PALESTINE

Palestine warns of a West Bank walkout

Palestinian negotiators have warned they may pass responsibility for their territory back to occupying power Israel if peace talks remain stalled, a senior Palestinian official said on Sunday.

The official said the Palestinians told U.S. peace envoy Martin Indyk on Friday that unless Israel releases Palestinian prisoners as agreed and freezes settlement building, they could dismantle the Western-backed Palestinian Authority (PA) of president Mahmud Abbas.

“The Palestinians informed Indyk that if this Israeli intransigence continues, they have several options to resort to,” said the Palestinian official.

“First, handing the keys of the PA to the U.N. so it will become in charge of the Palestinian people and the state of Palestine, which is under occupation, or that the [Israeli] occupation assumes again full responsibility for everything.”

Under the 1993 Oslo accords which were to have led to an independent Palestinian state, the Palestinians received some autonomy in managing their day-to-day affairs. The PA is in a constant budgetary crisis and only manages to pay its civil servants and provide essential services thanks to generous funding from foreign donors. But Israel still retains overall control of the occupied West Bank and annexed east Jerusalem.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry nudged Israel and the Palestinians to reopen peace talks in July for a nine-month period. The United States is striving to broker an agreement to extend those talks beyond their April 29 deadline, but so far without success.

Earlier, Israeli police arrested 16 Palestinians on Sunday as they clashed with demonstrators at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem, a sensitive holy site that is frequently the scene of tensions.

After police dispersed the crowd with sound grenades, the demonstrators took shelter in the Al-Aqsa mosque, which police are not allowed to enter, he said. — AFP

Israel halts peace talks after Palestinian unity deal

Israel said on Thursday it was halting peace talks with the Palestinians following their unity deal with the Hamas rulers of Gaza, as the faltering US-backed process approached its April 29 deadline.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed the agreement as a move that “kills peace,” but senior Palestinian official Saeb Erakat blamed Israeli settlement activity for killing off the process.

On Wednesday, the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) — internationally recognised as the sole representative of the Palestinian people — and the Gaza Strip’s Islamist Hamas rulers signed a reconciliation agreement. They agreed to form a “national consensus” government under Mahmoud Abbas within weeks.

Israel’s security cabinet announced in response on Thursday it would “not negotiate with a Palestinian government backed by Hamas” and vowed “measures” in response, but did not elaborate. “The pact with Hamas kills peace,” Mr. Netanyahu told NBC television shortly after the Israeli cabinet decision.

The unity deal came as Washington made last-ditch efforts to extend the talks beyond their deadline.

Mr. Netanyahu said it was signed “while Israel was making efforts to advance the negotiations with the Palestinians” and was “a direct continuation of the Palestinian recalcitrance to promote negotiations.”

Israel’s chief negotiator, Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, said they had proposed a “creative solution” on Tuesday that would enable extending talks. She said Israel was only “suspending” talks and “the door has not been shut,” stressing the punitive sanctions planned were “measured” and “would not collapse the PA.”

But Mr. Erakat blamed Israel for the talks’ collapse. “Netanyahu’s government has been asked for years to choose between peace and settlements and it chose settlements.” — AFP

  Contradictions to the fore

The April 23 decision by Hamas and Fatah, the Palestine Liberation Organisation, to unite with a view to forming a government in five weeks has rightly refocussed attention on the Israel-Palestine issue. The two parties have in effect governed, respectively, Gaza and parts of the West Bank since 2006; each has its own security forces, and tensions have been severe. For example, in the West Bank the Palestinian Authority has cooperated with Israel to arrest and jail members of Hamas and its associate group, the Islamic Jihad. Secondly, the new pact would involve the recognition of Israel within the 1967 borders, the renunciation of violence, and the acceptance of previous Palestinian-Israeli agreements as well as Fatah-Hamas agreements such as those reached in Cairo in 2011 and Doha in 2012. Elections are to be held at least six months after the forthcoming talks, to form a new government. The context, however, remains volatile. Hamas has consistently refused to recognise Israel, and both Fatah and Hamas face internal problems. Mahmoud Abbas, whose status as Fatah leader is at best questionable, may feel he needs a mandate from all Palestinians; for his part, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh faces an economic and political crisis following the Egyptian military junta’s crackdown on Hamas’s ally, the Muslim Brotherhood; Cairo has also blocked off vital supply tunnels into Gaza, and Mr. Haniyeh has little control over militant factions.

The key international reaction, that of the United States, has been predictably one-sided. President Barack Obama, currently brokering talks which have lasted eight months and were due to conclude this week, says the pact is “unhelpful” and calls for a “pause” in the talks. Mr. Obama echoes, less aggressively, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who accuses Fatah of allying with a “murderous terrorist organisation” that wants to destroy Israel. Tel Aviv, however, also says it cannot deal with a divided Palestinian movement. Hamas is the elected ruling party of the Palestinian people, having won the 2006 election, but Israel has suspended the talks. It also continues construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and Hamas’s incapacity to control sub-groups will enable Tel Aviv to continue with collective punishment against Gazans for largely ineffective rocket attacks. Furthermore, Mr. Netanyahu insists Israel be recognised as a Jewish state; nothing short of that. The Fatah-Hamas pact may show desperation, but Israel seems to get everything it wants, irrespective of the contradictions therein. The continuing tragedy is that of four million Palestinians, for whom the only country which could make a difference, the U.S., does nothing.

Palestinian unity government sworn in

After seven years of a bitter and at times lethal rivalry between the two main Palestinian factions, Fatah and Hamas, a historic Palestinian unity government has been sworn in, ending years of division.

The signing ceremony, which seems likely to complicate relations with the Palestinian Authority’s international aid donors in Europe and the U.S. and increase tensions with Israel, was broadcast live in both Gaza and the West Bank.

Wait and watch

The U.S. indicated over the weekend that it would wait to see the policies of the new unity government before deciding whether to recognise it, because of Hamas’s involvement.

Before the ceremony the U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry, telephoned the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, to express “concern about Hamas’s role in any such government,” the state department spokeswoman, Jen Psaki, told reporters.

Israel, which suspended peace negotiations in April when a surprise reconciliation deal was signed, opening the way to the appointment of the new government, has threatened punitive sanctions against any government backed by Hamas, saying it would serve as a front for the group and “strengthen terrorism”. Mr. Abbas, who heads the mainstream Fatah movement, has said the 17-member cabinet would comprise unaffiliated ministers and would strive to pursue peace, despite Hamas’s refusal to accept co-existence with Israel.

“Today, and after announcing the government of national unity, we declare the end of division that caused catastrophic harm to our cause,” Mr. Abbas said.

The announcement of the new government, ending a long and debilitating political and territorial division in Palestinian affairs, opens the way for long-delayed Palestinian elections, slated for 2015.

The new government will reunite Gaza and the West Bank under a single political authority for the first time since 2007, when Hamas — which won Palestinian legislative elections in 2006 — asserted control over the Gaza Strip, forcing out Fatah.

Since then the West Bank has been governed by Mr. Abbas and Fatah and Gaza by Hamas, which is regarded as a terrorist group in many capitals. The swearing-in ceremony in the West Bank city of Ramallah came as the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, appealed to the international community not to rush into recognising the new government, largely made up of technocrats.

Again on Monday, Mr. Netanyahu hit out at European governments for condemning a shooting attack on the Jewish museum in Brussels but responding with “ambiguity” to reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas.

To recognise Israel

According to a draft obtained by AFP, the new government will have 17 ministers, five of them from Gaza, and will be headed by Mr. Hamdallah, the current Prime Minister in the West Bank, who will also hold the interior portfolio. Mr. Abbas has already pledged that the new administration will abide by the principles laid down by the Middle East peace quartet in that it will recognise Israel, reject violence and abide by all existing agreements.

Briefing reporters a few hours before the signing ceremony, Israel’s intelligence minister, Yuval Steinlitz, a close ally of Mr. Netanyahu, insisted that the deal reasserting the Palestinian Authority’s governance over Gaza placed an obligation on Mr. Abbas to demilitarise the coastal strip as part of the Oslo peace agreement.

Israel claims that factions in Gaza have up to 12,000 missiles and rockets under their control. — © Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2014

Israel troops briefly raid Gaza as offensive rages

Ignoring international appeals for a ceasefire, Israel widened its range of Gaza bombing targets to civilian institutions with suspected Hamas ties and deployed ground troops inside Gaza for the first time early on Sunday to raid a rocket launching site in the Palestinian territory. More than 156 Palestinians have been killed.

Four Israeli soldiers were hurt in clashes during the brief incursion to destroy a rocket launching site in northern Gaza, the military said. It said the troops later returned to Israeli territory.

It was the first time that Israeli ground troops are known to have entered Gaza in the current offensive. But the operation was carried out by special forces and did not appear to be the beginning of a broad ground offensive.

