Palestinian youth seriously wounded by settler fire

Jewish settlers shot and seriously wounded a Palestinian in the occupied West Bank early on Wednesday, the Red Crescent and witnesses said.

The 18-year-old was in intensive care but in a stable condition after the shooting east of Bethlehem, a medic told AFP.

Israeli police confirmed that a Palestinian had been wounded when shots were fired in response to stone throwing but did not say who fired them.

The shooting happened on a section of road linking two Jewish settlements that passes close to the Palestinian town of Beit Sahir and has been the scene of frequent clashes between settlers and Palestinians.

Those have increased in recent days following the killing of a settler couple in front of their young children in a drive-by shooting on their vehicle that sparked a string of revenge attacks on Palestinians.

Easing the tension

The Israeli move came after Abbas instructed security forces and political factions to prevent any escalation of the violence in fear of a new intifada

In an apparent bid to ease soaring tensions that have sparked three weeks of deadly violence in annexed east Jerusalem and the West Bank, Israel lifted restrictions on worship at the flashpoint al-Aqsa mosque compound on Wednesday morning.

Swiftly welcomed by Washington, the Israeli move came after Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas instructed security forces and political factions to prevent any escalation of the violence which has raised fears of a new intifada or uprising.

The al-Aqsa compound has been the focus of angry protests which have raged in annexed east Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank, and which on Tuesday spread to the heart of Israel with masked Arab Israeli demonstrators hurling stones at police in the Jaffa district of Tel Aviv.

Palestinians fear that Israel's right-wing governing coalition is poised to change longstanding rules which allow Jews to visit, but not pray at, the mosque compound, which is holy to both faiths.

There have been repeated clashes in and around the compound in Jerusalem's Old City through a succession of Jewish religious holidays that have seen a rise in the numbers of Jewish visitors.

The disturbances prompted Israel to deny entry to Muslim men under 50 from Sunday.

But police announced late on Tuesday that the restriction would be lifted in time for Wednesday's Muslim prayers.

US State Department spokesman Mark Toner welcomed the move as "a step in the right direction" to ease tensions.

Israeli and Palestinian security officials also met at an undisclosed location in the West Bank on Tuesday evening for talks that the Israeli media said were aimed at restoring calm.

The talks followed Abbas' call for restraint.

"We are telling our security forces, our political movements, that we do not want an escalation, but that we want to protect ourselves," the official Wafa news agency quoted the Palestinian leader as telling officials.

Abbas's intentions had been unclear before his latest comments, particularly after a speech he gave to the UN General Assembly last week in which he declared he was no longer bound by accords with Israel.

The Palestinian leader had accused Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu of stoking the violence with a series of draconian measures imposed in response to the killings of four Israelis.

They included a temporary ban on Palestinians entering Jerusalem's Old City, except for residents, business owners and schoolchildren. That was lifted on Tuesday.

Netanyahu also ordered security forces to step up punitive measures against Palestinian militants and on Tuesday they demolished the homes of two Palestinians who carried out attacks last year.

Such demolitions are condemned by human rights groups as collective punishment targeting not only convicted militants but also their families.

Netanyahu postponed a Thursday visit to Germany due to the unrest, an Israeli official said.

"The trip has been postponed due to the security situation," the official said Wednesday on condition of anonymity, amid a series of clashes and attacks involving Palestinians, Israeli security forces and Jewish settlers.

Germany had voiced concern on Monday ahead of Netanyahu's visit about the risk of a "new intifada" [uprising] following the clashes.

	Israeli attacks on al-Aqsa mosque: Click here to enlarge

Escalating violence

On Wednesday morning, an Arab woman stabbed a Jewish man in a new knife attack in Jerusalem's Old City before being shot and seriously wounded by her victim, Israeli police said.

The 35-year-old man, who was armed, was only lightly wounded and managed to draw his gun after she stabbed him in the back, police spokeswoman Luba Samri said.

The woman was taken to hospital in serious condition, she added.

The stabbing happened in the alleyways of the Old City not far from the al-Aqsa mosque compound just days after two Israelis were killed in a knife and gun attack in the Old City, prompting the temporary ban on Palestinians other than residents, business owners and schoolchildren entering the district.