Molotov cocktails thrown in Jerusalem, West Bank

Jerusalem saw more unrest Sunday, even as police reinforcements streamed to the city and officials vowed to crack down on the violence.

Demonstrators marching to the Silwan home of the terrorist who ran over Israeli rail passengers last week threw rocks at policemen, who responded with crowd-dispersing methods, according to the Israel Police.

Police arrested several suspects.

The protests came as a second victim of the Wednesday terror attack succumbed to her wounds, raising the death toll to two.

Also Sunday evening, Palestinians threw four Molotov cocktails at an Israeli bus traveling near the city of Halhul, north of Hebron. No injuries were reported.

A Molotov cocktail was hurled at police in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Hanina. No injuries were reported in that incident either.

Rocks were thrown at an Israeli car traveling near Karnei Shomron, Israel Radio reported. No one was injured, but the car was damaged.

The violence came amid several days of ongoing violence in the capital, which has seen several serious flare-ups of protests in East Jerusalem over the last several months.

On Wednesday, Abdelrahman al-Shaludi, a Silwan resident and Hamas member, drove his car into a crowd of people disembarking from the Jerusalem Light Rail at the Ammunition Hill station, killing two and injuring seven, in what officials said was a terror attack.

The driver was shot by police as he fled the scene and later died of his wounds, leading to riots in Jerusalem and the West Bank over the weekend.

Earlier Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed riots in Jerusalem on “Islamic extremists” and promised to restore order, as police braced for renewed unrest around the funeral of Shaludi.

Netanyahu said Jerusalem would be reinforced with some 1,000 policemen, special forces and troops from the Border Police gendarme force, as days of violent protests gave way to fears that a funeral for a slain terrorist would lead to more riots.

“We cannot allow a situation to emerge in which people are hurling stones, throwing Molotov cocktails and disturbing the peace,” Netanyahu said at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting Sunday. “This isn’t coincidental. There are Islamic extremist elements that are trying to ignite Israel’s capital, and we will operate with all the force needed, with determination and responsibility, so they won’t succeed. I expect here the full support from all Israeli citizens in order to protect Israel’s capital.”

Police deployed “at least 400-500” extra police “to prevent and respond to any incident,” police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said Sunday.

The head of the police operations unit said Saturday that 2,000 troops would be maintained in the capital, with 1,000 tasked with quelling the unrest, the website NRG reported.

There were also reports of assailants throwing stones early Sunday at the Jerusalem Light Rail in the East Jerusalem neighborhoods of Beit Hanina and Shuafat, causing damage to the train, but no injuries.

Shaludi was originally set to be buried at a Muslim cemetery near the Old City’s Lions’ Gate at 10 p.m. Saturday after a court authorized a service to be attended by a maximum of 80 people, for fear the event could turn into a violent protest.

However, police postponed the burial and rescheduled it Sunday for a time window between 11 p.m. and midnight with only 20 mourners, whose names would have to be submitted to police in advance, in attendance.

An autopsy by Palestinian investigators contended that Shaludi died because he was not given medical care and transferred to a hospital quickly enough, according to Mohammed Mahmud, the family’s attorney.

His family has threatened to postpone the funeral until restrictions on the funeral are lifted.

Tensions have been high since June, when three Israeli teenagers were kidnapped and killed by Palestinian terrorists in the West Bank. Jewish extremists retaliated by kidnapping and killing a Palestinian teenager in East Jerusalem, sparking riots. The kidnappings set off a series of events that led to the 50-day Gaza war.

Times of Israel staff and news agencies contributed to this report.