In the first such confrontation in more than a decade, Palestinian Authority forces have attacked the Israel Army. Scores of PA officers confronted Israeli Army soldiers in of Hebron.

Israeli soldiers fired stun grenades and tear gas to stop the attack by the PA officers and Palestinian supporters.

“This is a serious incident,” an Israeli military spokeswoman said. “It is being investigated by the army.”

The confrontation on Dec. 6 was said to have been the first since the Palestinian uprising in 2000. Officials said the clash in Hebron, in which five people were reported injured, marked concerns that U.S.-trained PA security units would bolster rising Palestinian unrest in the West Bank.

Sources said that PA police sought to hamper an Israel Army patrol in Hebron. They said one of the PA officers punched an Israeli soldier, which sparked a melee that included 250 Palestinians.

Hebron has been the only city divided into Israeli and PA zones. Israel controls less than 20 percent of the city, which contains 100,000 Arabs and about 1,000 Jews.