Once again, Arab road violence strikes the capital. This time Arabs hurled rocks at a bus and another vehicle traveling this afternoon (Sunday, Oct. 26) through Jerusalem’s eastern sector.
No one was physically injured in the attack, and no property damage was reported. Police threw a dragnet around the area and began searching for the perpetrators.
Less than 24 hours earlier, five rock-throwing attacks in various neighborhoods throughout the city included the Jerusalem Light Rail. Passenger cars on the commuter line were damaged by attackers on the northernmost section of its route through Jerusalem, in the Arab neighborhoods of Shuafat and Beit Hanina, even though the train serves their own population as well.
“In recent days we have reinforced the city with a thousand police officers, border police and specialized units. We will not allow rock throwing and disorder to become a reality in the capital,” Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said earlier in the day, commenting on the rising Arab violence in the city.
Many are coming to believe a third intifada has been launched by Arabs in Jerusalem. Some media have referred to it as a “silent intifada” because government officials are so adamantly opposed to calling it a full-fledged ‘intifada.’ In fact, it may be just the opposite. “It is not a coincidence that there are radical Islamist sources attempting to inflame the Israeli capital,” explained. “We will operate all force necessary to decisively and responsibly thwart their efforts. I expect wide support from all Israelis to defend the capital of Israel,” he added.
Hamas has been trying to ignite the violence in eastern Jerusalem, security officials contend — and Hamas senior official Mahmoud Al-Zahar himself appeared to confirm their comments, saying that violence is needed to put an end to “Israeli aggression.”
Zahar added, however, that the “Israeli aggression” is not the only enemy: Arabs in Judea and Samaria are also fighting the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority Arab regime headed by Fatah faction and PLO chairman Mahmoud Abbas. That group is also an alleged partner with Hamas in the “PA unity government” both agreed to this past spring.