Palestinians hurt by Israeli troops during W. Bank demo

By Qais Abu Samra

NABLUS, Palestine (AA) – Israeli forces on Friday shot and injured four Palestinians who were taking part in an anti-settlement demonstration in the occupied West Bank, according to a Palestinian official.

Protest organizer Murad Shtewi told Anadolu Agency that Israeli troops had used rubber bullets to disperse the weekly demonstration, leaving at least four Palestinians injured.

Israeli forces, Shtewi added, had also assaulted journalists covering the rally and raided the nearby Palestinian town of Kafr Qaddum.

Every Friday, Palestinians across the occupied West Bank stage demonstrations to protest Israel’s decades-long policy of building Jewish-only settlements on confiscated Palestinian land.

According to estimates, 640,000 Jewish settlers currently live on 196 settlements (built with the Israeli government’s approval) and more than 200 settler “outposts” (built without its approval) throughout the West Bank.

International law regards the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, as "occupied territory" and considers all Jewish settlement-building activity there to be illegal.