Israel deploys extra troops into West Bank
JERUSALEM Israel sent troops into the occupied West Bank on Saturday and police broke up a crowd of stone-throwing Palestinians in Jerusalem as international concern mounted over the deadliest outbreak of violence between the two sides for years.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said one Palestinian was killed in another clash outside the city, taking the death toll from the past two days to seven.
Three Israelis were stabbed to death on Friday while eating dinner at home in a West Bank settlement. The attacker, Omar Alabed, was shot by Israeli forces and taken to a hospital for treatment, the military said.
Hours earlier, three Palestinians were killed in violence prompted by Israel's installation of metal detectors at entry points to the Noble Sanctuary-Temple Mount compound in Jerusalem's walled Old City.
Russia, the US, the European Union and the United Nations said in a joint statement that they were "deeply concerned by the escalating tensions and violent clashes taking place in and around the Old City of Jerusalem", and called for restraint.
Diplomats said the UN Security Council would meet to discuss the situation on Monday.
Sweden, Egypt and France requested the meeting to "urgently discuss how calls for de-escalation in Jerusalem can be supported", Sweden's Security Council coordinator Carl Skau posted on Twitter.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas ordered the suspension of all official contact with Israel until it removed the metal detectors at the holy compound in Jerusalem, where Muslims pray at the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Israel's Security Cabinet is expected to discuss alternative security measures that could be used to replace the metal detectors, said two Israeli officials on condition of anonymity.
In Jerusalem, Israeli police said they used riot gear to disperse Palestinians who threw stones and bottles at them. Television footage showed police throwing stun grenades and using a water cannon to break up the crowd.
- REUTERS
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