Israeli–Palestinian Conflict in 2014

U.S.-backed direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization resumed in July 2013 under Secretary of State John Kerry, with envoy Martin Indyk participating, and a self-imposed deadline of April 29, 2014.[1][2] The talks sought a framework for renewed negotiations, but differences over borders, Jerusalem, settlements, security arrangements, and refugees remained unresolved.[1]

The final months were complicated by developments on both sides. A planned release of 26 Palestinian prisoners did not take place at the end of March, while Israel announced additional East Jerusalem housing plans.[2] On April 1, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas signed documents seeking Palestinian accession to 15 multilateral treaties and conventions.[2][3] The nine-month negotiating period closed on April 29 without agreement.[3]

On April 23, Fatah and Hamas representatives reached a reconciliation agreement in Gaza.[4] Israel canceled a scheduled negotiating session that evening, and on April 24 its cabinet voted unanimously to suspend the talks, citing its position that it would not negotiate with a government supported by Hamas.[4][2] The parties assigned responsibility differently: Israel pointed to the Fatah-Hamas agreement, Palestinians cited the uncompleted prisoner release, and a senior U.S. official described Israeli settlement construction as central to the dispute.[5]

A unity government was sworn in on June 2, but Hamas retained de facto control in Gaza and implementation of the reconciliation remained incomplete.[2] The negotiations had been marked by deep mutual distrust and fundamental gaps on the core issues.[1]

The April 23 agreement was intended to end the Fatah-Hamas division that had persisted since Hamas's seizure of Gaza in 2007, unify Palestinian Authority rule over Judea and Samaria and Gaza, and prepare for elections.[2] Israel's suspension of negotiations reflected its position that a government formed in consensus with Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, could not be a negotiating partner.[2]

The agreement proposed a technocratic unity government as a transitional arrangement.[4] The government was formed in June, but it did not produce genuine political integration: Hamas continued to govern Gaza independently, while the unity government's practical authority there remained limited.[2] The episode demonstrated how the continuing Palestinian political division directly affected prospects for renewed negotiations.

On the night of June 12, three Israeli teenagers — Eyal Yifrah, Gilad Shaer, and Naftali Fraenkel — were kidnapped after leaving their yeshiva in Gush Etzion and seeking a ride at the Alon Shvut junction in Judea and Samaria.[6] At 22:25, Shaer called the police emergency line and whispered, "They kidnapped me." The kidnappers heard the call, shot the teenagers, buried their bodies near Halhul, and burned the car.[6]

Searches began at dawn on June 13, and the IDF announced Operation Brothers' Keeper that afternoon.[6] Contemporary sources provide different arrest totals: Mako reported more than 400 Palestinians arrested, while the U.S. State Department reported that more than 600 were detained during the campaign.[7][6] Israeli forces also targeted Hamas infrastructure and operatives throughout the area.[7]

A civilian volunteer found the teenagers' bodies near Halhul on June 30, 18 days after the kidnapping. They were buried the following day in Modi'in.[6] The Israel Security Agency identified the perpetrators as Hamas operatives from Hebron, Marwan Qawasmeh and Amer Abu Aisha.[8] They were killed in a gunfight with Israeli security forces in Hebron on September 23 after a complex intelligence effort.[8][9] Hossam Qawasmeh, identified as having obtained funding for the kidnapping with assistance from Hamas in Gaza, had been arrested on July 11.[6]

Sources agree that Hamas operatives carried out the attack but differ over whether the organization's political and military leadership knew of or directed the specific operation.[1][10] The Israel Security Agency called the kidnapping and murder the year's major attack originating in Judea and Samaria.[8]

On July 2, the body of 16-year-old Muhammad Abu Khdeir, a Palestinian resident of Shuafat, was found in the Jerusalem Forest after reports that he had been abducted.[11] An autopsy found that he had been burned alive, and police arrested six Jewish suspects in connection with the kidnapping and murder.[12] Three Israeli extremists were later identified as the killers.[7]

Investigators suspected a nationalist revenge motive linked to the murder of the three Israeli teenagers.[12] The killing shocked Israel and was condemned by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and rabbis across the country.[5] It also intensified unrest in East Jerusalem and Arab communities elsewhere in Israel, where demonstrators blocked roads, burned tires, and damaged light-rail facilities.[5]

