Shooting of Palestinians south of Nablus sees one man shot, one Border Guard officer lightly wounded



Omri Efraim


Published: 05.26.12, 18:11 / Israel News

A Palestinian man

sustained serious gunshot wounds Saturday during a clash with settlers

near the village of Orif, south of Nablus.











The injured man was identified as Najah al-Safadi, 22, from Orif. He

was rushed to a local Palestinian hospital suffering from injuries to

his abdomen.







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The incident took place as some 30 settlers from Yitzhar



and local Palestinians clashed on the village's outskirts.The

Palestinians claimed that the settlers torched a nearby olive grove. The

IDF

is investigating the allegations.







Security forces dispatched to the area were stoned by the

settlers. One Border Guard officer suffered mild injuries. The IDF

Spokesperson’s Unit said that the military will treat the incident "with

all due seriousness."







The troops used crowd-control measures to disperse the riot. The Palestinians said that the IDF used tear-gas.







Following the incident, police and Border Guard forces in the area were bolstered with additional troops.









The settler who shot al-Safadi is a member of Yitzhar's security

patrol. He said that he spotted the man carrying a knife and felt he was

in immediate danger.









At this time he was not detained for questioning.















Zacharia Side of Rabbis for Human Rights, said that such clashes are a

weekly occurrence in the area. He added that the Palestinians often

complain that the Israeli security forces fail to provide them with the

necessary protection against such assaults.











A

similar incident took place in the area last Saturday, and saw settlers

fire rubber bullets at Palestinians who were stoning them.







An IDF force present in the area did not intervene in the clash.









Elior Levy contributed to this report



http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4234432,00.html

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