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Three Palestinian teens from east Jerusalem were arrested for allegedly carrying out a stabbing attack in Jerusalem earlier in May, Israeli police said on Monday.
The teens stabbed and beat a group of elderly women, moderately injuring two of them near the neighborhood of Armon Hanatziv in southeast Jerusalem on May 10.
After the attackers fled the scene they were subsequently arrested on May 19 by Israeli police, following a joint investigation with the Shin Bet security agency, police spokeswoman Luba Samri said in a statement.
"The suspects are minors aged 16 and 17 from Jabel Mukaber and they were interrogated by police and Shin Bet, as apparently had been planning to attack Jews for some time, even discussing it in school and on social media," Samri said.
While two of the suspects carried out the attack, the third suspect is accused of conspiring to commit the crime along with them.
In related news, a Palestinian academic was indicted in a military court near Ramallah in the West Bank on Monday for encouraging violence against Israelis, the Times of Israel website reported.
Professor Imad Barghouti, 52, an astrophysics expert from al-Quds University, was charged with inciting violence against Israel, while military prosecutors claimed Barghouti has ties with the militant Hamas organization.
Barghouti was arrested in April and placed under administrative detention, a controversial measure where Israeli security forces arrest and detain suspects without trial for periods renewable every six months.
Barghouti filed an appeal to the military court last week, and a military court judge on Sunday ordered his release from custody.
However, military prosecutors appealed the judge's ruling, filing an indictment Monday morning, demanding an adjournment until proceedings end at Ofer prison near Ramallah.
Barghouti's lawyer, Jawad Bolous, told the Times of Israel website that the indictment is "arbitrary" and that Israeli authorities are "resorting to false claims to oppress Palestinians. "
Following that, an Israeli parliament legislation committee proposed a bill on Monday redefining terrorist activity to include those who declare their affiliation with terrorist organizations, seeking harsher punishment of terrorists.
The proposal, however, still awaits approval from parliamentary representatives.
A wave of violence started last October has killed 28 Israelis and 204 Palestinians so far.
While Israelis were killed in stabbing, car-ramming and shooting attacks, Palestinians were killed either in clashes with Israeli security forces during protests, or were gunned down after committing - or attempting to commit - attacks against Israelis.
Israeli leaders blame the Palestinian Authority for inciting violence hence triggering the wave of unrest, whilst Palestinians claim it is the result of 49 years of Israel's occupation of the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza Strip territories, where Palestinians wish to establish a Palestinian state.
