The West Bank is the scene of mindless violence. Israel captured it during the 1967 war along with the city of Jerusalem, which was wrested from Jordanian control. This has created an insurmountable problem as the Arabs do not wish to legitimize the occupation of Jerusalem, which Israel has declared as its capital. The Arabs are incensed that the holy city of Jerusalem is under Israeli occupation.

Clashes on this issue are frequent, and leaders like Erdogan the President of Turkey have called on all Muslims to unite and throw the Israeli’s out of Jerusalem.

Such statements add fuel to the fire. The ongoing violence saw 2 Israeli Druze policemen shot dead at the Al Aksa Mosque two days back. In response to the killings the Israelis erected metal detectors, and this has added to the ire of the Arabs. The IDF has reported that an Arab from Palestinian broke into a home in the Jewish settlement at Ramallah. It appears the assailant jumped over a fence and attacked a family killing 3 Israelis’ and injuring one. BBC has reported this news.

The attack

The attack in Neve Tsuf, north of Ramallah, came a day after clashes broke out between Palestinian protesters and Israeli forces over the new security measures which the Israelis have enforced around the Al Aksa Mosque.

Three Palestine Arabs were killed in these clashes and over a hundred injured.

The Palestine Arab, a 19-year-old supporter of Hamas, was a highly motivated youth. He attacked the 4 Israeli’s who were having dinner and tried to escape. He was stopped and shot by a neighbor who was an off- duty army soldier. The Arab is in a hospital and being treated for gunshot wounds.

His condition is not known.

The Israeli army said the Palestinian had published a post on Facebook where he had written about liberating Jerusalem and dying as a martyr.

Clashes

Earlier in the day prior to the killings, violent clashes had taken place around the Al Aksa mosque. This was after the Israeli cabinet decided not to accede to the demand of the Arabs to remove the metal detectors, erected at entrances to the Haram al-Sharif compound.

Last word

Donald Trump had detailed his son in law to try and work out a solution to the Arab –Israeli problem in Palestine. He seems to be at a dead end as the problem is too intricate and no simple solution is possible. The hatred between the communities, the Arabs and Jews looks unbridgeable. Trump visited Israel on 22 May, but he had no solution up his sleeve. Both sides are not ready to bargain but the firepower is with the Israelis, and that is decisive in the final analysis.