JERUSALEM (AP) - The Latest on developments in Israel (all times local):
3 a.m.
The nations that make up the international quartet of Mideast peacemakers say they are concerned about “escalating tensions and violent clashes” in and around the Old City of Jerusalem.
Envoys from the Russian Federation, the United States, the European Union and the United Nations issued a statement Saturday saying they “strongly condemn acts of terror, express their regret for all loss of innocent life caused by the violence, and hope for a speedy recovery to the wounded.”
They called on all sides to show “maximum restraint, refrain from provocative actions and work towards de-escalating the situation.”
The envoys welcomed assurances by Israel’s prime minister that “the status quo at the holy sites in Jerusalem will be upheld and respected.” And they encouraged Israel and Jordan to work together to uphold it.
Clashes have erupted over Israeli security measures at the Dome of the Rock shrine in Old Jerusalem and Israelis were outraged when a Palestinian stabbed to death three members of an Israeli family.
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9:00 p.m.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the Palestinian who stabbed to death three members of the Israeli family is an “animal.”
In his first comment on the attack late Saturday, Netanyahu said it was “an act of terror, carried out by an animal who was incited with unfathomable hatred.”
The 20-year-old Palestinian assailant infiltrated the settlement of Halamish and surprised a family that was celebrating the birth of a new grandchild during their Sabbath dinner Friday night.
Israel has repeatedly accused the Palestinian Authority of permitting anti-Israeli incitement in the public Palestinian discourse. The Palestinians reject the Israeli incitement allegations, saying Israel’s 50-year-old occupation of lands sought for a Palestinian state is at the root of widespread Palestinian anger and helps drive violence.
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8:45 p.m.
Hundreds of Palestinians have defiantly held their evening prayers outside a Jerusalem holy site, refusing to pass through security measures Israel imposed after a deadly attack there.
Saturday’s protest came a day after a Palestinian stabbed to death three members of an Israeli family and Israeli-Palestinian clashes erupted over tensions at the site, the Holy Land’s most contested shrine.
Israel says the metal detectors are a needed security measure to prevent more attacks. Muslims alleged Israel is trying to expand its control at the Muslim-administered site under the guise of security - a claim Israel denies - and launched mass prayer protests.
After a relatively quiet day, clashes between protesters and Israeli police erupted once again late Saturday in Jerusalem.
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7:30 p.m.
The Israeli military says disturbances have erupted in the village of the Palestinian attacker who stabbed to death three members of an Israeli family.
The military says about 50 people hurled rocks at Israeli troops in the West Bank village of Kobar as they were searching the home of the attacker. Local residents said the family emptied its home of valuables, anticipating its demolition. They said local residents threw stones and burned tires and soldiers fired rubber bullets and tear gas. Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman has vowed that the attacker’s home would be demolished swiftly as punishment.
The attack came after three Palestinians were killed and hundreds injured in protests over metal detectors Israel set at the entrance to a Jerusalem holy site following a deadly Palestinian attack there.
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6:00 p.m.
Israel’s military has sent more troops to the West Bank and placed forces on high alert a day after a Palestinian stabbed to death three members of an Israeli family and Israeli-Palestinian clashes erupted over tensions at the Holy Land’s most contested shrine.
The father of the 20-year-old Palestinian assailant says Saturday he believes his son was upset over the loss of Palestinian lives and wanted to protect the “honor” of the Jerusalem holy site.
Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman visited the site of the attack, the Israeli settlement of Halamish, and consulted with top commanders. Lieberman said the attacker’s home would be demolished swiftly. He called on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to condemn what he said was a “slaughter.”
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12:15 p.m.
Israel’s deputy minister for public diplomacy says Palestinian leaders must call for calm as tensions soar over security measures at a major Jerusalem shrine.
Michael Oren, who works in the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, spoke a day after a Palestinian stabbed three Israelis to death in their home and three Palestinians were killed during clashes over metal detectors Israel set at the entrance to the shrine following a deadly Palestinian attack there.
Oren said Saturday that the Islamic militant Hamas and other groups are exploiting the tensions to incite to violence. He said their claims that Israel is changing the delicate arrangement at the site, holy to both Muslims and Jews, are “emphatically untrue.”
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Friday he is freezing ties with Israel until the devices are removed.
Oren said Abbas’ declaration may serve a political need but it “cuts off the limb on which he sits.”
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10 a.m.
Israel’s military says it has sent more troops to the West Bank after a Palestinian infiltrated a settlement and stabbed three Israelis to death in their home.
The decision came Saturday after military officials met overnight following the attack.
It did not elaborate but said it was in addition to hundreds of soldiers in place Friday over tensions at a major Jerusalem shrine.
Israel’s Chief of Staff and Defense Minister are expected later in Halamish, the West Bank settlement where Friday night’s attack took place.
The Palestinian killed three members of the same Israeli family as they ate the traditional Sabbath meal.
The attack came after three Palestinians were killed and hundreds injured in protests over metal detectors Israel set at the entrance to the shrine following a deadly Palestinian attack there.
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9:15 a.m.
A relative says Israeli troops have arrested the brother of a 20-year-old Palestinian who stabbed to death three members of an Israeli family.
The assailant, identified as Omar al-Abed had sneaked over the fence of the Israeli settlement of Halamish in the West Bank late Friday and infiltrated the family’s home, surprising them during a Sabbath dinner.
The army says the attacker killed a man and two of his children, while a woman was wounded. Al-Abed is hospitalized in Israel after being shot.
Ibrahim al-Abed, an uncle, says troops searched the family home in the village of Kobar on Saturday and arrested al-Abed’s brother Monir, 21.
In a Facebook post Friday, Omar al-Abed said he was avenging what he called Israel’s “desecration” of a Jerusalem shrine.
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8:15 a.m.
Six people are dead after Israeli-Palestinian tensions over the Holy Land’s most contested shrine boiled over into violence.
Three Palestinians died in street clashes in Jerusalem and three Israelis in a stabbing attack at a West Bank settlement Friday.
After nightfall, a Palestinian sneaked into a home in the Israeli settlement of Halamish in the West Bank and stabbed to death three Israelis.
Earlier, several thousand Palestinians in Jerusalem and the West Bank clashed with Israeli troops, burning tires or throwing stones and firecrackers. Troops fired live rounds, rubber bullets and tear gas. Three Palestinians were killed and several dozen hospitalized with live or rubber bullet injuries.
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