JERUSALEM — Israeli police shot and killed a Palestinian teenager they say drew a knife on them in Jerusalem on Saturday, while another alleged Palestinian attacker was shot dead in the West Bank city of Hebron, the latest in a month of violent confrontations across Israel and the Palestinian territories.
Police
spokeswoman Luba Samri said a 16-year-old Palestinian drew a knife on
officers when they stopped him to ask for identification after a
bystander said he was behaving suspiciously. She says the officers shot
and killed the teenager after he tried to stab them.
The
incident took place near where two Palestinian men boarded a bus
earlier in the week and began shooting and stabbing passengers, killing
two.
Earlier
on Saturday, Israel's military said an Israeli pedestrian shot and
killed a Palestinian who tried to stab him in the West Bank city of
Hebron, a frequent flashpoint where a few hundred Jewish settlers live
in close proximity to tens of thousands of Palestinians.
The military said the Israeli civilian shot and killed the Palestinian before the man could harm him.
Over
the past month, eight Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks,
most of them stabbings. In that time, 33 Palestinians were killed by
Israeli fire, including 16 labeled by Israel as attackers, and the rest
in clashes with Israeli troops.
Most
of the attacks on Israelis have been carried out by Palestinians with
no known ties to militant groups. The daily attacks have caused a sense
of panic across Israel and raised fears that the region is on the cusp
of a new round of heavy violence.
The
violence erupted a month ago over the Jewish New Year, fueled by rumors
that Israel was plotting to take over Jerusalem's most sensitive holy
site, a hilltop compound revered by Jews as the Temple Mount and home to
the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam's third-holiest shrine and a key national
symbol for the Palestinians.
Israel
has denied the allegations, saying it has no plans to change the status
quo at the site, where Jews are allowed to visit but not pray. The
Palestinian fears have been fueled by a growing number of Jews visiting
the compound in recent months, especially during holidays, with the
encouragement of Jewish activists groups and senior government
officials.
Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas has at times tried to calm the situation by
saying violence is not in Palestinian interests and behind the scenes
has ordered his security forces to reduce frictions. But Israel accuses
him of incitement, saying he has not condemned attacks on Israelis and
falsely accused them of killing a Palestinian boy who stabbed an Israeli
boy. The Palestinian teen is recovering in an Israeli hospital.
Israel
has taken unprecedented steps in response to the attacks. It has
deployed soldiers in Israeli cities and erected concrete barriers
outside some Arab neighborhoods of east Jerusalem, where most of the
attacks have originated. Ordinary citizens have also increasingly taken
up arms.
On
Friday, Palestinian assailants firebombed a West Bank site revered by
Jews as the tomb of biblical Joseph. United Nations Secretary-General
ban Ki-moon condemned the attack, saying extremists were trying to make
the current conflict a religious one.
Source: NY Times
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