Nothing is more illustrative of ill intent than when someone waits until attention has shifted elsewhere so he can carry out a calculated act of lawlessness.
Such is currently the case with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is exploiting a period when the world’s attention is elsewhere.
Netanyahu is diabolical in his timing, having found the perfect window to carry out his goal while the Arab world is distracted by conflicts raging in Yemen, Syria and Iraq; while Europe is preoccupied with the flood of migrants taxing its resources; and while the US is at a loss even in formulating a response to Russia’s incursion in Syria.
Netanyahu has never been one to give much thought to international law or human rights, but he has sunk to new lows with his recent campaign of making the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound the focal point of his aggression toward the Palestinians. That he would choose to spark unrest at Al-Aqsa, which naturally would draw an angry reaction from the Palestinian people, only confirms that his goal is hostile.
Israeli police have already sealed off entrances to the Old City, the streets of East Jerusalem are riddled with barricades, and the premier has declared a crackdown against Palestinian violence, which he has conveniently provoked. The situation after 10 days of violence that saw three Palestinians and four Israelis killed, with another 170 people wounded, is evocative of the past two intifadas and smells like the makings of a third, which will drive the last nail into the peace process.
There is very little question as to his purpose, which is and has always been to Judaize all of Jerusalem. For the Israelis, the opportunity might not come again.
