The Middle East peace Quartet has urged Israel to stop settlement construction and Palestinians to stop violence.
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Israel sent hundreds of troops to the West Bank early on Saturday (July 2) and sealed off the city of Hebron, in response to a spike in deadly attacks by Palestinians.
It’s the largest military operation in the occupied territory in two years.
Meanwhile the Israeli Air Force bombed targets in Gaza after a rocket fired from there hit a building in the southern city of Sderot. No casualties were reported. The Israeli strikes targeted bases for the Islamist group Hamas, which controls the Gaza strip.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also said Israel would reduce the amount of tax revenues it collects each month on behalf of the Palestinians, saying that some of the money was being given to families of attackers.
The crackdown follows a spike in Palestinian violence, with several deadly attacks in the past couple of days, including on a 13-year-old Israeli-American girl.
Girl, 13, stabbed to death as she slept at West Bank home, was a US national, officials say. https://t.co/8eSfQkNZPT pic.twitter.com/fMfMM6ktAn
— ABC News (@ABC) July 1, 2016
On Friday, a Palestinian gunman opened fire on an Israeli family’s car, killing the father and wounding his wife and two children.
Israeli killed and three wounded in West Bank car shooting, military sayshttps://t.co/8rrUpiumoE pic.twitter.com/lfDbe3aHYT
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) July 1, 2016
Also on Friday, a Palestinian woman was shot dead after allegedly trying to stab an Israeli officer at a checkpoint in Hebron.
Sara Tarayra was shot dead today by Israeli soldiers in occupied #Hebron. She was reported to have been pregnant https://t.co/zBgulqKs2w
— Laura Burdon-Manley (@Laura_BM1) July 1, 2016
Violent clashes also erupted between Palestinians and Israeli forces at the Qalandia checkpoint linking the West Bank to Jerusalem.
The Quartet on the Middle East has called on Israel to stop settlement construction and Palestinians to stamp out terrorism.