Timeline of the Israeli–Palestinian Conflict in 2005

The events of 2005 unfolded during the second intifada, a confrontation that erupted in September 2000 and developed into a protracted, low-intensity conflict. Attempts to terminate or substantially reduce the violence had largely failed during its first five years, prompting consideration of conflict-management strategies including unilateral disengagement.[5]

Yasser Arafat died in November 2004, after which Mahmoud Abbas became chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization and stood for election as president of the Palestinian Authority.[6] Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had announced a disengagement plan in late 2003 calling for the withdrawal of Israeli soldiers and residents from Gaza and four communities in the West Bank — known by its original, indigenous Jewish name of Judea and Samaria. The plan was implemented in 2005.[4][6]

Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah won the Palestinian Authority presidential election on January 9, receiving 775,146 votes, or 62 percent. His closest challenger, independent candidate Mustafa Barghouti, received 153,516 votes, or 19.8 percent; five other candidates also ran.[7] The election was regarded as generally free and fair.[1] Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad boycotted it, although Hamas activists had also urged support for a rival candidate.[8][9]

Abbas called for implementing the Roadmap for Peace while beginning discussion of final-status issues, and he cautioned against interim arrangements that could delay a comprehensive agreement.[6] A terrorist attack at the Karni crossing on January 13 killed six Israeli civilians.[1] On January 22, Palestinian groups declared a tahdi'a, or "declared calm," under which they committed to refrain from attacks against Israel, although the arrangement did not bring a complete halt to violence.[10]

On February 8, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas met at Sharm el-Sheikh with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Jordanian King Abdullah II.[6] Sharon and Abbas issued parallel statements declaring a cessation of hostilities and the resumption of bilateral engagement after almost four and a half years of armed confrontation.[2] Sharon stated: "We agreed that all Palestinians will stop all acts of violence against all Israelis everywhere and [in parallel], Israel will cease all its military activity against all Palestinians anywhere."[2] He also outlined plans to release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, form a committee on further releases, and transfer security responsibility for Palestinian areas.[11]

The understanding remained precarious. The arrangement Abbas had reached with some armed groups was informal, partial, temporary, and conditional, while Hamas said it was not bound by the summit's terms.[2] On February 25, a suicide bomber attacked the Stage nightclub near Tel Aviv's beach promenade. A contemporaneous Ynet report counted four people killed and more than 50 injured, while the later State Department annual report listed five Israeli civilians killed.[12][1] Islamic Jihad and the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades initially claimed responsibility and subsequently denied involvement.[12]

The Knesset approved the Disengagement Implementation Law on February 16, establishing compensation for those to be evacuated. Sharon signed implementation orders on February 20, when the cabinet approved the plan by a vote of 17 to 5 and set July 20 as the intended evacuation date.[13][14] The Rafah crossing had fully reopened on February 1, and Karni reopened on February 7 after security assessments and rebuilding following the January attack.[15]

On March 17, 13 Palestinian groups reached an internal agreement in Cairo extending an informal calm through the end of the year.[6][16] The parties interpreted the tahdi'a differently. The Palestinian Authority presented it as an open-ended ceasefire dependent on Israeli actions, while armed organizations treated it as a temporary reduction in fighting that preserved what they called a right to respond. Attacks declined but did not cease.[3]

Israel also transferred security responsibility for Jericho and Tulkarm to the Palestinian Authority. Sources date the Jericho transfer to March 15 or 16, while the Tulkarm transfer took place on March 21.[15][16] Military checkpoints, closures, and curfews in the transferred areas were lifted, and Israel agreed in principle to extend the process gradually to Qalqilyah, Bethlehem, and Ramallah.[15]

Israel adopted a revised security-barrier route encompassing approximately 7 to 8 percent of Judea and Samaria in order to include major settlement blocs. Reports also said Israel had approved 3,500 housing units in the E-1 corridor between Ma'ale Adumim and East Jerusalem. Critics argued that the project would impede Palestinian territorial contiguity, while U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said it was at odds with American policy.[6]

The months after the Cairo agreement repeatedly tested the tahdi'a. Rocket fire into Israel became less frequent but did not stop. In early May, Palestinian Authority police arrested two men from a suspected Hamas rocket squad following a gun battle in northern Gaza, then released them after intervention by an Egyptian official. Palestinian officials and Hamas gave conflicting accounts of whether the men had been preparing to launch rockets.[17]

