Kaamil Ahmed
26 October 2015•Update: 26 October 2015
JERUSALEM
Tens of thousands of Palestinian residents of Jerusalem could lose their right to enter the city, according to proposals reportedly made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported on Monday that Netanyahu's proposal targeted some 80,000 Palestinians living in the Shufat refugee camp and the Kafr Aqab neighborhood.
Both areas lie beyond the Israeli-built separation barrier that runs along the de facto border between the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Israel.
Nevertheless, both are considered part of East Jerusalem, while their inhabitants are considered Jerusalem residents who therefore enjoy access to the city.
This month, Israel introduced a number of restrictive security measures -- including stepped-up police searches, checkpoints and roadblocks -- throughout East Jerusalem.
The fresh measures come amid an ongoing wave of violence that has left at least 58 Palestinians and 10 Israelis dead.
Rising death toll
On Sunday, Israeli police reported three separate Palestinian knife attacks on Israelis, which resulted in two Palestinians being shot dead, including a 17-year-old girl in the West Bank city of Hebron.
Recent weeks have reportedy seen almost daily Palestinian knife attacks on Israelis, some of which have led to fatalities among the latter.
The attacks have also led to 29 alleged Palestinian attackers being shot dead by Israeli security forces.
In several cases, however, Palestinians have challenged Israeli claims that knife attacks had actually occurred and that there had been a need to employ lethal force against the alleged attackers.
Numerous other Palestinians have been shot dead by Israeli security forces during demonstrations in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
Several alleged knife attackers reportedly hailed from the Shufat refugee camp, which has also recently been the site of heavy clashes with security forces.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, meanwhile, held talks in Jordan over the weekend with Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in an attempt to ease the tension.
The region has been rocked by frequent clashes since Sep. 13, when Israel began imposing restrictions on Muslim worshipers at East Jerusalem's flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
The violence has escalated further since Oct. 1, when a pair of Israeli settlers were killed in the West Bank.
