Jerusalem // Israel barred Palestinians from Jerusalem’s Old City on Sunday in a rare and drastic move as tensions mounted following attacks that killed two Israelis and wounded a child.
Tensions have flared in recent weeks over an Old City holy site sacred to Muslims and Jews, a series of so-called “lone wolf” attacks on Israelis and a security clampdown, which on Sunday saw Israeli troops launch a bloody arrest raid in the West Bank.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday night that Israel was “waging a fight to the death against Palestinian terror”, and ordered tough new measures, including speeding up the “demolition of terrorists’ homes”.
The latest spike in violence comes at a time when many Palestinians no longer believe statehood through negotiations with Israel is possible. Israeli commentators raised the possibility of a third uprising, though Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas has so far prevented major outbreaks of violence despite his growing friction with Mr Netanyahu.
The restrictions will be in place for two days, police said. Palestinians who live, work and study within the Old City, as well as Israelis and tourists, will be allowed in.
Worship at the sensitive Al Aqsa mosque compound will be restricted to Old City residents and Palestinians who are Israeli citizens, and limited to men aged 50 and above. There will be no age restrictions on women. They will be allowed to enter through one specific gate.
There was no immediate reaction from Palestinian officials.
The Palestine Red Crescent said on Sunday that 77 Palestinians had been wounded from both live rounds and rubber bullets during clashes with Israeli security forces and Jewish settlers over the past 24 hours.
Eighteen people were wounded from live rounds and 59 from rubber bullets, Red Crescent spokeswoman Errab Foqaha said.
Another 139 have been treated for tear gas inhalation and six for injuries sustained in beatings by soldiers or settlers, she said.
The latest violence follows recent clashes at the Al Aqsa compound and surrounding the Old City, as well as the murder in the West Bank of a Jewish settler couple in front of their young children.
On Saturday night, a Palestinian killed two Israeli men and wounded a woman and a toddler in a knife and gun attack in the Old City. Police shot dead the attacker, who the Islamic Jihad group claimed was one of their militants.
In a separate incident on Saturday, a Palestinian man stabbed a passer-by in west Jerusalem before being shot dead by police while he was fleeing the scene. The victim was wounded, police said.
Israel captured the Old City and east Jerusalem in the 1967 war, and later annexed the areas. Palestinians claim east Jerusalem as the capital of their hoped-for state.
Some 300,000 Palestinians live in Jerusalem, making up about a third of the city’s population. They live in the predominantly Arab eastern district and have residency status in the city, but do not hold Israeli citizenship.
They are usually free to enter the Old City in east Jerusalem, where major Muslim, Christian and Jewish holy sites are located. Jerusalem expert Danny Seidemann said it is the first time since Israel captured the Old City in 1967 that it has prevented Jerusalem’s Palestinians from entering.
Mr Netanyahu was to return from the United States on Sunday and hold consultations with defence minister Moshe Yaalon. His security cabinet is also due to meet on Monday, after the end of the Jewish Sukkot holiday, Israeli media reported.
There have been fears that the sporadic violence could spin out of control, with some warning of the risk of a third Palestinian intifada, or uprising.
Last week, in his address to the UN General Assembly, Mr Abbas said he was no longer bound by previous accords with Israel, accusing the Israeli government of violating them.
* Agence France-Presse and Associated Press