The episode demonstrated the difficulties Abbas faced in enforcing the calm against armed factions. The Israeli annual review recorded a rise in the monthly attack count from February through July, indicating that the diplomatic understandings had not produced a sustained decline in violence even as preparations for disengagement continued.[3]

July was the peak month in the Israeli annual attack count. On July 12, a Palestinian Islamic Jihad suicide bomber attacked a shopping mall in Netanya, killing five Israeli civilians and wounding about 90 people.[6][18] Hamas and PIJ subsequently fired rockets from Gaza; the bombing and ensuing barrage together killed six Israelis.[19] Israel launched operations against PIJ, reentered Tulkarm, closed the West Bank, and carried out missile strikes in Gaza and Judea and Samaria.[6]

On July 14, Palestinian Authority forces tried to prevent Hamas activists in northern Gaza from firing rockets, triggering armed clashes involving Hamas, PA security forces, and later Fatah forces. The fighting continued until July 20, leaving several people dead and dozens wounded. Egyptian mediation produced an end to the infighting and a return to the ceasefire status quo, after which terrorist attacks subsided but did not stop.[19] The annual Israeli review recorded 463 attacks and 221 rocket and mortar hits in July.[3]

Israel's unilateral disengagement covered all 21 Israeli communities in Gaza and four in northern Samaria: Ganim, Kadim, Homesh, and Sa-Nur. Close to 9,000 people were evacuated.[4] INSS dates the overall operation from August 15 through September 11, while the ADL identifies August 17 as the official start of the evacuation and September 12 as the final IDF departure from Gaza.[4][20]

The operation mobilized IDF soldiers, Border Guard troops, and police; Ynet later placed the total number of personnel involved at approximately 142,000.[21] The evacuation prompted mass protests, road blockages, and confrontations with some residents who refused to leave. All residents had left Gaza by August 22, and the evacuation of the four northern Samaria communities was completed by August 23.[20]

The military withdrawal followed the civilian evacuation. INSS dates the end of the operation to September 11, while the ADL records the official IDF departure on September 12.[4][20] On September 12, the final soldiers locked the gate at the Kissufim crossing, ending 38 years of Israeli military presence in Gaza. Gaza commander Brigadier General Aviv Kochavi said: "From now on, the Palestinian Authority bears responsibility for what happens in the Gaza Strip." Palestinian Authority forces then entered areas cleared by Israel.[22]

An Israeli annual review characterized the move as transferring full control of Gaza to the Palestinian Authority for the first time since 1967.[3] Israel also presented disengagement as an opportunity for Palestinians to rebuild economic and social infrastructure.[15] A later INSS assessment concluded that most of the plan's security, political, economic, and demographic expectations were not realized, particularly in the security and political spheres.[4]

On September 23, a vehicle carrying Qassam rockets exploded during a Hamas parade in Jabaliya, setting off nearby ammunition. The Israeli annual review reported 19 Palestinians killed and about 80 wounded, while a later Mako account gave a death toll of 20, including several children.[3][23] Hamas blamed an Israeli airstrike, Israel denied involvement, and eyewitnesses offered other explanations.[23] Hamas responded by firing dozens of rockets toward Sderot and other western Negev communities, although public criticism within Gaza was followed by a temporary reduction in Hamas rocket launches.[3]

On September 25, Israel launched Operation First Rain, its first major operation after disengagement. Airstrikes targeted rocket workshops, weapons depots, Hamas headquarters, and logistical centers. Ground forces deployed opposite Gaza but did not enter the territory.[23] Israel also arrested more than 300 suspected Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad activists in Judea and Samaria and resumed limited targeted killings.[1]

An Israel Security Agency review reported that weapons smuggling increased after the IDF left the Philadelphi corridor on September 12. It listed more than five tons of explosives, approximately 200 anti-tank launchers, 350 anti-tank rockets, 5,000 automatic rifles, and over one million rounds of ammunition smuggled into Gaza after the withdrawal.[10] Gaza's post-disengagement status remained disputed: Israel ended its presence at Rafah and transferred responsibility there to the Palestinian Authority under European monitoring, while international organizations argued that Israel remained an occupying power because of its continued control over Gaza's airspace, coastline, and access arrangements.[24]

On October 26, a Palestinian Islamic Jihad suicide bomber attacked Hadera's open-air market. An Israel Security Agency review counted six people killed and about 55 wounded, while a separate casualty listing recorded seven deaths.[25][26] Sharon announced a broad offensive against terrorist organizations and ruled out talks with Abbas until the Palestinian Authority took what he called serious action against armed groups. On December 5, another PIJ suicide bombing at the Netanya shopping mall killed five people and wounded more than 50.[6]

On November 15, Israel and the Palestinian Authority reached the Agreement on Movement and Access following negotiations involving U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Quartet envoy James Wolfensohn.[27][28] The Rafah crossing opened on November 25 under Palestinian administration and European Union supervision.[27][24] Israel retained control of Kerem Shalom, where incoming goods were to be inspected.

