Israeli forces shoot, injure German activist with rubber-coated steel bullet

A German activist was reportedly injured by Israeli forces today, as soldiers suppressed a weekly march in the village of Bil’in, west of Ramallah in the central occupied West Bank.

Official Palestinian Authority (PA)-owned Wafa news agency reported that Palestinian, Israeli and international activists participated in the village’s weekly march against illegal Israeli settlements and Israel’s Separation Wall – built on occupied land.

Activists raised Palestinian flags and chanted slogans calling for unity and resistance to the Israeli occupation.

Read: Israel officials weigh new tool to ‘legalise’ settler outposts

Israeli forces reportedly flew a surveillance drone overhead the area and took photos of the protest, triggering clashes with protesters.

Israeli forces began opening fire on protestors, injuring a 26-year-old German activist with a rubber-coated steel bullet in the back.

Bil’in is one of the most active Palestinian villages in organised peaceful opposition against Israeli policies, as residents have protested every Friday for 11 consecutive years, and have often been met with tear gas, rubber-coated steel bullets, and stun grenades from Israeli forces.