2006 Israel–Gaza conflict

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Main articles: Israel-Gaza conflict and Israeli-Palestinian conflict

This is related to a current event: 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses.

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2006 Israel Gaza conflict
Part of al-Aqsa Intifada
An Israeli M109 howitzer fires into Gaza.
Date June 28, 2006 – November 26, 2006 Location Gaza Strip and the Negev Result Ceasefire agreed on November 26, 2006 at 6:00 AM (local time)
Belligerents
Israel Defense Forces (Israeli Security Forces)	Hamas Fatah (al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades), Popular Resistance Committees Palestinian Islamic Jihad Palestinian Army of Islam
Commanders
Dan Halutz (Chief of Staff) Yoav Galant (Regional)	Khaled Mashal (Leader of Hamas[1]) Mohammed Deif (Leader of Hamas' military wing)
Strength
30,000	unknown possibly 1,000 active miltants
Casualties and losses
5 soldiers killed 38 soldiers wounded 1 soldier captured 2 civilians killed 44 civilians injured 16+ civilians treated for shock Timeline Figures not confirmed or verified	277 militants killed 117 civilians killed 6 policemen killed 2 Presidential Guards killed ~1,000 injured Timeline Figures not confirmed or verified

v • d • e Second Intifada Israel October 2000 events – Civilian deaths – Noah’s Ark – Qassam attacks West Bank Defensive Shield (Jenin · Bethlehem · Nablus) – Determined Path Gaza Strip Rainbow – Days of Penitence – Autumn Clouds  – Hot Winter

The 2006 Israel-Gaza conflict refers to the series of battles between Palestinian gunmen and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Large-scale conventional warfare beyond the peripheries of the Gaza Strip began when Israel launched Operation Summer Rains (Hebrew: מבצע גשמי קיץ‎, Mivtza Gishmey Kayitz), the codename for an IDF military operation in the Gaza Strip that began on June 28, 2006, and its first major ground operation in the Gaza Strip since Israel's unilateral disengagement plan was implemented between August and September 2005. Operation Summer Rains was followed by Operation Autumn Clouds (Hebrew: מבצע ענני סתיו‎, Mivtza Ananei Stav), launched on November 1.

Israel's stated goals in Operation Summer Rains were to suppress the firing of Qassam rockets from Gaza into the western Negev, and to secure the release of Corporal Gilad Shalit, who had been kidnapped by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on June 25.^[2][3] The kidnapping took place amid a background of violence between the IDF and Palestinian militant groups since the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. According to statistics published by the Israeli government, 757 missiles from Gaza hit Israel between the withdrawal and the end of June 2006.^[4] The IDF had responded with artillery fire and air raids.^[5]. During the operation the pace of both rocket fire and shelling increased dramatically, and the IDF mounted numerous ground incursions into the Gaza Strip to target militant groups and their infrastructure, including smuggling tunnels in the Philadelphi Corridor.^[2] On the first day of the conflict, Israel also bombed the only electrical power plant in the Gaza Strip.^[6]

At the start of the incursion, Israel said the operation could end if Shalit was released but noted that it had exhausted all the diplomatic means towards this end that it considered tenable.^[3] Egypt acted as a mediator over the issue of the officer's release, and on 15 August a senior Hamas official said it would not release Shalit except in exchange for the release of thousands of Palestinian detainees by Israel.^[7] When Operation Autumn Clouds ended on 26 November with an Israeli withdrawal and ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, no deal for the release of Shalit had been reached. The ceasefire was only shakily observed, with rockets hitting Israel at an average rate of just over forty five per month before the next major flare-up of violence in May 2007, according to the Israeli government.^[4] During this intervening period Hamas did not itself take responsibility for rocket fire into Israel, and Israel refrained from firing tank or artillery shells into the Gaza Strip.^[8] The ceasefire broke down completely amid escalating conflict between Hamas and Fatah.

Contents 1 Background 1.1 Raids and captures 1.2 IDF Summary 2 Operation Summer Rains 2.1 IDF enters Southern Gaza 2.2 Incursion into Northern Gaza 2.3 Arrest of Hamas government members 2.4 Bombardment phase 2.5 High-trajectory fire into Israel 2.6 Ongoing responses 2.7 Ground Operation in Northern Gaza Strip 3 Impact on Gaza Strip residents 3.1 Concern for potential humanitarian crisis 4 Casualties 5 Ceasefire 6 Reaction 6.1 Involved parties 6.2 International organizations 6.3 Other countries 7 See also 8 Literature 9 References 10 External links

[edit] Background

Main article: Israel-Gaza conflict
See also Timeline up to 2006 Gaza crisis

Palestinian groups in the Gaza Strip have fought against Israel since the country occupied the coastal region following the Six Day War in 1967. The conflict escalated during the Second Intifada, a large-scale armed uprising against Israeli occupation by Palestinians in both Gaza and the West Bank. In 2005, Israel's unilateral disengagement plan saw it pulling soldiers out of Gaza and dismantling Jewish settlements that had been built in the territory in the years of the occupation. Israel remained in control of Gaza's borders, coastline and airspace, with the exception of the southern border which is supervised by Egypt and European Union monitors. Following disengagement in 2005, Quassam rockets continued to be fired out of Gaza into Israel, and the pace of the attacks quickened in 2006 following the victory of the Islamist group Hamas in Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. 757 missiles hit Israel between disengagement and the end of June 2006^[4], and Israel had responded with artillery fire and air strikes.

