Israel sets up checkpoints after violence spikes

AFP, JERUSALEM: Israel set up checkpoints in Palestinian neighbourhoods of annexed east Jerusalem on Wednesday as it struggled to stop a wave of attacks that have raised fears of a full-scale uprising.
With Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu under immense pressure to halt the violence and frustrated Palestinian youths defying attempts to restore calm, police said 300 Israeli soldiers were joining their patrols.
A wave of mainly stabbing attacks by Palestinians has spread fear in Israel, while a gun-and-knife attack on a Jerusalem bus on Tuesday killed two people and led to outrage among Israelis.
A third Israeli was killed in Jerusalem on Tuesday when a Palestinian attacker rammed his car into pedestrians then exited with a knife, making it the city’s bloodiest day in the current wave of unrest.
All three attackers in the two incidents were from east Jerusalem, and two were shot dead.
The move to install checkpoints followed a decision by Netanyahu’s security cabinet overnight authorising police to seal off or impose a curfew on parts of Jerusalem.
Netanyahu has faced major criticism over attacks as well as violent Palestinian protests in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
The upsurge in violence that began on October 1 has led some to warn of the risk of a third Palestinian intifada, or uprising.
Seven Israelis have been killed and dozens wounded in the attacks.
According to the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, 29 Palestinians have been killed, including alleged attackers, some of them teenagers. Hundreds of Palestinians have been wounded in clashes with Israeli security forces.
While the stabbings and gun attack have led to anger and fear among Israelis, video footage shared online of security forces shooting dead alleged attackers has fed Palestinian anger, with protesters seeing some of the killings as unjustified.
At the funeral on Wednesday for 28-year-old Moataz Zawahra, killed the previous day in clashes in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, youths with their faces covered in red keffiyeh head scarves carried his body and called him a “martyr.”
“He was on the front line close to the soldiers and he threw firebombs,” his mother Diya said. “We are only at the beginning of the journey. As long as the occupation exists, there will be martyrs, prisoners and wounded.”
The number and extent of the checkpoints in east Jerusalem were not yet clear and appeared limited Wednesday.

Israel sets up checkpoints after violence spikes

AFP, JERUSALEM: Israel set up checkpoints in Palestinian neighbourhoods of annexed east Jerusalem on Wednesday as it struggled to stop a wave of attacks that have raised fears of a full-scale uprising. With Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu under immense pressure to halt the violence and frustrated Palestinian youths defying attempts to restore calm, police said 300 Israeli soldiers were joining their patrols. A wave of mainly stabbing attacks by Palestinians has spread fear in Israel, while a gun-and-knife attack on a Jerusalem bus on Tuesday killed two people and led to outrage among Israelis. A third Israeli was killed in Jerusalem on Tuesday when a Palestinian attacker rammed his car into pedestrians then exited with a knife, making it the citys bloodiest day in the current wave of unrest. All three attackers in the two incidents were from east Jerusalem, and two were shot dead. The move to install checkpoints followed a decision by Netanyahus security cabinet overnight authorising police to seal off or impose a curfew on parts of Jerusalem. Netanyahu has faced major criticism over attacks as well as violent Palestinian protests in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The upsurge in violence that began on October 1 has led some to warn of the risk of a third Palestinian intifada, or uprising. Seven Israelis have been killed and dozens wounded in the attacks. According to the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, 29 Palestinians have been killed, including alleged attackers, some of them teenagers. Hundreds of Palestinians have been wounded in clashes with Israeli security forces. While the stabbings and gun attack have led to anger and fear among Israelis, video footage shared online of security forces shooting dead alleged attackers has fed Palestinian anger, with protesters seeing some of the killings as unjustified. At the funeral on Wednesday for 28-year-old Moataz Zawahra, killed the previous day in clashes in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, youths with their faces covered in red keffiyeh head scarves carried his body and called him a martyr. He was on the front line close to the soldiers and he threw firebombs, his mother Diya said. We are only at the beginning of the journey. As long as the occupation exists, there will be martyrs, prisoners and wounded. The number and extent of the checkpoints in east Jerusalem were not yet clear and appeared limited Wednesday.