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Palestinian political violence refers to acts of violence or terrorism committed byPalestinians with the intent to accomplish political goals in the context of theIsraeli–Palestinian conflict. Common objectives of political violence by Palestinian groups include self-determination in, sovereignty over theregion of Palestine, and seeking theone-state solution,[1][2] or the recognition of aPalestinian state. This includes the objective of ending theIsraeli occupation. Goals also include the release ofPalestinian prisoners held byIsrael and recognition of thePalestinian right of return.[3][4][5][6][7]
Palestinian groups that have been involved in politically motivated violence include thePalestine Liberation Organization (PLO),Fatah, thePopular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), thePopular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command (PFLP-GC), theDemocratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, theAbu Nidal Organization, thePalestinian Islamic Jihad, andHamas.[8] Several of these groups are consideredterrorist organizations by the governments of theUnited States,[9]Canada,[10] theUnited Kingdom,[11]Japan,[12]New Zealand[13] and theEuropean Union.[14][15]
Attacks have taken place both within Israel andPalestine as well as internationally. They have been directed at both military targets and civilians of many countries. Tactics have included hostage taking, plane hijacking, boat hijacking,stone throwing,improvised explosive device, knife attacks, shooting sprees, attacks with vehicles, car bombs and assassinations. In the 1990s, groups seeking to stop Israeli-Palestinian negotiations began adoptingsuicide bombings, predominantly targeting civilians, which later peaked during theSecond Intifada. In recent decades, violence has also includedrocket attacks on Israeli urban centers. TheOctober 7 attacks resulted in massacres andhostage-taking.
Suicide bombings constituted 0.5% of Palestinian attacks against Israelis in the first two years of theSecond Intifada; though this percentage accounted for half of the Israelis killed in that period.[16] As of 2022,[update] a majority of Palestinians, 59%, believe armed attacks against Israelis inside Israel are an effective measure to end the occupation, with 56% supporting them.[17]
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In protest against the 1917Balfour Declaration, which proposed a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine, both Muslim and Christian Palestinians began to organize in opposition toZionism. By the end ofOttoman rule, the Jewish population of Palestine was 56,000[18] or one-sixth of the total population.[19] Hostility to Jewish immigration led to numerous incidents such as the1920 Nebi Musa riots, the 1921Jaffa riots, the1929 Palestine riots and the1936–39 Arab revolt in Palestine. The Arab revolt was suppressed by British security forces and led to the deaths of approximately 5,000 Palestinians. After the passing of theUnited Nations Partition Plan for Palestine in 1947 which called for the establishment of independent Arab andJewish States, the1947–48 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine broke out. Following theIsraeli Declaration of Independence on May 15, 1948, the1948 Arab–Israeli War began, involving intervention by neighboring Arab states. Casualties included 6,000 Israelis and, according to the 1958 survey byArif al-Arif, 13,000 Palestinians.[20] Additionally some 750,000 Palestinians were expelled or fled during theNakba subsequently becomingrefugees.[21]
In theSix-Day War, a further280,000–360,000 Palestinians became refugees, theWest Bank includingJerusalem was captured and occupied from Jordan andGaza wasoccupied from Egypt. Theseoccupied Palestinian territories later began to be settled byJewish and Israeli settlers, while the Palestinians were placed underIsraeli military administration. Historically, Palestinian militancy was fragmented into several groups. ThePalestine Liberation Organization led, and eventually united, most factions, while conducting military campaigns, varying from airplane hijackings, militant operations, and civil protest. In 1987, theFirst Intifada, a revolt of predominantly civil resistance, broke out. It led to theMadrid Conference of 1991, and subsequently to theOslo I Accord. Oslo I produced an interim understanding allowing the newPalestinian National Authority to exerciselimited autonomy in 3%, later 17%, of theWest Bank, and parts of theGaza Strip, which were not used or designated for Israeli settlement. Unsatisfied with concessions, Islamist organizations such as Hamas andPalestinian Islamic Jihad adopted the usage ofsuicide bombings,[22][23] predominantly against Israeli civilians.[24] Frustration over the perceived failure of the peace talks to yield aPalestinian state[25] led to the outbreak of theSecond Intifada from September 2000 until 2005, coincident withIsrael's unilateral disengagement plan[citation needed]. The rise ofHamas, the use ofPalestinian rocketry andIsrael's control of Gaza's borders, has led to further chronic violence, culminating in a further two conflicts, theGaza War of 2008–09 andOperation Pillar of Defense in 2012.[citation needed]
Since 1967, some reports[which?] estimate that some 40% of the male population of theWest Bank andGaza Strip have been arrested or detained in Israeli prisons for political or military reasons.[26]
Following theBalfour Declaration in November 1917 which encouraged Jewish migrants to settle in Palestine, violence against the Jews increased in the region. At this time Arabs were the majority, both geographically and demographically compared to the Jewish population. The majority of Arab Palestinians were distributed throughout the highlands ofJudea,Samaria andGalilee whereas the Jewish population was scattered in small towns and rural communities. Arabs hostile to the Jewish population adopted a "war of attrition" tactic which was advantageous to the more numerous Arab community.[27]
