"Do not test the Palestinians’ patience. Their patience is great, but their explosion is even greater" – PA threatens Israel with a new intifada
Excerpt of a column by Yahya Rabah, regular columnist for the official PA daily
Headline: “The Israeli crimes are exacerbating, so why this softness by the international community?”
“The Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people and the Palestinian land are exacerbating in an unprecedented fashion…
The mighty efforts being made by the Palestinians for the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) activity are still waiting for the international community to order the launching of the investigations and to relate to the facts. Will this softness by the international community lead the Palestinians to a new confrontation with Israel? …
A simple monitoring of the fanatic Israeli settler herds who invade the Al-Aqsa Mosque every week clearly indicates that the confrontation is inevitable…
Do I need to remind you of the first Intifada (i.e., Palestinian wave of violence and terror against Israel, approximately 200 Israelis murdered, 1987-1993) and second Intifada (i.e., PA terror campaign 2000-2005, more than 1,100 Israelis murdered)? Do I need to remind you of the confrontation in Jerusalem this May [2021] (refers to Fatah/Hamas riot and rocket war; see note below -Ed.)?
This scandalous absenteeism of the international community has consequences more dangerous than all the predictions, so do not test the Palestinians’ patience. Their patience is great, but their explosion is even greater, and the boring words that the international community is repeating time after time will have no benefit.
The Palestinians are counting their Martyrs, those killed in the Zionist terror who were murdered by the army soldiers without any reason other than their desire to turn [Israeli Prime Minister] Naftali Bennett into a terrorist hero of the highest order. Do they think that the Palestinian people in Jerusalem, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip will continue to wait? And will the Palestinians in the 1948 territories (i.e., Israel) block their ears? …I do not think so, and no one else thinks so. Glory to you, O Palestine, O you who gird yourself well with patience, but when your patience wears out you explode as on the Day of Justice.”
The PA and its leaders misrepresent all of the Temple Mount as an integral part of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Therefore, they vilify any presence of Jews on the mount as an "invasion." It should be noted that Jews who visit the Temple Mount only enter some sections of the open areas, and do not enter the Al-Aqsa Mosque or the Dome of the Rock. Israeli police ban Jewish prayer at the Temple Mount because of threats of violence by Palestinians.
The first Intifada - Palestinian wave of violence and terror against Israel 1987-1993, approximately 200 Israelis murdered
The second Intifada – PA terror campaign (2000-2005) in which more than 1,100 Israelis were murdered.
Fatah/Hamas Riot and Rocket War 2021 – On April 30, 2021, facing certain electoral defeat, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas cancelled the first PA elections scheduled in 15 years. Hamas, which expected to win the elections, denounced it as a “coup.” In need of a conflict to divert public discontent, Abbas artificially generated a crisis over Jerusalem. His Fatah party called for "raising the level of confrontation,” and Abbas' spokesman told Palestinians "the battle of all battles is here.” Jerusalem Arabs responded by attacking Jews with rocks and Molotov cocktails. Hamas, Abbas' political rival, could not allow Abbas to lead the battle, so on May 10, 2021, Hamas launched rocket barrages targeting Israeli population centers including Jerusalem. Over the next 11 days, Hamas and Islamic Jihad fired over 4,300 rockets into southern and central Israel from the Gaza Strip, killing 9 Israelis and 3 foreign nationals, and wounding hundreds. In response, Israel launched Operation Guardian of the Walls to target Hamas terror leaders and terror infrastructure in the Gaza Strip. Already in mid-April, a planned eviction of some Palestinian families illegally living in Jewish-owned buildings in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of Jerusalem had led to clashes between Palestinian residents and Israeli police. This dispute provided Palestinians with a pretext for violent rioting. Adding to the crisis, Israeli Arabs started rioting throughout Israel, especially in cities with a mixed Jewish and Arab population. Two Jews were murdered and many were wounded. According to Walla, an independent Israeli news site, 10 synagogues were wholly or partly burned down; fires were set in 112 Jewish homes and 1 Arab home mistaken for a Jewish home; 386 Jewish homes were plundered and 673 were damaged; 849 cars were set ablaze; and there were 5,018 rock-throwing attacks. In response, Jews started attacking Arabs and their properties as well, but on a much smaller scale. No mosques were burned; 13 Arab homes were damaged; 13 Arab-owned cars were burned; and there were 41 rock-throwing attacks by Jews. [Walla, May 16, 2021] The fighting between Israel and Hamas ended with a ceasefire on May 21, 2021.