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US, EU condemn terror attacks; UN questions Israeli use of force

Netanyahu: ‘Terror doesn’t pay,’ Israel will be victorious; Thousands of Israeli Arabs rally in solidarity with Palestinians; East Jerusalem closure mulled after terror attacks kill three

By Elie Leshem and Jonathan Beck 13 October 2015, 10:25 am Edit

Police and emergency services respond to an attack in Jerusalem on October 13, 2015 after Palestinian rammed a vehicle into a bus stop then got out and started stabbing people. (AP/Oren Ziv)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the Knesset on Tuesday, October 13, 2015 (Knesset spokesperson)
Arab Israelis, some holding Palestinian flags, take part in a large demonstration as part of a general strike organized to support the Palestinians on October 13, 2015 in the northern Arab-Israeli town of Sakhnin (AFP PHOTO/JACK GUEZ)
Israelis attend the funeral for Rabbi Yeshayahu Krishevsky, killed when a Palestinian rammed his car into pedestrians in Jerusalem on Tuesday, October 13, 2015 (Yonatan Sindel/FLASH90)
Police guarding a bus after terrorists opened fire and stabbed passengers in Jerusalem on October 13, 2015. (Courtesy Police)
The windshield of a bus with a bullet hole, at the scene of a terror attack in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Armon Hanatziv, on Tuesday, October 13 2015. (Magen David Adom)
Knife used by the attacker on Malkei Yisrael street in Jerusalem on Oct. 13, 2015. One man died, another was injured in the attack. (Israel Police)
Rescue personnel stand near a victim who was killed in a terror attack in the Armon Hanatziv neighborhood of Jerusalem. October 13, 2015. (Yonatan Sindel/FLASH90)
The site of a terror attack in the Armon Hanatziv neighborhood of Jerusalem. (Yonatan Sindel/FLASH90)
Police and rescue personnel at the scene of a stabbing terror attack in Ra'anana on October 13, 2015. (Flash90)
Police and emergency medical services treat the victims of a terror attack in the Armon Hanatziv neighborhood in Jerusalem on Oct. 13, 2015. (Israel Police)

The Times of Israel liveblogged Tuesday’s events as they unfolded.

Stabbing attack in southern Jerusalem; terrorist shot

One man was lightly wounded in Jerusalem in a stabbing attack this morning.

The terrorist who stabbed the person was shot. It is not clear whether he is alive but according to reports no longer poses a threat.

The attack took place in Armon Hanatziv, a neighborhood of southern Jerusalem.

Car ramming terror attack in religious neighborhood of Jerusalem

Several people are wounded after a car ramming terror attack in Jerusalem.

The attack took place on Malchei Yisrael Street, a street in the ultra-Orthodox Makor Baruch neighborhood of the city.

Unclear whether car ramming is terror attack

With few details it is not clear whether a car ramming incident in Jerusalem is a terror attack or simply an accident in which the driver lost control of the vehicle.

Magen David Adom chief Eli Bin tells Channel 2 that five people are wounded.

Channel 2 reports minutes later that one man was killed.

Driver rams forcefully into pedestrians

Jerusalem attack on Malchei Yisrael Street is lookingto be a deliberate attack.

One man was killed, two others are badly wounded.

Magen David Adom paramedics are at the scene.

Holon attack apparently not terror-related

Channel 2 reports that a shooting attack in Holon this morning was criminally-motivated and unrelated to terrorism.

16 wounded in Jerusalem attack on bus

In a terror attack that took place on a bus in the Armon Hanatziv neighborhood of Jerusalem 16 people were wounded, six of them seriously.

A senior official with Hatzolah says two terrorists armed with guns boarded the bus and began a shooting spree.

One man who was critically wounded succumbed to his wounds at the scene.

The two terrorists were shot and badly wounded. They are being treated at the scene.

Details on Armon Hanatziv attack

One of the terrorists in an attack on a bus in the Armon Hanatziv neighborhood of Jerusalem was armed with a gun, another with a knife.

They boarded the bus and began a shooting and stabbing spree.

Border Police officers raided the bus and shot both terrorists.

A Channel 2 reporter says both terrorists are killed, but earlier a representative of the Hatzolah emergency service said they were badly wounded.

Another attack in Ra’anana

Two people are lightly wounded in another attack in Ra’anana.

This is the second attack in the city today.

The attacker — a stabber — was apprehended. He may have been shot. More details will follow.

Are these lone wolf attacks?

A Channel 2 analyst says the near synchronicity of attacks in Jerusalem, as well as the fact that the attack in Armon Hanatziv was perpetrated by a two-man team armed with a gun and a knife should “raise a red flag” regarding the existence of a guiding hand directing the attack.

Until now, security officials are refusing to define a wave of terror attacks as an intifada [Arabic for uprising], citing the lack of a guiding force directing the terrorists.

The simultaneous attacks in Jerusalem are also straining for emergency health services and the police.

Images from scene of Ra’anana attack

See photos from the Magen David Adom rescue service from the scene of the Ra’anana attack:

@Mdais photos of the second #Raanana stabbing attack (now). pic.twitter.com/zLgUhP5QxY

— MAGEN DAVID ADOM (@Mdais) October 13, 2015

Jerusalem-Tel Aviv road blocked for security reasons

The Traffic Department of Israel Police says that Route 1, the main artery between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv has been blocked due to security operations.

Police ask drivers to use different routes. The nature of the operations is not disclosed.

Bus attacked in Jerusalem is Egged line 78

The attack in Armon Hanatziv took place on an Egged line 78 bus.

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat is at the scene.

Another victim in Jerusalem

One of the wounded in the Jerusalem car ramming attack succumbs to his wounds and dies.

1 Armon Hanatziv terrorist killed, 1 wounded

Of the two terrorists in Jerusalem who attacked a bus in Armon Hanatziv, one is killed, one is wounded. Police say they are 22-24 years old.

The attack was declared a multiple casualty event.

Three people were evacuated from the scene in serious condition, excluding the terrorist.

One Israeli was killed.

There were others who suffered shock.

The combined terror attack by a stabber and a gunman is a coordinated attack, unprecedented in the terror wave of the last month.

Summary of this morning’s terror attacks

A summary of the series of near simultaneous terror attacks in Jerusalem and Ra’anana:

One person badly wounded and two lightly wounded in Ra’anana stabbing
One man killed and 16 wounded in Jerusalem bus attack in Armon Hanatziv, in a combined shooting and stabbing attack by two terrorists
One man killed and several — two or three — wounded on Malchei Yisrael Street in Jerusalem, in car ramming attack
One person lightly wounded in second Ra’anana stabbing

Jerusalem mayor wants ‘drastic measures’

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat says the government should take “drastic measures” to combat Palestinian terrorism.

He is interviewed at the scene of a terror attack in Armon Hanatziv, where a stabber and gunman raid a bus in a coordinated attack, and is visibly angry.

Inflammatory incitement & lies from mosques & Palestinian leaders is resulting in murder & terror in the streets of Jerusalem #ThisMustStop

— Mayor Nir Barkat (@NirBarkat) October 13, 2015

“We will not return to normalcy after this,” he says. What is needed “are drastic steps that will change reality. More can be done, drastic steps in coordination with the Shin Bet [security service] and the police. I will leave it to them to say what the steps will be,” he says.

Barkat says he will welcome even a closure of Jerusalem if necessary.

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat and Culture Minister Miri Regev seen at the scene of a stabbing attack in front of the Police National Headquarters in Jerusalem on October 12, 2015. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat and Culture Minister Miri Regev seen at the scene of a stabbing attack in front of the Police National Headquarters in Jerusalem on October 12, 2015. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)

Netanyahu convening security officials for urgent meeting

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is convening “top security officials” in Jerusalem to discuss the ongoing wave of terror, his aides tell The Times of Israel. In addition, he will meet with a senior visiting dignitary from Asia, they say, declining to specify.

The only event on his public schedule today is an appearance at an commemorative event at Mount Herzl in honor of the late right-wing minister Rehavam Zeevi, who was assassinated by Palestinian terrorists in 2001

— Raphael Ahren

Car ramming terrorist is a Bezeq employee, East J’lem resident

Alaa Abu Jamal, an East Jerusalem resident and an employee of the Bezeq phone company, is the terrorist who ran over people on Malchei Yisrael Street.

He rammed his car into a bus stop, then exited the vehicle and tried to stab more people.

Israel closes Erez Crossing into Gaza

Israel closes the Erez Border Crossing between Gaza and Israel in light of a 200-person riot, about 100 meters from the border fence, according to the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories.

