By Anees Barghouthy
RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) – Three Israeli settlers were killed on Friday in an alleged stabbing attack in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, according to the Israeli army.
“A Palestinian infiltrated a private home in the community of Neve Tsuf, northwest of Ramallah, and stabbed four Israeli civilians,” according to an army statement.
“Three of the victims died as a result of their wounds, and another was evacuated to the hospital,” it said.
The Palestinian attacker, according to the army, was shot and injured.
Early Friday, three Palestinian men were shot dead and hundreds of others were injured in Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem.
The killings came as Palestinians and Israeli security forces clashed after security restrictions were placed on the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society, for its part, said that the injury toll was 391; apart from wounds from live ammunition, rubber bullets and tear gas, some victims said they were run over by Israeli armed forces vehicles.
Other clashes between angry Palestinian youths and Israeli forces broke out in several cities across the West Bank after Friday prayers.
Protests broke out on Sunday after the mosque’s leadership spoke out against metal detectors which were installed following a gun attack last week that left three Palestinians and two Israeli police officers dead.
The measures led to a wave of anger among Palestinians, who called for the immediate removal of the detectors. However, Israel has refused to back down, saying the detectors match security measures at other holy sites around the world.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Six-Day War. It later annexed the city in 1980, claiming all of Jerusalem as the Jewish state’s “eternal” capital — a move never recognized by the international community.
Sacred to Muslims, Jews, and Christians, Jerusalem is home to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which for Muslims represents the world’s third-holiest site.
