Israel Bars Palestinians from Old City in Jerusalem
Following the grisly attacks by Palestinians that claimed the lives of several Israeli civilians and injured others, Israel has been forced to take an unexpected step that stripped Palestine off of its historic rights.
Amid the increasing debate over whether another Palestinian Intifada (the term they use for an uprising) is on the way, Israel's prime minister has vowed a "harsh offensive" against the growing violence as a response to the Palestinian attacks that targeted none other than Jerusalem's cherished holy site, which is significant not only to the Muslims but to the Jews.
According to The Associated Press, Israel announced on Sunday that Palestinians would temporarily be excluded from entering the historic and sacred site. The move is Israel's first ever since it claimed the Old City way back 1967 during the Mideast War.
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Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said, "This is a drastic measure that's being taken in order to make sure there are no further attacks during the Jewish festival, where you can see thousands of people visiting the Old City."
The latest attack that ordered security forces to bar any Palestinian trying to get into the site included the fatal stabbing on Saturday of an Israeli soldier who had gone out of his post and a prominent rabbi in the area. Israeli police reported that a Palestinian teenager attacked Aharon Benita, a 22-year-old off-duty soldier, and his wife Adele, somewhere near the Lions' Gate in the Old City. The soldier was wearing civilian clothes during the attack.
According to The Washington Post, Rabbi Nehemia Lavi, who resided in the Muslim half of the holy site tried to confront the assailant after he heard the couple's cries for help, which resulted to his death.
In his eulogy for the well-known Rabbi, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, who was among the thousands who attended the funeral, said, "We will reach the killers of the innocent and pure, and we will reach their inciters and their dispatchers and will deliver them a stinging blow.
Meanwhile, some officials think the move to prevent such incidents is a "good, specific solution."