— Judah Ari Gross

Witness says Armon Hanatziv attack was attempt to hijack bus

A man who helped fight the terrorists in Armon Hanatziv says they were planning to hijack the bus.

One of the terrorists stood near the driver and threatened him, he says.

The witness says he overtook the bus with his car and blocked it, forcing the driver to hit the brakes.

At this point, the terrorist — one of two — went to the back of the bus and brought a gun.

The witness says by this time police officers arrived at the scene.

The man’s account of events is not yet corroborated by police.

Hotovely says PA ‘has lost right to exist’

In light of today’s escalating violence against Israeli civilians, Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely says the Palestinian Authority has lost its right to exist, adding that PA President Mahmoud Abbas bears responsibility for the ongoing terror.

She also calls on the Israeli government to stop transferring money to the PA.

“The blood of Israeli citizens is on Abu Mazen’s hands, and of those of his men who incite children to go out and murder,” she says, using Abbas’ nom de guerre. She is referring to his spokesperson, Nabil Abu Roudina, who reportedly praised the 13-year-old Palestinian who stabbed an Israeli teenager yesterday on his bike.

“The Palestinian Authority has lost the right to exist. Instead of preventing violence, it is a hothouse for radical Islam that hurts Israelis on a daily basis,” she says.

— Raphael Ahren

Tzipi Hotovely on January 27, 2015 (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Tzipi Hotovely on January 27, 2015 (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Erdan weighs closure of East Jerusalem neighborhoods

Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan will meet with security officials to discuss several measures in light of recent events.

A number of immediate steps that can be taken include closing off some East Jerusalem neighborhoods and making it easier for citizens to obtain gun licenses.

— Judah Ari Gross

Bezeq ‘shocked’ at terrorist employee

The Bezeq phone company issues a statement after the terror attack in Jerusalem, perpetrated by an East Jerusalem resident working for the company:

Bezeq expresses deep shock following the terror attack in Jerusalem on Malchei Yisrael Street and from the terror activity of a company employee (who was killed during the attack).

We are shocked by this heinous act, express our revulsion at it and deeply empathize with the families of the dead and pray for the speedy recovery of the wounded.

The company says there was no prior indication that the terrorist was planning to carry out the attack.

Science minister slams world’s silence

Science Minister Ofir Akunis lambastes the international community to failing to condemn the current wave of terror.

Addressing an international space conference in Jerusalem, Akunis said that Israeli citizens are currently suffering “an attack unparalleled in violence and barbarism,” calling on participants to speak out against these acts.

“There is no excuse in the world to justify the murder of innocent children. The silence of the international community is regrettable and worrying. The fact there no one condemns the Palestinians spreading lies that increase murderous terror, is a warning signal to the entire free world,” the minister says.

— Raphael Ahren

Paramedic describes scene in Armon Hanatziv

A Magen David Adom paramedic describes the moments after he arrived at the scene of a terror attack in Armon Hanatziv this morning:

“When we arrived at the scene of the event, there was a large commotion and we heard the sounds of gunfire. We immediately entered the bus in order to start bringing people out and giving the victims medical care,” MDA paramedic Aharon Adler said.

“We began giving life-saving treatment to the injured. We gave CPR to a middle-aged man in critical condition with a gunshot wound to the torso and sent him to Shaare Zedek Hospital. Along the way doctors continued giving him CPR and are fighting to save his life,” he said.

— Judah Ari Gross

Netanyahu will not attend event in memory of late minister

In light of the security situation, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cancels his planned participation in an event in memory of the late minister Rehavam Zeevi. He will be replaced by Tourism Minister Yariv Levin.

Netanyahu will convene his security cabinet this afternoon to “take additional decisions in light of the ongoing terror,” his office announces.

— Raphael Ahren

Man wounded in Armon Hanatziv succumbs to injuries

Doctors pronounced the death of a 45-year-old man who was critically wounded at the scene of Armon Hanatziv. He received CPR on the scene and was sent to Shaare Zedek Hospital.

He is the second victim to die in the attack.

— Judah Ari Gross

Armon Hanatziv: 2 dead; 9 hospitalized

The Armon Hanatziv attack has now claimed two fatalities:

Paramedics performed CPR and tried to save the life of a 60-year-old man, but in the end were forced to pronounce him dead on the scene.

