Israeli forces attack Palestinian protesters trying to block settler march in Beita

Occupying Israeli forces attacked dozens of Palestinians with stun grenades and tear gas at the entrance of the town of Beita south of Nablus in the West Bank on Tuesday evening.

Palestinian residents of Beita gathered at the town's entrance to confront potential attacks by Israeli settlers who had planned a march to Nablus.

The Samaria Regional Council, a settler organisation, organised the march using the slogan “we want a Jewish state”.

Israeli forces attempted to disperse the crowd, which led to at least 28 Palestinians being treated on the scene for tear gas inhalation, according to Palestinian Authority's news agency Wafa.

The settler march began at the Za'tara military checkpoint towards the Hawara checkpoint, Ghassan Daghlas, an official who monitors settler activity in the northern West Bank told Wafa.

Other settler gatherings took place in the West Bank governorates of Nablus, Qalqilya and Salfit, Daghlas said.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967 and built hundreds of settlements there in violation of international law.

For several months, locals from Beita and other nearby areas have been demonstrating at least once a week against the building of the Givat Evyatar settlement outpost on Mount Sabih.

They are also fighting seizure of land in Beita, Huwarra and Zatara, intended for the creation of a road to be used exclusively by Jewish settlers.

Israeli authorities have responded to the protests with violence. 

The settlers at the Evyatar outpost, which was built without Israeli government permission and is located a few kilometres away from Beita, were evacuated at the beginning of July.

A deal between the Israeli government and the settlers allowed for the hilltop outpost to remain under the permanent supervision of the Israeli army, after the settlers left.