Palestinians hurt in West Bank clashes after settlers attack with stones

At least five Palestinians were wounded on Saturday after residents of a hardline Israeli settlement attacked villages in the occupied West Bank south of Nablus, medical sources said.

The Palestinian medical sources said dozens of residents from the hardline settlement of Yitzhar went to the neighbouring village of Urif and threw stones at residents, who responded in kind.

The incident started when settlers from Yitzhar attacked Palestinian homes on the eastern side of the village, Palestinian officials told the Haaretz daily.

For years, there has been a wave of "price tag" attacks - a euphemism for Jewish nationalist-motivated hate crimes targeting Palestinians and Palestinian citizens of Israel and their property, as well Muslim and Christian holy sites.

Ghassan Douglas, director of the Palestinian Authority’s settlement department, told Haaretz more than 100 settlers were involved in the attack on Urif’s Palestinian residents.

The army confirmed the clashes and said when soldiers arrived to separate the two sides they were attacked by Palestinians and used anti-riot measures to disperse them.

Israel’s Channel 10 said the Palestinians villagers shot firecrackers and threw stones at the security forces and settlers.

According to Douglas, four Palestinians were injured by rubber-coated bullets during the dispersal, the Times of Israel reported.

The medical sources added that later, settlers attacked Palestinians in Hawara village, also south of Nablus, wounding one person.