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Palestinian Authority/Gaza, October 23, 2015

5 Israelis Wounded in Firebomb Attack Near West Bank Settlement

Original source

Haaretz

A 4-year-old girl was moderately wounded when a firebomb was hurled at her family's car near the West Bank settlement of Beit El on Friday afternoon. Her parents and two siblings sustained light wounds in the attack.

The family was driving down Highway 60 when the incendiary device was thrown at the vehicle. The 4-year-old girl sustained burns to 35% of her body. They were rushed to the Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center in Jerusalem.

Meanwhile, clashes broke out between Israeli security forces and Palestinians in several areas in the West Bank and on the Gaza border. Dozens of Palestinians were wounded by gunfire and tear gas fired by Israeli forces, according to Israeli and Palestinian figures.

Palestinian factions, including Hamas and Fatah, had called for Day of Rage rallies after Friday prayers, though protests were less intense than in previous weeks.

"By the blood of their sons, Jerusalem and the West Bank will write the end of the occupation," said Ismail Rudwan, an official from Hamas, which controls Gaza.

Some 600 Gazans gathered in various areas near the enclave's border, throwing stones and torching tires, according to the IDF. Israeli troops responded with gas grenades at first, following up with live gunfire. According to Palestinian reports, one person was killed.

In the West Bank, clashes broke out in the areas of Hebron, El Bireh, Beit Ummar and at Rachel's Tomb. The Palestinians torched tires and threw stones and firebombs, according to the IDF. Two border police officers were wounded.

The Palestinian Health Ministry reported that a 13-year-old boy was hit in the stomach by a live bullet in a clash in El Bireh, not far from the Beit El settlement, and was rushed to a Ramallah hospital in serious condition. The IDF is investigating the report.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was expected to meet in Amman on Saturday with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Jordan's King Abdullah, who has a role as a custodian of the Muslim sacred sites in Jerusalem.

The Quartet of Middle East peace mediators met in Vienna on Friday and urged Israeli and Palestinian leaders to tone down their rhetoric and calm tensions.