PA minister injured by Israel forces in Ramallah area village protest

Palestinian Authority minister Walid Assaf, chair of the Commission Against the Wall and Settlements, was one of a number of protesters injured by Israeli soldiers yesterday in Ras Karkar, a village near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.

According to WAFA, Assaf was lightly injured by a rubber-coated metal bullet, one of five shot by Israeli occupation forces, said the Palestine Red Crescent.

Local residents have mobilised this week to try and prevent further land confiscation at the hands of Israeli settlers protected by the army, prompting violent repression by Israeli forces.

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“Assaf said he was partaking in a nonviolent protest against Israeli plans to confiscate lands in the village when Israeli soldiers fired rubber-coated steel rounds at them,” reported WAFA.

“Two of his escorts were also injured in the hand and leg respectively after being shot by rubber-coated bullets,” the report added.

“The minister called for further protests to confront Israel’s attempts to take over Palestinians’ lands in the village,” WAFA noted.