Earlier Friday another Palestinian rammed his vehicle into Israeli soldiers at a bus station near the Israeli settlement of Kfar Adumim in the West Bank and was shot dead, police said. Palestinians also accuse Israel of using excessive force in suppressing violence.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday charged recent attacks by Palestinians are motivated by Muslim extremism rather than resistance to the Israeli occupation, shortly after two attacks occurred in Jerusalem.
“You outlawed the Islamic Movement to scare us, but today it is the Palestinian people who are courageously saying “No” to Israel’s racism”.
Over half of them have been alleged perpetrators of stabbing, shooting and vehicle ramming attacks aimed at Israeli civilians and security forces.
“Netanyahu convened the meeting”, one official told Haaretz, “because information had reached Jerusalem that the Palestinian Authority was planning new steps against Israel in the global arena, in light of Kerry’s failure to obtain any Israeli concessions”.
This came after the Israeli army shut down local Dream Radio station in Hebron, under the pretext of broadcasting “incitements against Israel”. The station was closed until May 26, 2016. Throughout the unrest, Palestinian security forces have maintained a longstanding system of security cooperation to help contain the violence.
In its statement, the Israeli foreign ministry said contacts with individual European Union countries – it named Germany, France and Britain – would not be affected by Sunday’s announcement.
Such closures have been among a raft of security measures taken by Israel in bid to halt the attacks.
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An emergency service member stands next to the body of a Palestinian in Jerusalem’s Old City. The move has been questioned by those who say the ban could further stoke tensions and harm legitimate political debate.
