HEBRON, West Bank — Undercutting the latest U.S. peace efforts, an assailant on Wednesday hurled two grenades at Israeli troops guarding a downtown square in the volatile West Bank city of Hebron, injuring 11 soldiers and 11 Palestinians.
The attacker was shot in the leg before he vanished into the Palestinian-controlled area of the city. The Israeli army poured reinforcements into Hebron and imposed a curfew on the area it controls.
Troops also set up roadblocks around Hebron, barring Palestinians from leaving or entering the city of 130,000 Palestinians and 450 Jewish settlers.
Tensions in Hebron have been rising since the Aug. 20 killing of a settler rabbi, apparently by a Palestinian militant.
Wednesday’s violence erupted during Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, as Israeli troops enforced a blanket closure on the West Bank and Gaza Strip.