Four Israelis and 23 Palestinians have died in 12 days of violence, that has spread from Jerusalem and the Israeli-occupied West Bank to Israel’s interior and Hamas-ruled Gaza.

Israel said its aircraft targeted a Hamas facility in the Gaza Strip, after rockets were fired across the border.

The woman and her child were killed when their house, which was near to the facility, collapsed, according to Palestinian medical officials.

Meanwhile, on a West Bank road leading to Jerusalem, police pulled over a car driven by a Palestinian woman who they said shouted ‘God is great’, and detonated an explosive when approached by officers.

Both the woman and the officer were injured in the explosion.

‘We foiled a car bomb attack,’ said police commander Rafi Cohen. ‘We have no doubt the woman terrorist who drove the vehicle intended to reach Jerusalem.’

Cohen added that there were more explosives still inside the vehicle. Although he gave no more detaisl, Army Radio reported that gas canisters were found inside.

Palestinians have so far not used bombs, which were a hallmark of their second uprising, between 2000 and 2005, in the current violence.

Israeli leaders have described the bloodshed as a ‘wave of terror’, just falling short of an organised ‘Intifada’ [uprising]. 

Palestinians have reportedly been attacking Israelis with knives, rocks and, on at least one occasion, guns, against a backdrop of Muslim protests over Jewish access to al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem.

The al-Asqa mosque compound is revered by Jews as the site of biblical temples.

Palestinians see increasing visits over the past year by Jewish groups and right-wing lawmakers to the al-Aqsa plaza, which is Islam’s third holiest site, as eroding Muslim religious control of the compound.

Israel has repeatedly said that it has no intention of allowing any chance to the status quo under which Jews are allowed to visit the site but non-Muslim prayer is banned.

Although the almost-daily attacks and clashes between Israeli soldiers and stone-throwing Palestinians have not reached the intensity of past Palestinian uprisings, but the rapid escalation has stirred talk of a third ‘Intifada’.

Amos Gilad, a senior Israeli defence official, said security cooperation with the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited self-rule in the West Bank, was continuing.

‘The Palestinian Authority is not interested in matters deteriorating, because then they would be swallowed up in the cloud of violence and the fire and terror that is liable to develop,’ he told Army Radio. 

(dailymail.co.uk)