Clashes break out in West Bank after toddler’s death

The 18-year-old protester died after being shot in the chest Friday during a demonstration over the burning death of a Palestinian toddler.

The Israeli military says it shot Laith al-Khaldi near Ramallah after he hurled a fire bomb at them.

Al-Khaldi was buried Saturday and small skirmishes ensued.

Tensions remain high after suspected Jewish assailants set fire to a West Bank home and burned the sleeping Palestinian toddler to death. The child's 4-year-old brother and both his parents were also seriously wounded. The attack drew Palestinian anger and widespread Israeli condemnation.

About 2,000 Palestinian protesters clashed with Israeli security forces in the West Bank city of Hebron. Saturday saw only minor clashes as Israel deployed greater crowd control forces to try and prevent further escalation.

The Palestinians accuse Israel of not doing enough to protect them from extremist Jewish settlers. Israel fears the incident could spark wider unrest and has called for calm.

‘Price tags’ draw condemnation

Jewish extremists have for years staged attacks against Palestinian property, as well as mosques, churches, dovish Israeli groups and even Israeli military bases. The attacks, known as "price tags" because they exact a price for Israeli steps seen as favourable to the Palestinians, have stirred fear in Palestinians but rarely any deaths - which made Friday's incident, in which 18-month-old Ali Dawabsheh was killed all the more startling.

Israeli troops on Saturday used riot dispersal means to break up a stone-throwing clash in the West Bank between Israeli settlers and Palestinians and there were a number of other protests where Palestinians and Israeli Arabs demonstrated following the toddler's death.

Ghassan Daghlas, a Palestinian official in Nablus who monitors settlement activity, said the settlers attacked farmers working their land in Kusra village.

Friday's arson attack drew anger and widespread condemnation from Palestinian and Israeli leaders, who denounced it as an act of terrorism. The United Nations, United States, European Union and other countries also denounced the attack and called for
calm.

A statement from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's office said that after meeting with senior officials, they had called for United Nations protection.

"We must reinforce and activate people and peaceful resistance on all levels and on all tracks in order to confront and deter the terror of settlers who are protected by (Israel),"
the statement said.

Some 3,000 demonstrators gathered in Tel Aviv for a rally organised by the Israeli anti-settler group Peace Now, and opposition leaders called on the government to take more forceful action against militant settlers.

(FRANCE 24 with AP and REUTERS)