An Israeli military source reported on Saturday at night that hundreds of settlers, most of them masked, attempted to break into Al Qasaba neighborhood, in the West bank city of Hebron, after protesting for several hours and hurling stones at the Palestinian homes.
The settlers gathered in the Avraham Avinu illegal settlement outpost, in the Old City of Hebron.
On Friday evening, settlers torched Palestinian homes in the city after attacking the. One Israeli soldier was injured after a military force arrived to the area and attempted to evacuate the settlers.
The soldier was lightly wounded by a rock hurled at him.
The settlers escalated their attacks against the Palestinians in Hebron after evacuation orders were issued to eight Jewish families who occupied shops in the Palestinian wholesale market, in 2002.
Israeli online daily, Haaretz, reported that the orders will go into effect on Sunday, and the army is likely to conduct the evacuation within a number of weeks.
About 500 settlers live in heavily guarded Jewish enclaves in the heart of Hebron, where some 160,000 Palestinians live.
Settler youth hurled, on Friday afternoon, stones and eggs at the soldiers and border policemen, near the Ibrahimi Mosque (The Tomb of the Patriarchs)
Five settlers were arrested in suspicion of connection with the rising tension and repeated attacks, especially after a settler stabbed a soldier with a screw driver and a needle.
The settlers were carrying screw drivers and needles in order to slash tires, Israeli military source reported.
