Israeli soldiers disguised as Arabs threw stones at IDF troops during a demonstration against the West Bank security fence in the village of Bil'in, left-wing activists said Friday.
IDF officials confirmed that undercover troops were used to quell the protest.
"Several unidentified people with their heads covered provoked soldiers and began throwing stones at the army," left-wing activist Lizar Falas said.
"Some local villagers approached them and asked who they were. They said they were Palestinians from Lod, who had arrived with the anarchists," he said. "We immediately understood they were soldiers disguised as Arabs, as they did not arrive with us. Within moments three army jeeps arrived to rescue them."
"The army uses tactics every time to turn the protest violent," he said, adding that "today's protest was relatively small in regards to the Israelis participating, as the IDF stopped a bus with 50 activists on their way to the protest and arrested four."
The IDF issued a statement saying that "soldiers from the Masada Unit disguised as left-wingers were present in the confrontation."
Army officials said, "it was not the first time the army had used soldiers in a protest of this nature, in a bid to locate those who incite the crowds and arrest them."
The IDF refused to comment on the report that troops threw stones at fellow soldiers.
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