As Jerusalem lurches toward what some are already calling a third intifada, terrorist attacks have spread throughout the country. In the Galilee town of Kafr Kanna, an Arab Israeli named Kheir Hamdan attacked a group of police officers with a knife and was then shot while trying to flee the scene. The incident and its aftermath, writes Ruthie Blum, highlight the volatility of the social climate:
In spite of the fact that the focal point of the current Arab uprising is Jerusalem, police in other Arab-populated areas have been trying to prevent an already volatile atmosphere from escalating. In such a climate of rock-throwing, fire-crackers, Molotov cocktails, and hit-and-run terrorist attacks, law-enforcement agents are in a state of constant jitters. . . .
Following [the] revelation [of the details of the attack], a storm ensued, as did calls for investigations into the “unnecessary killing” of Hamdan. Even many mainstream Israelis have been saying that the police “could have shot him in the leg.” Arab Knesset member Ahmad Tibi called the incident a “cold-blooded execution,” and demanded that the officer who shot Hamdan be immediately arrested and put on trial.
MK Mohammad Barakeh, Kafr Kanna Mayor Majhad Awadeh, and other Arab dignitaries joined thousands of Israeli Arab demonstrators on Saturday as they chanted, “Zionists, get out of our lives,” while waving posters of Hamdan saying, “His only crime was being an Arab.” In fact, his “crime” . . . was terrorism. And while he is hailed as a martyr, the policeman who shot him will be dishonored and possibly imprisoned. It is this societal situation, more than any weapons deemed fit in the PA for an intifada, that ought to spring Israel into high alert.
Read more on Israel Hayom: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=10531