2 Palestinians Shot in Clashes With Israeli Settlers





JERUSALEM (AP) — Clashes erupted Saturday in the West Bank, with Jewish settlers shooting two Palestinian demonstrators in the northern village of Kusra, an Israeli military official and Palestinian residents said.




The unrest reflected mounting friction in the West Bank, where Palestinians have faced off against Israeli troops in recent weeks in a series of large demonstrations protesting Israel’s control of the territory in general and in solidarity with four prisoners on hunger strikes in Israeli jails.


Also on Saturday, a Palestinian prisoner died in an Israeli jail, an event that is likely to intensify tensions in the area.


In the West Bank skirmish, Helmi Abdul-Aziz, 24, was shot in the stomach by Jewish settlers, Palestinian demonstrators said. They said settlers also shot Mustafa Hilal, 14, in the foot.


An Israeli military official confirmed that two Palestinians had been shot, apparently by settlers, since the Israeli military forces there were not using live ammunition.


Villagers said the clashes began when a group of Jewish settlers encroached on their village lands and fired guns. They said settlers chased a Palestinian farmer and his family off land, prompting the farmer to call on other villagers to confront the settlers, and men on both sides hurled rocks at one another.


In an Israeli jail on Saturday, Arafat Shalish Shahin Jaradat, a Palestinian prisoner, died apparently of a heart attack, according to an Israeli prison services spokeswoman, Sivan Weizman. She said that Mr. Jaradat had not been on a hunger strike.


Israel’s domestic intelligence agency, the Shin Bet, said that Mr. Jaradat, 30, was arrested last week after he was involved in a rock-throwing attack that injured an Israeli citizen. Mr. Jaradat admitted to the charge, as well to another West Bank rock-throwing episode last year, the Shin Bet said.


A Shin Bet spokesman said that Mr. Jaradat had not been beaten during an interrogation.


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