wrote in a blog post that content encouraging Palestinians to stab Jews had emerged on social media. As examples of such content, it described an image with the text "When you stab, put poison on the knife or soak the knife in vinegar," a tweet that read "Stab a soldier with a knife to liberate Palestine" and a YouTube video captioned "Learn how to stab a Jew." In an update of the blog post on 20 October, the ADL wrote that Google, Twitter and Facebook had all removed the "problematic material" after being notified of it.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Incitement, By individuals
On 16 October, Israel's envoy to the UN, Danny Danon, brought one of the images ADL had described to a meeting with the Security Council. The image was an infographic titled "How to stab a Jew" and showed where on a victims body an attacker should stab to inflict as much damage as possible. Danon claimed that it was an example of what incitement looks like on social media.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Incitement, By individuals
On 21 November, Palestinian journalist Muhammad al-Qiq was put under administrative detention, allegedly for "incitement" and for working with Hamas.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Incitement, By Israeli politicians
In October, the left-wing Israeli newspaper Haaretz accused Netanyahu of incitement against Arab Israelis for claiming in a Knesset speech that there was a "train of ISIS flags" behind the predominantly Arab party Balad. In another widely denounced comment in October, Netanyahu claimed that a Palestinian gave Hitler the idea for the Holocaust.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Incitement, By Israeli politicians
Palestinian Ministor of Jerusalem Affairs, Adnan Husseini, called Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat's decision of publicly carrying a rifle while visiting the city's Arab neighborhoods a "declaration of war" on the city's Palestinian residents.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Incitement, By Israeli politicians
Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely said it was her dream "to see the Israeli flag flying on the Temple Mount." Netanyahu rebuked the comment.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Timeline
Since 13 September, 36 Israelis, as well as two Americans and an Eritrean were killed in Palestinian attacks, while 222 Palestinians have been killed (all but one by Israeli security forces), of which 140 were identified by Israel as assailants. Additionally, a Sudanese attacker was killed. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) recorded 167 'terrorist' attacks by Palestinians against Israeli civilians and security forces. The number of rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip increased. Palestinian attacks occurred predominantly in areas of the West Bank including Jerusalem and the West Bank, but also in cities within Israel, such as Tel Aviv and Beersheba. These near-daily attacks constituted primarily stone throwing and knife stabbings. Other attacks included shootings and vehicle rammings.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Timeline, July 2015
On 31 July 2015, two homes in Duma, a Palestinian village in the West Bank, were firebombed by Israeli settlers. An 18-month-old baby was burnt to death and his parents and 4-year-old brother were critically injured and rushed to hospitals, where the father died of his burns several days later. In early September the mother also succumbed to her injuries.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Timeline, September 2015
On 9 September, after talks with visiting British Prime Minister David Cameron, Jordan's King Abdullah II warned Israel, on 9 September, that "any more provocation in Jerusalem will affect the relationship between Jordan and Israel."


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Timeline, September 2015
On 9 September, US State Department spokesman John Kirby, condemned "all acts of violence" at the Temple Mount and urged Israel not to lift restrictions for Jewish visitors or to disturb the "status quo" of the site.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Timeline, September 2015
On 13 September, Muslim youths gathered at the al-Aqsa Mosque, with the intention of blocking visits by Jews to the Temple Mount. They clashed with Israeli police who used rubber coated bullets and tear gas, and chained the doors of the mosque shut. Tensions on the Temple Mount continued for three days, causing damage as Israeli police used tear gas and threw stun grenades toward Palestinian youths barricaded inside the Mosque, hurling rocks and flares at police, a Reuters witness said. Israeli Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan, in a statement, said the Palestinians also had pipe bombs.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Timeline, September 2015
On 13 September, Alexander Levlovich who was driving in a Jerusalem neighborhood was killed by Palestinians who threw stones at his car. This caused him to lose control of his car and crash into a utility pole.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Timeline, September 2015
On 16 September, Abbas declared his support for Palestinian youths injured in clashes on the Temple Mount, stating that "every drop of blood spilled in Jerusalem is pure, every shahid [martyr] will reach paradise, and every injured person will be rewarded by God." This led United States' Secretary of State John Kerry to accuse Abbas of inciting violence.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Timeline, September 2015
On 22 September, Hadeel al-Hashlamon was shot multiple times by an Israeli soldier at a checkpoint in Hebron. The IDF claimed that she had a knife on her. Amnesty published a report a few days later in which it called the incident an extrajudicial killing because Hashlamon didn't pose a threat when she was killed. In the following weeks, Hebron became a center of violent incidents and protests.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Timeline, September 2015
On 24 September the Security Cabinet of Israel approved new anti-riot laws. A modified order allowed security forces to shoot when the life of a third party is under threat. Before the change, Israeli soldiers facing rioters could open fire with live bullets only if their own life was in danger. The cabinet also ordered a minimum four-year jail term for anybody throwing dangerous objects and heavy fines on parents whose children threw stones as a temporary measure to be in effect for three years.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Timeline, September 2015
A pay increase for border police throughout Jerusalem and the calling up reserve forces of police and Border Guard forces was also enacted by the security cabinet. Saeb Erekat, secretary general of the PLO, said that the new rules was "a mere pretext to justify the escalating Israeli crimes against the people of Palestine."


