Two Palestinians, two Israelis killed in Jerusalem attack

Israeli police shot dead two Palestinians alleged to have carried out a stabbing attack that killed two Israelis and injured another along a popular walkway in Jerusalem on Wednesday. 

One of the Palestinians was killed on the scene while the other and two Israelis later died of their wounds.

The third Israeli remains in serious condition. Israeli police spokeswoman Luba Samri said one of the Israelis killed had apparently been hit by police gunfire aimed at the suspected attackers. 

The Palestinians killed were identified as Issa Asaf, 21, and Anan Abu Habseh, 21, from the Qalandiya refugee camp, located between Jerusalem and Ramallah.

Wednesday’s incident comes amid a recent surge in violence fueled by Israeli restrictions on worshippers at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque complex, which many Jews revere as a vestige of their biblical temples and is also Islam's holiest site outside Saudi Arabia.

Bloodshed has also been triggered by Palestinian frustration over the collapse of U.S.-sponsored peace talks in 2014 and the continued expansion of illegal Jewish settlements on Palestinian territory.

The latest stabbings took place right outside the Jaffa Gate, one of the main entrances to Jerusalem's walled Old City.

Since the beginning of October, at least 131 Palestinians and 21 Israelis have been killed. Thousands of Palestinians have also been injured in clashes with Israeli forces, overwhelming the Red Crescent and local medical facilities.

Al Jazeera and Reuters