Israel locks down WB town

Israeli forces locked down a West Bank town yesterday that was home to Palestinians who killed a policewoman and wounded another in Jerusalem, an attack analysts called an escalation after months of violence.

The three Palestinians from Qabatiya near Jenin, believed to be 19 to 20 years old, were shot dead during Wednesday's attack outside Jerusalem's Old City in which the border policewoman was shot in the head.

The attack outside the walled Old City's Damascus Gate, in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, was part of a four-month wave of violence, but was among the most severe in the city, where many assaults have involved knives.

Israeli authorities said the three assailants were armed with guns, knives and explosives, indicating they intended to carry out a major attack.

The attack occurred when border police approached the Palestinians for identity checks, Israeli authorities said. As one showed his ID, the others opened fire and began stabbing.

Meanwhile, a court sentenced two young Israelis to life and 21 years in prison yesterday for burning a Palestinian teen alive.

The two Israelis were minors at the time of the chilling attack in which they and a third man snatched Mohammed Abu Khdeir, 16, from an east Jerusalem street and subsequently killed him.

Israeli settler Yosef Haim Ben-David, 31, is said to have led the attack on Abu Khdeir but his lawyers say he suffers from a mental illness and was not responsible for his actions at the time.

The court has found that he committed the crime but is yet to rule if he is mentally competent.

The two others were 16 when they killed Abu Khdeir in 2014 but are now 18.

The court, which has not identified them because they were minors at the time, noted they were from ultra-Orthodox Jewish families.