But on Friday he condemned an arson attack the previous night on Joseph’s Tomb, a West Bank site which is holy to Jews.
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Meanwhile, the Israeli troops, stationed behind the security fence, killed two Palestinians in the clashes erupting on Friday in northern and eastern Gaza Strip.
A statement from his office said Abbas “stressed his rejection of these actions and all actions that violate law and order, and which distort our culture, our morals and our religion”.
This has left many Palestinians frustrated because all paths to independence appear blocked. Three Palestinians identified by Israel as attackers were shot dead.
Mr. Zerihoun cautioned that “the current crisis can not be resolved through security measures alone”.
Palestinians stand near a burning barricade during clashes with Israeli security forces in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Issawiya, October 4, 2015.
Israel has been unable to stop the attacks, carried out mostly by young Palestinians apparently acting spontaneously with no affiliation to or backing from organized militant groups.
Danon urged the council to break its silence and make a statement against “the incitement that fuels terror” and in support of direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.
Palestinian media reported the identity of the attacker as Eyad Khalil Awawdeh, a local resident of Hebron.
In the second attack, a Palestinian girl attempted to stab a female Israeli soldier outside a border guard base before being shot dead by her would-be victim, Israeli police said. They threw stones at soldiers, who opened fire, killing a Palestinian and wounding 27 others, Palestinian medical officials said. “People are fed up”.
Palestinians torched a site revered by Jews in the West Bank overnight, Israeli and Palestinian sources said today, amid calls for fresh protests after more than two weeks of deadly unrest, reports AFP.
“We are very concerned about the outbreak of violence”, Obama said in Washington Friday. Seven Israelis have lost their lives.
Israel has adamantly denied the allegations, saying it has no plans to change the status quo at the site, where Jews are allowed to visit but not pray.
“The Israeli Defense Forces have significantly bolstered their presence in Israeli city centres, while many Arab neighbourhoods in East Jerusalem have been surrounded by security forces with access roads blocked and checkpoints established”, Mr. Zerihoun added, noting that the Israeli authorities had also reinstated a number of movement restrictions in the West Bank”. He was holding a knife and wearing a fluorescent yellow vest over a t-shirt marked “PRESS”.
At one point, shouts were heard, followed by several gunshots.
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Police spokeswoman Luba Samri says officers approached a Palestinian who then pulled out a knife and tried to stab them. The attacker lay on the ground, clutching a knife in his right hand. “We call on all Israeli and Palestinian factions to unequivocally condemn this assault on the civilian status of journalists and take every reasonable precaution to ensure the safety of all journalists working in the field”. Though the Bible does contain information about where the biblical patriarch Joseph, the son of Jacob and the famous interpreter the Pharaoh’s dreams, is meant to be buried-according to the story, he dies in Egypt but his body is brought to Israel-it’s not as if the ancient text contains Global Positioning System coordinates. The Foreign Press Association for Israel and the Palestinian territories said it “marks a worrying development” that demands all media operate with greater caution.
