Editing Second Intifada (section)

===2005===
[[2005 Palestinian presidential election|Palestinian presidential elections]] were held on 9 January, and [[Mahmoud Abbas]] (Abu Mazen) was elected as the president of the PA. His platform was of a peaceful negotiation with Israel and non-violence to achieve Palestinian objectives. Although Abbas called on militants to halt attacks against Israel, he promised them protection from Israeli incursions and did not advocate disarmament by force.

Violence continued in the Gaza Strip, and [[Ariel Sharon]] froze all diplomatic and security contacts with the [[Palestinian National Authority]]. Spokesman Assaf Shariv declared that "Israel informed international leaders today that there will be no meetings with Abbas until he makes a real effort to stop the terror." The freezing of contacts came less than one week after Mahmoud Abbas was elected, and the day before his inauguration. Palestinian negotiator [[Saeb Erekat]], confirming the news, declared "You cannot hold Mahmoud Abbas accountable when he hasn't even been inaugurated yet."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/01/14/gaza.bombing/ |date=14 January 2005 |title=Sharon suspends contacts with Palestinian Authority |publisher=CNN |access-date=28 September 2014 |archive-date=5 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181005004326/http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/01/14/gaza.bombing/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4176141.stm|date=14 January 2005|title=Israel cuts Palestinian contacts|work=BBC News|access-date=4 January 2010|archive-date=16 March 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060316084259/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4176141.stm|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Gaza Strip Access Restrictions.pdf|thumb|Gaza Strip, with borders and Israeli limited fishing zone]]
Following international pressure and Israeli threat of wide military operation in the [[Gaza Strip]], Abbas ordered [[Preventive Security Force|Palestinian police]] to deploy in the northern Gaza Strip to prevent [[Qassam rocket]] and mortar shelling over Israeli settlement. Although attacks on Israelis did not stop completely, they decreased sharply. On 8 February 2005, at the [[Sharm el-Sheikh Summit of 2005]], Sharon and Abbas declared a mutual [[truce]] between Israel and the [[Palestinian National Authority]]. They shook hands at a four-way summit that also included [[Jordan]] and [[Egypt]] at [[Sharm al-Sheikh]]. However, Hamas and [[Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement|Islamic Jihad]] said the truce is not binding for their members. Israel has not withdrawn its demand to dismantle terrorist infrastructure before moving ahead in the [[Road map for peace]].<ref>{{cite news|date=8 February 2005|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4245353.stm|title=Mid-East leaders announce truce|work=BBC News|access-date=4 January 2010|archive-date=14 June 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060614175342/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4245353.stm|url-status=live}}</ref>

Many warned that truce is fragile, and progress must be done slowly while observing that the truce and quiet are kept. On 9–10 February night, a barrage of 25–50 [[Qassam rocket]]s and [[Mortar (weapon)|mortar shells]] hit [[Neve Dekalim]] settlement, and another barrage hit at noon. Hamas said it was in retaliation for an attack in which one Palestinian was killed near an Israeli settlement.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4252445.stm|date=10 February 2005|title=Abbas orders security crackdown|work=BBC News|access-date=4 January 2010|archive-date=3 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181003014501/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4252445.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> As a response to the mortar attack, Abbas ordered the Palestinian security forces to stop such attacks in the future. He also fired senior commanders in the Palestinian security apparatus. On 10 February, [[Israeli security forces]] arrested Maharan Omar Shucat Abu Hamis, a Palestinian resident of [[Nablus]], who was about to launch a bus [[suicide attack]] in the [[French Hill (neighborhood)|French Hill]] in [[Jerusalem]].

On 13 February 2005, Abbas entered into talks with the leaders of the Islamic Jihad and the Hamas, for them to rally behind him and respect the truce. Ismail Haniyah, a senior leader of the group Hamas said that "its position regarding calm will continue unchanged and Israel will bear responsibility for any new violation or aggression."

In the middle of June, Palestinian factions intensified bombardment over the city of [[Sderot]] with improvised [[Qassam rocket]]s. Palestinian attacks resulted in 2 Palestinians and 1 Chinese civilian killed by a Qassam, and 2 Israelis were killed. The wave of attacks lessened support for the [[Israel's unilateral disengagement plan|disengagement plan]] among the Israeli public. Attacks on Israel by the [[Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement|Islamic Jihad]] and the [[al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades]] increased in July, and on 12 July, a [[Suicide attack|suicide bombing]] hit the coastal city of [[Netanya]], killing 5 civilians. On 14 July, Hamas started to shell Israeli settlements inside and outside the [[Gaza Strip]] with dozens of Qassam rockets, killing an Israeli woman. On 15 July, Israel resumed its "targeted killing" policy, killing 7 Hamas militants and bombing about 4 Hamas facilities. The continuation of shelling rockets over Israeli settlements, and street battles between Hamas militants and Palestinian policemen, threatened to shatter the truce agreed in the Sharm el-Sheikh Summit of 2005. The Israeli Defence Force also started to build up armored forces around the Gaza Strip in response to the shelling.