In addition, 10 people were sent to Jerusalem hospitals. One of these, a 45-year-old man, was critically wounded. He received CPR on the scene and was sent to Shaare Zedek Hospital. But he was pronounced dead in the hospital.

A 60-year-old woman and a 40-year-old woman were seriously injured with stab wounds to the upper body. They were sent to Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital.

Another 60-year-old woman and a 30-year-old man were moderately injured with stab wounds to the upper body.

Three people were lightly injured and two people suffered from shock.

— Judah Ari Gross

Rescue personnel stand near a victim who was killed in a terror attack in the Armon Hanatziv neighborhood of Jerusalem. October 13, 2015. (Yonatan Sindel/FLASH90)

Rescue personnel stand near a victim who was killed in a terror attack in the Armon Hanatziv neighborhood of Jerusalem. October 13, 2015. (Yonatan Sindel/FLASH90)

List of dead and wounded in car ramming attack

Paramedics at the scene of the attack on Malchei Yisrael street in Jerusalem gave life-saving treatment to a 40-year-old man, but in the end had to pronounce the man dead on the scene.

The medics treated an additional eight people. Another 40-year-old man was moderately to seriously injured with wounds to the upper body. He was sent to Shaare Zedek Hospital. A 35-year-old man was moderately injured with gunshot wounds to the limbs. He was also sent to Shaare Zedek Hostpital.

Another 40-year-old man was lightly injured with wounds to the face.

Five people at the scene suffered from shock. Two were sent to Shaare Zedek. Three were sent to Hadassah Mount Scopus Hospital.

— Judah Ari Gross

Stabbing in northern city of Kiryat Ata

According to initial police reports, one person was lightly injured in a stabbing attack in Kiryat Ata in northern Israel. The attacker has been caught.

This is a breaking news event. The background of the attack is still being investigated.

— Judah Ari Gross

Shooting reported at Jordan border crossing near Eilat

A shooting is being reported at the Rabin border terminal near the southern resort city of Eilat on the border with Jordan.

No details are yet known about possible injuries or an attacker.

Funeral of J’lem car ramming attack victim to begin at 2 p.m.

The man murdered in a terror attack on Malchei Yisrael Street in Jerusalem was Yeshayahu Kirshavski.

His funeral will begin soon, at 2 p.m., at the Pinsk Karlin Synagogue in the Beit Yisrael neighborhood of Jerusalem.

One Armon Hanatziv terrorist is freed Hamas prisoner

One of the terrorists who carried out a terror attack on a bus in Armon Hanatziv is a Hamas operative who was released from prison.

Zionist Union MK: Deploy infantry in major cities

MK Yoel Hasson (Zionist Union) calls on the cabinet to deploy IDF infantry battalions in city centers where there has been “intelligence warning” against terror attacks.

“The IDF is a defense force. Right now the citizens of Israel need defense in the home front which has become the battle front,” he says.

The extreme measure Hasson is offering has not been implemented since the Six Day War in 1967, when Israel retook the city of Jerusalem from the Jordanians. Police are expected to recommend that the government impose a closure on Palestinian villages and neighborhoods near Jerusalem, however.

Eilat ‘shots fired’ report was just shooting range

Earlier reports of shots fired in Eilat were made by someone who did not realize that there was a shooting range nearby, the IDF reports.

Video: Citizens overcome Ra’anana terrorist

See footage of civilians overcoming a knife-wielding terrorist in Ra’anana. Some can be seen kicking the attacker, who at this point is on the ground.

Kiryat Ata stabbing was Jewish ‘revenge’ attack – mistakenly against a Jew

A stabbing in Kiryat Ata outside the IKEA branch there reported earlier was apparently a nationally motivated attack by a Jewish man who stabbed another Jew thinking the victim was an Arab.

The attacker was arrested by police.

Herzog urges ‘aggressive war’ on terrorism

Opposition leader Isaac Herzog (Zionist Union) writes on Facebook that the government should “stop stuttering and start acting.”

Herzog says he will support the government from the benches of the opposition if it imposes a closure on Palestinian neighborhoods and “locations of friction” in Jerusalem, and if it “widely deploys military and police forces and recruits reserve soldiers to the extent necessary.”

The leader of the Labor party calls for “an aggressive war militarily, legally and via intelligence against Islamic websites and web incitement and temporary closure of the Temple Mount to all visitors.”

“We must think ahead of the day after, on regional and diplomatic steps that will restore calm,” he writes.

