The current wave of terror attacks has many ingredients of an intifada and is probably the prelude to one. Root causes exist and are both profound and related to current developments. Palestinians, with hardly any exceptions left, have given up hope that a political process or the international community will bring about an end to the Israeli occupation and achieve the fulfillment of their independence. The humiliations that are a daily byproduct of living almost 50 years under occupation have left deep emotional scars of frustration, anger and desire for revenge. Currently, these emotions are exacerbated by a belief that Israel is altering gradually and systematically the status quo on the Temple Mount (Haram al-Sharif) in favor of more organized Jewish prayer in the vicinity of the mosques.
The political leadership in Ramallah seems too weak to confront such an intolerable situation.