The agreement also addressed agricultural exports, improvements to Gaza's crossings, escorted passenger and freight convoys between Gaza and Judea and Samaria, movement obstacles within the West Bank, and construction of a Palestinian seaport.[27][29] EU monitors could freeze transit or demand a recheck but could not enforce decisions independently. Israel could raise concerns about individual travelers or baggage but had no veto; the Palestinian Authority was required to consult Israel and the EU before deciding individual cases.[27]

On November 21, Sharon left Likud and established the centrist Kadima party.[16] Prominent politicians from across the political spectrum joined him, and the party reportedly enrolled 150 members on its first day.[21] Sharon suffered a minor stroke on December 18 and returned to work within days.[30]

Rocket fire increased again during December after the initial post-disengagement decline.[3] On December 23, Israeli forces began enforcing a no-go zone in northern Gaza to prevent rocket launches. On December 28, Israel announced a buffer zone in the area, saying terrorists had used the sites of former Israeli communities to launch Qassam rockets.[1][6] The year therefore ended with renewed escalation and intensified Israeli countermeasures.

Israeli sources published differing annual totals based on their respective categories. One Israeli government review counted 2,365 attacks, 54 Israelis killed, 484 injured, seven suicide bombings, and 1,059 registered Qassam rocket and mortar hits. It classified 44 of those killed as civilians and 10 as security personnel, while noting that the rocket-and-mortar figure excluded unregistered impacts.[3]

An Israel Security Agency review reproduced by the Jewish Virtual Library counted 2,990 attacks, including 377 Qassam rocket attacks. It recorded 45 Israelis killed and 406 wounded.[10] The State Department also counted 377 Qassam rockets, compared with 309 in 2004, and reported 190 Palestinians killed during Israeli military operations and 50 Israelis, including nine soldiers and two foreign nationals, killed in terrorist attacks.[1]

These totals are not directly interchangeable. Some sources counted attacks, launches, and registered impacts separately, and their casualty figures used different geographic and institutional categories.

The Israeli annual review characterized 2005 as a year of declining attacks and casualties. It attributed the reduction to Israeli security operations, the partially completed security barrier, the March lull, political changes after Arafat's death, and disengagement. The report nevertheless acknowledged renewed escalation late in the year and intensified Israeli countermeasures.[3]

Sharon's departure from Likud to form Kadima demonstrated the political realignment produced by disengagement.[16][21] At the same time, Hamas's armed challenge to Abbas and its refusal to accept the Sharm el-Sheikh terms showed that the new Palestinian leadership had not established exclusive control over organized violence.[2][19]

The Agreement on Movement and Access was intended to translate disengagement into greater movement and economic opportunity for Palestinian civilians, but implementation depended on security and monitoring arrangements that remained unstable.[27] The dispute over whether withdrawal ended Israel's occupation of Gaza also persisted because Israel had removed its permanent military and settlement presence while retaining control over important external access mechanisms.[24] Thus, 2005 combined genuine structural change with continued terrorism, rocket fire, and unresolved political and legal disputes.

The Sharm el-Sheikh understanding and Cairo tahdi'a were never interpreted uniformly. The Palestinian Authority treated the arrangements as a broad ceasefire, while Hamas and other armed organizations regarded them as temporary and conditional restraints that preserved a claimed right to respond. Hamas also said it was not bound by the summit's terms.[2][3]

Disengagement dates vary according to the milestone being measured. INSS dates the overall operation from August 15 to September 11, while the ADL records an official evacuation beginning August 17, completion of the settlement evacuations on August 22–23, and the final IDF departure on September 12.[4][20]

Contemporaneous and retrospective reports also differ on several death tolls. Sources counted either four or five Israeli civilian deaths in the February 25 Tel Aviv bombing.[12][1] They listed six or seven deaths in the October 26 Hadera bombing.[25][26] Reports of the September 23 Jabaliya explosion gave totals of 19 or 20 and disputed whether Israel was responsible.[3][23]