Timeline of the Israeli–Palestinian Conflict in 2004

By the start of 2004, the Second Intifada — the sustained Palestinian campaign of terrorism and armed attacks against Israel that began in late 2000 — had entered its fourth year.[1] The preceding years had seen waves of suicide bombings in Israeli cities, Israeli military operations in the West Bank — known by its original, indigenous Jewish name of Judea and Samaria — and Gaza, and the near-total collapse of the Oslo-era negotiating framework. Palestinian Authority chairman Yasser Arafat had been confined to his Ramallah compound, the Mukata'a, during the preceding eleven months.[3]

Israel was constructing a security barrier along and within Judea and Samaria, a project that generated domestic legal scrutiny and international controversy during 2004.[4] IDF figures through September 19 counted 989 Israelis killed and 6,709 wounded in 22,406 attacks, attempted attacks, and violent incidents since 2000. A separate Shin Bet tally dated September 28 recorded 1,017 Israelis killed and 5,598 wounded; the figures came from different agencies and reporting dates.[5]

On January 14, a female suicide bomber detonated explosives at the Erez crossing workers' terminal in the Gaza Strip, killing three soldiers and one civilian and wounding approximately ten. Israeli authorities identified her as Reem Saleh Mustafa Awad al-Riyashi and described the attack as a Hamas–Fatah Tanzim collaboration.[6]

On January 29, a suicide bomber boarded Egged bus No. 19 in Jerusalem's Rehavia neighborhood and detonated himself toward the rear of the vehicle.[7] Eleven people — seven women and four men — were killed, and more than 40 were wounded, including ten seriously. The bomber was identified as Ali Ja'ara, a Bethlehem resident and member of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. A letter he left said he was retaliating for what he called a massacre in Gaza's Zeitoun neighborhood the previous day.[7] Hamas and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades both claimed responsibility.[8]

On February 22, a suicide bomber attacked Egged bus No. 14 near Gan Hapaamon, or Liberty Bell Park, in Jerusalem at approximately 8:20 a.m. The bus was traveling from Ramat Beit Hakerem to Har Homa through the city center.[9] Eight people were killed and approximately 60 were wounded. Israeli authorities identified the bomber as Muhammad Issa Khalil Zaghal and said the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility.[6] A State Department report placed the combined toll from the January and February Jerusalem bus bombings at 21 killed and more than 110 wounded.[10]

On March 14, two suicide bombers carried out a coordinated attack at Ashdod Port, one of Israel's strategic installations.[11] They entered concealed inside a commercial cargo container transported from Gaza through the Karni goods crossing. Ten people were killed and approximately 12 to 16 were wounded.[6] Hamas and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades jointly claimed responsibility. An Israeli government report said Hassan Atiya Hassan Madhoun of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades orchestrated the operation.[6]

In the immediate aftermath, the IDF announced that Palestinian workers would no longer be permitted to leave through the Erez crossing for employment inside Israel. Israeli Air Force helicopters struck two Hamas weapons-manufacturing workshops in Gaza's Zeitoun and Nasser neighborhoods, and a planned meeting between Prime Minister Sharon and Palestinian Prime Minister Abu Ala was canceled.[11]

On March 22, Israeli helicopter missiles killed Hamas founder and leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin as he left a mosque in the northern Gaza Strip.[12] The strike also killed two bodyguards, a son-in-law, and eight mosque worshippers, and wounded approximately 15 bystanders.[13] Two days later, Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi was chosen as Hamas's new leader in Gaza.[12] The killing prompted strong reactions in Israel and abroad and concern about possible Hamas revenge attacks.[14] The subsequent deaths of both Yassin and al-Rantisi left Hamas without authoritative leadership and a unified public voice, according to a Washington Institute assessment.[15]

On April 14, U.S. President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Sharon exchanged letters concerning the disengagement plan and the peace process.[16] Bush welcomed a plan under which Israel would withdraw all settlements from Gaza and some settlements and military installations in Judea and Samaria. He reiterated U.S. support for a "viable, contiguous, sovereign, and independent" Palestinian state.[16] The letter said final-status negotiations would need to account for "new realities on the ground," including existing major Israeli population centers, while maintaining that final-status issues should be resolved through negotiations.[16]

