News Digest

Israel bars Palestinians from Jerusalem’s Old City after fatal attacks

Israeli police took the unprecedented step of preventing Palestinian residents of Jerusalem from entering the walled Old City on Sunday after two Palestinian stabbing attacks against Israelis. A Palestinian teenager stabbed and wounded a 15-year-old Israeli before dawn on Sunday before being shot dead by police, Israeli police said. The attack came hours after a Palestinian teenager fatally stabbed two Israelis in Jerusalem’s Old City and wounded a woman and a toddler, before he was shot dead by an Israeli police officer.

The Palestinian government denounces the Israeli escalation policy by Israeli occupation authorities against our people in occupied Jerusalem and the West Bank.

Statement from the Palestinian Government

Tensions have soared over access to a sensitive holy site within the Old City that is sacred to Jews and Muslims. The restrictions will be in place for two days, with only Israelis, tourists, residents of the area, business owners and students allowed, police said. Worship at the sensitive Al-Aqsa mosque compound will be restricted to Old City residents and Arab Israelis, and limited to men aged 50 and above. There will be no age restrictions on women. They will be allowed to enter through one specific gate.

The regulations implemented are definitely necessary in order to deal with the recent terrorist attacks.

Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld