Israeli forces, Palestinians clash near West Bank settlement outpost

Israeli forces clashed with Palestinians in the West Bank on Saturday as violence rises in the area and near east Jerusalem.

The fighting began late on Saturday near Homesh, The Associated Press reported, citing the Israeli military and Palestinian medics.

The Israeli military said Palestinians threw rocks and burning tires and also reported shots being fired. This led the military to respond with live fire, which the AP noted usually means tear gas and stun grenades.

One soldier was lightly injured according to the military. The Palestine Red Crescent humanitarian society reported that 10 people were wounded in the live fire, with one 17-year-old described as being seriously injured by the Palestinian Health Ministry.

Homesh, an outpost considered illegal by the Israeli government, is located in the northern West Bank and was dismantled in 2005. However, the AP reported that Israeli settlers have recently returned and established an unauthorized outpost. One settler, Yehuda Dimentman, was killed last week when Palestinian gunmen opened fire on a car he was in.

Dimentman’s death sparked multiple nights of violence, with Israeli settlers attacking Palestinian homes  during the pre-dawn. Israeli settlers marched to Homesh to end the period of mourning for Dimentman’s death the same day.

Al Jazeera reporter Harry Fawcett described an attack in another West Bank village on Thursday as being “extremely serious.” On Friday, Israeli forces dismantled structures that had been erected by settlers, the AP reported.

“The village of Burqa has been exceptionally tense in recent days. The municipal government of Nablus, the biggest town nearby, said hundreds of Israeli settlers attacked the village … and dozens were trying to get into individual homes,” said Fawcett.

The West Bank was captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war and is now currently home to between 600,000 and 750,000 Israeli settlers occupying roughly 250 settlements that are considered to be illegal by some of the international community.