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New Violence Reignites Old Tensions In Israel
ResumeThree suspects in the murder of a Palestinian teenager have confessed to the killing, as tensions continue to rise in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Today's fighting included Israeli air strikes in Gaza, launched in response to persistent cross-border rocket fire into Israel.
The conflict escalated last week after three kidnapped Israeli teenagers were found dead in the West Bank, sparking the revenge killing of 16-year-old Mohammed Abu Khdeir, on the same day as the Israeli boys' funeral. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has condemned Khdeir’s death. The mayor of Jerusalem is said to have visited the family’s mourning tent.
But not everyone is calling for calm. One Palestinian member of Israel's parliament has said that Israel's "escalation" is nothing but a "premeditated attempt to divert public opinion from Israel's economic problems"; and Israeli Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz retorted that "weakness invites aggression" and that he opposes a policy of restraint.
Some have already started calling the spiraling violence the "third intifada," but is it? To put it into perspective and discuss the future of the conflict, Here & Now's Robin Young turns to Aaron David Miller, who specializes in Middle East affairs at the Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars.
Guest
- Aaron David Miller, vice president for new initiatives and a distinguished scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. His new book "The End of Greatness: Why America Can't Have (and Doesn't Want) Another Great President" comes out in October. He was a Middle East negotiator for Republican and Democratic administrations. He tweets @aarondmiller2.
This segment aired on July 7, 2014.