Dozens of Palestinians injured in Israeli crackdown on protests

Tens of Palestinians were wounded as Israeli troops attacked several anti-settlement protests across the occupied West Bank on Friday.

Two Palestinians were hit by rubber bullets fired by the Israeli troops at a weekly anti-settlement rally in the flashpoint town of Beita, south of Nablus. The Palestine Red Crescent ambulance service said 26 others suffered breathing difficulties due to inhaling tear gas fired by the Israeli forces.

Since May, Beita has seen intensified clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinians protesting against a settlement outpost that has been recently established on Sobeih Mountain by settlers under the protection of Israeli forces.

Israeli forces also fired rubber bullets, sound bombs, and tear gas at participants in an anti-settlement protest in Kafr Qaddum, east of Qalqilya City. During the clashes, eight Palestinians were hit by rubber bullets, while scores of others suffered breathing difficulties from inhaling the toxic fumes.

Israeli troops also suppressed a protest against settlement expansion and settlers’ ongoing attacks on Palestinians and their properties in the Umm al-Shaqhan Village — which is threatened with Israeli seizure — south of al-Khalil (Hebron). The demonstrators stressed their determination to protect their land and to thwart Israel’s plots to expand settlements.

During the protest, a number of Palestinians and foreign activists as well as eight journalists were detained.

More than 600,000 Israelis live in over 230 settlements built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the West Bank and East al-Quds.

All Israeli settlements are illegal under international law as they are built on occupied land. The United Nations Security Council has condemned Israel’s settlement activities in the occupied territories in several resolutions.