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Timeline, October 2015
69 Palestinians were killed in clashes with Israeli security forces in October. Of those, 51 were killed in the West Bank and 18 in the Gaza Strip. The IDF claimed that 43 of the Palestinians killed were attackers. 7,392 Palestinians were injured. 7,392 Palestinians were injured; 4,216 by tear gas inhalation, 1,753 by rubber bullets, 1,134 by live ammunition and 289 from other causes. In the same period, ten Israelis were killed, and 115 injured. During the month over 300 Israeli soldiers were deployed in Jerusalem in the largest military policing operation since the Second Intifada.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Timeline, October 2015
On 1 October, Hamas militants killed two settlers from the West Bank. Netanyahu said that the attack was a "result of Palestinian incitement" that led "to an act of terror and murder" and criticized Abbas for not condemning the attack. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, Fatah's military arm, welcomed the attack and said it was "a worthy response" to the Duma arson attack in July.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Timeline, October 2015
On 3 October, a Palestinian stabbed and killed two Israelis in the Old City of Jerusalem before he himself was shot and killed by Israeli police. The attack caused controversy as BBC used the headline "Palestinian shot dead after Jerusalem attack kills two," apparently focusing more on the killed attacker rather than on his victims. The headline outraged the Israeli government which demanded an apology from the BBC. It warned that the network could face sanctions, threatening to annul its press cards in Israel, which in effect would have made it impossible for it to operate in the country. The network admitted that the headline was bad but said that it was written by a junior editor and not reflective of anti-Israeli bias. The headline was subsequently changed several times by the BBC.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Timeline, October 2015
On 4 October, Palestinians except for those living in Jerusalem, businessmen and students were banned from entering the Old City for two days. Men under the age of 50 were also banned from praying at al-Aqsa. Israelis or foreign tourists were not affected by the ban. The move angered Palestinians and was condemned by Amnesty as a violation of the right to freedom of movement.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Timeline, October 2015
On 6 October, Sultan Abu Al-Einein, one of Abbas' advisers, posted a glorification of the 3 October stabbing on his Facebook page. He posted a picture of the stabber and called it a "heroic operation." He also "saluted" those who "protected Jerusalem."


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Timeline, October 2015
On 8 October, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he had barred Israeli ministers and other politicians in Israel's parliament, the Knesset, from visiting the Temple Mount. The decision was criticized both by Jewish and Arab politicians who said that they would defy his orders. Other politicians such as Isaac Herzog of the opposition party the Zionist Union welcomed the ban. Netanyahu also reiterated that his government had no intention of changing the Temple Mount "status quo."


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Timeline, October 2015
On 12 October, two Palestinian boys Hassan and Ahmad Manasra stabbed two Israelis in East Jerusalem. The attack became a lightning rod for both Israelis and Palestinians because of the young age of the attackers, a viral clip from after the attack showing Ahmad laying in a pool of blood while being shouted at by settlers which spread on social media, and because Abbas erroneously claimed in a televised speech that Ahmad had been executed.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Timeline, October 2015
On 16 October, the French newspaper Le Figaro revealed that the French government was drafting a Security Council statement calling for the deployment of international observers to Temple Mount to preserve status quo. The Israeli government rebuffed the proposal and Israel's envoy to the UN, Danny Danon, said that Israel would never agree to the stationing of international forces at the site.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Timeline, October 2015
On 17 October, Jibril Rajoub, a senior member of Palestinian Authority ruling party Fatah said about the attacks that "they require heroism, courage, and a value system, which forces the Palestinian elite and the Palestinian national forces to see in the final words of one of those heroes, written in a blog, a document that could be taught in schools in a lesson about the meaning of martyrdom..."


