The Israeli army on Monday partially closed off Ramallah, the main Palestinian city in the West Bank, following a shooting attack near there the previous day.
The IDF said only humanitarian cases would be allowed to leave Ramallah and only residents could enter the city, which is around 20 kilometers from Jerusalem and is the headquarters of the Palestinian Authority.
The military appeared to be opening checkpoints intermittently and cars could be seen leaving the city. “Internal closures” were common during the Palestinian uprising that ended a decade ago, but have been rarely used in recent years.
The measure came after a Palestinian policeman opened fire on soldiers at a West Bank checkpoint. The attacker, Amjad Sakari, 35, opened fire on the soldiers near Beit El, wounding three of them, two seriously. He was shot dead by IDF soldiers at the scene.
Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon said on Israeli radio on Monday that the IDF had been in touch with the Palestinian Authority. “They are distancing themselves from this – [these attacks] are not their policy. But we are certainly demanding explanations and oversight of the employees of various security services,” Ya'alon said.
He declared that Israel would end the attacks, and said that Israel had no wish to rule over the Palestinians of the West Bank and Gaza. “We have been in the midst of a struggle over this land for 130 years. We will defeat this terror wave as we did others, I am sure of it,” he said.
On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held the Palestinian Authority accountable for the attack since the attacked had been a member of the PA’s security apparatus and received a salary from the PA.
"It is the same PA that “stands behind the incitement that stokes the terrorist attacks,” Netanyahu said, adding that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas did not even condemn the attack carried out by one of his men. “I demand that the international community stop the hypocrisy and do everything it its power to pressure the Palestinian Authority to cease its incitement against Israel,” Netanyahu said.
On Saturday evening, a 17-year-old Israeli, a recent immigrant from the United States, was lightly wounded in a stabbing attack at the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem's Old City. The police said they had arrested two suspects, both 15 years old.
