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Late on May 8, Israeli security forces shot and killed two Palestinians in two separate incidents in the city of Jerusalem and the West Bank.
In Jerusalem, policemen gunned down a 19-year-old Palestinian from the West Bank after he stabbed a police officer in the neck. The incident took place in a police booth near entrance to the Old City, where the alleged attacker was brought in for questioning after the police deemed him to be suspicious.
The officer wounded in the incident was taken to a hospital for medical treatment. In response to the incident, the police closed off the area and other entrances to the Old City.
Less than an hour after the incident in Jerusalem, a Palestinian man was shot dead by an Israeli security officer in the Jewish settlement of Tekoa in the West Bank.
The Israeli media said that the man entered the settlement illegally and was armed with a knife. However, these allegations are yet to be verified.
Israeli security forces have been on a high alert for more than a month now as a result of a wave of attacks that claimed the lives of 19 people. In the morning, Israeli forces apprehended tow Palestinians suspected of carrying out the May 5 attack in the central Israeli city of Elad.
The recent attacks were an uncoordinated response to an Israeli crackdown on Palestinians in Jerusalem and the West Bank. With last two casualties, the number of Palestinians killed since the start of the crackdown has risen to 28.
The security situation in Israel, Jerusalem and the West Bank will not likely improve any time soon. Tensions could soon spread to the Gaza Strip.
