A wave of unrest, that's what the media has termed the recent spate of Palestinian violence. What began a month ago as a result of Israel banning two Muslim activist groups from the Temple Mount has grown into a series of random acts of violence that have stirred the country.
The violence which was initially limited to the Temple Mount escalated over the weekend and spread across the West Bank, to Tel Aviv and the Gaza strip. Now the big question everyone is asking is: Is this the third Intifada?
While all Israeli media outlets have been careful and not branded it as an Intifada yet, the Hamas has already called for turning this new spate of clashes into the third Intifada. Whether this month-long wave of unrest will actually snowball further or be contained depends on how Israel responds. Prime Minister Netanyahu warned that terrorists and those inciting violence will not be spared and to that effect seven assailants who attacked Israeli Jews in separate incidents have been shot dead.
All of this reminds me of a friend's prophetic words: stay here long enough and you will witness a war.
The new wave of unrest is not yet a war or an Intifada, but it is just enough to trigger fear. The randomness of it all and the 'lone-wolf' nature of the assailants begs one question: what must life be like across the border that even pelting stones or just wounding a person is enough justification to risk your life?
Living in the Tel Aviv bubble shields us here from whatever that happens in the rest of the country. That however is not the case now.
Tel Avivians being Tel Avivians can not be holed up inside their homes, so they are now busy arming themselves with pepper sprays and some are even looking up self-defense tips on YouTube. The Facebook posts from pepper spray retailers sound amusing at first, but when more than an 100 people respond in the first five minutes seeking to buy one, you pause and wonder if maybe you should cancel that random shopping plan.
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| Temple Mount |
While all Israeli media outlets have been careful and not branded it as an Intifada yet, the Hamas has already called for turning this new spate of clashes into the third Intifada. Whether this month-long wave of unrest will actually snowball further or be contained depends on how Israel responds. Prime Minister Netanyahu warned that terrorists and those inciting violence will not be spared and to that effect seven assailants who attacked Israeli Jews in separate incidents have been shot dead.
All of this reminds me of a friend's prophetic words: stay here long enough and you will witness a war.
The new wave of unrest is not yet a war or an Intifada, but it is just enough to trigger fear. The randomness of it all and the 'lone-wolf' nature of the assailants begs one question: what must life be like across the border that even pelting stones or just wounding a person is enough justification to risk your life?
Living in the Tel Aviv bubble shields us here from whatever that happens in the rest of the country. That however is not the case now.
Tel Avivians being Tel Avivians can not be holed up inside their homes, so they are now busy arming themselves with pepper sprays and some are even looking up self-defense tips on YouTube. The Facebook posts from pepper spray retailers sound amusing at first, but when more than an 100 people respond in the first five minutes seeking to buy one, you pause and wonder if maybe you should cancel that random shopping plan.
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