Rising Tensions Spark Hebron Clash

Palestinians clashed with Israeli soldiers and Jewish settlers in this West Bank town Saturday amid rising tensions over the planned withdrawal of Israeli forces.

Palestinian witnesses said the scuffles started when large groups of settlers assaulted Palestinians in two places downtown. But a spokesman for the settlers, Noam Arnon, said the fighting began when Palestinians assaulted a group of Jewish girls.

Several Palestinians were hurt and nine were arrested, Palestinian sources said.

Several weeks of negotiations have failed to result in an agreement on the troop redeployment from most of Hebron, the last West Bank town under Israeli occupation.

Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat said Saturday that he will seek international arbitration to force Israel to honor the peace accords it signed with the Palestine Liberation Organization.

Arafat said he wants the United States, Russia Japan, the European Union, Norway, Jordan and Egypt to rule on the dispute.

Earlier Saturday, Palestinians demonstrated in Hebron, East Jerusalem and throughout the West Bank to demand the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.

In Hebron, about 200 people marched to the Red Cross office carrying banners with slogans such as “No Peace Without Release of Prisoners.”

The protesters said more than 5,000 Palestinians are still in Israeli jails. Most were convicted of security offenses, but some are being held without trial, they said.