NABLUS, March 22: At least four people were wounded, one of them seriously, when clashes erupted between Palestinian police and residents of a West Bank village on Saturday, a security official said.

“Around 200 police were sent to the village of Hawara south of Nablus to arrest wanted criminals. There was an exchange of fire between the police and the families of the wanted men,” the Palestinian official said.

When the police arrived in the village, dozens of residents poured into the streets, pelting them with rocks and barricading at least one road, he said.

A police officer and three other people were wounded in the fighting, one of them seriously.

The official had no immediate word on how many arrests were made.

Palestinian security forces have been carrying out a massive security crackdown in and around Nablus for several months as part of the recently revived peace process with Israel.—AFP