Four Israelis and Palestinians Killed in Friday Clashes

In the ongoing security crisis between Israel and the Palestinians, two Israelis and two Palestinians were killed on Friday, November 22. An Israeli father and son, along with two Palestinians, were killed in 'traditional' clashes after Friday prayers with Israeli soldiers in the West Bank. Israeli media reported that the father and son were shot by an armed Palestinian while driving on a road in the West Bank. According to these reports, the armed Palestinian stood next to his vehicle and fired 14 bullets at the car of an Israeli family from very close range. The mother and four other children of the family were lightly injured while walking to a family member's wedding ceremony. Israeli soldiers, in large numbers and with the help of helicopters, went to the area and searched for the attacker. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated, 'We will find the cowardly terrorists and punish them as we have in previous cases.' Hamas and Islamic Jihad welcomed the attack, calling it a 'heroic' act and a 'right of the Zionists.' The security crisis began two months ago in a similar incident when two armed Palestinians shot at an Israeli couple but did not manage to shoot at the four children of the 'Hankin' family in the back seat of their car. These events occurred while this week's Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa in East Jerusalem were held relatively peacefully and without age restrictions for Palestinian men, and clashes in East Jerusalem largely subsided by the end of the prayers. However, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled on Friday that if the Israeli army wishes to demolish the homes of some Palestinians involved in recent attacks, the court will not prevent it. Families of several Palestinians involved in recent attacks had requested the Israeli Supreme Court to extend the time given to them for evacuating their homes or to prevent the demolitions. Previously, the Supreme Court had blocked the government's and army's intentions to demolish the homes of these Palestinians and had requested documentation showing that similar past actions had a 'deterrent effect.' The number of Palestinian fatalities in this round of the crisis has exceeded eighty, two-thirds of whom were involved in knife attacks against Israelis. The highest number of Palestinian fatalities is among youths from the city of Hebron; Palestinians have referred to Hebron as the 'hero of the knife intifada' and celebrate the attackers. In the early hours of Thursday, Israel sent 30 commandos to the 'Al-Ahli' hospital in Hebron to arrest one of the recent attackers who was hospitalized there, but during the arrest, the cousin of this Palestinian, who had clashed with the commandos, was killed. Two recent Palestinian fatalities were two girls from the West Bank who were killed moments after a knife attack. In recent days, Israel has also begun trials for several of the recent attackers who were captured alive. The Israeli prosecution issued an indictment this week against Ahmad Al-Mansara, a 13-year-old boy with a knife in last month's Jerusalem attack. He is the youngest Palestinian ever to be tried in Israel. However, younger than Ahmad Al-Mansara is an eleven-and-a-half-year-old boy who, last Tuesday, along with a 14-year-old boy, attacked a tram guard in Jerusalem with a knife. No indictment has yet been issued against these two Palestinian boys named Ali and Muawiya Al-Gham. Their families and teachers have told the media that they were 'shocked' by the involvement of these two in the attackers' ranks against Israelis. The number of Israeli fatalities in knife attacks, car rammings, and armed assaults by Palestinians, including the fatalities on Friday, November 23, has risen to 14. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed the situation with U.S. President Barack Obama last Monday and with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday. In this context, '57 percent' of Israeli Jews are worried about Palestinian attacks.