by Our Foreign Desk

PALESTINE’S ambassador to the United Nations accused Israel of “savage” behaviour yesterday as the death toll from clashes rose.

A 20-year-old Palestinian man was shot dead outside Jerusalem’s Damascus Gate — the 31st Palestinian to be killed since the start of the month. Around 1,500 have been injured.

Eight Israelis have also been killed since unrest began in Jerusalem.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the man had a knife and was behind an attack, although no injuries were reported or alleged victims named.

Hundreds of Israeli troops were being deployed in various cities and Israeli politicians called on Jewish citizens to carry guns, supposedly to protect themselves from the Arab population of East Jerusalem — which has been under Israeli occupation since being illegally annexed in 1967.

Palestinian protesters clashed with Israeli soldiers in Bethlehem, where stone-throwing was met with stun grenades and tear gas.

The troops’ deployment was the first step in measures agreed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government in an overnight meeting called in response to Tuesday’s violence, when three Israelis and three Palestinians were killed.

Other extreme steps will include giving police the power to seal off entire neighbourhoods and prevent residents from leaving.

The houses of the families of Palestinians believed to be involved in attacks on Israelis will be demolished, and their residency rights in Jerusalem will also be revoked if they have them.

While Mr Netanyahu has condemned zionist attacks on “innocent Arabs,” no such brutal measures will be meted out to Israeli citizens involved in such violence.

Internal Security Minister Gilad Erdan also weighed in yesterday, saying that the bodies of Palestinians who have been killed in the clashes should not be returned to their families for burial.

Mr Erdan pointed to the mass attendance at the funerals of Palestinians who attacked or are accused of attacking Israelis, which he described as “an exhibition of support for terror and incitement to murder.”