Netanyahu appeals for calm amid violent clashes in Hebron

JERUSALEM, March 16 (JTA) — Tensions are again escalating in the West Bank town of Hebron. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week called on Hebron’s settler community to “abide by the law” after settlers there claimed responsibility for smashing the windows of Arab-owned cars in the volatile West Bank town. Sunday’s incident came after two days of violence between Hebron’s Jewish and Arab populations that was sparked by the shooting deaths last week of three Palestinian workers at an Israeli checkpoint in the West Bank. Palestinians protested the shootings during a series of violent confrontations with Israeli troops across the West Bank in recent days, with the latest clash reported Sunday near Ramallah. Scores of Palestinians and several Israeli soldiers were wounded in the clashes following the March 10 shootings at the military roadblock. Meanwhile, Israeli forces beefed up security in urban centers and on the highways after two weekend bomb blasts that police blamed on Arab terrorists. A 53-year-old Israeli man lost his hands and was blinded in one eye when a suspicious-looking package he was inspecting blew up in a park near Afula’s central bus station. Five Palestinians were lightly wounded by a bomb blast in eastern Jerusalem that Palestinian officials said was the work of Jewish settlers. In the incident that set off the violent demonstrations, Israeli soldiers manning the roadblock opened fire on the van after it veered toward them, causing light injuries to one soldier. The troops later said they believed the van’s driver was deliberately trying to run them over. This account was denied by Palestinian officials and by a passenger in the van, who said the driver had sped up in an attempt to bypass a line of waiting cars at the roadblock. Senior Israeli army officials later admitted this was probably true. The unrest that ensued throughout the West Bank reached its highest pitch in Hebron. The windshields of more than 20 Palestinian-owned cars were smashed Sunday by a group calling itself the Committee for the Defense of the Roads. Last Friday, a group of Jewish settlers entered the Palestinian-ruled part of Hebron and began throwing rocks at buildings and cars. Settlers said they were protesting what they described as the army’s failure to protect them from Palestinians who were firing into the town’s Jewish enclaves. The demonstration by the settlers touched off Palestinian protests. Israeli troops fired rubber bullets to disperse the crowds, wounding at least 14 Palestinians, including eight journalists. Police summoned 15 Jewish settlers Sunday in connection with last Friday’s demonstration. The demonstration sparked the ire of the Palestinian security chief in the West Bank. Jibril Rajoub warned Jewish settlers Monday that if they again tried to enter the self-rule areas in Hebron and attack Arabs, they would not “make it out alive.” This in turn provoked criticism from Netanyahu, who said, “These are grave statements, which could cause an escalation at a time when we all need to work to calm the situation.”