Palestinians stab Israelis in 2 Jerusalem attacks
JERUSALEM – Palestinians carried out two stabbing attacks in Jerusalem on Saturday before being shot dead by police, while another two Palestinians were killed during a violent demonstration near the Gaza border fence, as a weeklong bout of violence showed no signs of slowing.
Jerusalem has seen a wave of stabbing attacks linked to tensions over a sensitive holy site in the Old City that is sacred to Jews and Muslims. In recent days the attacks by Palestinian assailants have spread to the rest of Israel, while violent protests have erupted in the West Bank and along the Gaza border, where seven Palestinians were killed on Friday. The violence has unnerved a jittery Israel, and prompted the U.S. on Saturday to issue a fresh call for restraint by all sides.
In the first stabbing on Saturday, a 16-year-old Arab attacked two Israelis who were walking from the Old City toward the city center, said police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld. Police opened fire, killing the attacker. The two victims were lightly wounded, Rosenfeld said.
Later, just outside the Old City, another Palestinian stabbed two police officers, one in the neck. Rosenfeld said other police forces opened fire and killed the attacker, but also wounded one of their own. Three officers were taken to a hospital, one in serious condition.
On the Gaza frontier, meanwhile, protests resumed Saturday afternoon, with dozens of Palestinians throwing stones and rolling burning tires toward Israeli troops along the border fence. Gaza health officials said Israeli forces shot dead a 13-year-old and an 11-year-old. The Israeli military said it fired toward protesters who approached the border.
The Gaza border has been largely calm since last summer’s war between Israel and the Islamic militant group Hamas, which rules the coastal territory. A rocket was fired late Saturday into Israel but intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome defense system, the military said. It was the second rocket attack in 24 hours. No injuries or damage was reported.
Rosenfeld said police in an Arab east Jerusalem neighborhood also came under attack overnight and responded with gunfire, hitting a 25-year-old. Health officials later confirmed the man had died of his wounds. Violent protests broke out after the man’s funeral, with rocks and firebombs hurled toward police, who opened fire and lightly wounded two people.
Protests also took place in the West Bank city of Ramallah, where demonstrators hurled rocks at Israeli troops, who responded with tear gas. In the West Bank city of Hebron, thousands took part in two funeral processions for Palestinians who were killed while carrying out attacks in recent days. Late on Saturday, the Palestinian Red Crescent medical service said a 28-year-old Palestinian man in the village of Beit Omar, near Hebron, died from wounds sustained in clashes Thursday.
Recent days have seen a series of attacks by young Palestinians wielding household items like kitchen knives, screwdrivers and even a vegetable peeler. The youths had no known links to armed groups and have targeted Israeli soldiers and civilians at random, complicating efforts to predict or prevent the attacks.