Six Palestinians wounded by Israeli fire in anti-settlements protests in West Bank

Six Palestinians, including a paramedic, were wounded on Friday by occupying Israeli forces who attacked activists protesting against the illegal construction of settlements in the West Bank village of Kafr Qaddum.

Dozens of Palestinians were taking part in weekly protests in the village of Kafr Qaddum, near the city of Qalqilia in the occupied West Bank, when two Palestinians were targeted by Israeli gunfire and another four were shot with rubber-coated steel bullets.

According to Palestinian Authority's news agency Wafa, Morad Shtewi, the coordinator of resistance activities in the village, said two were wounded after getting hit in the foot and knee.

One of them was detained by Israeli forces and taken to an unknown location, according to Wafa.

He added that a third protester was injured and sustained fractures in his foot as the soldiers chased him and other protesters. A fourth, a paramedic, was also injured by Israeli rubber-coated rounds while trying to help one of the wounded.

For years, the village of Kafr Qaddum has been at the heart of a national campaign against the Israeli settlement activities in the occupied West Bank. Almost every other day, clashes erupt between Palestinian protesters and Israeli occupation forces in the village.

Earlier this month, a baby was Palestinian baby struggled to breathe from tear gas inhalation after Israeli forces fired onto houses in a village in the Kafr Qaddum.

Eight-month-old Nursin Lo’ai Abdullah "suffocated from tear gas inhalation" as Israeli forces suppressed a protest in the area.

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

More than 700,000 Jewish Israelis live in settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, in constructions considered illegal under international law.