Amid ongoing spate of violent attacks on Israelis, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday evening convened a press conference along with Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon, Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan, IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot and Interim Police Chief Bentzi Sau.
"This cruel terrorism did not begin today," said the prime minister. "It has accompanied the Zionist enterprise from its beginning. We always knew how to curb the rioters and build our country, and so we will act this time, as well."
- Ya'alon emphasized that Israel is not interested in an escalation.
Minister Erdan noted that 2,000 additional police officers have been sent to patrol the streets of Jerusalem. He added that over half of the hundreds of people arrested were minors, saying it was the result of misleading incitement.
Answering reporter's questions, Netanyahu said it was essential for Palestinians to stop spreading lies about supposed Israeli attempts to change the status quo at the Temple Mount. He also stated that it was impossible to prevent every flare-up. He further said that Israel currently enjoys international support for its actions, generally speaking.
Netanyahu, Ya'alon and Erdan all noted that despite claims from some o the public, the IDF is not being held back from handling security problems.
Just on Thursday, seven Israelis were wounded in several separate attacks.