Are the Tensions in Israel in the Interests of the Sides?

• 10.13.2015, 18:21
•  Near East,  World

The situation around Israeli-Palestinian conflict is deteriorating day by day. A situation more like a war – with deaths and violence. Terrorist attacks, that for some time were quite few in their number, have dramatically increased. Only today three terrorist attacks took place in Jerusalem – an attack on a bus, attack on a 13-year-old boy riding a bicycle, a knife attack on a 25-year-old man. As a result of these attacks three people were killed and several more injured, The Times of Israel reports.

To deal with the current situation in Israel, the security cabinet will convene to discuss new security measures. Before the security cabinet will adopt new securiry measures, the Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan has already declared that Israel should act, not talk. "For years, Israeli governments did not show sovereignty in places like Shuafat. That will not only be fixed by police enforcing laws – sovereignty must be shown in all areas," he said, Jerusalem Post reports. He has also called to take away citizenship and residency from terrorists, stating that "a terrorist cannot continue enjoying state benefits." What is interesting is that Erdan himself admits that "neither side is going to disappear, and we can only live here with coexistence." The clue to this coexistence, however, the sides have not been able to find during the so many years.

It is quite difficult to say, whether this escalation is against or in the interests of the sides, as both of them gain some dividends from it, blaming the other side for the escalation of the situation and feeling freer to act the way they want, especially when the negotiations are in a deadlock. However, taking into consideration the current chaos in the Middle East, the escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict cannot be, at least now, in the interests of the states in the region. Egypt and Saudi Arabia have already called Abbas to calm tensions and prevent further escalation of violence in the West Bank and Jerusalem, expressing concerns that the violence could mark the start of a third intifada.