Smashed windshield
Smashed windshieldcourtesy of Yesha Council, Avraham Weiss

Palestinian Authority Arabs clashed with Israeli troops Saturday in a rock attack near the Judean village of Beit Ummar. An IDF officer suffered a head injury when he was struck by one of the stones hurled by the rioting Arabs.

IDF soldiers responded with gunfire aimed at the legs of those who were trying to prevent medical crews from evacuating the injured officer, according to the IDF.

One of the rioting Arabs sustained a gunshot wound in the leg while attempting to block medics from reaching the wounded IDF officer.

Both the IDF officer and the PA Arab attacker were taken to nearby hospitals for medical treatment.

Beit Ummar is a PA Arab village that has long been a hotbed of anti-Israel sentiment and terrorism. The village is located along the southern leg of the Highway 60 north-south artery that runs from the southern Hevron Hills through the Samaria (Shomron) region.

A young woman was hospitalized two weeks ago for head injuries after a metal cylinder was hurled through the window of the car her husband was driving.

The woman was injured when the window, on her side of the car, was smashed.  She has since been released from the hospital but still suffers from pain and trauma.

Three weeks ago, an Israeli driver was also lightly wounded when she came under attack by PA Arabs hurling stones at her vehicle as she drove past Beit Ummar on a Friday afternoon.

The driver was able to make it past the danger zone and into the nearby Jewish town of Karmei Tzur, where she was treated by IDF medics.

In October, Israeli security forces arrested two fugitive PA Arab men in Beit Ummar with ties to the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization.