Jerusalem saw its first knife attack in two weeks on Friday when a 23-year-old Palestinian stabbed and lightly wounded an American tourist before being shot dead, police said.
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Saturday’s shooting followed a tense day on Friday in which two suspected Palestinian stabbers were shot dead and 19 others were wounded by Israeli fire in West Bank clashes, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
Violence broke out on Saturday in the flashpoint West Bank city of Hebron as Palestinians buried five teenagers killed in a wave of attacks and clashes with Israeli forces.
The holy plaza is considered one of the most sacred sites in Islam, but is also increasingly revered by Jews who hope to change Israel’s status quo agreement with the Jordanian caretakers to allow Jewish prayer, which is now forbidden.
Israeli sources say the altercation took place at al-Jalama military checkpoint north of Jenin in the occupied West Bank.
A majority of those polled said they felt unsafe following an announcement by Jerusalem’s mayor Nir Barkat that Israelis should arm themselves and participate in stopping attacks against Israelis.
On Friday, the Palestinians called on the global Criminal Court (ICC) to speed up its investigation into Israeli war crimes, as the officials handed over a new 52-page dossier on the crimes.
The violence has spread to the West Bank, with daily attacks on Israeli soldiers and protests, and also to the Gaza Strip where demonstrators have clashed with Israeli forces along the borders of the blockaded coastal enclave.
The Israeli army referred request for comment to the foreign affairs ministry, which did not reply to the accusations of unjustified killings, only saying that this was “yet another instance in which Amnesty demonstrates a lack of interest in the Israeli victims of Palestinian terror”.
Since 1 October, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of attempted, alleged and actual stabbing attacks by individual Palestinians on Israeli civilians, soldiers, and police.
Samri said the Palestinian in question had moments earlier stabbed a soldier in the head and was trying to escape with a knife still in his hand.
A Palestinian tried to stab an Israeli paramilitary police officer near Ramallah before fleeing, Israeli media reported. It came at a time of heightened tensions between Israelis and Palestinians in the occupied territories, Jerusalem and Israel. Palestinians say the violence is due to a lack of hope for gaining independence after years of failed peace efforts.
Here are photos from recent clashes Friday October 30, 2015.
In addition, Israeli forces fired rubber bullets at Palestinian protesters in Ramallah, wounding nine people, according to Palestinian medics.
“Alongside the disconcerting language used to inspire terror among the residents – the majority of whom weren’t involved in the stone throwing – the film provides evidence of a member of the Israeli army admitting to the potentially lethal application of tear gas”, Ma’an noted.
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Amnesty worldwide, which this week accused Israeli forces of “using lethal force against anyone they perceive as posing a threat, without ensuring that the threat is real”, also said several shot attackers had not been given medical assistance. Hebron, a city of 200,000 Palestinians, has always been the commercial heart of the occupied West Bank.
