cool down the warm up act

At the core is a concern for life and security. The Oslo and Hebron agreements, the Gush Katif expulsion were heralded as signs of Israel’s willingness to bypass its concern for land and focus on making peace.However the very reason for the concern for land is the security it grants; because civilian safety and security are being jeopardized is the reason why these agreements are so difficult for many Israelis to bear. The agreements merely buy time, at an unaffordable price. As President Obama’s visit approaches Arab tension is near their proverbial boiling point. The idea is to wrangle concessions, a sort of diplomatic blackmail, otherwise they will turn on the riot faucets and let the blood flow.

That is,  Prime Minister Netanyahu is going to be pressured to make some kind of olive branch and carrot to the Palestinians to pacify the situation. To which they won’t be satisfied. It’s like an old sitcom in syndication: hesitation, stonewalling, navel gazing and then giving something away without anything in return. In part, an inability to confront its own identity as a Jewish state which means an honoring of heritage and not the surrendering of land for a phony peace which is violated before the ink is dry.

(see link at end)…Palestinian protests in Jerusalem and the West Bank turned violent on Friday, with demonstrators throwing stones at Israeli security forces at several locations.

At the Temple Mount in the capital’s Old City, Palestinians exiting Friday prayers hurled stones at security forces stationed near the Mughrabi Gate. Israeli forces stormed the area, entering the Temple Mount compound, and used stun grenades to disperse the protesters.

“Our forces at the Mughrabi Gate [leading up to the Temple Mount compound] were hit by hails of stones,” said Jerusalem District police chief Yossi Pariente. He said one policeman was lightly injured.

In Hebron, dozens of Palestinians attacked security forces with stones in the city’s Jewish quarter. A Border Police officer was lightly injured when hit by a brick hurled by protesters. He received initial medical treatment on the scene before being transferred to a hospital.

Hundreds of protesters also gathered at the Beitunia mi

ry checkpoint near the Ofer Prison outside Ramallah, where several Palestinian inmates are on a hunger strike. Dozens of them threw stones at IDF and Border Police stationed at the post.

In Nabi Saleh, also near Ramallah, security forces used live fire to disperse protesters.

Palestinian sources claimed dozens of people were lightly injured by tear-gas inhalation at the various demonstrations.

Israeli security forces had been placed on high alert ahead of the anticipated protests, following escalating demonstrations in recent days.

Senior PLO official Hanan Ashrawi told Channel 10 News that, for now, things are under control, but that “if something happens to any of the Palestinian prisoners, especially the hunger strikers, it will raise the ire of the public and lead to acts of retribution.”

Some Israeli experts believe the Palestinian Authority is using the issue of the hunger strikers to try to foster a first intifada-style Palestinian uprising.

Palestinian organizations in Gaza were carefully watching events unfold. Islamic Jihad official Habed Habib said “What’s taking place in the West Bank now is the first sign of a third Palestinian uprising. The Israeli occupation must be uprooted.”

Demonstrations were planned in solidarity with Palestinian hunger strikers in Israeli jails. But protesters also said they intended to mark the anniversary of Baruch Goldstein’s massacre of 29 Palestinians at the Tomb of the Patriarchs in 1994.

US President Barack Obama’s upcoming visit to Israel was also cited as a reason to draw protests, according to Israel Radio.

Police were deployed in unusually high numbers in the Old City as Friday prayers were held, and at the entrances to villages around Jerusalem.

Several Palestinians and three Israeli journalists were injured Thursday as thousands of Palestinians demonstrated at the Beitunia military checkpoint, calling for the release of the inmates who are on hunger strike.Read More:http://www.timesofisrael.com/high-alert-ahead-of-expected-west-bank-protests/#.USh7h3hcak0.facebook