Israeli troops deployed to assist police after attacks

Jane Onyanga-Omara | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Raw: At Least 2 Dead, 20 Injured In Jerusalem Israeli medical services say at least two people have been killed and 20 wounded in a pair of separate attacks in Jerusalem. (Oct. 13)

Israel's military deployed hundreds of soldiers to cities Wednesday to assist police in an attempt to quell shooting and stabbing attacks on Israelis by Palestinians over the past several weeks.

The measures announced Wednesday include allowing police to seal off points of friction or incitement. Israel's security Cabinet approved the action after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that the government was working on "aggressive steps" in response to the violence.

Troops from six units will reinforce the police in cities and on roads, the government said Wednesday in a statement.

Other measures include hiring an extra 300 security guards for public transportation in Jerusalem and barring construction on sites where an attacker's home has been demolished. The government said the property of those who perpetrate attacks will be confiscated and their permanent residency revoked.

The Cabinet met again Wednesday "to deal with additional issues, including incitement," the statement said.

Wednesday, Israeli police said an Arab attacker stabbed a 70-year-old woman, moderately wounding her, as she attempted to board a bus near Jerusalem’s crowded central bus station, the Associated Press reported. The attacker was shot and killed by forces in the area. Earlier, police shot and killed an Arab man after he pulled out a knife and attempted to stab them.

The added security measures come after bloody attacks Tuesday that killed three Israeli Jews and left a number of others wounded by Palestinian attackers in Jerusalem and the city of Ra'anana in central Israel. In Jerusalem, two assailants opened fire and stabbed people on a bus, killing two men. In a separate incident in the city, a driver rammed his car into people waiting at a bus stop and began stabbing people, killing a man.

Mustafa Barghouti, president of the Palestinian National Initiative, a political party, told Al Jazeera that the new measures will not work.

"Insanity is nothing but repeating the same thing but expecting different results," he said. "When they decide to separate East and West Jerusalem, it only proves that they have failed. The whole idea of walls and checkpoints is only deepening the military occupation."

Also Wednesday, Gilad Erdan, Israel’s internal security minister, said the bodies of dead Palestinian attackers should not be returned to their families for burial because the funeral processions often turn into “an exhibition of support for terror and incitement to murder,” the AP reported. Erdan suggested they be buried in faraway cemeteries where previous Palestinian attackers have been buried.

Since the Jewish New Year last month, eight Israelis have been killed and dozens wounded in various attacks and at least 31 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire, including 14 identified by Israel as attackers. The rest died in clashes between stone-throwers and Israeli troops. Hundreds of Palestinians have been wounded.

In a brief speech Wednesday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called for a peaceful “national struggle.” He threatened to submit a case to the International Criminal Court against what he called Israel’s “extrajudicial killings” of Palestinians, the AP reported.

Violence in Israel

Eight Israelis and more than two dozen Palestinians have died in shootings, stabbings and other incidents since Oct. 1. Where some of these attacks took place: