Israel must not allow another intifada
Palestinians are intensifying their attacks against Jews in Jerusalem almost to the point of a full-blown intifada. Not a day goes by without some sort of violent incident. The trendy target right now is the Jerusalem light rail. It is a shame because the light rail serves both Jews and Palestinians in the city that was once divided and then united, but the division somehow remains.
It would be wise for both sides to keep the light rail out of the currently renewed fighting in the capital. Don't say it is impossible. In the worst times of the previous intifadas, both Jews and Palestinians made sure to keep hospitals "out of bounds" of the violence and the clashes. Palestinians were carrying out terrible terror attacks against Jews in the streets, but the attacks ended where the ambulances began.
Some residents of Jerusalem may remember that when the ultra-Orthodox rioters burned trash cans in their neighborhoods, the city stopped picking up their trash. When they hurled stones at buses, they were left without public transportation. The same policy should be adopted toward the Palestinians. Until such time that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry manages to revive the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks -- and his intentions are good; he understands that the status quo cannot be maintained forever -- Israel must not accept the burgeoning intifada in its capital, which will only deteriorate with time.
It may be too late. The violent conflict has erupted and there may not be a way back. But it also may still be under the control of Ramallah, or Gaza.
The question of the type of violence, and what it represents, should have been made clear by now. The clashes on Temple Mount are certainly a cause for concern. Israel should mount a double-sided response: On the one hand, make it clear to the world that Jordan's attack against Jews and insistence that Jews are not allowed to pray on the Temple Mount is based on false evidence. These kinds of assertions require proof. On the other hand, Israel needs to pull up its sleeves and ensure a large police presence on Temple Mount -- one that is ready and willing to use great force if necessary. It is the only way to prevent the violence.
If police units or Border Police forces (or even the IDF in the event of an emergency) are deployed to the points of friction before rocks are thrown and innocent civilians are run over by terrorists, only then will it be possible to "buy time" to allow diplomatic processes to succeed, if the talks are renewed. As for the attacks, the well-known Jewish guideline tells that he who rises up to throw stones at us, we must rise up and throw stones at him first.
טעינו? נתקן! אם מצאתם טעות בכתבה, נשמח שתשתפו אותנו