SHAFAQNA- IQNA: Israeli forces attacked Palestinians during weekly protests against the Tel Aviv regime’s illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, leaving dozens of people injured. The regime forces fired rubber bullets and tear gas at Palestinians in the village of Kafr Qaddum, injuring several people, including a 15-year-old boy.
Witnesses said that one Palestinian was taken to the hospital after suffering a rubber bullet wound to his head in Beit Dajan. Two others were injured in their feet and were treated at the site of the protest. Dozens of people also suffered breathing difficulties due to inhaling tear gas during the clashes, according to Press TV. In a raid on the village of Beit Kahil, in the southern West Bank, the Israeli forces detained at least 20 people.
They also clashed with Palestinians and detained at least 10 people in the West Bank cities of Nablus, Ramallah, and Bethlehem. In Jerusalem Al-Quds, regime forces attacked worshipers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, where thousands had gathered for Friday prayers, amid a heavy deployment of Israeli forces.
In another incident in the occupied territories, Israeli forces raided Al-Araqib Village and demolished Palestinian houses. The village is one of dozens of Bedouin villages in the Negev desert that are “unrecognized” by Israel. It was once demolished in 2010, but has since been rebuilt dozens of times by its residents and activists, who are challenging Israel’s repeated attempts to uproot the villagers from their native land.
Over half a million Israeli settlers live in more than 230 settlements built since the 1967 occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem Al-Quds. All Israeli settlements are illegal under international law as they are built on occupied land. Palestinians want the West Bank as part of their future independent state with East Jerusalem al-Quds as its capital.