Israeli held for stabbing four Arabs

“All the rioters and rock-throwers we are seeing have smartphones, computers, websites and Facebook and Twitter accounts”, Palestinian affairs expert Khaled Abu Toameh told The Algemeiner on Thursday, following multiple stabbing attacks against Israelis throughout the day across the country.

The bloodshed – which included an arson attack that killed a Palestinian toddler and his parents in July, followed by a drive-by shooting that killed an Israeli couple in the West Bank – triggered concerns of wider escalation.

For the first time since the current violence began, clashes broke out along the Gaza border after Palestinians in the territory ruled by the Islamic militant group Hamas rolled burning tires and threw rocks at Israeli troops on the frontier.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Thursday he would not allow his people to be “dragged” into more violence with Israel.

In Gaza, Hamas leader Ismail Haniya praised Palestinians who have carried out knife attacks as “heroes” and said a new Intifada focused on Occupied Jerusalem was underway.

On Friday, Israeli forces clashed with demonstrators along the Gaza border killing five.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians also work in Israel, particularly in construction. Earlier, a Palestinian stabbed four Israelis with a screwdriver in Tel Aviv. Police closed off the intersection where the attack took place.

In Jerusalem, a 25-year-old yeshiva student was seriously wounded in a stabbing near a light-rail station between the Jewish and Arab sections of the city.

The Jerusalem victim was evacuated to Shaare Zedek Hospital.

Dimona mayor Beni Bitton said the stabber is a “mentally ill man”. He said whoever deploys violence will be brought to justice.

An Israeli Army officer, who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to comment, said that the attacks continue despite calls for calm by the Palestinian leadership against a new uprising and despite security coordination between Israeli and Palestinian security forces. Samri said men under 45 are barred from the Al-Aqsa mosque compound while women of all ages can enter. One is a Hamas rendition of an Israeli hit, sung by Mizrahi pop star Eyal Golan, with lyrics in Hebrew and subtitles in Arabic, warning the “Zionists” that they will be killed.

Israel has closed every window of hope for the Palestinian people; there are now no portals leading to a brighter future. But this past week the violence has spread to Tel Aviv, Afula and other Israeli cities.

The order Wednesday night came following a day that saw at least six Palestinian attacks on Israeli targets.

On Monday, Abdel Rahman Abdullah, a 13-year-old from the Aida refugee camp in Bethlehem, was shot and killed by Israeli forces, prompting further protests and unrest.

Riyad Mansour said after Thursday’s meeting with United Nations political chief Jeffrey Feltman that the Palestinians are facing “massive military force with their bare chest and with stones”.

Since last week, seven Palestinians were shot dead in the attacks and more than 1,000 injured. However Israeli officials have downplayed that possibility, saying this is the kind of violent spike Israel has faced periodically in recent decades.

Following the recent feud between Palestinians and Israelis resulting to a wave of stabbings, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also urged citizens to be on “maximum alert”.

The authorities have started to install metal detectors at entrances to the religious and historical centre of the Old City of Jerusalem.

In recent months, the site has experienced growing numbers of visits, including by Jewish nationalists who seek a greater presence at the compound, fueling Palestinian fears and rumors.

The Al-Aqsa compound is the third-holiest site in Islam and the most sacred in Judaism. Muslims revere it as the Noble Sanctuary, where they believe the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven.

Under a longstanding arrangement, non-Muslims are allowed to visit, but not pray, during specific hours.

Netanyahu has said repeatedly he is committed to the status quo.