Israel bolsters security in East Jerusalem after recent violence

Masked Palestinians threw stones at the Israeli forces, who responded with tear gas and stun grenades.

Not because bloodshed is something new in the Middle East, but because the method is a shockingly old-school way of spreading terror.

The press has offered several explanations for the sudden spike in brutal attacks on Israelis, including that Palestinians are likely frustrated at failed peace efforts between the two countries. “But you never know”.

What started the latest round of violence?

The tensions were triggered by Israel’s imposition of sweeping restrictions on entries of Palestinians into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East al-Quds (Jerusalem) on August 26 and Israeli settlers’ repeated attacks on the mosque. “Defending Islam from the enemy of the mosque, the enemy of Islam – against the Jews”, Steinitz said.

Increasingly in recent years, hardline Jewish activists have demanded greater access to the Temple Mount and right-wing politicians have called for rights of Jews to pray there.

Whatever the label, a few Palestinians insist they are fed up with the status quo.

To date, most of the attacks had been carried out by younger Palestinians who were apparently acting independently of well-known militant groups in the region. This further inflamed tensions and setting off clashes in historically Arab East Jerusalem.

Dozens of Palestinian protesters are clashing with Israeli troops in the West Bank city of Bethlehem.

Are these knife attacks a new brand of organized terror? He threatened to submit a case at the worldwide Criminal Court against what he called Israel’s “extrajudicial killings” of Palestinians. Hamas has praised the attackers, but not claimed responsibility. Most critically, they can lose their residency rights.

And the people carrying out the attacks are young, often teenagers. Knifings are the ultimate low-tech response to Israel’s high-tech, high-cost security. They hoisted Israeli flags and sang religious songs, belting “Adonai, Adonai (a Hebrew word for God)” into the cool Jerusalem night.

Ordinary Israelis are in a state of alarm.

There are more Israelis walking around with handguns and more people applying for weapon licenses.

Down the street, a handful of Israelis waiting at a bus stop said they were nervous after the surge of violence, in which seven Israelis and 30 Palestinians, including children and assailants, have been killed – the worst unrest in years.

“It’s become really like a meme on Facebook among people who are pro-Israel”, he added, “They talk about how the media is not reporting, or reporting badly and when I read this I sense hopelessness from them, like there is nothing we can do”.

“Intifada” is an Arabic word meaning ‘uprising.’ It was used to describe events between 1987 and 1993 (the First Intifada) as well as 2000 and 2005 (the Second Intifada). And each side blames the other for this latest outbreak.

In short, a lot of words and not much action.

Rosenberg expressed concern about the immediate and unrestricted social media through which the policies of the Israeli regime would be reflected to the outside world and help shape an global position toward the conflict. They want a harsher response to the attacks.

“Kerry can put pressure on (Abbas) at this point and ask the Israelis to look at concrete ways of offering the Palestinians, once the violence is over, a political horizon, or that negotiations can be resumed”, Arbell said. He has called for de-escalation, but other Palestinian leaders don’t seem willing to follow his line.

Armed only with stones and shielded with their own chests, Palestinians began a civil disobedience movement with boycotts, general strikes, barricading, and rock-throwing.

The peace process went into intensive care during the Second Intifada and successive USA presidents have time and time again made attempts to revive it.

Amid all that, Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli government is making good on its promise to crack down in these areas, in these Arab areas where the attackers have come from. The White House and State Department said Wednesday that Secretary of State John Kerry plans to visit the region soon to try to encourage calm, but released no details. He said that Israel’s 48-year military occupation of the West Bank has spread “a culture of hate and racism that justifies atrocities, including collective punishment and coldblooded executions”.

Tyres are set alight during clashes with Israeli troops near Ramallah on the West Bank.