Israeli troops have attacked Palestinians taking part in protests in the occupied West Bank against Israeli settlement expansion and in support of fellow countrymen in Jerusalem al-Quds, leaving one killed and dozens of others injured.The Palestinians Health Ministry said that a young man was shot dead on Friday by Israeli forces as they attacked an anti-settlement rally on Mount Sobeih in Beita town, south of the occupied West Bank city of Nablus, using live ammunition, rubber bullets, sound bombs and tear gas.The victim was identified as Zakaria Hamayel, 28.According to the ministry, dozens of Palestinians were also shot with live ammunition, while scores of others suffered breathing difficulties due to inhaling tear gas.The protest came amid an Israeli plan to construct a settlement outpost on the top of the mountain.Israeli forces also attacked a weekly anti-settlement protest in the village of Kafr Qaddum, where dozens of other Palestinians suffered tear gas inhalation.The protest was also held in support of Palestinians threatened with dispossession in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood and other areas in Jerusalem al-Quds.Weeks of Israeli harassment of Palestinians in Jerusalem al-Quds and attempts to appropriate Palestinian lands in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of the city was followed by the 11-day Israeli aggression on Gaza, which began on May 10 and killed over 300 Palestinians.Also on Friday, Israeli settlers used live ammunition against Palestinians trying to defend their land and prevent the construction of a settlement outpost in Khirbet Shehadeh, west of the city of Salfit.More than 600,000 Israelis live in over 230 settlements built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem al-Quds.All Israeli settlements are illegal under international law as they are built on occupied land. The United Nations Security Council has condemned Israel’s settlement activities in the occupied territories in several resolutions.
Under the protection of Israeli forces, dozens of Israeli settlers, organised marches across the West Bank, attacking Palestinian vehicles and threatened to attack nearby homes.
Dozens of extremist settlers gathered near the northern entrance to the city of Al-Bireh in the occupied West Bank, and organised a march near the homes of citizens, threatening to aggressively attack nearby homes and vehicles.
The settlers have also gathered near major settlements and major roads connecting the West Bank cities and villages, attacking Palestinian drivers with stones and spitting on them.
