Israeli police set up East Jerusalem checkpoints

After a surge in attacks by Palestinians, Israeli forces on Wednesday began a major security operation in Arab areas of occupied East Jerusalem.

Police blocked the entrances to the Jabal Mukaber district, where three men accused of killing three Israelis on Tuesday came from, BBC reported.

The Israeli military also deployed hundreds of soldiers to boost security.

After a meeting late on Tuesday, Israel's security cabinet on Wednesday released details of the new measures which authorised police to close or surround "centres of friction and incitement".

It also announced that the homes of Palestinians who attacked Israelis would be demolished within days and never rebuilt, and that their families' right to live in Jerusalem would be taken away.

The move was the first implementation of measures decided upon by Israel's security cabinet to combat a series of Palestinian shooting and stabbing attacks against Israeli civilians and soldiers.

Shooting and stabbing attacks by Palestinians have left eight Israelis dead in two weeks.

Several assailants and at least 18 other Palestinians have also been killed.