Israeli military forces have arrested a Palestinian teenage boy in the southern part of the occupied territories as tensions continue to simmer between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian protesters in the aftermath of rallies in protest at restrictive measures at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
Israeli police spokesperson Luba al-Samri said in a statement that a 42-year-old Israeli man sustained serious wounds on Wednesday morning, when an unidentified 19-year-old Palestinian from the city of Yatta, located approximately eight kilometers south of the city of al-Khalil (Hebron), entered a supermarket in Yavne and stabbed the man several times in his upper body.
The Palestinian teenager was then tackled to the ground by civilians, before Israeli police forces arrived to arrest him.
The Israeli man was taken to the Kaplan Medical Center in the city of Rehovot, where medical source said he was in critical condition, having sustained stab wounds to the chest, neck and head. The 42-year-old is unconscious and hooked up to a ventilator.
The Israeli regime imposed a series of measures, which included installation of metal detectors, turnstiles, and additional surveillance cameras, following a deadly attack at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound last month.
On July 14, three Palestinians opened fire on Israeli forces at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, killing two of them before being shot dead.
Israeli officials decided to remove the controversial security measures late on July 26.
The occupied Palestinian territories have witnessed new tensions ever since Israeli forces introduced restrictions on the entry of Palestinian worshippers into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem al-Quds in August 2015.
More than 300 Palestinians have lost their lives at the hands of Israeli forces in the ongoing tensions since the beginning of October 2015.
The Tel Aviv regime has tried to change the demographic makeup of Jerusalem al-Quds over the past decades by constructing settlements, destroying historical sites and expelling the local Palestinian population. Palestinians say the Israeli measures are aimed at paving the way for the Judaization of the city.
The al-Aqsa Mosque compound is a flashpoint Islamic site, which is also holy to Jews. The mosque is Islam’s third holiest site after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia.
Israel detains Palestinian lawmaker in West Bank
Meanwhile, Israeli soldiers have abducted a Palestinian legislator during separate raids across the occupied West Bank.
The Palestinian Prisoners' Society (PPS) stated that a large number of Israeli troopers raided the northern West Bank town of Asirah al-Shamaliyah, located six kilometers north of Nablus, on Wednesday morning, and detained eight people, including Palestinian Legislative Council member Hosni Bourini (pictured below).
A dozen more Palestinians were arrested in Talluzah village and the cities of Salfit, Ramallah, Silwad, al-Khader, Bethlehem, al-Khalil and Jerusalem al-Quds.
According to reports, a total of 13 Palestinian lawmakers are currently imprisoned in Israeli detention facilities.
Nine of them are being held without trial under the so-called administrative detention, which is a policy of imprisoning Palestinians in Israeli detention facilities without trial or charge. Some Palestinian prisoners have been held in administrative detention for up to 11 years.