Former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's visit to the Temple Mount in September 2000 was the trigger for the second intifada. Will the recent intrusion of Israeli settlers into the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan ignite a third intifada? Possibly.
Clearly, all that is needed is a spark. In the Israeli-Palestinian equation, there is either a peace process or a process of violence. The vacuum created by the collapse of US Secretary of State John Kerry's diplomatic efforts was quickly filled with the Gaza war this summer and now with unrest in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. This violence is a result of a choice made by the Israeli government to prefer settlement construction over a historic two-state compromise.
The situation in Jerusalem holds the potential for a massive disaster. The holy city is the inner-core magnet of both national movements — Zionism and the Palestinian liberation movement — and of all three monotheist religions. More emotions and passions are invested in every square inch of Jerusalem than in any other place in the world. It has been the center of Jewish life for three millennia and the secret of Israel's rebirth. It is a sacred place for 1.2 billion Muslims and its mosques are the symbol of the Palestinian national struggle. Any compromise on Jerusalem would send millions of believers to the barricades. Yet, on the other side, a peace agreement on Jerusalem would have tremendous significance for universal coexistence.
This challenge was postponed for later on during the Oslo talks; all leaders and negotiators agreed then that Jerusalem would be the last issue to be tackled. This may have been a mistake. It should be clear to both sides that without a historic compromise on Jerusalem, peace will not prevail. Such a compromise would need much creativity and, above all, political courage. As long as the issue of Jerusalem is not resolved in a way that satisfies the basic interests and aspirations of both sides, it remains a ticking bomb at the heart of the Middle East. In a region brimming with messianic beliefs and radicalism, one cannot rule out political-religious pyromania setting fire at its core. Additionally, today's frustration and anger of Palestinians, and the zeal of Israeli settlers, translates into a dangerous conflict on the streets of Jerusalem.
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