A Palestinian and an Israeli security guard for the Yitzhar settlement were
injured Monday in clashes that took place outside the West Bank Jewish
community.
The incident began after a Palestinian approached the
settlement and, after refusing to heed warnings, was distanced by the
settlement’s security guards and the IDF, an army spokeswoman
said.
Yitzhar spokesman Avraham Binyamin said that the security guard had
initially called the IDF after seeing the Palestinian, who he identified as a
shepherd from the nearby village of Ma’adame, come very close to
Yitzhar.
Before the IDF arrived, the guard asked the shepherd to move
away from the settlement, but he refused, Binyamin said.
Binyamin charged
that the Palestinian unleashed the dogs against him, and similarly tried to
attack IDF soldiers when they arrived.
The shepherd was among three
Palestinians arrested in incidents that day by Yitzhar, Binyamin
said.
After that, a group of Palestinians descended on the area and began
hurling rocks at guards and soldiers, the IDF said. The IDF responded with riot
dispersal means.
During the confrontation, IDF soldiers identified a
threat from one of the rioters and after warnings were ignored, opened fire at
the suspect’s legs, the spokeswoman said.
The Palestinian man was
moderately injured by the gunfire, and an Israeli civilian guard was lightly
injured by a rock thrown during the clashes. According to Binyamin, the security
guard was injured in the head by the rock.
According to Yesh Din, who had
a field worker who observed the incident, the shepherd, along with his brother,
was herding sheep on their land, which is near the settlement.
The
organization publicized a video of the shepherd, with his hands tied behind his
back, as the IDF tries to lead him away.
He is surrounded by
family.
At one point, in the short video, as he tries to escape, a
soldier hits him in the head with his rifle. A family member is seen picking up
a stone and threatening the soldier in the video clip. As this occurs, the
shepherd tries to run down the valley, as the IDF shoots what appears to either
be a stun grenade or tear gas.
Later, one of his brothers was shot in the
leg by the IDF according to Yesh Din.
The IDF said it opened fire at the
legs of a rioter after warnings were ignored.
Yesh Din charged that it
was masked settlers who started the clashes by throwing stones.