Between the end of March - when the Hamas government assumed power - and the end of May 2006, Israel fired at least 5,100 artillery shells into the Gaza Strip Qassam launching areas in an attempt to stop them from firing.^[9] Hamas had announced a ceasefire in 2005 and until June 10, 2006, Hamas did not take responsibility itself for the firing of ordinance into Israel, but the group's leader had said in February that it did not intend to impede other groups from carrying out "armed resistance" against Israel.^[10] This was a significant statement because Israel had often pressured the Palestinian government to stop such attacks in the past, and Palestinian willingness to do so had been seen as a key indicator of intent by Israel. However, Hamas was implicated in rocket and terror attacks carried out by other groups, as well as engaging in its own attacks, despite the ceasefire.^[11][12]

The political context of this exchange of fire was an internal struggle in the Palestinian territories between Hamas and the old ruling party, Fatah. Fatah members and supportes predominated in the Palestinian security forces and the civil service and Hamas complained that they were hampering the new government's capacity to function. Violent protests, clashes and attempted assassinations mounted during 2006.^[13] Meanwhile, because Hamas refused to recognize Israel's right to exist or reaffirm its commitment to previous agreements between the Palestinian Authority and Israel, the Israeli government and the Quartet (the EU, the UK, the USA and Russia) imposed an economic embargo on the Hamas government.^[14]

On June 9 an explosion occurred on a busy Gaza beach, killing eight Palestinian civilians.^[15][16][17] Following the blast, an internal Israeli military enquiry was initiated. On June 13, Israeli Defence Minister Amir Peretz and Chief of Staff Dan Halutz appeared alongside IDF General Meir Klifi to announce the findings of the enquiry, stating "The chances that artillery fire hit that area at that time are nil." In further interviews, Klifi theorised that the deaths could have been caused by old ordinance or by a Palestinian planted mine.^[17] Mark Garlasco, a US-based Human Rights Watch group employee, aired the opinion that the injuries sustained by the Palestinian victims were inconsistent with an explosion from beneath the sand.^[17] Hamas formally withdrew from its 16-month ceasefire on June 10, and began openly taking responsibility for the ongoing Qassam rocket attacks.^[18]

Israeli missile attacks included one on the Gaza highway on June 13 that killed 11 Palestinians, and on June 20 that killed 3 Palestinians.^[17][19]

[edit] Raids and captures

On June 25, 2006, armed Palestinians crossed the border from the Gaza Strip into Israel via a makeshift tunnel and attacked an Israel Defense Forces post. During the morning attack, two Palestinian militants and two Israel Defense Force soldiers were killed and four others wounded, in addition to Corporal Gilad Shalit, who suffered a broken left hand and a light shoulder wound. Hamas claimed that the attack was carried out in response to the death of the Ralia family on north Gaza beach a few weeks before, but the IDF concluded that the digging of the tunnel must have taken between 3 and 6 months.^[20][21]

Shalit's captors issued a series of statements demanding the release of all female Palestinian prisoners and all Palestinian prisoners under the age of 18.^[22] The statements came from Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades (the military wing of Palestinian governing party Hamas), the Popular Resistance Committees (which includes members of Fatah, Islamic Jihad and Hamas), and the Army of Islam.

More than 8,000 Palestinians are held as prisoners by the Israel Defense Forces and Israel Prisons Service. Approximately two thirds of these prisoners were convicted in court, while around ten percent are held without charge.^[23]

[edit] IDF Summary

On July 29, 2006, the Israel Defense Forces issued a summary of activity in the Gaza Strip [2]:

Early this morning, July 29, 2006, the IDF began engineering work in the Erez industrial area in the northern Gaza Strip in order to thwart terror threats and to discover tunnels and explosive devices in area.

In addition, the IDF carried out aerial attacks against a structure used by Hamas to store and manufacture weaponry in Gaza City, as well as a tunnel located along the Israeli-Egyptian border near Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.

Prior to the attacks on these targets, in order to ensure the safety of the residents of the Gaza Strip, the IDF warned the population not to stay in structures that are used by terrorist organizations for storing weapons.

Terrorist organizations operate from within civilian population, while cynically exploiting uninvolved civilians and using them as human shields, exploiting their homes to store weapons and launch rockets at Israeli towns from populated areas.

The IDF will continue to act with determination against terrorist organizations and terror infrastructure in order to create the conditions for the return of Corporal Gilad Shalit and to stop terror attacks and the launching of missiles against Israel.

[edit] Operation Summer Rains

[edit] IDF enters Southern Gaza

Israeli forces entered Khan Yunis on June 28, 2006 to search for Shalit. Four Israeli F-16s flew over the Latakia residence of Bashar Assad, President of Syria, in a symbolic move linked by the IDF Spokesperson's Office to Israel's view of the Syrian leadership as a sponsor of terrorism, and the presence in Syria of Hamas leader Khaled Mashal.^[24] In preparation for the Israeli operation, the government of Egypt announced it deployed 2,500 policemen to the border of Egypt and the Gaza Strip in order to prevent the possible transfer of Shalit into Egypt, as well as to prevent an influx of refugees out of the Palestinian territory.

