Palestinian official criticizes treatment of Arab passengers on Israel-bound flight

In Israel, prosecutors filed indictments against two Jewish Israelis said to be responsible for an arson attack that killed a Palestinian toddler and his parents a year ago.

Four Palestinians were shot dead by Israeli forces in the West Bank overnight after two separate attempted knife attacks, Israel said. No soldiers were injured in either incident.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in November vowed to expedite punitive house demolitions in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, which he said were “one of the most efficient tools” in discouraging Palestinian attacks. The junction has been the scene of numerous lethal terrorist attacks since a wave of Palestinian violence began in October. The Authority, which was set up as part of the 1993 Oslo Accords between the Palestinians and Israel and was meant to be a temporary entity pending full statehood, is operating under severe fiscal distress and recently has been plagued by rumors of Abbas’s failing health – something denied by leadership.

The assailant in Hebron was reported as Khalil Shalalda, 16, who also came from Sa’ir.

AFP reports that his cousin was killed at the same place, under similar circumstances in recent weeks.

The Israeli imposed restrictions have enraged Palestinians, who are also angry at increasing violence by Israeli settlers frequently storming the al-Aqsa Mosque. Two were killed on the spot, the third later succumbed to his wounds.

“An initially small group of passengers very vocally and persistently asked for two other [Arab] Israeli passengers to be checked for security issues”, read a statement issued by Greece’s national carrier, cited by the newspaper.