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Netanyahu Tells Israelis to Be on 'Maximum Alert' for Attacks

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A Palestinian girl hurls stones at Israeli troops in the West Bank city of Hebron Oct. 7, 2015. A suspected Palestinian militant stabbed and wounded an Israeli soldier, snatched his gun and was shot dead by special forces, police said.
A Palestinian girl hurls stones at Israeli troops in the West Bank city of Hebron Oct. 7, 2015. A suspected Palestinian militant stabbed and wounded an Israeli soldier, snatched his gun and was shot dead by special forces, police said.


Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is warning Israelis to be on "maximum alert" for more violence and trouble after Palestinians carried out several knife attacks against Jews on Wednesday.

"Civilians are at the forefront of the war against terrorism and must also be on maximum alert," Netanyahu said while visiting a police command center.

"We have known worse times than this, and we will also overcome this wave of terrorism with determination, responsibility and unity."

Netanyahu canceled a trip to Germany set for Thursday to deal with a surge in Palestinian attacks on Israelis.

On Wednesday, a Palestinian woman stabbed an Israeli man, who then shot and wounded her in Jerusalem's Old City. The attack occurred hours after Israel had lifted some of the tight security measures imposed on Palestinians in the Old City.

Also Wednesday, a suspected Palestinian militant stabbed an Israeli soldier in southern Israel before other soldiers shot him dead. In central Israel, a Palestinian stabbed an Israeli man at the entrance to a shopping mall. Witnesses said civilians subdued the attacker before police arrived.

Violence between Israelis and Palestinians has grown in the past week, primarily over the East Jerusalem holy site revered by Muslims as the al-Aqsa Mosque and by Jews as the Temple Mount.

Palestinians have accused Israelis of trying to restrict them from visiting and praying at the mosque, a charge Israel denies.

Four Israelis died last week in shooting and stabbing attacks in Jerusalem and the West Bank, while Israeli forces have killed four Palestinians, including a 13-year-old boy, amid violent protests.

Tough talk from Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, along with continued Jewish settlement in the Palestinian-controlled West Bank, have made the chances of a two-state peace deal even more remote.

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