The conflict between Palestinians and Israelis has erupted again and 37 people have been killed in two weeks. Israel has started setting up roadblocks in Palestinian neighbourhoods in East Jerusalem and deploying soldiers in cities across the country to combat the worst spate of violence in months. Palestinian officials have condemned Israeli security measures which are considered the most serious clampdown in the Jerusalem area since the Palestinian uprising (INTIFADA) a decade ago. The Israeli roadblocks were a sequel to the violence triggered by Palestinians killing three Israelis and inflicting wounds on several others a few days ago. The hostilities are over Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank. Some of the bloodshed has spilled into Israeli territory. Palestinians are angry with what they see as Israeli encroachment on Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque compound also revered by Jews as the site of two destroyed Jewish temples. They are also highly dissatisfied with the failure of prolonged peace efforts to achieve Palestinian statehood and Israeli settlement building in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
There seems to be no end to these intermittent violent clashes between Israelis and Palestinians. In spite of Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu’s occasional pacific gestures, his country regards Jerusalem, including the predominantly Arab east captured and annexed in 1967, as its indivisible capital. Netanyahu is also miffed at the recently concluded nuclear energy deal between Iran and the US and the Western powers. The rise of the ISIS has added to his truculence. On the other hand, Palestinian President Mahmood Abbas regards the blockade as a violation of international law. The Hamas have threatened continuation of the Intifada. It is in India’s interest to see that peace prevails in the region despite the country’s long commitment to Palestine for the Palestinians.