Jerusalem Old City ban on Palestinians after killings

Israel is barring some Palestinians from entering the Old City of Jerusalem after two knife attacks, one fatal, on Israelis.

The restrictions are for two days and will stop Palestinians from entering the area unless they live there.

On Saturday, a Palestinian stabbed two Israelis to death. Another stabbed and wounded an Israeli teenager. Police shot dead both attackers.

There are reports of renewed unrest in parts of the occupied West Bank.

Disturbances were also reported in parts of East Jerusalem.

More than 70 Palestinians have been wounded in clashes with Israeli security forces and Jewish settlers in the past 24 hours, says the Palestinian Red Crescent.

The latest violence comes days after an Israeli couple were shot dead by Palestinians in the West Bank on Thursday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was to hold emergency talks with security officials on Sunday.

Image copyrightEPA

Image captionThere will be restrictions on access to the sensitive al-Aqsa mosque compound, but women will be allowed in

In a video released by his office, he said Israel was "waging a fight to the death against Palestinian terror".

Mr Netanyahu has ordered a series of tough new measures.

"These steps include, among others, speeded up demolition of terrorists' homes," he said in the video.

'Escalation'

The following restrictions will be in place for two days:

• Only Palestinian residents, local business owners and students - as well as tourists and Israeli citizens - will be allowed in to the Old City
• Access to the al-Aqsa mosque compound will be restricted
• For men, only those over 50 will be allowed to enter
• No age restrictions for women
• Worshippers only allowed to enter through one gate

Violence has increased recently, with rising tensions over the flashpoint al-Aqsa mosque compound and violent confrontations between Israeli security forces and Palestinian youths, says the BBC's Yolande Knell in Jerusalem.

The mosque is built in a compound in East Jerusalem known to Muslims as the Haram al-Sharif (Noble Sanctuary) and to Jews as Temple Mount. The area is revered by both faiths.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has warned of a dangerous escalation in Jerusalem and the West Bank following the attacks.

"Recalling the recent deadly attack on another Israeli family in the occupied West Bank, and in light of the wave of extremism and violence sweeping the region, the secretary-general is deeply concerned that these latest incidents signal a dangerous slide toward escalation," his offices said in a statement.

Mr Ban said he was "deeply troubled" by statements from Palestinian militants, including Hamas, praising such attacks.

Image copyrightIsraeli foreign ministry

Image captionRabbi Nehemia Lavi and Aharon Bennett were killed in Saturday's stabbing attack in Jerusalem

The first stabbing incident took place on Saturday evening in the Old City.

A Palestinian man attacked Aharon Bennett, 21, his wife, their two-year-old son and baby daughter who were on their way to pray at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City, the Israeli foreign ministry said in a statement.

The attacker was named as Mohammad Halabi, a 19-year-old law student from a village near Ramallah in the West Bank.

Rabbi Nehemia Lavi, a reserve officer in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), was killed as he tried to defend the family, the ministry said.

Mr Bennett's wife was seriously wounded, while their young son suffered minor injuries and their baby was unharmed, it added.​

In the second incident, a Palestinian teenager stabbed an Israeli teenager on a street in West Jerusalem in the early hours of Sunday. The attacker was also shot dead by police.