Israeli military cracks down on West Bank village as settlers march in

Israeli forces shot and wounded at least one Palestinian, arrested at least three, and closed entrances to the village of Tal in the occupied West Bank on Friday as more than 100 Israeli settlers marched towards the village, residents said.

A settler attack last weekend had left four Palestinians and two Israelis dead, an incident that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government characterised as terrorism - although video later emerged showing armed settlers shoving Palestinians.

The Palestinian villagers say they were defending themselves against settler attacks that aim to drive them off the land, the latest in a three-year surge of such violence in the West Bank.

Since last Friday, the Israeli military has carried out near-daily raids and arrests in Tal, which is near Nablus in the northern West Bank - where most countries and UN bodies consider Israeli settlements illegal.