Israel sets up East Jerusalem checkpoints as Palestinian anger mounts

Israel set up checkpoints in East Jerusalem on Wednesday as it struggled to stop a wave of attacks that have raised fears of a full-scale uprising.

With Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu under immense pressure to halt the violence and frustrated Palestinian youths defying attempts to restore calm, Israeli forces said 300 more soldiers were joining their patrols, Agence France-Presse reported. 

A wave of mainly stabbing attacks by Palestinians has spread fear in Israel, while a gun-and-knife attack on a Jerusalem bus on Tuesday killed two people and led to outrage among Israelis.

A third Israeli was killed in Jerusalem on Tuesday when a Palestinian attacker rammed his car into pedestrians then exited with a knife, making it the city’s bloodiest day in the current wave of unrest.

All three attackers in the two incidents were from East Jerusalem, and two were shot dead.

The move to install checkpoints followed a decision by Netanyahu’s security Cabinet overnight authorising Israeli forces to seal off or impose a curfew on parts of Jerusalem.

Netanyahu has faced major criticism over attacks as well as violent Palestinian protests in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

The upsurge in violence that began on October 1 has led some to warn of the risk of a third Palestinian Intifada, or uprising.

Seven Israelis have been killed and dozens wounded in the attacks. 

According to the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, 29 Palestinians have been killed, including alleged attackers, some of them teenagers. Hundreds of Palestinians have been wounded in confrontations with Israeli forces. 

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged Israel to carry out a review of whether its forces are resorting to excessive force in clashes with Palestinians.

US Secretary of State John Kerry has said he will travel to the Middle East to try to “calm violence”, according to Reuters.

Israeli and Palestinian leaders blamed each other for the escalation. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said in a televised speech Israeli actions were “threatening to spark a religious conflict that would burn everything”. He said Israel was “executing our sons in cold blood”.