Israeli ministers barred from Jerusalem site; man stabbed

Palestinian protesters threw rocks and rolled burning tires at Israeli forces stationed along the Gaza border.

A week of violence between Israelis and Palestinians spread to the Gaza Strip on Friday, with Israeli troops killing six in clashes on the border and Islamist movement Hamas calling for more unrest.

Violence has intensified in East Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank in recent weeks, raising concerns of a wider escalation, though it has not yes reached the level of past Israeli-Palestinian confrontations. Witnesses said they had been fired at by Israeli snipers in guardposts along the border fence, about 400 metres away from where the Palestinians were protesting.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered police to bar ministers and lawmakers from visiting the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem, the Haaretz daily reported on Wednesday.

After a right-wing outcry, Netanyahu’s office clarified that the ban on politicians’ visits to al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem’s walled Old City would also include Arab parliamentarians. It is revered by Muslims as the spot where the Prophet Mohammed ascended to heaven and by Jews as the site of the two Jewish biblical Temples. The attack left four people lightly wounded, including the soldier.

Hundreds of people took to the streets of the Jordanian capital Amman on Friday to show solidarity with Palestinians and denounce Israel’s ongoing assaults. “They are illegal according to worldwide law, and I do not recognize them”, Arab parliament member Jamal Zahalka told the Israeli media site NRG.

The video begins as the woman is surrounded by several members of the security forces, with their weapons pointing at her and yelling.

In Tel Aviv, a female Israeli soldier was stabbed with a screwdriver, allegedly by a Palestinian.

Over 400 Palestinians and two Israelis were wounded on Friday in various attacks across Israel-Palestine.

The Afula attack came shortly after a Palestinian man attacked a police officer with a knife and tried to grab his gun near the entrance to the Kiryat Arba settlement in the West Bank.

“Egypt demands that Israel as an occupation force provide the necessary protection for the Palestinian people”.

Netanyahu also listed a number of steps Israel has taken in a bid to contain the violence, including the demolition of attackers’ homes and tougher punishment for Palestinian stone throwers.

Despite such fervor and an increase in violence, it’s not clear if circumstances are ripe for a new rebellion towards the Israeli army occupation that started in 1967 when Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem. There is also frustration at the failure of Israeli police to track down the Jewish perpetrators suspected of an arson attack on a Palestinian family in the West Bank two months ago in which a child and his parents were killed. Mall security and police protected him. On Thursday night, Israelis attempted to lynch several Palestinians in Netanya and later Friday morning four Palestinians were stabbed by an Israeli teenager in Dimona.

Non-Muslim visitors are only allowed to enter the site at specific hours and are banned by police from praying there.

The unrest is largely linked to Muslim agitation over Jewish access to a contested holy site in Jerusalem. Israel has promised to ensure the delicate arrangement at the site and insists it will not allow the status quo to be changed. The site is so sensitive that even rumors are enough to trigger violence there.