Protests grow into wave of violence in West Bank, Israel

JERUSALEM

Israel began barring men under 50 from Al-Aqsa Mosque almost a month ago, on Sep. 13, and ever since there has been growing hostility in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

The decision, which limited Palestinian numbers at Islam's third holiest site during a period of consecutive Jewish holidays, was taken as an affront by Palestinians who believed it was part of an Israeli plan to wrest greater control of the site, which Jews also consider holy.

The clashes between Palestinian youth and security forces that began inside the mosque's compound have since spread to the rest of occupied East Jerusalm, the West Bank and even within Israel itself. Since Oct. 1, four Israelis and seven Palestinians have been killed.

While the rage over Al-Aqsa was the initial prompt for protests, they have grown stronger each time a Palestinian was shot dead and especially after Sunday's killing of 13-year-old Abd al-Rahman Mustafa, who had been returning from school when a bullet hit him in his chest.

Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic resistance movement, called the Israeli government a “gang” Thursday.

“The intended execution of the Israeli occupation of many Palestinians in the West Bank and Jerusalem proves that the Israeli government, headed by Benjamin Netanyahu, is a gang, which is far from the behavior of governments and states,” the movement said in a statement.

Since Oct. 1, when two Israeli settlers were shot dead in the West Bank, sparking more intense clashes, almost 800 Palestinians have been injured either by rubber-coated bullets or live fire from security forces, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent.

Israel responded to two stabbings in Jerusalem's Old City on Saturday, which killed two Israelis, by banning Palestinians from entering its confines for 48 hours.

Still, heavy security remains in the historic area, important for tourism and Palestinian businesses, and metal detectors were installed after seven stabbing attacks on Israelis on Wednesday and Thursday alone. Jersualem's Mayor Nir Barkat called for even further measures, telling Israelis with firearms licenses to carry a gun at all times.

Palestinian officials have argued that the wave of so-called lone wolf attacks are an outcome of Palestinian frustration with violence against them by Israeli security forces and settlers, especially in the occupied West Bank.

The Palestine Liberation Organization's Dr. Hanan Ashrawi on Sunday accused Israel of enforcing "collective punishment" on Palestinians and attempting to create the conditions for a military operation in the occupied Palestinian territories.

She also highlighted Palestinian anger at the alleged impunity of hardline Israeli settlers for regular attacks on Palestinians and their land.

The worst was in Duma, a West Bank town where radical Israeli settlers set fire to the home of the Dawabsheh family in July, killing the father, mother and 18-month-old baby.

Palestinians have been angered that months later, no suspects have been arrested. According to Israeli media, it was the Dawabsheh that motivated the alleged Hamas members arrested for the Oct. 1 killing of two settlers.

The Sep. 22 killing of 18-year-old Hadeel Hashlamon at a military checkpoint in Hebron also caused more protests after eyewitnesses refuted military claims that she tried to stab a soldier.

While Israel has accused Palestinian factions of inciting the stabbing attacks on Israelis, Hamas, have said they are being carried out by individuals as a "natural response to occupation and settler crimes against Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Palestinian people."

Three times in the same period rockets have been fired from Gaza into Israel, though not by Hamas, which the Israeli military responded to by bombing targets within Gaza.

Israeli media also reported on Sep. 20 that more batteries of the Iron Dome system, which intercepts missiles, had been installed along the Gaza border because of the rising tension around Al-Aqsa.

More than 2,100 Palestinians were killed when the Israeli military conducted an air and ground offensive in Gaza last year, with the stated aim of stopping rocket fire from the area.

- Anadolu Agency's Ali Abo-Rezeg contributed to this report.