BICOM

Prolonged clashes took place yesterday between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian locals in the al-Fawar camp near the West Bank city of Hebron.

Three IDF battalions entered al-Fawar yesterday morning in order to conduct counter-terror operations including arrests and a search for weapons. However, they were confronted by a large number of locals, who used home-made explosives, concrete blocks and rocks to attack the soldiers. Clashes continued throughout much of the day and Israeli soldiers used crowd-control devices including Ruger rifles to tackle the situation.

Palestinian reports say that a 17-year-old male, named as Mohammed Abu Hashhash, was killed by a bullet, and that up to 40 additional Palestinians were wounded.

The Israeli army did not confirm the death, saying: “We are currently looking into reports of a Palestinian fatality.”

The Army added: “We have not received reports of a high number of casualties, as alleged by the Palestinians.”

There have been no reported IDF casualties or injuries during the clashes. Maariv says that so far Israeli forces have made arrests and seized equipment including guns, bullets and combat vests during the operation.

In a separate development, seven Israeli soldiers were wounded yesterday following an accident in the Har Dov area near Israel’s border with Lebanon. An armoured personnel carrier collided with a D-9 bulldozer, although the reasons behind the accident remain unclear. A military investigation has been launched. Israel Radio news reports that two of the soldiers were seriously injured while three were moderately wounded in the accident. All of those injured were members of the Combat Engineering Corps, who were working to strengthen border defences.