Two political analysts agreed that the shooting, which led to the killing of three Israeli security personnel at the Allenby crossing, sent messages to the Israeli side and was the result of multiple motives that could lead to its recurrence if those motives continue.
Three Israelis were killed in a shooting attack near the Allenby Bridge (King Hussein Bridge) between Jordan and the West Bank, in the first operation of its kind since the start of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip on October 7 and the escalation of attacks in the occupied West Bank.
The Israeli army said it shot the perpetrator, killing him, while the Jordanian Interior Ministry said that official authorities had begun investigating the shooting incident on the other side of the crossing.
The head of the Department of Political Science at Hebron University, Dr. Bilal Al-Shoubaki, said that this operation proves the invalidity of the illusory images that have prevailed in Israel over the past years about the reality of the Palestinian issue in Arab countries.
In this context, Al-Shoubaki referred to a speech by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in which he said that the Palestinians represent only a small percentage of the Arabs, and he went on to say that the Palestinian issue could be ended in light of the current normalization.
Wrong Israeli translation
He explained that what happened at the Karameh crossing is not an easy matter, and that the Israeli translation of these incidents is wrong, pointing out that the Israeli occupation seeks to benefit from any security development in light of the trend towards the right, and exploit any operation to impose new facts.
Al-Shoubaki pointed out that the occupation, in light of its efforts to crush the Palestinian resistance in Gaza and the West Bank, is surprised by the emergence of forms of resistance from other locations, and although the last operation was individual, it is possible to read a state of popular Arab satisfaction with it and a rejection of a settlement with Israel.
Al-Shoubaki discussed Netanyahu’s speech, considering it an attempt to exploit any security or political situation for his own benefit, and aims to portray any resistance as part of a regional axis against which unity must be sought, warning of the “danger and malice” of this speech, as Netanyahu wants to transform the resistance operation into a comprehensive threat that requires broad alliances in which Arab countries participate.
Netanyahu said in his comment on the attack, “This is a difficult day and we are surrounded by a murderous ideology led by the Iranian axis of evil.” He added, “We are surrounded by criminals who want to kill us all,” considering that “Hamas aims to sow division within us, wage psychological warfare on the families of the kidnapped, and exert internal pressure.”
Al-Shoubaki believes that this incident may increase internal disputes in Israel between the political and security levels, adding that there is a difference in visions on how to deal with the Palestinians, as some parties adopt managing the conflict and achieving gains on the ground, while other parties call for invoking the conflict to accelerate and resolve it.
Motives and determinants of the process
In turn, political analyst and expert in Israeli affairs, Suleiman Basharat, explained that the Allenby Crossing operation was the result of a number of factors, the first of which is the ongoing war on the Gaza Strip, which is approaching its first anniversary, adding that the continuation of the war may lead to more interventions that may affect the Palestinian cause.
Basharat pointed out that the international failure to prevent the Israeli massacres in Gaza and the West Bank and the violations committed by the settlers represent two essential elements in understanding the reasons for the incident, and that this failure reflected the inability of the international system to impose pressure on Israel.
The third factor, according to Basharat, is the inflammatory rhetoric presented by the leaders of the extreme right in Israel, and the continued storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque by some of them, amid talk of the possibility of building a synagogue on the ruins of the mosque.
Basharat stressed that the legendary steadfastness of the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank is also a motivating factor, not only for the Palestinians, but for everyone who stands in solidarity with the Palestinian cause, he said.
Basharat does not rule out the possibility of an increase in the level of these operations, despite his acknowledgement that they are individually motivated, as they could turn into broader models in light of the continued state of international weakness and impotence, stressing that the war has created a societal awareness in the Arab street that was not present before.