Israeli-Palestinian violence is on rise across Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. Stabbings are becoming particularly common amid fears of a new Palestinian uprising.
24 October 2015
A Palestinian has been shot dead after he attempted to stab an Israeli guard in the West Bank, police said, as cited by the Israeli media and AFP.
23 October 2015
The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs, Federica Mogherini, met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Mogherini gave a press conference following the meetings, during which she conveyed the latest statement of the Quartet on the Middle East – Russia, the US, the EU and the UN – on the most recent developments in the Middle East.
The statement encouraged “Israel to work together with Jordan to uphold the status quo at the holy sites in Jerusalem in both words and practice,” stressing that “security measures alone cannot stop the cycle of violence.”
21 October 2015
A Palestinian driver has reportedly crashed a car into a crowd of people near the Palestinian town of Beit Ummar in the Hebron area of the West Bank, Haaretz reported. Four people were injured in the suspected attack, with one victim in serious condition.
20 October 2015
Two Palestinians have been shot dead after an attempted stabbing near the West Bank settlement of Kiryat Arba, next to Hebron. One IDF soldier received a slight head wound in the attack. Palestinians started to fire tires nearby after the incident.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon will visit Israel and Palestinian territories on Tuesday during a surprise trip, Palestinian foreign ministry Riyad Malki said as cited by Fox News. He added that the secretary-general is going to meet with both sides of the ongoing conflict, without going into further details.
"When children are afraid to go to school, when anyone on the street is a potential victim, security is rightly your immediate priority. But walls, checkpoints, harsh responses by the security forces and house demolitions cannot sustain the peace and safety that you need and must have," Ban Ki-moon said in a video address on Monday.
The Israeli Defense Force has demolished a house of a Palestinian who stabbed an Israeli citizen to death last year, AFP cited the Israeli army as saying. The demolition in the West Bank city of Hebron was accompanied by clashes between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian stone throwers. No one was reportedly injured in the incident.
An assailant has stabbed an IDF officer during a riot near Hebron. The attacker was shot dead at the scene.
19 October 2015
An Arab-Israeli gunman killed an IDF soldier at a bus station in southern Israel. A security guard later shot dead a migrant, mistaken for attacker's accomplice. RT’s correspondent Paula Slier has the latest.
The French ambassador to Israel has been summoned to the Israeli Foreign Ministry after Paris's proposal to deploy independent observers at the Temple Mount (or the Noble Sanctuary, as it’s known by Muslims), AP reported citing an unnamed Israeli official.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon expressed the country’s "firm opposition" to the French proposal.
18 October 2015
A foreigner, supposedly an Eritrean national living in Israel, was shot by police during the attack in Beersheba, local media report. Law enforcers appear to have mistaken him for an assailant.
A concrete barrier between a Jewish and an Arab neighborhood in east Jerusalem has been set up to prevent rocks and firebombs from being hurled from the Arab area towards houses on the other side of the neighborhood, AP reported citing Israeli police.
Several Israelis have been wounded in a suspected shooting attack at a bus station in Beersheba, southern Israel, Israeli police said. At least eight people were wounded in the incident, with one of the injured in a critical condition, according to local media. There were two perpetrators of the violence, thought to be Palestinians, Reuters reported. According to police spokeswoman Luba Samri, one attacker has been killed, while the identity of the second is still being checked.
US Secretary of State John Kerry will have separate meetings with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas during a tour of Europe and the Middle East next week.
Sources in Kerry's office told the media the first meeting would like to take place in Germany on Thursday, and Kerry would meet Abbas and King Abdullah of Jordan in Amman on Saturday.
Dozens of Jewish worshippers were removed by the IDF after allegedly entering a biblical West Bank shrine illegally, which was recently torched by Palestinians.
According to the military, some 30 Jews were at Joseph's Tomb compound in Nablus. The site is revered by Jews as the tomb of the biblical figure.
The military said they had no permit, and a clash with Palestinians ensued shortly after the Jews' arrival there, according to the AP.
At least five Molotov cocktails have been thrown near Hebron’s Cave of the Patriarchs, in the heart of the West Bank city, The Times of Israel reported. An explosive device was also thrown towards an IDF patrol nearby. Reports on social media said that several people were injured.
