Abbas Emphasizes Continued Cooperation with Israel Amid Likelihood of 'Third Intifada'

As tensions rise in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, unrest has spread from Jerusalem and the West Bank to the old city of 'Jaffa' in central Israel, with Israeli officials warning of a potential 'Third Intifada'. The leader of the Palestinian Authority stated that in order to prevent the situation from worsening, he has instructed the Palestinian security forces to continue necessary cooperation and coordination with Israel. This comes after Prime Minister Netanyahu hinted at Mahmoud Abbas's responsibility for incitement following the death of an Israeli couple in a shooting in the West Bank. The unrest, which began three weeks ago after several Jews entered the Al-Aqsa compound in East Jerusalem, has resulted in the deaths of several Israelis and Palestinians, leading to increased Palestinian protests and heightened Israeli security measures. The eastern and northern areas of Jerusalem, where Palestinian neighborhoods are located, and dozens of points in the West Bank have been restless, with Arab citizens of Israel in 'Jaffa' also protesting for the first time in 15 years. Reports indicate that the protests by Arab Israelis in 'Jaffa' led to clashes with Israeli police. Some ministers in Netanyahu's government, who have recently participated in right-wing demonstrations, have called for a 'iron fist' policy against Palestinian protesters, stating that the unrest is turning into another 'Intifada'. Meanwhile, Netanyahu announced that the army and security forces have 'full freedom' to deal with the unrest. The first Intifada began in the late 1980s and continued until the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993. The second Intifada, known as the 'Al-Aqsa Intifada', started in the fall of 2000 and lasted for several years, leading to numerous suicide bombings in public places in Israel, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of Israelis and severe Israeli responses against Gaza and the West Bank. In recent days, other Israeli officials have more explicitly accused Abbas and the Palestinian leadership of inciting a new wave of unrest. However, Abbas has told Haaretz that he is 'trying to prevent the situation from worsening'. In an interview with Haaretz, Abbas rejected the accusations from Israeli officials and stated that he has instructed the Palestinian Authority's security officials to work to quell the unrest. According to Abbas, 'the incitement by extremist Jews who entered Al-Aqsa last month and the subsequent attacks on Al-Aqsa are the beginning of the recent unrest'. Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the Israeli army destroyed the homes of three Palestinian attackers involved in deadly assaults against Israelis in the 'Jabal Mukaber' area of East Jerusalem. Simultaneously, on Wednesday, a Palestinian woman who reportedly attacked Israeli pedestrians with a knife in East Jerusalem, injuring one severely, was shot and killed. In this context, the Iranian Foreign Ministry condemned the deaths of Palestinians in these incidents and the actions of the 'Zionist regime' in demolishing the homes of several individuals involved in recent attacks against Israelis.