Violent protest in Jerusalem continue
JERUSALEM — East Jerusalem continued to smolder Saturday after one of the worst days of Israeli-Palestinian unrest in years. Masked youths clashed with riot police on streets littered with stones hurled by rioters and shops were shuttered to protest violence that left three Palestinians dead the day before and at least one more on Saturday evening.
Israel, meanwhile, identified the victims of a stabbing attack in the settlement of Halamish as 70-year-old Yosef Salomon, and his children, Chaya, 46, and Elad, 36. The three were killed by 19-year-old Omer Abed, who sneaked into the settlement and burst into a family dinner at the start of the Jewish sabbath Friday evening.
“This was an act of terrorism committed by a beast incited by wild hatred,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement Saturday night.
The casualties on both sides were fallout from an escalating dispute over Israel’s placement of metal detectors at the entrance to a complex that includes Al Aqsa Mosque, touching off a political crisis and violence that some fear might morph into a prolonged uprising against Israel.
Palestinians returned to the Lions Gate outside Jerusalem’s Old City to worship and demonstrate against Israel’s deployment of metal detectors outside a plaza holy to Muslim and Jews. Israeli police barricades kept men about a football field away from the outer wall of the Old City, and dozens of men and women loitered waiting for evening prayers while children passed out water bottles and pastries.
With a green-and-yellow prayer rug draped over his shoulder, Khalil Yassin pulled back his sleeves to reveal black and blue marks that he said were inflicted by police during Friday’s clashes.
“Yesterday, they kicked me,” said the 21-year-old building worker. “I’m coming here every day — and every day our numbers are increasing. We are not scared of anything. I only want to go to the mosque and pray.”