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| Israel Restricts Palestinian Access to Jerusalem’s Old City | Israel Restricts Palestinian Access to Jerusalem’s Old City |
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| JERUSALEM — Israeli authorities barred most Palestinians, including residents of Jerusalem, from entering its Old City on Sunday except to worship at the Al Aqsa Mosque, where men under 50 were also not allowed. It was a rare crackdown following the previous night’s fatal stabbing of two ultra-Orthodox men, the second deadly attack by Palestinians against Israeli families in three days. | |
| Hours after the stabbing, Israeli police early Sunday shot and killed a 21-year-old Palestinian resident of East Jerusalem who they said had stabbed a 15-year-old Jewish boy on the road outside the Old City. | Hours after the stabbing, Israeli police early Sunday shot and killed a 21-year-old Palestinian resident of East Jerusalem who they said had stabbed a 15-year-old Jewish boy on the road outside the Old City. |
| News organizations also reported clashes in many areas of the occupied West Bank injuring more than 100 Palestinians in the Jenin refugee camp, where Israeli soldiers used live ammunition and tear gas to quell a riot during an early morning arrest raid. | |
| About 3,500 Israeli police officers swarmed Jerusalem on Sunday , closing off some of its Arab neighborhoods, as a growing chorus of Israeli politicians and analysts termed the rising violence a third Palestinian intifada, or uprising. Yisrael Katz, the transportation minister and a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, said the Israeli response could soon echo Operation Defensive Shield, the intense 2002 military campaign to curb suicide bombings that imposed strict curfews and movement restrictions on West Bank cities . | About 3,500 Israeli police officers swarmed Jerusalem on Sunday , closing off some of its Arab neighborhoods, as a growing chorus of Israeli politicians and analysts termed the rising violence a third Palestinian intifada, or uprising. Yisrael Katz, the transportation minister and a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, said the Israeli response could soon echo Operation Defensive Shield, the intense 2002 military campaign to curb suicide bombings that imposed strict curfews and movement restrictions on West Bank cities . |
| “We will intensify our steps against the Palestinians,” Mr. Katz told Israel’s Army Radio on Sunday morning. “It may be possible that we will have to embark on an Operation Defensive Shield II.” | “We will intensify our steps against the Palestinians,” Mr. Katz told Israel’s Army Radio on Sunday morning. “It may be possible that we will have to embark on an Operation Defensive Shield II.” |
| Mr. Netanyahu, who was returning to Israel from New York, where he spoke last week at the United Nations, said he had called an emergency consultation with his security team for Sunday afternoon “to decide on a harsh offensive against Palestinian Islamic terrorism.” | Mr. Netanyahu, who was returning to Israel from New York, where he spoke last week at the United Nations, said he had called an emergency consultation with his security team for Sunday afternoon “to decide on a harsh offensive against Palestinian Islamic terrorism.” |
| “We are in an all-out war against terrorism and we will wage it aggressively,” Mr. Netanyahu posted on his Facebook page, denouncing Palestinian leaders who had described “the despicable terrorist in Jerusalem as a hero.” | “We are in an all-out war against terrorism and we will wage it aggressively,” Mr. Netanyahu posted on his Facebook page, denouncing Palestinian leaders who had described “the despicable terrorist in Jerusalem as a hero.” |
| The escalation on both sides came after weeks of intensifying violence and harsh political recriminations over the contested Old City compound surrounding the Al Aqsa Mosque. | The escalation on both sides came after weeks of intensifying violence and harsh political recriminations over the contested Old City compound surrounding the Al Aqsa Mosque. |
| Palestinian leaders, including the president of the Palestinian Authority,, Mahmoud Abbas, have accused Israel of trying to divide the site, revered by Jews as the Temple Mount and Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, though Mr. Netanyahu has consistently vowed not to change the status quo there, which bars non-Muslim prayer. | Palestinian leaders, including the president of the Palestinian Authority,, Mahmoud Abbas, have accused Israel of trying to divide the site, revered by Jews as the Temple Mount and Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, though Mr. Netanyahu has consistently vowed not to change the status quo there, which bars non-Muslim prayer. |
