Palestinian attacks up as Biden visits Israel

Soon after in the occupied West Bank, Israeli soldiers shot and killed a Palestinian who tried to stab them, the military said. The attacks came a day after an American tourist was killed in Tel Aviv by a Palestinian who went on a stabbing spree on the beach-front while Biden met former Israeli President Shimon Peres blocks away. 

On Twitter, Biden called it a “tragic attack ... taking the life of an American” and said “there is no justification for such acts of terror”. There was no immediate comment from Palestinian authorities.

Since October, Palestinian stabbings, shootings and car rammings have killed 28 Israelis and two US citizens. Israeli forces have killed at least 179 Palestinians, 121 of whom Israel says were assailants. 

Most others were shot dead during violent protests. After several days in which the violence largely subsided, a series of attacks erupted after Biden arrived in Israel on Tuesday. The bloodshed has been fuelled by various factors, including a dispute over Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa mosque compound and the failure of several rounds of peace talks to secure the Palestinians an independent state in Israeli-occupied territory. 

US officials warned against any expectations of a breakthrough on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, stalled since 2014, in Biden’s meetings with  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Mahmoud Abbas.