By Yunus Musa
Recent events are showing that the next Intifada in Palestinian land is about to erupt like a hot molten lava beneath the surface sooner than later. The Prime Minister of Israel Netanyahu’s visit to the occupied West Bank city of Hebron and speech that: "With God’s help we will extend Jewish sovereignty to all the settlements as part of the (biblical) land of Israel, as part of the state of Israel.” had got Palestinians in the town of Hebron preparing to evict the occupiers from the town.
In recent weeks, the West Bank witnessed numerous operations against the Israeli occupation. The West Bank is already a volcanic crater which needs no further catalyst to erupt, but with the most recent storming of the holy Ibrahimi Mosque by Israeli President Reuven Rivlin and an expected follow up by the occupation’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the third Intifada is expected sooner than later.
We have witnessed a similar storming of Al Aqsa mosque by Ariel Sharon led to the second Intifada which lasted for several years, repetition of such crime is something the Palestinians can not let go unnoticed and interactive.
Palestinian officials have said that the visit violates international law and that it could lead to a religious war. However, such statements are useless, as the international community, beginning with the US, encourage such crimes. Reminding them of international law is a deviation of the compass or a misuse of old tools. Our conflict has been ideological from the beginning, although some want to try to turn it into a geographical, political, etc. conflict, their attempts have failed. We are in a battle which is based on ideology, even if it is wrong and even if it is not a belief that those fighting really follow, but rather use it to rally others in the name of religion. We are also fighting them in defence of our homeland and sanctities and are provoked by their crimes. While the occupation is the main reason for our conflict, Palestine, and specifically Al-Aqsa Mosque, have significance in Islām and therefore the conflict has a religious aspect whether we want it to or not.
Some may object to saying that the actions of the occupation leaders is part of their election propaganda and campaigns, as elections are due to be held in two weeks. However, the difference is the arena for election propaganda today is very different to what it was in the past and its nature has changed. In the past, Gaza or Lebanon were the arenas for their electoral propaganda, but they have become too costly and have disastrous consequences for Israel. Neither Gaza nor Lebanon are arenas suitable for electoral work anymore. People just want safety and do not want a war that could ruin the elections and the lives of millions of Israelis. Therefore, they headed towards Hebron to wreak havoc and desecrate its sanctities, but if they do so this time, they may not do it again. This all depends on the reaction of the Palestinian people. As for the reactions of the officials, we already know what they’ll be: condemnation, denunciation, knocking on the ICC doors and that’s it.