Palestinians torched a site revered by Jews in the West Bank in an incident that threatened to further inflame two weeks of deadly unrest, as fresh protests erupted Friday. In 2005, Israel – on its own initiative – chose to unilaterally withdraw from Gaza and from several settlements in the northern West Bank, removing thousands of Israelis out of their homes in the hope Palestinians will seize the day and prove to us, and to the rest of the world, they know the true meaning of sovereignty and will be able to use this as an engine of growth.
Advertisement
Abbas has tried to lower the temperature, telling his security commanders that armed attacks on Israelis counter Palestinian interests. Troops manned roadblocks in Arab neighborhoods of Jerusalem, a center of unrest, and ordered a few Palestinian men to lift their shirts to show they were not armed.
Tensions and violence have been mounting in recent weeks, in part fueled by Palestinian fears that Israel is trying to expand its presence at a major Muslim-run shrine in Jerusalem, a claim Israel has denied. This has left many Palestinians increasingly frustrated because all paths to independence appear blocked.
Israel has repeatedly accused Abbas of fomenting violence with what it says are incendiary comments. The current crisis can not be resolved by security measures alone, Zerihoun warned. It is the site where Solomon built a temple to house the Ark of the Covenant and the place where the Prophet Mohammed ascended into heaven.
At this point, with multiple attacks every day, majority random knifings of innocent men, women and children, it does not matter how we label it. These attacks are nothing less than monstrous and must be quelled.
Seven Israelis have been killed and dozens wounded in a series of Palestinian stabbings and shootings.
Israeli forces have announced heavier deployments across the occupied Palestinian lands and near the border fence along Gaza.
“For all indications right now, Hamas is stoking the violence in the West Bank, while keeping a lid on the violence in Gaza, for a very strategic reason: they can’t afford to have another war in Gaza”, Schanzer said.
Hundreds of demonstrators clashed with the Israeli military at different locations along the Gaza border after Hamas and Islamic Jihad called for protests. “Arafat saw [supporting the intifada] as a way of consolidating power”, Schanzer said. “People are fed up”.
Palestinian officials reportedly told Israeli leaders they would fix the damage, but the IDF said it would also carry out emergency fix work to allow worshippers to continue visiting the tomb.
Schanzer agreed with that Shin Bet assessment, telling JNS.org that Abbas is “not exactly condemning the violence, but isn’t stoking it either”.
“It turns out yet again that there is no alternative to Israeli sovereignty when it comes to protecting holy sites”.
“A suggestion was raised that John Kerry and I and King Abdullah (of Jordan) and others would meet”, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday. He was quickly shot and killed by Israeli troops.
Advertisement
Joseph’s Tomb has been venerated for centuries by Christians, Jews and Muslims.
