At the request of US Secretary of State John Kerry and King Abdullah of Jordan, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed on Oct. 24 to set up cameras at the Temple Mount that will provide an around-the-clock live feed of the events at the Temple Mount and Al-Aqsa Mosque. One thing is certain, the objective is to have “watchful eyes” and prove to the Palestinians, the Jordanians and indeed the world that there has been no change in the status quo at the compound.

Since the outbreak of the wave of terror at the beginning of October, Israeli officials have been contending that the attacks are a direct result of the incitement by the northern chapter of the Islamic movement in Israel, the Palestinian Authority (PA), Hamas and — according to Netanyahu — “several countries” that he would not name. That has led to the conclusion that if the heated spirits at the Temple Mount were to calm down, the Palestinians would not be able to argue that the mosque is in danger, and so life could go back to normal and tension would wane.

But were the events at the Temple Mount and the unrest at Al-Aqsa the only thing that set the ground on fire? On Oct. 21, former OC Central Command Maj. Gen. Nitzan Alon offered another motive. Testifying in the trial against the operators of the website Hakol HaYehudi (Jewish Voice) that have been charged with incitement to violence and racism, Alon — currently serving as the Israel Defense Forces’ chief of the Operations Directorate — said that the Palestinians were also motivated to carry out attacks against Israelis due to violence by right-wing activists against them. "I believe that Palestinian violence has many causes," Alon testified. "Some of it has to do with the terrorists’ murderous character. Part of it stems from religious and nationalist motives. And there is one part — and not the principle one — that has to do with taking revenge on Israelis for their actions against Palestinians."

Documenting settler assaults on Palestinians, human rights organizations and left-wing activists in Israel agree with Alon. Rabbi Arik Ascherman, the president of Rabbis for Human Rights, told Al-Monitor, "This is undoubtedly one of the reasons, even if not the main one, which has unleashed the recent outburst of violence and attacks in Israel." On Oct. 23, Ascherman was attacked by a right-winger and was almost stabbed while trying to supervise and protect the Palestinian olive harvest in Judea and Samaria.