LIVE BLOG: Violence in Jerusalem

Jordan has called for "restraint and calm" after two Palestinians killed five Israelis at a Jerusalem synagogue.

As custodian of the holy places in annexed Arab east Jerusalem, Jordan also urged a halt to Israeli actions at the city's flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound that have helped fuel months of Palestinian unrest.

Government spokesman Mohammed Mumeni said Amman "condemns all acts of violence and terrorism against civilians, whatever the source of the violence or the motives".

"The government is closely following the serious situation in Jerusalem and calls for restraint and calm," he said, quoted by state news agency Petra.

Israeli authorities were quick to label the death a suicide.

But almost all Palestinians believe al-Ramouni was murdered by extremist settlers – a conviction built on inadequacies in the official report on his death and the context of persecution, marginalisation and deep fear felt by East Jerusalemites, and particularly those working in for Israeli employers, an MEE contributor reported. 

Gathering to pay their respects in Abu Dis yesterday afternoon, al-Ramouni’s colleagues at Egged said Palestinian drivers were hit by passengers and threatened, and that the word “Arab” was frequently used as a derogatory term against them. For the next two days, employees will continue a strike against the danger and harassment they face at work – a situation, they say, that’s based on racism and goes largely unrecognised by their Israeli employers.

“The Jewish Israelis, they hate us,” Nadeem, a driver in his early forties, told Middle East Eye.

“If they know that a driver is Arab, then they are going to start making it harder for them. They always curse us, and there is lots of tension between us, and this is only increasing. The attacks and the abuse are increasing. Their hatred against Arabs is growing every single day. It’s impossible to live with them and to deal with them anymore.”

Israeli police late Tuesday released nine relatives of two Palestinian attackers who had been detained earlier in the day, a lawyer told Ma'an news agency.

Israeli police raided the Jabal al-Mukabbir neighborhood on Tuesday and detained 12 family members of Ghassan Abu Jamal and his cousin Uday after they entered a synagogue in Jerusalem and killed five Israelis with meat cleavers, knives and guns.

A lawyer for the Addameer prisoners' rights group said that police kept two brothers of Abu Jamal and the brother of Uday in prison custody.

Israeli radio announced today that 78 new settlement units have been approved for Jerusalem.

50 units will be built in the south of the city, though the exact location was not specified - a further 28 will be built in the north.

Israel's ongoing policy of settlement expansion has caused an escalation in tension in the city, and has attracted international criticism.

Israeli campaign group the Israeli Committee against House Demolitions (ICAHD) issued a statement on Wednesday regarding the spiralling violence in and around Jerusalem.

In it, the group accused Israel of forgoeing "any effort to address the grievances of a people under its control", instead descending into "raw oppression."

ICAHD condenmed the Israeli "answer" to what it called the "downward cycle of senseless violence in which Jerusalem finds itself."

"House demolitions, mass arrests, revoking the 'residency' of native-born Jerusalemites, closing Palestinian neighbourhoods with concrete blocks, arming Israeli Jewish vigilantes."

The group warned that these policies would "inflame the situation", which many warn is already on the brink of becoming a full-fledged intifada.

Naftali Bennett on Wednesday called for a military operation to be launched in East Jerusalem, similar to the actions taken during the second intifada.

In an interview with Israeli army radio, right-wing Israeli Economy Minister Naftali Bennett called for more action from Israel, saying they should move from defence to offence in the wake of yesterday's deadly synagogue attack.

"Go in with Border Police forces, make arrests, create intelligence channels, stay there on a permanent basis, not just when there's a terror attack," he added.

"Instead of just placing guards at every cafe and restaurant in Israel, at every synagogue and every kindergarten, we need to go to the source."

Israeli authorities on Wednesday raised their alert level in Jerusalem, in the wake of Tuesday's deadly attack that killed four rabbis and a police officer.

On Wednesday afternoon, Islamic Jihad leader Youssef al-Hussaina said that the steps taken by Israeli authorities would inevitably lead to more bloodshed.

Hussaina said the decision to increase firearms licences for settlers was "tantamount to a green light for the continuation of assaults."

