According to the PRCS spokesman, at least 22 Palestinians were shot by live rounds, 50 were hit by rubber-coated steel bullets, 61 suffered excessive tear gas inhalation, and 10 suffered injuries after being directly physically assaulted.
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“The violence between Palestinians and the Israelis will draw us ever closer to a catastrophe if not stopped immediately”, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said during a meeting of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
Numerous youths behind the attacks are also from the city.
Israel, however, has frequently been accused by Palestinians of attempting to “alter” this status quo. Palestinians seek recognition for their independent state, proclaimed in 1988, on the territories of West Bank, as well as East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip.
Meantime, Palestinian factions across al-Khalil have called for the “rally of anger” in solidarity with the families of those killed by Israeli forces on allegations of attacking Israelis.
Meanwhile, an Israeli woman was reportedly attacked and injured by a knife-wielding Palestinian outside a supermarket in the Gush Etzion bloc of Jewish settlements further north. The Palestinian was arrested later.
Few Palestinians accepted Israeli citizenship, fearing it would recognize Israeli occupation, and the vast majority now holds residency rights.
Israel, for its part, has welcomed the proposed installation of cameras – a product of talks with Jordanian officials. But he said the Palestinian knifings, shootings and auto attacks against Israelis must stop, as well as the incitement by Palestinian authorities. Abbas repeated his criticism of what he said was Israel’s “non-respect” for the rules at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound.
Neighborhoods in east Jerusalem suffer from poor infrastructure, and a lack of classrooms, resources and services when compared to wealthier Jewish neighborhoods.
Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, said the step, if adopted, would deprive Palestinians in Jerusalem of the most basic rights and services and provoke confrontations. Asked whether residency rights were included, he said the matter “deserves a serious discussion”.
Israel says the age restrictions are a security measure, since most of the people who clash with police are young Palestinian males.
The results reportedly have “troubled” governmental ministers, as a sign that Netanyahu’s move meant to “divide Jerusalem”. 12 other Palestinians sustained burns during clashes in the West Bank.
The Jews, who call it Temple Mount or Har Ha-Bayit in Hebrew, also consider this site to be sacred to their beliefs.
Fifty-nine Palestinians and one Arab Israeli have also been killed, a few of them alleged attackers, while others were shot at anti-Israeli protests.
In mid-September 2015, Israeli police escorted dozens of radical Jews into the holy site to mark the beginning of the Jewish New Year, thus sparking off the current round of violence.
Israel has pledged to abide by the long-standing arrangement at the site in Jerusalem’s walled Old City.
“Instead, propose solutions that will contribute in a real way…to the improvement of life… and to the safety and security of Israelis”.
Netanyahu has welcomed the plan, saying the cameras will prove that Israel is not doing anything wrong at the site.
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“We are making every effort to maintain this quiet, but it would seem that someone is disturbed by this”, said Netanyahu of Ghattas’s visit. Netanyahu said Haj Amin al-Husseini, a Muslim Palestinian leader at the time, “went to Hitler and said, ‘If you expel them, they’ll all come here'”.
