Around 270 Palestinians were injured in the occupied West Bank as they clashed with Israeli troops, who fired tear gas and rubber-coated bullets into crowds protesting Israeli settlements.
Hundreds of Palestinans gathered on Friday in the town of Beit Ummar, located northwest of Hebron, to mourn the death of a protester killed by the Israeli military a day before.
Shawkat Awad, 20, was shot in the head and abdomen on Thursday during clashes that erupted after the funeral of a 12-year-old Palestinian boy killed by Israeli troops earlier in the week. The mourners carried Awad’s body through the town, with the funeral procession spiraling into new clashes with Israeli soldiers.
Footage from the scene showed several Palestinians throwing stones at Israeli armored vehicles, in addition to what appeared to be a small petrol bomb, while the military deployed tear gas and fired riot control rounds into the crowd.
Clashes also erupted at the village of Beita near Nablus in the northern West Bank. The town has seen numerous protests since May, when illegal Israeli settlers moved in and started setting up homes and building a road on a disputed stretch of land.
Images circulating online showed dozens of Palestinians hurling rocks at the Israeli military as burning tires let off thick clouds of black smoke, apparently an effort to conceal themselves from the Israeli troops seen shooting at protesters.
The clashes left around 270 Palestinians injured across the West Bank, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent. While the majority of the victims were exposed to tear gas, around 50 were injured by supposedly ‘less-lethal’ rubber-coated bullets, while another seven reportedly suffered wounds as result of live fire, the Red Crescent told AFP.
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