IDF officer injured in settler rock-throwing attack
Security forces pelted as they attempt break up skirmish in Nablus-area village; 4 Palestinians said wounded by rubber bullets
An IDF officer was injured over the weekend in a rock attack carried out by Israeli settlers near the West Bank city of Nablus, the army said Sunday.
The incident took places during clashes between settlers and local Palestinian residents, as both side threw stones at each other near the village of Urif.
Palestinian officials said the incident started after dozens of settlers from the nearby community of Yitzhar attacked Palestinian homes on the eastern side of the village. According to the army, some 50 settlers took part in the violence, during which one Palestinian was wounded when struck by a rock. Palestinian media reported that four Palestinians were injured by rubber bullets fired by IDF soldiers.
While troops attempted to break up the violence, a group of “extremist” settlers began to throw rocks at the security forces, injuring one officer, who was hit in the hand, the army said in a statement.
“The IDF views any attempts to harm security forces with grave seriousness and will work in conjunction with the legal authorities against these efforts,” the statement added.
In a separate incident on Friday, a group of masked settlers attacked a number of left-wing activists in the West Bank, beating them with baseball bats and rocks, and reportedly breaking one activist’s arm.
A video of the incident captured by a left-wing activist at the scene and published by B’Tselem showed masked youths rushing at the activists, screaming obscenities while hurling stones and swinging sticks and bats.
B’Tselem said the incident occurred near the village of Al-Auja in the Jordan Valley and that Palestinian villagers were also attacked. The attackers were said to be youths from a nearby outpost, Baladim.
IDF helicopters dispersed the settlers from the scene.
