03 July 2008

No doubt most people have heard of the bulldozer attack in Jerusalem recently. Juan Cole has this to say on the matter:

Acts of violence such as this one are typically reported without context in the US. Aljazeera International notes that the bulldozer operator had been working on a controversial rail line connecting West Jerusalem to Arab East Jerusalem, which many Palestinians feel will further disadvantage them.

The use of a Caterpillar bulldozer in the attack is probably a symbolic reversal, since Israeli authorities have been demolishing Palestinian buildings in East Jerusalem on "administrative grounds" of lack of permits. The chief cause of a lack of permits is Israeli refusal to grant building permits to Palestinians in East Jerusalem. But they have to live somewhere....

The bulldozer operator appears to have been acting alone and was apparently seized with a fit of rage over accumulated grievances in his own mind, real or imagined. Violence against innocent civilians is always condemnable and deplored by IC.

Some are speculating as to whether the incident will affect the peace process. You can't have a peace process that is hostage to the actions of individuals. If peace is held to benefit two parties in conflict, they will pursue it. If one side or both feel something more might be gained from breaking the truce, they will, whatever the pretext.

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