Watch: Palestinian women take on Israeli soldier in order to protect boy

Jerusalem - A video showing an Israeli soldier scuffling with Palestinian women and youth at a West Bank protest has been viewed more than 2 million times on Facebook.

In the edited video, the masked soldier is seen attempting to arrest a 12-year-old boy with a cast on his arm.

He is swarmed by veiled Palestinian women, who pull at the soldier and slap him. The boy's sister is seen biting the soldier's hand.

The soldier eventually frees himself from the crowd and releases the boy.

The Israeli military says on Sunday the boy was being detained because he was hurling rocks, but was then released "to prevent an escalation of violence".

The skirmish took place on Friday at a weekly protest where Israeli troops and Palestinian protesters often clash.