Palestinians continue to stage protests against Israeli settlements and violations in the occupied West Bank in defiance of Israel’s brutal repressive tactics.
In the flashpoint town of Beita, south of Nablus, Israeli forces attacked anti-settlement protesters on Friday, injuring 70 Palestinians.
WAFA news agency cited the Palestine Red Crescent ambulance service as saying that 12 people, including a Red Crescent volunteer, were hit by rubber bullets during the attack. According to the report, the injured included 51 people who suffered breathing difficulties due to inhaling the tear gas fired by the Israeli troops.
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 used rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse a protest condemning Israeli violations against Palestinians in Kafr Qaddum, east of Qalqilya City, on Friday. During the Israeli crackdown, a protester was hit by a rubber bullet, while dozens of others suffered breathing difficulties as a result of the toxic fumes.
The demonstrators in Kafr Qaddum stressed their determination to continue their popular resistance against Israel, e.
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.
Also on Friday, Israeli forces detained seven Palestinians in the occupied West Bank province of Ramallah and al-Bireh, WAFA reported. The province also witnessed several clashes between young Palestinians and Israeli troops, who used live ammunition and rubber bullets against the Palestinians, the news agency said.
The Israeli army frequently carries out wide-ranging arrest campaigns across the occupied West Bank under the pretext of searching for “wanted” Palestinians.
More than 7,000 Palestinians are reportedly held in Israeli jails. Hundreds have been incarcerated under the practice of administrative detention, which allows holding Palestinian inmates in Israeli prisons without trial or charge. Some Palestinian prisoners have even been held in administrative detention for up to eleven years.
In al-Quds, Israeli forces detained a Palestinian activist from Isawiya Village when he arrived at the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East al-Quds on Friday to express solidarity with its residents, who are threatened with eviction.
The Israeli regime’s plans to force a number of Palestinian families out of their homes in Sheikh Jarrah and violent Israeli raids on worshipers at al-Aqsa Mosque prompted Palestinian retaliation from Gaza, which was followed by a brutal Israeli bombing campaign against the besieged strip on May 10. About 260 Palestinians were killed in the 11-day Israeli offensive.