Settlers riot near Nablus checkpoint

Residents of an illegal Israeli settlement rioted Monday in the northern West Bank, protesting the demolition of structures built in an adjoining outpost, onlookers said.

Ma’an’s Nablus correspondent reported from the scene that dozens of armed settlers stormed the nearby Burin village, opening fire at Palestinian homes. Israeli forces also ransacked houses, locals said, including the homes of Bashir Az-Zein and Ibrahim Abid.

Villagers clashed with the invading settlers and pelted them with stones, our correspondent said. Two Palestinians were injured, Rasim Abid Batouni and 40-year-old Ibrahim Adil Eid, he added.

The Israeli ambulance service Magen David Adom dispatched medics to treat four settlers who were injured by stones, the service said. One man, in his 30s, sustained critical wounds after a rock hit struck head and was taken to Belenson Hospital in Petah Tiqva, medics said.

The settlers, protesting the razing of mobile homes, set fire to Palestinian olive trees in an apparent "price tag" reprisal for the demolitions. Palestinian fire crews deployed at the site to contain the fire.

Ghassan Doughlas, a Palestinian Authority settlement affairs officer who monitors the northern West Bank, said some settlers opened fire at homes in the nearby Burin village.

Driver Hashim Abu Zaytoun said settlers attacked a bus belonging to the Beita Bus Company, smashing its windshield, near the Huwwara checkpoint. Residents of Nablus who traveled to Ramallah reported that their cars were showered with rocks by settlers on hilltops. Such attacks are frequent, they say. Witnesses reported cars with shattered windows parked at the side of the road being checked by soldiers.

Witnesses said Israeli forces closed Huwwara after dozens of Israeli policemen were unable to disperse the riot, diverting traffic to the nearby Awarta commercial checkpoint. The settlers attempted to break through the checkpoint, the Israeli news site Ynet reported.

An Israeli military representative said, however, that the checkpoint was not closed.

Settler leader Gershon Mesika blamed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the "despicable" act of tearing down the structure. "This house will be built again," he said, according to the Israeli daily Haaretz.