In the early hours of the operation, several Palestinian civilian locations were targeted. Bridges were destroyed to effectively cut the Gaza Strip in half. Power was also cut to 65% of the Gaza Strip after Israeli planes fired at least nine missiles at Gaza's only power station. Israeli forces also occupied the Gaza International Airport. Airstrikes were carried out on Hamas training and munitions camps, though no casualties were reported.^[25][26]

In apparent response to this, the Popular Resistance Committees announced they had abducted an 18-year-old man from the West Bank settlement of Itamar, Eliyahu Asheri, and would kill him if the invasion continued.^[27] On 29 June, IDF combat engineers and Shabak agents, acting on intelligence, found Asheri's body in an abandoned car in an open field outside of Ramallah. The youth appeared to have been shot to death, and findings indicated that he may have been killed as early as Sunday, casting doubt on the PRC's earlier claims that he was alive and kept in captivity.^[28]

Although the Popular Resistance Committees said it was behind the attack, it became known that the kidnapping was planned and carried out by Fatah militants.^[29] Four suspects were captured by IDF forces for kidnapping and killing Asheri, all al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades activists and Palestinian Preventive Security force members.

The al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades later announced that they had captured a third Israeli, Noach Moskovich from the central Israeli city of Rishon LeZion.^[30] However Moskovich was eventually discovered dead, apparently of natural causes, near the spot where he had last been seen.^[31][32] The Brigades also threatened that, should there be any Palestinian civilian casualties as a result of the incursion, they would attack Israel's overseas embassies. As night fell, the Israel Defence Forces began shelling locations in Gaza with artillery, and hit two weapons warehouses.^[33]

[edit] Incursion into Northern Gaza

As night approached 28 June, IDF troops and tanks massed on the Northern border of Gaza Strip, and prepared to take strategic positions in the second phase of the operation, which Israel claims targeted the Qassam rocket sites.^[34] Qassam rockets were continually fired into Israel, and during the early hours of 29 June, several Israeli naval vessels shelled Qassam locations.^[35] Thousands of leaflets advising civilians to leave their homes were dropped on inhabited areas in the northern Gaza Strip towns of Beit Lahia and Beit Hanoun which Israel had identified as frequent launch sites for Qassam rockets.^[36]

An explosion was reported in Gaza City, and eyewitnesses reported it was at the Islamic University. The university is believed to be a pro-Hamas institute.^[37] Witnesses reported Israeli tanks, soldiers, and bulldozers entering Northern Gaza. Following a plea from Egypt for more time for negotiations however, the IDF later announced it would put a hold on the second phase to give the militants a final chance to turn over Shalit.^[38]

[edit] Arrest of Hamas government members

The neutrality of this section is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page. (December 2007) Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved.

On 29 June, Israel arrested 64 Hamas officials. Amongst them were Palestinian Authority cabinet ministers and members of the Palestinian Legislative Council.^[39] Eight Hamas government members (five of whom in Ramallah) and up to twenty Legislative Council representatives were detained in the operation.

Among those arrested are the Finance Minister Abed Razek; Labour Minister Mohammad Barghouti;^[25] Religious Affairs Minister Nayef Rajoub, brother of former West Bank strongman Jibril Rajoub of the rival Fatah party; East Jerusalem legislative council member and number two on Hamas list, Muhammad Abu Tir; as well as heads of regional councils, and the mayors and two municipal council members of Nablus, Beita and Qalqilya and the latter's deputy mayor. At least a third of the Hamas cabinet have been detained and held by Israel. As a result, many Hamas officials have gone into hiding.

The IDF stated that the arrested Hamas ministers "are not bargaining chips for the return of the soldier - it was simply an operation against a terrorist organization".^[40] Israeli Minister of National Infrastructure, Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, hinted that the Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority, Ismail Haniya, is not immune from being arrested or attacked by the Security Forces. The Israeli army and government officials said, the arrested Hamas officials will be questioned and eventually indicted.^[36] "Their arrests were not arbitrary. They will be put to trial, and they will be able to defend themselves in accordance with a legal system which is internationally recognized," Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres said, explaining the arrest of Hamas members.^[41]

The operation to arrest these Hamas ministers was reportedly planned several weeks before and was met then with the approval of Israel's Attorney General, Menachem Mazuz. On 28 June, Shabak Director Yuval Diskin brought a list of names to the approval of Israel's Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert. Mazuz decided that those arrested will be prosecuted for the criminal offences of failing to prevent acts of terror and membership of a terrorist organization (which carry a maximum sentence of twenty years) and tried by military judges before an open military tribunal, as would be the case for any other Gaza or West Bank resident.^[42]

August 6, Israeli forces detained the Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council, Aziz Dweik, at his home in the West Bank. Dweik, who is regarded as a key member of Hamas, was apprehended after Israeli military-vehicles surrounded his home in Ramallah.^[43]

[edit] Bombardment phase

Beginning on 30 June, the IDF began to hit the Gaza Strip with a variety of targeted bombardments. Israeli warplanes struck more than a dozen times in Gaza in the hours after midnight, hitting a Fatah office and a Hamas facility in Gaza City as well as roads and open fields.^{[citation needed]}

