Events in the year 2004 in the Palestinian territories.

Incumbents

Palestinian National Authority (non-state administrative authority) * President - Yasser Arafat (

Fatah Fatah ( ar, فتح '), formerly the Palestinian National Liberation Movement, is a Palestinian nationalist social democratic political party and the largest faction of the confederated multi-party Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and ...

) until November 11, Rawhi Fattouh (Interim-President of the PA) * Prime Minister -

Ahmed Qurei Ahmed Ali Mohammed Qurei (or Qureia; ar, أحمد علي محمد قريع, ), also known by his Arabic ''Kunya (Arabic), kunya'' Abu Alaa (, ) (born 26 March 1937) is a former Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority. First appointe ...

(

)

Israeli–Palestinian conflict

The most prominent events related to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict which occurred during 2004 include: * January 12 – Over 100,000 people rally in Tel Aviv to protest Prime Minister

Ariel Sharon Ariel Sharon (; ; ; also known by his diminutive Arik, , born Ariel Scheinermann, ; 26 February 1928 – 11 January 2014) was an Israeli general and politician who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Israel from March 2001 until April 2006. S ...

's plans to withdraw from the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...

and parts of the West Bank. * January 26 – Top Hamas official

Abdel-Aziz al-Rantissi Abdel Aziz Ali Abdul Majid al-Rantisi ( ar, عبد العزيز علي عبد المجيد الحفيظ الرنتيسي; 23 October 1947 – 17 April 2004), nicknamed the "Lion of Palestine" was the co-founder of Palestinian Sunni-Islamic org ...

offers a ten-year

truce A ceasefire (also known as a truce or armistice), also spelled cease fire (the antonym of 'open fire'), is a temporary stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions. Ceasefires may be between state act ...

if Israel would withdraw from territory occupied since 1967 and acknowledge the creation of an Arab state. Israel dismisses the truce offer as "ridiculous". * January 30 – Sheik

Ahmed Yassin Sheikh Ahmed Ismail Hassan Yassin ( ar, الشيخ أحمد إسماعيل حسن ياسين; 1 January 1937 – 22 March 2004) was a Palestinian politician and imam who founded Hamas, a militant Islamist and Palestinian nationalist organiz ...

, leader of Hamas, announces that his group is making an all-out effort to kidnap Israeli soldiers to use as bargaining chips for Palestinian Arabs in Israeli prisons, following the recent prisoner exchange between Israel and

Hezbollah Hezbollah (; ar, حزب الله ', , also transliterated Hizbullah or Hizballah, among others) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militant group, led by its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah since 1992. Hezbollah's parami ...

in which the remains of three Israeli soldiers and a businessman were exchanged for over 400 prisoners on January 29, 2004. * February 2 – Prime Minister of Israel

announces to the '' Ha'aretz'' newspaper that he plans to dismantle 17

Israeli settlement Israeli settlements, or Israeli colonies, are civilian communities inhabited by Israeli citizens, overwhelmingly of Jewish ethnicity, built on lands occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. The international community considers Israeli se ...

s in the

and says that he foresees a time when there are no Jews in Gaza at all. * May 2 – Members of Israel's Likud Party vote on whether or not to approve

's proposal to pull out of the

unilaterally. Rejection of the proposal is seen as a major blow to the

Sharon Sharon ( he, שָׁרוֹן ''Šārôn'' "plain") is a given name as well as an Israeli surname. In English-speaking areas, Sharon is now predominantly a feminine given name. However, historically it was also used as a masculine given name. In I ...

government. Sharon subsequently says that he will not resign and may modify the plan. * June 30 – The Israeli Supreme Court issues a landmark ruling that a 30-kilometer planned stretch of the separation barrier in eastern Jerusalem violates the legal rights of the local Palestinian Arab population to an extent not justified by security concerns, and therefore must be changed. * July 21 – The United Nations General Assembly passes a resolution demanding that Israel obey the International Court of Justice ruling that the

West Bank barrier The Israeli West Bank barrier, comprising the West Bank Wall and the West Bank fence, is a separation barrier built by Israel along the Green Line and inside parts of the West Bank. It is a contentious element of the Israeli–Palestinian c ...

should be dismantled. Israel condemns the resolution and announces that it will not stop building the barrier. * July 25 – Over 100,000 opponents of

Israel's unilateral disengagement plan of 2004 The Israeli disengagement from Gaza ( he, תוכנית ההתנתקות, ') was the unilateral dismantling in 2005 of the 21 Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip and the evacuation of Israeli settlers and army from inside the Gaza Strip. Th ...

participate in a human chain from

Gush Katif Gush Katif ( he, גוש קטיף, , Harvest Bloc) was a bloc of 17 Israeli settlements in the southern Gaza strip. In August 2005, the Israeli army forcibly removed the 8,600 residents of Gush Katif from their homes after a decision from the Ca ...