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Timeline, October 2015
On 18 October, an Israeli Bedouin shot and killed an Israeli soldier in a bus station in Beersheba before he was killed by security personnel. An Eritrean asylum seeker, mistaken for a second gunman, was shot by police and then lynched by a mob which was filmed by a bystander. He later died of his wounds.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Timeline, October 2015
Leaders of the Israeli Bedouin community condemned the attack, while ISIS, who the attacker thought to have been inspired by, praised it. It was the first attack of the conflict committed by a Bedouin.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Timeline, October 2015
Netanyahu warned Israelis against vigilantism and Human Rights Watch called for prosecution against those involved in the lynching.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Timeline, October 2015
On 20 October, Israeli troops rearrested Hassan Yousef, a senior Hamas figure in the West Bank, accusing him of "fermenting violence and conflict against Israel among the Palestinian public."


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Timeline, October 2015
On 20 October, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon made a surprise visit to Israel and called for both sides to restore calm.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Timeline, October 2015
On 21 October, Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel met with Netanyahu on to discuss the violence. She said that Germany expected Abbas "to condemn everything that constitutes an act of terror. One can't have open talks with Israel if this does not happen" and that "young Palestinians need a perspective and unilateral steps are not helpful".


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Timeline, October 2015
On 24 October the US House Foreign Affairs Committee voted to cut financial aid to the Palestinian Authority by $80 million to "send a message" to Abbas to end the "incitement." The Chairman of the Committee, Eliot Engel, said that the unrest was "the product of years and years of anti-Israel propaganda and indoctrination – some of which has been actively promoted by Palestinian Authority officials and institutions."


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Timeline, October 2015, Speculations about a Third Intifada
During October, analysts speculated on whether the unrest was, or would lead to, a Third Intifada - an organized uprising against the Israeli occupation. On 9 October, Ismail Haniyeh, leader of Hamas, declared that a new intifada had begun, but other Palestinian leaders refrained from following suit. Analysts questioned whether they would be able to contain the violence.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Timeline, October 2015, Speculations about a Third Intifada
According to Israeli opposition leader Isaac Herzog, who thought the events would lead to a Third Intifada, the Palestinian Authority tried to avoid an explosion "but on the ground, there's not much effect ... young people definitely aren't listening." According to Nohad Ali, a sociologist from the University of Haifa, there wasn't "yet" a Third Intifada. Other analysts noted that the unrest was different from previous Intifadas because it lacked both an organizational framework under an acknowledged political leadership and a clear set of goals. It was also noted that the violence was mainly restricted to Palestinians of East Jerusalem, and did not reflect general participation from the West Bank as in earlier Intifadas.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Timeline, October 2015, Speculations about a Third Intifada
Grant Rumley of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies argued that because there was little Palestinian political endorsement of the violence, the chance of another uprising was low; "the likelihood of another uprising is roughly the same as it is on any other day in this blood-soaked conflict."


