"Atmosphere attacks" -- this is the diluted definition the defense establishment has chosen to give the string of recent terrorist attacks, which claimed two more victims on Monday. "Atmosphere," as if to say this is not something that is officially organized, but the sporadic acts of individuals, who interpret the toxic rhetoric around us as reason to carry out stabbing and vehicular attacks. Those responsible for this atmosphere are familiar: senior Palestinian officials, led by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who have poisoned the air surrounding the Temple Mount, as well as several Israeli politicians, who insist on adding fuel to the fire. It is the security forces on both sides -- the Israel Defense Forces and the Palestinian Authority security forces -- that are urging restraint and doing their best to keep things from spiraling out of control. It is impossible to tell how successful these efforts will be. While it appears that the Palestinians have no real interest in stirring unrest -- the Palestinian economy is relatively thriving, and no one is longing to see IDF tanks on the streets of Ramallah or Jenin -- one unusual event would be enough to set the ground ablaze. Israel is focused on calming the situation down, rather than agitating it further, by bolstering the security collaboration with the Palestinians, as well as by increasing independent efforts to thwart terror, so to restore the public's already rattled sense of personal security. This means deploying additional forces on the ground, increasing security in certain communities, boosting police presence on the streets, and increasing security forces' efforts to apprehend Palestinians who are staying in Israel illegally. These efforts, however, are still likely to fall short. Future attempts to carry out terror attacks are all but a given, as are the public and political pressures that would follow. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu surely remembers the 1992 murder of 15-year-old Helena Rapp in Bat Yam, which cost then-Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir the election, and resulted in his own rise as leader of the Likud. Netanyahu knows that we are one or two terror attacks away from the public pointing the finger of blame at him. This is why he is adamant to nip this escalation in the bud, although he knows there is no magic formula that could help him do so. To truly succeed in preventing further escalation, Netanyahu needs a partner, but the latter does not exist at this time. If Abbas awakes from his euphoric state he might realize that his struggle for existence may very well spell his demise: once the situation is truly out of control it would not be just Israel that turns its back on him, but the Palestinian public as well -- they will turn to Hamas, which has already proven it can fight Israel better than Fatah ever could. If Abbas is to avoid such a calamity, he needs a wake-up call: either an Israeli one, in the form of a carrot or a stick; or an American one, in the form of some sort of action that would stop this situation before it escalates any further.
