Israel’s unchecked assault on the life, liberty and basic dignity of Palestinians and Arabs within its borders seems to have no end in sight. In the recent spate of violence to grip the troubled region, 41 Palestinians have been killed — a figure that outweighs the seven Israelis killed. The context for this upturn in violence was the encroachment of the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in East Jerusalem by Jewis extremists aided by Israeli forces in violation of a long holding agreement on how to share a site held in reverence by both religions. The invasion of Al-Aqsa provoked the Palestinians in the Muslim-dominated East Jeusalem into protests. These protestors were then met with deadly force, which in turn resulted in a spate of isolated “lone wolf” stabbings conducted by enraged Palestinian youths. These incidents have been used by the Israeli government to come down hard on the Palestinians and create a climate of fear and retribution. An unceasing cycle is witnessed where Palestinians are oppressed and their reactions invite even more furious oppression. Now the Israeli security forces constantly patrol Palestinian neighbourhoods, roadblocks are set up on roads, movement and prayers of Palestinian men are restricted, and anyone can be stopped and frisked on the street. The mass hysteria about “security concerns” to which the Israeli government and a significant portion of its population cling as justification has now moved on to suppressing Arabs in economic and social domains as well. Four cities of Israel, including Tel Aviv, have issued edicts that prohibit Arab Muslims from working as labourers or janitors at schools in the municipalities — two jobs that have been the almost exclusive preserve of the ‘minorities’ in Israel. Naked, brutal and direct repression is married with legal and institutional discrimination against the Palestinians and Arabs in Israel and the political and living conditions for them are worse than they were for the non-white population of South Africa during the much condemned Apartheid regime. Israel however faces no such censure as it continues to enjoy the backing of the US and other major powers, while the Palestinian people are left to their own devices to suffer alone. The peace process is dead in the water and there is no credible political way for Palestinians to assert their rights and have their voices heard. This depressing and hopeless situation results in the youth, who have been raised on images of violence and are afforded an avenue of information sharing and resistance by the social media and internet, to act out in desperation. It is thought these disparate incidents of violence will not translate into a sustained third intifada due to a lack of leadership, but if the powder keg-like situation is allowed to continue, the evolution of resistance cannot be ruled out. Israel and its allies should take heed and act now to prevent a dangerous escalation. *