Pay attention to the words of Talal Nasser, a Hamas operative in Turkey who is reciting his boss Saleh al-Arouri's doctrine from there. His remarks concisely yet precisely reflect the move Hamas is trying to initiate in Judea and Samaria, east Jerusalem, and the "internal Palestinian territories" – meaning among Arab Israelis. The overt objective is to turn the entire country into a front. From Hamas' perspective, we are all just big one settlement.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
"I think the occupation is nearing its end," Nasser said. "I swear to Allah … those of us who are still alive … after we tread on the Zionists' skulls, we will tread on the lands of Haifa, Jaffa, Tiberias, and Jerusalem, and all of the West Bank, and our precious Gaza Strip. There is no difference between the 1967 and 1948 borders. This lie, that entrapped some defeatists among our people, will not entrap the people of this Muslim nation. Palestine is one piece. The concept of 'This is ours, or theirs' does not exist in our vocabulary … Either it is ours – or it is ours, and this is emphasized by the blood of Ra'ed [Hazam, the terrorist behind the recent Tel Aviv attack] and the blood of the pure martyrs."
Hamas is trying to forcefully drag Arab Israelis into the campaign it is waging against Israel without having to pay a price for it in Gaza, where it continues to lick its wounds following the Israel Defense Force's Operation Guardian of the Walls. Sunday's attack on buses carrying tallit-wearing Jews to the Western Wall, along with attempts to block roads leading Jews to the Temple Mount, is just part of the story.
There are other incidents that have taken place in recent days, not all of which are reported by the media, that demonstrate to us that Hamas is determined to provoke a more forceful repeat of the events of April and May 2021 in which nationalist elements in Israel's Arab sector join the effort.
In Haifa, around 150 people called for "Intifada, raise the flames. If the Intifada begins, we will not watch from the sidelines." They praised Hamas chief Mohammed Deif. In the Nazareth area, police ordered Magen David Adom emergency services not to enter the city and the surrounding communities without police and security escorts after buses there were pelted with rocks. Arabs also rioted in Kafr Kanna, Reineh, Ilut, Yafa an-Naseriyye, and other locales. In Fureidis, reports were received of Molotov cocktails being thrown at the local police station.
There were also signs of Arab Israelis' involvement in what is now taking place on the Temple Mount over the weekend. It turns out a substantial number of those arrested in the large riot there on Friday were residents of Umm al-Fahm, Sakhnin, Baqa al-Gharbiyye, and other Arab communities.
This is also how it began a year ago. The police are far more prepared this time, but they are still not prepared enough. If thousands of police officers and soldiers are unable to prevent attacks on worshippers and those making their way to the Western Wall, in images reminiscent of incidents we witnessed prior to the founding of the state, we must necessarily draw one of two conclusions: Either police do not have free rein to act as Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has claimed or they are not wise enough to use this "free rein" to prevent such incidents from taking place in the first place.
Those who demonstrate incompetence on the Temple Mount and release hundreds of rioters who were just arrested for rioting will discover that the Western Wall and its worshippers are also under threat. Those who decided in recent weeks to keep some of the Egged bus lines from running through Sultan Suleiman Street at night now discover that Jews are pelted with rocks there during the daytime too. Those who try to tiptoe through the capital in the allusion that this will achieve piece once again discover that the other side interprets this as cowardice. That's just how it is in our neighborhood.
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