Many of the deaths were inflicted during short time spans and in a few locations. On a day in April 1920, about 216 Jews were wounded or killed inJerusalem. By May 1921, around 40Jews were killed or wounded per day. In August 1929 that number had risen to 80 per day. During the 1929 riots, one percent of the Jewish population of Jerusalem were wounded or killed, in Safed 2 percent, and inHebron 12 percent.[27] During the 1920–1929 attacks onJews were organized by local groups and encouraged by local religious leaders. As the Jewish community did not count on the British authorities to protect them, they formed theHaganah which were predominantly defensive in the 1920s.[27] During theArab Revolt in the 1936–1939 period, violence was coordinated and organized by theGrand Mufti of Jerusalem and was directed against both Jews and the British. Due to the rising level of Arab violence, theHaganah started to pursue an offensive strategy.[27]
Throughout the period 1949–56 the Egyptian government opposed the movement of refugees from the Gaza strip into Israel, but following the IDF's Gaza Raid on February 28, 1955, the Egyptian authorities facilitated militant infiltration but still continued to oppose civilian infiltration.[28]
Around 400Palestinian insurgents were killed by Israeli Security Forces each year in 1951, 1952 and 1953; a similar number and probably far more were killed in 1950. In 1949, 1,000 or more Palestinians were killed. At least 100 Palestinians were killed during 1954–1956. In total upward of 2,700 and possibly as many as 5,000 were killed by the IDF, police, and civilians along Israel's borders between 1949 and 1956. Most of the people in question were refugees attempting to return to their homes, take back possessions that had been left behind during the war and to gather crops from their former fields and orchards inside the new Israeli state.[29] Meron Benivasti states that the fact that the "infiltrators" were for the most part former inhabitants of the land returning for personal, economic and sentimental reasons was suppressed in Israel as it was feared that this may lead to an understanding of their motives and to the justification of their actions.[29]
After Israel'sOperation Black Arrow in 1955, in response to massacres in the city ofRehovot, thePalestinian fedayeen were incorporated into an Egyptian unit.[30]John Bagot Glubb, a British general who commanded theArab Legion, claimed in his 1957 autobiographyA Soldier with the Arabs that he convinced the Legion to arm and train the fedayeen for free.[31] Between 1951 and 1956, 400 Israelis were killed and 900 wounded by fedayeen attacks.[32][33]
ThePalestine Liberation Organization was founded in 1964. At its first convention inCairo, hundreds of Palestinians met to "call for the right of self-determination and the upholding of the rights of the Palestinian nation".[34] To achieve these goals, a Palestinian army of liberation was thought to be essential; thus, thePalestinian Liberation Army was established with the support of the Arab states.[34]Fatah, a Palestinian group founded in the late 1950s to organize the armed resistance against Israel, and headed byYasser Arafat, soon rose to prominence within the PLO. The PLO charter called for "an end to the State of Israel, a return of Palestinians to their homeland, and the establishment of a single democratic state throughout Palestine".[35]
Our basic aim is to liberate the land from the Mediterranean Seas to the Jordan River. We are not concerned with what took place in June 1967 or in eliminating the consequences of the June War. The Palestinian revolution's basic concern is the uprooting of the Zionist entity from our land and liberating it.
— Yasser Arafat, 1970[36]
Due to Israel's defeat of Arab armies in theSix-Day War, the Palestinian leadership came to the conclusion that the Arab world was unable to challenge Israel militarily in open warfare. Simultaneously, the Palestinians drew lessons from movements and uprisings in Latin America, North Africa and Southeast Asia which led them to move away from guerilla warfare in rural areas and towards terrorist attacks in urban environments with an international reach. This led to a series of aircraft hijackings, bombings and kidnappings which culminated in thekillings of Israeli athletes during the 1972 Munich Olympic Games. The military superiority of Israel led Palestinian fighters to employ guerrilla tactics from bases in Jordan and Lebanon.[35]
In the wake of theSix-Day War, confrontations between Palestinian guerrillas in Jordan and government forces became a major problem within the kingdom. By early 1970, at least seven Palestinian guerrilla organizations were active in Jordan, one of the most important being thePopular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) led byGeorge Habash. Based in the Jordanian refugee camps, the fedayeen developed a virtual state within a state, receiving funds and arms from both the Arab states and Eastern Europe and openly flouting the law of the country. The guerrillas initially focused on attacking Israel, but by late 1968, the main fedayeen activities in Jordan appeared to shift to attempts to overthrow the Jordanian monarchy.[38]
Various clashes between the fedayeen and the army occurred between the years 1968–1970. The situation climaxed in September 1970, when several attempts to assassinateKing Hussein failed. On September 7, 1970, in the series ofDawson's Field hijackings, three planes were hijacked byPFLP: aSwissAir and aTWA that were landed inAzraq area and aPan Am that was landed inCairo. Then on September 9, aBOAC flight from Bahrain was also hijacked toZarqa. The PFLP announced that the hijackings were intended "to pay special attention to the Palestinian problem". After all hostages were removed, the planes were dramatically blown up in front of TV cameras.
