Four Palestinians were shot dead and a fifth wounded in attacks on Israelis in east Jerusalem and the West Bank Saturday, as violence that has fuelled concerns of an uprising showed no let-up.The violence that has raged for more than two weeks prompted a “very concerned” US President Barack Obama to call for calm, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu due to chair a weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday. Including alleged assailants, 41 Palestinians have been killed since the violence erupted on October 1, while seven Israelis have lost their lives. The mounting death toll has prompted fears of a new Palestinian intifada, or uprising, like those of 1987-1993 and 2000-2005, when thousands were killed in near-daily violence. The traditional resistance groups, which previously orchestrated rocket attacks and suicide bombings to vent their outrage at Israel’s continued occupation of Palestinian territories, are said to have stayed clear. Even Tel Aviv does not seem to be blaming these assaults on any of the Palestinian militant groups, such as the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, the Islamic Jihad or Hamas. What appears plausible is that the attackers are roused to action by what they see on social media where photos and videos highlighting Israeli repression are routinely posted.The bitterness and hatred on both sides is predictably high. The lingering dispute over Temple Mount in the Old City, where the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock are situated, is said to have fuelled the current wave of unrest, with hardline Jews continuing to demand greater access and rights to pray there, and Palestinians expressing concern that the status quo is being violated. There is a strong possibility that the Israeli state, led by the hardline Benjamin Netanyahu, would react in its traditional, overly excessive manner, and unleash the kind of mindless violence on hapless Palestinian citizens that was witnessed in last year’s Gaza conflict. Tensions in this part of the Middle East are threatening to degenerate into a bloody conflict and it’s time the international community intervened to fend off such a possibility before the situation worsens any further.
pk.shafaqna.com
