Palestinian killed by Israeli forces in Bethlehem

A Palestinian has been killed in clashes with Israeli security forces in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, the latest such incident in nearly two weeks of violence.

Tuesday’s death of Moataz Zawahra, 28, from a Bethlehem refugee camp, takes to 29 the number of Palestinians killed, Palestinian medical sources said.

Earlier on Tuesday, three Israelis were killed in two attacks in Jerusalem, increasing the number of Israelis killed since the upsurge in violence that began at the start of the month, to seven.

Violent clashes have increased in frequency since Israeli security forces began to crackdown on Palestinian worshippers at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem last month. 

The bus attack was carried out by two Palestinians. One of them was killed, an ambulance service spokesman said, and the other was admitted to hospital with injuries.

Minutes later, another Palestinian drove his car into a bus stop in the centre of Jerusalem, then got out and began stabbing pedestrians, killing at least one and wounding several.

Live updates: Israeli-Palestinian violence

The attacks followed another stabbing incident in Tel Aviv suburb that wounded an Israeli man.

The alleged attacker was then kicked and beaten by passers-by, amateur video distributed by police showed. The attacker was injured and brought to hospital, Israeli police said.

“The feeling is becoming increasingly prevalent that no place is safe,” Al Jazeera’s Mike Hanna, reporting from West Jerusalem, said.

The spell of violence has been stirred by Palestinian anger over increasing Jewish visits to al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem.

The main Palestinian factions, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah movement and the Gaza rulers’ Hamas group, had declared Tuesday a “Day of Rage” across the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, accusing Israel of “escalating its crimes against our people”.

The unrest began last month with clashes at Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site and quickly spread across Israel and into the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

The stabbing attacks have stoked concern of a new Palestinian uprising and though Palestinian President Abbas and Israel’s Netanyahu have appealed for calm, the violence shows no signs of abating.

Palestinian groups declared a Day of Rage on Tuesday across the occupied West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem.

The leaders of Israel’s Palestinian community called for a commercial strike in their towns and villages. 

Heavy clashes erupted on Sunday in cities and villages across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

Frustration has boiled over into violence as Israel continues to build Jewish-only settlements throughout the West Bank in defiance of international law.

At least 1,990 Palestinians have been injured, according to the Palestinian Authority’s health ministry, and rights groups have accused Israeli forces of using excessive force.

United States Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday that he will travel to the Middle East “soon” to try and move the situation “away from this precipice”.

Kerry said the US’ goal for the region, the two-state solution “could conceivably be stolen from everybody” if violence in the region were to spiral out of control.