PALESTINE IN RECENT MONTHS has witnessed a new kind of continuous, low-level ferment that betokens many Palestinians’ profound disquiet with the status quo: Israel’s ever more entrenched military occupation and the ceaseless expansion of its colonization project. Predictions that this ferment would erupt into something bigger and more general, akin to the two intifadas of the past three decades, have proven misplaced. This may have been due to the efficiency of Israeli repression, combined with the collaborative efforts of the security agencies of the Palestinian Authority (PA) whose cooperation senior Israeli security officials have lauded. It may also have been a function of the diffuse nature of the movement, which observers across the political spectrum agree has been spontaneous rather than centrally organized. As usual, the casualties have been heavily lopsided. While over thirty Israelis have been killed, the Palestinian death toll is over two hundred, with many of the latter shot down by Israeli army snipers during protests and demonstrations.
