Dozens of Palestinians suffered temporary asphyxiation during anti-settlement protests after occupation forces used tear gas canisters, live and rubber-coated metal bullets to disperse the crowds in the West Bank city of Nablus today, according to witnesses.
Residents in the town of Burqa, north of Nablus, organised an anti-settlement rally in response to a planned march by illegal Israeli settlers towards the settlement of Homesh, the witnesses said.
Israeli forces used live and metal bullets and tear gas canisters to disperse Palestinians, who responded by hurling stones, they added.
Since this morning, Israeli occupation forces have blocked the entrances to the towns of Burqa, Sebastia, Bazaria and Wasilat Al-Dhahr to secure the settlers’ march.
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The settlement of Homesh was evacuated in 2005.
Tension has mounted across the Palestinian territories since Friday, when Israeli forces raided the Al-Aqsa Mosque courtyards in occupied East Jerusalem and attacked worshippers, injuring hundreds.
Daily extremist Jewish incursions into the Muslim holy site to mark the Passover holiday have further inflamed the situation. Jewish groups had called for animal sacrifices to be carried out in the mosque’s grounds.