Two Palestinian Attackers Killed in Monday's Clashes

On Monday, October 20, Palestinians and Israelis experienced a bloody day in Jerusalem, witnessing several knife attacks by Palestinians against passersby, police forces, and border guards within a few hours. One of the attackers was a 16-year-old Palestinian girl. In the early hours of Monday, a young Palestinian man residing in East Jerusalem was killed after stabbing a border guard at the boundary between East and West Jerusalem. Hours later, a 16-year-old Palestinian girl attacked an Israeli police officer with a knife, injuring him from behind. This attack occurred near the central police headquarters in Jerusalem. Minutes later, in the Pisgat Ze'ev neighborhood, two Palestinians stabbed two Israeli passersby, a 16-year-old teenager and a 20-year-old man, severely injuring them; one of the attackers was arrested and the other was killed. Observations by Radio Farda's reporter in Jerusalem indicate that the continuous sirens of ambulances and police vehicles rushing to respond to another attack have given the city a war-like atmosphere, with fear evident on everyone's faces. Daily life has come to a standstill on both sides of the city, and many people only leave their homes for essential tasks. Other attacks occurred on Monday, including a Palestinian woman who attacked an Israeli traffic police officer with an explosive device in a stolen vehicle when asked to stop, and was subsequently hospitalized in Israel. In another development on Monday, a young Palestinian man who ran over an Israeli soldier with his car in the suburbs of the Israeli city of Khedira and then attacked her with a knife claimed innocence after his arrest and court appearance. In the knife attacks on Sunday evening, four Israelis were injured. Additionally, during violent events on Sunday, a 12-year-old Palestinian boy among stone-throwers in the West Bank was killed. On Monday, areas of the West Bank also witnessed extensive clashes between Palestinian youth and Israeli forces. Since October 1, when the security crisis began with an armed attack by a group close to Hamas on an Israeli family, the number of Palestinian fatalities has risen to at least 26, including the two attackers killed on Monday in Jerusalem, while four Israelis have also been killed; dozens of Israelis and Palestinians have been injured, and many more Palestinians have been arrested. Meanwhile, Palestinian media reported that Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, emphasized in discussions with leaders of the youth branch of Fatah that such attacks do not help achieve Palestinian goals. Nabil Shaath and Ahmad Majdalani, two other senior officials of the Palestinian Authority, also stated in a television program that attacks with cold and hot weapons against Israelis do not realize Palestinian aspirations. However, Ismail Haniyeh, deputy head of Hamas's political bureau, supported the 'new intifada,' which he referred to as 'the continuation of the Al-Aqsa Intifada,' stating that 'the spilled blood brings the freedom of Al-Aqsa closer.' The new round of the Israeli-Palestinian crisis has also spread to New York, where individuals attacked several American Jews in Jewish neighborhoods on Sunday.