Israeli occupation troops storm al-Aqsa.

This is Israel. A nation where Palestinian children throwing rocks are met by Israeli occupation troops firing bullets and tear gas cans.

Israeli occupations troops feel threatened by Palestinian children. And the IDF is always crafting up means to abuse Palestinians further.

Recently, riots between Palestinian youth and the occupying IDF broke out in occupied East Jerusalem after Israeli occupation troops stormed a Muslim holy site: Haram al-Sherif (also holy to Jews and known to them as the Temple Mount). Israeli occupation troops entered the compand and prevented Muslims from praying at the al-Agsa Mosque. The Israeli pretext was that Muslims were planning on throwing rocks at Jews praying underneath at the Wailing Wall after Muslims were provoked by far-right Jews who routinely threaten burning down the al-Aqsa Mosque to rebuild the Third Temple (such radical Jews are a minority since most believe that the rebuilding of the Temple will take place at the will of God).

Whether Muslims intended to harm Jews, Israeli troops never bothered to monitor the situation and then block Muslims after-the-fact, but immediately on an assumption prevented Muslims from visiting the third holiest site in Islam. Of course, Israeli occupation troops never bother to take this precaution when protecting (as international law requires) Palestinian farms from radical, violent and illegal settlers on the occupied West Bank.

Muslims, fearing that al-Aqsa was under attack, and naturally resentful at the heavy-handed manner of Israeli occupation troops started to protest. Clashes between rock-throwing youth and Israeli occupation troops broke out and have been ongoing for several days now. This clash takes place in the context of the 61-year old Israeli occupation, of course, and the recent demolishing of Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem to make way for Jewish settlers in an effort to further Judaize East Jerusalem and unite it under sovereign Jewish rule (Palestinian aspire to one day have East Jerusalem as their capital). Israel claims Palestinian construction is without a permit, but at the same time avoids handing out permits to Arabs to force them to move (Palestinians ignore the Israeli refusal since they refuse to also recognize the legitimacy of the authority and build anyway).

The recent clashes are akin to the ones that sparked the second intifidah, which, incidentally, was ushered in when then Israeli opposition far-right leader (and war criminal) Arial Sharon visited al-Aqsa in an act of provokation against the Palestinians (which, of course, worked to bring a second intifidah that killed 4,000 Palestinians and 1,000 Israelis).

It is unlikely that current fighting will lead to a third intifidah since Palestinians would have more to lose than gain. The West Bank, still under occupation and the victim of Israeli colonization and checkpoints, it nonetheless experiencing an economic revival for the first time in a decade. It will require many more overlapping factors to spark another intifidah.

Intifidah or no intifidah, Israeli occupation troops still employ thuggish tactics:

“Police impersonating stone throwers assault Palestinian in East Jerusalem, beating him severely.”

The same tactic is been used against peaceful Palestinian protestors in the West Bank in the villege of Bil’in.