A Palestinian was shot dead in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba after he allegedly opened fire in the city's central bus station, killing one soldier and wounding 11 other people, Israeli occupation forces said. Palestinian media outlets named the attacker as Asam al-Araj from Shuafat, on the outskirts of Jerusalem. A number of the wounded were police officers. Hospital officials said two people were in critical condition. Forty-two Palestinians and eight Israelis have died in the recent violence, which was in part triggered by Palestinians' anger over what they see as increased Jewish encroachment on Jerusalem's al-Aqsa mosque compound. Earlier on Sunday, Israel erected a short concrete barrier along a street that borders the Palestinian neighbourhood of Jabel Mukabar and a Jewish neighbourhood that Israel has built in annexed East Jerusalem. Police said the wall, about 10 metres in length, was placed temporarily at a flashpoint of the recent flare-up of violence in the city. Israel, which has poured hundreds of troops into its cities and set up roadblocks in Palestinian neighbourhoods of East Jerusalem, said that on Saturday four Palestinians were shot dead and a fifth seriously injured in thwarted knife attacks. The Islamist Hamas group which controls the Gaza Strip said the Beersheba attack was a "natural response to Israel field executions of Palestinians". As they struggle to calm public fears, at least four Israeli cities, including the commercial capital Tel Aviv, have temporarily banned Arab workers from their schools. In a further precautionary measure on Sunday, Israel's cabinet widened police stop-and-frisk powers that will effectively allow them to search anyone on the street. Netanyahu is expected to meet US Secretary of State John Kerry in Germany in the coming week as part of an effort by Washington to restore calm. Kerry also plans to hold talks in the Middle East with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, but no precise location has been announced. Palestinians have been protesting for weeks against Israel's attempts to build more settlements in east Jerusalem and force out Arab residents of the city that is meant to be a capital for any future Palestinian state. Palestinians have also been protesting repeated Israeli and illegal Jewish settler attacks on Al-Aqsa mosque and closing the Muslim holy site on a number of occasions to worshippers. The crisis started in late July when an 18-month old toddler Ali Dawabsha was burned to death and three other Palestinians were severely injured after their house in the occupied West Bank was set on fire by Israeli settlers. The settlers smashed the windows of two homes in the village of Duma near Nablus and threw Molotov cocktails inside the buildings. Dawabsha died after sustaining serious burns. The parents of the toddler, Riham and Saad, and their other son Ahmad lost their lives after suffering serious injuries as a result of the attack. *The story was edited by Ahram Online. http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/161272.aspx
