Editing Second Intifada (section)

===2003===
[[File:Autobus v Haifě.jpg|thumb|The aftermath of a bus bombing in Haifa in 2003]]

Following an Israeli intelligence report stating that [[Yasir Arafat]] had paid $20,000 to [[al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades]], the United States demanded democratic reforms in the [[Palestinian National Authority|Palestinian Authority]], as well the appointment of a prime minister independent of Arafat. On 13 March 2003, following U.S. pressure, Arafat appointed [[Mahmoud Abbas]] as Palestinian prime minister.

Following the appointment of Abbas, the U.S. administration promoted the [[Road map for peace]]—the [[Quartet on the Middle East|Quartet]]'s plan to end the [[Israeli–Palestinian conflict]] by disbanding militant organizations, halting settlement activity and establishing a democratic and peaceful Palestinian state. The first phase of the plan demanded that the Palestinian Authority suppress guerrilla and terrorist attacks and confiscate illegal weapons. Unable or unwilling to confront militant organizations and risk civil war, Abbas tried to reach a temporary cease-fire agreement with the militant factions and asked them to halt attacks on Israeli civilians.

On 20 May, Israeli naval commandos intercepted another vessel, the ''[[Abu Hasan (boat)|Abu Hassan]]'', on course to the [[Gaza Strip]] from [[Lebanon]]. It was loaded with rockets, weapons, and ammunition. Eight crew members on board were arrested including a senior [[Hezbollah]] member.

On 29 June 2003, a [[Hudna|temporary armistice]] was unilaterally declared by [[Fatah]], [[Hamas]] and [[Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement|Islamic Jihad]], which declared a ceasefire and halt to all attacks against Israel for a period of three months.<ref>{{cite news |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3030480.stm |title=Texts: Palestinian truces |date=29 June 2003 |access-date=28 September 2004 |archive-date=5 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140105052121/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3030480.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> Violence decreased somewhat in the following month, but suicide bombings against Israeli civilians continued as well as Israeli operations against militants.

Four Palestinians, three of them militants, were killed in gun battles during an IDF raid of [[Askar (Palestine)|Askar]] near [[Nablus]] involving tanks and [[armoured personnel carrier]]s (APCs); an Israeli soldier was killed by one of the militants. Nearby Palestinians claimed a squad of Israeli police disguised as Palestinian labourers opened fire on [[Members of Hamas called Qawasameh|Abbedullah Qawasameh]] as he left a Hebron mosque.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/06/23/wmid23.xml |date=23 June 2003 |title=Israel defends Hamas death |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |author=Alan Philps |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040604160641/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fnews%2F2003%2F06%2F23%2Fwmid23.xml |archive-date= 4 June 2004 }}</ref> [[YAMAM]], the Israeli counter-terrorism police unit that performed the operation, said Qawasemah opened fire on them as they attempted to arrest him.

On 19 August, Hamas coordinated a [[suicide attack]] on a [[Jerusalem bus 2 massacre|crowded bus]] in [[Jerusalem]] killing 23 Israeli civilians, including 7 children. Hamas claimed it was a retaliation for the killing of five Palestinians (including Hamas leader [[Members of Hamas called Qawasameh|Abbedullah Qawasameh]]) earlier in the week. U.S. and Israeli media outlets frequently referred to the bus bombing as shattering the quiet and bringing an end to the ceasefire.

Following the Hamas bus attack, [[Israeli Defence Forces]] were ordered to kill or capture all Hamas leaders in [[Hebron]] and the [[Gaza Strip]]. The plotters of the bus suicide bombing were all captured or killed and [[Members of Hamas called Qawasameh|Hamas leadership in Hebron]] was badly damaged by the IDF. Strict curfews were enforced in Nablus, Jenin, and Tulkarem; the Nablus lockdown lasted for over 100 days. In [[Nazlet 'Issa]], over 60 shops were destroyed by Israeli civil administration [[bulldozer]]s. The Israeli civil administration explained that the shops were [[House demolition|demolished]] because they were built without a permit. Palestinians consider Israeli military curfews and property destruction to constitute [[collective punishment]] against innocent Palestinians.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/2680777.stm|work=BBC News|title=Israelis flatten West Bank shops|date=21 January 2003|access-date=4 January 2010|archive-date=19 December 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061219020234/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/2680777.stm|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:IDF-Caterpillar-D9N-1133.jpg|thumb|Early Israeli construction of West Bank barrier, 2003]]
Unable to rule effectively under Arafat, Abbas resigned in September 2003. [[Ahmed Qurei]] (Abu Ala) was appointed to replace him. The Israeli government gave up hope for negotiated settlement to the conflict and pursued a unilateral policy of physically separating Israel from Palestinian communities by beginning construction on the [[Israeli West Bank barrier]]. Israel claims the barrier is necessary to prevent Palestinian attackers from entering Israeli cities. Palestinians claim the barrier separates Palestinian communities from each other and that the construction plan is a de facto annexation of Palestinian territory.

Following a 4 October [[Maxim restaurant suicide bombing|suicide bombing in Maxim restaurant]], [[Haifa]], which claimed the lives of 21 Israelis, Israel claimed that Syria and [[Iran]] sponsored the [[Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement|Islamic Jihad]] and [[Hezbollah]], and were responsible for the terrorist attack. The day after the Maxim massacre, [[Israeli Air Force|IAF]] warplanes [[Ain es Saheb airstrike|bombed an alleged former Palestinian training base]] at Ain Saheb, [[Syria]], which had been mostly abandoned since the 1980s. Munitions being stored on the site were destroyed, and a civilian guard was injured.