An Israel Defense Forces soldier has lost an eye after being hit by a stone during a demonstration against the separation fence on Friday.

Hundreds of local Palestinians, extreme leftist demonstrators, and Palestinian activists from Fatah, Hamas, and the National Front took part in the protest in the West Bank village of Bil'in, near Ramallah.

Military sources argued that the soldier's wound testified to the IDF's need to use controversial crowd control methods such as gas grenades and rubber bullets. According to the sources, it is common to see MKs and Israelis standing in the front lines of protests, creating a barrier between the soldiers and Palestinian demonstrators, some of whom exploit this barrier to throw stones...