A Palestinian teenager stabbed two Israelis in Jerusalem Saturday before being shot dead by police forces, the latest in a series of stabbing attacks against civilians and soldiers that have spread across Israel and the West Bank in the past week.
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A fresh wave of stabbings shook Israel and the West Bank today, including a suspected revenge attack by a Jewish suspect that wounded two Palestinians and two Arab Israelis.
Bystanders overpowered the attacker, while a few in the crowd even called for him to be killed.
The attacker is a “mentally ill man”, said Dimona Mayor Beni Bitton, telling Channel 10 that two of the victims worked for City Hall, and that passers-by quickly provided first aid to the wounded Arabs.
Israel lifted age restrictions from Wednesday on Muslims praying at the sensitive Al-Aqsa mosque compound in an apparent bid, swiftly welcomed by Washington, to ease tensions.
In Jerusalem, Israeli security forces braced themselves for more unrest, barring young Palestinian men from a sacred Jerusalem Old City site in an attempt to restore calm.
The border clash the first time since the unrest began several weeks ago that the violence has reached Gaza. Palestinians there burned tires and threw rocks at Israeli troops on the frontier.
Israeli and Palestinian officials reportedly met for security talks in the West Bank on Tuesday evening, and there have been global calls for calm.
The protests Friday night followed another day of violence between Palestinians and Israelis.
Israelis are deeply unnerved in the midst of a spate of stabbings that have brought back memories of previous Palestinian uprisings, but say they are ready to “confront” any attacker.
Health official Ashraf al-Kidra said 30 Palestinians were wounded in the clashes. The demonstrators had gathered to show their support for Palestinians living under Israeli occupation in the West Bank and Jerusalem, where a wave of violence has occurred over the past several days. Moreover, in the West Bank, an Israeli man was seriously wounded when a Palestinian stabbed him in the stomach. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has since condemned the attack.
Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said the woman pulled out a knife and tried to stab a security guard at the entrance to the bus station in the town of Afula.
According to the Red Crescent, 86 Palestinians have been wounded by live fire and 344 by rubber bullets in clashes since October 2. Israel has adamantly denied the allegations and accused Palestinian leaders of inciting the violence and spreading lies over the shrines in east Jerusalem.
The hilltop compound is a frequent flashpoint and its fate is a core issue at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The location of the compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, is the holiest site in Judaism.
The announcement came after a violent demonstration in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
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A week of violence between Israelis and Palestinians spread to the Gaza Strip Friday, with Israeli troops killing five people in clashes on the border and Islamist movement Hamas calling for more unrest. Israel has promised to ensure the delicate arrangement at the site and insists it will not allow the status quo there to be changed.