A bitterly fought 10-day civil war known asBlack September ensued, drawing involvement bySyria andIraq, and sparking troop movements by Israel and theUnited States Navy. The number of people killed on all sides were estimated as high as 3,500,[38] other sources claiming it to be as high as 20,000.
Battles between Palestinian guerrilla forces and the Jordanian army continued during the closing months of 1970 and the first six months of 1971. In November 1971, members of the PalestinianBlack September group, who took their name from the civil war, assassinated Jordanian Prime MinisterWasfi al-Tal inCairo. In December the group made an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate the Jordanian ambassador in Britain.[38]
In the aftermath of Black September in Jordan, many Palestinians arrived inLebanon, among them Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). In the early 1970s their presence exacerbated an already tense situation in Lebanon, and in 1975 theLebanese Civil War broke out. Beginning with street fighting inBeirut between ChristianPhalangists and Palestinian militiamen, the war quickly deteriorated into a conflict between two loosely defined factions: the side wishing to preserve the status quo, consisting primarily ofMaronite militias, and the side seeking change, which included a variety of militias from leftist organizations and guerrillas from rejectionist Palestinian (nonmainstream PLO) organizations. The Lebanese civil war lasted until 1990 and resulted in an estimated 130,000 to 250,000 civilian fatalities and one million wounded.[citation needed]
After Black September, the PLO and its offshoots waged an international campaign against Israelis. Notable events were theMunich Olympics massacre (1972), the hijacking of several civilian airliners (some were thwarted, see for example:Entebbe Operation), theSavoy Hotel attack, theZion Square explosive refrigerator and theCoastal Road massacre. During the 1970s and the early 1980s, Israel suffered attacks from PLO bases in Lebanon, such as theAvivim school bus massacre in 1970, theMaalot massacre in 1974 (where Palestinian militants massacred 21 school children) and theNahariya attack led bySamir Kuntar in 1979, as well as a terrorist bombing by Ziad Abu Ein that killed two Israeli 16-year-olds and left 36 other youths wounded during theLag BaOmer celebration in Tiberias.[39][40] Following the1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon, called "Operation Peace for Galilee" by the IDF, and the exile of the PLO toTunis, Israel had a relatively quiet decade.[citation needed]
TheFirst Intifada was characterized more by grassroots and non-violent political actions from among the population in theIsraeli occupiedPalestinian territories.[41] A total of 160 Israelis and 2,162 Palestinians were killed, including 1,000 Palestinians killed by other Palestinians under the accusation of being collaborators.[42] The Intifada lasted five years and ended with the signing of theOslo Accords.[43] The strategy of non-violence, though widespread among Palestinians, was not always adhered to, and there were youth who threwmolotov cocktails and stones, with such violence generally directed against Israeli soldiers and settlers.[44]
There were two attacks that represented new developments in terms of political violence inside Israel in this period. The firstPalestinian suicide attack took place on July 6, 1989, when a member of thePalestinian Islamic Jihad boarded theTel Aviv Jerusalem bus 405. He walked up to the driver and pulled the wheel to the right, driving the vehicle into a ravine, killing 16 people.[45] The end of the intifada also saw the first use ofsuicide bombing as a tactic by Palestinian militants. On April 16, 1993,Hamas carried out theMehola Junction bombing, in which operative Saher Tamam al-Nabulsi detonated his explosives-laden car between two buses. One person, a Palestinian, other than the attacker was killed, and 21 were wounded.[46]
During this period, theAbu Nidal Organization became subsumed by infighting andmass executed hundreds of its members and their families during 1987–1988. The number of executed is estimated at 600 people, mostly Palestinians, across several separate locations in Syria, Lebanon and Libya.[47]
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The years between the intifadas were marked by intense diplomatic activity between Israel and Palestinians, who were represented by the PLO. This led to the signing of theOslo Accords and the creation of thePalestinian National Authority. In response, Islamist organizations such asHamas and thePalestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) adopted the tactic of suicide bombings, influenced by Lebanese groups, to derail the peace process, weaken the PLO and polarize Israeli politics.[22][23]
In this period, suicide bombings of Israeli buses and crowded spaces became a regular tactic, particularly by Hamas and Islamic Jihad.[citation needed] Attacks during this period include theBeit Lid massacre, a double-suicide bombing at a crowded junction that killed 21 people and theDizengoff Center massacre, a suicide bombing outside a Tel Aviv shopping mall that killed 13 people.