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Timeline, November 2015
On 23 November, two Palestinian girls, 14-year-old Hadeel Wajih Awwad from Qalandiya and her 16-year-old cousin Norhan Awwad from Kafr 'Aqab stabbed a man with a pair of scissors at the Mahane Yehuda Market on Jaffa Street in central Jerusalem who suffered light injuries to his neck. The victim turned out to be a 70-year-old Palestinian man from Bethlehem who the girls had mistaken for a Jew. The attack was stopped by a bystander who hit the older girl with a chair that knocked her to the ground.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Timeline, November 2015
The younger girl then advanced on a policeman in the street while brandishing her scissors. The policeman killed her by shooting her several times even after she had slumped to the ground from the first shot. He also fired two shots into the motionless older girls chest. She sustained serious wounds and underwent surgery to remove the bullets from her abdomen.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Timeline, November 2015
The killed girl's brother, Mahmoud Awwad, 22, had been shot in the head by an Israeli sniper during clashes near Qalandiya in 2013. He died five months later. According to the indictment against Norhan, the attack was meant to avenge his death. She was sentenced to 13 and a half years in prison and fined 30,000 shekels.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Timeline, November 2015
The attack caused some outrage as the killing of Hadeel was caught on security camera footage. In an open letter to Netanyahu, the Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem claimed that it was an example of an extrajudicial killing, noting that "the death penalty for murder was abolished in Israeli criminal law in 1954, over 60 years ago." Kerry, on the other hand, alluding to the attack, defended Israel "Clearly, no people anywhere should live with daily violence; with attacks in the streets, with knives or scissors or cars."


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Timeline, December 2015
In early December during a debate in the Swedish parliament, Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallström discussed the ongoing spate of violence in Israel and the Occupied territories. She accused Israel of extrajudicial killings, executing attackers without trial, and of disproportionate use of force. She also condemned the Palestinian attacks and said that Israel had the right to defend itself.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Timeline, December 2015
The comments infuriated the Israeli Foreign Ministry who calling her words "scandalous, delusional, rude and detached from reality. The foreign minister suggests that Israeli citizens simply give their necks to the murderers trying to stab them with knives" and that "the citizens of Israel have to deal with terrorism that receives support from irresponsible and false statements like that."


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Timeline, December 2015
On 12 January, Wallström again suggested that Israel might be guilty of extrajudicial killings of Palestinians and called for an investigation into the matter. The Israeli Foreign Ministry again responded harshly, claiming that Wallström's "irresponsible and delirious statements are giving support to terrorism and encouraging violence". Deputy Foreign Minister of Israel Tzipi Hotovely declared that Swedish politicians of the rank of deputy minister and above are not welcome in Israel. She later clarified that it was only the Foreign Minister and her aides what were not welcome.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Timeline, December 2015
On 9 December it was revealed that US Presidential candidate Donald Trump would visit Israel and meet with Netanyahu on 28 December. Netanyahu was criticized for not cancelling the meeting because Trump a few days earlier had called for a banning Muslims from entering the US. 37 MKs asked Netanyahu to condemn Trump and refuse to meet with him.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Timeline, December 2015
Netanyahu in response said he rejected Trump's remarks about Muslims but that the meeting was planned two weeks ago and would go forward as planned. Trump, however, postponed the meeting until "after I become President" and later hinted that Netanyahu's negative response to the "Muslim ban" was the reason.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Timeline, January 2016
In January, the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said that the Palestinian attacks were driven by a "profound sense of alienation and despair" and that "it is human nature to react to occupation, which often serves as a potent incubator of hate and extremism." He condemned the attacks but also said that Israel's settlement program, under which 153 new settler homes had recently been approved, cast doubt on its commitment to the creation of a Palestinian state.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Timeline, January 2016
Netanyahu responded harshly to the criticism and accused Ban of "encouraging terror," adding that Palestinians "do not murder for peace and they do not murder for human rights."


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Timeline, January 2016
Ban in response to Netanyahu's accusation wrote an op-ed published in The New York Times titled "Don't Shoot the Messenger, Israel.". In it he wrote that he would "always stand up to those who challenge Israel's right to exist" but that "when heartfelt concerns about short-sighted or morally damaging policies emanate from so many sources, including Israel's closest friends, it cannot be sustainable to keep lashing out at every well-intentioned critic." He also called for "Israelis, Palestinians and the international community" to recognize that the status quo is untenable and that "keeping another people under indefinite occupation undermines the security and the future of both Israelis and Palestinians."


