Enlarge image
Palestinians commemorate slain journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in Ramallah, West Bank
Photo: Mohamad Torokman / REUTERS
A new wave of terror has been raging through Israel for weeks. 19 people have already been killed in attacks and countless others injured.
Many of the attackers were from Jenin, a Palestinian city in the north of the West Bank.
The Israeli army (IDF) was deployed there on Wednesday, and there was a violent exchange of fire.
The Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was fatally hit.
She worked for the Arabic broadcaster Al Jazeera.
It is still unclear who fired the fatal shot, but the Palestinians hold the armed forces responsible.
The terrorist attacks of the recent past, the reaction of the Israelis and finally the death of the journalist expose the ongoing structural problem of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict: On the Israeli side, all governments in Jerusalem have been trying for years to merely "manage" the conflict with the Palestinians not to solve.
Israel does not believe in the possibility of a peace agreement with the Palestinians, and the Israeli right-wing fundamentally rejects a Palestinian state.
But the fact that the age-old conflict is not resolved is not only due to Israel's settlement policy and the strengthening of radical national forces in the country.
more on the subject
Killed Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh: »She was an inspiration« An interview by Monika Bolliger
Journalist shot dead in West Bank: Israel offers Palestinians joint investigation
Shireen Abu Akleh: Al Jazeera reporter killed by gunfire in West Bank
The Palestinian leadership shares responsibility for the situation.
The mere fact that there is no government responsible for all Palestinian territories makes any attempt at a solution almost impossible.
The radical Islamic Hamas rules in Gaza, which advocates a violent struggle against Israel and is not interested in peace with the state.
The Palestinian Authority (PA), on the other hand, with its aging President Mahmoud Abbas, officially has the say in the West Bank and at least speaks of peace.
However, it is riddled with corruption and incompetence, and the majority of its own population rejects it.
The PA basically doesn't represent anyone anymore, many don't see it as legitimate - the last elections were held in 2006.
Political achievements for Hamas
Both sides, Israel and the Palestinians, have been trying for years to somehow control the situation while advancing their respective interests.
The events of the past year are formative for the current development.
From Hamas' perspective in particular, the new round of violence is a continuation of the last war and the political successes that the Islamists achieved in it.
The conflict returned to armed violence almost exactly a year ago, after Hamas declared itself the "protector of al-Aqsa."
At that time, unrest broke out between Palestinians and Israelis on the Temple Mount, where the Aksa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock stand.
Hamas then declared that it had to defend al-Aqsa and fired several rockets at Jerusalem.
Israel responded militarily, and the fourth Gaza war since 2008 began.
Young Palestinians in the West Bank in particular applauded Hamas for its "heroic struggle" against the Zionists.
This made the PA look bad for not calling for a "defense" of the Muslim sanctuary.
By stylizing itself as the protector of the Islamic sanctuary in Jerusalem, Hamas gained a foothold, at least ideologically, in the West Bank - and rendered its hated competitor, the PA, irrelevant.
Hamas also achieved a political success last year by winning over Israeli Arabs.
At the same time, during the Gaza War, there were massive outbreaks of violence in so-called mixed cities, where Jews and Arabs live side by side.
At the end of the war, the Israeli army had triumphed militarily, but the political victory belonged to Hamas.
It was finally able to present itself as the only true defender of Palestinian interests, as the fearless underdog in the fight against an overpowering Israeli army.
Hamas now wants to consolidate this position.
The Bennett administration has also made no effort to negotiate with the PA or Hamas
Most of the clashes last year occurred during the tenure of then Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Naftali Bennett has been in power since June 2021. For the first time in Israel's history, there is a coalition government under his leadership that also includes an Arab party, the Raam.
Bennett realizes that he needs to do more for the country's Arab population, which makes up almost 20 percent of the country's population.
That was also the condition of Raam, without which the government would fall apart.
But the Bennett government has not sought a solution or negotiations with the PA or Hamas either.
The coalition comprises eight parties with very different views.
Some support the two-state solution, others are strictly against it.
That is why the coalition partners agreed from the start to leave everything as it is so as not to provoke a coalition break.
Without an attempt at a solution, it was only a matter of time before violence erupted again.
False reports have recently been circulating online that the Jews plan to conquer al-Aqsa and the Dome of the Rock.
Such fake news triggers hatred and anger towards Israel among many Palestinians.
Even if the recent acts of violence were not initiated by Hamas, it immediately tried to use them for its political ends.
More than a week ago, Jahja Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in Gaza, in a speech incited the Palestinians to carry out many more assassinations against the Jews, even "with axes."
Just two days later, three Israelis were killed by two assassins with axes in Elad near Tel Aviv.
Now Israelis are calling for revenge, retaliation and radical solutions.
There is a debate in the country and in the government about resuming the practice of "targeted killings."
Specifically, it is about Sinwar.
But the cautious in government are trying to prevent this.
Killing Sinwar would most likely trigger a new war with Gaza, as well as unrest in Jerusalem and possibly the West Bank.
And the already very tense situation in the "mixed cities" could escalate.
For the Bennett government, which has not had a majority in the Knesset for several weeks, every step is risky.
The Raam could leave the alliance in the event of a new war.
Bennett would be at the end of his rope politically for the time being, Israel would again be in a domestic political crisis with early elections.
At present, the prospects do not point towards relaxation.
At the funeral of the killed journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in Jerusalem, there were violent clashes between Palestinians and security forces.
And on Saturday, the Palestinians celebrate "Nakba" Day, the "Day of the Disaster," which commemorates their displacement during Israel's 1948 War of Independence.
A reason for Palestinian extremists to stoke and ignite anger in the population.
In the current situation, even a small spark can be enough to start a wildfire in Israel.