A young man was shot dead in Jerusalem. His story illustrates a cycle of violence with no end in sight

Adam Nasser Abu Alwaha was killed on Monday morning, according to Israeli authorities, for stabbing a policeman. Kim Sengupta visits his family, who had their home raided in the wake of his shooting, with his mother insisting he did not belong to any militant group and had shown no particular interest in politics

The death of Adam Nasser Abu Alwaha left his mother Maryam distraught (Kim Sengupta)

It was another killing among many in a spiralling list of the dead, reflecting the rage and retribution which is enmeshing Israelis and Palestinians in this cycle of violence.

On a sunny, and seemingly relaxed, morning in east Jerusalem, a teenage youth was walking by a security point when something happened. Israeli authorities say he produced a knife, stabbed one of the policemen and began to run. He did not get far: he was shot down by three staccato bursts of semi-automatic rifle fire within a hundred yards.

The youth, 17 years old, fell just outside the entrance of St George’s Cathedral on Nablus Road, a historic street near the holy shrines of three religions. I had walked by a few minutes earlier and returned at the sound of gunfire to see the body lying there, face down on the pavement.