The "Third Intifada" is here

The headlines in Tuesday’s editions of several Israeli newspapers said it all: “More Israelis killed by terror in past month than last two years”. As of this writing, Tuesday afternoon November 11, six Israelis have been murdered this month alone in terrorist attacks involving  deliberately using cars to mow down people waiting on line at bus and train stops, and single-terrorist knife attacks in the street.  In all of 2012-2013 there were only five terrorist murders in Israel and the West Bank.

How do we know they were terrorist attacks and not, at least in the case of the car crashes, just “unfortunate accidents”? Because Hamas took responsibility for all the “heroic acts of resistance”, and all the perpetrators were Hamas terrorists or related to Hamas terrorists. 

To make matters worse, the so-called “moderate” Palestinian Authority president, Abu Mazen, issued official declarations praising the attackers who “died as noble martyrs” in the ultimate struggle against the illegal occupiers of Palestine, and called on all Palestinian to “use whatever means necessary” to expel the “Zionist invaders” from the Dome of the Rock.

Abu Mazen also wrote a presidential condolence letter to the mother of Islamic Jihad terrorist Mu'taz Hijazi, who was killed after seriously injuring Temple Mount activist Yehuda Glick in a drive-by assassination attempt two weeks ago in Jerusalem. He praised the terrorist as a hero of Palestine who died a pure martyr’s death and will be remembered for generations, and called on all Palestinians to learn from his example.

This week, PA TV broadcasted Abu Mazen calling for violence against Jews in Jerusalem nineteen times within a three day period. In the broadcast, Abu Mazen called for “Ribat” (religious war over land claimed to be Islamic) on the Temple Mount.

Abu Mazen told the Palestinian people, “It’s not enough for us to say: ‘The settlers have arrived at the Mosque.’ They have come, and they must not come to the Sanctuary (i.e., Temple Mount). We have to prevent them, in any way whatsoever, from entering the Sanctuary. This is our Sanctuary, our Al-Aqsa and our Church of the Holy Sepulcher. They have no right to enter it. They have no right to defile it. We must prevent them. Let us stand before them with chests bared to protect our holy places.”

So the call for violence against Israelis comes directly from the Palestinian leader the Israelis are supposed to be negotiating with in good faith, while he coordinates these terror attacks with Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

So what has brought these usually antagonistic groups together…and has riled up the rest of the Muslim world, including countries that are usually friendly to Israel? Can anyone say: Al-Jazeera? Let me try to explain briefly.

To all followers of Islam, the Al-Aksa mosque and the Dome of the Rock compound in Jerusalem is the third holiest shrine in the world, after the “Sacred Mosque” (Kaaba) in Mecca and the Tomb of Mohammed in Medina.

The very presence of non-Muslims anywhere in the Al-Aksa/Dome of the Rock compound is offensive to many believers. The presence of armed Israeli soldiers or police, in any number, is considered repugnant, and entering either structure with shoes on is a major insult to all Muslims, worldwide.

The first “Intifada” (“uprising” or “shaking off” of Israeli rule) was triggered in 1987 when an IDF vehicle accidentally swerved at a checkpoint killing four Palestinians.

The second Intifada (“the Al-Aksa Intifada) was triggered in 2000 when Arik Sharon made a highly publicized and provocative visit to the Al Aksa compound. And while he was careful to remove his shoes before entering the Dome of the Rock, his bodyguards and the soldiers protecting him didn’t.

Today, under the incitement and orchestration of Hamas and mainly Abu Mazen and Fatah, young, fired up and well paid Palestinian youth, who have prepared rocks, bottles and Molotov cocktails behind barricades just inside the massive doors of the Dome of the Rock wait for orders on their smartphones.

Once Al-Jazeera and other media outlets have positioned their cameras according to instructions they received electronically from Hamas or Fatah, The order is given and the youth outside start attacking the soldiers and police protecting the complex. They then run in, followed by the soldiers, who are hit with barrages of rocks, bottles, iron bars and cinderblocks. 

Once they enter the structure to arrest the attackers and restore order two things are immediately broadcast worldwide: Blood flowing on the “sacred” floor of the building (from non-lethal weapons and ammo used by the soldiers) and military boots entering in hot pursuit of the barefoot rock throwers.

And the Muslim world sees it all. And the “Lone Wolf” Jihadists are enraged, and they hear Abu Mazen’s call to “use any method”, and they get in their car, or grab a gun, knife or tire iron…and go out to kill. 

Whether they end up calling this “The Dome of the Rock Intifada”, or – more appropriately: “Abu Mazen’s Intifada”…the “Third Intifada” is here.

Strange as it may seem, what happens to any hopes of a “peace process” any time soon really depend less on these events in Jerusalem, and more on the November 24 deadline for the Iranian Nuke deal.

And that nexus is REALLY complicated. I’ll discuss it next week.