Israeli soldier kills Jew mistaken for Palestinian

Occupied Jerusalem: An Israeli occupation soldier shot and killed a Jewish man he suspected of being a Palestinian, police said Thursday.

The shooting came as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in Germany for talks with US Secretary of State John Kerry on how to restore calm. Kerry is set to meet with the Palestinians this weekend.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said soldiers deployed in occupied Jerusalem demanded late Wednesday that the man show them his ID. The man refused, scuffled with the soldiers and then attempted to seize one of their weapons. A private security guard nearby shot the man, and one soldier also opened fire. The man later died of his wounds.

This is the third killing of a Jews by Israelis themselves in the weeks of violence. Earlier this month, an Israeli man stabbed a fellow Jew, thinking his victim was a Palestinian because of his dark skin. And earlier this week, a private security guard shot an Eritrean migrant he thought was an attacker during a bus station shooting.

As the Eritrean lay on the ground, a mob of people cursed him, kicked him and hit him with objects. He later died of his wounds. Police said the autopsy showed the man died from gunshot wounds and that four suspects would appear in court Thursday over the beating.

Opposition legislator Tzipi Livni accused hard-line politicians of fomenting a climate of fear and danger with their calls for people to arm themselves.

“This is not the Wild West,” she told Israeli Army Radio. “The suspicion there is now, the fear and the hate lead to brutal and very difficult results.”

Israelis have scrambled to purchase pepper spray for self-defense, and stores and restaurants are empty. Israel has beefed up security, deploying hundreds of soldiers to back up thousands of police officers. Police have erected concrete barriers and checkpoints at the entrances to Palestinian areas of occupied east Jerusalem, where many of the attackers are from.

Many Palestinian residents of occupied Jerusalem have been afraid to leave their homes for fear of getting murdered.

In new violence Thursday, police said two Palestinians stabbed an Israeli at a bus stop after they tried to board a bus ferrying children to school. Police shot the two men, one of whom later died while the other was seriously wounded. Police said the Israeli man was moderately wounded.

Also Thursday, Israeli troops placed a concrete barrier in the occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem ahead of a Jewish pilgrimage this weekend.

At least 48 Palestinians have been killed this month and ten Israelis.

The violence erupted a month ago, fueled by Israel’s limiting of Palestinian access at Al Haram Al Sharif.

Palestinians point to the growing number of Jewish visitors to the site, as well as calls from activist groups and senior politicians for expanded prayer rights. The Israeli regime says it is committed to a longstanding status quo and adamantly denies the rumors, saying they incite violence.

The violence was initially confined to Palestinian areas of occupied east Jerusalem but soon spread deep into the occupied West Bank, Gaza and 1948 areas.

The Palestinians say the violence is rooted in frustration at decades of living under Israeli occupation.