Israeli medics evacuate an injured police officer at the scene of the stabbing attack. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Palestinian terror attacks and riots continued throughout the weekend, including two stabbing attacks that wounded five Israelis in the capital.
The wave of Palestinian terror attacks persisted over the weekend, with two Palestinians carrying out two stabbing attacks in Jerusalem.
In the first attack, a Palestinian stabbed and wounded two ultra-Orthodox Jews, aged 62 and 65, as they were returning from praying at the Kotel (Western Wall) in the Old City.
Police were alerted to the scene by a bystander, and they shot and killed the 16-year-old terrorist, who was later identified by the Shabak (Israek’s Security Agency) as Ishak Badran of Kafr Aqab in Jerusalem.
The two victims were lightly wounded and evacuated for treatment in a hospital in the capital.
An Israeli reporter happened to be on site as the attack occurred and documented it. Her documentation shows the Palestinian vendors who witnessed the attack tried to assist the terrorist in escaping, but did not offer initial treatment to the victims. Police said they are investigating.
Hours later, and only a short distance from the first attack, Muhammad Said Muhammad, 19, from Shuafat in Jerusalem, stabbed two police officers, critically wounding one of them in the neck before being shot dead by other officers.
Police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld said other police forces opened fire and killed the attacker, but also wounded one of their own. Three officers were taken to a hospital, one in serious condition.
Rosenfeld also said that Israeli police in an Arab neighborhood in Jerusalem came under attack overnight and responded with gunfire, hitting a 25-year-old terrorist. Health officials later confirmed the man had died of his wounds.
Violent riots broke out after the man’s funeral, and terrorists hurled rocks and firebombs at police, who responded with fire. Two rioters were lightly wounded.
Terror Throughout Israel
Riots also broke out at several points in Judea and Samaria
In Ramallah, rioters hurled rocks at Israeli troops, who responded with tear gas.
In Hebron, thousands took part in two funeral processions for Palestinians who were killed while carrying out terror attacks in recent days.
Late on Saturday, the Palestinian Red Crescent medical service said a 28-year-old Palestinian in the village of Beit Omar, near Hebron, died from wounds sustained in clashes Thursday.
Some 1,500 people gathered in the Israeli-Arab city of Nazareth Saturday to demonstrate solidarity with the Palestinians. Other protests also took place in different Arab cities in Israel, where masked demonstrators assaulted police.
Recent days have seen a series of attacks by Palestinian terrorists wielding household items like kitchen knives, screwdrivers and even a vegetable peeler. The terrorists had no prior links to terror groups and have targeted Israeli soldiers and civilians at random, complicating efforts by Israeli security forces to predict or prevent the attacks.
A Palestinian rioters hurls stones during clashes at Israeli forces outside Beit El. (Flash90)
The violence, including an apparent revenge attack in which a reportedly deranged Israeli stabbed and wounded four Arabs on Friday, as well as increasing protests by Israel’s own Arab minority, has raised fears of a new Palestinian Intifada, or uprising.
Since the latest wave of terror began this month, four Israelis have been murdered in Palestinian terror attacks. At the start of the month, Palestinian terrorists shot two Israelis to death in front of their children. In a separate incident, a Palestinian wielding a knife killed two Israeli men and wounded a mother and toddler in Jerusalem before being shot dead.
At least eight Palestinians have been killed while carrying out terror attacks and 13 have been killed in riots and clashes in the Judea and Samaria and on the fence with Gaza.
The Red Crescent medical service says over 500 Palestinians have been wounded in violent protests in Judea and Samaria, including about 100 from live fire.
Security forces are on high alert in Jerusalem and around Israel, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the emergency call-up of reserve security forces in an attempt to contend with the ongoing string of Palestinian terror attacks.
By: Max Gelber, United with Israel
AP contributed to this report.