Israeli Air Force aircraft struck the Palestinian Interior Ministry in Gaza City. The Israel Defense Forces confirmed its planes hit the office of Interior Minister Said Seyam, which it called "a meeting place to plan and direct terror activity". Shortly after, several militants approached an IDF position in Southern Gaza carrying anti-tank weaponry. The Israeli forces opened fire, wounding two militants, and causing them to leave their position.^{[citation needed]}

In a separate Israeli airstrike, three missiles hit the office of Khaled Abu Ilal, an Interior Ministry official, who also heads a pro-Hamas militia.^[44]

After Israeli warnings that the Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniya could be targeted for assassination if Corporal Shalit was not freed,^[45] Israeli aircraft hit the Prime Minister's office with two missiles in the early hours of 2 July.^[46]

On July 12, the IDF dropped a 550lb bomb on a building in Gaza City, killing a family of nine. A spokesman for the Israeli army said they were trying to kill a group of Hamas militants led by Mohammed Deif, and did not know that a family was living inside the house when they bombed it.^[47]

[edit] High-trajectory fire into Israel

On July 4, high-trajectory fire by Palestinian militants into Israel reached a milestone when an improved Qassam rocket succeeded in reaching central Ashkelon, the first Palestinian-made rocket to do so, hitting an empty school yard, and causing light damage and no injuries.^[48]

The next day, two more Qassam rockets hit a neighborhood in southern Ashkelon, wounding 8 civilians. The IDF was given the go-ahead to move into Northern Gaza with a large force, with the stated aim of attempting to push the militants farther into Gaza, and out of range from Ashkelon and other coastal towns.^[49]

Qassams also struck near Netivot (which is 12 km. east of Northern Gaza),^[50] Sa'ad,^[51] Kibbutz Kfar Aza, as well as smaller towns and kibbutzim in the Negev.^[52]

[edit] Ongoing responses

On July 5, 2006, the Israeli Security Cabinet called for prolonged and gradual military action in Gaza. A communique issued after the meeting said that in light of the kidnapping of Cpl. Gilad Shalit and the continuation of the rocket fire on Israel, "preparations will be made to bring about a change in the rules of the game and mode of operating with the Palestinian Authority and Hamas."

Later that day IDF soldiers apprehended a Palestinian wearing an explosives belt, who entered the industrial zone in the West Bank town of Barkan, near the Jewish settlement of Ariel, in a Palestinian taxi which the IDF said was destined for a major Israeli city.^[53][54]

[edit] Ground Operation in Northern Gaza Strip

On July 6, 2006, the IDF's Golani Brigade under the command of Colonel Tamir Yadai, backed by IAF jets and artillery fire, reoccupied the site of three former Israeli settlements of Dugit, Nisanit and Elei Sinai in the northern Gaza Strip. Additional forces entered the nearby Palestinian town of Beit Lahiya. A Beit Lahiya resident was quoted in Ynetnews.com as saying, "It's a crazy scene — everyone is shooting at everyone," and "Soldiers are coming out of the trees, from the rooftops. The residents don't know if they should leave their homes or hide."^[55] Israeli tanks and helicopter gunships entered Beit Lahiya firing at militant positions. Palestinian militants responded with automatic weapons fire.^[56]

[edit] Impact on Gaza Strip residents

Palestinian officials say that it could take six months and some $15 million to repair the damage done to the destroyed power plant.^[57]

According to the Palestinian Environmental NGOs Network, "The public health and safety and environmental hazards stemming from the damage caused to infrastructure as a result of this military operation include water shortages, contaminated remaining drinking water, uncontrolled discharge and untreated sewage flowing in the streets resulting in groundwater pollution, pollution of agricultural land which Gazans will now be unable to cultivate to harvest crops, negatively impacting their earning."^[58]

On 29 June the IDF made the following announcement to Gaza residents, distributed through pamphlets and broadcasted through other means:

To the civilians of the area: The IDF extends its operations to all areas of the Gaza Strip, and therefore conducts military activities in your area, for the time period that is required. The operations will be launched in order to locate the site in which the kidnapped soldier, Gilad Shalit, is being held, to rescue him, and to continue to defend the citizens of Israel. For your own safety and due to our intent to prevent injuring citizens who are not involved in activities against our forces, you must avoid being on any premises in which the IDF is operating and be attentive to the IDF's instructions. Anyone who interrupts IDF forces activities, conducted in order to complete the mission to bring the kidnapped soldier home safely, will be in danger.^{[59](bold in the original)}

[edit] Concern for potential humanitarian crisis

Early on, all border crossings in and out of Gaza were shut. Gas stations predicted petrol supplies would run out by sundown Thursday as companies rely on generators.^[60]

On June 29, Álvaro de Soto, United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and the Secretary-General's Special Representative to the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority, said that fuel in Gaza would run out in two to three days, which would result in the collapse of the sewage system. Senior UN officials estimated that Gaza has two weeks of food supply left.^[42]

UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland said, "No one can hide from us what they’re doing, neither the Palestinian nor the Israeli side. We are appalled by seeing how they're playing with the future of defenseless civilians, including children," and warned that Gaza was three days away (as of 29 June) from a humanitarian crisis.^[61]

It was predicted that all 22 Gaza hospitals would lose electricity from spare generators within one week due to the shortage of fuel and an average of 200 daily surgeries would be postponed or cancelled. There were fears that about 250 citizens suffering renal failure would face death due to the lack of electricity to run dialysis units.^[62]

