Israel charges Palestinian, 13, with attempted murder

A 13-year-old Palestinian appeared in court Friday, charged with attempted murder over the stabbing and serious injury of two Israeli schoolboys in occupied east Jerusalem, the Israeli justice ministry said.

The incident, on October 12, involved not only Ahmed Manasra, but his 15-year-old cousin, Hassan, who was shot dead after the second attack.

The two had left school and talked "about the situation at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, that of the residents of Gaza, about the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, and decided to become martyrs... and to stab Jews", a ministry statement said.

They allegedly went home, got knives, headed to the Jewish settlement of Pisgat Zeev and stabbed a young ultra-Orthodox Jew twice before he managed to escape.

They then accosted a 12-year-old who was on his bicycle, stabbing him four times, before running away.

Ahmed was hit by a car as they fled, and Hassan shot dead by Israeli security forces when he allegedly threatened them with a knife.

Israel, Jerusalem and the Palestinian territories have been gripped by a surge of violence, with nine Israelis killed in a spate of knifings and shootings this month.

Sixty-three Palestinians and one Israeli Arab have also been killed.

Tensions soared over the status of the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in east Jerusalem, a holy site revered by both Muslims and Jews.

Palestinians accuse Israel of seeking to change the rules that allow Muslims to pray there, but not non-Muslims.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly denied those claims.

Source: AFP