And the Israeli soldiers did nothing to stop the settlers who were blocking the door and who went to the roof.
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Tharwat al-Sharawi, a 72-year-old Palestinian woman, was driving her vehicle normally when Israeli forces opened fire and killed her on Friday, video and an eyewitness confirm. “I feel like I was given my life today as a gift”, he said.
The woman, identified by Palestinians as Rasha Awissi, 23, of the West Bank city of Qalqilya, approached the Eliyahu crossing point into Israel holding a knife, the Israeli Defense Ministry said.
In the past two months, there have been near-daily Palestinian attacks on Israeli civilians and soldiers.
An Israeli police commander in Hebron said his forces were preparing for an escalation.
Rob Malley, an advisor for the USA president had said that President Obama has reached a conclusion that Palestinians and Israelis won’t reach a comprehensive final status agreement in the remainder of his term, “and there likely may not even be meaningful negotiations between the two sides”.
A volunteer for United Hatzalah who was passing by the junction, Yaakov Selah, said he pulled his auto over when he saw security forces racing to the scene of the attack so that he could help the wounded.
On Friday, however, two Israelis were shot and wounded by unknown assailants as they visited a flashpoint holy site in the city along with several thousand others, the army said.
The Israeli soldiers broke into the station and took its fire extinguishers in order to put out a fire that had been lit outside, the eyewitness said.
Mrs al-Sharawi’s death came as Palestinians launched more attacks on Israelis in a continuing wave of violence that intensified at the beginning of October.
The shots were fired from a distance as Jewish worshippers left after prayers linked to Sarah, the matriarch believed to be buried at the site.
An Israeli woman was moderately wounded in one such attack, while a Palestinian allegedly tried to stab an Israeli soldier and was shot dead in another, the police and army said.
Israel has blamed the violence on incitement by Palestinian political and religious leaders.
In addition to stabbings, Palestinians have also carried out shooting attacks and have rammed their cars into groups of Israelis. Palestinians say the violence is rooted in a lack of hope for gaining independence after years of failed peace efforts.
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Later in the Gaza Strip, 23-year-old Salame Abu Jamaa was shot dead by Israeli security forces in clashes near the border with Israel.