On Sunday July 2, Israel reopened Gaza's main cargo crossing — the Karni crossing, allowing 50 trucks with food, medical supplies and fuel, to travel from Israel to Gaza. Other trucks carrying fuel entered northeastern Gaza through the Nahal Oz border crossing.^[63] The next day, however, citing a security threat, Israel once again closed the Karni crossing.^[64]

On July 14, 2006, Hundreds crossed the Gaza-Egypt border, into the Gaza strip from Egypt, after Palestinians blew a hole in the wall separating Gaza and Egypt.^[65]

On July 20, Paul Hunt, the UN Human Rights Council's Special Rapporteur on the Right to the Highest Attainable Standard of Health has claimed that some Israeli attacks on Gaza constitute a violation of international humanitarian law, and called for an independent inquiry into war crimes in Gaza by Israel.^[66] Hunt stated that "The destruction of Gaza's electricity power station is profoundly inconsistent with the health and safety of all civilians living in Gaza, especially the young, sick, infirm and elderly, as well as their right to the highest attainable standard of health, enshrined in the International Bill of Rights and other international human rights instruments."^[67]

On July 24, Israel partially re-opened the Karni corssing. PNA sources reported that the Raffah crossing might also be re-opened in the next two days.^[68] Over one month later, on August 25, for the first time in the two months since the conflict began, Israel opened the Rafah crossing for twenty four hours, with 2,500 people entering Gaza and 1,500 exiting.^[69]

[edit] Casualties

Main article: 2006 Israel-Gaza conflict casualties timeline

• 5 Israeli soldiers have been killed during the conflict, including two in the initial Palestinian cross-border attack, and one in a friendly fire incident. A total number of six Israeli civilians were killed and nearly 40 wounded; in the midst of this conflict, an Israeli Arab man visiting the Gaza Strip was kidnapped and his wife was shot in the foot (however this may have been related to family feuds).

• Of the 402 confirmed Palestinian deaths in the conflict approximately 280 were militants of various factions mostly Hamas. The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the armed branch of Hamas, confirmed that 124 of their fighters were killed, as of November 25. [3] The non-combatants killed are mostly made up those caught in the crossfire or during the course of a targeted killing. Some Israeli raids targeting militants have resulted in the deaths of bystanders or passersbys. Palestinian ambulance workers said that Israeli troops sometimes fire at them, preventing ambulances from reaching casualties. This is because, as the Israeli army claims, that Palestinian militants have used ambulances to attack them.^[70][71] Other civilians have died between gun battles of Palestinian gunmen and Israeli troops. Note that many Palestinian militants operate from houses and although most are abandoned, in some cases family members refuse to flee their homes and when attacked some are wounded if not killed. Many Palestinians killed do not have their status identified as militant, civilian or other, thus each number of casualties is not easily determined.

• At least six Palestinian policemen and two Presidential Guards have been killed in clashes with Israeli forces.

[edit] Ceasefire

As of December 26, 2006, over 60 Qassams have hit Israel since the declared cease-fire on November 26.^[72] However, in early April, Israeli troops killed a militant and launched a several missiles inside Gaza. Also, the Cabinet allowed IDF forces to launch limited raids.^{[citation needed]}

A senior member of Hamas said that the group agreed to a cease-fire with Israel “because we need a period of calm to recuperate,” the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported. “This lull in fighting will not bring us to speak about peace,” Abu Abdullah said.

Palestinian Authority (PA) Foreign Minister Mahmoud al-Zahar declared to Palestinian students at the Islamic University of Gaza that a cease-fire with Israel is merely a step on the way to the destruction of the Jewish state. “We as Muslims are the owners of this land and we shall not give up a single handful of Palestinian soil,” al-Zahar said. PA Deputy Minister for Religious Affairs Salah Alrakab echoed al-Zahar, saying that Islam forbids signing a peace agreement with Jews. “The conflict with the Jews is a religious, existential struggle and is not a conflict over borders,” Alrakab said. “Liberation of the land will be accomplished only by jihad.”^[73][74]

Recently in late March, and into early April, Israeli forces have carried out raids in Gaza. On April 21, 2007, Palestinian militants launched three rockets into Israel after raids in the West Bank that killed 5 Palestinians, 3 of whom were miltants. Israel responded with an airstrike that killed one suspected militant.[4]

In the month of May, Palestinian resistance fighters resumed their shelling of Israeli towns launching over 70 missiles in three days up to the 17th. So far today, 21 missiles have been launched at Sderot, a small town in Israel^[75]

[edit] Reaction

[edit] Involved parties

• Hamas (military wing) - The military wing of Hamas urged Palestinians to rise up, and stated "fight your enemies, who came to their deaths. Grab your rifles and resist".^[76] On July 6, 2006, PA Interior Minister Said Siyyam of Hamas issued the Palestinian government's first, official call to arms since Israeli ground forces invaded Gaza, appealing on Thursday to all security forces to fulfill their "religious and moral duty to stand up to this aggression and cowardly Zionist invasion." The majority of PA security forces are loyal to Fatah, which opposes Hamas.

