A mob of some 200 PA Arabs attacked IDF soldiers in a rock attack Thursday near the Judean Arab village of Beit Ummar.
Rioters hurled the fist-sized, irregular-shaped stones with razor-sharp edges that are indigenous to the region, often used in larger sizes for peaceful purposes as decorative landscaping pieces.
When aimed at people and traveling vehicles, however, the hard, limestone and quartz missiles can be deadly.
The attack occurred during what appeared to be a spontaneous riot, but what may actually have been a pre-organized demonstration by local Islamist groups.
The village of Beit Ummar, located southwest of Bethlehem, is just a five-minute drive south from the Jewish communities of Gush Etzion and about ten minutes north of the Jewish city of Kiryat Arba-Hevron.
IDF soldiers responded to the attack with crowd dispersal methods.