In an unsigned editorial yesterday (Google link), the editors of The Wall Street Journal argued that the main obstacle to peace between Israel and the Palestinians is not settlements but “the culture of hatred against Jews that is nurtured by Palestinian leaders.”

Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas condemned the killings, but not without calling for Israel to halt what he called “invasions” of the holy Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Mr. Abbas has previously said the Temple Mount was being “contaminated” by Jews, despite assurances by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the Dome of the Rock and Al Aqsa Mosque are for Muslim worship only. The Memri news service reports that the Oct. 29 issue of the Palestinian daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida was full of false accusations that Israel is damaging Jerusalem’s holy sites. …

The murders are the worst in a recent spate of Palestinian attacks, which some are calling a third spontaneous “intifada,” or uprising, against Israel. But there are few spontaneous events in a society dominated by armed military factions. The last intifada, after the failure of Bill Clinton ’s peace talks in 2000, was also said to be spontaneous until it became clear that Yasser Arafat was running it.

The Journal’s editors suggest pressuring the Palestinian Authority to abide by its commitment to stop incitement against Israel:

The best way to prevent another intifada is to reassure Israel that the U.S. supports its self-defense, while warning Palestinians that they will never have a homeland as long as they cultivate a society that celebrates murdering the innocent in the name of religion.

[Photo: Jordi Bernabeu Farrús / Flickr ]