NABLUS, Israeli forces Friday afternoon attacked Palestinian villagers of Qaryout, south of the occupied West Bank city of Nablus, wounding three and causing others to suffocate, according to a local activist.

Bashar Qaryouti, a local anti-colonial-settlement activist, said that Israeli settlers, under army protection, barged their way into a local spring in the village, triggering confrontations.

The gun-toting soldiers, Qaryouti added, opened fire towards the villagers attempting to block settlers’ access, wounding three by rubber-coated steel bullets and causing others to suffocate from tear gas.

One of the casualties sustained a rubber-coated steel bullet injury in the face, another in the back and the other in the abdomen.

The three casualties were rushed to a hospital for treatment, and the suffocation cases were treated at the scene.

In February, the settlers raided the area, broke the lock of the water spring, damaged the fence around it and poured unknown material with a dirty smell in the water.

Settlers’ violence against Palestinians and their property is routine in the West Bank and is rarely prosecuted by Israeli authorities.

Settlers’ violence includes property and mosque arsons, stone-throwing, uprooting of crops and olive trees, attacks on vulnerable homes, among others.

There are over 800,000 Israeli settlers living in colonial settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Source: Palestine News & Info Agency