Violence escalates amid Israeli raid of Ramallah
Israeli incursions into Ramallah, along with the absence of a political horizon for Palestinians, portend a continuation of recent violence.
It might be hard to pinpoint a single event or act that led to the current uptick in the cycle of violence in Palestine. The sudden rise in deaths of Israelis and Palestinians around Ramallah during a 48-hour spree is being seen as connected to the Israeli army's incursions into the city of Ramallah.
The situation has become so dire that a crisis cell was set up at the Palestinian Foreign Ministry in Ramallah Dec. 13 to “help fend off the Israeli violence.”
Many Palestinians believe that the heavy-handed Israeli army incursion into the center of Ramallah on Dec. 10 is the most important reason behind this escalation. While the Oslo Accord forbids Israeli soldiers from unilaterally entering areas that are under full Palestinian security and administrative control — known as “Area A” — Israeli security forces have repeatedly breached that agreement.
Two factors make this particular Israeli army incursion into Area A different — namely, its strength and location.
