Seventy West Bank settlers on Wednesday clashed with police protecting Palestinian olive harvesters near the West Bank town of Nablus, police reported.
The spokesman for the Israeli police in the West Bank, superintendent Shlomi Sagi, told United Press International that some 50 policemen were in the area to protect Palestinian farmers harvesting their olives when youngsters from the nearby settlement of Ittamar appeared and demanded the harvesting stop.
The policemen formed a wedge between the settlers and the Palestinians, and were attacked, he said.
Israel Radio quoted the settlers as opposing Palestinians being close to their homes and having offered to harvest the yield themselves, a demand the Palestinians rejected. Ha'aretz said that in recent weeks settlers had stolen Palestinian villagers' olives.
Sagi said that police jailed one settler and detained 17 others for questioning.
Settlers, police clash over harvest
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