Palestinians try to stab Israelis, get killed

Also Saturday, a Palestinian teenager was shot dead in Jerusalem’s Armon Hanatziv neighborhood when he tried to stab Border Police officers.

But the Palestinian news agency also included this caveat: “To be noted, Israeli police and army forces often resort to fatally shooting Palestinians – who are involved in alleged attacks against Israelis – while making no effort to apprehend them”. Thirty-four Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire, including 17 labeled by Israel as attackers, and the rest in clashes with Israeli troops, according to the latest count by the Associated Press.

The mounting death toll has prompted fears of a new Palestinian intifada, or uprising, like those of 1987-1993 and 2000-2005, when thousands were killed in near-daily violence. Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency services confirmed in a statement that the Palestinian man had died of his injuries.

The Israeli military says the attacker stabbed a soldier and was quickly shot.

Al Jazeera reports that the continued violence follows an Israeli rejection of a Palestinian proposal to let an worldwide force police the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

One of the incidents occurred near Hebron where an armed Israeli civilian shot and killed a Palestinian terrorist coming at him with a knife. He noted, however, that “reckless statements made by Palestinian and Israeli extremist elements reinforced by a few mainstream voices as well” had created a different impression. Palestinians accuse Israel of trying to take over the Al-Aqsa compound.

An Israeli army spokeswoman said that hundreds of Palestinians breached what Israel considers to be a buffer zone in Gaza territory along the border fence and attempted to damage the fence, hurling rocks, rolling burning tyres and posing a “direct threat” to nearby Israeli communities.

An Israeli border policeman fires projectiles with rubber-coated bullets during clashes with Palestinians near Ramallah, West Bank, Friday, October 16, 2015. Fadil Qawasmi, 18, was shot dead by an Israeli settler earlier Saturday morning on Shuhada Street in Hebron’s Old City, hours before a 16-year-old Muataz Uweisat was shot dead in occupied East Jerusalem.

The other three stabbing attacks Saturday took place in the West Bank city of Hebron, a frequent flashpoint for violence.

Most of the attacks on Israelis have been carried out by Palestinians with no known ties to militant groups.

Israeli officials deny that the status quo has been changed and say Muslims will continue to be allowed to pray there while Jews will be allowed to visit, but not pray.

JERUSALEM – Deadly Israeli-Palestinian violence looked on Friday as if it might escalate after a Jewish holy site was torched in the West Bank, prompting a calls for calm from US President Barack Obama.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon strongly condemned the “reprehensible” attack at Joseph’s Tomb in the city of Nablus and called for those responsible to be brought to justice.