Dozens of Palestinians were injured by military live-fire as Israeli forces today quelled an anti-settlement rally in the village of Beita, near the West Bank city of Nablus, according to the Palestinian news agency WAFA.
Local and medical sources said that Israeli forces cracked down on a rally called to protest the construction of the new illegal settlement of Givat Eviatar, atop Jabal Sbeih (Sbeih Mountain).
Thousands of Palestinians are demonstrating at this moment in the occupied West Bank village of Beita in protest of Israel's establishment of a colonial outpost near the village.#SaveBeita pic.twitter.com/dWpuP5IZxy
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) June 18, 2021
Participants of the rally could not make their way to Jabal Sbeih, but rather gathered at the main entrance of the town after Israeli forces shut down the entrances by cement blocks and earth mounds.
Director of the Palestinian Red Crescent’s (PRC) Emergency Department in Nablus, Ahmad Jibril, said five participants were hit by rubber-coated steel bullets, dozens of others suffocated from tear gas inhalation, and still others sustained injuries from falling from high places after being chased by the soldiers and due to severe beating.
The nonviolent rally was called for after a group of Jewish settlers set up over 20 mobile homes or caravans atop the mount as a prelude for taking over the complete mount and establishing a colonial outpost.
(WAFA, PC, Social Media)
