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BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- A spate of anti-Palestinian hate attacks have been reported since late Thursday in Jerusalem and northern Israel, police and Israeli media said.

In Jerusalem, four Israeli girls attacked a Palestinian taxi driver with pepper spray in King George Street late Thursday, Israeli police said.

Another Palestinian claimed he was also attacked by a group of Israeli girls in the center of the city.

Police said they arrested four girls, settlers from the occupied West Bank, and a court ordered that they be banned from Jerusalem for 15 days.

In northern Israel, unknown assailants threw acid on the car of an Imam in Acre late Thursday. An Israeli police spokesman said they are looking into the background of the incident.

Israeli news site Ynet reported that a 53-year-old man was arrested near Haifa after threatening Palestinian workers with a knife. The man was disarmed by one of the workers at the restaurant and police arrested the suspect.

Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported Friday that Palestinian taxi drivers in Jerusalem have stopped working at night due to verbal and physical assaults.

Fear grips Israelis and Palestinians

The attacks come amid rising tensions in Jerusalem following restrictions at Al-Aqsa, a campaign of detentions against Palestinians, and a series of attacks on Israelis by Palestinian individuals, the latest of which saw five Israelis killed in a synagogue.

Following the incident, in which both suspects were shot dead, the mayor of Ashkelon in southern Israel ordered a ban on Palestinian municipal workers in the city and deployed armed guards at kindergartens located opposite building sites employing Palestinians.

In Jerusalem, where tensions have been rising since the summer, both Israelis and Palestinians say they are increasingly scared about violence in the city.

"I now avoid driving into religious Jewish areas, because I'm afraid I'll pay the price," Palestinian taxi driver Shadi told AFP.

"If I see a Jewish couple, I'll pick them up -- they're less likely to be a threat. But if it's three young guys, especially hardline religious men, I don't take them," he added.

East Jerusalem bookshop owner Imad Muna said he felt more of a target for both Jewish extremists and Israeli security forces.

"Tensions are higher. There's much more venom between the Palestinians and Israelis at the moment.

"We're trying not to go alone into Israeli areas, especially at night. We'll go in groups if necessary, but we won't let our children go."

West Jerusalem resident Ayelet Blass told AFP that even hardened Israelis are finding it difficult to come to terms with the city's new reality.

"The randomness is scary," she said. "I'm afraid to walk around -- God knows what's going to happen, even in the middle of the day."

AFP contributed to this report

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