IDF nabs Palestinian suspect for hurling firebomb at border cop in Hebron
Military says suspect arrested Friday in the West Bank city; officer was lightly hurt by Molotov cocktail, which exploded on him
Israeli forces have arrested a Palestinian suspect in Hebron for throwing a firebomb that exploded on a border policeman during clashes in the West Bank city, the military said Saturday.
“Yesterday IDF soldiers in the city of Hebron arrested the terrorist who threw a Molotov cocktail at a Border Police officer on Monday,” the Israel Defense Forces wrote on Twitter.
The IDF did not provide any details on the suspect’s identity. The military said he was taken for questioning after his arrest.
The border policeman was lightly hurt on Monday after being hit by the Molotov cocktail, which exploded into flames on him.
The incident was caught on video, which showed the officer attempting to douse the flames as he and his comrades retreated from the scene.
Pictures and video also showed officers being pelted by stones hurled by rioters.
Police said that Border Police were called to disperse dozens of Palestinian rioters who were throwing stones in Hebron, according to Channel 12 news.
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The attack in the flashpoint city occurred amid an increase in violence across the West Bank, since the release last week of a US peace plan that Palestinians reject as biased in favor of Israel.
Two border guards were also lightly hurt on Friday, while a Palestinian teenager was reportedly shot dead by Israeli troops and dozens more wounded in widespread clashes in the West Bank.
The center of the violence was in the town of Azzun in the northern West Bank, where thousands of Palestinians took part in a funeral for a Palestinian policeman killed by Israeli troops.
Clashes were also reported in several Palestinian towns and refugee camps across the West Bank after Friday prayers, but the situation was quiet at the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem where thousands of extra police officers were deployed.
The site, a flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, is the holiest in Judaism and the third holiest for Muslims, who refer to it as the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound or the Noble Sanctuary.
In addition to the increased police presence around the Temple Mount, the IDF on Thursday announced it was sending more troops to the West Bank in light of the increase in violence.
The decision came after the three attacks on Israeli security forces in the West Bank and Jerusalem and amid a general spike in tensions and violence, with a deadly clash in Jenin, riots elsewhere in the West Bank, and continuing launches of projectiles and explosive devices from the Gaza Strip.
Agencies contributed to this report.
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