2 Border Guard officers hurt in West Bank

Two Border Guard officers were lightly injured Wednesday afternoon from stones at the West Bank village of Qusra. Dozens of Palestinians hurled stones at the security forces, who responded with crowd-dispersal means.

Palestinian sources say the clashes erupted after bulldozers arrived to destroy electricity facilities in the northern part of the village. The Palestinians complained that the destruction of the facilities would cut the power to some of the village's homes.

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The Palestinians also said that the security forces fired tear gas at the protestors during the clashes.

Car hit by stones (Photo: Yossi Shmuli)

Meanwhile, clashes broke out at the Hawara Checkpoint near Nablus as well. Young Palestinians arrived at the checkpoint area, hurled stones at IDF soldiers and set tires on fire.

The security forces used crowd-dispersal means against the rioters.

The clashes likely erupted in protest of the ongoing detention of administrative detainees who have launched a hunger strike in Israel's prisons.

Clashes have taken place in recent days in several places in the West Bank. On Friday, protesters at a Palestinian demonstration in support of prisoners on a hunger strike clashed with Israeli troops and Border Guard officers.

The IDF said that during the protest, held at the Bituniya crossing near Ofer Prison, about 200 Palestinians threw rocks at the soldiers who responded with tear gas during the rally in the West Bank.

One soldier was lightly wounded by stones hurled in his direction. A number of Palestinians were also injured in the altercation.

The protesters specifically called for the release of Samer Issawi, who has been on an on-and-off hunger strike for several months. Issawi was released in 2011 as part of the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange. He was re-arrested last year for violating his release terms.

Israeli Prison Service spokeswoman Sivan Weizman said Issawi was under medical supervision and has not been on a consistent hunger strike since he eats periodically.

Additional protests and riots took place Friday in Hebron, Nabi Saleh and at the Jelma Crossing, north of Jenin. Border Guard officers were preventing some 30 Palestinians from advancing towards the Qalandiya checkpoint between Jerusalem and Ramallah. The Palestinians hurled stones at security forces.

Elior Levy contributed to this report

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