Soldier is fifth Israeli stabbed by Palestinians in 24 hours

AN ISRAELI soldier suffered slight injuries when she was stabbed by a Palestinian woman yesterday morning at the Qalandia checkpoint between Jerusalem and Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian West Bank.

She was the fifth Israeli to be stabbed by Palestinian assailants in a 24-hour period while six Palestinians were shot by Israeli security forces, one of them critically, as protests in support of Palestinian hunger strikers raged across the West Bank, according to media reports.

More than 1 000 Palestinian political prisoners embarked on a mass hunger strike a week ago in prisons across Israel, demanding an improvement to harsh conditions, including an end to solitary confinement and detention without trial.

The Israeli Prison Services (IPS) said they would not negotiate with the prisoners and had implemented measures, including the transfer of prisoners to other jails, placing hunger strikers in solitary confinement, banning them from praying and confiscating their Qur’ans.

On Sunday an 18-year-old Palestinian from the West Bank city of Nablus carried out two stabbing attacks in two hotels along Tel Aviv’s shoreline, slightly wounding four Israeli civilians before he was apprehended by police and taken in for interrogation.

Following questioning by Israel’s domestic intelligence agency, the Shin Bet, the reasons behind the attack were reported to be politically motivated. On Sunday, three Palestinian protesters were injured by security forces during clashes in the West Bank.

International and Israeli human rights groups have accused Israeli forces of using excessive force.