Violence in the West Bank began long before the kidnappings

Ever since three Israeli teenagers disappeared from a settlement in the West Bank on 12 June, there has been intense anxiety about the repercussions of the event. The search for Naftali Frankel, 17, Gilad Shaar, 16, and Eyal Yifrach, 19 – known as Operation Brother’s Keeper – saw more than 2,100 Palestinian-owned buildings in the West Bank searched, and 566 Palestinians arrested, including some who could have had no possible connection to the case. Five people were killed during the search, including a 15 year old boy shot dead by Israeli soldiers.

When the teenagers were found dead, buried in a shallow grave, on 30 June, the situation ramped up. There can be no argument that the abduction and murder of these three young people was a heinous, condemnable crime. But it is certainly debatable whether the Israeli government’s response of mounting airstrikes on Gaza, indiscriminately arresting and killing Palestinians during the search, and raising plans of building a new settlement to commemorate the boys’ lives, was the best one.

As the days rolled on, the situation became even more serious, with the news on 2 July that a 17 year old Palestinian boy, Mohamed Abu Khieder, had been abducted and murdered in the West Bank. Both Israeli and Palestinian authorities have said that this was a revenge attack by Jewish extremists. In the aftermath of Khieder’s death, there were violent clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli security forces. Tensions are as high now as they have ever been.

The cycle of violence and retribution is depressingly familiar to anyone who watches events in this part of the world. The Israeli government justifies its airstrikes on Gaza because it says that Hamas was responsible for the abductions. Hamas has denied responsibility. Most analysts agree that the most likely truth is that the original abduction was the work of rogue militants, who disapprove of the unity government arrangement between Hamas and Fatah. The Israeli government’s policy is to “make terrorism counter-productive”, but in practice, this policy of collective punishment and holding an entire population to account for the crimes of a few individuals has the opposite effect. It causes widespread disillusionment and empowers the most extreme voices of opposition. Hamas warned that if Benjamin Netanyahu “brings a war on Gaza, the gates of hell will open to him”, indicating that tension will only continue to ratchet upwards.

Following the news of Khieder’s death, the White House called for the perpetrators of this “heinous murder” to be brought to justice. US secretary of state John Kerry said that the killing was sickening, adding: “There are no words to convey adequately our condolences to the Palestinian people.”

For many in Palestine, these condemnations will be too little too late. As Chris Doyle points out in the Daily Telegraph: “From a Palestinian perspective this round of events never started with the kidnappings. The Israeli use of live fire against Palestinians has increased according to the UN, Israeli and Palestinian human rights groups. The killing of two Palestinian teenagers at Ofer in May 2014 was as painful to Palestinians as the killings of these three teenagers. Israeli forces and settlers have killed six Palestinian children so far in 2014. When Palestinians are rounded up and detained without trial they are seen as kidnap victims. Palestinians wonder why a US President and British Prime Minister comment on three murdered Israelis and not on murdered Palestinians.”

As violence and anger continues on both sides, perhaps the most reasonable response came from Yishai Frankel, the uncle of Naftali Frankel, one of the murdered Israeli teens. “Any act of revenge of any kind whatsoever is completely inappropriate and wrong,” he said, after the news of Khieder’s death. “Murder is murder. One should not differentiate between bloods, be it Arab or Jew.” The Israeli government would do well to listen to him.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.