d. i d) 2011 - 2014 · syria •in early spring 2011, there was a popular uprising in syria against...

D. I d)2011 - 2014

Regional Upheaval

2011• Fatah announced that it would declare a Palestinian state in

September, as negotiations with Israel had broken down.

• Many states said they would recognise this.

• In April 2011, Hamas and Fatah agreed reconciliation terms in order to enable elections and the establishment of a Palestinian state.

• Hamas reiterated its refusal to recognise or negotiate with Israel.

• Israel questioned how it could be expected to negotiate concessions with the Palestinians under these terms.

2011• There were uprisings in several Arab states. (See

The Arab Spring/Winter for more details).

• The first was in 2010 in Tunisia, whose citizens rose up against corruption, for more jobs and freedom. Their leader was deposed.

• An uprising in Egypt, the largest Arab country for the same reason led to Egypt’s President, Hosni Mubarak, being deposed.

• He was replaced by Muhammad Morsi, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood.

• A year later he was overthrown by another popular uprising, and General Al-Sisi became ruler.

Syria• In early spring 2011, there was a popular

uprising in Syria against President Bashar Al-Assad, for the same reason.

• Assad responded with violent crack downs, with help from his supporters Iran, Russia and Hizbollah.

• Jihadists from other parts of the Muslim world and from the west have travelled to Syria to support one side or the other.

ISIS (IS)

• A group calling itself the Islamic State of Syria and Iran was founded in early 2011.

• It grew out of Al Qaeda.

• It is one of the main jihadi groups fighting government forces in Syria.

• It has attracted many foreign jihadist.

ISIS (IS, ISIL)It took control of Syria, and large parts of Iraq.

It changed its name to Islamic State (IS) in 2014.

2nd Gaza-Israel War 2012Pillar of Defence.

• Israel said that in response to incessant rocket and missile attacks from Hamas in the Gaza strip, it launched a campaign against these attacks.

• Two main goals:

– Defend Israelis living under constant fire.

– Prevent further rocket and missile attacks from Gaza.

Pillar of Defence 2012Over 8 days

Hamas fired 1506 long-range rockets towards Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

More than 3.5 million Israelis were now in range of Hamas rockets.

Israel targeted 1500 attack sites, smuggling tunnels, command centres, rocket launchers, weapons manufacturing and storage facilities.

Many of these were also civilian residencies.

Pillar of Defence 2012• Israel said it tried to minimise

harm to civilians in Gaza by:

• Dropping leaflets warning of imminent attacks;

• Phone calls;

• Aborting air strikes when they saw civilians;

• Dropping non-lethal bombs to warn civilians to leave a site;

• Pinpointed strikes.

Pillar of Defence 2012• Israel built shelters in every

building, bus stops, parks.

• It gave warnings to Israeli citizens of incoming rockets and missiles.

• In the south of the country, this gave people 15 seconds to reach a shelter or safe place.

• Israel agreed to a ceasefire, even though Hamas had not been defeated.

IS 2014

• By July 2014 IS controlled one third of Syrian territory and most of its oil, and much of Iraq and its most important cities and major resources.

• It declared a Caliphate, and its intention to spread this caliphate over the whole Middle East, and eventually of the whole world.

• It violently persecuted and murdered non-Muslims and Muslims who did not share its aims.

IS 2014• In August 2014 The Kurds, Christian and other

minorities begged the West for help.

• The USA conducted airstrikes on IS forces.

• This helped the Kurdish army to push back the IS forces from the dam near the city of Mosul.

• It also helped to rescue thousands of Yazidis(2) hiding on a mountain top with no food or water.

• Western governments and many Arab rulers discussed collaboration to remove the threat of IS.

Hamas-Fatah Peace TalksIn 2014, Fatah on the West Bank finally negotiated a reconciliation with Hamas in Gaza.

This was in spite of the fact that, while Fatah had been involved in peace talks with Israel, Hamas still refused to negotiate with Israel, to renounce violence against it, or to recognise Israel’s right to exist.

Western governments hoped, however, that this reconciliation would lead to Hamas agreeing to talk peace with Israel.

June 2014Israeli factory destroyed

from Gaza

Gaza 2014Operation Protective Edge/

The Eaten Straw• The conflict between Israel and Hamas intensified in July

2014.

• Both sides accused the other of having started the escalation.

• Three Israeli teenagers were kidnapped and murdered by a Hamas cell.

• A Palestinian teenager was then kidnapped and murdered by three Israelis.

• Rocket and missile fire from Gaza increased.

• Israel attacked Hamas in Gaza, invading in July.

Operation Protective Edge/The Eaten Straw

• Hamas claimed that 2120 civilians were killed in Gaza. Al-Jazeera stated that most were young men of military age. (See next slide).

How can this discrepancy be explained?

• Hamas was accused of using its civilians as human shields.

• Over 3000 rockets were fired at Israel during the 5 weeks of the conflict.

• Most were destroyed before they could kill Israelis.

(See D. VI Can you Believe the Media?)


Al-Jazeera. Deaths in Gaza


• 6 Israeli civilians and 66 soldiers died during this period.

• Israel was accused of being disproportionate.

• Hamas was accused of using its civilians as human shields.

• See D IV, Ethics of War, and D VI, Can you Believe the Media? for more details.


Over 4000 rockets were fired at Israel during the 50 days of the conflict.

