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4 Jul, 2014

For Palestinians, This Week’s Deaths Highlight the Asymmetry of Power | Alternet

July 2, 2014 – The kidnapping and killing of three young Israelis – whom Palestinians regard as settlers – and the death of a Palestinian teenager in East Jerusalem have reopened some of the deepest wounds on both sides of the ongoing conflict and are now threatening to engulf Palestinian-Israeli relations.

It is not hard to see why Palestinian mothers and fathers may have been bemused by the spectacle of world leaders, including Barack Obama and David Cameron, lining up to condemn the deaths of the three youths, while remaining largely unmoved by the shooting of two unarmed Palestinian youths last month and the killings of at least a further six civilians since Israel began searching for the kidnappers on 12 June.

The latest death of an East Jerusalem teenager confirms that Israeli vigilantism is on the rise, inspired by a growing and largely unrestrained tide of settler violence over the past few years. In light of the fury felt on both sides, it is perhaps not hard to see why mutual empathy is not the prevalent mode of interaction between Palestinians and Israelis today.

Read the rest: For Palestinians, This Week’s Deaths Highlight the Asymmetry of Power | Alternet.