An Imminent Intifada?
As violence continues to plague Judea and Samaria, also known as the West Bank, the United States is pressuring the Palestinian Authority (PA) to increase security coordination with Israel. Last week during the observance of Sukkot, the Palestinian terror group the Lion’s Den killed two IDF soldiers in separate attacks and carried out nearly hourly acts of terror. Could this wave of violence lead to another intifada?
David Hacham, a former advisor on Arab affairs to Israeli defense ministers, does not believe a new intifada is likely to begin as a result of the sharp rise in violence. Despite the deaths of IDF soldiers and Palestinian gunmen and the daily occurrence of shootings carried out by Palestinians, Hacham cited the lack of “widespread violent protests and disturbances across large areas” and of “a large geographical area in which Israeli soldiers and civilians come under attack.” However, he believes an intifada is still a possibility if “the violent clashes on the ground” continue.
Israel certainly wants to avoid a bloody mess of a third intifada. Making sure this doesn’t occur involves increased security to prevent these attacks, which makes the U.S. pressure on the PA invaluable at the moment. The Palestinian Authority finds itself in the same place as Lebanon did in the recent maritime border agreement between Israel and Lebanon: It wants economic relief, and the Jewish state wants peace. Israel has been willing to trade money for the peace it values so much in the past, so if security measures fail and an economic deal with the PA can guarantee a third intifada doesn’t materialize, Israel will come to the table.
