Israeli troops kill more Palestinians

Tensions have been running high in the region over the past few days after Israel imposed restrictions on the entry of Palestinian worshipers into the Old City, where the al-Aqsa Mosque compound is located.

Fresh clashes broke out at the Bet El checkpoint outside the West Bank city of Ramallah Thursday, as well as in Shuafat, where the Palestinian identified as 20-year-old Usama Faraj was killed by the Israelis.

Israel is facing a “wave of terror” in which “civilians are on the front line”, Netanyahu warned, urging Israelis to stand firm.

Also Wednesday, a suspected Palestinian militant stabbed an Israeli soldier in southern Israel before other soldiers shot him dead.

Israeli police spokeswoman Luba Samri said the officer was “in real danger” when he opened fire at the driver on Wednesday.

The unrest began about three weeks ago at the mosque, where Palestinian protesters barricaded themselves inside and hurled stones, firebombs and fireworks at Israeli police.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu postponed a visit to Germany set for Thursday to tackle the violence that has raged for three weeks despite appeals for calm. It also briefly barred non-resident Palestinians from entering the Old City, home to sensitive holy sites.

Over the past week, four Israelis have been killed along with at least five Palestinians, three of them after alleged attacks on Israelis.

In 2000, then-opposition leader Ariel Sharon visited the Temple Mount – known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary – shortly before the second Palestinian intifada erupted. On Thursday, he encouraged other licensed gun owners to also carry their weapons.

Palestinians have accused Israelis of trying to restrict them from visiting and praying at the mosque, a charge Israel denies.

A Jewish youth stands on a balcony in Jerusalem’s Old City – AP Israeli emergency personnel stand at the scene of a stabbing in Jerusalem – REUTERS Israeli emergency personnel stand at the scene of a stabbing in Jerusalem October 8, 2015.

And a Jewish man was attacked with a knife outside a shopping centre in Petah Tikva, near Tel Aviv, police said, adding that the attacker had been overpowered.

Samri said police apprehended the assailant, and that the 25-year-old Israeli was seriously wounded.

And last Thursday, gunmen shot and killed an Israeli couple as they drove with their four young children in the West Bank.

A wave of stabbing attacks by Palestinians on Thursday left six Israelis wounded, including a woman soldier and a student, even as security forces shot dead an assailant who used a screwdriver for the assault.

Palestinians fear visits by Jewish groups, including ultranationalist lawmakers, to the plaza revered in Judaism as the site of two destroyed biblical temples are eroding Muslim religious control of al-Aqsa, Islam’s third holiest shrine.

Despite repeated claims of stabbing incidents by Palestinians, the Israeli authorities fail to provide evidence that such claims by settlers are accurate. Several Arab politicians said Netanyahu had no moral authority over them, and two announced they planned to visit the site for Friday prayers.