As of writing, the man who shot dead two Israelis and seriously injured at least seven others in a Tel Aviv cafe has not been apprehended, stirring speculation as to his identity and motive. Local media reports have named the alleged suspect as Nashad Milkham, a 29-year-old Arab Israeli from Wadi Ara, who was arrested for trying to take a soldier's gun in 2007. His father, a volunteer with the Israeli police, identified him after watching CCTV footage of the attack and contacted the police. If he is Arab, even if Israeli, then the attacker is more likely part of the three-month Palestinian campaign of individual Palestinian attacks against Israelis. But it would be the first use of an automatic weapon instead of knives and other sharp objects, and would be the first time the offensive had reached the heart of Tel Aviv after being largely contained in Jerusalem and the West Bank. These are two significant developments in the wave of Palestinian street attacks since October, fueled in part by anger over stepped-up Jewish visits to Al-Aqsa Mosque complex as well as long-stalled peace talks. Israeli security forces have not been able to stop the almost daily attacks which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says are inspired by radical Islam, but which Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas calls a justified popular uprising driven by despair that a two-state solution is not coming. Abbas' explanation is more accurate. These are Palestinians who have no expectation from the Israelis and feel neglected by the international community which is more concerned with Daesh (the self-proclaimed IS) to the point that it no longer gives attention to the Palestinian issue. Something unprecedented is happening, a rebellion of individuals driven by a combination of hatred and despair. The sentiments are reflected in a recent survey released by pollsters in Ramallah that found that two-thirds of Palestinians support the knife attacks. More than half of those surveyed support armed struggle against Israel. It is true that the uprising still lacks an effective framework in the form of a clear political program to drive it, unify efforts and promote its sustainability until it yields something positive and concrete for the people under occupation. However, it is also true that this uprising has refused to ebb quickly, developing into an overwhelming popular tide. What is currently taking place in Palestine might be headed in the direction of what has been called an "intifada of attrition", as opposed to a comprehensive confrontation. Friday's attack could be Daesh-inspired, coming just days after Daesh leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi threatened Israel with violence. In the end, though, it could be part of the bigger picture: Palestinians who see their problem as having virtually vanished from the scene after receiving little media and political attention apart from brief periods in which the Obama administration tried to restart negotiations between the Palestinians and Israel, in 2010 and 2013, with no success. The wave of seemingly random stabbings of Israeli civilians and soldiers is apparently not directed by any particular organization but instead by Palestinian individuals making their own decisions and taking matters into their own hands. They are demonstrating an amazing determination to sustain the confrontation against the occupation, despite the extraordinary brutality of the siege. Although Palestinian leaders are committed to non-violence, they consider the attacks acts of popular resistance against Israel's 49-year military occupation. It is not they who are sending people out to the streets with knives. It is the Israelis who are pushing Palestinians in that direction.
