Intifada of knives, one dead and 12 injured. Israelis: Settlements hurt security
An American citizen was killed during a stabbing carried out by a 21-year old Palestinian. After launching attacks in four areas of Tel Aviv, the young man was shot dead by police. Biden meets Netanyahu and Abbas. In a survey, 30% of Israelis think that the settlements hurt security. And Muslims are discriminated against compared with Jews.
Jerusalem (AsiaNews / Agencies) - An American tourist was killed in a stabbing yesterday by a lone assailant, a 21 year-old Palestinian who carried out attacks in different tourist areas of Tel Aviv, before being shot dead by the Israeli security forces. In the assault, which took place in conjunction with the arrival of US Vice-President Joe Biden, 12 other people were injured, some of them seriously.
Local sources say the attacker was a Palestinian young man from Qalqilya, a West Bank town; after hitting four points of the city, including the seafront in Jaffna, he was "neutralized" [shot dead, ed] by the police.
The victim’s identity is still unknown, he was an American citizen.
Since October last year, following ultra-Orthodox Jews provocation of praying on Temple Mount, there have been multiple violent episodes in Israel and the Palestinian territories, in the context of the so-called "intifada of knives".
So far they 184 Palestinians, 28 Israelis, two Americans, a Sudanese and one Eritrean have been killed. Most Palestinians were shot dead as they tried to carry out stabbings or car rammings on passersby or Israeli soldiers. Others were killed during demonstrations or clashes with the military.
Today Biden - who yesterday on arrival met with former President Shimon Peres - meets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Talks will focus on a defense system, the total value of which amounts to 3.1 billion dollars a year. The US Vice President’s visit comes at a time when relations between the two governments is at a historic low. Recently the Israeli prime minister declined an invitation to the White House by US President Barack Obama to discuss security and peace.
Meanwhile, the results of a survey prepared by the US Pew Research Center are sparking widespread debate as they reveal that the majority of Israelis are not convinced that the settlements in the West Bank will strengthen the security of the Jewish state.
30% of Jewish Israelis polled believed that "the settlements hurt security". 25% instead think that they "make no difference" in terms of security. 42% are convinced, according to the policy of the Israeli right, that the settlements are vital for the security of the country.
The survey, developed between October 2014 and May 2015 on a sample of 5,601 adult Israelis, also reveals that Israeli Arabs - 205 of the 8.4 million inhabitants - believe that Muslims are discriminated against compared with Jewish citizens. For 79% there is indeed a "profound discrimination."
The settlements are communities inhabited by Israeli civilians and built in territories conquered by Israel after the Six Day War in June 1967, in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, the Golan Heights and the Gaza Strip. In 1979, Israel withdrew from the settlements in Sinai after signing a peace agreement with Egypt, and in 2005 the then Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon ordered the dismantling of 17 Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip.
Currently the colonies are located in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Golan Heights. According to data from the Israeli Ministry of the Interior, there are at least 133 recognized settlements in the West Bank - plus a hundred or so "outposts" - and are home to about 500 thousand people, home to about 300,000 Israelis in East Jerusalem, and 20,000 in the Golan Heights. Over the past five years, the number of Israeli settlers in the West Bank has increased by 20 percent.
.png)