On April 17, Israeli aircraft fired missiles at a car carrying Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi in Gaza. Rantisi, who had led Hamas for less than a month, was critically wounded and died at Shifa Hospital; his bodyguard and driver were also killed.[17] Hamas political bureau chief Khaled Mashal called for a successor to be selected quickly without publicly identifying that person.[17]

Also in April, the Israeli government published details of a unilateral disengagement plan calling for withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, evacuation of Israeli communities there, and evacuation of four settlements in northern Samaria.[18] The plan described its objective as a negotiated settlement based on "two states for two peoples," but stated that there was "currently no Palestinian partner" for advancing a bilateral peace process. It presented disengagement as a unilateral initiative intended to change the security situation and reduce friction.[18]

On May 2, Likud members voted on Sharon's disengagement plan in an internal referendum. A reported 59.5 percent opposed the plan, forcing the government to revise its proposal.[19]

Also on May 2, gunmen from the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades and Palestinian Islamic Jihad shot and killed Tali Hatuel and her four daughters in Gaza. Their car spun off the road after being fired upon, after which the gunmen approached and killed all five at close range.[8]

A deadly sequence of incidents preceded Israel's large-scale operation in Rafah. Six soldiers were killed when an armored personnel carrier exploded in Zeitoun on May 11. Five more — an officer and four soldiers — died when another carrier exploded on the Philadelphi Route on May 12, and two soldiers were killed by Palestinian fire in Rafah on May 14.[20]

Israeli forces isolated Rafah from northern Gaza on May 17, and Operation Rainbow began the following day, initially focusing on the Tel Sultan neighborhood. Thousands of residents fled their homes.[20] The stated purposes included targeting terrorists and wanted operatives and destroying weapons-smuggling tunnels along the Gaza-Egypt border.[8]

The Gaza Division commander later reported 41 terrorists and 12 civilians killed. He attributed seven civilian deaths to shelling at a wedding and said others might have been killed by Palestinian forces.[20] Accounts of a May 19 demonstration also differed: Rafah sources reported that ten Palestinians, most of them children, were killed by Israeli fire, while Israeli officials said fire had been directed at an open area and that the incident was under investigation. The IDF expressed regret for civilian harm and denied intentionally firing at demonstrators.[20]

B'Tselem reported that the IDF demolished 62 houses in two days, leaving 740 people homeless, though the IDF disputed those figures.[20] The State Department human-rights report cited UNRWA and OCHA assessments that 298 buildings were destroyed and approximately 3,794 people were made homeless during the operation.[8] On May 20, the UN Security Council passed a resolution condemning Israel's actions in Rafah and calling for an end to house demolitions by a vote of 14 to zero, with the United States abstaining. The final Israeli forces left Rafah on May 24.[20]

On June 6, Israel's cabinet approved a revised disengagement plan by 14 votes to seven.[21] The decision authorized preparations but did not itself provide final authorization to evacuate every settlement group; later cabinet decisions were still required.[22] The proposal envisioned a staged evacuation beginning with three isolated Gaza settlements, followed by four settlements in northern Samaria, the Katif bloc in southern Gaza, and the northern Gaza settlements. Completion was planned by the end of 2005.[21] Sharon fired two right-wing ministers before the vote, and two others resigned afterward, leaving the coalition with 59 of the Knesset's 120 seats.[21]

On June 28, a Qassam rocket attack on Sderot killed two residents. The State Department described it as the first fatal attack against Israelis using Qassam rockets.[10]

On June 30, Israel's High Court of Justice issued its ruling in Beit Sourik Village Council v. The Government of Israel (HCJ 2056/04). The Court accepted the military commander's authority to take temporary security measures, including land seizure, and found that the fence's purpose in the disputed area was security-related rather than political.[23] It nevertheless ruled that the harm caused by the challenged route was disproportionate to its security advantage and ordered the route changed.[23] The government said it would comply, and military authorities subsequently reviewed other unbuilt sections under the Court's proportionality standards.[21]

On July 9, the International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion concerning construction of the wall in the occupied Palestinian territory, including in and around East Jerusalem, at the request of the UN General Assembly.[24] By 14 votes to one, the Court concluded that construction there and its associated regime were contrary to international law. It set out obligations concerning cessation of construction, dismantlement of existing sections within the territory, revocation of related measures, and reparation for damages.[24]

