Israeli Police: Jerusalem Attacks Kill Three

At least three people have been killed and many more injured in attacks in Jerusalem.

Two Palestinians carried out a shooting and stabbing attack on a bus in the Armon HaNatziv neighbourhood, killing two people.

Israeli police said one attacker was killed, while the other was apprehended.

Eight Israelis were injured, four of whom are believed to be in a serious condition.

Shortly afterwards, police said another Palestinian rammed a vehicle into a bus stop in the centre of the city before getting out and stabbing pedestrians. One person was killed and six wounded.

The driver was apprehended but his condition is unclear.

Earlier in Raanana, north of Tel Aviv, two people were injured in a stabbing by a Palestinian man believed to be from East Jerusalem - he was subdued by bystanders and arrested.

The attacks follow a wave of daily violence and unrest that is becoming seen as a new Palestinian intifada (uprising).

Six Israelis have been killed and dozens wounded this month, prompting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to order police and military reinforcements across the East Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank.

Some 26 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire, including 10 identified by Israel as attackers and the rest in clashes with Israeli troops, including two 13-year-olds.

The Palestinian Health Ministry says more than a thousand people were injured in confrontations, including from Israeli troops using live fire.

The latest violence has been driven by anger over Israel's occupation of the West Bank and disputes over access to the Al Aqsa mosque compound in the Old City of Jerusalem.

Palestinians fear the long-standing arrangement - which leaves the administration in the hands of mosque's Islamic clerics and allows non-Muslims to visit the site, but not pray - is being eroded.

They point to an increase in visits by hard-line Jewish groups, who demand the right to pray at the site and advocate the construction of a new Jewish temple within the compound.

Known to Muslims as the Haram al Sharif, it is the third holiest site in Islam, while for Jews it is the Temple Mount, the most sacred site in Judaism.

Clashes have taken place at the site in recent weeks as Israeli police barred entry to Islamic groups they accuse of planning violent protests.

Israel's government says it has no intention of changing access rules for the site, and say Palestinian claims to the contrary amount to incitement to violence.

Mr Netanyahu and the Palestinian president have called for calm, and security co-operation continues between the Palestinian Authority and Israeli forces.

However, the leader of Hamas in Gaza, Ismail Haniey described the recent violence as a new intifada and a justified response to the Israeli occupation and "crimes against Al Aqsa".