IDF troops, left-wing activists clash in West Bank

Several people were wounded on Saturday in scuffles between Israel Defense Forces soldiers and left-wing activists accompanying Palestinians to agricultural fields in the West Bank, witnesses said.

Palestinian witnesses said several people, including a Reuters photographer, were treated for bruises and minor wounds.

The scuffles erupted when soldiers tried to prevent the activists from entering fields in Safa, north of the city of Hebron.

An IDF spokesman said the area was a military zone closed to Israelis and foreigners but open to Palestinians.

The spokesman said some 15 people were arrested.