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JERUSALEM – Palestinians in east Jerusalem and the West Bank lobbed rocks at Israeli security forces, set garbage bins and tires ablaze and torched an Israeli flag in a new outbreak of violence over contested Jerusalem building plans and unsubstantiated rumors about threats to the city's holiest shrine.
Israeli forces responded with tear gas and stun grenades, but no serious injuries were reported.
More than a week of violence in east Jerusalem has coincided with the worst U.S.-Israeli diplomatic row in decades, which erupted after Israel announced new plans to build 1,600 apartments in east Jerusalem during Vice President Joe Biden's visit. The plans, which challenge Palestinian claims to the traditionally Arab eastern sector of the city, also drew condemnation from the U.N. and European Union.
Friday's clashes were most serious in the West Bank town of Hebron, where about 60 protesters faced off against Israeli soldiers. Hebron has been in ferment since last month, when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu designated a disputed shrine there a national heritage site.
Israeli forces responded with tear gas and stun grenades, but no serious injuries were reported.
More than a week of violence in east Jerusalem has coincided with the worst U.S.-Israeli diplomatic row in decades, which erupted after Israel announced new plans to build 1,600 apartments in east Jerusalem during Vice President Joe Biden's visit. The plans, which challenge Palestinian claims to the traditionally Arab eastern sector of the city, also drew condemnation from the U.N. and European Union.
Friday's clashes were most serious in the West Bank town of Hebron, where about 60 protesters faced off against Israeli soldiers. Hebron has been in ferment since last month, when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu designated a disputed shrine there a national heritage site.
