A demonstration by Jews ended in the arrest of one youth on suspicion of assaulting an officer, and another demonstration by Arabs resulted in the arrest of two left-wing anarchists.
Approximately 100 Jews gathered on Saturday night to protest the government's decision to open to Arab traffic the main artery linking the Jewish town of Kiryat Arba with Hevron.
Jewish residents of both communities expressed outrage at the plan. Yehudit Katzover, wife of former Kiryat Arba mayor Tzvi Katzover, explained that "many Jews have been murdered along this route." She warned there would be more victims if the IDF allows Palestinian Authority Arabs to have access to the road.
Both Katzover and Women in Green leader Nadia Matar, who helped organize the demonstration, said that the terrorist murder on Thursday of a Bat Ayin teenager was the result of the IDF's removal of security checkpoints in the area.
"We won't let it happen here," Matar declared.
Hevron residents said that Arabs hurled rocks at the demonstrators.
Afternoon Provocation by PA Farmers and Anarchists
PA Arab farmers and leftist anarchists attempted a provocation on Saturday afternoon by deliberately entering a Jewish-owned area.
Israeli forces "forcibly dispersed a peaceful sit-in organized by the Palestinian People's Party (PPP) on the occasion of Land Day…" reported the Ma'an news agency, although Land Day was officially marked on March 30.
The news agency, closely affiliated with the PA, also claimed that Israeli police used tear gas and stun grenades to break up the demonstration by PA Arabs and "solidarity activists."
According to Voice of Israel government radio, the incident was far less dramatic, and a number of left-wing anarchists were seen escorting a group of PA Arab farmers into a Jewish area near Karmei Tzur.
District police informed the activists that they had entered a closed military zone and ordered them to leave the area immediately – but the anarchists refused to do so.
Two anarchists were arrested.