The failure of the peace process to end the Israeli occupation combined with long-term resentments has fuelled the latest round of violence between Palestinians and Israelis.
Many Palestinians feel they have been cheated by the Oslo process. The independent state which they expected to be established no later than May 1999 did not emerge. The pledge made by Yasser Arafat to issue a unilateral declaration of independence by September 13th was not honoured and no alternative date has been given. So now many Palestinians say the peace process is "dead" and the only alternative a new intifada, or rising.
Israel remains in control of 40 per cent of Gaza, 80 per cent of the West Bank and 100 per cent of East Jerusalem, where the protests began. It continues to expropriate Palestinian land, the latest seizures being thousands of hectares for the construction of an eastern ring road which will sever East Jerusalem from its West Bank hinterland.
It also expands Jewish settlements while severely limiting permits for Palestinian construction and housing renovation and charging high fees for rarely granted building licences.
Palestinians living in East Jerusalem who are forced to move to or relocate their businesses in outlying villages lose their right to reside in the city.
Palestinian businessmen are cut off from traditional customers in the West Bank by Israel's ban on their entry to the city. The objective is to create a Jewish majority in East Jerusalem in order to substantiate Israel's claim to exclusive sovereignty over East as well as West Jerusalem.
Today Jewish settlers in high-rise colonies equal the 180,000 Palestinian inhabitants of the city's modern neighbourhoods.
Worst off are the 33,000 Palestinian citizens of the Old City within the walls. A Palestinian social worker told The Irish Times that in many households seven to 10 family members are living in two rooms.
"Incest, rape and child abuse are rife," she said. "There is a great deal of drug addiction. But the Israeli police do nothing as long as Jews are not involved."
Israel exerts ultimate control over the lives of Palestinians living in the tight self-rule enclaves in the West Bank and Gaza. They cannot travel from one city to the next without encountering Israeli checkpoints, move from the West Bank to Gaza or vice versa or leave the country without Israeli permission.
Israel also controls the flow of goods and services into the Palestinian enclaves. Unemployment is high and wages are low. With little stake in the status quo, some Palestinians obviously seem prepared to die to overturn it.