The killing occurred amid a broader rise in violence. Official annual figures recorded 346 attacks in Jerusalem in 2014, compared with 126 in 2013, and linked the increase partly to Abu Khdeir's murder, the killing of the Israeli teenagers, Operation Protective Edge, and heightened tensions at the Temple Mount.[13]

Rocket and mortar fire from Gaza increased during June and early July. Nearly 80 rockets were fired in June, followed by more than 250 rockets and mortars between the beginning of July and July 7.[14] A series of Israeli air strikes on the night of June 30–July 1 marked the beginning of sustained Israeli military engagement in Gaza.[15]

On the evening of July 7, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced an expanded operation after the Security Cabinet decided to respond to the escalating fire.[14] Operation Protective Edge was widely dated as formally beginning on July 8. Rockets launched from Gaza reached Jerusalem, Dimona, the Tel Aviv metropolitan area, the Sharon region, and the outskirts of Haifa.[16]

Operation Protective Edge formally began on July 8, although Israeli decision-making and initial expanded strikes occurred on July 7.[7][14] Its stated objectives included protecting Israeli civilians, restoring calm, degrading Hamas's military infrastructure, and neutralizing cross-border assault tunnels.[14] During the first phase, an air and naval campaign struck terrorist commanders, rocket-launch capabilities, command posts, weapons sites, and tunnel routes.[14]

Rocket fire from Gaza reached as many as 150 launches per day after the operation began. Hamas maintained approximately 100 launches per day until July 23, after which the rate declined to 50–60 per day.[17] Egypt announced a ceasefire initiative on July 14. Israel accepted it and suspended operations on July 15, but resumed air strikes after rocket fire continued; 157 rockets were fired toward Israel that day.[14]

On July 22, a rocket struck Yehud near Ben Gurion Airport. U.S. and European aviation authorities issued warnings, and numerous airlines temporarily canceled flights to Israel. The U.S. flight prohibition was lifted on July 24.[17][18]

On July 17, Israeli ground forces entered the Gaza Strip after 13 Hamas terrorists emerged from a cross-border tunnel near Kibbutz Sufa in an attempted attack.[17][18] The principal mission of the limited ground operation was to locate and dismantle tunnels reaching Israeli territory, while aerial strikes continued.[17]

Additional tunnel infiltrations took place near Be'eri on July 19, Nir Am on July 21, and Nahal Oz on July 28; Israeli soldiers were killed in each incident.[14] In the battle of Shuja'iyya, seven Golani Brigade soldiers were killed when a Hamas missile struck an M113 armored personnel carrier, and six additional soldiers were killed in fighting in the area that night.[16]

On August 1, Hamas forces ambushed a Givati Brigade unit near Rafah. Two soldiers were killed in the initial attack, while First Lieutenant Hadar Goldin was also killed and his body taken through a tunnel.[17][14] Sources give conflicting accounts of whether the attack began before or after a ceasefire was due to take effect.[19] Israeli forces subsequently fired more than 1,000 artillery shells into Rafah within three hours.[7]

Israeli ground forces withdrew on August 5 after locating and neutralizing 32 cross-border assault tunnels.[14] Aerial strikes and rocket fire continued, with a third phase of alternating ceasefires and renewed hostilities lasting until August 26.[19]

Operation Protective Edge was punctuated by repeated ceasefire attempts that failed to produce a lasting halt until late August.[10] A two-hour humanitarian pause was arranged in Shuja'iyya on July 20, Israel announced a four-hour unilateral humanitarian truce on July 30, and a 12-hour humanitarian pause took place on July 26.[19][14]

Egypt proposed a ceasefire on July 15, which Israel accepted and Hamas rejected.[20] Further temporary ceasefires began around August 5 and August 10, followed by a five-day extension agreed on August 13.[20] On August 18, the parties agreed to extend the ceasefire for another 24 hours while indirect negotiations continued in Cairo.[21] Renewed rocket fire on August 19 caused the negotiations to collapse and Israel to recall its delegation.[20]

On August 26, an Egyptian-mediated, open-ended ceasefire took effect, ending the operation.[10][19] Two Israeli civilians, Ze'ev Etzion and Shahar Melamed, were killed by a mortar shell at Kibbutz Nirim about an hour before it began.[22] The initial terms included opening crossings for humanitarian and reconstruction supplies and expanding Gaza's permitted fishing zone beyond three miles.[17][22] Broader issues — including Hamas's demands for a seaport, airport, and wider border access and Israel's demand for demilitarization — were deferred to later negotiations.

