Israeli leaders propose harsh new measures to curb 'Jewish terrorism'

Israeli leaders have proposed harsh new measures to curb "Jewish terrorism", following a wave of extremist violence that left Israeli and Palestinian children dead in knife and arson attacks.

An Israeli teenager succumbed to her wounds on Sunday after being stabbed by a Jewish extremist at a gay pride parade last week.

Hours earlier, thousands of Israelis held anti-violence rallies across the country protesting attacks by Israeli assailants against gays and Palestinians.

Israelis were reeling from the fast-moving violence of recent days that included Jewish settlers clashing with government forces at a West Bank settlement, the knife attack at the gay pride parade in Jerusalem, and a lethal arson attack in a Palestinian village that saw a toddler burned to death.

Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon on Sunday said Israeli authorities should be allowed to employ the same heavy-handed measures against Israeli terrorism suspects as the state uses against Palestinian suspects in the occupied West Bank, freeing the military to seek "administrative detention" against suspects, which would enable them to hold detainees for months, sometimes years, without charges.

After speaking out against attacks by Jewish extremists and saying he felt shame the violence had come "from my own people", Israeli President Reuven Rivlin was deluged with threats on social media, leading his security detail to file a complaint with Israeli police because of fears that the leader's life was in danger.