Israeli Settlers Wound 5 Arabs in Hebron Clash

Jewish settlers set fire to a packed mosque and shot and wounded five Palestinians in the occupied territories Thursday after two Israelis were stabbed to death Wednesday in downtown Jerusalem.

A Muslim group claimed responsibility in Beirut for the stabbings.

Jews and Arabs fought for hours during the night in the West Bank city of Hebron. More than 200 Jewish settlers from the village of Kiryat Arba, angered by the stoning of Israeli cars, smashed Arab cars and house windows in the city.

The Palestinians retaliated by stoning the settlement. They also put a burning tire on a protective security fence, which settlers then rolled down to a mosque, setting it on fire. Worshipers charged out and hurled stones at the settlers, who opened fire, wounding at least five people, security sources said.

The army closed the area to journalists.

Massive police reinforcements patrolled Jerusalem, barring most Palestinians from entering for fear of reprisals by Israeli civilians angered by Wednesday’s fatal stabbings. The attack, carried out by a lone assailant who was arrested, also wounded three Jews.

A Palestinian Islamic group said Thursday that it was responsible for the stabbings.

“One of our heroic strugglers stabbed a group of Israelis in Jerusalem. Two people were killed and several were wounded,” said a statement by the Islamic Jihad (Holy War) in Palestine issued in Muslim West Beirut.

Elsewhere in the West Bank, troops shot and killed a Palestinian in a stolen car who tried to break through an army roadblock stopping Arabs from entering Israel.

And, in Al Mughayir village, a gunman fatally shot another Arab accused of collaborating with Israeli secret police.

In the Gaza Strip, Palestinians stopped and stoned Jewish settlers in a minibus. The Israelis, one of whom was wounded, fired in the air and escaped on foot when they ran out of ammunition. The Arab assailants set fire to the vehicle.