Border Police officer lightly hurt during east Jerusalem riot

In response to the escalation of violence, Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch announced on Sunday the deployment of 500 policemen to flashpoint Arab neighborhoods.

By DANIEL K. EISENBUD
Police gather in the capital’s Isawiya neighborhood to prevent riots in the flash-point area. (photo credit: SETH J. FRANTZMAN)
Police gather in the capital’s Isawiya neighborhood to prevent riots in the flash-point area.
(photo credit: SETH J. FRANTZMAN)
A Border Police officer was lightly wounded during a riot in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Wadi Joz on Monday night, in which dozens of masked Palestinian men threw firebombs and rocks at police attempting to disperse the mob.
Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the violence began at approximately 10 p.m., when police arrived to disperse a large crowd.
“When police arrived at the scene, suspects threw firebombs and rocks, lightly wounding one officer, who was treated there by Magen David Adom,” he said. “Stun grenades were used to successfully disperse the crowd.”
There were no other injuries and one arrest was made, Rosenfeld said.
The riot came amid a spike in violence in the capital, which began Saturday night after an Arab teen from the E-Tur neighborhood was killed at a checkpoint near Ma’aleh Adumim while attempting to stab a soldier with a butcher knife.
In response to the escalation of violence, Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch announced on Sunday the deployment of 500 policemen to flashpoint Arab neighborhoods.
Rosenfeld confirmed on Tuesday that police patrols have increased throughout east Jerusalem.
“Police are regularly carrying out security assessments and are patrolling different neighborhoods to ensure there are no more incidents,” he said.
Following months of rioting last summer, Aharonovitch deployed 1,000 extra police officers in the capital, which quickly restored calm by a surge of Palestinian arrests