10 hurt as Israeli forces disperse Palestinian rally in West Bank

By Qais Abu Samra

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) – Ten Palestinians were injured Sunday when Israeli forces dispersed a rally in the occupied West Bank, according to a local official.

Dozens of activists organized a rally in Lubban al-Sharqiya village, south of Nablus, to protest settler attacks against Palestinian students, Mayor Yaaqoub Eweis told Anadolu Agency.

He said Israeli forces used stun grenades and beating to disperse the protesters.

Eweis said students in the village experience regular assaults by Israeli settlers, who obstruct their way to their school.

A Palestinian journalist was among those injured when he was hit by a stun grenade, according to an Anadolu Agency reporter.

Palestinians complain of rising settler violence in the West Bank in recent weeks.

Israeli and Palestinian estimates indicate there are about 650,000 settlers living in 164 settlements and 116 outposts in the West Bank, including in occupied Jerusalem.

Under international law, all Jewish settlements in occupied territories are considered illegal.

* Writing by Ahmed Asmar