Feeling cornered by peace efforts led by US Secretary of State John Kerry, Israel has been stepping up a “policy of provocation” against the Palestinians. Israel hopes, pundits believe, that “rash acts or actions” by the Palestinians would help extricate the Jewish entity from its current political predicament, or at least enable the Israeli government to blame the Palestinian Authority (PA) for the deadlock in the political process. Acrimonious arguments have been going on within the Israeli government over current peace efforts and the perceived notion that the Obama administration is convinced that Tel Aviv, not the Palestinians, is not being sincere enough about pursuing peace. According to the Israeli media, an American offer to use advanced American technology to monitor the West Bank's borders with Jordan has effectively annulled Israeli demands on keeping Israeli troops stationed along the Jordan River, which the Palestinians reject very strongly. Israel has refused the American offer, which Palestinians say is casting doubt on Israeli intentions and willingness to end its occupation. STORMING AL-AQSA MOSQUE: Earlier this week,the Israeli government allowed hundreds of Jewish fanatics to celebrate a Jewish religious holiday by roaming Al-Aqsa Mosque courtyard. The fanatics, escorted by heavily armed soldiers and other security personnel, carried with them Jewish religious objects, including a Menora or seven-branched candelabrum. It is widely believed the audacious feat underscored the determination of Jewish millenarians to pursue efforts to destroy Al-Aqsa Mosque, or at least seize the Islamic sanctuary, in full or in part, from Muslims. “These people are hell-bent on triggering a worldwide bloodbath. They are fully backed by the Israeli political-security establishment,” said Sheikh Mohamed Hussein, head of the Supreme Muslim Council, catering for the holy place. “For us Muslims, seeing Jews usurp our mosque, which symbolises the existence of Islam and Muslims in Palestine, is unthinkable. I am not going to indulge in rhetoric, but I want to tell you that no provocation would be greater or graver than seeing these Zionist fanatics embark on doing what they say they are going to do.” Israel understands well the veracity of the sheikh's words, especially his allusion to the immense bloodshed and violence Jewish provocations at Al-Aqsa Mosque could trigger. Hence, it is quite possible that the Netanyahu government, in coordination with religious Zionist groups, would view upping the ante at Al-Aqsa Mosque, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, as Israel's ultimate rescue from an irksome and highly undesirable peace process that could strip Israel of its lebensraum.
DEATH NEAR RAMALLAH: Israeli provocations are by no means confined to Al-Aqsa Mosque. This week, the Israeli army shot and killed a Palestinian child at the Jalazon refugee camp near Ramallah. According to eyewitnesses, 14-year-old Wagih Al-Ramahi was murdered in cold blood by an Israeli army sniper. “He didn't pose the slightest threat to Israeli soldiers; it seems the soldiers didn't want to leave the camp without spilling blood,” said Al-Ramahi's cousin Mohamed. “These people [Israeli troops] are worse than the Nazis,” he added. A spokesman for the Israeli army refused to comment on the incident. The PA said it held Israel “fully responsible” for the crime. The killing near Ramallah coincided with an escalation in Jewish terrorist vandalism against Palestinians and their property and religious places on both sides of the Green Line — the former armistice line between Jordan and Israel. On Sunday, 8 December, Jewish terrorists affiliated with the anti-Palestinian gang known as “Kach” scrawled anti-Islam graffiti on the wall of the main mosque of the Israeli-Arab town of Baqa Al-Gharbiya. The perpetrators also vandalised property and punctured car tires. The Israeli intelligence and security apparatus has so far failed to apprehend, let alone prosecute, the perpetrators of such attacks. This prompted Israeli as well as Palestinian commentators to accuse “certain elements” within the Israeli government and the Shin Bet (Israel's main domestic security agency) of conniving and colluding with the terrorists, enabling them to carry out their criminal acts and escape with impunity. Earlier this month, PA officials intimated to US officials that the current status quo in the West Bank is untenable and that the PA's security apparatus may be unable to prevent the occurrence of a popular uprising against both Israel and the Ramallah regime. What is clear, though, is that the Israeli government views the possible outbreak of a Palestinian uprising as an opportunity to reach a kind of “get riddance” scenario that would free Israel, at least temporarily, from incessant international — especially American — demands to get serious on the peace process.
