Just two days ago, there were several articles that came out in the Israeli and Palestinian media about the calm that had settled over the Nablus area since Palestinian security forces were deployed there last month.
Hours after the articles were published, Israeli forces invaded Nablus in a large-scale, full-on invasion. The troops have remained there for two days, with no end in sight. Why did the Israeli military choose to invade now — after having made such a big show in the November 'peace summit' about the Palestinian Authority being required to "restore law and order" in the Palestinian Territories.
The Palestinian Authority, under Mahmoud Abbas, immediately began implementing its 'security plan', despite one block after another by Israeli forces, who prevented the security forces and their vehicles from crossing checkpoints on multiple occasions, and openly attacked and even killed commanders of the Palestinian security forces.
Nablus was the first city to receive a deployment of Palestinian police, followed by Tulkarem, then Bethlehem, two days before Christmas. And the Israeli commentaries that came out on Monday were amazed at how the Palestinian Authority was able to bring a calm to those cities.
So why invade now?
Could it be, perhaps, that Israeli authorities do NOT want calm in Nablus? Could it be, perhaps, that they may actually be trying to provoke the Palestinians of Nablus into fighting again, into fighting the Israeli occupation?
Well, obviously it is in Israel's 'strategic interest' to make sure the Palestinian resistance keeps up — it gives them an excuse to keep up the occupation, to keep up the attacks, to keep up the missile strikes, the extrajudicial assassinations, the checkpoints, the closures, the invasions, abductions, interrogation and torture — all in the name of 'fighting terrorism'.
So if Abbas manages to keep the people of Nablus calm, well, Israeli authorities haven't got that excuse.
But if they invade Nablus, as they have done this week, no one will report it in the major media worldwide…..but what WILL happen is that the young guys in Nablus will get more resentful, more angry, and sooner or later, one or another of them is going to fight back.
If they do, you can be sure that that attack will be splattered all over the world's headlines, and will be used to justify Israel's 'response' — when in fact it will have been Israel's actions that provoked the attack to begin with.
