Israeli police arrest Palestinians headed to Jerusalem

Israeli police arrested six Palestinian activists on their way to Jerusalem by bus, because they didn’t have permits, the Associated Press reported.

The activists, who called themselves “Freedom Riders,” were headed to Jerusalem on Tuesday, with dozens of reporters by bus, which they boarded in the West Bank for a half-hour ride. Once they reached the outskirts of Jerusalem they were stopped by police and told they couldn’t enter since they didn’t have permits, the AP reported. But the activists refused to vacate the bus, leading to the arrest of five of the activists, the Jerusalem police spokesman Shmuel Ben-Ruby told the AP.

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Witnesses reportedly saw activists dragged off the bus, the AP reported. One of the activists said they wanted to draw attention to travel restrictions for Palestinians.

Palestinians have been restricted from entering Jerusalem since 2000 when a Palestinian uprising started with several suicide bombings, AP reported.

On Monday morning a Hamas policeman was killed in an Israeli Air Force air strike in the northern Gaza Strip, the Jerusalem Post reported. The strike had come in response to a rocket fired into Israel the day earlier, in which no one was injured.

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According to the Jerusalem Post, 52 rockets were fired into Israel and Hamas is being held responsible for the attacks.

On Tuesday, Lt. General Benny Gantz told a parliamentary committee about the need to “embark on a significant offensive in Gaza,” the AP reported. Israeli media reports the country’s top military commander favors the offensive due to rocket attacks.