| Palestinians have praised the recent attacks as retribution for the increasing visits to the site by religious Jews, some of whom have called for the building of a third holy temple in place of the Dome of the Rock, an Islamic shrine, at the same site. | Palestinians have praised the recent attacks as retribution for the increasing visits to the site by religious Jews, some of whom have called for the building of a third holy temple in place of the Dome of the Rock, an Islamic shrine, at the same site. |
| Micky Rosenfeld, a police spokesman, said he did not know the last time similar restrictions had been imposed on entry to the Old City itself; the Israeli news site Haaretz said it was unprecedented. The authorities declared access to the ancient stone-walled complex of Christian, Jewish and Muslim holy sites and shopping bazaars limited for the next two days to Israeli citizens, tourists, and Palestinians who live, study or work there. | Micky Rosenfeld, a police spokesman, said he did not know the last time similar restrictions had been imposed on entry to the Old City itself; the Israeli news site Haaretz said it was unprecedented. The authorities declared access to the ancient stone-walled complex of Christian, Jewish and Muslim holy sites and shopping bazaars limited for the next two days to Israeli citizens, tourists, and Palestinians who live, study or work there. |
| “Those measures have been made in order to prevent any more attacks from taking place,” Mr. Rosenfeld said. | “Those measures have been made in order to prevent any more attacks from taking place,” Mr. Rosenfeld said. |
| The Old City had 37,710 residents in 2013, according to Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics, 28,180 of them in the Muslim quarter. It is one of the region’s top tourist destinations, as Christians retrace the path Jesus is said to have walked on the day of his crucifixion, along the Via Dolorosa, and Jews flock to the Western Wall, a remnant of the retaining wall that surrounded the ancient temple. | The Old City had 37,710 residents in 2013, according to Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics, 28,180 of them in the Muslim quarter. It is one of the region’s top tourist destinations, as Christians retrace the path Jesus is said to have walked on the day of his crucifixion, along the Via Dolorosa, and Jews flock to the Western Wall, a remnant of the retaining wall that surrounded the ancient temple. |
| On Sunday, hundreds of blue-clad Israeli police officers, and more heavily armed border guards in khaki uniforms, stood sentry at new barricades outside the Old City’s gates and patrolled its alleyways checking identification cards. The usually crammed Muslim quarter was eerily quiet; most shops were shuttered in a strike to protest the restrictions. At one point, officers tackled a young man near where the attack happened late Saturday, ordering friends who rushed to his defense to “get back” and then telling them all to “get out of here.” | |
| Other youths gathered around as a man scrubbed blood he said was from the previous night’s carnage off the floor of his shop. | |
| The authorities say that Muhanad Halabi, 19, a law student at Al Quds University, stabbed to death two Israeli men Saturday night, wounded one of their wives and shot and injured the couple’s toddler with a gun wrested from his father, before being shot dead by Israeli police. The men, who had been headed to the Western Wall to pray, were buried Sunday in Jerusalem. | |
| Separately, Mr. Rosenfeld said police officers at 4 a.m. Sunday fatally shot a resident of the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Issawiya. News reports and neighbors identified the man as Fadi Alon, 21. | Separately, Mr. Rosenfeld said police officers at 4 a.m. Sunday fatally shot a resident of the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Issawiya. News reports and neighbors identified the man as Fadi Alon, 21. |
| Video published on the Israeli news site Ynet showed the man running, with ultra-Orthodox Jews in pursuit, shouting “shoot him, shoot him” as the police arrived. | Video published on the Israeli news site Ynet showed the man running, with ultra-Orthodox Jews in pursuit, shouting “shoot him, shoot him” as the police arrived. |
