Is it really peace they want?
Could a new Palestinian-Israeli war be on the horizon? The question hangs in the air after two Israeli soldiers have been killed by terrorists since Friday. The IDF Twitter feed then reported that a Palestinian rocket hit open territory in Israel on Sunday. And if that wasn’t enough, a high-ranking Palestinian terrorist has warned that a new “intifada,” or uprising, is coming. The last intifada, in the early 2000s, saw hundreds of Israeli civilians killed in shooting and bombing attacks.
“We are facing a political failure for the Palestinian Authority and the beginning of a new popular intifada against Israel,” Ynet quoted Hamas ‘ deputy political bureau chief Moussa Abu Marzouk as writing on his Facebook page. That would be very bad for you.
Another war in the Middle East is never good for oil prices—anxieties over a potential war in Syria helped raise prices not long ago—but it’s even more serious when Israel is attacked. Often when Israel is dragged into a conflict, anti-Semitic activists and terrorists around the world up their violence to show solidarity with the Arabs fighting Israel. That could mean more tragedies and out-of-control protests in places near you.
“But wait,” you may be asking, “aren’t Israel and the Palestinians in a new round of peace talks? Why would violence spike now?” Tragically, the last intifada was launched just after a round of peace talks collapsed, and previous rounds of violence have actually occurred during periods of negotiations.
This is one potential concern whenever peace talks are launched—that extremists could actually fight more to either derail the talks or try to strengthen the Palestinian bargaining position by backing Israel into a corner.
Ynet reported that Marzouk, the Hamas terror official, even warned that the United States won’t be able to buy peace, saying that “[US Secretary of State] John Kerry’s $4 million economic plan will not save the day.”
The angst comes after an Israeli soldier was lured by a Palestinian ex-coworker and killed on Friday, according to the IDF Blog. Then, on Sunday, another IDF soldier was killed by gunfire.
IDF Spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner said on the IDF Blog regarding the second killing: “This lethal attack illustrates the complex security challenges the IDF faces on a daily basis… The IDF will continue to act to prevent terror and safeguard the civilians of the State of Israel and its soldiers.”
(By Joshua Spurlock, www.themideastupdate.com, September 22, 2013)