Palestinian Arabs have been somewhat stumped by what has been dubbed “lone-wolf operations.” In articles in the Palestinian press and discussions among themselves, they go back and forth as to what is happening to their youth. Palestinian Arabs are no fans of Zionism, but neither are they eager to openly engage in another confrontation with Israel, one likely to severely disrupt their lives and create even more social distress than they currently experience. Listen to what they say and one theme comes up over and over again: Their youth have nowhere to go, nothing to do and no future to look forward to. They are hopeless. Add to this the cultural and societal acceptance of blaming Israel, fostered by the Palestinian leadership and an attitude of “anything is allowed” in the struggle against the Zionist enemy, and the recipe for an uncontrolled eruption of violence is set.
Having let the genie out of the bottle, the Palestinian Authority is having trouble getting it back in. Part of the reason is that while they still are cooperating with Israel and acting to identify potential attackers before they attack, they also continue to glorify and venerate the attackers once they do act. Palestinians are not fond of their leadership and the leaders are reluctant to come out publicly against those seen as the “heroes” of the resistance.
Irwin J. Mansdorf, “Why Israel Gets Little Sympathy When Terrorists Strike”, The Jewish Week (17 June 2016), 19.