• Israel - David Siegel, spokesman for the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C. said that "Israel did everything it could in exhausting all diplomatic options and gave Mahmoud Abbas the opportunity to return the kidnapped Israeli... This operation can be terminated immediately, conditioned on the release of Gilad Shalit."^[77] In describing Israel's assault on Gaza, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said, "I take personal responsibility for what is happening in Gaza. I want no one to sleep at night in Gaza. I want them to know what it feels like."^[78]

• Fatah - Mahmoud Abbas condemned the attacks on the bridges and power plant saying that "attacking civil infrastructure [is] a collective punishment against [the] Palestinian people and a humanitarian crime".^[79]

[edit] International organizations

• Amnesty International - The organization characterized the deliberate attacks by Israeli forces against civilian property and infrastructure in the Gaza Strip as "war crimes,"^[80] and called for "an end to the wanton destruction and collective punishment being carried out by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip." A statement further observed that “destruction of three bridges and electricity networks [...] have left half the population of the Gaza Strip without electricity and have reportedly also adversely affected the supply of water.”^[81] Amnesty International also stated "The hostage-taking of Corporal Gilad Shalit, and the killing of Eliyahu Asheri, the 18 year old settler, by Palestinian armed groups violate fundamental principles of international law. Corporal Gilad Shalit should be released immediately and unharmed".^[80]

• Arab League - Its spokesman Alaa Rushdy said that the operations were "part of aggressive Israeli policies directed against the Palestinian people, whether it be through destruction or the killing of civilians".^[82]

• European Union -The External Relations Commissioner, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, said that "Both sides need to step back from the brink before this becomes a crisis that neither can control."^[83]

• United Nations - On July 6, 2006, The United Nations Human Rights Council passed a resolution deploring Israel's military operations in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip as a violation of international law. Passed by a vote of 29 - 11, with 5 abstentions, the resolution, "urges all concerned parties to respect the rules of international humanitarian law, to refrain from violence against the civilian population and to treat under all circumstances all detained combatants and civilians in accordance with the Geneva Conventions." "Deep concern" was expressed over the "arbitrary arrest of Palestinian (Cabinet) ministers, members of the Palestinian Legislative Council and other officials as well as the arbitrary arrests of other civilians" and military attacks."^[84] On July 13, 2006, The United States vetoed a U.N. resolution condemning this military operation.^[85]

[edit] Other countries

•  China - Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu expressed concern over the worsening humanitarian crisis, calling on Israel to "cease the military actions immediately" and for Palestinian authorities to help release the hostage as soon as possible.^[86]
•  Russia - Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov called for the unconditional release of Shalit while urging Israel to show restraint. "Such restraint, together with the involvement of the international community, can lead to dialogue restarting and the two sides can go back to implementing the 'Road Map'".^[87]
•  Sweden - "Israel has committed an indefensible act," the Swedish TT news agency quoted Swedish Prime Minister Göran Persson as saying. "It is disproportionate in terms of what the Palestinians have done," Persson said. "To go like that and remove part of a government and members of parliament is incompatible with international law." Persson cast doubt on the possibility of an exchange of prisoners. The situation "keeps getting worse and the dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians has now become virtually impossible. It is ominous," he said.^[88][89]
•  Switzerland - "A number of actions by the Israeli defense forces in their offensive against the Gaza Strip have violated the principle of proportionality and are to be seen as forms of collective punishment, which is forbidden," the Swiss Foreign Ministry said in a statement. "There is no doubt that [Israel] has not taken the precautions required of it in international law to protect the civilian population and infrastructure," Switzerland said.^[90] Switzerland also called for the "rapid release" of the captive Israeli soldier.^[91]
• Syria - A Syrian official stated "These aggressive operations form a provocation and are unjustified. If their goal is to place responsibility for the kidnapping of the Israeli soldier on the political leadership of Hamas – then Israel is making a scandalous mistake that is crossing the boundaries of logic."^[92]
•  United States - White House Press Secretary Tony Snow said that "Israel has the right to defend itself and the lives of its citizens... [But] in any actions the government of Israel may undertake, the United States urges that it ensures that innocent civilians are not harmed and also that it avoid the unnecessary destruction of property and infrastructure."^[93] The United States vetoed a U.N. resolution condemning this military operation.^[94]

[edit] See also

• 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict
• Timeline up to 2006 Gaza crisis
• 2004 Israel-Gaza conflict
• 2006 Israel-Gaza conflict casualties timeline
• 2007–2008 Israel-Gaza conflict
• 2008 Israel-Gaza conflict
• List of Qassam rocket attacks
• Palestinian factional violence
• Gaza Division

[edit] Literature

• Barry Rubin: Israel's New Strategy in: Foreign Affairs, July/August 2006, p. 111-125

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Rashdan, Abdelrahman (2008-04-29), Myths and Facts about Gaza (FAQs) IslamOnline.net
• Focus: Israel and the Palestinians - Al Jazeera
• Mohammed Abu Arar, 23, and Ashraf Al Muasher, 25, Some of the Palestinian leaders responsible for kidnapping killed
• At least 6 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire
• Arabs to lift aid embargo on Palestinians due to deaths of many civilians caused by israeli attacks and UN veto

