JERUSALEM: Israeli police raided a Palestinian neighborhood in annexed east Jerusalem overnight and arrested 51 people accused of violent protests against security forces, authorities said Monday.
The 51 Palestinian suspects from Issawiya were arrested for participating in recent “riots and terror-related incidents,” including throwing stones and firebombs at security forces, a police statement said.
They were expected to appear in court later in the day.
Palestinian youths in parts of east Jerusalem regularly clash with Israeli security forces during protests against Israel’s occupation.
Israel occupied east Jerusalem and the West Bank in the 1967 Six-Day War. It later annexed east Jerusalem in a move never recognized by the international community.
Israel sees all of Jerusalem as its undivided capital, while the Palestinians see east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.
Police had raided Issawiya along with a number of other Palestinian neighborhoods in east Jerusalem three months ago, when tensions rose and clashes erupted after Israel placed metal detectors at the entrance to a Jerusalem holy site.
The metal detectors were put in place after a deadly shooting in which Arab Israeli gunmen emerged from the holy site and killed two police officers.
Since then, the situation in Issawiya and other Palestinian areas has largely been calm.
Israel arrests 51 Palestinians in east Jerusalem raid
Israel arrests 51 Palestinians in east Jerusalem raid
Italy urges its citizens to leave Iran, be vigilant across Middle East
- The ministry said travel to Iraq and Lebanon was also strongly discouraged
- It advised Italian nationals in Israel to exercise maximum caution
ROME: Italy’s foreign ministry on Friday urged its citizens to leave Iran and advised extreme caution across the Middle East, citing persistently unstable security conditions.
“Italians in (Iran) for tourism or whose presence is not strictly necessary are urged to depart,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that travel to Iraq and Lebanon was also strongly discouraged.
It advised Italian nationals in Israel to exercise maximum caution and remain vigilant.
Several governments have issued similar warnings in recent days. Britain said on Friday it had temporarily withdrawn its staff from Iran and closed its embassy amid rising regional tensions.
The United States has built up a large military presence across the Middle East ahead of a possible strike on Iran, as talks between the two countries over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions continue with no sign of a breakthrough.
