Gunmen Open Fire In Beersheba

Israel has taken unprecedented measures in response to the stabbings including setting up checkpoints in Arab neighbourhoods of Jerusalem.

The military said a few 30 Jews visited the Joseph’s Tomb compound in Nablus, a site revered by Jews as the tomb of the biblical figure Joseph. The area is under full Palestinian control but Jewish prayer is permitted there when coordinated with authorities.

Palestinians in Jerusalem, more than a third of the city’s population, have awoken to a new reality: Israeli troops are encircling Arab neighborhoods, blocking roads with concrete cubes the size of washing machines and ordering a few of those leaving on foot to lift their shirts to show they are not carrying knives. Israel has tightened security and its security forces have clashed with rioting Palestinians, leading to deaths on the Palestinian side.

Netanyahu, meanwhile, rejects the notion that Palestinian attackers, including those in Jerusalem, are driven by anger over decades of Israeli rule. The Israelis were killed in random attacks in the street or on buses, and with parents demanding swift action to safeguard schools, cities have added more armed guards at their gates and police have increased patrols.

The daily attacks have caused a sense of panic across Israel and raised fears that the region is on the cusp of a new round of heavy violence.

On Friday, Palestinian assailants firebombed the West Bank compound, the first assault on a religious site in the current round of violence. This included building sprawling Jewish neighborhoods on annexed lands and permitting militant settlers to move into heavily guarded enclaves in Arab neighborhoods, such as the Muslim Quarter of the walled Old City. Merchants said their businesses were suffering badly as customers have been wary of shopping.

It has also imposed restrictions on worship at the al Aqsa Mosque, which has been a flashpoint of violence and is on a site regarded as holy by both Muslims and Jews. But Palestinians say it is the result of years of Israeli occupation, failed peace efforts and lack of hope among their youth. It accuses the Palestinians of inciting to violence through the false claims.

His Majesty King Abdullah has repeatedly warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to even think of changing the status quo at the holy sites in East Jerusalem.

There has been a spate of stabbings of Israelis – several of them fatal – by Palestinians since early October, and one apparent revenge stabbing by an Israeli.

Israeli officials said Israel and the USA are working together to thwart a vote on the proposal at the UN Security Council later this week.