Four Palestinian teens killed as police respond to protests and five Israelis wounded in separate knife attacks

Two Palestinians aged 12 and 15 have been shot dead and two knife attacks have left five Israelis wounded as violence escalates across Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. Two separate knife attacks were carried out on Saturday near Damascus Gate, one of the main entries into Jerusalem’s Old City.

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In another attack, 19-year-old Palestinian Muhammad Saed Ali, from Shuafat refugee camp, in east Jerusalem , was shot dead after Israeli police alleged that he stabbed two police officers.

One of the policemen, a 20-year-old member of the Israeli special forces unit, was accidentally shot by other officers when they were firing at Ali. The other two officers stabbed by the suspect were wounded and taken to hospital.

Jerusalem police major general Chico Edri said police had asked a Palestinian youth outside the gate for identification after identifying him as “suspicious”.

“The youth showed his ID, then drew a knife and stabbed two officers, one in the neck. Nearby officers fired at the assailant, killing him, but also wounding one of the officers,” Edri said.

Police cordoned off Damascus Gate and removed the body of the attacker.

Earlier on Saturday, two Israeli men in their sixties were wounded when Israeli police said they were stabbed by Ishaq Badran, a 16-year-old Palestinian. Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the teenager was shot dead when he tried to charge on border police stationed in the area.

A clash between Israeli forces and Palestinians started soon after the first attack, but was dispersed by police using tear gas.

Violence between Israelis and Palestinians in the past week came to head on Friday when the Israeli army killed seven Palestinians in Gaza during a rally in support of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem. An Israeli military spokeswoman said 200 Palestinians were protesting near a border fence in northern Gaza and were throwing rocks and rolling burning tyres toward the Israeli side. Six died on Friday and another died in hospital in Gaza overnight.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Israeli policeman patrol a road in central Jerusalem, following the stabbing of two people on Saturday.

The Palestinians confirmed that 12-year-old Marwan Barbakh and 15-year-old Khalil Othman were killed by Israeli army fire on Saturday in similar protests east of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. Another nine were wounded.

The Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, has declared the latest unrest an intifada. During a sermon on Friday he said: “We are calling for the strengthening and increasing of the intifada. It is the only path that will lead to liberation. Gaza will fulfil its role in the Jerusalem intifada and it is more than ready for confrontation.”

Two rockets were fired from Gaza toward Israel following the clashes, one late on Friday night, the other early on Saturday. Confrontation between Israeli forces and Palestinians have continued throughout the West Bank including near Hebron after two funeral processions.

Security forces were on high alert in Jerusalem on Saturday night in preparation for two big events expected to draw thousands: a Euro2014 qualifying soccer match pitting Israel against Cyprus, and an open-air concert by reggae rapper Matisyahu.