Updated at 7:12 pm (GMT +2): An Israeli was killed and three others were wounded, including a soldier, in two separate attacks on Monday, police said.
In the first incident, a Palestinian stabbed and critically injured a 20-year-old Israeli soldier outside the HaHagana train station in southern Tel Aviv in Occupied Palestine.
Israeli police said the suspect, who was arrested, was a Palestinian from the town of Nablus in the occupied West Bank.
The suspect was identified by family members as 17-year-old Noureddine Abu Hashiyeh from Askar refugee camp east of Nablus. His father Khaled told AFP that his son, a painter and decorator by trade, had left for Tel Aviv on Sunday.
A police spokesman said that hours later, a Palestinian stormed out of a car to stab three Israeli settlers outside the Israeli settlement of Alon Shvut in the West Bank, killing a woman.
The attacker was shot and wounded by an Israeli guard.
The two incidents follow the killing of a 22-year-old Palestinian with Israeli citizenship in the Galilee region by Israeli forces Saturday, which led to two days of protests and clashes with Israeli forces.
Since July, police have arrested some 900 Palestinians for public order offenses in east Jerusalem and indicted around a third of them.
Tensions have been running high in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, where in recent weeks Israeli forces have shot and killed four Palestinians suspected of being involved in attacks against Israelis.
Israeli authorities have also allowed Zionist settlers to take over homes in Palestinian neighborhoods, have announced plans to build thousands of settlements strictly for Israeli settlers in the city while ignoring Palestinian residents, and have generally looked the other way at rising violence by Zionist settlers against Palestinians across the city.
The anger has been further provoked by the Israeli authorities' decision to hold a vote on splitting the al-Aqsa compound, Islam's third holiest site, despite the existence of a Jewish prayer area at the Western Wall immediately next door.
Settlers storm al-Aqsa
On Monday, dozens of Zionist settlers under Israeli special forces protection forced their way into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem, as Israeli forces banned Palestinian women from entering the holy site.
"At least 49 settlers protected by ten Israeli special forces troops stormed the compound early this morning," the guard told Anadolu Agency on condition of anonymity.
According to the guard, the settlers forced their way into the compound through the al-Magharbeh Gate and toured the complex for 15 minutes before departing through the al-Silisleh Gate.
Israeli forces, meanwhile, denied all Palestinian women access to al-Aqsa mosque, while men were allowed in on condition that they leave their identity cards at inspection stations manned by Israeli troops and police officers.
"For three hours, I tried to enter the holy compound from several gates. Each time, I was denied access by the Israeli police," one woman barred from entering the complex told Anadolu Agency.
Israeli forces have long restricted Palestinians’ access to the al-Aqsa compound based on age and gender, but have further prevented Muslim worshipers from entering the mosque while facilitating the entrance for Zionist extremists.
"They are trying to keep us out of the place so as to facilitate the [Jewish] settlers' intrusion," the woman, requesting anonymity, added. "But it won't work – every day, we thwart their plots."
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered more police onto the streets, vowing that anyone breaking the law would be "punished severely.”
"We will not tolerate disturbances and riots. We will take determined action against those who throw stones, firebombs and fireworks, and block roads, and against demonstrations that call for our destruction," he said on Sunday.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Middle East War. It later annexed the city in 1980, claiming it as the capital of the Zionist state – a move never recognized by the international community.
In September 2000, a visit to the site by controversial Israeli politician Ariel Sharon sparked what later became known as the "Second Intifada," a popular uprising against the Israeli occupation in which thousands of Palestinians were killed.
(Anadolu, Ma'an, Reuters, Al-Akhbar)
RELATED ARTICLES
- Israeli forces issue arrest warrant for 2-year-old Palestinian in Jerusalem
- Israeli forces kill Palestinian with Israeli citizenship resisting cousin's arrest
- Israeli settler crashes into a wall after a failed hit and run
River to Sea
Uprooted Palestinian 
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Blog!
No comments:
Post a Comment