On the morning of September 26th, a Palestinian man entered the community of Har Adar and murdered three Israelis before being killed.
Bordering Har Adar, Bidu is a Palestinian village that used to allow the free flow of Israelis/Palestinians before the first intifada. The towns had been living in peace for over 30 years, with Israelis even employing the Palestinians. This is extremely rare, Israeli and Palestinian populations living side by side, in perpetual tranquility, given the geopolitical situation in the rest of the country. The world can learn from the example of Har Adar/Bidu.
A husband as well as a father, this man left his family in order to commit murder against innocent people. What motivated him to do this? As a laborer in Har Adar, he had a healthy living with a loving family by his side and seemingly a great deal to lose, so why do this? Perhaps he wanted the stipend for his family given out by Fatah (the ruling Palestinian party) when one commits a heinous act against Israelis? Or maybe he felt hopeless because he believed that he would never have a proper country for his people to call home.
As an Israeli citizen and former resident, I fully support Israel and her right to exist. However, I don’t believe that gives her the blanket authority to do what she wants in regards to the Palestinian people (the hebron shooter for starters). For Israel to survive long term, there must be two states for two people; otherwise the untenable status quo will continue.
It is possible for Israelis and Palestinians to have peace, there are small pockets in Israel where that is currently happening. We mustn’t let an attack like the one in Har Adar deter us from the ultimate goal, which is a peaceful and prosperous Israel with a sovereign-democratic Palestine as her neighbor. Only then will Israel truly live in peace/harmony and finally return to the pressing issues, whether Maccabi Tel Aviv or Haifa will win the Israeli Soccer League.
