Is this the Third Intifada? The first two were waves of terror attacks by Palestinians on Israelis. They were stopped by Israel's building the separation barrier that prevented armed terrorists from the West Bank region coming into Israel to carry out attacks. They also required heightened security measures to stop the attacks.
I ask this question after two things that happened in the last 24 hours. The first was a terror attack on an Israeli family that had gathered to celebrate the birth of a new grandchild at the grandparents' home. A Palestinian teen entered the home through an unlocked front door and began stabbing family members at random. The grandfather and two of his children were killed. The grandmother was wounded. The terrorist was shot by a neighbor who rushed to help after hearing the noise; the terrorist will recover. This is the kind of horrible terror attack that has not been seen recently in Israel. The second event is the announcement by Palestinian president Abbas that he is "freezing" all contact with Israel because of the installation of metal detectors at the entrances to the Temple Mount. While this is not an actual endorsement of the terror attack, it is about as close as Abbas will come to that (at least in English).
There is no reason for there to be another organized terror wave like the first two Intifadas. The Palestinians gained nothing from the first two. Nevertheless, this may be a response to the end of the era during which the Palestinians relied on president Obama to pressure the Israelis.
Let's go back to 1999-2000 for the moment. At that time, the Israelis offered the Palestinians roughly 99% of what they sought in exchange for real peace and recognition of Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state. Yassir Arafat who was leading the Palestinians at the time rejected the offer and launched the first Intifada. A great many people died, but there was no Palestinian gains made. In fact, there were substantial losses for the Palestinians.
I hope this is not the start of a new terror wave. There is no real reason for it to happen now. Clearly, the installation of metal detectors (which will protect everyone on the Temple Mount) is not the real reason.
I ask this question after two things that happened in the last 24 hours. The first was a terror attack on an Israeli family that had gathered to celebrate the birth of a new grandchild at the grandparents' home. A Palestinian teen entered the home through an unlocked front door and began stabbing family members at random. The grandfather and two of his children were killed. The grandmother was wounded. The terrorist was shot by a neighbor who rushed to help after hearing the noise; the terrorist will recover. This is the kind of horrible terror attack that has not been seen recently in Israel. The second event is the announcement by Palestinian president Abbas that he is "freezing" all contact with Israel because of the installation of metal detectors at the entrances to the Temple Mount. While this is not an actual endorsement of the terror attack, it is about as close as Abbas will come to that (at least in English).
There is no reason for there to be another organized terror wave like the first two Intifadas. The Palestinians gained nothing from the first two. Nevertheless, this may be a response to the end of the era during which the Palestinians relied on president Obama to pressure the Israelis.
Let's go back to 1999-2000 for the moment. At that time, the Israelis offered the Palestinians roughly 99% of what they sought in exchange for real peace and recognition of Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state. Yassir Arafat who was leading the Palestinians at the time rejected the offer and launched the first Intifada. A great many people died, but there was no Palestinian gains made. In fact, there were substantial losses for the Palestinians.
I hope this is not the start of a new terror wave. There is no real reason for it to happen now. Clearly, the installation of metal detectors (which will protect everyone on the Temple Mount) is not the real reason.
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