Inside Story: Why has the situation escalated this much?
Aziz Abu Sarah: I look at it a bit differently. I don’t think that extremists have so much power. I think they have the ability to ignite an already volatile situation. It is a trigger. People on the ground were ready — I mean, there were no developments in the peace process, Palestinian life has been getting worse and worse, a lot of incitement was happening.
So you're saying the root cause is the occupation and the ongoing mistreatment of Palestinians?
I put the fault at the continuing occupation and lack of a plan for an end of the conflict. It is not necessarily people against people. It is something the governments are creating.
I would blame the Palestinian government as well. They do not have a plan for how to get out of this. This is frustrating Palestinians and turning them against it. The PA are not willing to continue their U.N. bid. They are telling the people not to protest and not to be violent. But they are not providing a vision. Palestinians are not going to continue being oppressed with no way.
How does this end right now in the short term? And how would you like to see it end in the long term?
There are two options for how it ends in the short term which can lead to distinct consequences. The first one is a few hundred Palestinians killed and Israelis angry over rockets falling on their cities and blaming all Palestinians for it. This will help people gain votes. We have seen [Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor] Lieberman make his move already. Everyone looks tough and strong.
The second option is that the situation gets out of control and it turns into a third intifada.
For the Palestinian government I have a hard time believing that Abbas can maintain the status quo for much longer. Unless he makes a change in his approach, the PA will collapse. Palestinians feel that the PA's only function is coordinating security with Israel. So the Palestinians police the West Bank, even while Israel occupies it. If I were an occupying power, if I were Israel, I would be quite happy with the arrangement.
The Palestinian Authority must give Israel a true ultimatum, not just a bluff, and say they have six months to find a solution or the PA will change its approach and seek one state with equal rights. If Israel wants to continue being an occupying power, and officially in charge, we will not police it for them.
*** This interview also featured Dan Kurtzer and Gershon Baskin. The rest of the interview is at: http://america.aljazeera.com/watch/shows/inside-story/articles/2014/7/10/fueling-the-cycleofviolenceinthemiddleeast.html
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