Ya'alon: Israel's Security Crisis Will Not Diminish Soon

Moshe Ya'alon, Israel's Defense Minister, predicted on Friday, December 6, that the flames of the current security crisis will not diminish in the near future, and the country must prepare itself for an uncertain period to confront this situation. According to Israeli media, General Ya'alon added in a speech in Eilat in the south of the country: "We have no idea how this situation will end; we must be prepared for every scenario." Palestinian attacks with knives or ramming vehicles into Israelis, or armed shootings against Israelis began on the night of 'Rosh Hashanah' of the Hebrew New Year and have continued for two and a half months. In recent days, Israeli media reported that senior military officials and security agency heads in Israel, with the assessment that the security crisis will continue, have requested a comprehensive meeting from the Israeli cabinet regarding this issue. These reports emphasize that senior military officials are calling for "goodwill-based actions" from Israel towards the Palestinian Authority, but Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected some of these proposals, such as providing more military equipment to the Palestinian Authority forces and releasing a number of Palestinian security prisoners, while considering some other proposals acceptable. Meanwhile, the Haaretz newspaper reported on December 6 that ahead of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's political visit last Tuesday to Israel and the West Bank, Israel is preparing for the possibility of the collapse of the Palestinian Authority. Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of the Palestinian Authority, told John Kerry that Palestinian teenagers and youth are independently and spontaneously carrying out these attacks, and the Palestinian Authority lacks the deterrent capability against them. Palestinian officials emphasize that the promises made to the Palestinians 22 years ago, since the signing of the Oslo Peace Agreement, have not been fulfilled, and Palestinian youth are frustrated and have no future. However, Danny Danon, Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, complained that the Palestinian government presented the names of more than a hundred Palestinians, including those involved in recent attacks against Israelis, as "victims of Israeli violence" to the United Nations. At the same time, Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian observer at the UN, has been tasked by Mr. Abbas to present a draft resolution to the Security Council that sets a specific date for the "end of Israeli occupation" of the West Bank. The UN this week passed five more resolutions in support of the Palestinians at the request of the Palestinian Authority; in response, Israel claimed that the passage of these resolutions comes while the people of Israel are facing terrorist attacks "every day and every hour." Benjamin Netanyahu told John Kerry that the violence inflicted on the people of this country is of the same kind as the terrorism that Islamic extremists have directed against the people of Europe, especially France. According to Mr. Netanyahu, Israel sympathizes with the international community, but the international community does not show the necessary sympathy for Israel and confuses the roles of "victim and terrorist." Meanwhile, the Hamas movement once again named Friday as "Day of Rage" and called on Palestinians to show their presence in the clashes. At the same time, like most previous weeks, this Friday prayer was held peacefully at Al-Aqsa Mosque, although there are reports of violent clashes in the West Bank between Palestinians and Israeli soldiers. Simultaneously, Friday was marked by further attacks from Palestinians with knives and vehicles against Israelis; several Israelis were injured that day, and two Palestinian attackers were killed; one of the attackers was the brother of a Palestinian who was also killed in another attack against Israelis near Jerusalem last Sunday. In recent days, the number of Israelis who have fallen victim to attacks by mostly young Palestinians has risen to 23. Palestinian hospital sources also report that their death toll has exceeded one hundred. In this context, "57 percent" of Israeli Jews are concerned about Palestinian attacks.