Israeli airstrikes pounded targets in Gaza, with one hitting a centre for the disabled and killing two patients and injuring four people, Palestinians. In a second attack Saturday night, an Israeli warplane flattened the home of Gaza police chief Taysir al-Batsh and damaged a nearby mosque as evening prayers ended, killing at least 18 people and wounding 50, officials said.

In New York, the United Nations Security Council called unanimously for a ceasefire, but so far, neither Israel nor Gaza’s Hamas rulers have signalled willingness to stop.

Israel has carried out more than 1,200 air strikes over the six-day offensive to try to diminish Hamas’ ability to fire rockets at Israel. Hamas, the Islamic militant group that controls Gaza, has fired nearly 700 rockets and mortars at Israel this week.

Israel’s chief military spokesman, Brig. Gen. Motti Almoz, said Saturday there would be more strikes, especially in northern Gaza near the Israeli border. Late Saturday, the military said it was ordering Palestinians in northern Gaza to evacuate “for their own safety.”

Gaza’s Interior Ministry urged residents in the area to ignore Israel’s warnings and to stay in their homes, saying the announcement was Israeli “psychological warfare” and an attempt to create confusion.

In a sign that the conflict might widen, Israel fired into Lebanon late Saturday in response to two rockets fired from there at northern Israel. There were no injuries or damage, but Israel fears Lebanese militant groups may try to open a second front.

Israel has said it’s acting in self-defence against rockets that have disrupted life across much of the country. It also accuses Hamas of using Gaza’s civilians as human shields by firing rockets from there.

Critics say Israel’s heavy bombardment of one of the most densely populated territories in the world is itself the main factor putting civilians at risk. Sarit Michaeli of the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem said that while using human shields violates international humanitarian law, “this does not give Israel the excuse to violate international humanitarian law as well.”

The Israeli military has said it has targeted sites with links to Hamas, including command centres, and that it issues early warnings before attacking. But Michaeli said civilians have been killed when Israel bombed homes of Hamas militants or when residents were unable to leave their homes quickly enough following Israeli warnings.

An army statement said that from Friday morning to Saturday morning, Israel targeted 158 targets “affiliated with Hamas terrorism” in Gaza, including dozens of rocket launchers and a mosque where Hamas stored rockets and weapons.

Israel also targeted several civilian institutions with presumed ties to Hamas, widening its range of targets. Palestinian officials said this included a technical college, a media office, a small Kuwait—funded charity and a branch of an Islamic bank.

The Israeli military did not mention these institutions in its statement Saturday, saying only that in addition to the military targets, it struck “further sites.”

Gaza Health Ministry official Ashraf al-Kidra said the death toll there reached more than 156, with over 1,060 wounded. Among the dead was a nephew of Ismail Haniyeh, a top Hamas leader, who was killed in an airstrike near his home, Hamas officials said.

Though the exact breakdown of casualties remains unclear, dozens of the dead have been civilians. Israel also demolished dozens of homes it said were used by Hamas for military purposes.

“Am I a terrorist? Do I make rockets and artillery?” screamed Umm Omar, a woman in the southern town of Rafah whose home was destroyed in an airstrike. It was not immediately known why the building was targeted.

The “Iron Dome,” a U.S.-funded, Israel-developed rocket defence system, has intercepted more than 130 incoming rockets, preventing any Israeli fatalities so far. A handful of Israelis have been wounded by rockets that slipped through.

On Saturday, air raid sirens went off in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, Israel’s two largest cities, both located nearly 50 miles (80 kilometres) from Gaza. Most of the rockets were intercepted or fell in open areas.

The frequent rocket fire has disrupted daily life in Israel, with most staying close to home. Israeli airstrikes meanwhile have turned bustling Gaza City into a virtual ghost town during the normally festive month long Muslim holiday of Ramadan, emptying streets, closing shops and keeping hundreds of thousands of people close to home.

The offensive marks the heaviest fighting since a similar eight-day campaign in November 2012 to stop Gaza rocket fire. The outbreak of violence follows the kidnappings and killings of three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank, and the kidnapping and killing of a Palestinian teenager in an apparent revenge attack.

At the United Nations, a Security Council statement approved by all 15 members called for de-escalation of the violence, restoration of calm, and a resumption of direct negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians aimed at achieving a comprehensive peace agreement based on a two-state solution.

The statement also called for “the reinstitution of the November 2012 ceasefire,” which was brokered by Egypt, but gives no time frame for when it should take effect.

The statement, which is not legally binding, is the first response by the U.N.’s most powerful body, which has been deeply divided on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The Arab League meanwhile said foreign ministers from member states will hold an emergency meeting in Cairo on Monday about the offensive.

Israel, Hamas brush off truce calls

International alarm grew on Saturday as Israel pounded Gaza for a fifth day with air strikes and artillery, killing 22 Palestinians as Hamas defiantly rained more rockets on the Jewish state.

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi warned that any escalation in the conflict would cost more “innocent lives.”

But both sides have brushed off calls for a truce, and Israel continued on Saturday to build up troops and armour on the Gaza border in preparation for a possible ground invasion.

The aerial campaign saw a series of strikes start early on Saturday, including one that hit a centre for the handicapped.

The attack in the northern Gaza Strip killed two handicapped women and wounded four, the centre’s director said.

Other targets included a bank, the homes of Hamas leaders and a mosque that the Israeli military said was being used to store weapons.

Two nephews of former Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniya were among the dead in one strike, residents said.

The deaths raised the toll in five days of violence to 127, Gaza medics said, with militants firing 564 rockets at Israel, 34 of them on Saturday, according to the Army.

International efforts were under way to mediate a truce, with Mr. Sisi’s spokesman saying the Egyptian President was in touch with both sides.

Mr. Sisi met Middle East Quartet envoy Tony Blair in Cairo on Saturday to discuss the crisis.

“The President warned of the dangers of military escalation, and the casualties it would cause among innocent civilians,” Mr. Sisi’s spokesman said in a statement.

The chief diplomats of Britain, France, Germany and the United States are due to discuss how to achieve a truce when they meet in Vienna on Sunday, on the sidelines of talks on Iran’s nuclear programme.

The latest border flare-up — the deadliest since November 2012 — unfolded after last month’s kidnap and murder of three young Israelis in the occupied West Bank and the brutal revenge killing of a Palestinian teenager by Jewish extremists. — AFP

U.N. calls for Gaza ceasefire

The world implored Israel and Hamas on Saturday to end hostilities as warplanes pounded Gaza for a fifth straight day, killing at least 30 Palestinians, and militants replied with rockets.

Both sides have brushed off calls for a truce, and Israel is building up troops and armour on the Gaza border in preparation for a possible ground invasion.

As the Palestinian death toll hit 135, and with no Israelis killed, the U.N. Security Council urged Israel and Hamas to respect “international humanitarian laws” and stop the loss of life.

In a unanimous declaration, the 15-member Council urged a return to the “calm and restitution of the November 2012 ceasefire,” referring to Gaza’s last deadly full-scale conflict.

Israel’s aerial campaign — the largest and deadliest since 2012 — saw strikes start early on Saturday, including one that hit a centre for the handicapped, and another that killed two nephews of Gaza’s former Hamas premier, Ismail Haniya.

An attack on the northern Gaza Strip hit a centre for the handicapped, killing two disabled women and wounding four, the centre’s director said.

“They didn’t understand what was happening and they were so frightened,” Jamila Alaywa said of those inside the care home.

Other targets included a bank, the homes of Hamas leaders and a mosque that Israel said was being used to store weapons.

Two nephews of Mr. Haniya were among the dead in one strike, residents said.

International efforts were under way to mediate a truce, with Egyptian president Abdel Fatah el-Sisi’s spokesman saying he was in touch with both sides.

Mr. Sisi met Middle East Quartet envoy Tony Blair in Cairo on Saturday to discuss the crisis, and released a statement warning against escalation causing further loss of “innocent lives.”

In Washington, the White House has said it is willing to “leverage” its relationships in the region to bring about a ceasefire. — AFP

As Israel’s attacks intensify, Palestinians forced to flee

India’s stand leaves West Asian rivals disappointed

India seems to have pleased neither the Israeli nor the Palestinian side with its stand of ‘equivalence’ over the conflict in Gaza. Speaking to The Hindu , Israel’s acting Ambassador Yahel Vilan said New Delhi should take a more “clear line between the aggressor and the defender in this situation.”

Saleh Fhied Mohammad, the Minister and spokesperson of the Palestine Embassy in New Delhi, said Palestine was disappointed at the comparison the Indian statement had sought to make and wished India had instead called “a spade a spade.”

In its statement of July 10, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin had said, “India is deeply concerned at the steep escalation of violence between Israel and Palestine, particularly, heavy air strikes in Gaza, resulting in tragic loss of civilian lives and heavy damage to property. At the same time, India is alarmed at the cross-border provocations resulting from rocket attacks against targets in parts of Israel.”

