2014, a devastating year for Palestinians

(Baonghean) - While negotiations between Israel and Palestine continue to stall, the United Nations has just revealed an alarming number of Palestinians killed in clashes between the two countries that took place in the summer of 2014.

By the end of 2014, Palestinians were still unable to return to their homes. Photo: AFP/Adel Hana

On Thursday, March 26, the United Nations released a report assessing the casualties caused by “Operation Protective Edge” launched by Israel in the summer of 2014 in the Gaza Strip. According to the report, since the Six-Day War in June 1967, the number of Palestinian civilians killed in fighting has never been so high.

The annual report of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OCHA) said that “More than 1,500 civilians were killed, 11,000 were injured and 100,000 were displaced”. By the end of 2014, Palestinians were still unable to return to their homes. OCHA said that a total of 2,200 Palestinians, including soldiers, were killed in the summer of 2014. It is worth noting that 550 children were among the dead. On the Israeli side, 73 people were killed, of which 67 were soldiers. It is known that the figures given by OCHA were taken from non-governmental organizations and sources from Israel and Palestine.

According to the report, in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem, the number of Palestinians killed was 58 and the number of injured was 6,028, while the number of Israelis killed was 12. The report assessed this as the highest number in recent years. Not only that, the number of Palestinians detained for “security reasons” also increased by 24%, equivalent to 5,258 prisoners compared to the average of last year.

In parts of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, 1,215 Palestinians were evicted by Israeli authorities from their homes, the highest number since Israel carried out similar operations in 2008. The report also condemned the continued expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, which is contrary to international law. “A total of approximately 4 million Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip remain under Israeli military occupation,” according to OCHA.

At the same time, non-governmental organizations, including Amnesty International (AI), also accused the Hamas movement of continuing to control Gaza. AI demanded that “Palestinian armed groups must stop attacks on civilians and indiscriminate attacks.” According to AI, Palestinian armed groups also committed war crimes by firing mortars and rockets indiscriminately toward Israel. Meanwhile, previously, the Palestinians announced that they would bring Israeli leaders to the International Criminal Court on April 1 for “war crimes” and continued occupation of Palestinian land.

Chu Thanh
According to Le Monde March 26