File: Zionist Union leader Isaac Herzog speaks during a party meeting at the Knesset on July 27, 2015. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

File: Zionist Union leader Isaac Herzog speaks during a party meeting at the Knesset on July 27, 2015. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Arab League calls on world to ‘protect’ Palestinians

Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby calls on the international community to provide “protection” to the Palestinians in their struggle with Israel.

Elaraby claims Israel is engaging in “terrorism” against the Palestinians, during an emergency meeting of the Arab League in Egypt, the Ynet news site reports.

Jerusalem attacker was related to Har Nof terrorists

Alaa Abu Jamal, who carried out a car ramming attack earlier today in Jerusalem, was related to two men who massacred Israelis in a synagogue in the capital’s Har Nof neighborhood a year ago.

Abu Jamal, of Jabel Mukaber, killed a Jewish man in the attack before he was killed by police.

The Ynet news site runs an interview with Abu Jamal (in Hebrew), taped in the wake of last year’s attack, in which he praised the terrorists, who were also killed by police at the scene of their attack.

Arab legal rights group warns against ‘collective punishment’ in Jerusalem

The Adalah NGo for Arab-Israeli legal rights decries Israeli politicians’ proposal of a closure in East Jerusalem neighborhoods amid unabated attacks against Jews in the city.

“This step is collective punishment that violates the basic rights of these villages as well as international law,” Adalah says in a statement. “The closure compounds other steps taken by the Israeli government in recent weeks that deepen the oppression that has been ongoing for 48 years and escalates the situation.”

Sweden condemns attacks on Israelis

The foreign minister of Sweden, Margot Wallström, speaks out against Palestinian terrorism attacks against Israeli civilians. On her Twitter account, she says perpetrators should be prosecuted and calls on leaders to “act responsibly.”

Sweden was the first Western European nation to formally recognize the State of Palestine, which caused tensions at the time with the Israeli government.

Escalating violence in Jerusalem. Attacks against civilians unacceptable. Bring perpetrators to justice. Leaders must act responsibly.

— Margot Wallström (@margotwallstrom) October 13, 2015

— Raphael Ahren

Video: Security guard shoots Jerusalem terrorist

Footage emerges of an Israeli security guard shooting a Palestinian man moments after the man carried out a car ramming attack in Jerusalem, killing an Israeli.

The attacker was killed.

Turkey decries Israeli use of ‘disproportionate force’

Turkey “strongly condemns” Israel for its “provocative and arbitrary practices” and accuses it of wielding “disproportionate force” against Palestinians, according to Turkey’s Hurriyet newspaper.

“We strongly condemn Israeli security forces’ use of disproportionate force in these incidents which have developed as a result of Israel’s insistence on practices against status quo,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry reportedly says in a statement, referring to attacks against Israelis that have been linked to Palestinian allegations that Israel is trying to change the arrangements at Jerusalem’s volatile Temple Mount compound.

“The only way to prevent escalation of the tension is Israel abiding by rules of international law in Palestinian territories which it keeps under occupation and, within this framework, it giving an immediate end to provocative and arbitrary practices which target status and holiness of the al-Haram al-Sharif,” the statement adds.

Jerusalem right-wing protest called off

Right-wing activists who have been camping out in front of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s official residence, in protest over his supposedly lax reaction to the escalating security situation, cancel a demonstration called for this evening.

The activists say they called off the event, and will also be dismantling their protest tent, due to attacks that killed three Israelis in Jerusalem today.

Jerusalem attack victim being laid to rest

Thousands are attending the Jerusalem funeral for Yeshayahu Kirshavski, 60, who was killed by a Palestinian in a car ramming attack in the city earlier today.

His funeral is taking place at the Pinsk Karlin Synagogue in the Beit Yisrael neighborhood of Jerusalem.

Mayor Nir Barkat is in attendance, reports say.

Top Arab MK urges ‘incitement’ probe of Netanyahu

Joint (Arab) List leader Ayman Odeh demands that Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein initiate an investigation of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, alleging that Netanyahu defamed his party and incited violence against Arabs.

Leader of the Joint (Arab) List Ayman Odeh (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Leader of the Joint (Arab) List Ayman Odeh (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

During a speech Monday, Netanyahu spoke out against Arab Knesset members, accusing some of them of inciting a recent wave of attacks against Israelis. He also characterized the Balad party, part of the larger Joint List, as “communists with a trail of Islamic State flags in their wake.”

