Jerusalem (AFP) - Israel has arrested five alleged Hamas militants over the West Bank killing of a Jewish settler couple, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged an iron fist against mounting unrest.

Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian teenager -- the second killing in 24 hours -- as dozens were wounded in fresh clashes in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem.

The spike in violence has brought international calls for calm, with concerns the unrest could spin out of control and memories of previous Palestinian uprisings -- so-called "intifada" -- still fresh.

Speaking as security forces announced the arrest of the alleged Hamas members over last week's shooting of the couple in front of their four children, Netanyahu said no attackers were beyond reach.

"We are not prepared to give immunity to anybody, not to any rioter... or any terrorist, anywhere, and therefore there are no limits on the activities of the security forces," he said ahead of a special session of his security cabinet.

A joint statement by the police, army and Shin Bet domestic security agency said the five men arrested were members of militant group Hamas and had confessed to shooting the Israeli couple in their car in the West Bank.

Netanyahu is under pressure from right-wingers in his governing coalition after four Israelis have been killed in as many days and others wounded, including a two-year-old child.

During the night, witnesses said Israeli security forces were encircling the houses of at least three suspected attackers in Jerusalem.

Armed men surrounded the family home of Muataz Hijazi, a Palestinian who was shot dead by police after a suspected attempt to kill controversial Israeli rabbi Yehuda Glick, in the al-Thori district of east Jerusalem, amateur videos showed.

An AFP reporter on the scene said the area had been closed off and helicopters were flying overhead.

Witnesses said other houses were encircled in Jabel Mukaber, another neighbourhood in annexed east Jerusalem.

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- 'Third intifada' -





Tensions have been rising in Jerusalem after a surge in violence, and thousands turned out across the city for a rally organised by settlers urging Netanyahu to come down hard on militants and boost settlement building.

"The right answer, the only answer for terror, is to build and build and build," MP Oren Hazan, of Netanyahu's Likud party, told AFP at the demonstration.

Two Palestinian youths, aged 13 and 18, have been killed by Israeli forces in the last 24 hours and another was in a critical state on Monday night after clashes in east Jerusalem.

Clashes also erupted in the West Bank and Bethlehem, where police responded with live bullets and tear gas to gangs of angry Palestinian youths, while Jewish settlers also fought with Palestinians.

At the flashpoint Israeli settlement of Beit El, violence erupted after a stand off between some fifty students, who started throwing stones at soldiers while still carrying their school bags.

"It's our duty, we are on our land and they shoot at us," said one hooded 21-year-old Palestinian among the throwers. Another masked 18-year-old nearby said he hoped for "a third intifada".

On Sunday, Netanyahu announced a package of new measures including swifter demolition of homes belonging to anyone suspected of attacks, broader use of detention without trial for suspects, and reinforcements for Jerusalem and the West Bank.

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas met his security chiefs late Monday after accusing Israel of escalating tensions, as European nations and the United States appealed for calm.





- 'Shoot him!' -





In a rare move, Israel barred Palestinians from Jerusalem's Old City on Sunday after two Israelis were stabbed to death there. Only Israelis, tourists, residents, business owners and students were allowed in.

Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said early Tuesday that restrictions on entry to the Old City would be lifted, but worship at the sensitive Al-Aqsa mosque compound would continue to be limited to men aged 50 and above. There is no age limit for women.

Around 300,000 Palestinians live in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, where the Old City is located.

Israeli security forces were already on alert after recent clashes at the compound and Old City after two alleged attacks by Palestinians over the weekend, both of whom where then shot dead by Israeli police.

Samir Alloun, whose son Fadi was killed by police on Sunday after allegedly stabbing and wounding a 15-year-old passerby in west Jerusalem, has accused officers of executing his son and asked to see evidence of his crime.

Video on social media showed what appeared to be the alleged attacker walking as bystanders shouted "shoot him" in Hebrew before a policeman fired and he fell.

"They didn't even try to arrest him," Samir Alloun told AFP.