The Second Intifada (2000–2005) witnessed a significant increase in Palestinian political violence, including manysuicide bombings, which predominantly targeted Israeli civilians.[24] According toB'Tselem, as of July 10, 2005, over 400 members of the Israeli Security forces, and 821 Israeli civilians have been killed by Palestinians since the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993, 553 of whom were killed within the1949 Armistice lines, mainly by suicide bombings. Targets of attacks included buses,Israeli checkpoint, restaurants, discothèques, shopping malls, a university, and civilian homes.[48][49][50]
In October 2000, aPalestinianmob lynched two non-combatantIsrael Defense Forcesreservists, Vadim Nurzhitz (sometimes spelled as Norzhich) and Yossi Avrahami (or Yosef Avrahami),[51] who had accidentally entered thePalestinian Authority-controlled city ofRamallah in theWest Bank. The brutality of the event, captured in a photo of a Palestinian rioter proudly waving his blood-stained hands to the crowd below, sparked international outrage and further intensified the ongoing conflict between Israeli and Palestinian forces.[52][53][54]
A spate of suicide bombings and attacks, aimed mostly at civilians (such as theDolphinarium discotheque suicide bombing), was launched against Israel and elicited a military response. A suicide bombing dubbed thePassover Massacre (30 Israeli civilians were killed at Park hotel,Netanya) climaxed a bloody month of March 2002, in which more than 130 Israelis, mostly civilians, were killed in attacks. Israel launchedOperation Defensive Shield. The operation led to the apprehension of many members of militant groups, as well as their weaponry and equipment. 497 Palestinians and 30 Israelis were killed during Operation Defensive Shield.[55]
In 2004, 31 people were killed and 159 others were wounded in a simultaneous attack against multiple tourist destinations in Egypt.[56] Of the dead, 15 wereEgyptians, 12 were from Israel, two from Italy, one from Russia, and one was an Israeli-American. According to the Egyptian government, the bombers werePalestinians led by Iyad Saleh, who had tried to enter Israel to carry out attacks there but were unsuccessful.[57]
In the mid-2000s,Hamas started putting greater emphasis on its political characteristics and strengthened its popularity amongst Palestinians. In2006 Palestinian legislative elections Hamas won a majority in thePalestinian Legislative Council, prompting the United States and many European countries to cut off all funds to Hamas and thePalestinian Authority,[58] insisting that Hamas must recognize Israel, renounce violence and accept previous peace pacts.[59]
After theIsrael's unilateral disengagement plan in 2005 and the2006 Palestinian legislative elections, Hamastook control over all the Gaza Strip in June 2007 in a bloody coup. Palestinian militant groups in the Gaza strip increased the firing ofQassam rockets,mortars andGrad missiles on southern Israel. Attacks continued outside the Gaza Strip perimeter, including the attack that resulted in the Israeli soldierGilad Shalit being captured and held in the Gaza Strip for over five years.
Hamas has made use of guerrilla tactics in the Gaza Strip and to a lesser degree the West Bank.[60] Hamas has adapted these techniques over the years since its inception. According to a 2006 report by rival Fatah party, Hamas had smuggled "between several hundred and 1,300 tons" of advanced rockets, along with other weaponry, into Gaza. Some Israelis and some Gazans both noted similarities in Hamas's military buildup to that ofHezbollah in the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war.[60]
Hamas has usedIEDs andanti-tank rockets against theIDF in Gaza. The latter include standardRPG-7 warheads and home-made rockets such as theAl-Bana, Al-Batar and Al-Yasin. The IDF has a difficult, if not impossible time trying to find hidden weapons caches in Palestinian areas – this is due to the high local support base Hamas enjoys.[61]
During theGaza War (2008–09), Palestinian militant groups fired rockets aimed at civilian targets which struck the cities of Ashdod, Beersheba and Gedera. The military wing of Hamas said that after a week from the start, it had managed to fire 302 rockets, at an average of 44 rockets daily. 102 rockets and 35 mortars were fired by Fatah at Israel. Over 750 rockets and mortars were fired from Gaza into Israel during the conflict wounded 182 civilians, killing 3 people, and causing minor suffering to another 584 people suffering from shock and anxiety. Several rockets landed in schools and one fell close to a kindergarten, all located in residential areas. The UN fact finding mission stated that this constituted a deliberate attack against the civilian population and was unjustifiable in international law.[62][63][64]
In 2012, terror attacks against Israelis in the West Bank increased compared to 2011. The number of terror attacks in the West Bank increased from 320 in 2011 to 578 in 2012.[65] The attacks mainly involved rock throwing,Molotov cocktails, firearms and explosives.[65]
In 2013, Hamas stated that the "kidnapping of IDF soldiers to trade for Palestinian prisoners is at the heart of Palestinian culture".[66]
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On October 7, 2023, Hamas andother Palestinian factions launchedan attack, breaching theGaza–Israel barrier. For months prior to the attack, Hamas had been leading Israeli intelligence to believe that they were not seeking conflict.[67] Hamas fighters proceeded to massacre hundreds of civilians ata music festival and inkibbutz Be'eri and takehostages in Southern Israel back to the Gaza Strip. In total,1,139 civilians, IDF soldiers and foreign nationals were killed in Israel, making this the deadliest attack by Hamas militants since the foundation of Israel in 1948.[68] The Hamas-led attack marked the beginning of the ongoingGaza war.
