The Second Intifada - 2001/2002
Israeli NarrativePLO leader Yasser Arafat had been actively planning an attack on the Israeli people and Sharon’s comments merely provided an excuse to shift the blame. The Israeli people have long faced the threat of extermination at the hands of their Muslim neighbors and this was yet another instance of the terrorist tactics that the Palestinians have employed to reach that end. To Israel, the Palestinians are adamantly opposed to the existence of a Jewish state and will stop at nothing to see Israel eradicated, including murdering civilians. As such, Israel responded with heavy-handed military response, and since Palestine does not have a standing army, did not distinguish between soldiers and civilians during strikes.
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Palestinian NarrativeAriel Sharon’s claiming of the Temple Mount--where both the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque are located--for the Israeli people was a deeply offensive and deliberate provocation towards Palestinian Muslims. Sharon’s declaration signaled an intentionally hard-handed and hostile stance towards the Palestinian people and their continued struggle for independence. This firmly signified that Israel had no intention of allowing a Palestinian state, but instead was committed to have sole control over the Temple Mount, Jerusalem, and Israel. Such an act of hostility and disrespect led to hopelessness and extremism. Many Palestinians responded with targeted violence and mass terror towards military and civilians alike.
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