Jerusalem and Gaza: why the new wave of violence was 'inevitable'
The Hamas group launched a large number of rockets over several Israeli cities
The latest wave of violence involving Israel and Palestine, which started on Monday (10/5), continues to worsen.
By Wednesday night (Brazilian time), at least 72 people had died - 65 in Gaza and 7 in Israel. There are children among the victims in both locations.
After weeks of tension in Jerusalem, air strikes and missile attacks broke out on Monday night, as well as local conflicts between Jews and Muslims in several Israeli cities.
Since the beginning of the week, Palestinian militants say they have fired 130 rockets at Israel in response to an attack that destroyed the al-Sharouk tower in Gaza City, which housed offices of Hamas, the Palestinian group that controls Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday night that he plans to send military personnel to help police in cities destroyed by the violence. Netanyahu called the attacks in recent days "anarchic".
"Nothing can justify an Arab group by attacking Jews, and nothing can justify a Jewish group by attacking Arabs," he said in a video.
The Palestinian Authority wrote on Twitter that Israel's "military attack" is "traumatizing an already besieged population of 2 million people".
The bases of the conflict
In the new wave of violence that strikes Israel and the Gaza Strip, a logic remains unchanged: the unresolved conflict between Jews and Arabs that has ruined and ended the lives of Palestinians and Israelis for generations.
It is an open wound in the heart of the Middle East and the fact that the conflict has disappeared from international headlines in recent years does not mean that it is over. The problems do not change, nor does the hatred and bitterness that go through not only years, but generations.
For more than a century, Jews and Arabs have struggled to dominate the strip of land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.
Israel has inflicted a series of overwhelming defeats on the Palestinians since it was created as a state in 1948, but it cannot yet claim victory.
And as long as the conflict continues, neither side will be safe.
Tensions have been rising for weeks
The only certainty is that from time to time, at the very least, there will be a serious and violent crisis.
The pattern of the past 15 years has often involved fighting in the area that separates Gaza from Israel.
The Jerusalem problem
The outburst of violence this time has been a reminder that Jerusalem and its holy sites have an unparalleled ability to stir spirits.
The importance of the city for Christians, Jews and Muslims is not just a religious issue.
Jewish and Muslim holy sites are also national symbols. Geographically, they are literally side by side. The Church of the Holy Sepulcher, venerated by Palestinian Christians, is close to an Israeli checkpoint.
What's new now
New triggers for the latest clash include threats to evict Palestinians from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah.
It is a Palestinian neighborhood outside the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem, with land and properties claimed by groups of Jewish settlers in Israeli courts.
This is more than just a dispute over a handful of houses. It comes after years of successive Israeli governments seeking to make Jerusalem more Jewish.
Israeli settlements on Palestinian-occupied land have increased over the years
Large settlements for Jews were built on occupied land around the city, in violation of international law.
In recent years, the government and groups of settlers have worked to establish Israeli Jews in Palestinian areas close to the walled Old City.
The new fuse
In addition to this in recent weeks, there has been severe Israeli surveillance of Palestinians during Ramadan, the holy month of Muslims. Pepper spray and shock grenades were used inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the most sacred place for Muslims after Mecca and Medina.
Hamas took the unusual step of issuing an ultimatum to Israel to withdraw its forces from the Al-Aqsa and Sheikh Jarrah complex, and then fired rockets at Jerusalem.
Strong clashes took place outside the Al Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted: "Terrorist organizations in Gaza have crossed the red line ... Israel will respond with great strength."
Another combination of events could have ended in the same way. Such violent events will happen repeatedly as long as the conflict is not resolved.
Does the conflict have a solution?
A BBC presenter asked me recently, when the crisis was getting worse, when was the last time I had hope that the two sides would find a way to coexist in peace.
I lived in Jerusalem from 1995 to 2000 and came back many times after that.
Finding an answer to that question was difficult.
The Israelis carried out several bombings in Gaza
At the height of the Oslo peace process in the 1990s, there was a brief moment of hope, but only residents of Jerusalem in their 40s will remember that time.
Leaders on both sides have been fighting their own internal political battles, focusing on safeguarding their own positions, when the biggest problem for any Palestinian or Israeli leader should be achieving peace.
This challenge has not been addressed seriously for years.
Some new ideas have emerged.
Two renowned research centers, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the US / Middle East Project have just published a joint report arguing that the first priority must be equal rights and equal security for Palestinians and Israelis.
They say the United States must support "total equality and the right to vote for all those residing in the territory under Israeli control; they must not support two separate and unequal systems".
A new thought is a positive thing. However, this week's realities, familiar rhetoric and the most recent eruption of a century-long conflict are drowning out everything else.
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