Is a Third Intifada Inevitable?

The recent upsurge in violent incidents has been accompanied by predictions by Israeli politicians and security officials that another round of violence is certain to erupt, either before or immediately after the Israeli disengagement from Gaza and the northern West Bank, and that it may well be even more severe than those that preceded it. According to this deterministic school of thought, a third intifada is inevitable and nothing can be done to prevent it. However, a closer examination of the common interests of the dominant streams on both sides of the conflict suggests that another bloody clash is not foreordained.