2014 deadliest year in the conflict since ’67, UN says

A United Nations humanitarian report released on Thursday said that 2014 had the highest civilian death toll among Palestinians since 1967, while calling on Palestinian groups to refrain from firing rockets at Israel, and lamenting a “crisis of accountability” on both sides of the conflict.

The annual United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs report on the Palestinian territories aims to provide “a comprehensive overview of the underlying causes or drivers of the humanitarian situation” in the Palestinian territories.

In total, 2,314 Palestinian were killed due to the conflict with Israel, while 85 Israelis lost their lives. There were 17,125 Palestinian injuries and 2,629 Israeli injuries. In 2013, there were 39 Palestinian fatalities and five Israeli deaths. The main reason for the sharp increase in the number of casualties was the summer conflict in the Gaza Strip, the report noted, along with violence in Jerusalem that was fueled by the Gaza fighting and clashes over the Temple Mount.
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According OCHA, which based its figures on a variety of local and international sources, a total of 2,220 Palestinians, including 1,492 civilians, were killed over 50 days of fighting between the IDF and armed groups in Gaza in July and August, 2014. Israel disputes the casualty figures, claiming about half of the Palestinian fatalities were armed gunmen.

Israel also blames Hamas for all civilian deaths since the Palestinian terror group — which took over Gaza in a violent coup against the Palestinian Authority in 2007 and which seeks to destroy Israel — emplaced its war machine in residential areas. On the Israeli side, 66 soldiers and six civilians were killed.

The Palestinian Health Ministry claimed a further 11,231 Palestinians were injured, the report continued, and some 100,000 remain displaced. The conflict, along with violence and tensions in Jerusalem, also caused a “marked increase in Israeli casualties.

“Israeli attacks striking residential buildings accounted for a significant number of the civilian casualties, raising concerns about respect for the principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution in attack under international humanitarian law,” the report said. “The hostilities also had a severe impact on the Israeli civilian population due to indiscriminate rocket and mortar fire from armed groups in Gaza.

“All parties to the conflict, including armed groups, must fulfill their legal obligations to conduct hostilities in accordance with international law to ensure the protection of all civilians during hostilities and to ensure accountability for acts committed in contravention of the laws of armed conflict,” OCHA said.

Israeli forces “should refrain from launching attacks, if these are expected to cause loss of civilian life, injury to civilians, or damage to civilian objects, which would be excessive in relation to the military advantage anticipated,” added OCHA.

“Palestinian armed groups in the Gaza Strip should refrain from the indiscriminate firing of rockets and other projectiles at Israel and, to the extent possible, ensure that civilian areas in Gaza are not used to launch attacks or to shield military forces or installations,” the UN group demanded.

Israeli and Palestinian authorities must do more to take responsibility and fully investigate any violations that cause civilian causalities, the report urged.

In the West Bank and Jerusalem, 2014 also saw an increase in the number of Palestinian fatalities, which at 58 were more than double the death toll for 2013 — 28. There was also an increase in Palestinian attacks against Israeli civilians and security forces with 16 fatalities last year, compared to four in 2013.

“The rise in the number of Palestinian fatalities and serious injuries in the West Bank highlights long-standing concerns over the use of excessive force by Israeli forces, particularly in crowd control contexts,” the report said. “Criminal investigations by the Israeli authorities into the circumstances of 32 of this year’s killings have led to the indictment of only one suspect, while the results of the other cases are still pending.”