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JERUSALEM, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- A Palestinian stabbed and seriously wounded a Jewish ultra-Orthodox student Thursday in Jerusalem, a police statement said.
The 15-year-old perpetrator stabbed the 25-year-old Israeli in the neck then injured a security guard when attempting to flee the scene. Police caught the attacker and took him into custody, but did not elaborate on the condition of the assailant.
The incident took place at a light rail station in the French Hill, a settlement neighborhood in Jerusalem.
Israeli officials said Thursday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu imposed a ban on visits by high-ranking Israeli officials to the holy site of the al-Aqsa mosque compound.
However, tensions persisted with clashes between Palestinians and Israeli soldiers ongoing in the West Bank.
Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat called on Jewish residents of the city to carry personal weapons for self-protection Thursday. "The mayor encourages people who have a gun license to carry it with them to enhance their sense of security," the Jerusalem municipality said.
Israel's Army Radio said police forces will install metal detectors at East Jerusalem's Old City gates, in another bid to curb an outburst of Palestinian violence.
The recent violence was triggered due to increasing Israeli far-right activists visiting the al-Aqsa mosque compound, in an attempt to cancel a long-held ban on Jewish prayers there.
Palestinians say Israel is violating the 1967 status-quo agreement, which permits Jews to visit the site yet prohibits them from praying there.
The al-Aqsa mosque compound is the third Muslim holiest site and the holiest site for Jews, who call it the Temple Mount.
Israel objected to the visits, fearing potential incitement of violence at the compound, but the government recently changed its mind, bowing to pressure from right-wing leaders.
