BICOM

For many Israelis the horrific images of the terror attack in a Jerusalem synagogue invoked scenes of a pogrom from an earlier era. The blood-stained prayer shawls, overturned tables and scattered holy books came as a new low in the latest surge of violence to plague this city.

This terror attack marks an escalation in terms of sophistication and planning – the half dozen recent terror attacks have relied mainly on ‘cold weapons’, vehicles and knives. Here, two terrorists armed with a handgun and meat cleaver killed four innocent Jews during morning prayers, plus a fifth victim, a policeman, was killed in the subsequent shootout. Another escalation was signalled by the deliberate targeting of a synagogue. For the terrorists it’s clear: this is a religious conflict.

Since the summer the Palestinians, led by Hamas but aided and abetted by the more pragmatic factions, have played up the religious nature of the conflict. The main focus has been the propaganda over Israeli intentions over the Temple Mount. The truth, a small minority does have ambitions to pray at the site where the Jewish temple once stood. However Prime Minister Netanyahu has clarified on numerous occasions that there is no intention to alter the status quo on the Temple Mount, and Israel will continue to allow the Muslim Waqf to maintain control of the site.

The Palestinian president Abu Mazen has joined in the false propaganda game, but perhaps mindful of his recent commitment to Secretary John Kerry to dial down the incitement, on this occasion he was quick to condemn the attack.

On the ground Abu Mazen deserves some credit, as his policy has been to continue close security cooperation with Israeli forces across the West Bank. Whilst parts of Jerusalem are burning, the West Bank has remained relatively quiet. Whilst there have been some exceptions – in last week’s stabbing at a Tel Aviv train station the terrorist came from Nablus – the vast majority of recent terror has emanated from Israeli-controlled East Jerusalem.

Read the article in full at International Business Times.