Widespread street clashes erupt in Jerusalem over latest Israeli clampdown
Israeli police fired live rounds, tear gas and stun grenades in widespread street confrontations in Jerusalem with Palestinians who threw stones, firecrackers and firebombs. It was the fiercest unrest in the city in months.
Tensions in Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem have been soaring since a suspected Palestinian assailant shot and killed an Israeli soldier at a checkpoint at the entrance to the Shuafat refugee camp this week. Movement in and out of Shuafat, a neglected Jerusalem slum, has been restricted as troops search for the shooter.
The overnight street violence appeared to have subsided by Thursday morning, as tens of thousands of Jews were flocking to Jerusalem to celebrate the weeklong Sukkot holiday, surging into East Jerusalem’s Old City, often a focal point for tensions.
The confrontations between Israeli troops and Palestinians erupted in more than a dozen neighborhoods of East Jerusalem and areas surrounding it.
Police said they arrested 23 Palestinians, half of them minors, throughout the disturbances Wednesday. Police said masked protesters threw firebombs, stones and fireworks at officers. Video footage released by Israeli police showed a street littered with burning debris and trash bins in flames.
Police said that in some cases officers used live fire against the protesters. There was no immediate report of injuries.
The Palestinian statehood issue is not on the agenda in Biden’s first Middle East trip as president, adding to anger over Al Jazeera reporter’s death.
The police search for the person who killed the Israeli soldier has further disrupted the lives of residents of Shuafat, an area long-neglected by Israeli authorities.
Police initially closed Shuafat’s entry and exit points, and although they have since reopened, officers are stopping every car moving in and out, triggering traffic jams and disrupting the residents’ daily routine.
In response, shops, businesses and schools across East Jerusalem closed Wednesday in protest of the police measures and in solidarity with Shuafat.
The uptick in violence in Jerusalem comes amid escalating tensions in the West Bank, where the Israeli military has been carrying out nightly raids since the spring in what it says is an attempt to dismantle militant networks and thwart future attacks.
More than 100 Palestinians have been killed, making this year the deadliest in the occupied territory since 2015. Israel says most of those killed were militants, but local youths protesting the incursions and other civilians have also been killed.
Israel captured East Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast War, along with the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. It later annexed the eastern part of Jerusalem and considers the entire city its eternal, undivided capital.
The Palestinians seek those same territories for an independent state, with Jerusalem’s eastern flank as its capital.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
