The Israeli occupation forces strengthened their security measures on Saturday following two operations in the Jordan Valley and Tel Aviv, while the Palestinian Ministry of Health announced that two young men were injured by Israeli bullets near the town of Burqin, southwest of Jenin in the West Bank.
This comes as Israeli police began searches this afternoon for a car suspected of trying to carry out a vehicular attack on Jaffa Street in West Jerusalem, adding that the Israeli ambulance did not report any injuries.
The Israeli occupation forces also intensified their military measures at Tayasir and Hamra checkpoints, stopped citizens' vehicles heading to the Jordan Valley, searched them and checked their identity cards, which caused a suffocating traffic crisis at the checkpoints.
Israel has completely closed the checkpoints intermittently since yesterday, following the killing of two settlers and the injury of a third by gunfire in the Jordan Valley in the north-east of the occupied West Bank.
An IDF spokesman said Chief of Staff Herzi Halevy had assessed the security situation after the armed attack in the Hamra settlement in the Jordan Valley and had directed that defensive efforts be stepped up in the West Bank.
On Friday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued instructions to mobilize all reserve units of the Border Guard and support them with additional troops to counter what he called the "escalating wave of terrorism."
Israel is currently on high alert after last night's vehicular attack in Tel Aviv, which Israeli security services said was carried out by Yousef Abu Jaber, 45, from the town of Kafr Qasim inside the Green Line.
According to the Israeli version, the vehicular attack killed an Italian tourist and injured seven other tourists from Italy and Britain, most of whom were discharged from hospital after receiving treatment.
Tension in the Palestinian territories has escalated in recent days after the occupation police stormed the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, brutally and violently assaulted worshippers and expelled them from inside the mosque.
Injuries and arrests
On the ground, the Palestinian Ministry of Health announced that two young men were wounded by Israeli gunfire near the town of Burqin, southwest of Jenin in the West Bank.
It added that one of the young men was shot in the back and described as moderately ill, while another was shot in the foot and lightly wounded.
For its part, the Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of Islamic Jihad, said in a brief statement that it had engaged in armed clashes with the occupation forces that stormed Burqin, without further details.
The Israeli army said in its statement that a patrol of paratroopers carried out a pre-emptive attack against a Palestinian gunman after he opened fire at the Dotan military checkpoint, shooting at his vehicle and wounding him.
At dawn, the Israeli occupation forces raided Tayasir village, east of Tubas governorate, in search of the perpetrators of the Jordan Valley attack. The youths of the village confronted the military patrols with stones.
In Tulkarm in the West Bank, Israeli military vehicles stormed the outskirts of the Nour Shams refugee camp.
According to local Palestinian sources, the Israeli occupation forces deployed snipers in the vicinity of the camp and briefly clashed with Palestinian youths before withdrawing from the camp.
Last night and at dawn today, the Israeli occupation forces arrested four Palestinians in different areas of the West Bank.
Three young men were arrested during an Israeli force storming the town of Al-Ram, northeast of the occupied city of Jerusalem.
The Israeli occupation forces also arrested a young man from the village of Beit Fajjar, south of Bethlehem, while he was crossing through the Hamra checkpoint in the northern Jordan Valley.
The Israeli occupation forces transferred the detainees to detention centres for interrogation in cases related to the resistance of their soldiers.
Palestinian-Turkish talks
Politically, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki on Saturday put his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, in the picture of the escalating Israeli violations in the Palestinian territories, led by the occupation forces' assault on worshipers and retreaters in Al-Aqsa Mosque.
During a phone call between the two sides, Maliki expressed his deep thanks for Turkey's support for Palestine, according to a statement issued by the Palestinian Foreign Ministry.
The statement quoted the Turkish Foreign Minister as stressing the importance of protecting the sanctity of Al-Aqsa Mosque and its legal status always.
He stressed Turkey's readiness to do what is necessary to reduce tensions, and that Ankara always stands by Palestine.
During the past two days, renewed incursions and attacks on Al-Aqsa Mosque and the forced removal of worshippers from it, in a dangerous Israeli escalation that was met with a wave of widespread regional and international condemnations and denunciations.
Tensions have escalated in the city of East Jerusalem and its suburbs since the formation of the last Israeli government headed by Benjamin Netanyahu in late 2022, which Hebrew media describes as "the most extreme in the history of Israel."
Western support for Israel
In the context of international reactions, the European Union expressed concern at the dangerous escalation of violence in recent days in Israel, the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Lebanon and called for an immediate curtailment of the conflict.
The EU condemned what it called deadly terrorist attacks in Tel Aviv and the Jordan Valley.
He also condemned the violence at the holy sites, which he said must be maintained, as well as what he called indiscriminate rocket attacks on Israel from Gaza and Lebanese territory.
He said Israel had the right to defend itself, but that response must be proportionate, the statement said.
Britain condemned what it called indiscriminate rocket attacks from southern Lebanon and Gaza on Israel and called on all parties to reduce tensions, respect the "status quo" arrangements at Jerusalem's holy sites and stop all provocations.
Secretary of State James Cleverly called on Israelis and Palestinians to commit to a negotiated settlement leading to a two-state solution and leading to a lasting peace.
The State Department strongly condemned what it called the "terrorist attacks" in the West Bank and Tel Aviv, saying the United States stands with the government and people of Israel, is in close contact with its Israeli partners, and reaffirms its enduring commitment to their security.