Palestinian casualty figures differ across sources because of varying assessment dates and classification methods. The UN Commission of Inquiry cited Protection Cluster figures of 2,251 Palestinians killed and 11,231 injured, with 1,462 of those killed classified as civilians, including 299 women and 551 children.[19] The State Department cited a UN figure of 2,205 Palestinians killed during the operation, while Mako reported 2,203 and the Institute for Jewish Policy Research described the total as exceeding 2,100.[7][16] Estimates of the civilian proportion ranged from approximately 50 percent to 76 percent.[15]

The Israel Security Agency recorded 73 deaths during the operation: 67 IDF soldiers killed in combat in Gaza and six civilians killed in southern Israel, including five Israelis and one Thai national. It also recorded 312 people wounded.[8] Other contemporary sources reported different totals. The State Department cited an IDF total of 74 deaths in Israel, while Mako reported 72 Israeli soldiers and civilians killed.[7][16] Calcalist reported 70 Israeli deaths, including six civilians.[22]

The destruction in Gaza was extensive. At least 90 schools were destroyed, and a UNRWA technical assessment completed on December 15 found 96,000 Palestinian refugee dwellings damaged or destroyed.[7] The State Department recorded 4,465 rockets and mortar shells fired into Israel and 5,242 Israeli air strikes during the operation.[7]

Mako reported 4,594 rockets and mortar shells fired toward Israel, of which 3,641 landed in Israeli territory, 188 landed in Gaza, and 735 were intercepted by Iron Dome; it also reported 34 tunnels destroyed and 6,231 targets struck.[16] Official annual figures counted 2,470 attacks and violent incidents during the operation, including rocket, mortar, small-arms, anti-tank, IED, infiltration, suicide-bombing, grenade, and explosive-tunnel incidents.[13]

Beyond the Gaza conflict, 2014 saw a sharp increase in terrorist attacks in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria. Official figures recorded 1,793 attacks in Judea and Samaria — 1,342 in Judea and 451 in Samaria — compared with 1,271 in 2013.[13] Attacks in Jerusalem rose from 126 in 2013 to 346 in 2014, with 320 of the 2014 incidents involving firebombs. Nineteen people were killed in attacks originating in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria, compared with six in 2013.[13]

A series of vehicular terrorist attacks struck Jerusalem during the second half of the year. On August 4, an attack in Sheikh Jarrah killed one civilian. On October 22, a vehicle rammed pedestrians at Ammunition Hill, killing an Israeli baby and an Ecuadorian national. On November 5, another vehicle attack killed an Israeli civilian and a police officer; a Palestinian resident of Jerusalem wounded in the incident died about a month later. Official figures counted six deaths across the three attacks.[8]

On November 10, a Palestinian man stabbed three Israelis at the entrance to Alon Shvut in Judea and Samaria, killing an Israeli woman.[7]

Tensions were further inflamed by events at the Temple Mount. On October 29, a Palestinian resident of East Jerusalem shot an Israeli activist and U.S. citizen who had spoken at a conference advocating expanded Jewish visitation and prayer at the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif. Police killed the attacker during a subsequent arrest attempt.[23] The shooting intensified debate among Israeli officials and Knesset members about Jewish access to the holy site. On October 30, Israeli police barred Muslims from entering the compound for a full day. Waqf officials described the closure as unprecedented since 1967, while the State Department noted accounts that the site had also been completely closed to Muslims in 2000.[23]

On the morning of November 18, two Palestinian residents of Jabel Mukaber in East Jerusalem entered the Kehillat Bnei Torah synagogue in Har Nof during morning prayers. Armed with axes and guns, they attacked the worshippers inside.[23][24]

