Settlers riot, Palestinian workers attack Jew

By · July 24, 2008

A West Bank resident held a knife to an Israeli soldier’s throat during a confrontation at an outpost, the army said.

Thursday afternoon’s incident was one of several violent incidents in a day that saw settlers rioting in the West Bank, while two Palestinian workers attacked a Jewish co-worker.

At least eight Israelis were arrested in the rioting, which left five police officers and 10 settlers injured.

Settlers at the Gilad Farms outpost near Kedumim denied to Y-net that anyone there threatened a soldier with a knife, though they say a soldier’s helmet was stolen and would be returned. They claim they will sue the IDF spokesman’s office for claiming a knife was involved.

The day of rioting began when police investigating building violations visited the unauthorized outpost of Adey-Ad near Yitzhar, Ynet reported. The police were pelted with stones.

Yitzhar residents threw stones at cars at the Yitzhar junction, damaging an Israeli’s car. Settlers at the Shiloh junction burned tires and disrupted traffic.

Israeli police received reports of dozens of settlers rioting inside the Palestinian village of Burin, near Nablus. Ynet said that according to Palestinian reports, the settlers attacked Palestinian farmers, and damaged crops and property. No one was arrested.

An Israeli whose car was hit by a stone thrown by Palestinians left his car, grabbed an Israeli soldier’s gun and shot into the air, the Jerusalem Post reported. A second driver also stopped and fired his own handgun into the air. Both drivers were detained for questioning.

Meanwhile, on Thursday afternoon, two Palestinian workers on their first day at a construction site on a kibbutz in southern Israel attacked a Jewish electrician with a hammer, Ynet reported. The Palestinians ran away; the victim was slightly injured.

The electrician said he had not spoken to the Palestinians and had no prior contact with them. The contractor was taken in for questioning to determine whether the two workers had work permits.