Minor clashes erupt in West Bank after Palestinian youth killed

The Old City restrictions are to be in place through Monday, when Jews wrap up celebrations of the eight-day Sukkot holiday.

The bloodshed – which included a drive-by shooting that killed an Israeli couple in the West Bank on Thursday and an arson attack that killed a Palestinian toddler and his parents in July – has triggered concerns of wider escalation.

Access to the Al-Aqsa mosque was also limited, with men under the age of 50 banned from entering.

Additionally, Red Crescent spokeswoman Arrab Fukaha said another 22 Palestinians sustained light injuries from live fire in clashes with Israeli forces at several other locations in the West Bank, while about 100 others were lightly hurt from rubber bullets. Israeli troops shot and wounded at least 18 Palestinians in violence during an arrest raid in the Jenin refugee camp, a Palestinian hospital director said. On his Facebook page, Hallabi wrote that the Palestinian people would not accept Israel’s attacks on the Al Quds Mosque in Jerusalem’s Temple Mount and called for the start of a third intifada.

The Palestinian government denounced “Israeli escalation” after the announcement of the ban, which Israeli Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan called unprecedented.

On Sunday night, an 18-year-old Palestinian was killed during clashes in Tulkarem in the West Bank.

In broadcast remarks, Netanyahu said the new measures would include speeding up the razing of homes of Palestinian attackers and banning those who incite violence from the Old City.

The warning came as two Palestinian teenagers were killed in two separate clashes with the Israeli military in the space of 24 hours.

Netanyahu has partly blamed Abbas for inciting the escalated hostilities, which have seen four Israelis killed by Palestinian terrorists in the past four days. The neighbourhood remained mainly quiet early Monday, with hundreds of police on patrol.

A Palestinian from the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Issawiya stabbed and wounded a 15-year-old Jewish boy on a road outside the Old City about 4 a.m. Sunday, according to police.

Meanwhile, Palestinian media quoting Israel’s channel 2 reported disagreements between Israeli rabbis over attacking the al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

Abbas last week seemingly made good on his threat to drop a “bombshell” in his speech to the United Nations General Assembly when he declared that the Palestinians can not continue to be bound by 20-year-old Olso Accords and their accompanying security and economic agreements with Israel.

Saturday’s Old City attack saw a two-year-old child wounded in the leg and taken to hospital.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said it appeared the child had been shot.

Three other Palestinians were also injured with live ammunition during the confrontations near Tulkarm, which broke out last night between Israeli army and Palestinian youths.

The attacker first used a knife, but reportedly took a gun from one of the male victims and fired at police running to the scene, before he was himself shot dead.

Islamic Jihad later said the attack was carried out by one of its members.

Islamist movement Hamas, in power in the Gaza Strip, praised the attack as “a heroic act of resistance”.