Stone throwing, vandalism in Jerusalem as tensions rise

Tensions continue to rise after last week’s terror attack, in which a Jewish woman was stabbed in front of her children.

By World Israel News Staff

On the heels of last week’s stabbing attack in the Shimon HaTzadik (Sheikh Jarrah) neighborhood in eastern Jerusalem, tensions have continued to rise in the area and Hebrew language media reported stone throwing attacks and vandalism taking place over the weekend.

Kan News reported that a group of Arab youth threw stones at cars parked near the entrance to the neighborhood on Saturday evening. Some 10 cars were damaged, with their windshields and windows shattered by the stones.

The vehicles were parked near the de facto U.S. consulate for Palestinians in eastern Jerusalem, which was closed by former president Donald Trump and is widely expected to be reopened in the near future by the Biden administration.

A video posted on Twitter purported to show the perpetrators fleeing from the scene. The poster recorded about a dozen masked youth running away from the area where the cars were vandalized.

On Thursday evening, Kan reported that Jewish residents of Shimon HaTzadik had thrown stones at an Arab driver. Two 16-year-olds suspected of being involved in the incident were arrested on Friday morning.

One suspect is a resident of Haifa and the other is from a small town in Judea and Samaria.

Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Aryeh King was quick to condemn the Jewish stone throwers, telling Hebrew language media that “These lawbreakers are not wanted in the Jewish neighborhoods of east Jerusalem – I’m embarrassed by you. Don’t come back.”

However, no Arab lawmakers have publicly expressed their disapproval of stone throwing perpetrated by Arab residents of the neighborhood.

In recent weeks, Jerusalem has seen a wave of “lone wolf” terror attacks, in which a single actor attacks Jews with a knife or gun.

In late November, a Hamas-affiliated Islamic studies teacher, who was employed by the city of Jerusalem, shot a Jewish man to death and wounded three others.