At least five Palestinians were wounded on Saturday after residents of a hardline Israeli settlement attacked villages in the occupied West Bank south of Nablus, medical sources said.

The army confirmed the clashes and said when soldiers arrived to separate the two sides they were attacked by Palestinians and used anti-riot measures to disperse them.

Four Palestinians were lightly wounded by gunfire, the medical sources said.

They added that later, settlers attacked Palestinians in Hawara village, also south of Nablus, wounding one person.

For years, there has been a wave of "price tag" attacks -- a euphemism for Jewish nationalist-motivated hate crimes targeting Palestinians and Arab Israelis and their property, as well Muslims and Christian holy sites.

PHOTO CAPTION

An Israeli soldier guards the Jewish enclave in the West bank city of Hebron June 2, 2014. REUTERS

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