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Timeline, January 2016
On 29 January, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius announced an international peace conference to try and jump start an Israeli-Palestinian peace process. If the negotiations were unsuccessful, France would formally recognize the State of Palestine.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Timeline, January 2016
While the Palestinians, and later also the Arab League, welcomed the "French initiative," the Israeli government rejected it, with one official sardonically asking "Perhaps France will push for peace process with ISIS next?" Netanyahu later clarified that he would prefer to hold direct talks with Abbas, without the involvement of the international community.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Timeline, January 2016
Since Israel announced that it would not participate, the conference was to be held without any Palestinian or Israeli presence. First it was planned to be held on 30 May, but due to scheduling problems, it was postponed several times. It was eventually held in January 2017.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Timeline, February 2016
In early February three Arab Israeli members of the Knesset (MK) from the Joint List met with families of Palestinian attackers who had been killed by Israeli security forces. The three politicians claimed that the purpose of the meeting was to secure the release of the attackers bodies for burial. Israeli often delays returning the bodies of attackers to their respective families.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Timeline, February 2016
The meeting outraged other politicians in the predominantly Jewish Knesset. It was heavily criticized by both Netanyahu and the opposition leader Isaac Herzog who said that the MKs "crossed a red line." The Ethics Committee of the Knesset suspended the three Arab Israeli MKs who had participated in the meeting; Hanin Zoabi, Basel Ghattas, and Jamal Zahalka.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Timeline, February 2016
In response to the meeting between the Arab Israeli MKs and the Palestinian families, Netanyahu proposed new legislation allowing for three-quarters of the Knesset (90 of 120 members) to vote to expel an MK. The controversial "Expulsion law" was passed in July 2016 and allowed for the expulsion of an MK found guilty of either inciting racism or supporting an armed struggle against Israel.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Timeline, February 2016
On 17 February, nine American congressmen and Senator Patrick Leahy wrote a letter to the US State Department inquiring about "specific allegations of gross violations of human rights" by the security forces of Egypt and Israel. They asked the State Department to determine whether the reports were credible and if so whether they would trigger the Leahy Law, a law that can cause the suspension of military aid to countries found guilty of human rights violations.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Timeline, February 2016
Netanyahu responded angrily when he became aware of the letter's existence on 30 March. He defended the IDF by saying that "the IDF and the Israel Police do not engage in executions" and adding that "this letter should have been addressed instead to those who incite youngsters to commit cruel acts of terrorism."


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Timeline, March 2016
Between 23 February and 4 April, 22 Palestinians were killed, of which two were in the Gaza Strip, while 518 were injured. In March, one American was killed and 26 Israelis were injured. The Shin Bet recorded four attacks from the Gaza Strip; two rocket launches in which a total of five rockets were shot and two small arms shootings. 117 attacks in the West Bank and Jerusalem; six shootings of which two occurred in Jerusalem, 9 I.E.D,, six stabbings of which one occurred in Jerusalem, two vehicular attacks, one attempted attack and 92 firebomb attacks (33 in Jerusalem).


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Timeline, March 2016
On 8 March, a US tourist, Taylor Force, was killed and ten other people injured when a Palestinian man attacked people in Tel Aviv. The Taylor Force Act, American legislation to stop economic aid to the Palestinian Authority until it stops paying stipends to individuals who commit acts of terrorism, was named in his honor.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Timeline, March 2016
Also on 8 March, two Israeli police officers were wounded by an Arab gunman in Jerusalem and an Israeli man was moderately wounded in a stabbing attack in Petah Tikva. The victim managed to remove the knife from his neck and stabbed the attacker to death.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Timeline, March 2016
On 24 March, two Palestinians stabbed and wounded an Israeli soldier in Hebron and were subsequently shot. One died immediately and the other remained badly wounded. A video published by B'tselem showed a soldier aiming his weapon at the motionless attacker lying on the ground, and shooting him in the head. The video went viral on Israeli social media, sparking controversy.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Timeline, April 2016
In April the US State Department released its annual report into human rights abuses around the world. The report accused Israeli forces of "excessive use of force" and "arbitrary arrest and associated torture and abuse, often with impunity," by the IDF, the Palestinian Authority, and Hamas and claimed that there were numerous reports of Israeli forces killing Palestinians when they did not pose a threat to life. It also criticized the Palestinian Authority for not condemning incidents of antisemitism and for hailing attackers who died while committing as martyrs.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Timeline, June 2016
On 8 June, two Palestinian gunmen opened fire at a cafe in Tel Aviv, killing four people and injuring seven others. The attackers claimed in the investigation that they were inspired by the Islamic State and Hamas. Israeli government response was to suspend 83,000 Palestinian entry permits to visit families in Israel for the Ramadan were suspended following the attack, a move that was described as "collective punishment" by Knesset member Haneen Zoabi and U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein. The IDF imposed a closure over the entire West Bank and the Gaza Strip in the wake of the attack, which was scheduled to end on 11 June after the end of Jewish holiday of Shavuot Palestinian Media, Hamas and PIJ celebrated the attack.


