The >latest escalation of >violence in East Jerusalem and parts of the West Bank has led to the question whether a third intifada is on the way. Over the past month, more than 30 Palestinians and at least eight Israelis have been killed. While the eruption of violence between Israelis and Palestinians is in itself not new, its pattern, and the increasing support among Palestinians for armed resistance against Israeli occupation, build into a familiar cycle. During the previous intifada rounds, the Palestinian leadership and security troops supported the uprising. But this time, President Mahmoud Abbas has been repeatedly calling for calm while young Palestinians carry out lone-wolf knife attacks and shootings. The underlying message of such attacks is triggering more violence in the occupied territories. Israel’s response has expectedly been lethal. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says there won’t be any peace talks until “terror is stopped”. He has deployed troops in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. Meanwhile, the Israeli right is urging citizens, particularly the settlers in the West Bank, to carry weapons. These responses appear to be triggering even more violence.
While it is clear that violence will hardly help Palestinians take their cause of statehood forward, most of the youth taking up weapons are frustrated by the deteriorating situation in the occupied territories. There are no peace negotiations currently on. Israel has established checkpoints throughout the West Bank, severely hindering the movement of Palestinians across towns even in areas that are technically controlled by the Palestine National Authority. Jewish settlements in the West Bank are only expanding. The blockade of Gaza is continuing, practically isolating the strip. President Abbas’s bid to get UN recognition for the Palestine state has failed. In fact, as Mr. Abbas remains in office six years after his term expired, his inability to take the statehood cause forward has made him unpopular among Palestinians. It is against this background that the latest wave of violence broke. Anyone following the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would understand that a single spark could trigger a conflagration. The latest cycle of violence, given its context, could well be one such turning point. Both sides, aided by the international community, should act immediately to prevent any further escalation. The best way to do so is to re-engage in serious negotiations to find a way forward. Talks should be supplemented by meaningful and earnest moves by Israel to respect the fundamental rights of Palestinians in the occupied territories, and simultaneous efforts by the Palestinian leadership to resolve their own differences and make a united and peaceful bid for statehood. The current situation will only lead to a further cycle of violence, which will be in nobody’s interest in an already troubled West Asia.