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Jerusalem synagogue attack pushes city to new level of fear and antagonism Jerusalem synagogue attack pushes city to new level of fear and antagonism
(about 5 hours later)
It is hard to envisage an attack more horrific or more calculated to push Jerusalem – a city already taut with tension – to a new level of fear and antagonism. Two Palestinians, armed with meat cleavers and a gun, burst into a synagogue in west Jerusalem and slaughtered four Jews at morning prayer. The horrific murder of four Jews in a Jerusalem synagogue is the latest in a series of attacks which have raised the question of whether this is the beginning of a new Palestinian intifada, or uprising.
The synagogue is the symbolic heart of any Jewish community, just as the mosque is at the centre of Muslim neighbourhoods. An attack on a synagogue is an assault on Jewish identity. Ten Israelis have been killed in five separate incidents in recent weeks, involving vehicle rammings, stabbings and shootings. Tensions in Jerusalem have reached a height not seen for more than a decade, and Tuesday’s slaughter is likely to push the city to a new level of fear, antagonism and vengefulness.
The trigger for Tuesday’s attack appears to have been the death of a Palestinian bus driver, found hanged in his cab. The Israeli authorities said it was suicide, but many Palestinians believe it was a lynching. Jerusalem is now collectively holding its breath to see what comes next. Further attacks on Israeli Jews, revenge attacks on Palestinians, riots, rockets from Gaza, mass detentions, an Israeli security crackdown or military assault – all these are possible.
The backdrop is months of rising tension in the city, focused on a holy site in the Old City that is sacred to Jews as the Temple Mount and revered by Palestinians as Haram al-Sharif, or the Noble Sanctuary. Palestinians fear, with justification, that small numbers of hardline Jewish nationalists are attempting to challenge and break Muslim jurisdiction over the site. The backdrop is months of rising friction focused on a holy site in the Old City that is sacred to Jews as the Temple Mount and revered by Palestinians as Haram al-Sharif, or the Noble Sanctuary. Palestinians fear, with justification, that small numbers of hardline Jewish nationalists are attempting to challenge and break historic Muslim jurisdiction over the site. Many observers are warning of the risks of a new religious dimension to the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict over territory.
Condemnation of the synagogue attack was swift. Israeli politicians led by the prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, promised to “respond with a heavy hand”; the US secretary of state, John Kerry, and European governments issued statements decrying the murders; and the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, condemned the synagogue killings in particular and the killing of civilians generally. Beyond that is mounting frustration among Palestinians over the failure to bring any nearer their goal of a state, the continual expansion of settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem by the Israelis, and the relentless grind and misery of life under military occupation.
Equally swift, but in stark contrast, was the response of Palestinian militant factions. Hamas welcomed the attack as a “response to ongoing crimes against the al-Aqsa mosque [Haram Al-Sharif]” and urged similar actions. Islamic Jihad said it was a natural reaction to recent events. The Popular Resistance Committees described it as heroic. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, to which the assailants reportedly were affiliated , blessed the killings. Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu and other Israeli politicians have suggested that Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas is trying to provoke a new intifada following the failure of peace talks, by encouraging attacks and failing to rein in militants. The synagogue attack was a “direct result of the incitement being led by Hamas and Abu Mazen [Abbas’s nickname],” Netanyahu said on Tuesday.
A string of attacks over recent months including vehicle rammings, stabbings and shootings, has raised the question of whether this is the beginning of a third Palestinian intifada, or uprising. But this assertion was directly contradicted by the chief of Israel’s internal security agency Shin Bet. “Abu Mazen is not interested in terror, and is not leading [his people] to terror. Nor is he doing so ‘under the table’,” Yoram Cohen told a parliamentary committee.
Some commentators have pointed to the undeniable mounting frustration among Palestinians over the failure to bring their goal of a state any nearer, Israel’s continued building of settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and the ongoing grind and misery of living under military occupation. In contrast to the suicide bombings of the second intifada, recent attacks appear to have been uncoordinated assaults launched by individuals or small groups rather than meticulously-planned operations mounted by militant groups. Neither of the perpetrators of Tuesday’s carnage had a security record nor did they operate within the framework of an organisation, Cohen said
The recent attacks appear to be uncoordinated assaults launched by individuals or small groups rather than carefully-planned operations mounted by militant groups. That could change, but there appears to be an absence of widespread popular support among Palestinians in the West Bank for such actions. That could change. At least four Palestinian militant groups – Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Popular Resistance Committees – hailed the synagogue attack, and they may seek to drive forward future operations.
The attacks are hailed enthusiastically in the impoverished and volatile refugee camps of Palestine, but so far there has been little evidence of mass support – and a willingness to take to the streets – among the majority of Palestinians. Another difference with the second intifada is the apparent absence of widespread popular support among Palestinians in the West Bank. Recent attacks have had an enthusiastic reception in the impoverished and volatile refugee camps; but so far there is little evidence of mass support – and a willingness to take to the streets – among the majority of Palestinians.
That could change, too. Netanyahu may raise the stakes with a major military operation in response to the synagogue killings, which could increase support for similar actions against Israelis – just as the military assault on Gaza in the summer saw Hamas’s popularity rise. That could change, too. In response to the synagogue killings, Netanyahu could order military incursions, mass detentions, house demolitions, intensified surveillance and enhanced intelligence-gathering – the kinds of actions seen in the second intifada. But such measures may increase support among Palestinians for attacks on Israel, just as the military assault on Gaza in the summer saw Hamas’s popularity rise.
Whether the events of recent weeks are the start of a new cycle of violence, or whether the current tensions will subside for now, further acts of horror and bloodshed will be committed if the underlying causes of the conflict are not resolved.Whether the events of recent weeks are the start of a new cycle of violence, or whether the current tensions will subside for now, further acts of horror and bloodshed will be committed if the underlying causes of the conflict are not resolved.