Jewish settlers, Israeli troops and Palestinian villagers clashed with guns, rocks and tear gas, leaving five Palestinians hospitalized Saturday, hospital officials said. The confrontation erupted Friday evening near the Jewish settlement of Yitzhar, one of the more militant in the West Bank, raising the prospect of further friction in the area. The incident began after Yitzhar residents saw several Palestinians walking toward the settlement and suspected they were trying to attack the settlement, the military said. Last year, an Israeli boy was stabbed and wounded in such an attack. Later, about two dozen settlers, some masked and armed, walked from Yitzhar toward the Palestinian village of Orif, firing bullets and throwing rocks, villagers said. Orif's mayor, Fawzi Shehadeh, said Palestinians threw rocks at the settlers. Shehadeh said Israeli army forces entered the village to try to separate Palestinians from the Jewish settlers. He said Palestinians hurled rocks at Israeli soldiers who fired tear gas and rubber-coated steel pellets. Meanwhile, a health official said a Palestinian was killed in an accident while working in one of the smuggling tunnels under the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt. He said the 22-year-old man was electrocuted by cables he had rigged for light and power in the tunnel on Saturday. Gazans use the tunnels to smuggle in goods.
