Israeli-Palestinian violence intensifies; Arabs and Jews stabbed

New clashes erupted Friday in Gaza, where Israeli forces opened fire and killed six Palestinians – including a 15-year-old – and wounded 80, according to medics.

The rocket caused no damage and there was no immediate claim of responsibility.

The unpredictability and brutality of the assaults, coupled with the young age of a few of the attackers, have shocked Israelis and raised fears that a new Palestinian intifada – or uprising – could be underway. Israeli security forces are still looking for that attacker. The border had been largely quiet following last summer’s war between Israel and the Islamic militant group Hamas, which rules the territory.

Clashes broke out on Friday east of Gaza City and Khan Yunis along the border with the Jewish state.

The Israel Defense Forces said 200 Palestinians “approached the security fence” and began hurling rocks and rolling burning tires at IDF soldiers.

In a sermon for weekly Muslim prayers at a mosque in Gaza City, Hamas’s Gaza chief Ismail Haniyeh said “we are calling for the strengthening and increasing of the intifada”.

In Jerusalem, a 16-year-old boy was stabbed on Neviim Street, a road that leads from Damascus Gate to Central Jerusalem.The suspect fled the scene immediately afterwards, but police caught the assailant.

The spate of “lone-wolf” stabbing attacks has alarmed authorities and unsettled Israelis.

In another sign of tensions, Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat – a former military officer and licensed gun owner – defended his decision to carry a weapon during a visit this week to an Arab neighborhood.

Israeli leaders also vowed to quash the violence, but were apparently stumped over how to do so. Israel says it carries out such demolitions to deter future attacks. The IDF shot and killed one of the attackers – and shot and injured another.

Unlike previous uprisings, Palestinians now have a range of social media tools at their disposal to spread images of protests and violence in real time.

Facebook and YouTube were asked to remove videos which have allegedly been encouraging Palestinian attacks.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has denied wanting to change conditions under which Jews are allowed to visit the site but non-Muslim prayer is banned.

Speaking to business leaders in the West Bank city of Ramallah, he said he was committed to “peaceful popular resistance”, though he backs the protesters who have clashed with Israeli police at Al-Aqsa.

The Magen David Adom ambulance service said three other people were also slightly hurt.

Meanwhile, a Palestinian official stressed Thursday that regional peace, security and stability can only be achieved through the end of the Israeli occupation. Three Palestinian protesters were killed in clashes with Israeli forces in the West Bank during that time.

Police called the attack “nationalistic”, indicating it may have been in revenge for at least eight stabbings that have targeted Israelis since Saturday, killing at least two of them.

In northern Israel, a 29-year-old Arab-Israeli woman was shot and wounded while trying to stab people at a bus station in the town of Afula, where another stabbing had taken place the day before, police said.

The violence came even as stabbing incidents perpetrated by both Arabs and Jews against each other continued in Israel with tensions escalating, adding to the three weeks of violence that has marred the region.