In 2011, Israeli PM Benyamin Netanyahu stated that the incitement promulgated by the Palestinian Authority was destroying Israel's confidence, and he condemned what he regarded as the glorification of the murderers of theFogel family in Itamar on PA television. The perpetrator of the murders had been described as a "hero" and a "legend" by members of his family, during a weekly program.[69][70]
Isi Leibler wrote in the Jerusalem Post that Mahmoud Abbas and his chief negotiator Saeb Erekat deny Israel's right to exist and promote vicious hatred against Jews, in statements made in Arabic. He claimed that the state-controlled Palestinian media praised the murders committed by Palestinians. Abbas al-Sayed who perpetrated the Passover suicide attack at the Park Hotel in Netanya which killed 30 civilians was described by Abbas as a "hero" and "symbol of the Palestinian Authority".[71]
Following theItamar massacre and a bombing in Jerusalem, 27 US senators sent a letter requesting the US Secretary of State to identify the administration's steps to end Palestinian incitement to violence against Jews and Israel that they said was occurring within the "Palestinian media, mosques and schools, and even by individuals or institutions affiliated with the Palestinian Authority".[72]
The United Nations bodyUNESCO stopped funding a children's magazine sponsored by the Palestinian Authority that commended Hitler's killing of Jews. It deplored this publication as contrary to its principles of building tolerance and respect for human rights and human dignity.[73]
Palestinian Media Watch reported that the Palestinian Authority spent more than $5 million a month paying salaries to Palestinians and Israeli Arabs imprisoned in Israel for terror crimes. They also stated that groups in a summer camp for children sponsored by PA Prime MinisterSalam Fayyad were named after militants: Dalal Mughrabi, who led theCoastal Road Massacre; Salah Khalaf, head of Black September that carried out theMunich massacre; and Abu Ali Mustafa, the general secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine who perpetrated many attacks.Saddam Hussein, the leader ofIraq, donated $25,000 to the families of suicide bombers, and $10,000 to the families of Palestinian civilians killed by the Israeli military.[74][75]
After Israel agreed to hand over the bodies of dead Palestinian suicide bombers and other militants as part of what the Israeli Government described as 'a humanitarian gesture' to PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas to help the peace process, the Palestinian Authority planned a national rally to honour them and to provide full military funerals. The bodies included the suicide bombers that perpetrated thebus bombing in Jerusalem's Shmuel Hanavi neighborhood which killed twenty-three people, many of them children, and the attacker in theCafe Hillel bombing. Israel will also return the remains of the bombers that committed the bombings ontwo buses in Beersheba in 2004 killing 16 people, theStage night club bombing, the attack on the open-airHadera market as well as the attackers of theSavoy Hotel in Tel Aviv who killed eight hostages. The Palestinian Authority andHamas both planned official ceremonies and PA president Abbas attended a ceremony at his Muqataa compound. Prisoners Affairs Minister Qaraqi called on Palestinians for a day of celebration. The rally in honor of the dead will be attended by PA President Mahmoud Abbas, PLO leaders, and families of the dead militants. The dead are considered martyrs by Palestinians, but viewed as terrorists by Israelis.[76][77][78]
Palestinian PresidentMahmoud Abbas has been accused of incitement to violence, on the basis of a statement he made concerning youths injured in defending theHaram al Sharif/Temple Mount from what Palestinians have seen as attempts to alter the status quo. He declared in September 2015: "Every drop of blood spilled in Jerusalem is pure, everyshahid will reach paradise, and every injured person will be rewarded by God."[79][80]
In the 1930s, the emergence of organized youth cadres was rooted in the desire to form a youth paramilitary. It was believed that armed youth might bring an end toBritish hegemony in the Middle East. Youth were cajoled into violence by Palestinian political figures and newspapers that glorified violence and death. ThePalestinian Arab Party sponsored the development of storm troops consisting solely of children and youth. A British report from the period stated that "the growing youth and scout movements must be regarded as the most probable factors for the disturbance of the peace".[81]
As a youngster,Yasir Arafat led neighborhood children in marching and drills, beating those who did not obey. In the 1940s, Arafat's father organized a group of militants in Gaza which included Yasir Arafat and his brothers. The leader, Abu Khalid, a mathematics teacher in Gaza, gave Arafat the name Yasir in honor of the militant Yasir al-Bireh.[82]
As part of theArab–Israeli conflict, especially during theSecond Intifada from 2000 to 2005,Palestinian militant groups used children forsuicide bombings. Minors were recruited to attackIsraeli targets, both military and civilian. This deliberate involvement of children in armed conflict was condemned by international human rights organizations.[83][84]
According toAmnesty International: "Palestinian armed groups have repeatedly shown total disregard for the most fundamental human rights, notably the right to life, by deliberately targeting Israeli civilians and by using Palestinian children in armed attacks. Children are susceptible to recruitment by manipulation or may be driven to join armed groups for a variety of reasons, including a desire to avenge relatives or friends killed by the Israeli army."[85]
According to theUnited Nations Secretary-GeneralBan Ki-moon in 2015,[86] Hamas launched rockets from inside schools to use the retaliatory child deaths for propaganda and deter Israel from attacking Gaza.[87] This tactic is called thehuman shield.
