Dozens of Palestinians sustained light to moderate injuries today when Israeli occupation forces attacked the weekly protests against colonial Israeli settlements, which usually take place every Friday across the occupied West Bank, according to local and medical sources.
In Nablus, north of the occupied West Bank, Israeli soldiers fired rubber-coated metal rounds and stun grenades at Palestinians who demonstrated at Jabal Sabih mount, near the village of Beita, injuring 135 protesters, of whom seven were hospitalized while the others were treated at the scene. An ambulance was also hit by a teargas canister. Another 79 protesters sustained suffocation from gas inhalation. The protesters were demonstrating against Israel’s construction of an illegal settlement outpost called Evyatar on the mount.
Israeli occupation soldiers also attacked a nonviolent protest in the nearby village of Beit Dajan, but there were no reports of casualties.
In Salfit district, Israeli soldiers attacked nonviolent Palestinian protesters who held the weekly Friday prayer outdoors in an area threatened with Israeli confiscation. Two injuries from rubber-coated rounds were reported.
In occupied Jerusalem, dozens of Palestinians sustained suffocation from gas inhalation as Israeli policemen attacked them while demonstrating against Israel’s plan to demolish 17 Palestinian-owned homes in the neighbourhood of Silwan. The homes belong to indigenous Palestinian families who lived there for generations.
Meantime, Israeli soldiers attacked dozens of Palestinian protesters as they held the weekly Friday prayer near a land threatened with expropriation near the entrance of Hizma town, northeast of Jerusalem. The protesters waved Palestine flags and placards and rallied in protest of the construction of a nearby settler-only bypass road at the expense of their land.
Palestinians usually hold protests against colonial Israeli settlements and other discriminatory policies following the weekly Friday prayer every week, when most Palestinians are on their weekend.
Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency