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Palestinian media treads fine line between empathy, support for attacks

Though the majority of Palestinians are weary of violence and concerned over a new and devastating confrontation, the general atmosphere is inching toward a full-blown intifada.
Palestinian presenter Raji Al-Hams (R) listens to Hamas official Salah al-Bardweel at the studio of Hamas-run Al-Aqsa TV in Gaza City October 27, 2015. The studio of Hamas-run Al-Aqsa TV is decorated with slogans praising the "knife intifada" against Israel. Video clips and rousing songs glorify the daily attacks, while the presenters all wear black-and-white Keffiyeh scarves. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem  - RTX1TG21
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Nobody in Israel’s defense establishment had deluded themselves into thinking the weeklong lull indicated that the wave of attacks has ebbed. Speaking cautiously, they said that the drop in the intensity of the attacks might suggest a drop in motivation on the ground. That the armed Palestinian organizations have not yet joined the cycle of violence and that the attacking arena for now remains the sole domain of lone-wolf assailants were considered a positive sign. That was all true until Nov. 19.

Within a two-hour span, that day became the deadliest recorded since the outbreak of the recent wave of violence. Five people were murdered in attacks perpetrated in Tel Aviv and near the Etzion settlement bloc.

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