There has been a sharp increase in Israeli-Palestinian violence, with a series of recent clashes and attacks. Palestinians blame U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposed peace plan, which many say favors Israel.
Some Israeli soldiers were at a popular Jerusalem entertainment area just before they were to be sworn in at the Western Wall when a Palestinian driving a car drove into them, injuring 12. Israeli police said the attacker’s car was found nearby but he has not been apprehended. He is described as a 24-year-old Palestinian from east Jerusalem.
Doctor Alon Shwartz, the head of trauma at Jerusalem’s Shaarei Tzedek hospital, said one of the soldiers is in critical condition.
Shwartz said that the soldier was brought in with a serious head wound and other injuries, was operated on and is still in intensive care. He said it is hoped that the soldier will improve.
A few hours later, a Palestinian opened fire at a soldier in Jerusalem’s Old City, the first shooting there in almost two years. The soldier was slightly wounded and the attacker was killed. And in a third attack in 12 hours, a Jewish settler in the West Bank was slightly wounded in a shooting.
Meanwhile, in the West Bank town of Jenin, Israeli troops shot and killed a 19-year-old Palestinian security cadet under unclear circumstances. The soldiers were there to demolish a house of another man who committed a terrorist attack.
On Wednesday Israeli troops shot and killed a 17-year-old Palestinian in Hebron who they said threw a firebomb at them. Among Palestinians, he is being called “the first martyr of the Trump plan.”
Palestinian security official Akram Rajoub said Israel is responsible for the violence.
He said that the Palestinian people feel under pressure and have lost hope in the future, and that the Israeli government and Trump have made things worse.
Israel says it is sending more troops to flashpoints and hopes calm will be restored in the area quickly.
