Netanyahu's attack on Jenin shows weakness. The Palestinians are weak too – and therein lies the danger

The endlessly simmering conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, exploding into unbridled warfare this week in the embattled West Bank city of Jenin, threatens a broader, more far-reaching catastrophe. How much closer now is a third intifada or, worse still, a wider Middle Eastern war drawing in Israel's sworn enemies, Hezbollah and Iran? Paradoxically, it is both sides' chronic weakness that has prevented this larger calamity so far. Weakness is what they have in common - apart, that is, from the tortured, contested land of Palestine itself. It's evident the Jenin incursion by Israel Defence Forces (IDF) is meeting fierce resistance…