Women in particular have increasingly associated political violence with expanded citizenship rights due to the perceived failure of nonmilitaristic tactics to achieve political goals, primary amongst these, the achievement of Palestinian autonomy.[88]
The profile of the female Palestinian suicide bombers has been the subject of study by Katherine VanderKaay, who presented her profiling of the subjects at theAmerican Psychological Association's annual meeting. While the first suicide bombing undertaken by a Palestinian took place in 1994, the firstfemale suicide bomber from among Palestinian society did not emerge until January 2002. The bomber wasWafa Idris, a 28-year-old paramedic and a supporter of secularist parties.[89][90]
According toB'Tselem, the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, 500 Israeli civilians were killed by Palestinians from September 29, 2000, to March 31, 2012, in Israel, and another 254 Israeli civilians were killed in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.[91]
B'tselem reported that the main argument used to justify violence against civilians is that "all means are legitimate in fighting for independence against a foreign occupation". B'Tselem criticized this argument, saying it is completely baseless, and contradicts the fundamental principle ofinternational humanitarian law.
"According to this principle, civilians are to be protected from the consequences of warfare, and any attack must discriminate between civilians and military targets. This principle is part of international customary law; as such, it applies to every state, organization, and person, even those who are not party to any relevant convention."[92]
B'Tselem further noted that Palestinian spokespersons distinguish between attacks inside Israel proper and attacks directed at settlers in theOccupied Territories, stating that since thesettlements are illegal and many settlers belong to Israel's security forces, settlers are not entitled to the international law protections granted to civilians. Human rights group B'tselem rejected this argument, and stated:
"The illegality of the settlements has no effect at all on the status of their civilian residents. The settlers constitute a distinctly civilian population, which is entitled to all the protections granted civilians by international law. The Israeli security forces' use of land in the settlements or the membership of some settlers in the Israeli security forces does not affect the status of the other residents living among them, and certainly does not make them proper targets of attack. B'Tselem strongly opposes the attempts to justify attacks against Israeli civilians by using distorted interpretations of international law. Furthermore, B'Tselem demands that the Palestinian Authority do everything within its power to prevent future attacks and to prosecute the individuals involved in past attacks."[92]
Palestinian rocket and mortar attacks on Israel from theGaza Strip have occurred since 2001. Between 2001 and January 2009, over 8,600 rockets had been launched, leading to 28 deaths and several hundred injuries,[94][95] as well as widespread psychological trauma and disruption of daily life.[96]
The weapons, often generically referred to asQassams, were initially crude and short-range, mainly affecting the Israeli city ofSderot and other communities bordering the Gaza Strip. In 2006, more sophisticated rockets began to be deployed, reaching the larger coastal city ofAshkelon, and by early 2009 major citiesAshdod andBeersheba had been hit byKatyusha andGrad rockets.
Attacks have been carried out by all Palestinian armed groups,[97] and, prior to the 2008–2009Gaza War, were consistently supported by most Palestinians,[98][99][100][101] although the stated goals have been mixed. The attacks, widely condemned for targeting civilians, have been described as terrorism by United Nations,European Union and Israeli officials, and are defined aswar crimes by human rights groupsAmnesty International andHuman Rights Watch.
