Palestinian youth uprising faces uncertainty as clashes with Israel increase

KamalShawishis too old to throw stones, but he understands why a generation of young Palestinians has againturned to stone-throwing as a form of protest against Israel.

"We are conquered here. What [can] we do? Demonstrations? This is not enough," said Shawish, 78. "We do what we can do."

Shawishis a Palestinian with Israeli residency who lives in the East Jerusalem suburb ofShuafat. I met him in the middle of the day as he shopped on the main street of the affluent neighbourhood.

It was a quiet day. Over the din of traffic, you could hear a bell ringing to warn of the approaching light rail transit train.

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At night,Shuafathas turned into a place where violent confrontations between young Palestinians and the Israeli security forces have broken out frequently in the past four months.

Uprising without organization

Two of the most violentattacks against Israelisrecentlyhave taken placea few stops down the light rail line.

Earlier this month,two people, including an Israeli border police officer, were killed when a Palestinian man rammed his van into a crowd of security forces, then into those waiting at the tram stop. A similar attackat anearbyLRTstationtwo weeks priorleft two dead, including a three-month-old baby girl.

Last week,an Israeli soldier and a young woman were killed in two separate stabbing attackson the same day. One attack was in TelAviv, the other near a settlement in the West Bank.

Palestinian rioters have also smashed ticket machines atLRTstops. Theyre now covered by sheets of metal. Many of the traffic lights no longer work, as the power cables have been cut.

For many Palestinians, this is a new kind of struggle, an uprising without leadership, where individuals are moved to act against the Israeli occupation and policies.

These attacks, along with the frequent outbreak of clashes between Palestinians and Israeli security forces, have led to a great deal of discussion here about whether a thirdintifadais underway.

MustafaBarghouti, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization, said there is little doubt that another uprising has begun.

"What is happening today in the occupied Palestinian territories in response to occupation and oppressionis a popular, mainly non-violent resistance in the formof demonstrations,"Barghoutisaid.

He says because of the anger, he understands why some Palestinians have chosen violence.

"Of course there are actions of violence and in my opinion the Israeli behaviour and the oppression, including trying to change the status in one of the most holiest places for Muslims, which isAqsamosque all of these things are provocative actions by the Israeli army, which [sometimes] provokes violence."

Palestinian leadersrarely condemn the kind of violence exemplified by the light rail and knife attacks, and indeed,this leaderless kind of revolt has also made it more difficult for the Israeli authorities to deal with.

Israeli Prime Minister BenjaminNetanyahucontinues to point the finger atMahmoudAbbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority.

"[Abbas] must halt the incitement that leads to acts of violence. This is one of the roots of the inflamed moods that are fuelled by Islamist extremist propaganda and propaganda by the Palestinian Authority,"Netanyahusaid on Sunday.

Abbas recently told Israeli television, "We are not interested in anintifada." But it is clear that many Palestinians are very angry, for a variety of reasons.

Israeli and Palestinian analysts agree that one of the largest causes of the tension and resulting violence is the dispute over one of Jerusalems holiest sites.

The Noble Sanctuary is the plateau in the Old City, home to the AlAqsaMosque and the golden Dome of the Rock, and is considered the third-holiest site in Islam. Known also as the Temple Mount, the place where the ancient Jewish temples once stood, it is the most sacred place in Judaism.

Non-Muslims are allowed to visit the site, but are prohibited from praying there.Right-wing Jews have been advocating to change that, which has led many Muslims to believe Israel wants to alter the statusquo, which has sparked violent protests.

Intifadadebate

Palestinians also accuse Israels security forces of being trigger happy, pointing to the recent shooting of aPalestinian-Israeli man namedKhairHamdan.

Earlier this month,Hamdanwas seen in security camera footage attacking a police van with a knife in a northern Israeli village. The video appears to showHamdanretreating as an officer exits the van, beforeHamdanfalls to the ground after apparently being shot.

"What we see today is that the whole Palestinian population is protesting against the oppression and the racial discrimination that they are subjected to," saidBarghouti, who was a leader of the first Palestinianintifada.

Beginning in late 1987, the firstintifadastarted when demonstrations broke out following the deaths of four Palestinians, killed when an Israeli army vehicle hit their car while returning to the Gaza Strip. A movement of civil disobedience and general strikes lasted until 1991.

The secondintifada, according to many experts, was sparked when Israels then-opposition leader, Ariel Sharon, visited the Temple Mount in 2000, leading to violent protests. Lasting until 2005, about 3,000 Palestinians and 1,000 Israelis were killed in the uprising.

EhudYaari, co-author of a book on the firstintifadaand a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, believes the current round of violence and protests should not be characterized as a new intifada.

"The great majority of the Palestinian population, and of course the Jewish population, have no appetite for another round ofintifada-typeconfrontation," he said from his home in Jerusalem.

"What is missing, in order to turn whatever level of violence you have into a wide-scale, large-scaleintifada, is organization," saidYaari.