Twelve people reportedly were wounded Wednesday during clashes near the West Bank village of Bidu where Israel is building a security barrier.
Army and police spokesmen said hundreds of protestors were demonstrating against the fence and hurling stones. Soldiers in Bidu, which is northwest of Jerusalem, fired rubber bullets. One of the bullets reportedly cracked the skull of a 12-year-old Palestinian boy.
Border policemen at the fence fired tear gas to disperse crowds.
Hundreds of Bidu residents, members of the Israeli group Anarchists Against the Wall, and foreign left-wing protesters have been participating in a series of demonstrations against the use of Palestinian lands to build the barrier.
Israel hopes to complete construction from the northern West Bank to Jerusalem by the end of the year. The barrier has already proven its effectiveness in preventing suicide bombings, the government says.
