Occupied Jerusalem: A car ran down a group of Israeli occupation soldiers in occupied Jerusalem early on Thursday in a suspected Palestinian attack and, in a separate incident, occupation troops shot dead a Palestinian in the occupied West Bank, authorities said.
Long-simmering Palestinian unrest has been stoked anew by anger at US President Donald Trump’s Middle East peace plan, which was embraced by Israel and rejected by the Palestinians when it was announced last week.
The car-ramming took place on David Remez Street, which is close to the Arab neighbourhoods of eastern parts of occupied Jerusalem that Palestinians want for a state. A theatre and late-night restaurants and bars are also located along the street.
An occupation military spokeswoman said 12 soldiers were injured.
In the West Bank city of Jenin, a 19-year-old man was shot dead by occupation troops while throwing rocks at them, Palestinians said.
An occupation military spokeswoman said troops came to Jenin to demolish the home of a Palestinian who was involved in the 2018 killing of a Jewish colonist. Troops opened fire at Palestinians who engaged in clashes. Palestinian medics said a Palestinian police officer was also seriously wounded by Israeli gunfire in the incident.
On Wednesday, Israeli occupation troops shot dead a 17-year-old Palestinian elsewhere in the West Bank, saying he had thrown a fire-bomb at them during a violent protest against Trump’s peace plan. He was the first fatality since Trump’s plan was unveiled.
There have also been several days of violence across the border with the Gaza Strip. Palestinians have launched mortar shells, rockets and balloon-borne explosives into Israel, causing panic but no serious casualties. Israel has carried out nightly air strikes against sites belonging to Gaza’s ruling Hamas group.
Hamas praised the West Bank clashes and occupied Jerusalem attack.
“The spreading resistance and clashes by our people in the West Bank and their resistance in the heart of occupied Jerusalem is an active response against the destructive Trump deal,” said Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem.
The Palestinians, who have long shunned the Trump administration, accusing it of bias towards Israel, say the peace plan falls far short of their demands for territorial and other rights. Washington deems many of those demands unrealistic.
