West Bank

Israel started setting up roadblocks in Palestinian neighbourhoods in East Jerusalem and deploying soldiers in cities across the country on Oct. 14 to try to combat the worst surge of violence in months.

Palestinian officials condemned the security measures - the most serious clampdown in the Jerusalem area since a Palestinian uprising a decade ago - as collective punishment. 

Turkey has ?strongly condemned? Israel for use of disproportionate force against Palestinians, calling for an urgent end to ?its provocative and arbitrary practices.?

Hamas on Oct. 11 warned Israel against ?foolishness? after an air strike by the Jewish state in the Gaza Strip in response to rocket fire killed a pregnant woman and her toddler.

?This shows the occupation?s desire to escalate,? said Sami Abu Zuhri, a spokesman for Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip. ?We warn the occupation against continuing this foolishness.?  

A Jewish man stabbed and wounded four Arabs in southern Israel on Oct. 9 in an apparent reprisal attack for Palestinian violence during the worst spell of civil unrest in the region for several years. 

Jerusalem's mayor, caught on video this week with a gun slung over his shoulder while visiting a Palestinian neighborhood, is making no apologies for the display of force. He says he's helping keep his city safe.
     

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged "a fight to the death against Palestinian terror" as clashes spread after two deadly attacks, while Jerusalem's Old City was closed to Palestinians for a second day Oct.5.

Israel took the rare and drastic step of barring Palestinians from Jerusalem's Old City on Oct.4 as tensions mounted following attacks that killed two Israelis and wounded a child.

Israel on Sept.24 defended the actions of its soldiers who shot dead an 18-year-old Palestinian woman at a checkpoint in the West Bank as questions swirled over the events that led to the killing.

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas warned on Sept.22 of the risk of a new intifada after clashes last week at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound and with tensions rising as Jews and Muslims celebrate major religious holidays.

A Palestinian died during an Israeli army operation in the southern West Bank before dawn on Sept. 22 as he handled a makeshift explosive, while troops shot a woman who allegedly tried to stab a soldier.