Wikinews has related news: Israel Defense Forces attack Gaza Strip

• Special: Gaza kidnapping Israeli News - Ynetnews
• Continuing Unrest in Middle East
• www.israel-gaza.com news up dates from the conflict

v • d • e Arab–Israeli conflict v • d • e Participants in the Arab-Israeli conflict Governments Egypt • Iraq • Israel • Jordan • Lebanon • Palestinian National Authority • Saudi Arabia • Syria • Yemen Active organizations Amal • al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades •  Arab League • Arab Liberation Front • Ba'ath Party • Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine • Fatah • Guardians of the Cedars • Hamas • Hezbollah • Jaish al-Islam • Kataeb • Lebanese Forces • Palestinian Islamic Jihad • Palestine Liberation Front • Palestine Liberation Organisation • Palestinian Popular Struggle Front • Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine • Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - General Command • Popular Resistance Committees • as-Saiqa Former South Lebanon Army • Arab Higher Committee • Arab Liberation Army • Holy War Army • Irgun (Etzel) • Lehi • Black Hand • Black September • Mandate of Palestine Other Governments Iran • Norway • Turkey • Russia • United Kingdom • United States Other Organizations European Union • United Nations Former States Soviet Union • United Arab Republic v • d • e Arab-Israeli conflict individual participants Lester B. Pearson • Abd al-Hakim Amer • Hosni Mubarak • Gamal Abdel Nasser • Anwar Sadat • Mahmoud Ahmadinejad • Ali Khamenei • Ruhollah Khomeini • Faisal I • Saddam Hussein • Ehud Barak • Menachem Begin • David Ben-Gurion • Moshe Dayan • Levi Eshkol • Golda Meir • Benjamin Netanyahu • Ehud Olmert • Shimon Peres • Yitzhak Rabin • Yitzhak Shamir • Ariel Sharon • Chaim Weizmann • King Abdullah I • King Abdullah II • King Hussein • Emile Lahoud • Hassan Nasrallah • Fouad Siniora • Mona Juul • Johan Jørgen Holst • Terje Rød-Larsen • Mahmoud Abbas • Yasser Arafat • Marwan Barghouti • George Habash • Ismail Haniya • Amin al-Husayni • Khaled Mashal • Abdel-Aziz al-Rantissi • Ahmed Shukeiri • Ahmed Yassin • King Abdulaziz (Ibn Saud) • King Abdullah • King Fahd • King Faisal • Folke Bernadotte • Hafez al-Assad • Bashar al-Assad • Shukri al-Quwatli • Salah Jadid • Ernest Bevin • Arthur Balfour • Tony Blair • Richard Crossman • Madeleine Albright • Ralph Bunche • George H. W. Bush • George W. Bush • Jimmy Carter • Bill Clinton • Henry Kissinger • Ronald Reagan • Condoleezza Rice • Dennis Ross • Harry S. Truman • Cyrus R. Vance v • d • e Arab-Israeli conflict engagements Before 1948 1920 Palestine riots • 1921 Jaffa riots • 1929 Palestine riots • 1936–1939 Arab revolt • 1947 Jerusalem riots 1948-50 1947–1948 Civil War in Mandate Palestine • 1948 Arab-Israeli War 1950s 1950s terrorism against Israel • 1953 Qibya massacre • 1956 Suez Crisis 1960s 1966 Samu Incident • 1967 Six-Day War • 1968–1970 War of Attrition 1970s 1972 Munich Olympics massacre • 1972 Operation Wrath of God • 1973 Israeli raid on Lebanon • 1973 Yom Kippur War • 1975–1990 Lebanese Civil War • 1976 Operation Entebbe • 1978 South Lebanon conflict 1980s 1981 Operation Opera • 1982 Lebanon War • 1982–2000 South Lebanon conflict • 1985 Operation Wooden Leg • 1987–1990 First Intifada 1990s 1991 Gulf War • 1993 Operation Accountability • 1993-present Palestinian suicide attacks • 1996 Operation Grapes of Wrath 2000s 2000–present Al-Aqsa Intifada • 2002 Operation Defensive Shield • 2003 Ain es Saheb airstrike • 2004 Operation Rainbow • 2004 Operation Days of Penitence • 2006 Israel-Gaza conflict • 2006 Lebanon War • 2007–2008 Israel-Gaza conflict • 2007 Operation Orchard • 2008 Operation Cast Lead v • d • e Diplomacy and Peace proposals in the Arab-Israeli conflict Damascus Protocol • Hussein-McMahon Correspondence • Sykes-Picot Agreement • 1917 Balfour Declaration • Declaration to the Seven • Anglo-French Declaration • 1919 Faisal-Weizmann Agreement • 1920 San Remo conference • 1922 Churchill White Paper • 1939 White Paper • 1947 UN Partition Plan • 1948 Establishment of Israel • 1948 UNGA Resolution 194 • 1949 Armistice Agreements • 1964 Palestinian National Covenant • 1967 Khartoum Resolution • 1967 UNSC Resolution 242 • 1973 UNSC Resolution 338 • 1973 UNSC Resolution 339 • 1974 UNSC Resolution 350 • 1978 UNSC Resolution 425 • 1978 Camp David Accords • 1979 UNSC Resolution 446 • 1979 Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty • 1979 UNSC Resolution 452 • 1980 UNSC Resolution 478 • 1981 UNSC Resolution 497 • 1983 Israel-Lebanon agreement • 1991 Madrid Conference • 1993 Oslo Accords • 1994 Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace • 1998 Wye River Memorandum • 2000 Camp David Summit • 2001 Taba Summit • 2001 UNSC Resolution 1373 • 2002 Beirut Summit and Peace Initiative • 2002 Road map for peace • 2004 UNSC Resolution 1559 • 2004 UNSC Resolution 1566 • 2005 UNSC Resolution 1583 • 2005 Sharm el-Sheikh Summit • 2005 Israel's unilateral disengagement plan • 2006 Palestinian Prisoners' Document • 2006 UNSC Resolution 1701 • 2007 Annapolis Conference

