Israeli And Palestinian Unrest Continues, Pregnant Woman And Child Killed
The Israeli and Palestinian unrest continues throughout Gaza and Israel as shootings, stabbings, and an explosion occurred over the weekend.
Nine people lay dead, including a five-months pregnant woman and a toddler, culminating in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s orders to 1,300 reserve border police officers to serve Jerusalem and other places throughout the country, according to CNN. The orders are “a primary preventive and deterrent measure,” according to a statement from Netanyahu’s office.
Violence erupted in the Israeli area of the Old City’s Damascus Gate, where a teenage boy attacked two adults with a knife. The 16-year-old boy stabbed a 62- and 65-year-old and then ran toward the police with the knife. The police then fatally shot the teenager.
Another knife attack occurred near the Damascus Gate after police asked a Palestinian man for identification. The Palestinian man stabbed two Israeli police officers, one in the neck, and encountered gunfire from other officers who arrived on scene. The Palestinian man died in the gunfire, and two Israeli police officers were injured in the gunfire.
On Saturday, the Iron Dome intercepted a rocket which had been fired from the Gaza Strip. Israeli officials say it was the second rocket intercepted in a few days. There were no injuries reported from those attacks. The New York Times reported that an Israeli retaliatory strike targeting two Hamas weapon manufacturing facilities killed a pregnant woman and a toddler.
CNN further reported the five-months pregnant woman and the child died because of a building collapse as a result of the explosions in Gaza City. The Gaza City Fire Department said the toddler and the woman, who was in her 30s, were found under the rubble of the house, while three others were injured and taken to the hospital.
The Israeli and Palestinian unrest continues into Sunday. CNN reports that a Palestinian woman who was pulled over at a West Bank checkpoint ignited a canister of gas as the Israeli officer was speaking to her, severely burning herself in the process of the violent outburst over driving suspiciously. The police called it a terrorist attack.
CNN reported that when similar limitations, done for security reasons, were placed on the site in the past, violence quickly erupted. A spokesman for Palestinian Authority, President Mahmoud Abbas, called the actions a “declaration of war.”
Hundreds more were injured in Israeli and Palestinian clashes. Tear gas was fired into crowds, and rocks have been hurled at the border. Burning tires are being rolled, rubber bullets are being fired, and Molotov cocktails are being thrown in the fiery Israeli and Palestinian violence.
Netanyahu stated at his weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday that he blames the Palestinian Authority, Hamas, and the northern branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel for the explosive violence.
Secretary of State John Kerry called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority over the weekend. Middle East peacemakers, including the United States, Russia, the United Nations, and the European Union, were expected to arrive in the area sometime on Tuesday to discuss the Israeli and Palestinian unrest.
[Photo by: Ilia Yefimovich/Getty Images News]
