Israeli forces shot and wounded at least one Palestinian and arrested at least three during a settler march in the occupied West Bank village of Tal on Friday, residents said.
The military closed entrances to the village as more than 100 Israeli settlers marched toward it, according to residents. The incident follows a settler attack last weekend that left four Palestinians and two Israelis dead. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government characterized that attack as terrorism, though video later emerged showing armed settlers shoving Palestinians.
Palestinian villagers say they were defending themselves against settler attacks aimed at driving them off their land, the latest in a three-year surge of such violence in the West Bank. Since last Friday, Israeli forces have carried out near-daily raids and arrests in Tal, which is near Nablus in the northern West Bank. Most countries and United Nations bodies consider Israeli settlements in the occupied territory illegal.
Al Jazeera reported that Israeli settlers also vandalized a Palestinian cemetery in the West Bank, without providing further details.