Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Cycle of violence
Undercover Israeli police officers detain a wounded Palestinian demonstrator with the help of Israeli soldiers Wednesday in the West Bank near Ramallah. An 18-year-old Palestinian woman stabbed an Israeli man who then shot and wounded her in Jerusalem’s Old City on Wednesday.
JERUSALEM — A Palestinian woman stabbed an Israeli man who then shot and wounded her in Jerusalem’s Old City on Wednesday after Israel lifted some of the tight security measures imposed after a series of deadly Palestinian attacks, police said.
Shortly after, the police said its forces shot dead an assailant in southern Israel who stabbed a soldier and stole his weapon, the latest in a series of violent incidents in recent days that have seen several Israelis and Palestinians killed and sent tensions soaring.
Police spokesman Luba Samri said an 18-year-old woman in Jerusalem stabbed an Israeli man from behind in his upper body, slightly wounding him. The man drew his gun and fired, wounding her seriously, Samri said. Both were taken to a hospital.
Israel’s Channel 2 TV said the attack took place near the site where a Palestinian stabbed an Israeli man to death and wounded his wife and toddler Saturday. That assailant then attacked and killed another Israeli man before he was shot dead by police.
Samri said another measure imposed Sunday barring nonresident Palestinians from Jerusalem’s Old City was lifted “following security assessments” on Tuesday evening. The ban did not apply to Palestinians who live, work and study within the Old City, or Israelis or tourists.
The move was imposed after a series of Palestinian attacks. Israel beefed up its forces in Jerusalem and the West Bank since the current unrest began about three weeks ago, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is under intense domestic pressure to do more.
Four Israelis were killed last week in shooting and stabbing attacks in Jerusalem and the West Bank, while Israeli forces have killed four Palestinians, including a 13-year-old boy, amid violent protests.
Hundreds of Palestinians have been hurt in several days of clashes, according to the Red Crescent medical service, including dozens struck by rubber bullets and some by live fire. Most of the wounded have been treated for tear gas inhalation.
Another measure banning men under the age of 50 from entering the Al-Aqsa mosque compound for prayers was also lifted.
Israel has imposed the ban at times of unrest in the past as it is mostly young Palestinian men who take part in the violence.
That site has been at the heart of the recent tensions.
The hilltop compound is revered by Muslims as the spot where the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven and by Jews as the site of the two Jewish biblical temples.
Many Palestinians believe that Israel is trying to expand a Jewish presence at the site. Israel has adamantly denied the allegations, describing them as slander aimed at inciting Arabs to violence.
There have been several days of clashes at the site over the past few weeks as Palestinians barricaded themselves inside the Al-Aqsa mosque while hurling stones, firebombs and fireworks at police.
The unrest later spread to Arab neighborhoods of east Jerusalem and to the West Bank, and on Tuesday there were disturbances in Jaffa, a largely Arab area of Tel Aviv.