Israeli settlers, forces injure dozens of Palestinian protesters in Nablus

Dozens of Palestinians were injured by Israeli forces and settlers who attacked protesters taking part in anti-settlement demonstrations near the West Bank city of Nablus.

Anti-settlement protests began in and around the city after Friday afternoon prayers but were soon attacked by Israeli settlers supported by Israeli troops.

The protests took place in the villages of Beit Dajan, Qaryut and Kafr Qaddum, in the town of Beita, and in the neighbouring governorate of Qalqilia.

Soldiers fired rubber-coated bullets and tear gas, causing injuries and suffocation among dozens of protesters.

A Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance crew was hit by a tear gas canister, Ahmed Jibril, the director of ambulance and emergency at the Palestinian Red Crescent in Nablus, told The New Arab's Arabic-language service.

A similar protest took place in the Masafer Yatta area near Hebron. Israeli forces again used tear gas to suppress the protests.

In what was seemingly an unrelated attack the same day, an elderly Palestinian man was beaten by Israeli forces in Hebron.

Abdel-Karim Ibrahim Al-Jaabari, 64, was on his own land near the illegal Israeli settlement of Kiryat Arba when a group of settlers beat him, causing cuts and bruises across his face and body. He was taken to the nearby Alia Hospital for medical treatment.

Israel has occupied the West Bank illegally since 1967, and commits various abuses against Palestinian civilians, human rights groups say.

More than 600,000 Jewish Israelis live in settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, in constructions considered illegal under international law.