Anata attack
Anata attackScreenshot

 A “third intifada” may not have been officially declared, but conditions on the ground resemble those of the “first intifada” in the patterns of violence and the daring exhibited by the attackers.

The Palestinian Authority encourages what it terms “resistance” or “struggle” – adding the term “by peaceful means.” This is doublespeak, however, for struggle that includes severe violence, and the use of rocks and firebombs with intent to cause severe injuries or death among Israeli civilians and security forces.

A video shot in the village of Anata, north of Jerusalem, shows the difficult conditions under which Israeli security forces operate when they enter Arab concentrations to enforce law and order.

A group of young Arab terrorists can be seen as it awaits the Israeli force, which advances in a convoy of vehicles fitted with protective gear. A firebomb is thrown at one vehicle in an attempt to set it on fire, while cinderblocks are also hurled. Containers with paint are thrown at the windshields of the vehicles to try and block the drivers' field of vision.

“Intifada,” an Arabic term meaning “shaking off the yoke,” has been used to describe a violent uprising in 1987-1993 and a murderous terror war in 2000-2009 that killed 1,178 Israelis, 70% of them civilians, in over 20,000 attacks that included 144 suicide bombings. 

Anata has been identified with the Biblical Anatot, birthplace of the prophet Yirmiyahu, or Jeremiah.