In an unprecedented move, Israeli security forces on Sunday barred Palestinians from entering the Old City after last week’s fatal stabbing of an off-duty Israeli soldier and a well-known rabbi.
The closure of the Old City to Palestinians comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to launch “a harsh offensive on Palestinian Islamic terror.”
“We are in an all-out war against terror,” he said.
Sunday brought waves of arrests of Palestinians and violent demonstrations across the West Bank, with local media reporting that more than 70 Palestinians were injured by rubber bullets and live rounds during clashes..
Israeli police say the Old City closure was intended to protect visitors arriving to celebrate the Jewish festival of Sukkot.
Israel and the West Bank have been on edge since a deadly knife attack late Saturday and the fatal drive-by shooting of an Israeli couple driving in the West Bank on Thursday.
According to Israeli police, a Palestinian teen attacked an off-duty Israeli soldier, his wife and their young daughter near the Lion’s Gate in the Old City on Saturday night.
