OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Six Israelis were detained for assaulting soldiers near a town in the occupied West Bank where clashes with Palestinians erupted earlier this week, the military said on Saturday. Soldiers went to disperse a gathering of Israelis near the central West Bank town of Kafr Malik overnight Friday to Saturday, the military said in a statement. “Upon the arrival of the security forces, dozens of Israeli civilians hurled stones toward them and physically and verbally assaulted the soldiers, including the Battalion Commander,” it said. “In addition, the civilians vandalised and damaged security forces’ vehicles, and attempted to ram the security forces,” it added. “The security forces dispersed the gathering, and six Israeli civilians were apprehended and transferred to the Israel Police for further processing.” Contacted by AFP, the Israeli military declined to say whether those arrested were residents of Israeli settlements in the territory, which has been occupied by Israel since 1967. The military referred the query to the Israeli police, which was not available to comment. In a separate incident on Wednesday, the Palestinian health ministry said three men died in Kafr Malik in an attack by settlers.