WEST BANK VIOLENCE LEAVES 6 DEAD
Abbas freezes ties with Israel on ‘all levels’
JERUSALEM• Escalating Israeli-Palestinian tensions over the Holy Land’s most contested shrine boiled over into violence on Friday that killed six people — three Palestinians in street clashes in Jerusalem and three Israelis in a stabbing attack in the West Bank.
After nightfall, a Palestinian sneaked into a home in the Israeli settlement of Halamish in the West Bank and stabbed to death three Israelis, the head of Israel’s rescue service said.
An Israeli news site said those killed were two men and a woman who were having dinner at the time.
The army released footage showing a blood-covered kitchen floor.
Israel TV’s Channel 10 said the assailant was in his late teens and had posted on Facebook that he was upset by the events at the shrine. Eli Bin, the head of Israel’s rescue service MDA, said an off-duty soldier next door heard screams, rushed to the home and shot the attacker through a window. Bin said the attacker was wounded and evacuated to hospital.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, meanwhile, announced that he is freezing ties with Israel, dealing a blow to fledgling Trump administration efforts to try to renew long-dormant peace talks.
Abbas said contacts with Israel would be suspended on “all levels.” It was not immediately clear if this means long-standing security coordination between Israeli troops and Abbas’ forces will be halted.
At issue in the current round of violence are metal detectors Israel installed at the Jerusalem shrine earlier this week, in response to a deadly attack by Arab gunmen there.
The metal detectors are perceived by the Palestinians as an encroachment on Muslim rights and portrayed by Israel as a needed security measure following the attack that killed two Israeli policemen.
Earlier Friday, several thousand Palestinians in Jerusalem and the West Bank clashed with Israeli troops, burning tires or throwing stones and firecrackers. Troops fired live rounds, rubber bullets and tear gas. Three Palestinians were killed and several dozen hospitalized with live or rubber bullet injuries.
White clouds of tear gas rose from Jerusalem streets and West Bank flashpoints. In one neighbourhood, Palestinians threw stones from behind a mattress used as a shield.
The confrontations in the Holy Land could escalate in coming days, as both sides dig in.
Israel said the metal detectors would remain in place. Lawmaker Tzachi Hanegbi, a confidant of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said Israel would not surrender to what he said were “violence and incitement” by those “attempting to drag us into a religious war.”
Jerusalem’s top Muslim cleric, Mohammed Hussein, said protests, including mass street prayers outside the shrine, would continue until the devices are removed. He told worshippers Friday that they should prepare for a “long test of wills” with Israel.
“We will not back off,” he said.
The shrine, revered by Muslims and Jews, sits at the emotional epicentre of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, symbolizing the rival religious and national narratives of the two sides.
Earlier this week, Israel began installing metal detectors at the gates of the compound, saying extra measures were required to prevent further attacks.
Muslim leaders portrayed the metal detectors as part of a purported Israeli campaign to expand its control over the shrine — a claim Israel denies. Muslim clerics urged worshippers to pray in the streets near the shrine, rather than submit to the new security procedures.
The faithful complied. Thousands flocked to the Old City each day this week for street prayers, kneeling on mats spread on cobble stone and asphalt.
The compound is the third holiest site of Islam, after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia. It is also Judaism’s holiest site.
Jordan, the custodian of the Jerusalem shrine, has repeatedly appealed to Israel to remove the devices. The two countries co-operate closely on regional security issues, but frequently disagree on Israel’s policies at the shrine.
On Friday, several thousand Jordanians protested against Israel in the Jordanian capital of Amman.
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said his country is in touch with Israeli officials to try to end the crisis. Speaking in Ankara after Friday prayers, he called Israel’s security measures “radical,” saying limits imposed on Muslim prayers would not contribute to a solution.
VIOLENCE AND INCITEMENT BY THOSE ATTEMPTING TO DRAG (ISRAEL) INTO A RELIGIOUS WAR.