Activities in the Gaza Strip, West Bank and East Jerusalem led to the deaths of 2,314 Palestinians and injured 17,125 people. Figures from 2013, however, showed that there were only 39 deaths and 3,964 injuries according to the annual report compiled by the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
The dramatic increase in the fatalities can be attributed to the conflict in Gaza in which the lives of 2,220 Gazans were taken. Out of those, 1,492 were civilians, 605 militants and the remaining 123 unverified.
More than 11,000 people were injured and about 500,000 Palestinians were internally displaced at the height of the conflict.
A sharp rise in fatalities was also noted in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, where 58 Palestinians were killed and 6,028 injured. This marked the highest number of fatalities in incidents involving Israeli forces since 2007 and the highest number of injuries since 2005.
Following the abduction and murder of 16- year-old Palestinian, Mohammed Abu Khdeir, daily riots and protests took over the streets of East Jerusalem which meant that most of the incidents took place in the second half of the year.
Khdeir’s abduction followed the murder of three Israeli teenagers.
The report, entitled Fragmented Lives, documents an increase in the number of Palestinians injured, incarcerated and displaced, compared to the previous two years.
It noted the increase in the Israeli armed forces’ use of live ammunition, which accounted for almost all fatalities and 18% of injuries.
Palestinian attacks against Israeli civilians – mostly settlers – and security forces also rose in 2014, with Israeli fatalities increasing from four to 12.
Incidents of settler violence resulting in Palestinian casualties and injuries increased, but the number of incidents leading to Palestinian property and land being damaged decreased.
The number of Palestinians held in administrative detention by Israeli authorities increased by 24 per cent in 2014, but decreased when it came to children. A monthly average of 185 were held last year compared with 197 in 2013, a decrease of 6 per cent. No children under 14 years old were held in military detention in 2014.
