Palestinian hurt in clash with settlers
Teen sustains light injuries when Har Bracha security officer fires in air during West Bank brawl
The Coordination and Liaison Authority said it was investigating the connection between the clashes and the Palestinian reports of the teen's injury.
A police investigation has revealed that a group of 15 American and Canadian volunteers were working in Har Bracha's fields when a number of Palestinians arrived and began to throw stones at them.
The volunteers, who could not communicate with the Palestinians, called the settlement's security officer, arrived on the scene and fired into the air. Later the Palestinians reported that a teen was injured, and the security officer was detained for questioning.
Ghassan Daghlas, a Palestinian Authority official who deals with the settlements issue in the northern West Bank, told Ynet that a group of settlers came down to the village and opened fire without any apparent reason, after which they fled the scene. He added that the teen was lightly wounded on his knee.
Daghlas said it was not a rare occurrence, as the Har Bracha residents had been coming to the village every Saturday recently to destroy property.
He claims the settlers hurt Palestinians, disrupt the olive harvest, and fire their weapons, never halting until soldiers arrive to disperse them. The official added that lately residents of Iraq Burin have begun to fight back, and that this may have been the cause of Tuesday's clashes.
"This is a quiet village of no more than 1,200 residents who suffer from repetitive assaults by settlers, without the Israeli authorities doing anything to stop it," Daghlas said.
Efrat Weiss contributed to this report
