(CNN)Israeli
forces shut down access to some Palestinian neighborhoods in East
Jerusalem on Wednesday by setting up checkpoints and putting more police
on the streets, a reaction to a spike in violence across Israel and the
Palestinian territories in recent days.
"These
police actions and operations are intended to fairly respond to the
wave of terror and knifing, within the framework of trying to return law
and order to all citizens of the state," said Luba Samri, an Israeli
police spokeswoman.
The moves came a day after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said he would soon travel to the Middle East to help calm the situation. It wasn't immediately clear when he planned to go.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to make his nation more secure.
"Today
we ... decide on a series of vigorous steps in our fight against the
sources of terrorism and incitement," Netanyahu said. "They will be
implemented as quickly as possible."
In addition to cordoning off some Palestinian neighborhoods, Israeli authorities can demolish the homes of attackers, according to a statement from the Israeli government.
There is a legal process that comes first, however, allowing homeowners
to go before the Supreme Court of Israel. Forces cannot simply tear
down homes without formal permission.
In
addition, the Israeli police force will be expanded and backed up by
the military. An additional 300 more security guards will be recruited
for duty on public transportation. Several recent attacks have taken
place on buses or at bus stops.
The
Prime Minister's office announced last weekend that about 1,600 reserve
border police officers have been mobilized in Jerusalem, where many
recent attacks have occurred, and throughout Israel as "a primary
preventive and deterrent measure."
Human Rights Watch condemned the new security measures.
"Locking
down East Jerusalem neighborhoods will infringe upon the freedom of
movement of all Palestinian residents rather than being a narrowly
tailored response to a specific concern," said Sari Bashi of Human
Rights Watch.
"The recent spate of
attacks on Israeli civilians would present a challenge for any police
force. But exacerbating the punitive policy of home demolitions is an
unlawful and ill-considered response."
Bloody day
Israel's
response followed a bloody day of attacks carried out by men that
Israeli authorities say have ties to Palestinian terrorist groups.
At least three Israelis were killed, and many others wounded.
Two
deaths came in an attack on a bus in Jerusalem's Armon Hanatziv,
eliciting praise from Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza.
"The
Hamas movement blesses the heroic operations in Jerusalem," the group
tweeted, "and hails the heroes who (carried them out)."
The bodies of Palestinians
killed in attacks on Israelis won't be returned to the families, the
Israeli government said Wednesday.
"The
families of the terrorists have turned their funerals into
demonstrations of support for terror and incitement to kill and we
should prevent this," said Gilad Erdan, Israel's public security
minister. "We should do everything that terrorists will not get the
honor and ceremony after the operations they carried out."
There
was additional bloodshed in Haifa, where an Israeli Jew stabbed a man
he mistakenly thought was Arab outside an IKEA. In another incident, an
Israeli Arab was hit on the head with a stick on a beach in Netanya,
according to Samri, the police spokeswoman.
Israeli-Palestinian tension escalates 02:32
There was also violence in Palestinian areas.
Clashes
broke out Wednesday between the Israel Defense Forces and Palestinians
in Bethlehem in the West Bank after a Palestinian's funeral. The slain
Palestinian was identified as Muataz Ibrahim Zawahra, 27. The
Palestinian Ministry of Health said he was shot in the back Tuesday. The
Palestinian Red Crescent and witnesses also reported heavy fighting in
the West Bank city of
Hebron.
The official Palestinian news agency, WAFA,
reported at least five Palestinians were wounded Tuesday by "live
ammunition" in northern Gaza at the Beit Hanoun crossing point. Eighteen
were reportedly shot and injured the previous night at the Huwwara
military checkpoint.
The Palestinian
Red Crescent reported that 37 people were injured in Gaza. An additional
155 people received medical treatment in the West Bank and Jerusalem.
Most had inhaled tear gas, but some were shot and beaten, the agency
said.
The third intifada?
Some
have suggested the widespread violence represents the start of the
third intifada, or uprising, by Palestinians. But others have dismissed
that assertion, saying the unrest is simply the consequence of the
absence of any progress toward peace.
Whatever the label, some Palestinians insist they are fed up with the status quo.
"We've tried negotiations and it didn't work," a Palestinian youth in Hebron told CNN. "So now we will fight."
And the Israeli government appears ready to fight back.
"Israel
will settle accounts with the murderers, those who attempt murder and
all those who assist them," Netanyahu said. "Not only will they not
enjoy their privileges, but we will exact from them the full cost.
"Anyone
who raises his hand to harm us -- will pay dearly. And we will not
hesitate to use all means at our disposal to restore peace to the cities
of Israel."
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