The opinion was advisory rather than a binding judgment in contentious proceedings. Israel objected that it failed to address the security rationale advanced for constructing the barrier, while the United States said the ICJ was not an appropriate forum for resolving what it regarded as a political issue.[21] Israel's Supreme Court maintained that it would review individual fence segments through proportionality analysis rather than treat the ICJ's general conclusion as automatically controlling every section.[23]

Also in July, Yasser Arafat appointed Gaza military-intelligence chief Musa Arafat as director of security in Gaza, ostensibly to consolidate the security forces. The appointment provoked fierce opposition among Fatah activists and a revolt involving violence against security personnel that lasted more than two weeks.[25] On July 16, armed members of different Fatah factions abducted and later released Palestinian police commander Razi Jebali, coordination-office head Khalid Abu Olah, and four French humanitarian activists in Khan Yunis. Armed protesters subsequently set fire to a PA military-intelligence facility and a police station and briefly occupied the Khan Yunis governor's office. They withdrew after Arafat agreed to reinstate eleven dismissed officers.[26]

On August 31, two Hamas suicide bombers detonated explosives on adjacent buses in Beersheba. Sixteen people were killed and approximately 100 were wounded.[6] The attackers had initially considered a target in Kiryat Arba and concealed their explosive belts inside plaster picture frames while traveling toward Beersheba.[6] The State Department called it the deadliest attack of the year in Israel. Hamas claimed responsibility and described the bombings as revenge for the killings of Yassin and al-Rantisi.[10]

The ISA counted 309 Qassam rockets in 2004, up from 105 in 2003.[27] Fatal attacks on Sderot killed two residents on June 28 and two children on September 29.[8]

At the end of September, Israel launched Operation Days of Penitence in northern Gaza amid continued Qassam rocket fire. Fighting centered on Beit Hanoun and Jabalia and involved Israeli tanks and helicopters.[8] Human-rights groups claimed that up to 130 Palestinians were killed and more than 430 wounded; the United Nations placed the death toll at 107; B'Tselem reported approximately 50 civilians killed, including at least 26 people under 18; and the IDF estimated 19 civilians killed.[8] A State Department terrorism report cited press accounts giving a total of 130 Palestinian deaths, including 68 Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists, and five Israeli deaths.[10]

On October 24, the government approved a proposed compensation law for residents subject to evacuation. On October 26, the Knesset endorsed Sharon's disengagement plan by 67 votes to 45, with seven abstentions.[2] The plan called for the unilateral removal of Israeli forces and civilians from Gaza settlements and four settlements in northern Samaria, with implementation planned for 2005.[19]

On November 1, a suicide bomber struck in Tel Aviv, killing three Israelis and wounding 30. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine claimed responsibility.[8]

Arafat was flown to a hospital near Paris in late October after his health deteriorated. He died there on November 11, 2004, at age 75.[3] A state funeral was held in Egypt, after which his body was returned to the West Bank and buried in the presidential compound in Ramallah.[3] Arafat had served as president of the Palestinian Authority and chairman of the PLO, and his death created a major leadership transition in Palestinian politics.

The cause of Arafat's death remained disputed. Later French, Russian, and Swiss investigations produced differing findings concerning possible polonium-210 exposure; a Swiss study concluded that poisoning could not be ruled out.[28] Fatah later passed a resolution holding Israel responsible, while the Israeli government denied the allegation. A French investigation found no proof of poisoning.[28][29]

Following Arafat's death, Mahmoud Abbas was named chairman of the PLO and became a leading candidate in the Palestinian presidential election scheduled for January 9, 2005.[21] Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei and Abbas sought to persuade Palestinian terrorist groups to agree to a cease-fire, but the talks remained inconclusive at year's end.[10] In December, Abbas called for an end to the militarization of the intifada and said the use of weapons was harmful and "has got to stop."[21]

On December 12, Hamas and the Fatah Hawks claimed responsibility for an explosion in a tunnel beneath an Israeli army outpost in southern Gaza, killing five Israeli soldiers.[21] The attack demonstrated the continuing threat posed by tunnel warfare along Gaza's borders.

