Israeli Forces Kill Palestinian Man, Injure scores more
Palestine's official WAFA news agency reported that the young man, identified as Mohammad Ali Khabisa, was hit in the head after Israeli forces violently attacked a weekly anti-settlement rally in the flashpoint town of Beita, south of Nablus, on Friday.
The Palestinian Health Ministry confirmed that the 28-year-old had been fatally shot by the occupation forces, adding that he was rushed to a nearby healthcare center in critical condition, where he was pronounced dead, PressTV reported.
According to the Palestinian Red Crescent (PRC) in Nablus, eight protesters were also wounded by Israeli rubber-coated bullets, while18 others suffered breathing difficulties due to inhaling teargas.
Some of the Palestinian protesters in the rally also sustained injuries after falling on the ground while being chased by Israeli soldiers.
Since May, the town 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.
The peaceful weekly marches by Palestinians are usually met with force by Israeli troops, who fire tear gas and rubber bullets at the participants.
The Palestinian Red Crescent also reported that 90 Palestinians were injured during clashes with Israeli forces in Beita, as well as the village of Beit Dajan, east of Nablus, and the West Bank village of Deir al-Hatab.
For several months, Beit Dajan has been witnessing clashes between Israeli troops and Palestinians protesting in areas threatened with seizure by the Israeli regime for the expansion of settlements. At least half of the total area of Beit Dajan has so far been seized by Israel for the construction of settlements.
Also on Friday, four Palestinians were wounded after Israeli forces opened fire on demonstrators during an anti-settlement protest in the village of Kafr Qaddum, near the city of Qalqilia, in the occupied West Bank, Wafa reported.
Tensions have been running high in the occupied territories for months over Israel’s settlement activities and its planned eviction of Palestinian families from their ancestral homes. Many Palestinians have been killed and scores wounded in the Israeli crackdown on protests so far this year.
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.
