Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is considering revoking some benefits and travel rights for Palestinians living in East Jerusalem in response to the continuing wave of violence between Palestinians and Israeli security forces.
Israeli officials said Monday that Netanyahu has ordered a review of policies that grant Israeli social benefits to Palestinians in East Jerusalem and the ability to move freely in Israel, rights Palestinians living in the occupied West Bank do not have.
In clashes that began last month at a key Jerusalem holy site, 10 Israelis have been killed, mostly in stabbings, and 51 Palestinians shot dead by Israeli security forces, including 30 identified by Israel as attackers.
Netanyahu has complained about what he says is lawlessness in Palestinian neighborhoods.
In the latest violence Monday, Israeli forces shot dead a young Palestinian man who they said stabbed and wounded a soldier near the town of Hebron. Hours later, soldiers killed another Palestinian after he tried to stab an Israeli.
While new East Jerusalem restrictions do not appear imminent, they could, if imposed, affect the residency rights of about 100,000 Palestinians. Israel captured East Jerusalem and the West Bank from Jordan in the 1967 Mideast war and the vast majority of Palestinians who live in the city have residency rights, not Israeli citizenship.
