The month of October continues to see an escalation of violent attacks in Israel, with multiple stabbing incidents taking place on Tuesday that left several people injured in the worst day yet of the most recent violence. It comes as Palestinian groups called for a “Day of Rage” on Tuesday in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem.
In the first attack, police superintendent Micky Rosenfeld said a 22-year-old man from East Jerusalem stabbed a 32 year-old-man, who was moderately injured and taken to the hospital. The attacker was subdued by bystanders who witnessed the incident in the municipality of Raanana north of Tel Aviv.
The attacks grew worse later in the day. An attack in Jerusalem saw one suspect shot and killed and the other arrested, with one victim killed and five people suffering moderate wounds taken to the hospital, according to Rosenfeld.
One person was killed and three people were injured in the third stabbing in another part of the city. One suspect was shot by police and captured.
Knife attacks targeting Israelis have been on the rise since October 3. The current spike in violence between Palestinians and Israelis stems from a dispute over rights of visitors and worshippers to the Jerusalem Old City plaza known as Temple Mount to Jews and as Noble Sanctuary to Muslims. An increase of Jewish visitors – including members of parliament – to the site during the recent three-week Jewish holiday season caused concern among Muslims that access to the Al-Aqsa Mosque would be diminished.
mz/kms (AP, Reuters, AFP)
