Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to implement harsh security measures in response to mounting violence in Palestine and Israel.
The move comes in the aftermath of a Palestinian car ramming attack in Jerusalem on Friday that killed two young children and an adult.
During a cabinet meeting on Sunday, Mr Netanyahu said “the appropriate answer to terrorism is to strike it hard — and deepen our roots in our country even more,” an allusion to accompanying plans to advance Israeli settlements in Palestinian territory.
Far-right ministers in the new government have been calling for a harsh response for days. Shortly after Friday's attack, hardline National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called for a major operation in response.
On Saturday, he posted a tweet reiterating his initial demands: “To the attention of those giving briefings against me, the police have the authority to demolish illegal buildings, to arrest over 150 targets and raid their homes, to stop the incitement at the mosques, to arrest those with tax debts and more.”
Israeli forces have launched a number of deadly attacks in Palestinian areas, bringing the rate of deaths to highs not seen in years.
They have also responded with controversial measures, including sealing and demolishing the family homes of terrorists. This week, the Knesset, the country's parliament, will debate legislation that would legalise the expulsion of terrorists and their families who hold Israeli citizenship or residency.
There is growing concern in Israel and the international community that violence could be escalating uncontrollably.
On Sunday, dozens of leaders and senior officials from Arab and Islamic countries gathered in Cairo to condemn Israeli actions in Jerusalem and the West Bank.
Last week, CIA Director William Burns warned that Israel appears to be on the cusp of a third intifada, a term used to describe previous Palestinian uprisings. The last two resulted in the deaths of more than 5,000 Palestinians and about 1,400 Israelis.
Security issues were a major topic in last year's elections and a key driver of the far-right vote.
Mounting pressure to fix the security situation comes as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces weeks-long mass protests and labour strikes set to take place on Monday over his government's planned judicial reforms.
In a sign that contentious issues are combining to expose a deep rift in Israeli politics, Tally Gotliv, a member of parliament and ally of Mr Netanyahu, blamed Supreme Court Chief Justice Esther Hayut for Friday's ramming attack. In the same tweet, Ms Gotliv also wrote: “I blame [Ms Hayut] for the feeling of chaos in the Israeli nation. I accuse her of destruction and serious harm to democracy and the rule of law.”
Anger among far-right politicians is also exposing a rift in the government. Earlier in February, Mr Ben-Gvir threatened to step down in a matter of months if the government did not change its “lenient” policies towards terror and other issues.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Armies of Sand
By Kenneth Pollack (Oxford University Press)
Ponti
Sharlene Teo, Pan Macmillan
Manchester United v Club America
When: Thursday, 9pm Arizona time (Friday UAE, 8am)
WHAT FANS WILL LOVE ABOUT RUSSIA
FANS WILL LOVE
Uber is ridiculously cheap and, as Diego Saez discovered, mush safer. A 45-minute taxi from Pulova airport to Saint Petersburg’s Nevsky Prospect can cost as little as 500 roubles (Dh30).
FANS WILL LOATHE
Uber policy in Russia is that they can start the fare as soon as they arrive at the pick-up point — and oftentimes they start it even before arriving, or worse never arrive yet charge you anyway.
FANS WILL LOVE
It’s amazing how active Russians are on social media and your accounts will surge should you post while in the country. Throw in a few Cyrillic hashtags and watch your account numbers rocket.
FANS WILL LOATHE
With cold soups, bland dumplings and dried fish, Russian cuisine is not to everybody’s tastebuds. Fortunately, there are plenty Georgian restaurants to choose from, which are both excellent and economical.
FANS WILL LOVE
The World Cup will take place during St Petersburg's White Nights Festival, which means perpetual daylight in a city that genuinely never sleeps. (Think toddlers walking the streets with their grandmothers at 4am.)
FANS WILL LOATHE
The walk from Krestovsky Ostrov metro station to Saint Petersburg Arena on a rainy day makes you wonder why some of the $1.7 billion was not spent on a weather-protected walkway.
History's medical milestones
1799 - First small pox vaccine administered
1846 - First public demonstration of anaesthesia in surgery
1861 - Louis Pasteur published his germ theory which proved that bacteria caused diseases
1895 - Discovery of x-rays
1923 - Heart valve surgery performed successfully for first time
1928 - Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin
1953 - Structure of DNA discovered
1952 - First organ transplant - a kidney - takes place
1954 - Clinical trials of birth control pill
1979 - MRI, or magnetic resonance imaging, scanned used to diagnose illness and injury.
1998 - The first adult live-donor liver transplant is carried out