Reacting to the statement, Mr. Vilan said, “This is not the statement we would have hoped for. We believe India and Israel share a common goal in combating terrorists. It should also be remembered that Israel has shown utmost restraint in our reaction to the killing of three young Israelis.”

The violence in Gaza was sparked by the kidnapping of three Jewish seminary students, whose bodies were found in West Bank on June 30. The Israelis blamed Hamas fighters for the killings.

When asked about the disparity and the use of disproportionate force, Mr. Vilan told The Hindu , “I don’t know what ‘proportionate’ force would be. About 80 per cent of Israelis are under threat from rocket attacks and are protected only by the missile dome. We have asked Palestinian civilians to move to shelters, but Hamas wants to use them as human shields, so it doesn’t let them go.” India’s ‘even-handed’ approach is seen as a balancing act between traditional solidarity with the Palestinian cause and close ties with Israel, one of the few countries Prime Minister Narendra Modi has visited and built economic relations with as the Gujarat Chief Minister.

Criticising the approach, Mr. Mohammad said, “India has been very friendly to Palestine, but it has been unfortunate that it is trying to compare the launch of air strikes by a nuclear power that has killed so many, to these rocket attacks in which not a single Israeli has died.”

The Israeli embassy in New Delhi has also faced groups of protestors who have marched to its fortified building demanding an end to the air strikes. Mr. Vilan said they were in close touch with the police over security, even as investigations continue into gunshots being fired near an Israeli diplomat’s home.

However, both Israel and Palestine hoped that the Hamas, whose militant arm the Al-Qassam Brigade is responsible for the continuing rocket attacks, will accept the ceasefire proposed by Egypt.

Israel resumed air strikes after a brief ceasefire on Tuesday, as it was rejected by the Hamas, on the ground that Israel was imposing conditions. “We have no interest in continuing the situation,” Mr. Vilan said, “But a ceasefire won’t work until the Hamas loses access to arms and ammunition.”

Operation Pillar of Defense

Operation Pillar of Defense (Hebrew: עַמּוּד עָנָן, ʿAmúd ʿAnán, literally: "Pillar of Cloud")^[23] was an eight-dayIsrael Defense Forces (IDF) operation in the Hamas-governed Gaza Strip, officially launched on 14 November 2012 with the killing of Ahmed Jabari, chief of the Gaza military wing of Hamas.^[24][25][26]

The operation was preceded by a period with a number of mutual Israeli–Palestinian responsive attacks.^[27]According to the Israeli government, the operation began in response to the launch of over 100 rockets at Israel during a 24-hour period,^[28][29] an attack by Gaza militants on an Israeli military patrol jeep within Israeli borders,^[30] and an explosion caused by IEDs, which occurred near Israeli soldiers, on the Israeli side of a tunnel passing under the Israeli West Bank barrier.^[31][32] The Israeli government stated that the aims of the military operation were to halt rocket attacks against civilian targets originating from the Gaza Strip^[33][34] and to disrupt the capabilities of militant organizations.^[35] The Palestinians blamed the Israeli government for the upsurge in violence, accusing the IDF of attacks on Gazan civilians in the days leading up to the operation.^[36] They cited the blockade of the Gaza Strip and the occupation of West Bank, including East Jerusalem, as the reason for rocket attacks.^[37]

During the course of the operation, the IDF claimed to have struck more than 1,500 sites in the Gaza Strip,^[38]including rocket launchpads, weapon depots, government facilities, and apartment blocks.^[39] Gaza officials said 133 Palestinians had been killed in the conflict: 79 militants, 53 civilians, and a policeman.^[40] They estimated that 840 Palestinians were wounded. Many families were displaced.^{[17][41][42][43]} One airstrike^[44] killed ten members of the al-Dalu family. Some Palestinian casualties were caused by misfired Palestinian rockets landing inside the Gaza Strip.^[45] Eight Palestinians were executed by members of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades for alleged collaboration with Israel.^[46][47][48]

During the operation, Hamas, the al-Qassam Brigades and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) further intensifiedtheir rocket attacks on Israeli cities and towns, in an operation code named Operation Stones of Baked Clay(Arabic: حجارة سجيل‎, ḥijārat sijīl) by the al-Qassam Brigades,^[49] firing over 1,456 rockets into Israel, and an additional 142 which fell inside Gaza itself.^[50] Palestinian militant groups used weapons including Iranian-madeFajr-5, Russian-made Grad rockets, Qassams, and mortars.^{[citation needed]} Some of these weapons were fired into Rishon LeZion, Beersheba, Ashdod, Ashkelon, and other population centers. Tel Aviv was hit for the first time since the 1991 Gulf War, and rockets were fired at Jerusalem.^[51] The rockets killed three Israeli civilians in a direct hit on a home in Kiryat Malachi.^[24][47][52] By the end of the operation, six Israelis had been killed, two hundred forty were injured, and more than two hundred had been treated for anxiety by Magen David Adom.^{[22][53][54][55][56]} About 421 rockets were intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system, another 142 fell on Gaza itself, 875 fell in open areas, and 58 hit urban areas in Israel.^[50][57] A bus in Tel Aviv was bombed by an Arab-Israeli, injuring 28 civilians.^[58]

Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, and other Western countries expressed support for Israel's right to defend itself, or condemned the Hamas rocket attacks on Israel.^{[59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66][67][68][69]} Iran, Russia, Egypt, Turkey, and several other Arab and Muslim countries condemned the Israeli operation.^{[69][70][71][72][73]} The United Nations Security Council held an emergency session on the situation, but did not reach a decision.^[74] After days of negotiations between Hamas and Israel, a ceasefire mediated by Egypt was announced on 21 November.^[75][76][77] Both sides claimed victory. Israel said that it had achieved its aim of crippling Hamas's rocket-launching ability,^[78] while Hamas stated that Israel's option of invading Gaza had ended.^[79][80] According to Human Rights Watch, both sides violated the laws of war during the fighting.^[81][82][83]

Etymology[edit]

Further information: Pillar of Cloud

Although the official English name of the operation is Pillar of Defense, the Hebrew name translates as Pillar of Cloud. Eytan Buchman, head of the IDF's North American media desk, explained that this usage refers to the Pillar of Cloud in the Bible that protected the Israelites during the Exodus and guided them to thePromised Land (Exodus 13:21–22).^[84] The Hebrew Bible and the New Testament elaborate on the story, specifying that the Pillar of Cloud shielded the Israelites from the Egyptians' arrows and catapults. The analogy is thus to the Israel Defense Forces, which shielded Israeli citizens from rocket attacks.^[85]

Hamas labelled its actions as "Operation Stones of Shale" (Qur'an 105:4).^[86]

Background[edit]

Main article: Gaza–Israel conflict

Further information: Blockade of the Gaza Strip, List of Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel, 2012 and March 2012 Gaza–Israel clashes

The Palestinian-Israeli conflict in its current form dates to the split in the Palestinian Authority in 2006, which precipitated an armed conflict between Hamas andFatah. By June, 2007, Hamas had taken over the Government in Gaza and ousted its rival Fatah.^[87] Following the takeover, Israel and Egypt largely sealed their border crossings with Gaza, making Gaza's economic and humanitarian position precarious.^[88][89] The International Committee of the Red Cross declared that Israel's blockade of Gaza constituted "collective punishment" and was a violation of international humanitarian law,^[90] and the UN Food and Agriculture Organizationreport on Gaza also concluded that the blockade was illegal.^[91] A UN Report of the Secretary-General's Panel of Inquiry described Israel's naval enforcement of the blockade as legal and appropriate.^[92] Israel withdrew its civilian and military personnel in 2005. However, the United States, United Nations, and Arab Leagueconsider Israel to be an occupying power in the territory, as it controls the Strip's air and sea borders, as well as its contact with the West Bank.^[93] Hamas is a Palestinian Islamist armed group designated as a terrorist organization by the United States,^[94] the European Union,^[95] Canada,^[96] and Japan.^[97] It has called for the destruction of Israel since 1988.^[98] Russia,^[99] Turkey,^[100] and Norway^[101] do not designate Hamas as a terrorist organization.

Tensions between Israel and the Hamas-governed Gaza Strip continued as the two sides experienced periodic fighting, which saw a major escalation in late 2008.^[102] Israel launched Operation Cast Lead in three weeks of air and ground assaults. The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the action was a response to repeated rocket and mortars fire into Israel starting in December 2008, rising to 2,378 attacks over an eleven-month period leading to the operation.^[103]In the aftermath of the operation, there was a significant reduction in rocket and mortar fire from Gaza into Israel.

