Photo: 
EPA
Horror in Jerusalem: the conflict evolves

The sight of Jews in prayer shawls lying in pools of blood sinks the Israeli-Palestinian conflict into a new horror. The knife and gun attack yesterday which killed four worshippers and a policeman in a Jerusalem synagogue (plus the two terrorists) is unusual in three ways. First, Palestinian Jerusalemites have been largely quiescent for over a decade; now they are at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Second, their crude weapons—stones, blades, car-ramming—are more reminiscent of the first Palestinian uprising in the 1980s than of more recent attacks with bombs and rockets. Third, the conflict is increasingly about holy places. Palestinians are furious over demands by some Jews to pray on the Haram al-Sharif, a Muslim site built atop the ruins of the ancient Jewish temple. Israelis are enraged by the murder of Jews in a place of prayer. An old, difficult conflict over land may be evolving into an intractable religious war.

Nov 19th 2014
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