| Mr. Rosenfeld said the man was fleeing after stabbing a 15-year-old Israeli who was walking down the street, injuring him, and had a knife in his hand when he was killed. Mohammad Dari, a resident of Issawiya, said Mr. Alon was walking home from work when Israelis screaming “Death to Arabs” chased him toward a police car. He said the officers exited the car and shot him. | Mr. Rosenfeld said the man was fleeing after stabbing a 15-year-old Israeli who was walking down the street, injuring him, and had a knife in his hand when he was killed. Mohammad Dari, a resident of Issawiya, said Mr. Alon was walking home from work when Israelis screaming “Death to Arabs” chased him toward a police car. He said the officers exited the car and shot him. |
| “Clashes are still going on and the situation here is very tense,” Mr. Dari said of Issawiya, a site of frequent tension and violence, adding that the police had blocked roads into the neighborhood. “We cannot even leave by foot. The area is under complete military closure. The residents of Issawiya have announced that today is a strike, no shops and no schools, and we are sitting at home waiting to see what will happen next.” | “Clashes are still going on and the situation here is very tense,” Mr. Dari said of Issawiya, a site of frequent tension and violence, adding that the police had blocked roads into the neighborhood. “We cannot even leave by foot. The area is under complete military closure. The residents of Issawiya have announced that today is a strike, no shops and no schools, and we are sitting at home waiting to see what will happen next.” |
| Meanwhile in Jenin, Montaser Abu Hajia, a resident of the refugee camp, said 29 Palestinians were injured early Sunday as Israeli soldiers stormed the home of a man involved with the militant Islamist group Hamas, arresting his brother and leaving the house in ashes. Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, a spokesman for the Israeli military, described the Jenin operation as “routine activity to arrest people involved in terrorism.” | Meanwhile in Jenin, Montaser Abu Hajia, a resident of the refugee camp, said 29 Palestinians were injured early Sunday as Israeli soldiers stormed the home of a man involved with the militant Islamist group Hamas, arresting his brother and leaving the house in ashes. Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, a spokesman for the Israeli military, described the Jenin operation as “routine activity to arrest people involved in terrorism.” |
| Colonel Lerner said the troops “believed there was an armed gunman barricading himself in” and that the building “caught fire,” noting that explosive devices were later found inside. He said residents of the camp hurled explosive devices at the soldiers, who responded with live ammunition. | Colonel Lerner said the troops “believed there was an armed gunman barricading himself in” and that the building “caught fire,” noting that explosive devices were later found inside. He said residents of the camp hurled explosive devices at the soldiers, who responded with live ammunition. |
| But Mr. Abu Hajia, a former president of the camp council, said the military struck the home “with a missile” and that it was “completely burnt down.” | But Mr. Abu Hajia, a former president of the camp council, said the military struck the home “with a missile” and that it was “completely burnt down.” |
| Nahum Barnea, Israel’s leading columnist, wrote in Sunday’s Yediot Aharonot newspaper that the recent wave of violence is indeed “an intifada, the third intifada,” and that it was occurring “not because of the absence of political hope, but because of an absence of any hope.” | Nahum Barnea, Israel’s leading columnist, wrote in Sunday’s Yediot Aharonot newspaper that the recent wave of violence is indeed “an intifada, the third intifada,” and that it was occurring “not because of the absence of political hope, but because of an absence of any hope.” |
| “It is important to call it by its name because not doing so allows the political and military establishment to avoid, deny and escape from responsibility,” Mr. Barnea said. “If the past is any indication of the future, the day is not far off when it will spill into the cities of Israel and will morph from the terrorism of knives, stones and firebombs to suicide-bomber terrorism.” | “It is important to call it by its name because not doing so allows the political and military establishment to avoid, deny and escape from responsibility,” Mr. Barnea said. “If the past is any indication of the future, the day is not far off when it will spill into the cities of Israel and will morph from the terrorism of knives, stones and firebombs to suicide-bomber terrorism.” |