Palestinians, Israeli soldiers

Palestinians, Israeli soldiers clash in W. Bank

Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli soldiers clashed on Saturday afternoon in the village of Eraq Burin, south of the West Bank city of Nablus, Palestinian witnesses said.

The witnesses said that dozens of Palestinians and members of foreign solidarity movements demonstrated against an Israeli government's decision to confiscate Palestinian properties to expand a nearby Jewish settlement in the West Bank.

The protest near the settlement of Brakha was peaceful, but the Israeli army used force to disperse the protestors, according to the witnesses.

Young men threw stones at the Israeli soldiers, who responded by firing tear gas and rubber bullets, causing some people hurt.

Meanwhile, Israel radio reported that a homemade projectile was fired on Saturday from the Gaza Strip at southern Israel, adding that the rocket caused no damages or injuries.

No one claimed responsibility for the rocket attack. But Israel held Islamic Hamas movement which rules the Gaza Strip responsible for the latest rocket attack.

The rocket attack came as Hamas called for an emergency meeting of Palestinian factional leaders in the Gaza Strip to discuss the latest escalation of violence in the coastal strip.

Ayman Taha, a senior Hamas leader based in Gaza, said the meeting is aimed at studying the recent escalation of violence on the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip.

The deposed government of Hamas on Friday called on the Palestinian factions for self-restraint following nine successive Israeli airstrikes on Thursday night on different targets in the Gaza Strip.

The Hamas government did not slam the rockets attack on Israel, but deposed Prime Minister of Hamas Ismail Haneya said on Friday that his government is holding contacts with other factions in a bid to restore calm and reinforce unity.