CRS Insights: Israel and Hamas: Another Round of Conflict
CRS Insights
Israel and Hamas: Another Round of Conflict
Jim Zanotti, Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs (jzanotti@crs.loc.gov, 7-1441)
July 18, 2014 (IN10104)
Periodic violence between Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip—including the Islamist group Hamas—
and Israel's military became a larger conflict on July 6-7, 2014, and Israel began a ground operation in
Gaza on July 17 with the stated objective of destroying tunnels used by militants to infiltrate Israeli
territory. Since the initial escalation, Hamas and other Palestinian militants have reportedly launched
more than 1,000 rockets into Israel with longer ranges than in past conflicts, and Israel has conducted
more than 1,900 strikes on targets in Gaza. Rockets and/or mortars have also reportedly been fired on
Israeli-controlled territory from Lebanon, Syria, and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, in some cases provoking
Israeli retaliatory fire. Additionally, Israel has reportedly shot down two Hamas drone aircraft and foiled
a Hamas sea raid. Though casualty figures cannot be independently verified, apparently more than 220
Palestinians—many or most of them civilians, but also some prominent Hamas operatives—have been
killed, more than 1,500 injured, and several thousand displaced. One Israeli civilian has reportedly
been killed, with several injuries reported to other civilians and military personnel. Daily life on both
sides faces continual disruption. Israel's Iron Dome anti-rocket system has reportedly intercepted
approximately 90% of rockets it classifies as threats to sensitive targets (including population centers).
Source: New York Times
Despite U.S. and international calls and efforts to end the violence, including a July 12 U.N. Security
Council statement, hostilities have continued to date. On July 15, Israel reportedly accepted an
Egyptian proposal that would have temporarily halted violence pending negotiation of a comprehensive
cease-fire, but Hamas and other Palestinian militants balked at the proposal. As the conflict continued,
Israel's military has called up approximately 65,000 reserves.
On July 11, the House passed a resolution (H.Res. 657) calling on Hamas to immediately cease all
attacks and expressing its support for Israel's right to defend itself. A similar resolution in the Senate
(S.Res. 498) is under consideration, with a provision calling on Palestinian Authority (PA) President and
Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas to dissolve the PA government formed in early June 2014 in consensus
with Hamas.
Background
The current violence occurs within a political context marked by increased Israeli-Palestinian tensions.
These tensions have been fueled by, among other factors, mutual recriminations surrounding the
unsuccessful end to a round of U.S.-backed negotiations in April 2014, and the June formation of the
PA consensus government.
Major Israel-Hamas Conflicts Since 2008
December 2008-January 2009: Israeli codename
"Operation Cast Lead"
Three-week duration, first meaningful display of
Palestinians' Iranian-origin rockets, Israeli air strikes and
ground offensive
Political context: Impending leadership transitions in
Israel and United States; struggling Israeli-Palestinian
peace talks (Annapolis process)
November 2012: Israeli codename "Operation Pil ar of
Defense (or Cloud)"
Eight-day duration, Palestinian projectiles of greater
range and variety, Israeli airstrikes, prominent role for
Iron Dome
Political context: Widespread Arab political change,
including rise of Muslim Brotherhood to power in Egypt;
three months before Israeli elections
July 2014: Israeli codename "Operation Protective
Edge/Mighty Cliff"
Escalated July 6-7, Palestinian projectiles of greater
range and variety, Israeli air strikes, prominent role for
Iron Dome, Israeli ground operation began July 17.
Political context: Shortly after (1) unsuccessful round of
Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, (2) PA consensus
government formation and end of Hamas's formal
responsibilities for governing Gaza, (3) prominent youth
killings.
In mid-June, Israel carried out numerous raids and detentions in the West Bank after the abduction of
three Israeli teenagers. Daily Palestinian rocket barrages followed against Israel from Gaza (initially
reportedly led by non-Hamas groups). After the teenagers were found murdered on June 30, and the
two Palestinian suspects (to date still at large) were claimed by Israel to have Hamas connections
(though Hamas denies responsibility), Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu vowed a strong
response. On July 2, a Palestinian teenager in Jerusalem unconnected with the incident was burned to
death—allegedly in retaliation—by a group of Jewish Israeli extremists. Despite Netanyahu's public
condolences for the death of the Palestinian youth and the subsequent arrest and confession of three
suspects, Palestinian protests (which have since abated) broke out in East Jerusalem and several Israeli
towns with large Arab communities, and Israel-Gaza violence continued. After a July 6 Israeli air strike
against a tunnel leading from Gaza to Israel reportedly killed six Hamas operatives, Hamas actively
took the lead in conducting rocket attacks on Israel, and the conflict escalated.
Assessment
This is the third major conflict between Israel and Hamas in the past six years. Though distinct, each
arguably has featured mutual tests of military capability, domestic political cohesion, and deterrence in
times of political change. Each has also featured heated debate over respective culpability and the
targeting of civilians.
In this case, Israel appears to be seeking to deter Hamas and hold it and/or PA President Abbas
accountable for threats to Israel resulting from Gaza's complex political, social, and economic
dysfunction (see CRS Report RL34074, The Palestinians: Background and U.S. Relations, by Jim
Zanotti). In addition to Hamas's long-standing demands to have Israeli and Egyptian restrictions on
access to and from Gaza significantly eased, the group may be trying to show Israel that recent
political setbacks have not weakened its military capabilities. It may also be striving to reinforce its
credentials as a resistance movement in order to gain politically at Abbas's expense and stave off
challenges from other armed groups in Gaza.
U.S. Policy Issues
Congress and the Obama Administration might address a range of issues pertinent to the conflict,
including:
Whether and how to intercede to end the conflict and avoid spillover into third countries or a
third Palestinian intifada (uprising);
Whether various Israeli and Palestinian actions comply with international laws and norms, and
how to respond to any breaches;
What implications there are for Palestinian unity, diplomacy and international action regarding
Israeli-Palestinian disputes, and regional dynamics; and
Whether and how various types of material and political assistance to Israel and the Palestinians
might proceed, change, or cease (see CRS Report RL33222, U.S. Foreign Aid to Israel, by Jeremy
M. Sharp and CRS Report RS22967, U.S. Foreign Aid to the Palestinians, by Jim Zanotti).