About 400 misfired or fell short, in Gaza.

It is not known how many deaths were caused by this.

Most rockets were destroyed in the air by the ‘Iron Dome’, developed by Israel, thus saving thousands of Israeli lives.

See D VI, Can you Believe the Media? for more details

Operation Protective Edge

• Israel found tunnels, not only for smuggling, but over 30 with exits in Israeli villages.

• Hamas operatives admitted these were for a planned attack on many Israeli villages during the Jewish New Year in September 2014.

• Israel destroyed 33 of these tunnels.

• Israel also attacked Hamas command centres, weapons storage and launching sites.

• These were situated in urban areas, often inside mosques, schools, hospitals, etc (See D. VI Can you believe the media?).

Operation Protective Edge/The Eaten StrawA Hamas Tunnel


Israel attacked Hamas command centres, weapons storage and launching sites.

Israel claimed that these were situated in urban areas, often inside mosques, schools, hospitals, etc.

This was later corroborated by foreign reporters.

A large number of buildings were destroyed in the fighting.


Destruction in Gaza

Ksdk.com

Operation Protective Edge/The Eaten StrawHuman Shields?

What is the man doing? Why?

Operation Protective Edge/The Eaten StrawHuman Shields?

Why did these people go onto the roof?


The Israeli government provided shelters for its citizens, and gave warnings of rocket attacks (15 seconds in southern Israel).

Gazan civilians did not have shelters and were not given access to the miles of tunnels in Gaza in which Hamas fighters took cover.

Why were they not provided with safe places to shelter?

See D IV, Ethics of War for more details

There were demonstrations in cities around the world in support of Hamas.

Yet

Many people, including those in Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, blamed Hamas for the suffering of the innocent civilians in Gaza (4),and called for Hamas to be destroyed.

How can the difference of opinion be explained?

Peace TalksPeace talks were held in Egypt, but broke down 11 times, when ceasefires ended.The 12th one held for 30 days.

Hamas demanded open borders, an airport, a sea port, release of all those imprisoned by Israel for murder.

Israel refused to open the borders as when open, they were used to build tunnels with materials intended for hospitals, schools, etc, and to import weapons with which to attack Israel.

Peace Talks

Hamas refused to stop attacking Israel.

Israel said it would fight on until all threat from rockets, missiles and tunnels were eliminated.

Israeli citizens said they would no longer live under constant threat and attack.

Israel continued to allow humanitarian aid in to Gaza, but not materials which could be used to build tunnels or weapons with which to attack Israel.

In Gaza civilians continued to suffer.

Open-Ended TruceHamas spokesmen said:

“We are not talking about a long-term tahdiah [ceasefire] or about a peace agreement....The word tahdiah means preparation for battles to come.... Our resistance will continue to develop, manufacture, and expand its arsenal of weapons...until the Zionist enemy leaves our land in its entirety”.

Mushir Al-Masri, Hamas spokesman, Mayadeen TV (Lebanon), 6/7/2014

“As of today, the resistance is preparing not for the opening of a border crossing here or there, but rather for the liberation of our Palestinian land”.

Sami Abu Zuhri, Al-Aqsa TV (Gaza) 17/8/2014, (memri 24/8/2014)

On Augusts 26th, 2014 the two sides agreed a 30-day truce, and Hamas declared victory.

Do you think there will be peace this time, or will fighting break out again?

Notes

(1) “Hamas is part of the political Islam that begat ISIS's caliphate state”.

Ali Al-Siwan, a columnist for the official Syrian daily Teshreen, 29/6/2014

Notes

(2) Yazidis. A religious sect. A Kurdish ethno-religious community whose ancient religion is linked to Zoroastrianism and ancient Mesopotamian religions. They live primarily in northern Iraq.

Additional communities in Armenia, Georgia and Syria have been in decline since the 1990s as a result of significant migration to Europe, especially to Germany.

Notes

(3) Hamas instructions on talking to the foreign media:

“Anyone killed or martyred is to be called a civilian, before we talk about his status in jihad or military rank.

“Don’t forget to always add ‘innocent civilian’ in your description of those killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza”.

Hamas media guide for 2014 Gaza conflict,

July 2014

Notes(4) Hamas was accused of:• Using cement imported legally and illegally to build tunnels, rather than to build

hospitals, schools, clinics;• Using children to build tunnels, 160 dying so far in the process;• Using children as fighters;• Murdering the builders of tunnels to prevent them divulging their locations;• Beating with rods and sticks those Gazans who heed Israeli warnings to leave a

building about to be bombed;• Boasting that they used human shields;• Using their dense urban areas, mosques, schools, hospitals, power plants, UN and Red

Cross facilities, graveyards and playgrounds for weapon storage and launching;• Threatening intimidating and expelling foreign journalists who reported them firing

rockets from these places;• Leaders hiding in tunnels while the civilians had no shelter from Israeli attacks;• Plotting to take over the West Bank;

Planting explosives in streets and buildings in Gaza, resulting in destruction of numerous buildings and deaths.

• Shooting dead in the street 30 Gazan civilians for demonstrating against Hamas, or collaborating with Israel.

Notes

(5) “Random executions of those who Hamas called collaborators.

“The executions were done in cold blood and according to Hamas law, which is: who is not with Hamas is against it”.

Secretary-General of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' officeal-Tayyib Abd al-Rahim,

www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=72265625/08/2014

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