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Timeline, June 2016
On 30 June Murder of Hallel Yaffa Ariel: a Palestinian stabbed and killed 17-year-old Hallel Yaffa Ariel while she was sleeping in her bedroom in the West Bank settlement of Kiryat Arba. The assailant was fatally shot by security guards. That same day, a Palestinian assailant stabbed two Israeli civilians in Natanya, north of Tel Aviv and was shot dead by an armed civilian. On 1 July Palestinian gunmen fired at an Israeli family vehicle south to Hebron causing it to flip over. The father of the family died while his wife and two daughters were injured. PIJ said in a statement that: "the escalation in attacks against settlers reflects the persistence of the Palestinian intifada to continue"


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Timeline, June 2016
Throughout June 2016, 5 Israelis and 6 Palestinians were killed, while 21–30 Israelis and 167 Palestinians were wounded. The Shin Bet recorded 1 attack from the Gaza Strip (small arms shooting), 100 attacks from the West Bank and East Jerusalem: 10 I.E.D (Pipe bombs and an improvised grenade); 2 small armes shooting; 1 stabbing; 1 vehicular and 86 firebomb (29 in Jerusalem) attacks, and 2 attacks inside the Green Line (in Tel Aviv and Natanya). 1 Jewish attack was recorded: Two vehicles were set on fire and three were sprayed with anti-Arab hate speech in Nazareth and Yafa an-Naseriyye (in northern Israel).


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, External links, Letters from Palestine
All letters from this period are signed Riyad Mansour, Ambassador Permanent Observer of Palestine to the United Nations


2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli–Palestinian conflict, External links, Letters from Israel
All letters from this period are signed by Ambassador Ron Prosor.


2015–2017 Cyprus talks
Talks to resolve the Cyprus problem starting from 12 May 2015 to 7 July 2017, when the President of the Republic of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades and President of Northern Cyprus Mustafa Akıncı met for the first time and restarted peace talks. The talk was brought to a halt when both sides failed to negotiate a deal.


2015–2017 Cyprus talks, Start of talks
Hopes for a solution was raised with the election of Akıncı, a left-wing politician and long-standing advocate of inter-communal rapprochement, in the presidential election in Northern Cyprus in April 2014. He had defeated Derviş Eroğlu, a right-wing politician who had been less committed to the idea of solution and his election was welcomed by Anastasiades.


2015–2017 Cyprus talks, Start of talks
The first meeting between Akıncı and Anastasiades took place on 12 May 2015, where they agreed to hold talks within the framework of the joint declaration by Anastasiades and the previous Turkish Cypriot leader, Derviş Eroğlu. The leaders undertook joint activities, such as strolling through the line dividing the capital city, Nicosia, together, and spending time on both sides in May 2015.


2015–2017 Cyprus talks, Start of talks
Furthermore, in May 2015, a number of confidence building measures were agreed upon, which included the abolishment of the requirement of filling of visa forms by Greek Cypriots when visiting Northern Cyprus and the handing of the locations of minefields in the north that had been planted by Greek Cypriots during the conflict by Anastasiades.


2015–2017 Cyprus talks, Progress of the talks
By December 2015, the issues of governance, citizenship and Turkish settlers had been widely discussed.


2015–2017 Cyprus talks, Progress of the talks
According to leaked documents published by Politis, it was agreed that the federation to be established would have the responsibility of foreign policy and international agreements, that it would have a senate composed of 20 Greek and 20 Turkish Cypriots, a lower house of parliament consisting of 36 Greek and 12 Turkish Cypriots, a Supreme Court with an equal number of judges from both communities (the disagreements on resolution of disagreements persisted, but it was agreed that a foreign judge would be recruited to solve disagreements with regards to constitutional law).


2015–2017 Cyprus talks, Progress of the talks
The two constituent states of the federation would have their own parliaments. It was agreed that a property commission would be formed, but there remained large disagreements, territory was yet to be discussed and the issue of guarantees would only be discussed with the participation of the guarantors, Turkey, Greece and the UK.


2015–2017 Cyprus talks, Progress of the talks
It was also leaked, and later confirmed by Anastasiades in July 2016, that the population ratio had been established as 78.5% to 21.5%, at 802,000 Greek Cypriots and 220,000 Turkish Cypriots, and that all citizens of Northern Cyprus, including settlers that had acquired citizenship, would obtain the citizenship of the new state and be allowed to stay. The leak also revealed that other, non-citizen settlers would be given work and residence permits, but not immediately citizenship.


2015–2017 Cyprus talks, Progress of the talks
An issue was posed by the discrepancy between the Greek Cypriot demands regarding the four freedoms as delineated by EU law and the Turkish Cypriot demands on retaining a Turkish Cypriot majority in the Turkish Cypriot state. Steps to resolve this included the provision that even if a Greek Cypriot moved to the north, they would still vote in the elections of the Greek Cypriot state, except for municipal elections.


2015–2017 Cyprus talks, Progress of the talks
In November 2016, two rounds of talks were held in Mont Pèlerin, Switzerland, regarding the issue of territory. The talks broke down with no agreement on 22 November, with Akıncı blaming Greek Cypriots for their "maximalist demands" and the Greek Cypriot spokesperson blaming the Turkish Cypriots' position.


2015–2017 Cyprus talks, Progress of the talks
On 30 June 2017, UN said in a statement that Secretary General Antonio Guterres held "highly constructive" talks on Cyprus with key parties in Crans-Montana, enabling a clear vision of what could lead to a settlement.


2015–2017 Cyprus talks, Progress of the talks
On 7 July 2017, UN-sponsored talks held in the Swiss Alps for the previous 10 days were brought to a halt after negotiations broke down. Cyprus talks in Crans-Montana ended without a peace and reunification deal.


2015–2017 Cyprus talks, Progress of the talks
On 1 October 2017, former British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw stated that only a partitioned island will bring the dispute between Turkish and Greek Cypriots to an end.


2015–2017 Cyprus talks, Progress of the talks
In late 2017, the Business Monitor International, part of the Fitch Group, downgraded its assessment of a new Cyprus unification deal from slim to extremely remote.


2015–2017 ICC Intercontinental Cup
The 2015–2017 ICC Intercontinental Cup was the seventh edition of the ICC Intercontinental Cup, an international first-class cricket tournament between leading associate members of the International Cricket Council (ICC). The tournament took place during 2015 to 2017. It ran in parallel with the 2015–17 ICC World Cricket League Championship, but with slightly different teams. As Ireland and Afghanistan had qualified for the ICC One Day International Championship ranking qualification process, they were replaced by Kenya and Nepal in the limited over event; however they continued to play the four-day event.


2015–2017 ICC Intercontinental Cup
As a result of changes to the structure of international cricket announced by the ICC in January 2014, the winner of the 2015-17 Intercontinental Cup (and following editions of the tournament) were originally scheduled to play four five-day matches against the bottom ranked Test nation (two home and two away matches), an event known as the 2018 ICC Test Challenge. Should the  winner of the Intercontinental Cup go on to win the ICC Test Challenge, they would have become the 11th Test nation.


2015–2017 ICC Intercontinental Cup
However, in February 2017 following an ICC Board meeting, changes were agreed in principle to expand the number of Test nations to twelve. Both Afghanistan and Ireland were likely to be granted Test status before the proposed 2018 ICC Test Challenge. In June 2017, the ICC awarded both Afghanistan and Ireland Full Member status, making them eligible to play Test match cricket. As a result, the planned Test Challenge was scrapped.


2015–2017 ICC Intercontinental Cup
Afghanistan won the competition, after beating the United Arab Emirates by 10 wickets in their final game. They finished with 121 points, with Ireland as runners-up on 109 points. Rashid Khan, man of the match for Afghanistan in the final fixture, said that winning the Intercontinental Cup was "good preparation for Test cricket for us".


2015–2017 ICC Intercontinental Cup, Teams
The following are the 8 teams participating in the competition based on the results from 2011–13 ICC World Cricket League Championship, 2014 Cricket World Cup Qualifier and the 2015 ICC World Cricket League Division Two.