After the 2008–2009 escalation the two sides observed an informal and uneasy cease-fire, although rocket fire from Gaza never completely stopped and Israel conducted raids in Gaza. The IDF noted a steady increase in the number of rockets fired into southern Israel by militant groups in Gaza. By 2011, there were 680,^[104] and in 2012, 797 (through 13 November).^{[citation needed]} The attacks repeatedly forced many of the estimated one million civilians in southern Israel to head into bomb shelters and close their schools.^[105] Hamas demanded that Israel end the naval blockade of Gaza's coastline as a condition to end rocket fire.^{[106][107][108][109]} According to Israeli human rights group, B'Tselem, the Israeli security forces killed 273 Palestinians in the Gaza strip between the end ofOperation Cast Lead and 30 October 2012, 113 of whom were civilians not taking part in hostilities.^[110]

According to Israeli security officials, Hamas, aided by Iranian technical experts and the Sudanese government, smuggled into Gaza Iranian-made Fajr-5 rockets with increased range and lethality. This move placed the highly populated Israeli central district and other metropolitan areas in range of rocket attacks.^[111][112] However, the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari stated, "We haven't sent any weapons to Gaza because it is under blockade, but we are honoured to announce that we gave them the technology of how to make Fajr-5 missiles."^[113] Ali Larijani said Iran was "honored" to help Gaza's Hamas with "material and military aspects".^[114] According to Reuters, there were roughly 35,000 Palestinian militants in Gaza as of November 2012.^[115]Israel, which receives billions of dollars of military aid from the US, has a conscript army of 175,000, with 450,000 in reserve equipped with modern weapons systems including F-16 fighter-bombers, Apache helicopter gun ships, and Merkava tanks.^[115][116]

Pre-operation events[edit]

Gaza Strip, with Israeli-controlled borders and limited fishing zone

Several factors acted to increase tensions between Israel and Hamas before and during November 2012.

Palestinian Centre for Human Rights reported 92 Israeli attacks within the 3 miles zone against Palestinian fishermen in the first half of 2012 with 43 men arrested, 18 boats confiscated and 4 times equipment damaged and confiscated.^[117] Israel has imposed a limited fishing zone, limiting Gazan fishermen to fishing within three nautical miles instead of the twenty stipulated in the Oslo Accords. Fishery provides Gaza with a large share of its food production and provided more than 12,000 jobs.^[118] According to Amira Hass, the Israeli Navy routinely fire on Palestinian fishermen, sometimes detaining and transferring them for a minor interrogation at the Shin Bet security service's offices in Ashdod. ^[27]

According to the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, in July and August, 11 Israeli attacks took place and 2 fishermen were detained. One boat was confiscated.^[119] On 28 September 2012, Israeli soldiers entered the Gaza Strip and attacked a group of Palestinian fishermen who were fishing at the beach near the border, wounding one of them severely and wounding his brother deadly.^[120] The Israeli army said they had fired on two Palestinians who had entered a restricted zone near the security barrier.^[27][121] The family of the killed fisherman said that the fishers used to fish there and that the soldiers knew who they were and used to watch the Palestinian fishermen.^[122] In one of 11 other attacks in September, the Israeli Navy reportedly tried to drown two fishing boats.^[120] In October, PCHR documented 11 Israeli attacks against fishermen in which 8 fishermen were arrested while fishing approximately 2 miles off the shore. Two fishing boats and equipment were confiscated.^[123]

Also in October 2012, there were several mutual Israeli–Palestinian attacks, each a response to a previous response/attack by the other side.^[27] Palestinian farmers accused Israeli forces of opening fire on them and on local and international activists while they harvested olives near the border in the northern Gaza Strip. Israel said the army had no record of an attack in that area.^[124][125] Palestinian groups planted bombs alongside the border and attacked Israeli farmers with rockets.^[126]According to a summary by Shin Bet, 92 separate attacks occurred in October 2012, with 171 rockets and mortar shells fired against Israel.^[127] Gazan groups alleged retaliation against Israeli attacks that had killed or wounded civilians and militants alike.

An arms factory in Khartoum, Sudan, alleged to have participated in arms-smuggling to Hamas, exploded on 23 October 2012. The Israeli government refused to either confirm or deny its involvement, though the explosion was widely believed to be a long-range attack by the Israeli Air Force.^[128][129]

On 24 October, after a week in which dozens of rockets struck Israel and Israel conducted strikes against militant targets in Gaza,^[126] 80 rockets and mortars were fired from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel over a 24-hour period. Thirty-two missiles struck the Lachish region and 28 the western Negev. A rocket strike on the agricultural area of the Eshkol region severely wounded two Thai workers. Earlier that day three members of a Palestinian rocket-launching squad had been killed by airstrikes, and Israeli tanks had returned fire at launching sites in Gaza. Hamas promised to "continue carrying the rifle...until the liberation of Palestine and the defeat of the occupation."^{[130][131][132]} On 25 October, a ceasefire was allegedly negotiated by Egypt, but the existence of any truce was disputed both by Israeli and Palestinian officials.^[133][134] Although aggression continued in the following days,^[135] there were no more casualties on either side until 2 November.

On 2 November, a 22-year-old Palestinian was seriously wounded by Israeli tank fire.^[136][137] According to the IDF, he had been suspected of attempting to place an explosive device on the Gaza-Israel border. On 5 November, Israeli soldiers shot and killed a 20-year-old Palestinian man who approached a fence near Gaza's side of the border with Israel, reportedly ignoring warning shots and instructions to leave the area. Palestinians said that the man was unarmed, suffered from mental issues, and was constantly on medication.^{[138][139][140][141]} His relatives later said that he had approached the border before, and that at those times, Israeli soldiers used to take him back to Gazan authorities.^[142]

On 5 November, a Palestinian roadside bomb exploded and Israeli soldiers were injured. On 7 November, the armed wing of the Hamas movement and the Islamic Jihad group fired a volley of rockets at Israel, a day after an Israeli strike against targets in the Gaza Strip. In the Israeli strike, one Islamic Jihad fighter had been wounded, as well as four children at a suspected rocket launch area. It also damaged a mosque and a water tower.^[143] On 8 November, the IDF made a short-range incursion into Gaza after finding more bombs along the border, leading to a gunfight with the Popular Resistance Committees.^[144] During the clash, a 13-year-old Palestinian boy was killed. Palestinians claimed that his death occurred "by machine-gun fire, either from IDF helicopters or tanks that took part in the incident."^[145][146] Later that day, Palestinian militants detonated an explosives-packed tunnel they had dug on the border, wounding four Israeli soldiers.^{[146][147][148]} Hamas's military wing claimed responsibility for the blast, stating that it was in response to the killing of the boy.^[149]

According to Arutz Sheva, 2 Qassam rockets were fired into Israel on 9 November, exploding on open ground.^[150]

On 10 November, militants fired an anti-tank missile at an IDF Jeep on routine patrol near Israel's side of the border. Four soldiers were wounded, one of whom was in critical condition following the attack.^{[29][148][151][152]} The IDF shelled the source of the fire and pre-chosen targets in the Sa'ajiya area. Four teenagers, aged 16 to 18, were killed by an Israeli airstrike in a sports stadium while they played soccer.^{[151][153][154]} Gaza militants then fired at least 30 rockets and several mortar shells into southern Israel, The Color Red siren was sounded in Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gan Yavne, and surrounding areas causing Israelis within seven kilometers of the Gaza Strip to remain near protected areas. The Gan Yavne regional council canceled school because of the rocket barrage.^[144][155]

The sides continued to exchange fire for several days after the incident. Palestinian militants fired more than 100 rockets, striking homes in Israeli cities, one landing near a school. Several Israelis were wounded by shrapnel in a barrage designed to coincide with the morning commute to work. Two people were injured when their car sustained a direct hit.^[29][156] Schools across southern Israel were closed. The mayor of Beersheba, Ruvik Danilovich, explained, "We have experienced hits on our education institutions in the past ... 40,000 children will remain at home today because of the attack that hit us out of the blue."^[157] Israel carried out further airstrikes in Gaza. Six Palestinian militants were killed, including one militant belonging to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.^[151]

In the days before the operation, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak said that Israel's reaction would come "at the appropriate time." However, following a cabinet meeting in the morning before the operation, Minister Benny Begin said that "the current exchange of hostilities seems to be over." According to one Israeli analyst, these mixed messages, the expected diplomatic repercussions from Egypt and the risks of a war on the eve of the Israeli elections were three factors designed to foster a laissez-faire atmosphere for Gaza's Palestinian leaders.^[vague][158]

On 12 November, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) officials indicated a willingness to discuss a ceasefire. A PIJ spokesman said, "The ball is in Israel's court. The resistance factions will observe Israel's behavior on the ground and will act accordingly." However, Palestinians fired 12 rockets at Israel throughout the day.^[159][160] A factory and a house were hit, and three civilians were wounded.^[161] Israel asked the UN Security Council to condemn the rocket attacks, with Minister Barak saying that Israel "would not accept the harm to daily life of our civilians."^[160][162]

