Skip to main content

Israeli 'price tag' extremists determined to set the territories ablaze

Both Israeli and Palestinian extremists try to inflame a new cycle of confrontations: marginalized settler youth on one side, established Palestinian terror organizations on the other.
Palestinian villagers stand in front of Jewish settlers after they were detained in the West Bank village of Qusra near Nablus January 7, 2014. Palestinian villagers on Tuesday detained and beat up a group of Israeli settlers before freeing them, accusing the group of having thrown rocks at farmers tending their fields in the occupied West Bank. The incident added to simmering tensions between Israeli settlers and Palestinian villagers in the West Bank with the United States struggling to usher forward Isra
Read in 

Two dichotomous forces are simultaneously in motion on the Israeli-Palestinian front. On the one hand is US Secretary of State John Kerry, who tirelessly shuttles between the parties, trying to milk the ram in a bid to draw up a framework agreement. On the other are madmen from both sides who are trying to set the ground ablaze.

What will come first — peace or a third intifada? In my opinion, the latter stands a better chance. To have peace, what is needed is an Israeli leader with the personal traits of the late French President Charles de Gaulle and the late South African President Nelson Mandela, and a Palestinian leader on the scale of Israel’s first prime minister, David Ben Gurion. They both have to make terribly difficult decisions from their standpoint, needing to overcome political complications, bad blood, a history rife with obstacles and a hostile environment. Regrettably, neither one of the incumbent leaders has the necessary qualities. However, you don’t need much for a third intifada to break out: a handful of madmen here, a raging mob there, a small spark at the right time to ignite the powder keg and boom! We have an intifada.

Access the Middle East news and analysis you can trust

Join our community of Middle East readers to experience all of Al-Monitor, including 24/7 news, analyses, memos, reports and newsletters.

Subscribe

Only $100 per year.