US tries to head off Israeli-Palestinian 'Al-Aqsa war'
While right-wing settlers and extremist Palestinians ponder a ''war of zealots,'' the Obama administration considers a tactical deal, including an Israeli settlement freeze in exchange for Palestinian security cooperation and no unilateral moves at the UN.
A source close to President Mahmoud Abbas told Al-Monitor that the Palestinian president was committed to preventing a third intifada. "It's not in his interest," the official said. "This crisis is not only about Israel, it is also about ruling in Palestine. Hamas intends to inflame an intifada using religious content: saving Al-Aqsa from the Jews. Our real struggle today is with them. A religiously tainted intifada could turn against Fatah. [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu is playing into the hands of Hamas by appearing to dictate the level of security cooperation; he makes Abbas look like a Palestinian Quisling. That security cooperation cannot last for long, since it is losing public legitimacy."
The Palestinian official said that the common interest of preventing massive bloodshed could only be translated into a real, enhanced security cooperation that also would affect East Jerusalem if there would be a sense of "quid pro quo," meaning strengthening the status of the Palestinian leader. "Here is what is possible," he said, "a full settlement construction freeze of six months in return for full security cooperation, a strong hand against the incitement to violence prevalent in the Palestinian media and social networks and no unilateral moves at the United Nations."
An Israeli security official knowledgeable on the West Bank expressed to Al-Monitor serious concerns over the situation spiraling out of control. "A religiously tainted intifada is possible, and could lead to unprecedented doomsday scenarios," he warned. "Imagine today a hand grenade thrown at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound or near the Wailing Wall."
This, in his view, would instigate a regional "Al-Aqsa war," with the use of weapons by Palestinians in East Jerusalem, and missiles fired by Hamas from Gaza and by Hezbollah from Lebanon. Yet, he also warned against talking openly and excessively of a religious war: "We know who the culprits on both sides are; this is not about 1.2 billion Muslims and 15 million Jews."