On December 23, the first phase of Palestinian Authority municipal elections was held. Hamas secured nearly half the seats, foreshadowing the organization's growing political strength and preceding Mahmoud Abbas's presidential election victory in January 2005.[30]

The Israel Security Agency characterized 2004 as the fourth year of the conflict's then-current round. It reported 117 people killed, down 45 percent from 214 in 2003, and 589 wounded, down 41 percent from 1,004.[27] Suicide attacks declined from 26 in 2003 to 15 in 2004, with the reduction attributed mainly to the foiling or disruption of attacks.[1] The ISA reported that security forces foiled 367 suicide attacks in Judea and Samaria and another 159 attacks described as being on the verge of execution.[27]

Projectile attacks from Gaza increased sharply. The ISA counted Qassam rockets rising from 105 in 2003 to 309 in 2004, mortar shells from 708 to 1,231, and explosive attacks from 463 to 592, while shooting attacks fell from 2,111 to 1,621.[27] Attacks attributed to Hamas rose from 218 in 2003 to 555 in 2004, while its suicide attacks declined by 77 percent, reflecting an increased reliance on rockets and mortars.[1] A separate security-establishment report stated that attacks originating in Gaza killed 58 people in 2004, compared with 25 in 2003.[31]

On the Palestinian side, the State Department human-rights report recorded at least 800 Palestinians killed during Israeli military and police operations in the occupied territories in 2004, citing the Palestinian Authority Ministry of Health, the Palestine Red Crescent Society, and B'Tselem. The PA ministry estimated that approximately half were noncombatants; B'Tselem counted 452 "innocent Palestinians"; and the IDF said most of those killed were armed fighters or people planning or carrying out attacks.[8] The report separately recorded 76 Israeli civilians and four foreign nationals killed in terrorist attacks, along with 41 Israeli security-force members killed in clashes with Palestinian terrorists.[8]

The INSS assessed that the security barrier's effectiveness in making it harder for suicide bombers to reach their targets "appears beyond dispute," while acknowledging that its route remained deeply controversial.[4]

Several major events were recorded with conflicting casualty figures. The State Department reported 11 people killed in the January 29 Jerusalem bus bombing, while a Jewish Virtual Library attack table listed ten.[8][32] For the August 31 Beersheba bombings, the Congressional Research Service reported 15 killed and more than 90 wounded, while State Department sources recorded 16 killed and about 100 or more wounded.[21]

Annual suicide-bombing totals also varied by methodology. The INSS reported 12 successful bombings, while the ISA counted 15 suicide attacks.[4][1] The sources do not establish identical counting criteria, so the totals should not be treated as directly interchangeable.

The legal status of the security barrier generated a major international controversy. The ICJ advisory opinion concluded that construction within the occupied Palestinian territory and its associated regime were contrary to international law, while Israel's High Court used segment-by-segment proportionality review and required modifications to particular routes without halting construction as a whole.[24][23] Israel objected that the ICJ had not adequately addressed its security rationale, and the United States questioned whether the Court was the appropriate forum for the dispute.[21]

Casualty totals and classifications for Operation Days of Penitence varied substantially among human-rights groups, UN reporting, B'Tselem, the IDF, and press accounts.[8][10] Arafat's cause of death likewise remained publicly disputed, with later investigations producing different findings concerning possible polonium-210 exposure.[28]

The events of 2004 set in motion developments that shaped the conflict in subsequent years. The Knesset's October 26 endorsement of the disengagement plan provided the political basis for Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and four settlements in northern Samaria, which was implemented in August and September 2005.[2][19] Sharon had secured U.S. support through the April exchange of letters with President Bush, which stated that future negotiations would need to consider "new realities on the ground," including existing major Israeli population centers.[16]

Arafat's death opened a period of political transition. Mahmoud Abbas was named PLO chairman and elected president of the Palestinian Authority in January 2005.[19] Some analysts associate Arafat's death with the beginning of the end of the Second Intifada, while others identify the Sharon–Abbas truce in early 2005 as its conclusion.[4]

Hamas's capture of nearly half the seats in the December municipal elections foreshadowed its success in the January 2006 Palestinian legislative elections.[30] The deaths of Yassin and al-Rantisi disrupted Hamas's command structure in the short term, but the increase in Qassam rockets from 105 in 2003 to 309 in 2004 reflected an evolving threat that would continue to influence Israeli security policy.[27]