Defenses constructed specifically to deal with the weapons include fortifications for schools and bus stops as well as an alarm system namedRed Color.Iron Dome, a system to intercept short-range rockets, was developed by Israel and first deployed in the spring of 2011 to protect Beersheba and Ashkelon, but officials and experts warned that it would not be completely effective. Shortly thereafter, it intercepted a Palestinian Grad rocket for the first time.[102]
The attacks were a stated cause of theGaza blockade, the Gaza War (December 27, 2008 – January 21, 2009) and otherIsraeli military operations in the Gaza Strip, includingOperation Rainbow (May 2004),Operation Days of Penitence (2004), the2006 Israel-Gaza conflict,Operation Autumn Clouds (2006), andOperation Hot Winter (2008).Attacks began in 2001. Since then, nearly 4,800 rockets have hit southern Israel, just over 4,000 of them sinceIsrael withdrew from the Gaza Strip in August 2005. The range of the rockets has increased over time. The original Qassam rocket has a range of about 10 km (6.2 mi) but more advanced rockets, including versions of the old Soviet Grad or Katyusha have hit Israeli targets 40 km (25 mi) from Gaza.[94]
Some analysts see the attacks as a shift away from reliance onsuicide bombing, which was previously Hamas's main method of attacking Israel, and an adoption of the rocket tactics used by Lebanese militant groupHezbollah.[103]
Palestinian stone-throwing is a violent political statement which encompasses the practice of throwing stones by hand and using powerful slings variously aimed at Israel security personnel, Israeli civilians, and at both civilian and military vehicles.
B'Tselem reports that from September 29, 2000, to March 31, 2012, there were 669 Palestinians killed by Palestinians. Of those, 134 were killed for suspected collaboration with Israel.[48][104]
Concerning the killing of Palestinians by other Palestinians, a January 2003Humanist magazine article reports:[105]
For over a decade the PA has violated Palestinian human rights and civil liberties by routinely killing civilians—including collaborators, demonstrators, journalists, and others—without charge or fair trial. Of the total number of Palestinian civilians killed during this period by both Israeli and Palestinian security forces, 16 percent were the victims of Palestinian security forces.
... According toFreedom House's annual survey of political rights and civil liberties,Freedom in the World 2001–2002, the chaotic nature of the Intifada along with strong Israeli reprisals has resulted in a deterioration of living conditions for Palestinians in Israeli-administered areas. The survey states:
"Civil liberties declined due to: shooting deaths of Palestinian civilians by Palestinian security personnel; the summary trial and executions of alleged collaborators by the Palestinian Authority (PA); extrajudicial killings of suspected collaborators by militias; and the apparent official encouragement of Palestinian youth to confront Israeli soldiers, thus placing them directly in harm's way."
Internal Palestinian violence has been called anIntrafada, a play on "intifada".[106][107]
The PLO officially "declared its rejection and condemnation of terrorism in all its forms" in 1988.[108]
A study conducted by Mkhaimer Abusada ofAl-Azhar University explored attitudes towards the use of political violence. Four questions were posed on the subject of political violence to over a thousand respondents randomly selected from localities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The first question was: "Do you support the continuing resort of some Palestinian factions to armed operations against Israeli targets in Gaza and Jericho?" Overall, 56% of respondents responded negatively. Those affiliated with leftist groups showed the highest levels of support for armed attacks against Israelis (74%), while those affiliated with parties supporting the peace process showed the lowest levels (24%). The Islamic opposition was split, with slightly over half in favor, and slightly less than half opposed.[109]
In September 1995, survey participants were asked whether they supported, opposed or had no opinion with regard to "armed attacks against Israeli army targets", "armed attacks against Israeli settlers", and "armed attacks against Israeli civilian targets". The majority supported the use of armed attacks against Israeli military targets and settlers in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Support crossed all party lines and groups, and was highest among the Islamic opposition (91% and 84%) and the leftists (90% and 89%), though a significant majority of those who supported the peace process also supported armed attacks on military targets and settlers (69% and 73%). To explain the apparent paradox in the latter position, Abusada quotes Shikaki (1996) who "contends that Palestinian support for the use of armed attacks against Israeli military targets and settlers does not indicate 'opposition to the peace process but Palestinian insistence that the process entails an end to occupation and settlements.'"[109] Palestinian support for armed attacks against Israeli civilian targets in Israel was 20% overall, with support being highest among those affiliated with the Islamic opposition (42%) and the leftists (32%), and lowest among supporters of the peace process (12%) and the National Independents (10%).[109]