Netanyahu has himself said that he will advance a criminal investigation of Join List MK Hanin Zoabi, who made comments that appeared to urge more attacks against Israelis.

In a letter to Weinstein, Odeh writes, “Instead of spreading lies, the prime minister should have shown support for the Joint List Knesset members who firmly condemn the Islamic State terror group and repeatedly voice their opposition to bloodshed and the killing of innocents.”

Gaza teens indicted for breaching fence

Four Palestinian teenagers are indicted in a Beersheba juvenile court after they crossed from Gaza into Israel earlier this week along with dozens of other rioters on Sunday.

The four, who are all 15 years old, stand accused of damaging the fence, penetrating some 100 meters into Israel, and then hiding in bushes.

They were arrested by IDF soldiers.

Video: Instructions for treating stab victims

Israel’s Magen David Adom first aid service publishes a video with instructions to citizens on how to administer potentially life-saving emergency treatment to victims of stabbing attacks.

Rally of Israeli teens demands ‘revenge’

A Times of Israel reporter says that a large group of Israeli teens is currently marching up Agrippas Street in Jerusalem, chanting “Death to Arabs” and “Revenge.”

Gaza protesters breach border fence with Israel

Dozens of Palestinians break through the border fence separating Israel and Gaza during a violent demonstration in the southern Strip, the IDF says.

The riot began several hours ago and is ongoing, the army says.

Troops on the scene are using nonlethal riot control measures to force the Gaza residents back, an IDF spokeswoman says. Measures include tear gas, rubber bullets and other means besides live rounds.

Earlier today a separate violent demonstration took place in the northern Gaza Strip.

— Judah Ari Gross

Military car comes under fire near Gaza

Palestinians in Gaza fired at the vehicle of a senior IDF officer near the border, the army says.

No one was injured but the car was damaged.

Earlier this week, another Israeli car was targeted in a similar shooting attack.

Israel lambastes ‘one-sided’ UNRWA statement

The Foreign Ministry slams UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, over a “one-sided” statement it released yesterday about the current violence in Israel.

“This statement is one-sided and anti-Israel, ignoring completely and absurdly the wave of Palestinian terrorism and attacks on Israeli civilians,” the ministry’s spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon says. “UNRWA sins against its designation and turns itself into, not for the first time, a political mouthpiece and a pawn of the Palestinians.”

UNRWA’s statement, published Monday by spokesman Chris Gunness, said the organization is “deeply alarmed by the escalating violence and widespread loss of civilian life in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and in Israel.” It then went on to list, in some detail, the deaths and injuries of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank at the hands of Israeli troops.

It criticizes Israel’s use of live ammunition, saying it raises “serious concerns about the excessive use of force that may be contrary to international law enforcement standards.”

The statement did not mention at all the various incidents in which Palestinian terrorists attacked, and in several cases killed, Israeli civilians.

— Raphael Ahren

Thousands of Arab Israelis rally in solidarity with Palestinians

An Arab Israeli general strike in solidarity with the Palestinians culminates in a large rally, featuring a crowd of some 20,000 including community leaders and politicians, in the northern city of Sakhnin.

Knesset member Jamal Zahalka is among those to address the assembled crowd. He invokes the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, whose al-Aqsa Mosque is seen as the epicenter of the recent round of violence.

“Our demands are an immediate end to entry of right-wing lunatics into the al-Aqsa Mosque plaza, and a removal of all restrictions on the entry of Arabs and Muslims.”

Palestinians and some Israeli Arab leaders have been accusing Israel of seeking to facilitate Jewish prayer on the Mount — currently banned by police — in contravention of a 48-year status quo.

Palestinian mass protest in Sakhnin today, which is in 48 Israel. pic.twitter.com/DXd6pkov8P

— abushalom (@abushalom) October 13, 2015

Netanyahu: Israel will prevail

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses Israelis and details steps taken to counter the outburst of terrorism in Jerusalem and elsewhere.

He says Israel’s opponents will learn that “terror doesn’t pay” and that Israel is “here to stay, forever.”

Netanyahu calls on Mahmoud Abbas to stop “lying” about Israel’s actions. He claims the PA president is inciting by misrepresenting incidents in recent days, pointing to a 13-year-old Palestinian boy who stabbed Israelis in Jerusalem and was then filmed bleeding on the ground. Palestinians, he said, were circulating the video and claiming the boy was a martyr killed in cold blood while omitting the context — that he had first attacked and gravely wounded an Israeli boy his age — and the fact that the boy lived and was treated by Israeli medics.

