The third intifada is gaining momentum, and is also following an all-too-familiar path: Jerusalem, Israel’s Arab sector, Judea and Samaria and now Tel Aviv. The inferno leaps from place to place, and each new spot feeds and fuels the ones that came before. This is how it was during the first intifada, the intifada of stones, and this is how it was during second intifada, the intifada of suicide bombers.

But nonetheless, there are differences. The first and second intifadas each broke out almost solely due to one isolated incident. The third intifada erupted in March this year and has in fact escalated until it reached the current situation; it is actually underway in earnest in Jerusalem, the Arab sector and to a lesser extent the West Bank.

In Judea and Samaria, Mahmoud Abbas is working hard to ensure that his security forces prevent any large flare-ups. These would harm the image the Palestinian Authority is presenting to the world, and could undermine the political achievements it aspires to, such as a Security Council resolution that would recognize the state of Palestine within the 1967 borders.

Therefore, the Palestinian security forces operate in quite a determined fashion to prevent mass disturbances and the use of firearms in Judea and Samaria, but throwing stones, petrol bombs and Molotov cocktails does happen and becoming more common. The question now is how long Abbas can “occupy” the third intifada in the West Bank, unlike the permission and inspiration he gives to the riots in Jerusalem.

Read the article in full at Ynet.