Hospital officials in Nablus said Mohammed Ahmed Hazeem was undergoing an operation to save his life. An Israeli army spokesman said the settler had fired his pistol in the air after his car was stoned near the school. A spokesman for Israeli police in the West Bank said he had heard a similar account, but gave no details. The witnesses said the stone-throwing was some distance from the school and that none of the students was involved. Nearly 200,000 Jews live in settlements scattered among more than three million Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip occupied by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war.
Settlements are illegal under international law.
Palestinians, who have targeted settlers since the outbreak of an uprising against Israeli occupation 11 weeks ago, view them as usurpers and want them to leave land where Palestinians envisage establishing an independent state. Clashes between Israeli troops and Palestinians have resulted in the deaths of at least 330 people, most of them Palestinians. Thirteen Arab Israelis and 38 other Israelis have also died. Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved.