Five Palestinians and two Israeli settlers were arrested by Israeli security forces on suspicion of involvement in violent clashes between settlers and residents in the West Bank town of Burqa over the weekend, which left a 19-year-old Palestinian dead.
Two Israeli settlers allegedly involved in the fighting were arrested at the scene on Saturday, and one went to hospital. According to Haaretz, the police could recommend charging the detainees with offenses of aggravated assault and causing serious bodily harm. The police also said that the investigation is ongoing and that more arrests are expected in the coming days.
The five Palestinians detained on Monday morning — a father and his four sons, two of whom are minors — were allegedly involved in clashes that followed the shooting on Friday evening. Walla! news site reported that the five detainees were taken to the police station for further investigation, and that they were the first Palestinians to be questioned over the incident. The father was also shot at during the clashes, reported Walla!, though this claim has not been verified.
Details of the incident on Friday night, which took place on Burqa’s agricultural lands, are yet unclear. The police suspects that clashes between Israeli settlers and the Palestinians started following a fight over grazing lands. During the clashes, a settler shot and killed Quasi Jamal Matan. Another settler sustained a serious head injury by a rock thrown at him by Burqa residents. At least four Palestinians were also injured in the clashes. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) — not present at the scene during the incident — arrived later, evacuating the injured and informing the police about what had happened.