17 October 2015
The total Palestinian death toll for Saturday reached 4, after IDF reported that a Palestinian man attempted to stab a soldier in Jerusalem. The attacker struck his target's bulletproof vest, and the Israeli opened fire and wounded him. When soldiers came to treat the assailant, he pulled out a second knife, attempting a repeat assault, whereby he was shot dead.
As before there have been extensive clashes between Palestinian demonstrators armed with stones and slingshots, and Israeli forces releasing tear gas and firing rubber bullets.
According to Palestinian authorities, 43 Arabs have been killed since the conflict began last month, and over 1,700 have been injured.
A pro-Hamas rally took place in Paris, attended by several dozens predominantly Arab demonstrators.
Several hundred pro-Palestinian supporters gathered outside Israel's embassy in London, to voice support for the Third Intifada, and protests against the treatment of Palestinians.
A smaller counter-rally several streets away was organized by supporters of Israel.
A third Palestinian was killed, when an Arab woman stabbed a female IDF soldier at a border base in Hebron, before being gunned down. The victim has received light injuries.
Shortly after the Hebron stabbing attempt, another took place, as a Palestinian was stopped by police for "walking in a suspicious manner" in East Jerusalem, according to a police spokesman.
When stopped by border police, the man drew a knife and was shot dead.
An Israeli man with a gun shot and killed his Palestinian attacker, after the latter tried to stab him in the city of Hebron in the occupied West Bank, according to the Israeli military.
16 October 2015
Danny Danon, Israel's envoy to the United Nations, has accused Palestinians of fostering a culture of hate towards Jews, and showed a picture taken from an illustration manual, showing best places in which to stab a Jew.
Danon also accused the UN Security Council of "keeping silent" over the ongoing conflict in Israel.
Danon denounced the Palestinian delegation's request to create an international protection force in order to provide security in the Old City.
“We don’t think any intervention will help,” Danon told reporters. “Keeping the status quo is right thing to bring stability and to keep stability in the region.”
Several dozens of demonstrators carrying Palestinian flags, and anti-Israeli placards gathered outside the Chancellory building in central Berlin, with speakers condemning Israeli treatment of Palestinians.
A Palestinian man wearing a PRESS vest separated from the assembled media during clashes near Hebron and stabbed an Israeli soldier. The assailant, who eyewitnesses said was standing alongside the Hamas crew, was gunned down by IDF soldier. The victim of the stabbing sustained moderate injuries.
Palestinian protesters have firebombed the Jewish holy site of St.Joseph's tomb, located in the West Bank city of Nablus. The outside of the structure has been damaged, while the inside remains intact.
In turn, Israeli forces have re-imposed a restriction on the access of men under 40 to the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, which has been a key platform for clashes.
RT's Paula Slier is reporting from Ramallah, the capital of PA, and one of the flashpoints of the daily clashes, where Palestinians armed with slingshots and stones have been repelled with tear gas and rubber bullets by IDF soldiers.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health has named 19 year-old Jihad Hanani as the fifth Palestinian man to be killed during Friday's Day of Rage.
Hanani was killed by Israeli gun-fire during a stone-throwing protest in Beit Furik, inside the West Bank.
The ministry has also reported that at least 98 Palestinians were wounded on Friday.
A Palestinian has died after being shot by police in the Gaza Strip, according to the Health Ministry. Abdul Qadir Farhat, 19, died “after he was shot directly in the head by the military in clashes close to the Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing”, in northern Gaza, according to AFP.
15 October 2015
British volunteer David Amos talks of the moment his group was attacked by Israeli settlers in the West Bank, near the Palestinian village of Burin.
The IDF has mapped out the locations of houses belonging to the families of Palestinians who have committed acts of terror against the Israelis, The Jewish Press reported. Seven homes might be demolished, the report said, adding that the IDF has informed the families living there of its plans. IDF units reportedly delivered the orders on Wednesday night, and tenants can appeal to the High Court of Justice in the next few days, before the demolition commences.
Egyptian soldiers opened fire on Palestinian workers in a smuggling tunnel which passes beneath the Egyptian border under the city of Rafah in southern Gaza on Thursday, The Palestinian Ma'an news agency reported, citing locals. Three Palestinians were reportedly injured in the underground shooting.
Pro-Palestine activists gathered outsode BBC's Northern Ireland headquarters in Belfast to voice protest against the broadcaster's coverage of the violence ongoing in Israel and Palestine. The protesters accuse the BBC of bias toward Israel.
