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Spectre of third intifada looms over Jerusalem

Hamas-inspired ‘day of rage’ followed by calls for terror attacks within Israel

BY SETH FREEDMAN

LAST UPDATED 6:02 PM, MARCH 16, 2010

D

espite Israeli claims that a new intifada is not on the cards, the atmosphere on the Palestinian streets appears to tell a different story.

Violent clashes broke out between Arab protesters and Israeli police in East Jerusalem after Hamas leaders declared Tuesday a 'day of rage', resulting in scores of arrests and casualties on both sides.

The call to arms was ostensibly sparked by Israel's re-dedication of an ancient synagogue in the Jewish quarter of Jerusalem's Old City, an act that Hamas officials claimed would endanger the Al-Aqsa Mosque 400 metres away.

At the same time, tensions have been rising in the wider political arena for weeks, with Israel's determination to pursue its policy of settlement expansion sparking fury among both Palestinian politicians and foreign diplomats.

Israel's recent behaviour is akin to "pouring oil on the fire", according to chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, while Arab Knesset member Hanin Zuabi accused the Israeli government of "ethnic cleansing [and] incitement".

Against such a bitter backdrop, it has proved easy for radicals to fan the flames among the Palestinian populace, with scores of youths taking to the streets in Jerusalem to voice their frustration.

Missiles were thrown at police lines and fires started in locations throughout the eastern half of Jerusalem, resulting in fierce running battles between the rioters and security forces, who employed stun grenades to disperse the crowds.

By late afternoon, police spokesmen were claiming to have succeeded in quelling the bulk of the unrest in the capital, although violent protests in the Shuafat refugee camp were proving harder to dispel. Busloads of Israeli Arabs from the north of the country were prevented from entering Jerusalem to join in the demonstrations, while Bedouin residents from the southern town of Rahat announced plans to travelen masse to the city to vent their anger at the construction work in the Old City.

With relations between Israel and the United States said to be at a "35-year low", and any resolution of the decades-old conflict in the region looking as remote as