BICOM

Palestinians carried out two separate knife attacks in Jerusalem yesterday, while clashes broke out in Jerusalem and the West Bank between the IDF and local Palestinians.

At least 21 Israelis have been killed since the current wave of violence began at the start of October, mainly through stabbings and vehicle attacks. Almost 200 have been injured in the attacks, with another added to the list yesterday morning after a 38-year-old Palestinian man from Nablus stabbed a 20-year-old Border policeman in the neck. The attack took place near the Damascus Gate of the Old City, which has seen three other stabbings in recent weeks. Fellow officers reacted quickly and shot the assailant dead, while the victim was transported to hospital in moderate condition.

Just three hours later, a 30-year-old Nepalese care worker was stabbed in the back while waiting at a Jerusalem bus stop. She was treated in a Jerusalem hospital for light injuries. The assailant, who fled the scene was eventually apprehended at a construction site and identified as a 17-year-old Palestinian from the West Bank.

Meanwhile, in the most serious clashes yesterday between Israeli forces and local Palestinians, 10 Molotov cocktails were hurled at Israeli servicemen in the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Ras al-Amud. According to the IDF, Israeli forces opened fire in response, aiming at the legs of the rioters. However, Palestinian reports say that a 17-year-old local died having been shot. Rioting also took place in the West Bank towns of Beit Umar and Silwad, while an improvised explosive device was thrown at IDF forces at Rachel’s Tomb near Bethlehem.

On Friday, eight Israeli soldiers were wounded in two separate vehicle attacks. The first took place at a bus stop near Kfar Adumim in the West Bank, while hours later a Palestinian rammed his car into soldiers just south of the Gush Etzion junction, which has seen several fatal attacks on Israelis during the past several weeks.

This morning, two of the three defendants accused of burning to death the Palestinian teenager Mohammed Abu Khadir were convicted of murder. The case last summer shocked Israel and was classified as a terror attack. A verdict on the third defendant has been delayed after his lawyer raised questions over his sanity.