And a border guard killed a 24-year-old Palestinian who tried to knife him at a checkpoint between Jerusalem and the West Bank, police said.
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A fourth Palestinian was shot dead, also in Hebron, but there were conflicting reports about the incident.
Video showed what looked like an extensive blaze, and the Israeli army called it “a despicable act” of desecration. According to IDF, an assailant attempted to stab a policeman but the knife did not penetrate the officer’s flak jacket, prompting the officer to fire upon and wound his assailant. He added that the attacker was shot and significantly wounded.
Two of the attacks happened in the flashpoint West Bank city of Hebron where about 500 Jewish settlers live. To date, seven Israelis and more than 30 Palestinians have died in the violence.
The violence erupted a month ago over the Jewish New Year, fueled by rumors that Israel was plotting to take over Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site, a hilltop compound revered by Jews as the Temple Mount and home to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam’s third-holiest shrine and a key national symbol for the Palestinians.
The new security measures have done little to hinder the frustrated young people who have ignored appeals from both the Israeli and Palestinian governments to maintain calm. Authorities said several Israeli security personnel were wounded in the attacks.
An 18-year-old Palestinian attacked a settler in Hebron and was shot by another citizen, not long before an Israeli border police officer at a nearby base was stabbed, resulting in his 16-year-old Palestinian attacker being shot.
The other death in Hebron was of a Palestinian woman who was shot by an Israeli border policewoman.
Violence between Israelis and Palestinians continued unabated on Saturday.
In yet another sign of tensions, ultra-Orthodox Jews illegally visiting a West Bank holy site set ablaze last week were assaulted by Palestinians, while a few were also arrested.
The alleged attacks are the latest in a month of violent confrontations across the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. In that time, 39 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire, including 18 labeled by Israel as attackers, and the rest in clashes with Israeli troops.
Kerry did not give any further details as to when exactly he would meet Netanyahu and Abbas, or where in the Middle East he would hold talks with the Palestinian leader.
It accuses the Palestinians of inciting to violence through the false claims.
Friday’s protests came as Palestinians called for a “Friday of revolution” against Israel, and as Jerusalem police barred men under 40 from attending prayers at Al-Aqsa mosque.
The incident saw a group of about 30 religious students from a school in Jerusalem travel to Joseph’s Tomb in the northern West Bank city of Nablus despite not having the required authorisation from Israel’s military.
Israeli security forces have deployed massively in Jerusalem to try to halt the attacks and, on Wednesday, began setting up checkpoints in parts of east Jerusalem, including Jabel Mukaber.
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Numerous attackers have been Palestinian youth, and a local police commander at the scene of Saturday’s attack in Jerusalem pleaded for parents to restrain them.
