UPDATE - 16 Palestinians injured in assaults by Israeli army, settlers in West Bank

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By Aysar Al-Ayas

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) - At least 16 Palestinians sustained injuries Friday in assaults by the Israeli army and illegal Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said medical teams transferred nine Palestinians to hospitals, including two in serious condition, who were injured by the Israeli army, which raided the Balata refugee camp in eastern Nablus in the northern West Bank.

Witnesses told Anadolu that fighting erupted between the army and Palestinians in the camp, during which Israeli forces used heavily live bullets.

Earlier, seven Palestinians sustained injuries from an assault by armed settlers on the town of Silwad in eastern Ramallah in the central West Bank.

The Palestinians sustained injuries as the settlers beat them with batons and hurled stones, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Their condition, however, is stable.

Silwad Mayor Raed Hamed told Anadolu that 40 armed settlers raided the town's Nasiba area, assaulted the Palestinians and set fire to at least five cars.

In the last few years, the Israeli military has conducted regular raids in the West Bank, which have escalated with the beginning of the war on the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7, 2023. Palestinians have also been violently attacked by illegal settlers.

At least 835 Palestinians have since been killed and more than 6,700 injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied territory, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

In July 2024, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land unlawful, and demanded the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara