A vineyard owned by Jews in the town of Har Bracha in Samaria (Shomron) was torched Saturday afternoon by attackers from a nearby Arab town, the Tatzpit news agency reports.
Residents of Har Bracha and the nearby community of Givat Ronen attempted to put out the flames.
Several Israeli residents of the area began marching toward Kever Yosef, the grave of the Biblical patriarch Yosef, in nearby Shechem. They were stopped by IDF forces in an attempt to prevent a clash between Arabs and Jews.
Despite troops’ efforts a clash broke out between Arabs and Jews outside the nearby Arab community of Kfar Khalil. IDF soldiers intervened and arrested six Jewish men. Two of the detainees lost consciousness and required medical attention; it was not immediately clear if their condition was caused by smoke inhalation or by the clashes.
Arabs in the area began to riot against soldiers as well. Border Police officers dispersed the riot.
Officers later released four of the Jewish men who had been arrested. Two remain in police custody. One of them is a resident of Givat Ronen, and the other is a brother of his who was visiting him for the day.