Israeli Police Officer Stabbed in Kiryat Arba, Teen Injured in Similar Attack

Palestinian protests were planned in Jerusalem and West Bank cities after Muslim prayers on Friday, and Israel has deployed thousands more police and soldiers. Police say the attacker-a resident of eastern Jerusalem-was arrested and is being questioned by police. Rosenfeld said the assailant was apprehended at the scene and was being questioned. Another Arab was stabbed near a school, she said.

A Palestinian used a vegetable peeler as a weapon to stab a 14-year-old Israeli in Jerusalem on Friday while an Arab-Israeli woman was shot and wounded while attempting to stab people at a bus station in northern Israel, police said.

Friday’s attack comes after a week of renewed violence that saw eight Israelis wounded on Thursday in stabbing attacks around the country.

Since Sunday, a 13-year-old and an 18-year-old have been among three Palestinians killed in clashes with Israeli forces.

“As of now there are four stabbings”, spokeswoman Luba Samri said, adding that the motive appeared to be “nationalistic”. “Nobody is paying attention to him”, said Mahmoud Badran, 27, a barber.

In the West Bank, an Israeli man was seriously wounded when a Palestinian stabbed him in the stomach. But over the past week the violence has spread to Tel Aviv and other Israeli cities.

An Israeli official confirmed Thursday morning the press reports saying that the head of government had banned MPs and ministers to enter the ultra-sensitive site, one of the points of friction between Israelis and Palestinians during the violence of recent days.

The 16-year-old Jewish victim in Jerusalem was stabbed in his upper body and was lightly injured.

In the past few weeks, Israel has seen several similar attacks. Israeli forces responded with tear gas and stun grenades. “The high number of casualties, in particular those resulting from the use of live ammunition by Israeli security forces, raise concerns of excessive use of force”, he said. He says he is committed to “peaceful popular resistance” though he backs protesters who recently barricaded themselves inside Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque and clashed with Israeli police.

He insisted the Palestinians are not interested in a further escalation but that his “hands are with those who are protecting Al-Aqsa mosque”. In recent months, the site has experienced growing numbers of visits, including by Jewish nationalists who seek a greater presence at the compound, fueling Palestinian fears and rumors.

After his arrest, the stabber said he carried out the attacks in retaliation for the numerous Palestinian attacks, Israeli media reported.

Israel has beefed up security in response to the violence in Jerusalem, and on Thursday police set up metal detectors at the entrance to Israel’s Old City.

The incidents this week followed a week of terrorist violence that included the murders of Rabbi Eitam and Na’ama Henkin in an attack on their vehicle in Samaria, and the stabbing deaths last week of Aharon Benet and Rabbi Nehemia Levi in Jerusalem.

On Tuesday evening, Israeli settler leaders were told there will be no additional settlement construction for now in the wake of the attacks.

The same survey revealed that eight in 10 Palestinians believe the chances for establishing a sovereign state next to Israel in the next five years are “slim to nonexistent”.