Gershon Baskin, an Israeli peace activist who was a mediator between Israel and Hamas in the negotiations that resulted in the release of Gilad Shalit, reported that hours before the strike that killed Ahmed Jabari, Jabari had received a draft of a long-term ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.^{[163][164][165][166]} According to Reuven Pedatzur, the negotiations had been conducted with the consent of Ehud Barak, and a week before the strike IDF officials had asked to be briefed on their progress, but permission for the briefing was denied.^{[167][citation needed]}

Operation timeline[edit]

Main article: Timeline of Operation Pillar of Defense

Ceasefire[edit]

The two main parties, Israel and Hamas, refused to deal with each other directly. Instead, negotiations were conducted thorough intermediaries. Officials from the US and Egypt acted as the facilitators.^[168]

Attempts at ceasefire[edit]

Indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas were mediated by Egypt. Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi predicted the negotiations would lead to positive results very soon. By contrast, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, after meeting with Netanyahu, said that the process would take place in the "days ahead." UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon also met with Netanyahu to attempt to end the violence. Turkish foreign ministers and Arab League diplomats were sent to Gaza to promote a truce between the warring parties.^[169]

According to reports in Cairo, Israel made six demands for a ceasefire:^[170]

1. No violence for a period of more than 15 years.
2. No smuggling or transfer of arms to Gaza.
3. End of all rocket fire and attacks on Israeli soldiers.
4. Israel reserves the right to attack terrorists in case of an attack or of a potential attack.
5. Israeli-Gaza crossings will remain closed (although Gaza-Egypt crossings may remain open)
6. Egypt's politicians must guarantee the above demands.

Hamas's demands for a ceasefire included the lifting of the naval blockade of Gaza, international community guarantees for the cessation of targeted killings, an end to IDF cross-border raids, and the cessation of attack.^[170][171] Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal additionally wanted "international guarantees" for the lifting of the blockade.^[172]

Ceasefire of 21 November[edit]

On 21 November, Mohamed Kamel Amr, the Egyptian Foreign Minister, and Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State, announced a ceasefire that would take effect at 21:00 GMT+2.^[173][174] The agreement distributed by the Egyptian presidency reads:^[175][176]

Understanding Regarding Ceasefire in Gaza Strip

1.a. Israel shall stop all hostilities in the Gaza Strip land, sea and air including incursions and targeting of individuals.
  b. All Palestinian factions shall stop all hostilities from the Gaza Strip against Israel including rocket attacks, and all attacks along the border.
  c. Opening the crossings and facilitating the movements of people and transfer of goods, and refraining from restricting residents' free movements, and targeting residents in border areas and procedures of implementation shall be dealt with after 24 hours from the start of the ceasefire.
  d. Other matters as may be requested shall be addressed.

2. Implementation Mechanism:
  a. Setting up the zero hour for the Ceasefire Understanding to enter into effect.
  b. Egypt shall receive assurances from each party that the party commits to what was agreed upon.
  c. Each party shall commit itself not to perform any acts that would breach this understanding. In case of any observations, Egypt – as the sponsor of this understanding – shall be informed to follow up.

Authored and distributed by: Office of the Egyptian president

Khaled Meshal, the exiled leader of Hamas, thanked Egypt for mediating the ceasefire and claimed that Israel had been defeated. He also praised Iran for providing militants with financing and arms.^[177] Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Operation Pillar of Defense had been successful and thanked US President Obama for his "unwavering support for Israel's right to defend itself."^[178]

Post-ceasefire incidents[edit]

An explosion took place in Gaza in unclear circumstances after the ceasefire; no casualties were reported.^[179] A Palestinian man was killed and three others wounded by stray gunfire as gunmen in Gaza fired in the air to celebrate the ceasefire deal.^[180] In the hour after the ceasefire was declared, twelve rockets were launched from Gaza into Israel. All of them landed in open areas.^[179][181] Air raid sirens sounded in Eshkol, Sderot, Hof Ashkelon, Ashdod, Kiryat Malachi and Sha'ar Hanegev. One rocket over Ashdod was intercepted by the Iron Dome.^[182]

The day after the ceasefire Israeli soldiers shot dead a Palestinian farmer and wounded another 19. The survivors, who thought the terms of the truce allowed them access to their land, said they ventured into the Israeli-established "buffer zone" inside Gaza's border to pray, while climbing on the Israeli Defense Wall.^[183] The Palestinian ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour, complained to the organization that the attack was a violation of the ceasefire.^[184] On 28 November, Israel opened fire on two fishing boats off the coast of Gaza and detained nine Gazan fishermen. According to Mahfouth al-Kabriti, the head of Gaza's fishing association, the fishermen were six miles off the coast – the limit within which, as Israel agreed in the ceasefire deal, Gazan fishermen could sail. According to the Israeli Navy, the fishermen had ventured beyond the area designated as allowable for fishing, and did not heed requests to return to the area before being detained.^[185] On 30 November, another young Gazan man, 21-year-old Mahmoud Jaroun, was shot dead by Israeli forces in Rafah. According to Ma'an News Agency, Israeli forces had already violated the ceasefire several times by the beginning of December 2012 by firing at Palestinian farmers.^[186] On 1 December, Islamic Jihad warned that more "Israeli violations of a ceasefire deal" would move the group to respond.^[187]

Spillover[edit]

West Bank[edit]

The conflict sparked widespread protests in the West Bank, leading to an upsurge in clashes between Palestinians and the IDF.^[47][188] On 14 November, two Israelis were lightly injured when their vehicle was stoned near Gush Etzion. The road from Jerusalem to Gush Etzion was closed as a result of fierce protests.^[189]

On 18 November, a 31-year-old Palestinian man participating in a demonstration in Nabi Saleh was killed by Israeli fire. The IDF, which described the protest as "illegal and violent", launched an investigation into the incident.^[190][191] By 19 November, over 50 Palestinians had been reported injured during solidarity protests held in East Jerusalem, Ramallah, Bethlehem, Beit Ummar, and Qalandia.^[192]

On 19 November, thousands marched in response to the killing of a protester the previous day.^[188] An Israeli civilian vehicle was firebombed on Highway 60 in the West Bank. The passengers managed to flee before the vehicle was incinerated.^[193] According to Israel Hayom, a protester in Halhul who attempted to attack an Israeli soldier was shot and killed.^[193] Agence France-Presse (AFP) stated that the circumstances of the killing were unclear. The Palestinian police and ambulance service stated that no clashes had taken place where the man was killed.^[188] The IDF launched an investigation into the incident. Five firebombs were thrown at an Israeli Border Police base in Atarot. Assailants opened fire on Israeli soldiers at a military base near Jenin. Palestinians tried to infiltrate Nahliel by cutting through the security fence surrounding the Israeli town. Palestinians stoned Israeli vehicles on Route 443, a main highway connecting Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. A 22-year-old Palestinian in Hebron attempting to throw a firebomb at a soldier was shot and wounded. A Border Police officer was injured during a demonstration inQalandiya.^[193]

On 20 November, an Israeli soldier was lightly wounded in clashes with Palestinian protesters near Gush Etzion, and an Israeli civilian woman was moderately injured in a stoning attack on a vehicle near Husan.^[47] Palestinian demonstrations throughout the West Bank that day praised the rocket strikes and called for a new uprising and the abandonment of diplomacy with Israel. According to the Christian Science Monitor, the demonstrations signaled a blow to the prestige of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who has supported talks with Israel.^[194]

Further protests and clashes occurred throughout the West Bank on 21–22 November. Thousands of Palestinians protested the death of Rushdi al-Tamimi, whose funeral procession passed through Ramallah and Birzeit University before ending in Tamimi's hometown of Nabi Salih. Several protesters attending the funeral lobbed stones at Israeli troops manning the entrance of the village, who responded with tear gas and rubber bullets. Hundreds of mourners attended the funeral of the Palestinian man killed in Hebron on 20 November. Following his burial many young protesters approached an Israeli settlement near Bab al-Zawiya Square, sparking clashes with Israeli forces who fired rubber bullets and tear gas. About 40 Palestinians were injured.^[195] In the city of Nablus, hundreds of protesters waved Hamas flags.^[196] The entrance to Bani Naim was closed by the IDF after clashes between them and the town's residents. Meanwhile, the northern West Bank village of al-Jalama was declared "a closed military zone" after hundreds of Palestinian demonstrators protested at the village checkpoint. Five Palestinians were arrested in house raids by the Israeli military in Ya'bad and Tubas. Israel alleged that the detained men had previously thrown stones at Israeli troops.^[195]

Other[edit]

On 14 November, the Egyptian military confirmed that four rockets had been fired from Sinai toward Israel by militant groups in an area with a history in the prior eighteen months of cross-border shootings and rocket launches.^[197][198]

On 20 November, a Lebanese army patrol discovered two ready-to-launch 107mm Grad rockets between the villages of Halta and Mari, about 2 miles from the Israeli border. The forces defused the rockets. IDF official Brigadier General Yoav Mordechai said Palestinian factions in Lebanon were probably behind the plot. (See: List of Lebanese rocket attacks on Israel.)^[199]

On 21 November, the day of the ceasefire, two rockets fired from Lebanon at Israel landed within Lebanon, according to Beirut officials.^[200] The next day, the Lebanese army disarmed an additional rocket aimed at Israel, this one in Marjayoun, about 10 kilometers from the border.^[200]

Casualties[edit]

Israeli casualties[edit]

Israeli apartment building in Kiryat Malakhi hit by Gaza rockets

Four Israeli civilians and two soldiers were killed in Palestinian rocket attacks.^[201] Three of the civilians died in a direct hit on an apartment building in Kiryat Malachi, while the fourth Israeli civilian death was an Israeli-Arab who died in a rocket strike in the Eshkol Region.^{[47][202][203][204]} By 20 November, almost 250 Israelis had been injured in rocket attacks,^[205] including at least 10 soldiers.^[206] Another 28 people were injured in a bus bombing in Tel Aviv.^[207]

The IDF credited the low Israeli casualty rate to a number of factors, both offensive and defensive: its preemptive targeting of launching pads and rocket arsenals, its ability to strike militants in the act of launching rockets, the 80%+ success rate of Israel's Iron Dome missile interception system, the existence of bomb-proof rooms in every Israeli house, the implementation of the Red Color alarm system, and public outreach efforts by its Home Front Command.^[208]

Palestinian casualties[edit]

The damaged floor of a building in Gaza after Israeli strikes

The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights said that 158 Palestinians were killed during the operation, including 102 civilians, 55 militants, and a policeman. Thirty were children and thirteen were women.^[40][209] The UN preliminary investigation found that 103 civilians had been killed, including 30 children.^[210] B'Tselem stated that according to its initial findings, which covered only the period between 14 and 19 November, 102 Palestinians were killed in the Gaza Strip, 40 of them civilians.^[42]The Israel Defense Forces have stated that out of 177 Palestinians killed, 120 were militants, and that the IDF never deliberately targets civilians.^[17][211] In March 2013 the United Nations Human Rights Council issued a report stating 174 Palestinians in total died, 107 of them civilians.^[212] Based on a large-scale survey, Al Mezan counted 129 civilians and 39 combatants killed.^[213] The Israeli air force says that it takes all possible measures to avoid harming Palestinian civilians, utilizing precision strikes and issuing preemptive warnings to Palestinian residents.^[214] The IDF alleges that it disseminated warning leaflets instructing civilians to avoid areas used by Hamas for firing rockets, and also phoned residents in warnings. It says targets were deliberately missed on the first strike to allow the non-combatants to vacate the area and missions were aborted because of a civilian presence.^[215]

Debris in Gaza

On 19 November 2012, an Israeli airstrike killed ten members of the Dalu family, including five children as well as two neighbors, in the deadliest single strike of the entire operation.^[216] According to the UN, a relative said to be a member of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades was the target.^[217] Human Rights Watch stated it had found evidence on the ground in Gaza that supported the Israeli's claim that the suspected target, Mohammad Al-Dalou, was a member of Hamas' armed wing.^[218] A surviving family member denied that a warning had been given to his family to flee the home: "They didn’t give us a warning. They just hit the house with the children in it. My daughters were in their youth. What did they do to them?".^[219]The IDF policy of targeting family homes of alleged militants has been criticized due to the high potential of creating civilian casualties.^[220] Competing theories for the attack were offered. One Israeli paper stated the IDF believed a militant was inside, while two others said the wrong house was targeted.^[216] IDF spokeswoman Avital Leibovich at first stated that the event was an accident and the target was a man, Yihia Abayah, supposedly responsible for launching 200–300 rockets into Israel.^[219] A relative of the family said that man is not known and rejected his existence.^[221] Later, the IDF changed justification for the attack to say that it was intentional and aimed at Mohamed al-Dalu, a Gazan police officer who died in the strike.^[222]

The most notable fatality of a Palestinian militant was that of Ahmed Jabari, a high-level commander in Hamas. The PCHR stated that the number of injured people had reached 1,000.^[209]

Combatants versus non-combatants[edit]

The media and combating parties, in counting the casualties, often use different definitions of "combatants" or "militants".^[223][224] The International Committee of the Red Cross regards persons as civilians if they do not fulfill a "continuous combat function" (for example, many police officers) or do not participate directly in hostilities. Civilians are entitled to protection and may not be the object of an attack. The fact that a person killed was a member of any particular Palestinian organization does not, in and of itself, prove that he took part in the hostilities or that he lost the protection given him as a civilian.^[223]

Some political or armed groups often declare killed persons, including children, one of their members and adopt them as "martyrs" placing their photographs on their websites and commending their contribution to resisting occupation. Their families may accept this for various reasons, including the willingness of armed groups to provide financial support to the families and pay for funeral costs of the persons killed. This does not mean that those persons killed were involved in militant activities in any way.^[213]

Public execution of alleged informants by Hamas[edit]

Seven Palestinians have been publicly executed by militants for alleged collaboration with Israel.^[47] One man, Ashraf Ouaida, was killed on 16 November near a mosque in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of Gaza City. An eyewitness said he saw two masked men emerge from a Jeep, drag the victim underneath a Hamas billboard and shoot him multiple times in the head, before hanging a poster citing his alleged crimes.^[225]

Militants shot six other Palestinians in the street on 20 November.^[47] According to witnesses, the men were pulled out of a van, forced to lie face down on the street and then shot dead. Five of the bodies were left in a pile while a mob stomped and spit on them. A sixth body was tied to a motorcycle and dragged through the main streets of Gaza City as onlookers screamed, "Spy! Spy!". Militants posted a sign naming the six victims. Hamas's radio station, Voice of al-Aqsa, quoted security sources, alleging that they "possessed hi-tech equipment and filming equipment to take footage of positions".^[226][227] One witness compared the gruesomeness of the murder to grisly scenes from the time of the Crusades.^[228]

The man whose body was tied to a motorcycle, Ribhi Badawi, was a member of Jaljalat, an Islamist group that maintains a rivalry with Hamas. Badawi's family, neighbors, and friends maintained that the allegations of his having spied for Israel were "absurd", noting that he had spent the previous four years in a Hamas prison under armed guard. His widow stated that he confessed to aiding Israel after being tortured by Hamas for seven months with methods that included being burned, having his jaw and teeth broken, and being hung for 45 days by his arms and legs.^[229][230]

On 21 November, Hamas deputy leader Moussa Abu Marzouk condemned the killings as "unlawful", adding that any punishments or executions must follow the legal process. He further added that those behind the killings must be punished.^[231]

Palestinian casualties from Palestinian fire[edit]

Some of the Palestinian civilian deaths are believed to have been caused by a Palestinian rocket that fell short of its target, not by Israel, and two were "high-profile" incidents.^{[45][52][217][232]} The UN report into the events by the High Commissioner for Human Rights found that of the 174 Palestinians killed, 168 were killed by Israeli military action, while 6 civilians may have been killed by Palestinian armed groups firing rockets from Gaza.^[233]

BBC Arabic photojournalist Jihad Masharawi lost his 11-month-old son and sister-in-law to what appeared to be an Israeli airstrike. Many international organizations condemned Israel for their deaths. Human Rights Watch reported that Israel was responsible for the deaths, based on "news reports and witnesses". The Palestinian Center for Human Rights stated that "an Israeli warplane fired a missile at a house belonging to Ali Nemer al-Mishrawi in the al-Zaytoun neighborhood in the east of Gaza City. Two members of the family (a woman and a toddler) were killed: Hiba Aadel Fadel al-Mishrawi, 19; and Omar Jihad al-Mishrawi, 11 months." The latest investigation by the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights suggested that the incident was most likely the result of an errant Palestinian rocket launched towards Israel, but fell back into Gaza. Two members of the family (a woman and a toddler) were initially killed: Hiba Aadel Fadel al-Mishrawi, 19; and Omar Jihad al-Mishrawi, 11 months." ^{[233][234][235][236]} Ahmed al-Mishrawi, 18, later died from his injuries.^[217] According to Jihad al-Mishrawi, his residential neighborhood in the Sabra district saw no fighting before this incident.^[237][238]

The death of four-year-old Mohammed Sadallah after an explosion in Annazla appeared to have been the result of a misfiring home-made rocket, not a bomb dropped by Israel as originally alleged by Hamas. Hamas officials and relatives said that the four-year-old Gazan boy was killed in an Israeli airstrike on 16 November. Israel denied that it carried out any attacks in the area at the time.^[45][239] According to the New York Times, "the damage was nowhere near severe enough to have come from an Israeli F-16, raising the possibility that an errant missile fired by Palestinian militants was responsible for the deaths."^[240] Experts from the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights examined the site and opined that the explosion was caused by a Palestinian rocket; the boy's mother acknowledged that Palestinian militants might have been responsible.^[45][232] The Associated Press reported that "no one appeared to have witnessed the strike" and that "local security officials quickly took what remained of the projectile, making it impossible to verify who fired it."^[241] A United Nations Report released in March 2013 concluded that Sadallah "[was] killed by what appeared to be a Palestinian rocket that fell short of Israel" and not by an Israeli airstrike.^[242]

The UN reported that at least one other child and adult had also been killed by Hamas fire.^[217]

Damage[edit]

Based on a large-scale survey by workers in the field, which Al Mezan claims to be extremely accurate, Al Mezan reported the total destruction of 124 houses located in all of de Gaza Strip, and partial damage of 2050 homes. In just one week, the Israeli army destroyed numerous public and private premises, including 52 places of worship, 25 non-governmental organizations (NGOs), 97 schools, 15 health institutions, 14 journalist premises, 8 police stations, 16 government buildings, and 11 political sites. Fifteen factories and 192 trade shops were damaged or destroyed. Twelve water wells as well as agricultural lands were destroyed.^[213]

Alleged war crimes[edit]

Hamas[edit]

Targeting of civilians[edit]

Both U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay condemned the continuing indiscriminate attacks and targeting of civilians in Israel by militants from Gaza.^[33][243]

Human Rights Watch stated that armed Palestinian groups fired hundreds of rockets at Israeli cities, violating international humanitarian law, and that statements by Palestinian groups that they deliberately targeted Israeli civilians demonstrated an "intent to commit war crimes." HRW's Middle East director Sarah Leah Whitson said that Palestinian groups made clear that "harming civilians was their aim" and said that the launching rockets at populated areas had no legal justification. International humanitarian law prohibits deliberate attacks on civilians, and intentional violations can be war crimes.^[82][83]

A report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights stated that "Palestinian armed groups continuously violated international humanitarian law, by launching indiscriminate attacks on Israel and by attacking civilians".^[233][236] The report further stated, "While some projectiles were directed at military objectives, many, if not the vast majority of the Palestinian attacks on Israel constituted indiscriminate attacks. Such attacks violate international humanitarian law. ... Most rockets fired by the armed groups did not seem to be directed at a specific military objective. Furthermore, many Palestinian armed groups directly and indirectly indicated their determination to – and took responsibility for – attacks on Israeli civilians or large population centres in Israel. Such acts clearly violate international humanitarian law."^[217]

Firing rockets from populated areas[edit]

Human Rights Watch stated that Palestinian groups endangered civilians by "repeatedly fir[ing] rockets from densely populated areas, near homes, businesses, and a hotel". Under international law, parties to a conflict may not place military targets in or near densely populated areas. One rocket was launched close to the Shawa and Housari Building, where various Palestinian and international media have offices; another was fired from the yard of a house near the Deira Hotel.^[82][83] Human Rights Watch said it had not been able to identify any instance where civilians had been warned to evacuate an area before a rocket launch by Palestinian militants.^[83]

Col. Richard Kemp, former Commander of British Forces in Afghanistan, said: "The use of the civilian population by Hamas is undoubtedly a war crime because not only are they hiding themselves under a civilian population, [but] they are also putting the civilian population at risk. In my view, if there are civilian casualties, the responsibility does not lie with the IDF, but with Hamas, who deliberately placed them there."^[244] Richard Landes criticised Hamas for firing from the midst of civilians, a practice leading to casualties blamed on Israeli counter-strikes to garner Western sympathy.^[245] Danny Ayalon said that Hamas's firing of rockets from built-up civilian areas was a "double war crime", noting that ten percent of them did not reach Israel.^[246]

The IDF stated that Hamas makes use of "human shield" tactics and said "By operating from densely populated areas, Hamas willingly endangers its own people, turning their houses and schools into terror sites and weapon depots."^[247] The Jerusalem Post and Fox News said Palestinian rocket launch-sites were put next to hospitals, schools, mosques, and playgrounds.^[215][248] On 21 November a long-range Qassam rocket, of the type Israel has accused Iran of supplying to Hamas, was fired from within 500 yards of the hospital and hit Gush Etzion, southeast of Jerusalem.^[249] An IDF spokesman stated they had released footage of "rocket fire from a mosque courtyard, prayer houses, public places and homes".^[250]

In March 2013, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) released a report criticizing Palestinian groups for launching rocket attacks from densely populated areas. The report stated that "The [Palestinian] armed groups failed to take all feasible precautions in attacks, in particular by launching rockets from populated areas, which put the population at grave risk."^[217]

Allegations that Islamic Jihad members were disguised as journalists[edit]

The IDF accused Gaza militants of abusing the protection afforded to journalists. On 20 November 2012 Muhammed Shamalah, commander of Hamas forces in southern Gaza and head of its militant training programs, was targeted by an Israeli air strike. At the time, he was driving a car which, according to the IDF, was clearly labeled "TV," indicating it to be a press vehicle.^[251]

The PCHR reported that an Israeli strike had killed al-Quds Radio journalist Muhammed Abu Eisha. The UN, the New York Times, Reporters without Borders, andHuman Rights Watch condemned Israel for the attack.^[252][253] Frankfurter Allgemeine reported that PCHR failed to mention that Eisha was also a member of theIslamic Jihad and had participated in rocket attacks against Israel.^[254] Eisha’s name and photo appeared on the Islamic Jihad’s website at the time of his death.^[254]

Killing of alleged collaborators[edit]

The March 2013 report by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) criticized Palestinian militant groups for "summarily executing alleged Israeli spies in breach of humanitarian law".^[217]

Israel[edit]

Disproportionate force/Targeting of civilians[edit]

A report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights was harshly critical of the conduct of the Israeli army. The report stated that the IDF had "failed in many instances to respect international law", and that it did not "consistently uphold the basic principles of conduct of hostilities, namely, the principles of distinction, proportionality and precautions".^[233][236]

The Israeli airstrike that killed 12 civilians, including 10 members of the Al-Dalu family, has been called a "disproportionate" use of force and a war crime by Human Rights Watch, which stated that the attack had yet to be justified by Israel, and called for the perpetrators of the strike to be punished and the surviving members of victims' families to be compensated.^[255] Palestinian Center for Human Rights condemned it as "an example of blatant targeting of civilians".^[256] According to The New York Times, "political leaders and human rights advocates have called the [Dalu family] deaths a massacre and a war crime."^[219]

British MP Gerald Kaufman criticized the Israeli offensive, and its broader context — of occupation of the West Bank and the siege of Gaza — as war crimes.^[257] In an emergency meeting of the Arab League, foreign ministers of member-states accused Israel of perpetrating war crimes and crimes against humanity.^[258]

Turkey and Iran accused Israel of committing war crimes and refused to consider the Israeli airstrikes self-defense. Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Israel of committing "ethnic cleansing" of Palestinians.^[259] [260]

Bombing of media facilities[edit]

The Israel Air Force hit four Islamic Jihad militants hiding out in a media center in Gaza, the Al-Sharouk compound.^[261][262] PIJ reported by text message that one of their senior militant operatives, Ramez Harb, was killed in the airstrike.^[263] Human Rights Watch said this attack was on a military target, and that if Palestinians conducting military operations were meeting in the Shoruq Tower, they were violating international law by placing civilians at unnecessary risk.^[264]

Ths Israeli army stated that foreign journalists were used as human shields by Hamas, after attacks on two media centers in Gaza containing Hamas communications devices.^[265] The strikes killed Palestinian militants, including a senior Islamic Jihad commander hiding out in the media building,^[266][267] as well as Palestinian cameramen. Ten media workers were wounded, and a two-year-old was killed.^[264] The Israeli government stated that each of the attacks targeted a military target. The HRW report said that blurring the distinction between civilians that support military attacks and those that participate in attacks opened the door to war crimes.^[264] HRW stated that journalists and civilian broadcasting facilities were not legitimate military targets simply because they broadcast pro-Hamas or anti-Israel propaganda.^[264][268]

Israel warned people to leave the building before the strike.^[269] One foreign journalist that worked there spoke of his anger that the building was being used as a hideout by Palestinian militants, endangering many people.^[266] NGO Monitor stated that Hamas in Gaza "terrorizes the international press" because it put its own operational communication antennas on top of buildings whose lower floors house foreign media outlets.^[270]

The Israeli military's alleged targeting of journalists was also condemned by Reporters without Borders.^[267][271] Christophe Deloire, secretary-general of RWB, said "Even if the targeted media support Hamas, this does not in any way legitimize the attacks. ... Attacks on civilian targets are war crimes and serious violations of the Geneva Conventions. Those responsible must be identified."^[272][273] Israel warned the foreigners to leave the building before the strike.^{[269][274][275]} Writing for theNew York Times, David Carr noted that IDF spokeswoman Avital Leibovich, who said that the journalists were "people who have relevance to terror activity", did not identify the strike as a mistake. Carr accused Israel of deliberately targeting journalists under the cover of war, using "amorphous" phrases such as "relevance to terror activity" to justify the attacks.^[276]

Social media and Internet[edit]

The military wing of Hamas and the Israeli military both made use of Twitter.^[277]

The IDF made widespread use of Twitter and a liveblog to give an up-to-date account of its operations. The military wing of Hamas also made use of Twitter, publicising its rocket and mortar attacks and tweeting when Israeli casualties were reported.^[278][279] Foreign Policy magazine labeled this effort a "milestone in military communications."^[279][280] Twitter had previously been used to present information regarding military engagements by both the Kenya Defence Forces and Al Shabaab during the KDF's operation against Al Shabaab in Somalia in 2011.^{[281][282][283]} The IDF's Twitter account gained more than 50,000 new followers in 24 hours.^[284]

An app based on an idea provided by a 13-year-old was developed to supply up-to-date reports of imminent missile attacks and send information of the location and timing of the public "Color Red" alerts. The app allowed users extra time to run to bomb shelters.^[285]

Hamas produced a video that threatened the lives of Israeli citizens and warned, "Wait soon for us in the bus stops and cafes." The video became a popular target for parody because of its technical problems and the broken Hebrew written and spoken in it.^[286]

During the campaign, pro-Palestinian hackers launched a concerted effort to cripple Israeli websites. Israeli websites faced over 60 million hacking attempts, which failed to cause any significant damage.^[287] In April 2013 Anonymous attacked many Israeli websites in response to the IDF offensive in Gaza. They called the attack#OpIsrael and claimed to have taken down at least 700 sites as of 18 November 2012. The Israeli Defense Forces claimed to have deflected 44 million cyber attacks by that date.^[288] Many of the websites were replaced with messages condemning the Israeli campaign and expressing support for the citizens of Gaza.^[289] Hackers from Kuwait disrupted the website of Likud MK Danny Danon, who had posted an online petition urging the government of Israel to cease providing the Gaza Strip with electricity.^[290] The Facebook and Twitter accounts of Israeli Vice Prime Minister and Likud MK Silvan Shalom were hacked by a pro-Palestinian group called ZCompanyHackingCrew.^[291]

Criticism of IDF media campaign[edit]

"What Would You Do" IDF graphic.

The IDF's blog incorporates gamification features where visitors are awarded points and given badges for things such as visiting the blog or sharing its contents on their social networks.^[292] Although the blog had had these features previously, they had been disabled before Operation Pillar of Defense due to "high traffic."^[293] They were re-enabled shortly after the operation began. Multiple commentators have described the timing of their re-enablement just after the launch of Operation Pillar of Defense as offensive. ReadWrite's Jon Mitchell described it as "absolutely horrendous", and The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg called it "disgraceful."^{[293][294][295]}

Israel's social media campaign around Operation Pillar of Defense has been perceived by some parties as overly aggressive or otherwise inappropriate. Wired described Israel's efforts as "hyper-pugnacious," and Foreign Policy's Michael Koplow expressed fears that Israel's social media campaign might contribute to some people's "fear of Israel run amok with no regard for the collateral damage being caused."^[294]

Allegations of Hamas disinformation[edit]

Hamas attempted to conduct "psychological warfare" consisting primarily of fake emails and Facebook postings. Many Israelis received a false announcement from an "IDF Spokesman" warning that "terrorists in Gaza can track you and direct their Katyushas to your location!" if they opened their text messages. Thousands received emails in broken Hebrew that "the military censorship of military intelligence" was concealing information about attacks on soldiers and urged them to view the "picture of the field of death in which our soldiers are falling in Gaza." The attached YouTube videos, though claiming to show an IDF jeep struck by a missile, was in fact a vehicle of the Reuters news agency that had been hit on the border.^[296][297]

Hamas warned Gazan civilians against spreading unsourced information, claiming that such behavior harmed national security and aided Israel's "psychological war". The Interior Ministry said that it would convey any "needed information" in order to "safeguard the truth." The statement came after Hamas gunmen publicly shot a Gaza resident multiple times in the head for allegedly collaborating with Israeli authorities.^[298] Richard Landes, a blogger and American Associate Professor of history at Boston University, accused Hamas of "brazen hypocrisy" and exploiting a death they had caused in order to garner Western sympathy.^[245][299]

Hamas fabricated achievements and used pictures of children injured or killed in Syria, presenting them in the social media as Palestinian dead. One of its tweets about the Israeli strikes contained a picture of a dead girl, previously posted on the "Syrians & Friends" Facebook page in October 2012.^{[300][301][302][303]} Another photo of explosions that was uploaded to the Facebook page affiliated with Hamas appeared to be digitally altered.^[278] Hamas staged several fake deaths and scenes of injury in front of TV crews.^[300]

Some^[who?] argued that Hamas' manipulation effectively undermined their own cause, as readers could not be certain of the authenticity of what they were seeing.^[300]

Media coverage[edit]

See also: Media coverage of the Arab–Israeli conflict

Noam Chomsky, Seumas Milne, Glenn Greenwald, John Mearsheimer, Paul Pillar, and several other writers have blamed Israel for the conflict.^{[304][305][306][307][308][309][310]} Former British commander, Richard Kemp, by contrast, said there was a "very effective anti-Israel propaganda machine" that misunderstands the reality that Hamas is a terrorist organization.^[311]

Sharine Tadros, an Al Jazeera correspondent to the Middle East who covers the conflict from Gaza, criticized several aspects of the media approach to the conflict. Tadros criticized what she said was an uncritical and repetitive use by journalists of Israel's justifications for targeting homes and other civilian structures. Tadros further criticized the use of terms such as "Hamas school". According to her, "Hamas" is used as an adjective by Israel as justification for targeting civilian infrastructure.^[220]

Images[edit]

The Arab news site Alarab Net released a photo on 18 November which depicted three bloodied children and their mother lying on a floor, who were allegedly "massacred" in Gaza. Inciting a flurry of comments on Facebook, they turned out to be Syrian massacre photos from 19 October reused to depict a "Gaza tragedy".^[312]

On 19 November, BBC Gaza correspondent Jon Donnison retweeted a photograph of a dead or injured child titled "Pain in Gaza", with his own comment "heartbreaking". It was soon shown that the photo was apparently taken in Syria and is dated to 28 October 2012, before the beginning of the events in Gaza. Donnison apologized for the incident.^{[313][314][315]}

Pro-Palestinian activists co-opted another photograph on Twitter, identifying an injured infant held by a rescue worker as a "young injured Palestinian child". However, Facebook and Twitter users recognized it as that of an Israeli baby wounded by a Hamas rocket attack; "Kiryat Malachi" was printed on the rescue worker's vest.^[316]

Photographs of a distraught Palestinian man, Jihad al-Masharawi,^[217] a BBC journalist, carrying the body of his 11-month-old son, Omar, wrapped in a white shroud were printed in newspapers worldwide and widely distributed on social media. Masharawi, the BBC Middle East bureau chief, and at least two human rights organizations initially blamed Israel for the incident, and the infant's death quickly became a powerful symbol of the conflict. However, in March 2013, the report of theOffice of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the eight-day conflict stated that Omar was most likely the victim of "what appeared to be a Palestinian rocket that fell short of Israel."^[317]

Text[edit]

The article that Jodi Rudoren, New York Times Jerusalem bureau chief, wrote on the killing of the al-Dalu family, as well as her Facebook posts about Gazan society, were subject to controversy and criticism. The disputes centered around her description of the funeral's tone as "far more fundamentalist than funereal", of mourners not close to the victims as unsentimental, and of Gazan culture as aspiring to "martyrdom".^[219]

Writing on The Guardian, Glenn Greenwald criticized the article, echoing criticism by a Mondoweiss writer and by the progressive watchdog FAIR that it dehumanized Gazans and that the mindset behind Rudoren's comment was similar to that of colonists and warmakers who seek to justify their aggression against besieged peoples. But he also commended Rudoren, who, as the controversy unfolded, engaged her critics on social media. He added that he did not believe Rudoren's comments were informed by maliciousness. Greenwald instead criticized most strongly the decision of the New York Times^[318] to "curtail" Rudoren's activity on social media, saying that it seemed to be moved by the desire of "establishment media outlets" to pretend "their journalists are 'objective' and, therefore, expressing any subjective view or opinion is some sort of breach of journalistic propriety."^[319]

Video[edit]

BBC News and CNN broadcast Reuters footage of an apparently injured Palestinian man being carried away by a group of people. But the BBC's footage later showed the man walking around on his own.^[320] CNN said that Reuters did not know the source of that film, while the BBC News responded that to the best of their knowledge, the events were not staged, and that the footage had been cut from a longer reel that showed the man lying on the sidewalk, being lifted and receiving treatment, and then walking away having recovered. The BBC said that it had taken steps to ensure that any re-broadcast would make this sequence of events clear to its audience.^[321][322]

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) expressed concern for the use of footage by the IDF which suggested the agency's complicity in "terrorist activities" targeting Israel