Israel-Palestine News Update: December 10th

The scene of the stabbing attack on Wednesday. Credit: Ohad Zwigenberg

The main story this week: The new wave of violence continues

What happened?

Another violent attack in Jerusalem underscores the volatility and insecurity felt in the city, both by Israeli civilians who feel unsafe walking around the streets, and for Palestinian residents, some of whom live under threat of eviction from their homes, as well as police and settler violence. The latest incident is very troubling, as Nir Hasson unpacks in his Haaretz article (see below), and saw a 14-year old Palestinian girl, a resident of Sheikh Jarrah, attack and stab her Jewish neighbour, leaving her seriously injured. The 14-year old girl was arrested and remains in Israeli police custody.

Why is it important?

This is the 6th violent attack against Israelis since mid-November, and there have been a number of violent incidents that led to the deaths of Palestinians in the West Bank, including a 15-year old boy killed near Nablus in early November. Tensions remain high, with little positive movement on the ground visible for either side, and with certain groups looking to foment further violence and instability. The lack of international pressure and attention, local political division and dysfunction (on the Palestinian side) and apathy (in Israel) all contribute to a deepening sense of intractability. However, it also potentially leads to new paradigms emerging; for example, we are seeing surging support for a one-state, binational solution among Palestinian residents of the West Bank.

What's next?

Without significant progress on a number of fronts, tension and the threat of violence remains high in Jerusalem and in the West Bank, in particular. As the Israeli authorities and Hamas continue to work towards an agreement, ceasefire and reconstruction, relative calm is likely to prevail in the Gaza strip as it has largely done since the May 2021 war. However, the flashpoint neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah remains volatile, with Palestinian residents facing harassment from local Israeli settlers, which has boiled over into violence, including this week's stabbing attack and the burning of a Jewish resident's car. Tit-for-tat violence like this continues to be likely, and would need a positive and equitable resolution of the situation of evictions facing Palestinian families to be resolved before any kind of calm is likely to be restored.

How is this story being reported on?

Each week we provide you with reporting on our main headline from an international, Hebrew and Arab source to help you get the full story. As you read each source you should consider if there is anything about the language, the way the story is presented, or where the story is coming from that suggests a bias or an interest in persuading you to think about the story in a particular way.

Reuters: Israeli stabbed in Jerusalem, Palestinian assailant shot dead

A Palestinian stabbed an Israeli outside Jerusalem's walled Old City on Saturday before he was shot and killed by security forces at the scene, police said [...] A video released by Israeli police appears to show a man crossing a street and then turning around and several times stabbing or attempting to stab an ultra-Orthodox Jewish man who had been walking behind him. The assailant then runs toward a border policeman and is shot several times by him and another officer as he falls to the ground - all in the space of 50 seconds. Another video circulating on social media appears to show the last few seconds of the incident, in which one of the officers continues to shoot at the assailant at least twice when he is already lying on the ground [...] The chief of Israel's border police Amir Cohen said the officers had acted correctly. Palestinian officials condemned the assailant's death and said it amounted to an execution. "The killing of the young man after he had been wounded is a documented war crime," Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the statement.
See also: Israel closes investigation of Abu Salima case – Jerusalem24 (24fm.ps)

Arutz Sheva: Jerusalem woman stabbed while walking her kids to school

One person was seriously wounded in a terrorist stabbing attack in eastern Jerusalem Wednesday morning. The attack occurred near Shimon Hatzaddik's Tomb in the Shimon Hatzaddik (Sheikh Jarrah) neighborhood of the capital, when a 26-year-old woman was stabbed by a female terrorist who then fled the scene. United Hatzalah and MDA emergency first respondents were dispatched to the scene, treating the victim before evacuating her to Hadassah Mount Scopus Medical Center for further treatment [...] The terrorist, a fifteen-year-old, was later discovered hiding at a school near the scene of the stabbing. United Hatzalah paramedic Yehiel Stern said the victim was attacked while walking her children to school.

Haaretz: Israelis should wonder why a 14-year-old Palestinian stabs her Jewish neighbor with a kitchen knife

There’s an unwritten law in mainstream Israeli discourse by which you must not try to understand the motives or personal circumstances of Palestinians who carry out attacks against Israelis. Any such attempt is met with angry responses, arguing that merely posing such questions is effectively justifying violence and supporting terrorism. By that same common conception, all Palestinian violence – anything between rocket fire by Hamas’ military wing and a girl trying to stab an innocent passerby with scissors – stems from one and only one thing: an inherent murderous passion that has no other motive or explanation. But when a 14-year-old girl [...] grabs a kitchen knife and tries to stab her Jewish neighbor in the East Jerusalem neighborhood that has become the symbol of the Palestinian fight against Israeli settlement activity, we must be able to ask: What led her to do that?

The Palestinian jailbreak that rocked Israel and Palestine - BBC News

"Six Palestinian men went on the run after tunnelling out of one of Israel’s maximum security prisons in September. It led to renewed fears of a flare-up in the region and saw Israel scramble a massive search, while many Palestinians celebrated the bid for freedom. But this is about more than just a dramatic jailbreak. Covering the search for the six, BBC Jerusalem correspondent Tom Bateman unearthed a long story of dispossession, violence and bitter division in a fractured region."

Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooYTZhVtp9M

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