Escalation: Will Violence Derail Palestinian UN Vote Before

As the September UN Vote on Palestinian statehood approaches, Israel has ratcheted up its military incursions around the West Bank. In Hebron this past Monday an Israeli raid resulted in dozens of injuries and arrests. In Jenin, the renowned Freedom Theater has come under intense harassment, with young actors being detained withut charge for weeks on end. And after unknown assailants in the Sinai killed eight Israelis, Israel subjected Gaza to two days of bombing despite the fact that Gaza groups denied responsibility the attack. The bombardment of Gaza -- which left 15 Palestinians dead, at least 5 of whom were civilians (including a two year old and a 13 year old child) -- threatened a new outbreak of violence and briefly ended the largely effective unilateral ceasefire enforced by Hamas in the coastal strip for the past two years. The uptick in tensions has left many Palestinians wondering whether Israel is hoping to stir up unrest in order to derail the upcoming push for Palestinian statehood. 

GUEST: Diana Buttu former legal adviser to Palestinian negotiators and a current Fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. Ms. Buttu is also a Policy Advisor to Al-Shabaka, The Palestinian Policy Network.