Kerry calls Palestinian attacks terrorism that must be condemned

He traveled to Israel from the United Arab Emirates, where his talks with U.A.E. and Saudi officials focused largely efforts to find a political resolution to Syria’s crisis as well as the U.S.-led coalition effort to fight Islamic State.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry speaks with members of the…

Two Palestinians and an Israeli soldier were also killed in the occupied West Bank, as a wave of violence continued ahead of Tuesday’s visit to the region by secretary of state John Kerry.

Israel has already adopted the controversial policy of demolishing the homes of attackers, which it says acts as a deterrent. Of them, 56 Israel said were attackers and the rest were killed in clashes between protesters and Israeli forces. The latest act of terror occurred early Tuesday when a Palestinian driver intentionally drove his vehicle into three Israelis, inflicting moderate injuries, before being shot by soldiers.

The video did not capture the girls allegedly attacking a 70-year-old, a Palestinian resident of Bethlehem, who had a light stabbing wound in his back, Israeli police said.

Abbas and other Palestinian leaders have accused Israel of using excessive force to quell attacks, saying that in many cases assailants could have been stopped and detained without being shot and killed.

In another incident, a Palestinian was shot dead when he tried to stab Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint near Nablus in the northern West Bank, the military said.

The surge in violence began in September this year when tensions at a flashpoint holy site in Jerusalem revered by Jews and Muslims boiled over, amid rumours that Israel planned to relax long-standing rules to strengthen Jewish rights at the complex. Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton took unsuccessful stabs at a two-state solution during their final months in office. But the rising death toll seems to have created an environment that makes a similar commitment by President Barack Obama unlikely.

In Abu Dhabi on Monday, Kerry said Washington had ideas “for how things could proceed” to try to stem the violence.

“Clearly, no people anywhere should live with daily violence, with attacks in the streets, with knives or scissors or cars”, Kerry said. “People aren’t in the mood for concessions”.

It said Israel’s Chief of General Staff Gadi Eizenkot approved to conduct larger-scale detention campaigns in the West Bank in the aftermath of the current security deterioration.

Abbas, who believes a deal with Netanyahu is impossible, has provided no indication that he wants to restart direct peace talks anytime soon. The Palestinians say it is rooted in frustration over nearly five decades of Israeli occupation and little hope for obtaining independence.

During a visit on Monday to a West Bank settlement that has been the scene of numerous attacks, he also said work permits would be withdrawn for families of alleged attackers and pledged there would be “no limits” on the powers of Israeli soldiers in the West Bank.