An Israeli and a Palestinian were killed in separate incidents one day after inconclusive peace talks in London.
In one incident Wednesday, a 28-year-old yeshiva student was stabbed to death in Jerusalem’s Old City while walking to morning prayers at the Western Wall.
Police, who blamed Palestinian militants, said it appeared that the unknown assailants had waited to ambush Haim Kerman, a resident of the Muslim Quarter.
Kerman was usually accompanied when he went to prayers, but was walking alone at the time of the attack, police added.
They also said it appeared that Kerman had fired at least one shot from his licensed pistol and that the attacker had taken his gun.
Jerusalem Mayor Ehud Olmert called the incident “very, very grave” and urged the government to take further steps to stop “Arab terrorists.”
Meanwhile, in the West Bank, a Jewish settler shot and killed a Palestinian who him stabbed him in the chest, slightly wounding him.
The settler was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment of his wounds.
The attack occurred near the Jewish settlement of Eli, where mobile homes had been set up to demarcate a new neighborhood for the settlement.
The violence came one day after intensive discussions in London involving U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat failed to advance the deadlocked peace process.
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