Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu outlined plans Monday for tough new security measures against Palestinians in the West Bank after two Israelis were killed in stabbing attacks in less than 24 hours.
Advertisement
A Palestinian stabbed and killed an Israeli at a petrol station in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Monday.
In another incident, a Palestinian was shot dead when he tried to stab Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint near Nablus in the northern West Bank, the military said.
The stabbings, shootings and auto rammings have overwhelmingly been carried out by so-called “lone wolf” attackers, making it harder for Israel to predict where and when the next assault will come.
‘Excessive use of force’ Last month, a US State Department spokesman said that, while Israel had a right and responsibility to protect its citizens, there were reports “of what many would consider excessive use of force”.
A short while before the attack, the two soldiers who were driving together were involved in a minor accident.
Gush Etzion, Efrat and Beitar Illit are home to a few 92,000 Israelis.
The Palestinian health ministry said the Palestinian who was shot was 16.
“A Palestinian man at Kfar Adumim junction in a Palestinian taxi tried to run over civilians”, a statement said.
Police work at the scene where two women stabbed passers-by at the Mahane Yehuda market in Jerusalem on Monday. At least 12 Israelis have also died, not including those killed Thursday.
Of the recent announcement of the marketing of almost 500 Jewish housing units in eastern Jerusalem, the official said, “The Israelis have made settlement announcements repeatedly for decades now, and we continue to express our view very clearly publicly and very clearly privately on that. We’ve done the same in Jerusalem when most of the attacks issued from there”, he said. Netanyahu said they include more roadblocks and arrests, as well as an increase in security forces.
The wave of violence since October 1 has left 89 dead on the Palestinian side, including one Arab Israeli, as well as 16 Israelis, an American and an Eritrean.
Palestinian allegations that Israel was trying to alter the religious status quo at a Jerusalem holy site, known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, where al-Aqsa mosque stands, and to Jews as Temple Mount, have partly fueled the violence.
Advertisement
The new steps include greater security checks of Palestinian vehicles on roads also used by Israelis and new bypass routes to prevent Palestinian drivers from passing through a few busy junctions in the southern West Bank.