Four worshippers were killed, three of whom also held U.S. citizenship, and dozens of people were wounded.[23] Police killed both attackers in a shootout. A Druze police officer wounded during the response later died, bringing the death toll to five.[8]

The massacre came during a sustained rise in Jerusalem violence associated with the Gaza operation, the murders of the Israeli teenagers and Muhammad Abu Khdeir, and tensions surrounding the Temple Mount.[13]

On November 29, members of the extremist Israeli organization Lehava set fire to two first-grade classrooms at the Arabic-Hebrew bilingual Max Rayne Hand in Hand school in West Jerusalem and wrote racist graffiti, including "Death to Arabs." Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, and Housing Minister Uri Ariel condemned the attack. Three Lehava members were arrested in December and reportedly confessed.[25]

Official annual figures also recorded a December acid attack in Jerusalem.[13] Meanwhile, the ceasefire continued into September, when Israeli and Palestinian representatives were expected to resume indirect negotiations in Cairo the following month.[26]

On December 30, the UN Security Council voted on a Palestinian-drafted resolution calling for an end to the Israeli occupation, establishment of a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, and measures addressing Jerusalem, settlements, refugees, and Palestinian prisoners.[27] The resolution received eight votes in favor and two against, with the United States and Australia voting no. Because adoption required nine affirmative votes, the draft failed.[27]

Hamas remained in political control of Gaza after the fighting, while Israel reported that its ground forces had neutralized 32 cross-border assault tunnels.[2][14] The ceasefire provided for increased humanitarian and reconstruction access and an expanded fishing zone, but the parties' broader demands remained unresolved.[17][22] Hamas leaders publicly declared victory, citing their ability to withstand Israeli attacks and maintain fire throughout the operation.[28]

The conflict's human cost was substantial and its precise contours remained disputed. The UN Protection Cluster figure of 2,251 Palestinian deaths included hundreds of women and children, while other sources produced different totals and civilian classifications.[19] Tens of thousands of Palestinian refugee dwellings were damaged or destroyed.[7] The Israel Security Agency recorded 67 soldiers and six civilians killed during the operation and 312 people wounded.[8]

Beyond Gaza, attacks in Jerusalem nearly tripled compared with 2013. Official reporting linked the rise to the Gaza conflict, the murders of the Israeli teenagers and Muhammad Abu Khdeir, and disputes surrounding the Temple Mount.[13] The conflict also had an international antisemitic impact: the Community Security Trust in the United Kingdom recorded more than 130 antisemitic incidents in July 2014, its highest monthly total since January 2009, another period of Gaza fighting.[15]

The collapse of the Kerry Initiative, the Fatah-Hamas reconciliation, the Gaza war, and the subsequent wave of terrorism collectively made 2014 one of the most consequential years in the conflict since the Second Intifada.

Accounts differ over the operation's precise start date. The State Department identifies July 8 as the beginning, while the UN Commission of Inquiry says the IDF commenced the operation on July 7 and dates the initial air phase to July 8.[7][19] The Israeli government likewise dates the announcement and expanded campaign to July 7, while describing the widely recognized formal start as July 8.[14] The CTC account gives August 4 as the ground-force withdrawal date, while the Israeli government dates completion of the withdrawal to August 5.[10][14]

Casualty figures vary by scope and methodology. Palestinian death totals range from more than 2,100 to 2,251 in the cited sources, while estimates of the civilian share differ substantially.[15][19] Israeli totals also vary: the Israel Security Agency records 73 operation-period deaths, the State Department cites 74, Mako reports 72, and Calcalist reports 70.[7][8] The latter two figures came from reports using different dates or categories.[16][22]

Projectile totals likewise differ. The State Department records 4,465 rockets and mortar shells, while Mako reports 4,594.[7][16] Calcalist reports 4,564, although it agrees with Mako that 3,641 exploded or landed in Israel and 735 were intercepted.[22]

The role of Hamas's leadership in the June kidnapping is also disputed. Sources identify the perpetrators as Hamas operatives, but INSS reported that the organization's political and military leadership was reportedly unaware of the specific operation.[1][10] These discrepancies reflect differing institutional methodologies, reporting dates, definitions, and access to wartime information.