A July 2001 poll conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy & Survey Research (PSR) found that 58 percent of Palestinians supported armed attacks against Israeli civilians inside Israel and 92 percent supported armed confrontations against the Israeli army in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.[110] A May 2002 poll by the center found that support for bombings of civilians inside Israel dropped to 52%, but support for armed attacks against Israeli settlers remained "very high" at 89 percent. Support for armed attacks against soldiers stood at 92 percent.[111] A poll after the 2003Maxim restaurant suicide bombing, in which 20 Israelis were killed, concluded that 75 percent of Palestinians supported the attack, with support higher "in the Gaza Strip (82%) compared to the West Bank (70%), in refugee camps (84%) compared to towns and villages (69%), among women (79%) compared to men (71%), among the young (78%) compared to the old (66%), among students (81%) compared to professionals (33%), and among supporters of Hamas (92%) compared to supporters of Fateh (69%)".[112]
Thefiring of rockets fromBeit Hanoun into Israel was acceptable to about three-quarters of the Palestinian public in the occupied territories, and was higher in the West Bank (78%) compared to the Gaza Strip (71%), among students (83%) compared to merchants (63%), and among supporters of Hamas (86%) compared to supporters of Fatah (73%). While firing rockets from Beit Hanoun was supported by a majority of Palestinians (75%), 59% of the residents of Beit Hanoun rejected this practice. 83% of Palestinians favored a mutual cessation of violence.[113]
A report by theJerusalem Media and Communication Center, a Palestinian organization, showing trends based on polls conducted since 1997, indicated that Palestinian support for military operations against Israeli targets stood at 34–40 percent in 1997–1999, climbed to 65–85 percent in 2000–2004, and dropped back to 41 percent at the end of 2004. "Military operations" were defined as including shootings,car bombs andmortar rocket attacks, but notsuicide bombings.[114] A 2005 poll by the center indicated that 53 percent of Palestinians supported "the continuation of [the]Al-Aqsa Intifada, 50 percent supported "suicide bombings against Israeli civilians", and 36 percent supported "the resumption of military operations against Israeli targets".[115]
A 2004 study by Victoroff et al. was conducted on a group of 52 boys, all 14 years old, from theal-Shati camp in Gaza. Forty-three percent of the boys reported that a family member had been wounded or killed by the IDF, and half lived in households where the father's employment was lost following the outbreak of the Second Intifada. "Sympathy for terrorism" was found to be correlated with depression and anxiety scores, as well as with the level of "perceived oppression", and "emotional distress". Of those who felt subject to unjust treatment, 77 percent expressed sympathy for political violence.[116]
A March 2008 report by Palestinian Center for Policy & Survey Research (PSR) noted that the level of support for armed attack against Israeli civilians inside Israel increased significantly with 67% supporting and 31% opposed, compared to support by 40% in 2005 and 55% in 2006. A February 2008 suicide bombing that killed one Israeli woman inDimona was supported by 77% and opposed by 19%. An overwhelming majority of 84 percent supported the March 2008Mercaz HaRav massacre, in which a Palestinian gunman killed eight students and wounded eleven in a Jerusalem school. Support for the attack was 91 percent in the Gaza Strip compared to 79 percent in the West Bank. Similar suicide attacks in 2005 had been less widely supported, with 29% support for a suicide attack that took place in Tel Aviv, and 37% support for another one in Beersheba.[117]
The2009 Hamas political violence took place in theGaza Strip during and after the 2009Gaza War. A series of violent acts, ranging from physical assaults,torture, and executions ofPalestinians suspected ofcollaboration with theIsrael Defense Forces, as well as members of theFatah political party, occurred. According toHuman Rights Watch, at least 32 people were killed by these attacks: 18 during the conflict and 14 afterward, and several dozen more were maimed, many by shots to the legs.[118][119]
In 2012, the number of militant attacks in theWest Bank rose from 320 in 2011 to 578 in 2012, including 282 inJerusalem alone compared to 191 in 2011. According to an annualShin Bet report, the increase was due in part to a 68% rise of attacks usingmolotov cocktails. The number of attacks involvingfirearms andexplosives grew by 42%, from 26 to 37.[120]
Palestinian deaths by other Palestinians since 1982.
| Conflict | Killed |
|---|---|
| Operation Pillar of Defense | 8[121] |
| Gaza War | 75[citation needed] |
| Internal violence 2007–present | 600[122] |
| Battle of Gaza (2007) | 130[citation needed] |
| Second Intifada | 714[123] |
| First Intifada | 1,100[citation needed] |
| War of the Camps |
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TheSabireen Movement's leadership converted to Shia Islam in 2014. It is at odds with Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and supports Hezbollah, Iran and Syria.
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In accordance with the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Law, it has frozen the assets of a total of 472 terrorists and terrorist organizations, including Al-Qaeda and Taliban members, such as Usama bin Laden and Mullah Mohammed Omar, as well as those of Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Al-Aqsa Martyr's Brigade, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, and Sendero Luminoso (as of the end of February 2005).
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)The destruction of the state of Israel through violent means is the prime objective of the Islamic Jihad
Media related toIsraeli-Palestinian conflict at Wikimedia Commons
