Army blocks Israeli rally supporting torched West Bank town

By MAJDI MOHAMMED and ISABEL DEBRE
Associated Press

HAWARA, West Bank (AP) — Protesters say the Israeli military has fired stun grenades and tear gas to block hundreds of Israeli left-wing activists from staging a solidarity rally in a Palestinian town that was set ablaze by radical Jewish settlers earlier this week. Activists from Israeli rights organizations said soldiers and border policemen on Friday prevented busloads of protesters from rallying and entering the town of Hawara in the northern occupied West Bank, which still bears the scars of Sunday’s settler-led attack. The Israeli army did not immediately respond to request for comment. Hundreds of settlers rampaged through Hawara on Sunday, torching dozens of homes and businesses after two Israeli brothers were shot and killed nearby.