He called for Palestinians to adopt a unified position, and demanded that the Palestinian Authority under the leadership of President Mahmoud Abbas halt its policy of "co-ordination" with Israeli authorities.

Applications for gun licences in Israel are at an all-time high, reports Israeli news site Jewish Press.

According to the report, the website, run by the Israeli Ministry of Public Security, crashed this week due to unusually high traffic volumes.

The upsurge in interest in firearms in Israel, where it is estimated that some 500,000 civilians own firearms, comes amid months of unrest in Jerusalem and beyond.

However, a planned protest this morning, at which right-wing activists were asked to come "armed" to morning prayers at the Damascus gate in the Arab quarter of the Old City, attracted only a handful of participants.

Orez Ziv, MEE's reporter on the ground, told us that the majority of those who attended were officers deployed to police the demonstration.

Israel's Foreign MInistry this morning issued a stinging attack after the Spanish parliament's symbolic vote to recognise the state of Palestine.

"Spain's decision to recognise Palestine ends the hope of reaching a peace agreement," the ministry said in a statement after it was announced that Spain would recognise Palestine, but only after a comprehensive peace deal is reached with Israel.

"The decision encourages Palestinians to take extremist stances."

Amid reports of simmering violence in Jerusalem, and house raids and clashes in Hebron, Israel's Internal Security Minister has given a pessimistic forecast for the next few months.

"Restoring calm to Jerusalem will take months", Yitzhak Aharonovitch said this morning.

His comments came as Jerusalem police move forward with plans to recruit armed volunteers to a Civil Guard for the city.

Israeli police and an army batallion destroyed an apartment in the Silwan neighbourhood of East Jerusalem in the early hours of this morning.

The apartment had been the home of Abdel Rahman al-Shaludi, the Palestinian accused of launching a "terror" attack by driving his car into a group of pedestrians on 22 October.

The flat was on the third floor of an old apartment block in the centre of the neighbourhood - the family had been given 48 hours to vacate the property.

The house of Shaludi's uncle, who lives on the floor above, was also raided.

"The police came into my apartment and searched it. They took some money I had hidden in my house," the man told MEE on Wednesday morning.

"I am Abdel Rahman's uncle, but we just want to live and work. We are not connected to what he did."

Rubble caused by explosives placed in the flat fell onto the street below, flattening a neighbour's car.

Israeli news site Ynet News reports this morning that three Tel Aviv residents were arrested by Israeli security forces overnight, after shouting "Allahu Akbar" from their apartments.

According to the site, the arrestees "clashed" with police who arrived at the scene.

Among the detainees is a well-known lawyer, whose name was not disclosed.

At least 23 people were arrested during disturbances on Tuesday evening.

An overwhelming majority of Spanish parliamentarians voted last night to recognise the state of Palestine.

319 lawmakers supported the proposal - two voted the motion down, while one abstained.

However, a significant caveat means the recognition will only happen after a comprehensive peace deal with Israel.

Spain's governing Popular Party amended the text of the bill to include assurance that "this recognition should be the consequence of a process negotiated between the two parties that guarantees peace and security for both."

The move comes after a wave of other European countries approve similar proposals to officially recognise the state of Palestine.

The UK, Sweden and Ireland have already taken the step, and French lawmakers are due to vote on the proposal on 28 November.

Relations between Israel and Ireland took a turn for the worse after the decision, with Israeli officials condemning the vote.

• US President Barack Obama has condemned yesterday's synagogue attack, which killed three US citizens as well as a British national and an Israeli police officer. Calling the attack "horrific", Obama called on political leaders from both sides to seek to lower tensions in and around Jerusalem.
• Israeli authorities last night demolished the home of Abdel Rahman al-Shaludi, the Palestinian man accused of intentionally killing two people, including a three-month old baby, when his car rammed into a group of pedestrians at a light rail stop in Jerusalem on 22 October.
• Worshippers this morning returned to the West Jerusalem synagogue that was the scene of yesterday's attack. Reports surfaced yesterday suggesting that the killings may have been a revenge attack for the murder of Mohammed Abu Khdeir, the Palestinian teen who died after being burned alive by settlers. The father of one of Khdeir's killers regularly prayed at the synagogue.