PA daily op-ed: Israel is responsible for spate of terror attacks in Jerusalem because of its actions "killing, settling, arresting and abusing"
Op-ed by Hafez Al-Barghouti, regular columnist for Al-Hayat Al-Jadida.
This article was published during a period of high tension in Jerusalem. On Oct. 22 and Nov. 5, 2014, two separate terror attacks took place in which Palestinians drove their cars into pedestrians in Jerusalem, killing 4 and injuring dozens. In addition, on Oct. 29, 2014, Islamic Jihad member Mutaz Hijazi attempted to assassinate Rabbi Yehuda Glick, a prominent activist working to assure rights for Jews to visit and pray on the Temple Mount. On Nov. 10, 2014, a Palestinian stabbed and killed a soldier at a Tel Aviv train station. On the same day, a Palestinian armed with a knife attacked a group of Israelis at a bus stop in the West Bank, killing one. On Nov. 18, 2014, two Palestinian terrorists attacked worshippers in a synagogue in Jerusalem with knives, cleavers, and guns, killing 5:
“I wonder about the Israeli declarations that lay responsibility for the events in occupied Jerusalem on the Palestinian side, as if Jerusalem were a continent isolated from its surroundings, and as if its residents were not Palestinians and had nothing to do with the injustice being done to its land, homes and children, and with the daily violations of its holy places… Going back to the warning of [the threat of a] religious war, which is flaring up every day with no one to restrain it: The Israeli government is not serious about preventing its outbreak, and the settlers’ organizations are not content with the booty they stole from the land, the houses, the buildings, and so on. When the occupation does as it pleases in Jerusalem – killing, settling, arresting and abusing – it feels that the operations (i.e., the recent terror attacks), which are all individual, are carried out with any available means: Cars, bulldozers and cold weapons. These are individual, unorganized revenge attacks – even if [certain] factions claim responsibility for them out of solidarity, imperiousness and a mere desire for fame. Such operations cannot be stopped, because they are spontaneous reactions and are not premeditated.
It is the occupation that is responsible [for the terror attacks], and it is the one inflaming the religious urges on both sides. We may have already warned of the dangers inherent in religious war, for, as opposed to other [wars], it spares nothing and burns everyone. Therefore, a huge effort must [be made to] bring about the removal of the causes of the tension and the violence in Jerusalem, which are known, and to bring about negotiations based on [certain] principles, which are also known. The alternative is eternal mutual violence, which will result in the most severe conflagrations.”
This article was published during a period of high tension in Jerusalem. On Oct. 22 and Nov. 5, 2014, two separate terror attacks took place in which Palestinians drove their cars into pedestrians in Jerusalem, killing 4 and injuring dozens. In addition, on Oct. 29, 2014, Islamic Jihad member Mutaz Hijazi attempted to assassinate Rabbi Yehuda Glick, a prominent activist working to assure rights for Jews to visit and pray on the Temple Mount. On Nov. 10, 2014, a Palestinian stabbed and killed a soldier at a Tel Aviv train station. On the same day, a Palestinian armed with a knife attacked a group of Israelis at a bus stop in the West Bank, killing one. On Nov. 18, 2014, two Palestinian terrorists attacked worshippers in a synagogue in Jerusalem with knives, cleavers, and guns, killing 5:
“I wonder about the Israeli declarations that lay responsibility for the events in occupied Jerusalem on the Palestinian side, as if Jerusalem were a continent isolated from its surroundings, and as if its residents were not Palestinians and had nothing to do with the injustice being done to its land, homes and children, and with the daily violations of its holy places… Going back to the warning of [the threat of a] religious war, which is flaring up every day with no one to restrain it: The Israeli government is not serious about preventing its outbreak, and the settlers’ organizations are not content with the booty they stole from the land, the houses, the buildings, and so on. When the occupation does as it pleases in Jerusalem – killing, settling, arresting and abusing – it feels that the operations (i.e., the recent terror attacks), which are all individual, are carried out with any available means: Cars, bulldozers and cold weapons. These are individual, unorganized revenge attacks – even if [certain] factions claim responsibility for them out of solidarity, imperiousness and a mere desire for fame. Such operations cannot be stopped, because they are spontaneous reactions and are not premeditated.
It is the occupation that is responsible [for the terror attacks], and it is the one inflaming the religious urges on both sides. We may have already warned of the dangers inherent in religious war, for, as opposed to other [wars], it spares nothing and burns everyone. Therefore, a huge effort must [be made to] bring about the removal of the causes of the tension and the violence in Jerusalem, which are known, and to bring about negotiations based on [certain] principles, which are also known. The alternative is eternal mutual violence, which will result in the most severe conflagrations.”