, to the Western Wall, Jerusalem (90 kilometers). * September 12 – 40,000 demonstrators protest in Jerusalem against Prime Minister

's plans to force all Israeli Jews to leave the

and parts of the West Bank. * October 5 –

Second Intifada The Second Intifada ( ar, الانتفاضة الثانية, ; he, האינתיפאדה השנייה, ), also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada ( ar, انتفاضة الأقصى, label=none, '), was a major Palestinian uprising against Israel. ...

: The United States vetoes a United Nations resolution urging Israel to halt its current offensive in the

. Over 70 Palestinian Arabs, including civilians, have died in the offensive. * October 6 –

: Three Palestinian Arabs, including a 15-year-old boy, are killed after Israel shells the town of

Beit Lahiya Beit Lahia or Beit Lahiya ( ar, بيت لاهيا) is a city in the Gaza Strip north of Jabalia, near Beit Hanoun and the 1949 Armistice Line with Israel. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the city had a population of 59 ...

. * October 14 – About 100,000 Israelis in 100 cities march in a series of demonstrations across Israel opposing their government's proposal to withdraw Israeli settlers from the

and parts of the West Bank. * October 16 –

: Israeli forces withdraw from the northern

, ending

Operation Days of Penitence In 2004 the Israeli Defense Forces launched Operation "Days of Penitence" (Hebrew: מבצע ימי תשובה), otherwise known as Operation "Days of Repentance" in the northern Gaza Strip. The operation lasted between 29 September and 16 Octob ...

. * October 26 – The Knesset approves Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to withdraw 21 settlements from the

and four from the West Bank by the following year. Israeli Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and three other cabinet ministers from Sharon's ruling Likud government threaten to resign if a referendum over the plan will not be held. ;Notable Palestinian militant operations against Israeli targets The most prominent Palestinian militant acts and operations committed against Israeli targets during 2004 include: * January 14 – Erez Crossing bombing: A female Palestinian Arab suicide bomber, kills two Israeli soldiers, a border policeman, and a security guard for a private manpower company and wounds twelve others at the Erez Crossing. Hamas and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades jointly claim responsibility. Hamas states it used a woman suicide bomber for the first time in order to counter Israeli precautions. * January 29 –

Jerusalem bus 19 massacre A suicide bombing was carried out on Gaza Street in central Jerusalem on January 29, 2004. A Palestinian bomber detonated an explosive belt on an Egged bus #19 traveling between the two campuses of Hadassah Medical Center. Eleven passengers wer ...

: A Palestinian Arab suicide bomber blows up a bus in Jerusalem, killing ten bystanders and wounding at least fifty others. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades claims responsibility for the attack. Hamas also claims responsibility for the bombing and denounces Al-Aqsa. * February 22 – Jerusalem bus 14 bombing: A Palestinian Arab suicide bomber blows himself up on a rush hour Egged bus No. 14 in Jerusalem, killing eight Israelis and wounding 60 others. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades claim responsibility for the attack. * March 6 – First Erez Crossing attack * March 14 – Ashdod Port massacre: Two Palestinian Arab suicide bombers kill ten Israeli civilians when they blow themselves up at the southern port of

Ashdod Ashdod ( he, ''ʾašdōḏ''; ar, أسدود or إسدود ''ʾisdūd'' or '' ʾasdūd'' ; Philistine: 𐤀𐤔𐤃𐤃 *''ʾašdūd'') is the sixth-largest city in Israel. Located in the country's Southern District, it lies on the Mediterran ...

