Israel raids home of Palestinian attacker

JERUSALEM: Israel sent extra troops into the occupied West Bank on Saturday and raided the home of the Palestinian attacker who stabbed to death three Israelis on Friday, the military said.

An Israeli military spokeswoman said security forces “surveyed the house of the assailant in the village of Khobar, searched for weapons and confiscated money used for terror purposes”.

“The brother of the assailant was also apprehended,” she said, adding: “Movement out of the village will be limited to humanitarian cases only.”

In Jerusalem, Israeli police said they used riot gear to disperse dozens of Palestinians who threw stones and bottles at them. Television footage showed police throwing stun grenades and using a water cannon to break up the crowd.

This followed the bloodiest spate of Israeli-Palestinian violence for years.

Three Israelis were stabbed to death on Friday while eating dinner in a settlement in the occupied West Bank.

Hours earlier, three Palestinians were killed in violence prompted by Israel’s installation of metal detectors at entry points to the Noble Sanctuary-Temple Mount compound in Jerusalem’s walled Old City.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas ordered the suspension of all official contact with Israel until it removed the metal detectors at the site, where Muslims pray at AlAqsa mosque. He gave no details, but current contacts are largely limited to security cooperation.

Israel’s security cabinet was due to convene on Sunday and is expected to discuss alternative security measures that could be used to replace the metal detectors, according to two Israeli officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity. – Reuters