The West Bank separation barrier is fueling attacks by East Jerusalem Arabs who feel isolated from fellow Palestinians and are increasingly likely to lash out independently, the Shin Bet security service said on Wednesday, two days after an East Jerusalem resident plowed his car into a crowd in Jerusalem, wounding 17.
The findings by the Shin Bet, which has usually championed tough tactics against a Palestinian uprising that erupted in 2000, appeared to dovetail with Palestinian arguments that a peaceful resolution of Jerusalem's status is key to addressing the causes of political violence in the city.
Citing a need to keep out suicide bombers, Israel has been erecting a network of fences and barricades in the West Bank which loop around Jerusalem. Palestinians see it as a de facto border designed to cut their political ties to East Jerusalem. "Awareness of the fence is creating a long-term estrangement between Jerusalem and the West Bank," the Shin Bet said in a statement, adding that some Palestinian attacks had been motivated by a grassroots desire "to ensure Jerusalem does not disappear from the political agenda". |