14 October 2015
Two Palestinians were reportedly killed by Israeli forces on Wednesday. A man was shot dead by Israeli police after rushing past a checkpoint near the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem, while another person was killed after he stabbed a woman near the city's central bus station. He then tried to board a nearby bus, but was shot by officers.
Israeli authorities fired tear gas at Palestinian protesters in Bethlehem, where thousands had gathered for the funeral of Palestinian Mutaz Zawahreh who was killed by Israeli forces on Tuesday. Tanks fired tear gas with armed soldiers standing guard, while Palestinian protesters threw stones. A young boy was injured in the clashes.
US Secretary of State John Kerry has linked the growing violence in Israel to “frustrations” among Palestinians who are exasperated at the "massive increase in settlements" built by the Israeli government. Commenting on the situation in the region during his visit to Harvard University, the US diplomat added that hopes of a two-state solution could be fading away.
READ MORE: Kerry links Israeli violence to settlement building, Israel seals off Arab E. Jerusalem
A series of punitive measures against the Palestinians has been introduced by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to try and quell the violence. Following an emergency Security Council meeting, he announced that Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers would be sent to reinforce police units across the country.
The police are “authorized to impose a closure on, or to surround, centers of friction and incitement in Jerusalem, in accordance with security considerations,” a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office read.
The cabinet also authorized closing off Palestinian neighborhoods in East Jerusalem, making it harder for Palestinians living there to enter Israel.
13 October 2015
Both pro-Israel and pro-Palestine groups have taken to the streets in London. A protest in support of Israel was organized by the pro-Israel Board of Deputies, the Zionist Federation (ZF) and others, and assembled under the Twitter hashtag #IsraeliLivesMatter to oppose a recent surge in stabbings around Jerusalem and the Occupied Territories. In response to the rally, pro-Palestine groups gathered outside London’s Palestinian mission.
Violence erupted between the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and Palestinians when hundreds of people marched to the north of the Gaza Strip at a security checkpoint near Erez. Several protesters have been severely injured. The demonstrators were protesting against what they see as Israel’s crimes against Palestinians in Jerusalem and the West Bank over the last week.
Palestinian Fatah party and Hamas group declared a 'Day of Rage' across the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem to accuse Israel of "escalating its crimes against our people" and carrying out "summary executions."
READ MORE: Israel rocked by wave of terror attacks, at least 3 killed & dozens injured (VIDEO)
A stabbing incident was reported in Kiryat Ata near the northern city of Haifa. The victim was a Jewish man who was on the end of the receiving end of a failed revenge attack by another Israeli Jew, who believed the man to have been an Arab because of his complexion. The 22 year-old victim has been taken to hospital and is in a stable condition, having suffered a knife wound to his upper torso.
Two attacks took place in the central Israeli city of Raanana, which is a northern suburb of Tel Aviv. The first incident saw an attack on one of the main roads, Ahuza Street, where a male resident of East Jerusalem tried to stab another man at a bus stop.
Amateur video footage distributed by police showed several men kicking and beating the alleged assailant as he lay on the ground. The ambulance service said he was seriously hurt.
At least four people were wounded after a knife-wielding Palestinian struck in Raanana, Reuters cited police and media reports as saying. The attacker was caught by police.
Israel's Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel has joined those who are calling for more restrictions to be imposed in East Jerusalem, saying people can no longer "lead a normal life there."
"The security forces must take resolute action in the East Jerusalem neighborhoods… The residents of East Jerusalem must understand that they cannot lead a normal life while terrorism continues on the streets of Israel," the minister said, as cited by Haaretz.
An Israeli man has died after an attacker drove a car into a bus stop on Malkei Israel Street in the Israeli capital. The suspect left the vehicle and began to stab passers-by. The attacker was subsequently shot by police.
Two terrorists in the Armon HaNatziv neighborhood of Jerusalem were shot dead by a police officer on Tuesday morning, after they entered a bus. One opened fire on commuters and the other produced a knife, Haaretz reported.
At least 16 people were wounded and eight are in a serious condition, while Haaretz is reporting that two of the victims have died. One of the attackers was killed by police, while the other is in a serious condition.
Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat said that he asked the Israeli security forces to close the city’s Arab neighborhoods to try and limit the violence.
12 October 2015
Footage of the aftermath of the deadly bus accident in the streets of Jerusalem.
A suspected terrorist, thought to be a Palestinian or Arab Israeli, tried to steal a gun from an IDF officer on a bus near Jerusalem. The main entrance to the city was shut down after the attack. The man was shot dead. Two people were injured in the incident.
A Molotov cocktail has been thrown at an Israeli car in Shomron. There have been no immediate reports of damages or injuries. Police are searching the area for the attacker who is described as an Arab man.
A person armed with a knife tried to stab a border policeman near Lion’s Gate in Jerusalem on Monday morning but hit the officer’s protective vest, Israeli Defense Force spokesman Lt. Peter Lerner said on Twitter. The attacker was then shot dead by officers, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.
A female Arab also armed with a knife was neutralized next to police headquarters two hours later. One officer was slightly injured, Rosenfeld said.
The third attack of the day saw two Israelis, 16 and 20 years old, respectively, seriously stabbed in the neighborhood of Pisgat Zeev. One attacker was shot dead while the other was injured.
A Molotov cocktail was pelted near Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem amid violent clashed between Arabs and Israeli forces. The suspect behind the incident was shot and seriously wounded by IDF and is now receiving medical treatment from Israeli paramedics.
11 October 2015
Four Israelis have been injured in a stabbing attack near the village of Gan Shmuel, north of Hadera, the Times of Israel reports.
One of the victims, a 19-year-old woman, has been evacuated to Rambam Hospital in Haifa in critical condition with damage to multiple organs. Other victims are a 20-year-old man and a 45-year-old man with light injuries, as well as a 14-year-old girl with moderate wounds.
The attacker has been arrested by the police. He has been identified as a 20-year-old Israeli Arab man from the Galilee town of Umm al-Fahm.
The Israeli Defense forces (IDF) have shot and wounded at least 50 Palestinians during clashes at the Huwwara checkpoint in the northern West bank, Maan News Agency reports. Rami Swidan, a Maan cameraman, is one of the injured Palestinians – he was shot in the leg with live fire while covering the clashes.
A spokeswoman for the Israeli army has confirmed the use of 0.22 caliber live rounds and rubber-coated steel bullets against protesters.
“A violent riot broke out at the entrance to Nablus firing slingshots,” with the protesters “hurling rocks, and rolling burning tires,” according to her. She added that the IDF had resorted to warning shots before opening fire.
The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) has shot dead a 13-year-old Palestinian boy during clashes south of al-Bireh in the Rammalah district. Ahmad Sharaka was shot in the neck with a live round, the Maan news agency reported medics as saying.
Israel has come in for harsh criticism for its use of force in the latest outbreak of violence with Palestinian protesters. Amnesty International told Al Jazeera that some of the recorded incidents amounted to "extrajudicial killings," while Human rights Watch was "strongly concerned" about Israel's "indiscriminate and even deliberate" use of gunfire on demonstrators. "These are extrajudicial killings against unarmed civilians," Mariam Farah, the spokesperson for Amnesty International in Israel, was quoted as saying.
Demonstrations near Gaza City's Shujai'yah neighborhood in the northern Gaza Strip are still under way, with up to 150 protesters trying to cross through the gap in the border fence that was created Friday, Ynetnews reports. IDF troops are reportedly attempting to push them back by firing warning shots into the air and with tear gas grenades. According to Ynetnews, Palestinian medical teams are evacuating the injured from the demonstration.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he is holding consultations to promote sanctions against the Islamic Movement in Israel, AP reports. According to the Israeli leader, the movement, which runs education and religious services for Israeli Arabs, is a part of the "systematic, untrue incitement" against his country. Tel Aviv says the group has incited violence by spreading lies about Israel's intentions regarding al-Aqsa, the third-holiest site in Islam, sacred to both Muslims and Jews. At his weekly Cabinet meeting Sunday, Netanyahu singled out an Arab lawmaker, Hanin Zoabi of the Joint (Arab) List part, who reportedly called on hundreds of thousands of worshipers to ascend to al-Aqsa, located in East Jerusalem, “to stand against the Israeli plot for the blood of East Jerusalem residents.” The Israeli PM said that Zoabi’s call amounted to incitement to violence, and he asked legal authorities to launch a criminal investigation against Zoabi.
