Minister promises to reinforce riot-battered Jerusalem

Jerusalem’s security forces are to get reinforcements to combat a continued rise in violence, Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch said Tuesday, as riots in the capital erupted for a third day running.

Aharonovitch did not provide details about the type of reinforcements the city would receive in the wake of violent riots in the capital, following the Sunday death of an East Jerusalem teen shot by police during a demonstration last week.

“The residents are right if they feel a lack of security following stone-throwing and harassment,” he said as he toured several sites damaged by rioters in recent days, including the Jerusalem light rail and a gas station.

“It is [the government’s] responsibility to give them security. In Jerusalem there are still complicated events, the district has gotten and will get reinforcements.”

Shortly after he left, though, masked youths again hurled stones at police and at the light rail in the Shuafat refugee camp in East Jerusalem Tuesday afternoon before being dispersed by police.

In Abu Dis, a Palestinian town partially inside the city’s municipal boundaries, an Israeli border police officer was lightly injured during clashes with protesters Tuesday.

Riots broke out Sunday following the death of Muhammad Abd al-Majid Sunuqrut, 16, who was shot during clashes in Jerusalem with Israeli security forces a week earlier.

The intense protests included rock-throwing and the ransacking of a French Hill gas station.

On Monday, clashes broke out again in Shuafat and Wadi Joz following Sunruqut’s funeral.

While the minister sought to ease the fears of Jerusalem residents, police district commander Yossi Pariente acknowledged that it was impossible to put a stop to all incidents.

“I don’t expect this to be the last incident, I’m not naive… It is impossible to reach zero incidents,” he said, according to Israeli news source NRG.

Aharonovitch also addressed the threat of the Islamic State jihadist organization in Israel. He acknowledged that there were signs of local activity, but maintained that it was not yet a serious threat and the police would deal with it accordingly.

On Monday, Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino said his forces would vigorously root out any supporters of IS, while asserting that the group had yet to reach Israel in any form.

According to a new report by the Shin Bet security service, violence in Jerusalem has risen dramatically since the murder of Palestinian teen Muhammed Abu Khdeir by three Jewish Israelis and the start of Operation Protective Edge in the Gaza Strip. In July there were 83 security incidents in Jerusalem, compared to just 11 in May and June.