JERUSALEM— The Israeli military began deploying hundreds of troops in cities across the country on Wednesday to assist police forces in countering a wave of deadly Palestinian shooting and stabbing attacks that have created panic across the country.
The military’s planned deployment of six companies marks the first implementation of measures by Israel’s security Cabinet to counter the attacks that have intensified dramatically in recent days.
The Cabinet met late into the night and announced steps early Wednesday that included allowing police to seal off points of friction or incitement.
Many of the recent attackers have come from Arab areas of Jerusalem, prompting calls to seal off those neighborhoods to contain potential attackers. In a new step, Israeli forces placed makeshift checkpoints in Palestinian neighborhoods in Jerusalem to monitor traffic leaving the areas.
The Cabinet, which was meeting again Wednesday, also decided to strip residency rights and demolish homes of some attackers and draft hundreds more security guards to secure public transport.
Israeli police said 300 soldiers had already been incorporated into their deployment in Israeli cities, while security in Jerusalem had previously been reinforced.
“Decisions such as the ones adopted by the Israeli Cabinet pour gasoline on the fire,” he added. “Measures of collective punishment and killings and arrests and demolishing houses and confiscation of lands will only lead to the escalation of the situation.”
The Palestinian envoy to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, said Israel was acting in a “savage” way, pointing to the mounting Palestinian death toll.
In a brief speech Wednesday, Abbas called for a peaceful “national struggle.” He also threatened to submit a case to the International Criminal Court against what he called Israel’s “extrajudicial killings” of Palestinians.
The clashes erupted last month when young Palestinians barricaded themselves inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem’s Old City, hurling stones and firebombs at police.
The violence quickly spread across Israel and into the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Clashes continued Wednesday between Israeli troops and Palestinian protesters in the West Bank city of Bethlehem.
The Obama administration issued a strong condemnation of Palestinian incitement and assaults against Israelis. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said he planned to visit the region soon to try and encourage calm.
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