Roundup: Israeli army kills Palestinian in West Bank clashes, hits Gaza after rockets fired at south

Tension continues to simmer in the West Bank and Gaza, as Israeli jets struck a Hamas target early Monday in response to rocket firing on southern Israel, and one Palestinian youth was shot dead in clashes Sunday night.

PALESTINIAN YOUTH KILLED IN CLASHES

Israeli soldiers shot and killed an 18-year-old Palestinian in clashes Sunday night, as violence continues to spread throughout the West Bank.

An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson told Xinhua that up to 200 Palestinians clashed with Israeli soldiers at the Tulkarem Crossing, in the northwest West Bank territories, accusing three of the protesters of throwing firebombs, firecrackers and rocks at the soldiers.

"The soldiers directed live fire at three individuals who threw Molotov cocktails," the spokesperson said. The Israeli military is opening an investigation into the circumstances of the shooting.

AIRSTRIKE HITS HAMAS SITE AFTER ROCKET-FIRING

Meanwhile, IDF fighter jets struck a Hamas target in Gaza early Monday morning in response to rocket firing from the coastal territory on Sunday night.

Two rockets fired from the Gaza Strip hit the southern Eshkol regional council. No damage or injuries were reported in the incident.

Several other rockets were launched in the past week as clashes continued in east Jerusalem.

The IDF said in a statement that Israeli aircraft struck "a Hamas terror site in the northern Gaza Strip."

"Firing a rocket at people's homes is a clear, coward and cruel act of terrorism," IDF spokesman Peter Lerner said in the statement. "Whether it's a rocket attack, a shooting, a stabbing or any other form of aggression meant to terrorize civilians, the IDF will not tolerate it."

HEIGHTENED TENSION IN WEST BANK, JERUSALEM

The latest incidents came amid heightened tension in Jerusalem and the West Bank. What started last month as violent confrontation between Palestinians and Israeli security services near the east Jerusalem site of Temple Mount, holy to both Jews and Muslims, continued to spread into clashes between Jewish settlers, Palestinians and security forces throughout Jerusalem and the West Bank, following a set of deadly attacks.

Four Israelis and three Palestinians have been killed in separate incidents in the West Bank and east Jerusalem since Thursday night. A number of others injured.

On Thursday, a Palestinian militant shot dead Eitam and Na'ama Henkin, both settlers in their 30s, who were driving in a car with their four children on a West Bank highway. Their children were uninjured and the perpetrator managed to escape.

The killing had triggered clashes between Jewish settlers, Palestinians and Israeli security services throughout the West Bank, with four IDF battalions spreading across Nablus and its environs in order to find the perpetrator. Several Palestinians were arrested in the operations.

PALESTINIAN STABBING ATTACKS

Then, on Saturday night, two Israelis were stabbed to death in the Old City of Jerusalem, with the Palestinian militant attacker being shot down by Israeli police forces.

Later that night another stabbing attack took place in Jerusalem, injuring a 15-year-old Israeli, with Israeli police again gunning down the suspect. The Palestinians dispute the police's version of the events.

Local clashes, rock and firebombing attacks continue to take place in east Jerusalem throughout the past few days as well.

Emergency services operating in the West Bank and east Jerusalem territories reported that over 350 Palestinians have been injured in the recent several days in clashes with Israeli security forces and Jewish settlers.

The spokesperson of the Palestinian Red Crescent, Errab Foqaha, told Xinhua that the clashes in the past 24 hours have resulted in the wounding of 425 Palestinians; 23 of them were shot by live ammunition and 128 by rubber-coated bullets.

Israeli security services remain on high alert as the situation continues to escalate. The Walla! news website reported that IDF forces received information on a Palestinian militant who plans to carry attacks in Hebron and Jerusalem, and another tip was received on an upcoming stabbing attack in Jerusalem.

NETANYAHU VOWS "HARSH RESPONSE"

On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to deliver a "harsh response" to "Palestinian terrorism," saying authorities would expedite the demolition of militants' houses and place Palestinian security suspects under administrative detention.

Another step announced earlier by police, which aggravated many Palestinians, was an unprecedented move of limiting the access to the sensitive site in the Old City, banning many Palestinians from gaining entry.

Israel occupied the West Bank and annexed east Jerusalem territories from Jordan in the 1967 Mideast War, home to more than 2.5 million Palestinians.

The Palestinians say that Israel wants to take control over the holy site of Temple Mount, and expand its settlements in east Jerusalem and the West Bank, on lands slated to be part of a future Palestinian state according to a two-state solution.

Netanyahu and right-wing ministers, on their part, blame the Palestinians for sparking the incitement in the area.

Last week, the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, announced that the Palestinian Authority is "no longer bound" by agreements signed with Israel in the past 20 years, as Israel failed to comply with them. Endit