The outburst of Palestinian violence, which began in September over tensions at the most holy site in Jerusalem, sacred to Jews and Muslims, shows no signs of abating.
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Members of the Zaka Rescue and Recovery team carry the dead body of a Palestinian man, shot dead by Israeli security forces, after he stabbed two police officers outside Jerusalem’s walled Old City, February 19, 2016.
Following the attack, Israeli army forces closed the main road that links between the city of Ramallah and several villages around, according to Palestinian security forces, which added that the closure of the road caused heavy traffic jam.
Later, in separate clashes near Bethlehem, also in the West Bank, the military said two Palestinians shot at soldiers who returned fire, killing one and wounding the other.
France’s ambassador to Israel, Patrick Maisonnave, met Israeli officials this week to outline the initiative, which proposes setting up a support group of the permanent Security Council members, some Arab and European states and global organisations.
The head of the Israeli military and the defence minister both cautioned Israeli troops about using lethal force on Palestinian teenagers who are often armed with small blades or even scissors. The rest died in clashes.
Manufacturer of home soda machines SodaStream may shut down its factory in Israel’s south if the government doesn’t renew permits for 74 of its Palestinian workers, the Jerusalem Post says.
The State Department on Friday confirmed that an American citizen was killed in a stabbing attack in the West Bank this week, in an act that it decried as terrorism. The Palestinians were then shot and wounded by an Israeli bystander.
The Damascus Gate has been the location for many attempted stabbing and terror attacks of late.
The recent rise in violence is blamed by Palestinians on the continued occupation by Israel of the West Bank and the failure of the Middle East peace process.
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Mladenov called on both Israeli and Palestinian leaders to provide “a political horizon to their people” and reject incitement by what he called radicals in their own camps.
