JERUSALEM — Palestinian assailants carried out stabbing attacks Monday in Tel Aviv and the West Bank, police said, killing an Israeli woman and a soldier as a wave of Arab unrest appeared to be gaining strength.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised a harsh response – a confrontational strategy that risks deepening weeks of turmoil that has shaken the country.

With the latest attacks believed to be the work of lone assailants, however, police could have a tough time preventing more of them.

Tensions between Israelis and Palestinians have been high since a 50-day Israeli war in July and August against militants in the Gaza Strip and increased friction over Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site – the hilltop complex revered by Jews as the Temple Mount and by Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary.

Israel’s Arab minority also has been brought into the mix, with street protests following the shooting death of a young Israeli Arab man by Israeli police.

Israel has accused Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of inciting violence by not condemning the Palestinian attacks and urging Palestinians to block Jewish prayer at the holy site “by any means.”


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