Israeli PM calls Palestinian Authority for condemning attack

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday demanded that the Palestinian Authority condemn the terror attack in Jerusalem by three Palestinians in which Border Police officer Hadar Malka was stabbed to death. “The Prime Minister demands that the Palestinian Authority condemn the attack and expects the international community to do so too,” a statement from his office said.

The statement came after Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah party condemned Israeli forces for shooting dead the three attackers. In a statement late Friday, Fatah called the deaths of the three assailants, who attacked at two locations near Jerusalem’s Old City, a “war crime.”

Fatah “condemns the war crime carried out by Israeli occupation forces in Jerusalem against three Palestinian teens,” spokesperson Osama al-Kawasme said in a statement. Fatah added that “the international community’s silence emboldened Israel to further spill the blood of Palestinians.”

Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman responded bitterly to the Fatah stance, saying that it “shows there is no partner (for peace) on the other side.” Liberman praised Malka, 23, who tried to draw her weapon and fought with her assailant as he was stabbing her, for the “determination and courage” with which she acted. She was “an inspiration to all of us,” he said.

The three assailants, armed with an automatic weapon and knives, carried out near simultaneous attacks at two adjacent locations. Two attacked a group of police officers at Zedekiah’s Cave with an automatic weapon and knives, and a third stabbed Malka a short distance away at Damascus Gate. All three had previously been involved in “terrorist activities,” Israel’s Shin Bet security service said.

The statement from Netanyahu’s office also said that he was considering turning the area near Damascus Gate, which has been the site of frequent attacks, into a “sterile area.” It gave no further details. Over the past 18 months the Old City, and the Damascus Gate in particular, have seen numerous “lone wolf” attacks by Palestinians, and in one case a Jordanian national.

Netanyahu expressed his deep sorrow over the death of Malka, who was critically wounded in the attack and died of her wounds at Hadassah Hospital in Mount Scopus. She will be laid to rest at midnight Saturday in the military ceremony in the southern city of Ashdod.

Four other people were lightly and moderately injured in the attack — including a policeman and two East Jerusalem Palestinians. Some reports said the gun used by the attackers jammed, preventing further casualties.

Following the attack, Netanyahu revoked the entry permits given to Palestinians during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan to visit their relatives in Israel. He did not, however, revoke permission for West Bank males over 40 to enter Jerusalem for Ramadan prayers.

Israel had eased restrictions on the entrance of Palestinians from the West Bank for Ramadan, including permitting daily family visits during Sundays through Thursdays. Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon on Saturday urged the Security Council to denounce the attack. “The payments made by the Palestinian Authority to terrorists and their families encourage heinous attacks like we saw today,” Dannon said.

“The Palestinian leadership continues to pledge their support for peace, while making monthly payments to terrorists and educating their children to hate. The international community must demand that the Palestinians put an end to these intolerable acts of violence,” he added.