At least five Palestinian Authority Arabs were killed on Friday and Saturday in widespread protests and riots throughout Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, where a Jewish resident has been accused of killing one Arab near Shechem.
Unofficial military sources told The Jewish Press that Arabs near Gush Etzion, south of Jerusalem, set fire to a guard tower. The soldiers fled for safety, and three of the rioters were killed.
IDF spokesmen said that Arabs opened live fire on soldiers and police in several protests Friday and Saturday, including the riot near Gush Etzion.
Muslim rioters also burned the Jerusalem police station near the Temple Mount in the Old City.
The Fatah movement, headed by Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas, joined Hamas on Friday to call for a “Day of Rage” following a 10,000-strong rally and ensuing riot Thursday night form near Ramallah to the Kalandiya crossing in northern Jerusalem.
Friday’s and Saturday’s protests were widespread but did not draw huge numbers. However, the use of live gunfire by protesters on Israeli security forces was rare and reminiscent of the 1990s when Palestinian Authority “police” used rifles given to them by the Israel government to maintain security and instead used them to stage terrorist attacks on Israeli soldiers, police and civilians.
Muslims are celebrating the end of Ramadan, the holy month that ends with a three-day feast concluding on Sunday, and police are on high alert to prevent large-scale riots.
Thousands of leftists Israelis, Arabs and Jews, protested against the IDF’s war on terror Saturday night in Tel Aviv.