Two days after a Palestinian from an illegally occupied village near Jenin killed five people in central Israel a raid, organised by the soldiers of Israel, killed 2 Palestinians not far from the Jenin refugee camp.
The recent wave of attacks have left 11 people dead.
During the raid the Israeli army has arrested a total of 31 suspects aimed at preventing more attacks.
Do you remember Jenin? The Jenin refugee camp was the scene of one of the deadliest confrontations of the second Palestinian Intifada.
What is Intifada? Intifada is an Arab word meaning uprising. My Palestinians friend Raheem told me that it is not only a physical uprising but also a spiritual one.
What was behind the second Intifada? It all started by Ariel Sharon, then leader of the Israeli Opposition, who deliberately & provocatingly went to visit the Temple Mount on 28 September 2000.
At around that time Yasser Arafat who was then President of the Palestinian Authority (PA) decided that the new state of Palestine should be won in blood & fire. And the Palestinians militants acted as they have never done before.
But the main reason is the discontent caused by the Oslo Peace process as many aspects of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza strip become more acute instead of being abated. Yes but we should not forget that Sharon’s visit to the Temple Mount set the second Intifada into motion. Some said it was a march in the dry forest.
In April 2002 Palestinian militants fought valiantly the Israelis for nearly three weeks. Despite all its technological advantage twenty-three Israeli soldiers and around 52 Palestinians including a lot of civilians were killed.
The Palestinian Authority which in theory coordinates with the Israelis on security matters failed to have control over Jenin in recent years. The population is fed up with the corrupt Palestinian Authority.
The Islamic Jihad militant group called a “General mobilisation” of all its fighters.
So the Prime Minister of Israel Natali Bennett was labouring under the impression that by building alliances with some Arab states against Iran the problem of Palestinians will wash away by itself. Naftali Bennett is opposed to all forms of Palestinian statehood. And do you know that there have been no serious Palestinian peace talks in more than a decade.
Do you remember what happened last year? Clashes in Jerusalem set off an 11 day Gaza war which helped in a way to get rid (for how long!) of Netanyahu.
Israel withdraw from Gaza in 2005. Since then, Hamas has seized power through elections & have fought four wars and both Israel & Egypt have maintained a blockade on the territory where live more than two million Palestinians and they live in abject poverty.
Not witnessed for years the surge of attacks on the Israelis. Eleven passed away the evident increase in the frequency of attacks leads me to believe that it is the beginning of a new phase of confrontation.
In May 2021 Israel reacted violently against the Palestinians. Will they do so again especially when the whole world will only talk about Ukraine & Putin. Joe Biden has already by his lack of vision, given clear encouragement, for Israel there is no law…
Be prepared to shed tears for our Palestinians brothers & sisters!
RAMA VALAYDEN
NOTE : Les points de vue exprimés dans cette rubrique ne reflètent pas nécessairement ceux de la rédaction et n’engagent que les auteurs eux-mêmes.
