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Palestinians, Israelis clash in Hebron
March 21, 1997
Web posted at: 9:49 a.m. EST (1449 GMT)HEBRON, West Bank (CNN) -- Israeli soldiers being stoned and firebombed by hundreds of Palestinians in Hebron responded by firing live ammunition, rubber bullets and tear gas on Friday.
The violence in the West Bank town -- to protest the building of a Jewish settlement in Arab East Jerusalem -- occurred on the same day as a terrorist bomb explosion in Tel Aviv.
It was the worst unrest in Hebron since Israel handed 80 percent of the West Bank city over to President Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority in January.
Firebombs, live fire
Live ammunition was fired into the crowd after at least two Israeli soldiers were hit by firebombs. There were no reports of injuries from the gunfire. More than 30 Palestinians were treated for tear gas inhalation, and four Israeli soldiers were hit by stones.
An Israeli jeep briefly was set alight by a firebomb tossed in one of Hebron's narrow market alleys before soldiers put out the flames.
Jewish settlers, who are guarded by the army in the Israeli-controlled heart of Hebron, threw stones back at the Palestinians. The Israeli army declared a curfew in the fifth of Hebron it still controls.
Soldiers charged demonstrators and briefly detained three. But the troops freed them when they came under a heavy barrage of stones.
Arafat has urged Palestinians to shun violent protests. He ordered his nearly 30,000-strong police force to prevent clashes.
At least one Palestinian policeman trying to keep protesters away from Israel-controlled zones of Hebron was hit in the face with a stone. Other Palestinian police evacuated demonstrators who were overcome by tear gas.
Some officers signaled to the Israelis to stop firing tear gas and bullets but the clashes continued.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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