'Day of Rage' Israeli attacks

The month of October continues to see an escalation of violent attacks in Israel, with multiple stabbing incidents taking place on Tuesday that left several people injured in the worst day yet of the most recent violence. It comes as Palestinian groups called for a "Day of Rage" on Tuesday in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem.

In the first attack, police superintendent Micky Rosenfeld said a 22-year-old man from East Jerusalem stabbed a 32 year-old-man, who was moderately injured and taken to the hospital. The attacker was subdued by bystanders who witnessed the incident in the municipality of Raanana north of Tel Aviv. Later, an Israeli woman was stabbed by an assailant who was similarly disarmed by witnesses.

The attacks grew worse later in the day. An attack in Jerusalem saw two assailants board a bus before shooting and stabbing passengers. Two Israelis were killed and four people suffered moderate injuries, Rosenfeld said, while adding that one suspect had been shot and killed and the other arrested.

In another part of the city, a man crashed his car into a bus stop before getting out and stabbing bystanders. One person was killed and three people were injured, while the suspect was shot by police and captured.

Knife attacks targeting Israelis have been on the rise since October 3. The current spike in violence between Palestinians and Israelis stems from a dispute over rights of visitors and worshippers to the Jerusalem Old City plaza known as Temple Mount to Jews and as Noble Sanctuary to Muslims. An increase of Jewish visitors – including members of parliament - to the site during the recent three-week Jewish holiday season caused concern among Muslims that access to the Al-Aqsa Mosque would be diminished.

mz/kms (AP, Reuters, AFP)