Doomsday scenarios rarely play out the way they are predicted. Yet, not much imagination is needed to envision what could happen in the Middle East these days if a hand grenade were to be thrown at praying Muslims at Al-Aqsa Mosque or Jews at the Wailing Wall. At a time when religious fanatics on all sides seem to have the upper hand and appeal to large masses, the regional conflict is increasingly dominated by organizations such as the Islamic State (IS), al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, Hamas, and so on. Also in Israel, religious zealots have discovered how easy it would be to set the region on fire. And so, a Middle Eastern "September 11" is not out of the question.

A senior security official in Ramallah told Al-Monitor of his concern that the current confrontations surrounding the Al-Aqsa Mosque could inflame the whole region. He accuses Israel for taking unilateral measures that change the status quo on the Temple Mount and is worried of Hamas exploiting the situation in favor of a jihadi confrontation with Israel, headed by the movement. He also voiced concern about IS captivating the imagination and the support of young Palestinians, especially in the Gaza Strip; thus inciting them to follow its lead into a religious war.

A combined attack from the north, south and east on Israel by Hamas, Hezbollah and IS (IS operating both in the north — the Golan Heights — and the south — the Sinai Peninsula) would set off a prolonged violent and unprecedented confrontation. Such an eventuality is feared and contemplated by all relatively secular regional leaders, yet little is done to prevent the Middle Eastern conflict from turning into a Jewish-Muslim one.

For the US administration, curbing Islamic fundamentalist terror organizations is of highest priority, mainly in Syria, Iraq and Yemen. As to the Israeli-Palestinian context, concerns about the Jerusalem issue have been raised in Secretary of State John Kerry’s contacts with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Mahmoud Abbas. Yet, the US policy only entails calling on the parties to exercise restraint.