The Palestinian movement Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, has warned Israel against “foolishness” after an Israeli nighttime airstrike killed a pregnant Palestinian woman and her toddler. The airstrike followed the firing of a rocket at Israel from the Gaza Strip.
“This shows the occupation’s desire to escalate,” said Sami Abu Zuhri, a spokesman for Hamas, as cited by the Times of Israel. “We warn the occupation against continuing this foolishness,” he added.
There are reports on social media of IDF forces beating and chasing away Palestinians near the Al-Aqsa mosque.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has approved 13 extra Border Police units to maintain security in Jerusalem and the surrounding areas, the Jerusalem Post reports, citing Israel Radio. Netanyahu said that the additional units are needed to bring back security and order to Jerusalem and the rest of the country. "We will continue to do whatever is necessary," the prime minister was quoted as saying.
The female Arab motorist who blew herself up at a West Bank checkpoint on her way to Jerusalem was critically injured, Israeli police confirmed. The police officer who pulled her over received minor injuries.
There are reports that additional explosives were found in the woman’s car, with speculation that they had been meant to be used for a terror attack in Jerusalem.
At least one Israeli police officer was injured as an alleged female Palestinian suicide bomber detonated an explosive device while passing a checkpoint in a vehicle going in the direction of Jerusalem, social media reports say. The car bomb suicide reportedly took place in a West Bank area near Ma’ale Adumim.
“The driver shouted ‘Allah Hu Akbar’ (God is great) and detonated an explosive device,” a police spokeswoman told Reuters.
There are now conflicting reports as to whether the female bomber has been killed or has survived the blast with serious injuries.
The three-year-old daughter of the woman killed as her family’s house collapsed during an Israeli Air Force strike has also died, Gaza Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra told Reuters. He added that a five-year-old boy and a man had been wounded.
At least one civilian woman was killed and two of her family injured in the early Sunday bombing, which damaged their house, Reuters correspondent Nidal al-Mughrabi reported, citing medical sources.
According to Palestinian journalist Mohammed Omer, the victim’s name was Noor Hassan, 30. She was in her fifth month of pregnancy.
10 October 2015
Israeli Air Force struck several targets in an apparent air raid in Gaza. Palestinian media report that the strikes targeted al-Qassam Brigades sites. The bombing came after a rocket was intercepted by the Iron Dome, Israel’s air defense system.
READ MORE: Israeli jets strike Gaza after rocket intercepted by Iron Dome – reports
Israeli police have announced that hundreds of Border Police reservists will be mobilized to ensure security amid the escalation in violence. They will focus on the Jerusalem area and mixed Jewish-Arab cities.
The Jerusalem district will be reinforced with 2,000 police officers, according to interim Police Chief Deputy Commissioner Bentzi Sau.
“We are at a very high level of preparedness,” said Sau, as cited by Ynet News.
Extra border police is being deployed in Jerusalem, says Israel Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld.
Israeli military says dozens of Palestinians briefly enter Israel from Gaza.
"The incident is under the full control of our forces, and ended with five of the infiltrators taken for questioning and the remainder returning to the Strip," the IDF said.
Hamas has called on its supporters in East Jerusalem to riot in areas surrounding the Teddy Stadium tonight to disrupt the upcoming soccer game between Israel and Cyprus, The Times of Israel reports.
Clashes have erupted between Palestinian protesters and Israeli troops in the Shuafat refugee camp in East Jerusalem following the funeral of a Palestinian protester, The Times of Israel reports. The protester died of his wounds Saturday after being shot in clashes with border police the day before.
A 15-year-old Palestinian was killed in clashes near the Erez Crossing at the northern Gaza Strip, the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza said.
Two teenagers, aged 13 and 15, were killed and three others injured during clashes with IDF troops along the Gaza border near Khan Younis.
A Palestinian attacker stabbed three policemen before being shot dead. As with the preceding incident, the attack happened near the Old City. One officer received serious wounds, the other two not so serious.
Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld says other officers witnessed the incident and opened fire on the attacker.
Two ultra-Orthodox Jews were stabbed and lightly wounded in central Jerusalem in the area outside the Old City, on Haneviim Street. The 16-year-old attacker was shot dead by police.
A Palestinian youth, 22, succumbs to his wounds following overnight clashes on the Gaza border.