It was a difficult weekend, which brought back memories of the intifada, of days when report followed report of another terror attack, more dead and more wounded. On Sept. 20, Sgt. Tomer Hazan, an Israeli air force soldier, was abducted and killed. On Sept. 22, Sgt. Gal Kobi was shot to death near the Cave of the Patriarchs in the West Bank town of Hebron.
Mousa Abu Marzouk, a senior Hamas official who has not been heard from for a long time, wrote on his Facebook page: “We are on the verge of a third intifada, and the talks between the [Palestinian] Authority and Israel will blow up in their faces. The $4 billion promised by [US Secretary of State] John Kerry [in economic aid promised to the Palestinian Authority (PA) if it signs an agreement with Israel] will not help save the situation.”
In recent months, several assessments in Israel have predicted that the outbreak of a third intifada is only a matter of time. These concerns, which arose prior to the current round of talks between Israel and the Palestinians and were probably one of the reasons for the renewal of the negotiations, have become tangible.
In an effort to determine whether a violent uprising is — in fact — starting in the occupied territories, one needs to examine several important questions: Are either Hamas or Fatah fanning the flames in the occupied territories? Are activists of these organizations and their junior or senior leaders encouraging young Palestinians to gear up for a struggle? Can the two organizations benefit politically or diplomatically from chaos in the West Bank?
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