AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE ARABNEWS

QUSRA, Palestinian Territories: Palestinians beat and detained several Israeli settlers who had sparked clashes after entering their village near the West Bank city of Nablus Tuesday, eyewitnesses and officials said.

At one point, Israeli soldiers were negotiating the release of some 13 settlers from a house in Qusra village, where they were being held, an AFP correspondent said.

Palestinian security sources told AFP the settlers were eventually released and handed to the Israeli Army.

Village council head Abdul Azim Wadi confirmed the incident but said only eight settlers were detained.

The area south of Nablus, in the northern West Bank, is the scene of frequent clashes between Palestinians and Jewish settlers, who live in nearby settlements.