Palestinian teen said killed in clash with IDF

Breaking Palestinian report say a Palestinian youth was killed in a clash with IDF soldiers near Rachel’s Tomb in the West Bank city of Bethlehem.

Other reports say three Palestinian protesters were wounded after hurtling rocks at soldiers near Hebron.

Netanyahu vows to revoke rights of terror abettors

More from Netanyahu’s stern speech in the Knesset:

Israel will settle its accounts with the murderers, with those who try murder and with those all those who assist them. Not only will we revoke rights from them; we will exact the full price… We will employ all means in order to bring quiet back to the citizens of Israel.

We are in the midst of a struggle. This is a struggle involving all of us, and we will withstand it together. We have known past terror waves and have withstood them. They did not attain their goal of destroying our country and they won’t succeed this time either.

I am positive that the actions that we will take will lead the other side to the realization that terror doesn’t pay. Israel is strong and will remain here forever.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the Knesset on Tuesday, October 13, 2015 (Knesset spokesperson)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the Knesset on Tuesday, October 13, 2015 (Knesset spokesperson)

‘Down with Israel,’ some Sakhnin protesters chant

Israeli Arab news site Panet reports that some demonstrators in Sakhnin are chanting “down with Israel.”

Another popular website, al-Arab, reports that a speech by MK Ahmad Tibi (Joint List) is interrupted by a group of young men who shout “Leadership, get out.”

Sakhnin Mayor Mazen Ghanaim says in a speech: “We have said that attacks on al-Aqsa are dangerous and like playing with fire, but the Israeli establishment did not listen to us and did not understand that we mean what we say.”

— Elhanan Miller

Jerusalem attacker a Hamas man freed by Israel

The Shin Bet security service identifies one of the attackers in today’s bus shooting attack in Jerusalem as a Hamas operative.

Majbel Machber, a 23-year-old from Jabel Mukaber in East Jerusalem, was imprisoned from 2013 to 2014 for his activities in the terror organization, the Shin Bet says.

He is undergoing interrogations.

A second attacker, a Fatah man, was killed by security forces at the scene. The Shin Bet identifies him as Baha Alian, also 23, also from Jabel Mukaber.

Click here for the full story on that attack and others on Tuesday.

— Judah Ari Gross

Bus attack victim identified as Haviv Chaim, 78

One of the two people killed in a shooting and stabbing attack on a bus in Jerusalem this morning is identified as Haviv Chaim, 78.

His wife, Shoshana, is hospitalized in serious condition following the attack.

Reports: Possible new attack in Jerusalem

Initial reports are coming in of a new attack on Najara Street in Jerusalem’s Givat Shaul neighborhood.

Police are at the scene.

Stay posted for details.

Reports of new Jerusalem attack a false alarm

Judah Gross, The Times of Israel military correspondent, says that initial reports of a terror attack in Jerusalem’s Givat Shaul neighborhood were a false alarm.

Terrorists’ homes to be demolished within days of attacks

Channel 2 details steps that the government plans to take in order to curb the spate of terror attacks that has plagued Jerusalem and other cities:

The IDF will bolster its presence in city centers.
East Jerusalem Arab neighborhoods will be encircled by security forces.
Terrorists’ homes will be demolished within days of carrying out attacks.
The residency status will be revoked from families of East Jerusalem terrorists who aren’t Israeli citizens.

US condemns attacks today, is ‘deeply concerned’

The US State Department issues a statement condemning today’s attacks. Here is the full statement from spokesman John Kirby:

The United States condemns in the strongest terms today’s terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians, which resulted in the murder of three Israelis and left numerous others wounded. We mourn any loss of innocent life, Israeli or Palestinian. We continue to stress the importance of condemning violence and combating incitement. We are in regular contact with the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority. We remain deeply concerned about escalating tensions and urge all sides to take affirmative steps to restore calm and prevent actions that would further escalate tensions.

UK Jews show solidarity with Israel

A small group of British Jews is holding a solidarity protest with Israel in London.

Here is footage of the event, courtesy of the Jewish Chronicle:

"No to stabbings! Yes to peace!" pic.twitter.com/CCNeUXJ3Fo

— The Jewish Chronicle (@JewishChron) October 13, 2015

Israel to demolish homes of 5 terrorists’ families

Families of five Palestinian terrorists who murdered Jews will receive demolition orders amid ramped-up Israeli efforts to deter would-be attackers.

Those include the families of the men who killed Eitam and Naama Henkin, in a West Bank shooting attack some two weeks ago; the man who fatally stabbed Nehemia Lavi and Aharon Benita 10 days ago; and the killers of Malachi Rosenfeld and Danny Gonen in shooting attacks in the West Bank earlier this year.

Eitam Henkin and Naama Henkin of Neria, who were murdered in a drive-by terror attack near Nablus on Thursday, October 1, 2015. (screen capture: Channel 2)

Eitam Henkin and Naama Henkin of Neria, who were murdered in a drive-by terror attack near Nablus on Thursday, October 1, 2015. (screen capture: Channel 2)

Meanwhile, some 1,400 reserve Border Police officers will be called up Wednesday morning and provide additional protection in Jerusalem and the West Bank.

Additional forces will also be spread out in the areas surrounding Jerusalem, from Bethlehem to the French Hill area of the city.

— Judah Ari Gross contributed.

UN chief questions Israeli use of ‘excessive force’

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urges Israel to carry out a “serious review” on whether its security forces are resorting to excessive force in clashes with Palestinians.

Ban finds “the apparent excessive use of force by Israeli security forces” to be “troubling,” his spokesman Stephane Dujarric tells reporters as violence continued in Jerusalem and the West Bank city of Bethlehem.

This “demands serious review as it only serves to exacerbates the situation leading to a vicious cycle of needless bloodshed,” he says.

The UN chief is due to sit down with Security Council envoys for a luncheon meeting on Tuesday to discuss mounting Israeli-Palestinian violence.

A ministerial-level meeting of the Security Council on the crisis is scheduled for October 22.

— AFP

Israeli man wounded in Jerusalem rock attack

East Jerusalem teenagers throw rocks at a private bus, lightly injuring the 42-year-old driver, who suffers from a head wound.

No one else is on the bus at the time of the attack.

The driver is taken to the Shaare Zedek Medical Center, the Magen David Adom medical service says.

— Judah Ari Gross

Palestinian laborers banned from Etzion Bloc settlements

Settlements in the Etzion Bloc, south of Jerusalem, will prevent the entry of Palestinian construction workers in the coming days, amid the latest escalation in violence.

A statement says that the decision was reached by the army and that it will be reevaluated at the end of the week.

Right-wing MK: Deport terrorists’ families

A right-wing Knesset member calls for the deportation of the families of terrorists.

During an inauguration ceremony for a new synagogue in the settlement of Ariel, Eli Ben Dahan of the Jewish Home party says that such a step “is the best deterrent there is, and will convey an unequivocal message that terrorism is punished.”

MK Eli Ben Dahan at an event in Ariel on Tuesday, October 13, 2015 (Facebook)

MK Eli Ben Dahan at an event in Ariel on Tuesday, October 13, 2015 (Facebook)

EU envoy condemns terror attacks in Israel

The European Union’s ambassador to Israel condemns today’s deadly terror attacks against Israelis in Jerusalem.

In a series of tweets, Lars Faaborg-Andersen writes: “I condemn today’s brutal attacks in Jerusalem. My thoughts are with the families of 3 more victims of terrorism & the many injured. These attacks not only cause human suffering. They undermine the trust ordinary citizens feel for passers-by in the street, let alone the trust people need as communities if there is to be any prospect for peace.”

The EU's ambassador to Israel, Lars Faaborg-Andersen, in his Ramat Gan office, September 21, 2015 (Raphael Ahren/TOI)

The EU’s ambassador to Israel, Lars Faaborg-Andersen, in his Ramat Gan office, September 21, 2015 (Raphael Ahren/TOI)

Israelis targeted in West Bank rock attacks

Several Israelis have been reported injured in rock throwing attacks in the West Bank this evening.

Here are pictures from one of the incidents, this one outside Anatot, just north of Jerusalem:

ענתות: פלסטינים יידו אבנים אל עבר אוטובוס: פצוע אחד קל. (צילום: איציק קליין) pic.twitter.com/CQG0ylBKVB

— Amichai Stein (@AmichaiStein1) October 13, 2015

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