Israel’s divided government fell apart Tuesday as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired two rebellious Cabinet ministers and called for a new election more than two years ahead of schedule.

In the face of a rising wave of violence, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pushing forward a plan to formalize by law Israel’s status as “the Jewish state.”

Israeli mayor’s ban on Arab workers ignites uproar

Streets are subdued, marketplaces are quiet and people are on edge in Jewish areas of Jerusalem, where Arabs have been using meat cleavers, guns, screwdrivers and even their cars in deadly, small-scale attacks.

Israel vowed harsh retaliation Tuesday for a Palestinian attack that killed five people and left blood-smeared prayer books and shawls on the floor of a synagogue in Jerusalem — an assault that sharply escalated already-high tensions after weeks of religious violence.

Israeli authorities gave preliminary approval Wednesday to build 200 homes in a Jewish area of east Jerusalem, a move that threatened to push Israelis and Palestinians deeper into conflict after weeks of unrest over the city’s holiest sites.

Israeli authorities gave preliminary approval Wednesday for construction of 200 new homes in a Jewish area of east Jerusalem, a move likely to ratchet up already heightened tensions in the city.

Israel closed all access to Jerusalem’s most sensitive religious site on Thursday, a rare move that ratcheted up already heightened tensions following the attempted assassination of a prominent Jewish religious activist and the killing of his suspected Palestinian assailant by police.

Jerusalem’s mayor on Thursday called for a crackdown against a wave of Palestinian unrest, as police beefed up security after a Palestinian motorist with a history of anti-Israel violence slammed his car into a crowded light rail train station and killed a baby girl.