NYTimes: Settlers in West Bank Shoot Two Palestinians

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/24/world/middleeast/2-palestinians-shot-in-clashes-with-israeli-settlers.html?ref=middleeast
 

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 

Published: February 23, 2013 

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....READ MORE

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2013 AP Photo by Mohammad Ballas: Israeli forces arrest Palestinian youth

2012: Israel 'turning blind eye' to West Bank settlers' attacks on Palestinians

EU reports say farmers are bearing the brunt of intimidation in systematic and expanding campaign of violence Photograph: Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty Images: A Palestinian tries to put out a fire started by settlers on the West Bank, where confidential EU reports say violence against Palestinians is increasing.