. Hamas and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades claim joint responsibility for the blasts. * April 17 – Second Erez Crossing attack: An Israeli border policeman is killed and three other Israelis are wounded in a

suicide bombing A suicide attack is any violent attack, usually entailing the attacker detonating an explosive, where the attacker has accepted their own death as a direct result of the attacking method used. Suicide attacks have occurred throughout histor ...

at the Erez Crossing into the northern

. * April 26 – Deir al-Balah suicide attack * April 30 – After failing to bomb his original target, a bus full of Jewish settlers, a Palestinian Arab suicide bomber detonates an explosive device next to an Israeli army patrol, injuring all four soldiers. Hamas claims responsibility. * May 2 – Palestinian Arab gunmen kill a pregnant Israeli mother,

Tali Hatuel The Murder of the Hatuel family was a shooting attack on May 2, 2004, in which Palestinian militants killed Tali Hatuel, a Jewish settler, who was eight months pregnant, and her four daughters, aged two to eleven. The attack took place near the ...

, and all four of her young daughters near the

Kissufim Crossing Gush Katif ( he, גוש קטיף, , Harvest Bloc) was a bloc of 17 Israeli settlements in the southern Gaza strip. In August 2005, the Israeli army forcibly removed the 8,600 residents of Gush Katif from their homes after a decision from the C ...

into the

. The killers are shot dead by security forces. The incident is believed to have influenced voting intentions in the vote, held the same day, by Likud Party members on whether or not to approve a unilaterally pull out from the

. * May 22 –

Beka'ot Beka'ot ( he, בְּקָעוֹת, , Valleys) is an Israeli settlement organized as a moshav in the West Bank. Located in the Jordan Valley with an area of 1,800 dunams, it falls under the jurisdiction of Bik'at HaYarden Regional Council.

checkpoint bombing * July 11 – Tel Aviv bus stop bombing: An explosive device, packed with ball bearings and bolts, detonates in the bushes behind a bus stop in Tel Aviv, killing one person and injuring thirty-two others. * August 11 – Kalandia checkpoint attack: Two people are killed and 16 are wounded when an explosive device is detonated by Palestinian militants inside an Arab taxi as it attempts to cross the Kalandia military check point just north of Jerusalem. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades faction of

claims responsibility and expresses regret that Arabs are among the dead and wounded. * August 31 – Beersheba attack: Two buses near the Beersheba municipality building are blown up by a Palestinian Arab suicide bomber. The suicide bomber takes advantage of the fact that the two buses were standing together. He detonates a bomb on one bus and then explodes a second bomb on the second bus. At least fifteen Israelis are killed and around eighty-five injured. The military wing of Hamas claims responsibility for the attack. * September 1 – Two Palestinian Arab suicide bombers blow themselves up almost simultaneously on two buses in central Beersheba, killing 16 Israelis and wounding dozens. * September 8 – Baka al-Sharkiyeh checkpoint attack: A

car bomb A car bomb, bus bomb, lorry bomb, or truck bomb, also known as a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), is an improvised explosive device designed to be detonated in an automobile or other vehicles. Car bombs can be roughly divided ...

explodes near an Israel Border Police check point in Baqa al-Sharkiya, killing only one of the soldiers. The

's Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades claim responsibility. * September 14 – Kalandia Gate suicide bombing * September 22 – French Hill Junction bombing: A Palestinian Arab female suicide bomber detonates her bomb at the

French Hill French Hill ( he, הגבעה הצרפתית, ''HaGiv'a HaTzarfatit'', ar, التلة الفرنسية, ''at-tel al-faransiya''), also Giv'at Shapira ( he, גִּבְעַת שַׁפִּירָא) is an Israeli settlement in northern East Jerusa ...

intersection in Jerusalem. Two people are killed and fifteen injured in the attack. The blast is targeted at the large number of civilians at the station at the time of attack. The military wing of

al-Fatah Fatah ( ar, فتح '), formerly the Palestinian National Liberation Movement, is a Palestinian nationalist social democratic political party and the largest faction of the confederated multi-party Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and s ...

claims responsibility for the attack. * October 6 – Three Hamas militants are killed after infiltrating the Israeli settlement of Kfar Darom. One of the militants blows up when hit by Israeli gunfire, killing a

Thai Thai or THAI may refer to: * Of or from Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia ** Thai people, the dominant ethnic group of Thailand ** Thai language, a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in and around Thailand *** Thai script *** Thai (Unicode block ...

worker in addition to himself. The other two militants are killed by

IDF IDF or idf may refer to: Defence forces * Irish Defence Forces * Israel Defense Forces *Iceland Defense Force, of the US Armed Forces, 1951-2006 * Indian Defence Force, a part-time force, 1917 Organizations * Israeli Diving Federation * Interac ...

forces. * October 7 – Sinai bombings: Three bomb attacks are carried out by Palestinian Arab terrorists at holiday resorts in the Sinai Peninsula frequented by Israeli tourists. The attacks kills 34 people and injures 171. Among the dead were twelve Israelis. * November 1 – Carmel Market bombing: A

by a 16-year-old Palestinian Arab boy in a Tel Aviv outdoor market kills three Israelis and wounds over 30 people. The

Marxist Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...

Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine claims responsibility. * November 11 – Three Palestinian Arab militants, members of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, are killed by the

after infiltrating the Israeli settlement of Netzarim. * November 21 – Two Palestinian Arab militants are killed by the

while attempting to carry out an attack on Kissufim road to

* December 7 – Karni crossing attack * December 12 – At least five Israeli soldiers are killed and ten are injured as a tunnel rigged with 1,500 kg of

explosive An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An expl ...

s explodes near the Rafah crossing between the

and Egypt. Hamas and an al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades' offshoot called " Fatah Hawk" claim joint responsibility. * December 14 – A

worker is killed and two more are injured in

mortar shells A mortar is usually a simple, lightweight, man-portable, muzzle-loaded weapon, consisting of a smooth-bore (although some models use a rifled barrel) metal tube fixed to a base plate (to spread out the recoil) with a lightweight bipod mount and a ...

fired by Palestinian Arabs. Notable Israeli military operations against Palestinian militancy targets The most prominent Israeli military counter-terrorism operations (

military campaign A military campaign is large-scale long-duration significant military strategy plan incorporating a series of interrelated military operations or battles forming a distinct part of a larger conflict often called a war. The term derives from the ...

s and military operations) carried out against

Palestinian militants Palestinian political violence refers to acts of violence perpetrated for political ends in relation to the State of Palestine or in connection with Palestinian nationalism. Common political objectives include self-determination in and sovereig ...

during 2004 include: * March 22 –

: Hamas leader

and five of his bodyguards are killed by

hellfire missiles The AGM-114 Hellfire is an air-to-ground missile (AGM) first developed for anti-armor use, later developed for precision drone strikes against other target types, especially high-value targets. It was originally developed under the name '' Heli ...

fired from an IAF AH-64 Apache helicopter. * April 17 –

: Yassin's successor Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi is killed by

fired from an IAF AH-64 Apache helicopter at his car. * May 18–23 –

: Operation Rainbow - Israel launches a large offensive in the city of Rafah in the

. The IDF's stated aim was to clear terrorist infrastructure, to find smuggling tunnels connecting the Gaza Strip to Egypt, and to kill

militant The English word ''militant'' is both an adjective and a noun, and it is generally used to mean vigorously active, combative and/or aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in "militant reformers". It comes from the 15th century Latin " ...

s after the deaths of 13 Israeli soldiers in guerrilla attacks. * September 7 –

: An Israeli attack on a Hamas training camp kills 14 members of the military wing of Hamas. * September 30-October 16 –

- Israel carries out a 17-day military operation in the northern

. The operation, focused on the town of Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahia and Jabalia refugee camp, which were used as launching sites of Qassam rockets on the Israeli town of Sderot and

s in the Gaza Strip, and in particular in response to the death of two children in Sderot. The operation results in the deaths of between 104 and 133 Palestinian Arabs (42 civilians), and five people on the Israeli side (two soldiers and three civilians). * November 21 – Three

militants are killed in a gunfight with YAMAM, an

Israeli Police The Israel Police ( he, משטרת ישראל, ''Mišteret Yisra'el''; ar, شرطة إسرائيل, ''Shurtat Isrāʼīl'') is the civilian police force of Israel. As with most other police forces in the world, its duties include crime fightin ...

counterterrorist Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, business, and intelligence agencies use to combat or el ...

unit. One Israeli police officer sustained light injuries.

Notable deaths

* March 22 -

, 66, co-founder and leader of Hamas. * April 17 - Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi, 56, co-founder of Hamas. * November 11 - Yasser Arafat, 75, first President of the Palestinian National Authority,

Chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

of the

Palestine Liberation Organization The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ar, منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية, ') is a Palestinian nationalism, Palestinian nationalist political and militant organization founded in 1964 with the initial purpose of establ ...

, and founder and leader of

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2004 In The Palestinian Territories Palestinian territories Years of the 21st century in the Palestinian territories 2000s in the Palestinian territories Palestinian territories

Incumbents

Israeli–Palestinian conflict

Notable deaths

See also

References