Ban has urged Israel to carry out a “serious review” of whether its security forces are resorting to excessive force in clashes with Palestinians.
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The move followed a call last week from Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat – himself a licensed and trained gun owner – urging Israelis with gun licenses to carry their guns with them when they leave their homes.
At least a dozen shots were fired at the man, who was wearing camouflage trousers and appeared to be carrying a weapon in his right hand, after he ran past officers who yelled at him to stop.
Sources in East Jerusalem said even ahead of the decision, there was a heavy police presence on Tuesday in much of the city, with soldiers also highly visible throughout the day.
A pair of Palestinian men boarded a bus in Jerusalem and began shooting and stabbing passengers, while another assailant rammed a auto into a bus station before stabbing bystanders, in near-simultaneous attacks that escalated a monthlong wave of violence.
The BBC’s Yolande Knell in Jerusalem says the violence, coming at a time when peace prospects seem dim, has fuelled a sense of panic in Israel and raised fears of a new Palestinian uprising, or intifada.
It was a sense of powerlessness among the Palestinian population that drove the previous intifadas, and that can be found in abundance today.
Israeli authorities on Wednesday deployed hundreds of troops nationwide following a series of shooting and stabbing attacks by Palestinians.
Interior Minister Silvan Shalom said a number of Palestinians who allegedly attacked Israeli civilians would have their residency rights cancelled.
Israel blames the Palestinian Authority, the Islamic Movement in Israel and Arab lawmakers for incitement that enables the continuation of the violence.
Netanyahu’s office said he had ordered police to “impose a closure on, or to surround, centres of friction and incitement in Jerusalem, in accordance with security considerations”.
In addition, the Israeli police force will be expanded and backed up by the military.
Palestinian leaders say the violence is the result of frustration and lack of hope for ending almost 50 years of occupation and gaining independence.
Hundreds of Palestinians have been wounded in fierce clashes with Israeli forces in the West Bank and east Jerusalem which erupted a month ago over tensions surrounding a Jerusalem holy site revered by both Jews and Muslims.
Seven Israelis and 32 Palestinians, including assailants, children and protesters in violent anti-Israeli demonstrations, have been killed in two weeks of bloodshed.
The enhanced measures came as Israel struggles to contain the spiraling violence and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces heavy pressure from hard-liners in his governing coalition to stamp out the attacks.
Rather, he warned that Israel’s actions threatened peace and stability and could ignite a “religious conflict” between Israelis and Palestinians and the entire world.
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Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of a future independent state, together with Gaza and the West Bank.
