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Following synagogue attack, Netanyahu, Abbas must meet

With the latest wave of suicide attacks in Jerusalem, Israel faces a security situation that cannot be solved by building fences like the separation wall.
Palestinian women stand in front of Israeli border police officers in the Jerusalem district of Jabal Mukaber November 18, 2014. Two Palestinians, Ghassan and Udai Abu Jamal, cousins from Jabal Mukaber, armed with a meat cleaver and a gun killed four worshippers in a Jerusalem synagogue on Tuesday before being shot dead by police, the deadliest such incident in six years in the holy city amid a surge in religious conflict. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (JERUSALEM - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS MILITARY) - RTR4EL5A
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If there was any doubt, it has been laid to rest. The wave of violence — be it called the third intifada or by some other name — has been ratcheted up a level. The Nov. 18 attack on the Bnei Torah Kehillat Yaakov synagogue was not an individual attack by a lone assailant on an impulsive quest for revenge driven by a calling to defend the Haram al-Sharif. Rather, what we saw was a well-planned terrorist attack. Even the US Consulate in East Jerusalem issued an advisory to Americans visiting or living in the city, explaining that the attack on the synagogue in the Har Nof neighborhood was different from the recent “run over” attacks. The statement read, “Today’s incident differs from the recent attacks, potentially demonstrating low-level coordination to attack a pre-identified soft target.” It also recommended precautionary measures one could take.

Indeed, the two terrorists, Rassan Abu Jamal and his cousin Uday Abu Jamal, both from Jabel Mukaber, knowingly embarked on a suicide mission. Both probably knew they would not leave the synagogue alive. Armed not with explosive belts, but axes, guns and knives, Rassan and Uday planned to die as “shahids” (martyrs).

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