Israel police arrest 22 Palestinians in east Jerusalem

By
AFP
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Israel police arrest 22 Palestinians in east Jerusalem
JERUSALEM: Israeli police said Tuesday they arrested 22 Palestinians in annexed Arab east Jerusalem overnight on suspicion of throwing stones and petrol bombs, as three months of protests showed no let-up.

It brought to 700 the number of arrests in east Jerusalem since July, police spokeswoman Luba Samri said in a statement, including 50 this month alone.

Among those arrested were 13 minors, who police said were suspected of having thrown fire bombs at Jewish homes or at security forces in the past week.

Fierce clashes broke out across the West Bank, including east Jerusalem, in July, following the brutal murder of a Palestinian teenager in a revenge attack by Jewish extremists for the killing of three young Israelis.

The violence continued throughout the summer as Palestinians protested against a bloody Israeli military operation against militants in the Gaza Strip.

On September 7, 16-year-old Palestinian Mohammed Sinokrot died from injuries sustained when he was shot by Israeli border police in east Jerusalem.

Police said he was shot in the leg with a foam pellet while rioting, but his family said he was shot in the head on his way to the mosque.

Israel occupied east Jerusalem in 1967 and later annexed it, in a move never recognised by the international community.

The Palestinians want east Jerusalem as the capital of their promised state, but Israel claims the entire city as its indivisible capital.