Palestinian seriously wounded by IDF fire in Nablus-area clash

By Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent, and Haaretz Service

A Palestinian teen was seriously wounded when he was hit in the head by an Israel Defense Forces rubber bullet near Nablus on Tuesday afternoon.

Mohammad Saker, 17, was shot by IDF troops operating in the Askar refugee camp located adjacent to the West Bank city of Nablus.

According to Palestinian sources, clashes broke out when an IDF jeep pulled into a junction situated at the western entrance to the Askar camp.

Palestinian youths began hurling stones and firebombs at the jeep. One of the soldiers opened a door of the jeep and shot at Saker from a distance of 20 meters.

The bullet struck Saker in the head. He was evacuated to Rafidia Hospital in Nablus where doctors said he suffered serious wounds to his skull. Saker was undergoing surgery.

The IDF had no immediate response to the incident.

Report: Troops arrest Hamas spokesman
IDF troops arrested the West Bank spokesman for the Hamas in the city of Ramallah early on Tuesday, the wife of the Hamas official said.

She said her husband, spokesman Farhat Asaad, was arrested overnight at their home in a western neighborhood of Ramallah.

Asaad does not hold a post in the new Hamas-led Palestinian
government.

The IDF said 18 suspected militants were arrested overnight, but an IDF spokeswoman was unable to confirm whether Asaad was among them.

The spokeswoman said, however, that none of those detained overnight was
arrested in Ramallah.

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