Israel deploys troops to deal with attacks

Associated Press

JERUSALEM

Hundreds of soldiers fanned out in cities across Israel on Wednesday, and authorities erected concrete barriers outside some Arab neighborhoods of east Jerusalem in a stepped-up effort to counter a monthlong wave of Palestinian violence that has seen near-daily attacks.

Despite the escalated security, two assaults were reported Wednesday – the stabbing of a 70-year-old Israeli woman outside a crowded Jerusalem bus station and the attempted knifing of police officers outside the Old City.

The enhanced measures came as Israel struggles to contain the spiraling violence, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces heavy pressure from hard-liners in his governing coalition to stamp out the attacks. The Palestinians called the new measures “collective punishment” that would only further enflame tensions.

The military’s deployment of six companies to back up thousands of police marks the first implementation of steps approved by Israel’s security Cabinet early Wednesday, which also include stripping attackers of their Jerusalem residency rights and demolishing assailants’ homes. The Cabinet also authorized police to impose closures on centers of friction and incitement in Jerusalem.

Israel has been unable to stop the attacks, carried out mostly by young Palestinians apparently acting spontaneously with no affiliation to or backing from organized militant groups. That, coupled with the frequency of the attacks, which have killed eight Israelis this month, including three Tuesday, has unnerved Israelis who fear the violence could deteriorate into another Palestinian uprising.

Palestinian leaders say the violence is the result of frustration and lack of hope for ending nearly 50 years of occupation and gaining independence.

Israeli police said 300 soldiers had been deployed in cities across Israel, joining a reinforced force of some 4,000 police officers already patrolling the streets and bus routes of Jerusalem. On Wednesday, police were seen waving through a line of cars as cranes placed concrete blocks at the entrances to Arab neighborhoods in east Jerusalem, where many of the assailants are from.

“I think all the decisions we took ... will lead eventually to us being able to restore calm,” Israeli Interior Minister Silvan Shalom told Israeli Channel 2 TV news.

But even with the heightened security, more violence hit Jerusalem on Wednesday.

Police said the 70-year-old woman was wounded in a knife attack as she boarded a bus outside Jerusalem’s central bus station. Forces on the scene shot and killed the attacker, who Israel’s internal security service Shin Bet said was a 23-year-old Palestinian resident of Jerusalem who had been jailed from 2012 until earlier this year.

Earlier, police shot and killed a 19-year-old Palestinian from the West Bank city of Hebron who they said had attempted to stab police officers outside Jerusalem’s Old City.