Israeli forces clashed Friday with firecracker-throwing protesters in the West Bank, the latest in a string of violence acts that have stemmed, in part, from the imprisonment of four Palestinians who have since staged a hunger strike.
Palestinian youth were blamed for throwing stones at Israeli police following Friday prayers, Reuters reports. Israeli police responded by firing tear gas and throwing percussion grenades into a crowd of protesters that had assembled near the al Aqsa mosque, a site of holiness to both Muslims and Jews.
Other sites of violence include Hebron, where witnesses say Israeli police threw percussion grenades at an assembly of roughly 1,500 Palestinian protesters, Reuters said, and a checkpoint near Nablus. There, Israeli forces pushed back stone-throwing Palestinian protesters with rubber bullets.
Dozens of minor injuries were reported, Reuters said.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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