Palestinian killed attacking Israel soldier in West Bank

Palestinians carried out five stabbing attacks in Jerusalem and the West Bank on Saturday, Israeli authorities have said.

In east Jerusalem, a Palestinian tried to stab a soldier at a checkpoint in East Talpiot but was shot dead by other soldiers. He said the wave of attacks against Israelis was carried out by a “new generation” of Palestinians who believe in “resistance” and who must be supported by all in the region.

A Palestinian woman was also shot dead after police said she stabbed a female officer at a border base in Hebron. The extent of the damage was not immediately clear, and the authorities did not say whether anyone had been detained in connection with the attack.

Khaled Dodin, director of the Hebron mayor office, told Xinhua that a 20-year-old Palestinian was shot dead by the Israeli army’s fire near the Israeli settlement of Kiryat Arba.

Palestinian news outlets have made a point of noting Israeli forces frequently shoot and kill Palestinians accused of attacking Israelis as opposed to detaining them. In that time, 40 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire, including 19 labeled by Israel as attackers, and the rest in clashes with Israeli troops.

The mounting death toll has prompted fears of a new Palestinian intifada, or uprising, like those of 1987-93 and 2000-2005, when thousands were killed in near-daily violence.

Israeli officials say two Palestinians who were shot while trying to stab Israelis in Jerusalem and the West Bank have died of their wounds.

Jewish pilgrims visit the site, which is adjacent to the Balata refugee camp, a hotbed of Palestinian militancy, in organized visits about once a month, under the cover of night and escorted by the Israeli military.

On Saturday, the roadblocks on the outskirts of Arab neighborhoods caused massive traffic jams, with a few frustrated motorists saying they had been waiting for several hours.

The body of an alleged Palestinian attacker is removed from the scene in Jerusalem Saturday, October 17, 2015.

“People are very upset”, said Emad Obeid, a 30-year-old taxi driver.

Earlier in the day, the PLO called on a United Nations rapporteur to investigate the Israeli killing of Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, as the growing violence is consuming more lives day by day.

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

Remember, much of this violence was stoked by rumors that Israel planned to strengthen Jewish rights at the compound, which is revered by both Jews and Muslims.

The 16-year-old Palestinian pulled out a knife at Border Police officers after they asked him to present his ID card. He informed police officers stationed nearby, who then confronted the youth.

The council is to hold a ministerial-level debate on the Israeli-Palestinian crisis on Thursday to try to press for a de-escalation.

Palestinian attackers have wielded knifes against Israeli civilians and police, and Israeli security forces have turned their guns on them, but they have also fired during protests that have turned riotous. “Inform us so that we can deal with these kids and won’t have to get to a place where we have to track them down here on the streets and neutralize them”.

This story was first published on CNN.com, “Joseph’s Tomb site catches fire in spate of Palestinian-Israeli violence”.