Attacks on Gaza - January-March 2015

Late on Thursday, a rocket was fired from inside the Gaza Strip into Israel, causing no damage or injuries. Subsequently, Israeli forces shelled a Hamas base in northern Gaza, also causing no injuries.

This was the first rocket fired from Gaza this year, according to the Israeli military, and the fourth rocket fired from inside Gaza to land inside Israeli territory since the August 2014 ceasefire (the previous incident took place on December 19, 2014).

This week’s rocket was described by former-Israeli army spokesperson Avital Leibovich as ending a period of “relative quiet.” Variations of this kind of language are commonplace: Palestinian violence always ends a “period of calm”, Israeli violence is always “retaliatory.”

In fact, as the new infographic illustrates, the first quarter of 2015 saw repeated Israeli ceasefire violations and attacks on Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip (these are conservative figures, taken from UN OCHA, PCHR-Gaza, and media sources).

In the period January-March, Israeli occupation forces killed one Palestinian civilian and wounded a further 16. There were six military incursions – when Israeli forces invade the Gaza Strip then withdraw – and 67 shooting attacks on land and at sea.

These attacks targeted farmers, fishermen, and unarmed protesters. The Israeli military’s unilateral imposition of a ‘no go’ zone close to the border fence, as well as in Gaza’s waters, is a key part of the blockade, and a violation of international law (and even of the Oslo Accords).

Remember: during these same three months, not even one rocket was fired from Gaza into Israel.

Thus there is no ‘calm’ or ‘quiet’ for the occupied, blockaded Palestinians of the Gaza Strip. Their homes and businesses lie in ruins, their economy shattered – and still, the Israeli army conducts attacks with impunity, and little or no international media coverage.

Item by Ben White.