IOF Hits Harshly at Palestinians in West Bank, Leaves 10 Wounded

Local Editor

Palestine: Zionist occupation army

Ten Palestinians were wounded by Zionist occupation fire in the West Bank on Saturday during a raid by troops hunting the murderers of a Jewish settler couple, Palestinian police and medical sources said.

Palestinians protesting against the raid in the territory's main northern city of Nablus hurled stones at soldiers, who responded with rubber bullets, tear gas and live ammunition, the sources said.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said "10 people were wounded by live rounds to the legs or stomach," and "four others were wounded in beatings" by security forces.

Tensions have soared in the West Bank since the settler couple were shot dead in their car on Thursday evening.

Eitam Henkin and his wife Naama, both in the 30s, were buried in occupied Jerusalem on Friday.

The Zionist forces launched a huge manhunt for the gunmen, and deployed troop reinforcements to maintain order following revenge attacks by settlers.

Palestinian police said Saturday's violence began when "dozens of occupation soldiers in military vehicles" entered an eastern neighborhood of Nablus, one of the largest cities in the West Bank.

"They arrested eight people and conducted searches, entering properties by force and causing damage," the police said.

Apprehensive of rising tensions between settlers and Palestinians after Thursday's shooting, the Zionist army said it had deployed "four battalions in order to prevent an escalation of violence in the area adjacent to the location of the attack".

Palestinian news agency Wafa said a 35-year-old man was shot in the leg by settlers near Bethlehem, and police said settlers had stoned a number of cars and set fire to olive trees.

And in the Palestinian village of Beitillu, assailants torched a car and spray-painted "Revenge Henkin" in Hebrew on a wall, the IOF said.