A 15-year-old Jewish boy suffered a fractured skull and was listed in serious condition after being attacked by stone-throwing Palestinian Arabs near a disputed Jewish-owned building in the Judean town of Hebron on Tuesday.

At least 15 more people were treated for lighter injuries during a day of scuffles at the property, which was purchased by the local Jewish community from its former Arab owner, a move Palestinians and Israeli leftists insist is a provocation that must be reversed.

A member of Hebron's Jewish community complained to Ynet that the numerous Border Police officers and soldiers deployed to the area were failing to rein in the rampaging Arabs, and only seemed to respond when the besieged Jews acted to defend themselves.

"The atmosphere is very bad here, and a painful response will not surprise anyone," said the man.

Local Arabs, meanwhile, complained that 20 of their own were wounded while attacking the building by Jews who decided to respond in kind.

In other violence, two rockets and a number of mortar shells were fired by Palestinian forces operating out of the Gaza Strip at communities in southern Israel on Tuesday. Israeli aircraft responded by killing two of the terrorists behind the rocket fire and wounding four others.

In Tel Aviv security forces were on high alert for an imminent terrorist attack during the early morning hours, bringing the city to a virtual standstill and leaving many commuters stuck in traffic for hours.

The alert was canceled after police nabbed three Palestinian Arabs near Tel Aviv's central bus station.