A Third Intifada looms in Israel

Peace has never seemed further away for Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. Several dreadful incidents recently have made that point sadly obvious.

The most vicious was a terrorist attack: a horrific shooting in which seven people were killed and many injured outside a Jerusalem synagogue on Friday. We don’t know the organisational affiliation of the attacker, Khairi Alqam. He could have been Hamas. He could have been Islamic Jihad. None of those organisations claimed this attack. Some observers – on the basis of speculation, or possibly evidence not in the public domain at the moment – believe that he was a member of the Islamic State. What we know for sure is that this was a dreadful crime – one which shocked the world. 

Israel’s government promised an immediate and firm reaction to the attack, including the demolition of the shooter’s home. Prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, also said his cabinet would look again at allowing Israeli civilians to carry more guns –