Report: 100 Palestinians wounded in Israel crackdown on West Bank protests

More than 100 Palestinians were wounded yesterday as Israeli occupation forces cracked down on protesters who took to the streets in support of Palestinian prisoners being held in Israeli jails, the Palestinian Red Crescent (PRC) reported.

After news reports that occupation forces were increasing the harsh measures imposed on detainees, hundreds of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank took to the streets in support of those being held.

Protesters headed to Israeli checkpoints at the entrances of Palestinian cities and towns across the occupied West Bank.

In Nablus, Palestinians staged their protest near Huwwara Checkpoint where the Israeli occupation forces opened fire at them and threw gas canisters to disperse them.

According to the PRC, more than 100 suffered suffocation due to the use of tear gas, while others were injured as a result of the use of live, plastic and rubber bullets.

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Meanwhile, Palestinian protesters headed to the entrance of Arraba neighbourhood in Jenin, occupation forces responded with fire but no casualties were reported except a number of people who suffocated following the inhalation of tear gas.

There were similar reports from the town of Al Bireh, north of Ramallah, Qalqiliya, Bethlehem, Al Aroub refugee camp in Hebron and Beit Amer neighbourhood in Hebron.

In Jerusalem, the Israeli occupation forces opened fire at Palestinians gathered near the Lion’s Gate and wounded three people, including two with rubber bullets and a third with a sound grenade.