WEST BANK (Dispatches) – At least 135 Palestinians have been injured by Zionist troops during attacks on anti-settlement protests in the occupied West Bank province of Nablus.
The Palestinian Information Center cited the Palestine Red Crescent Society as saying that 19 Palestinians, including journalists, were hit by rubber bullets fired by Zionist troops to disperse an anti-settlement protest on Sobeih Mountain in Beita, south of Nablus City, on Friday.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society said that 97 Palestinians had also suffered breathing difficulties due to inhaling tear gas used by the regime troops against the protesters in Beita. Two other Palestinians sustained different injuries during the clashes.
Since May, Beita has seen intensified clashes between Zionist troops and Palestinians protesting against a settlement outpost that has been established on Sobeih Mountain by settlers under the protection of Israeli forces.
Also on Friday, the Zionist troops used live ammunition, rubber bullets, and tear gas to disperse a weekly anti-settlement protest in the village of Beit Dajan, east of Nablus City. The official Palestinian news agency WAFA said 17 Palestinians suffered breathing difficulties during the attack in Beit Dajan.
Meanwhile, six Palestinians were hit by rubber-coated bullets, while dozens of others suffered breathing difficulties as Zionist troops attacked an anti-settlement rally in Kafr Qaddum, east of the West Bank city of Qalqilya, on Friday, according to WAFA.
The regime’s troops usually use force to disperse weekly protests against settlements in the occupied West Bank.
The regime occupied the West Bank and the Gaza Strip — territories the Palestinians want for a future state — during the six-day Arab-Zionist war in 1967. It later had to withdraw from Gaza.
More than 600,000 Zionists live in over 230 settlements built since the 1967 occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank. All the settlements are illegal under international law. The United Nations Security Council has condemned the settlement activities in several resolutions.