2015–2017 ICC Intercontinental Cup, Preparations
Of the eight teams participating in the 2015–17 ICC Intercontinental Cup, only Papua New Guinea has never played a first-class match before. Afghanistan, Ireland, Namibia, Scotland, The Netherlands and the UAE had all appeared before in the previous Intercontinental Cup of 2011-2013, while Hong Kong had last appeared in the 2005 Intercontinental Cup and last played in an international multi-day cricket tournament in late 2006 at the 2006/07 ACC Fast Track Countries Tournament.


2015–2017 ICC Intercontinental Cup, Preparations
Though never having played a first-class match, Papua New Guinea (PNG) have played two-day cricket in the South Australian Premier League in 2013 and 2014. Though finishing at the bottom of the league in both seasons, the experience seems to have hardened the team as they convincingly beat Hong Kong in a three-day match in Australia and one of PNG's openers admitted that participation in the league had been critical to exposing the players to multi-day cricket.


2015–2017 ICC Intercontinental Cup, Matches, Round 1
The fixtures for round one were announced on 5 May 2015.


2015–2017 ICC Intercontinental Cup, Matches, Round 2
The fixtures for round two were announced in August 2015.


2015–2017 ICC Intercontinental Cup, Matches, Round 3
The fixtures for round three were announced in December 2015.


2015–2017 ICC Intercontinental Cup, Matches, Round 4
The fixtures for round four were announced in April 2016.


2015–2017 ICC Intercontinental Cup, Matches, Round 5
The fixture between Afghanistan and Ireland was announced by Cricket Ireland in July 2016. The fixture between Hong Kong and the Netherlands was announced by the Koninklijke Nederlandse Cricket Bond in December 2016. Cricket Scotland confirmed the venue for their fixture in February 2017.


2015–2017 ICC Intercontinental Cup, Matches, Round 7
The ICC announced the dates and venues for the final round of fixtures on 23 October 2017.


2015–2017 ICC World Cricket League Championship
The 2015–2017 ICC World Cricket League Championship was the second edition of the ICC World Cricket League Championship. It took place from 2015 until 2017, in parallel with the 2015-17 ICC Intercontinental Cup. Both Ireland and Afghanistan had been promoted to the main ICC ODI Championship and did not compete in this tournament. Instead, Kenya and Nepal were included in the tournament. The tournament was played in a round-robin format. All matches were recorded as List A matches, and those in which both teams had ODI status were also recorded as ODIs.


2015–2017 ICC World Cricket League Championship
The Netherlands won the tournament and joined the thirteen-team 2020–23 ICC Cricket World Cup Super League. The Netherlands regained their ODI status after losing it at the 2014 Cricket World Cup Qualifier. Inclusion in the ICC ODI League will mean they will play 24 fixtures against Full Members until 2022.


2015–2017 ICC World Cricket League Championship
The Netherlands, along with Scotland, Papua New Guinea and Hong Kong also joined the lowest ranked four teams from the ICC ODI Championship (as of September 2017) in the 2018 Cricket World Cup Qualifier. The bottom four teams, Kenya, Nepal, the United Arab Emirates and Namibia were all relegated to Division Two and played the finalists of Division Three for the remaining two spots in the 2018 CWC Qualifier.


2015–2017 ICC World Cricket League Championship, Teams
The following eight teams took part in the tournament based on the results from 2014 Cricket World Cup Qualifier and the 2015 ICC World Cricket League Division Two:


2015–2017 ICC World Cricket League Championship, Fixtures
The breakdown of fixtures was as follows: During each round, each team played against their opponent twice.


2015–2017 ICC World Cricket League Championship, Matches, Round 1
The fixtures for round one were announced on 5 May 2015.


2015–2017 ICC World Cricket League Championship, Matches, Round 2
The fixtures for round two were announced in August 2015.


2015–2017 ICC World Cricket League Championship, Matches, Round 3
The fixtures for round three were announced in December 2015.


2015–2017 ICC World Cricket League Championship, Matches, Round 4
The fixtures for round four were announced in April 2016. The venue for the fixtures in Kenya was confirmed in November 2016.