v • d • e Israeli-Palestinian conflict (Part of the Arab-Israeli conflict)
Participants	Individuals	Conflicts / Violence / Terrorism	Diplomacy
Israel: Israel Defense Forces Israel Police Mossad Shabak Palestinians: Main: Palestine Liberation Organisation Palestinian National Authority Fatah Hamas Other: Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades DFLP Palestine Liberation Front Palestinian Islamic Jihad Palestinian Popular Struggle Front PFLP PFLP-GC Popular Resistance Committees Influence: Arab League British Mandate of Palestine (1920–48) Egypt European Union Germany France Hezbollah Iran Iraq Jordan Lebanon Libya Muslim Brotherhood Al-Qaeda Russia Saudi Arabia Syria Tunisia United Kingdom United Nations United States Yemen	Moshe Arens Ami Ayalon Ehud Barak Menachem Begin Meir Dagan Avi Dichter Yuval Diskin David Ben-Gurion Ephraim Halevy Dan Halutz Golda Meir Shaul Mofaz Yitzhak Mordechai Benjamin Netanyahu Ehud Olmert Shimon Peres Yaakov Peri Yitzhak Rabin Amnon Lipkin-Shahak Yitzhak Shamir Ariel Sharon Shabtai Shavit Moshe Ya'alon Danny Yatom Zvi Zamir Tzipi Livni Abu Abbas Mahmoud Abbas Moussa Arafat Yasser Arafat Yahya Ayyash Marwan Barghouti Mohammed Dahlan Mohammed Deif George Habash Wadie Haddad Ismail Haniya Nayef Hawatmeh Amin al-Husayni Ghazi Jabali Ahmed Jibril Abu Jihad Salah Khalaf Leila Khaled Sheikh Khalil Khaled Mashal Zuheir Mohsen Abu Ali Mustafa Abu Nidal Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Jibril Rajoub Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi Ali Hassan Salameh Salah Shahade Ramadan Shallah Fathi Shaqaqi Ahmed Yassin	1920 Palestine riots 1921 Jaffa riots 1929 Palestine riots 1929 Hebron massacre 1936–1939 Arab revolt 1930s Irgun attacks 1947 Jerusalem riots 1948 Arab-Israeli War · 1948 war massacres · 1948 Deir Yassin massacre · 1948 Hadassah medical convoy massacre · 1948 Palestinian exodus 1948-1967 Jewish exodus from Arab lands 1948-1967 Terrorist attacks against Israel 1953-1955 Unit 101 1966 Samu Incident 1967 Six-Day War 1968 Battle of Karameh 1969-1970 War of Attrition 1970 Avivim school bus massacre 1972 Munich Olympics massacre · 1972 Operation Wrath of God · 1973 Israeli raid on Lebanon 1973 Yom Kippur War 1974 Kiryat Shmona massacre 1974 Maalot massacre 1975 Savoy Hotel attack 1975 Zion Square bombing 1976 Operation Entebbe 1978 Coastal Road massacre 1978 South Lebanon conflict 1980 Misgav Am attack 1982 Lebanon War · 1982 Siege of Beirut · 1982 Sabra and Shatila massacre 1984 Bus 300 hijacking 1985 Operation Wooden Leg 1987 Night of the Gliders 1987–1990 Intifada · 1988 Tunis Raid · 1989 Bus 405 attack Palestinian Islamic Jihad suicide attacks Hamas suicide attacks 1994 Cave of the Patriarchs massacre 1996 Bus 18 suicide bombings 2000–2006 Al-Aqsa Intifada · Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade suicide attacks · Massacres during Al-Aqsa Intifada · Assassinations during Al-Aqsa Intifada · 2001 Dolphinarium discotheque suicide bombing · 2001 Sbarro restaurant suicide bombing · 2002 Passover suicide bombing · 2002 Egged bus 841 suicide bombing · 2002 Operation Defensive Shield · 2002 Battle of Jenin · 2003 Bus 2 suicide bombing · 2003 Maxim restaurant suicide bombing · 2004 Israel-Gaza conflict · Operation Rainbow · Operation Days of Penitence · 2006 Israel-Gaza conflict · Beit Hanoun November 2006 incident 2006-2007 Fatah-Hamas conflict 2007–2008 Israel-Gaza conflict · Operation Warm Winter · 2008 Mercaz HaRav massacre · 2008 Jerusalem bulldozer attack 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict	Hussein-McMahon Correspondence Sykes-Picot Agreement Balfour Declaration UN Partition Plan Resolution 181 Israeli Declaration of Independence UN Resolution 194 UN Resolution 242 Palestinian Declaration of Independence 1991 Madrid Conference 1993 Oslo Accords 1997 Hebron Agreement 1998 Wye River Memorandum 1999 Sharm el-Sheikh Memorandum 2000 Camp David Summit 2001 Taba Summit 2002 Road map for peace 2005 Israel's unilateral disengagement plan 2007 Annapolis Conference