The home of the Palestinian man behind Friday’s attack that killed seven people has been sealed.
© AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP
The fear of a new Intifada seems to be confirmed little by little in Israel. On Sunday, Israeli security guards killed a Palestinian near a settlement in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said. For its part, the Israeli army claims that he was armed. Karam Ali Ahmad Salman, 18, was killed by “Israeli occupation near Kdumim settlement”, said the Palestinian Ministry of Health. Also according to the ministry, Kedumim was built on private Palestinian land.
32 Palestinians killed since the beginning of the year
At least 32 Palestinians (including attackers, fighters and civilians) have been killed since the start of the year, according to an AFP tally based on official sources. The year 2022 had already been the deadliest in the West Bank since the end of the second Intifada, the name given to the Palestinian uprising from 2000 to 2005. Also according to AFP figures, the conflict last year made more than 200 Palestinian deaths and claimed the lives of at least 26 Israelis.
For the past few days Israel has been bruised by deadly violence. On Friday evening, a 21-year-old Palestinian shot at passers-by near a synagogue in the settlement neighborhood of Neve Yaacov, killing seven people before being shot. Saturday morning, 13-year-old Palestinian shot and wounded two Israelis in Silvan. To respond to these attacks, the Prime Minister had promised a response ” strong “ and measures that the government detailed this Sunday.
The international community on alert
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected in Jerusalem and Ramallah on Monday and Tuesday to discuss steps for de-escalation. For his part, Pope Francis on Sunday condemned the “death spiral” growing in the Middle East. He called on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to engage in “the sincere search for peace”. In addition to the two attacks by Palestinians, he cited Thursday’s Israeli airstrike on a Palestinian camp in the West Bank, which killed ten people.