As Daniel Polisar wrote in Mosaic magazine about his study of Palestinian public opinion, their glorification of violence and opposition to peace on any terms but Israel’s destruction is what continues to fuel the conflict.
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Netanyahu said the worldwide community should support Israel’s fight against terrorism, since the rest of the world is “experiencing this same assault by militant Islamists and the forces of terror”.
Al-Ayyam and al-Quds said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel will embark on a new round of collective reprisal measures in the West Bank.
The current spike in violence erupted in mid-September over tensions surrounding a sensitive Jerusalem holy site and quickly spread across Israel and into the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
The other was a 27-year-old Israeli security guard who was shot in the hand by “friendly fire”, the Palestinian Maan News Agency reported.
One of the girls’ brothers had died two years ago during clashes with Israeli security forces, Palestinian security sources said.
The past week has been the deadliest thus far. Five people were killed in stabbing and shooting attacks last Thursday, including Ezra Schwartz, an 18-year-old American from Kerry’s home state of MA.
“The continuation of the Israeli occupation and its persistence with colonial settlement activities… affirm Israel’s arrogance and intransigence, its violations of global law, its rejection of peace and its adherence instead to the ideology of colonial expansion, subjugation and greed”, said Mansour during a special meeting ahead of the worldwide Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, which is marked annually on November 29.
He was quoted as saying that [Israel’s] continued settlement construction and field executions affirm Israel’s persistent arrogance.
Noting that he was arriving at a time that was “very troubled”, Kerry condemned the ongoing attacks.
The fact that Israelis have been able to defend themselves from many of these stabbings by gunning down would-be killers as they chase or stab victims is held against the Jewish state in much the same manner as it was blamed for its ability to prevent more casualties from Hams rocket attacks with the Iron Dome system. The script is well-trodden, with Kerry likely to ask both sides to avoid provocative actions. In practice, Netanyahu said, the civilian projects that the Palestinians are interested in will only be possible if the level of violence is lowered and Israel’s security needs are met.
There have been threats to pull out off the 1990s Oslo accords, which formed the basis of the peace process but have not led to an independent Palestinian state.
The violence preceded Kerry and greeted him on arrival for his first trip to Israel since the Gaza war in the summer of 2014. But the rising death toll seems, for now, to have created an environment that makes a similar commitment by President Barack Obama unlikely.
He added: “But this street violence doesn’t provide any leader with a framework within which they can look their people in the eye and say, “There’s a reason to be sitting down and talking about this or that”. So it came as an anomaly to see the SecState warn before his latest arrival to the region that “people aren’t in the mood for concessions”, presaging little expected success in lowering the level violence and the tension that has gripped Israeli and Palestinian societies.
Netanyahu also said work permits would be revoked for the families of those who carry out such attacks. It’s the battle of civilization against barbarism.
Abbas, for his part, has provided no indication that he wants to restart direct peace talks with the Israelis anytime soon.
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At least three Palestinians and an Israeli were killed in separate incidents on Monday, both the Palestinian and Israeli authorities have said.
