Israeli forces Friday afternoon opened fire at Palestinians protesting a Jewish settlement expansion in the town of Asira Ash-Shamaliyya, near Nablus, according to the Palestinian news agency WAFA.
Israeli troops opened fire towards protesters marching against Israel’s move to seize their land at Ebal Mount, causing many of them to suffer tear-gas suffocation.
Israeli soldiers also fired concussion grenades towards Palestine TV cameraman and reporter, who attempted to cover the protest.
#RT: Crosstalking with #GideonLevy and #RamzyBaroud (VIDEO) https://t.co/l2uXcQnT0W via @PalestineChron pic.twitter.com/vYap53y7s0
— @palestinechron (@PalestineChron) July 16, 2020
The town residents have been protesting Israel’s move to seize their land atop Ebal Mount for the third consecutive Friday.
Chairman of the Anti-Wall and Settlement Commission, Walid Assaf, pointed out that the protest was called to emphasize the Palestinian people’s right to and commitment to defend their land in the face of the colonial settlement policy.
Assaf added that the recent expansion of Jewish settlements in the area comes as part of Israel’s illegal move to ‘annex’ large swaths of the West Bank and pledged to escalate popular resistance and take legal proceedings against colonial settlements.
#Gaza Women Rally against #Annexation (PHOTOS) https://t.co/dwxYCtxzna via @PalestineChron pic.twitter.com/iicFZwM9z9
— @palestinechron (@PalestineChron) July 17, 2020
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had pledged to annex nearly 30 percent of the total size of the occupied Palestinian West Bank and Jordan Vally, an act deemed a stark violation of international law.
Although annexation didn’t actualize on July 1, a self-imposed deadline by Netanyahu himself, Israel remains adamant in its intentions to formalize the annexation of large swathes of Palestinian land.
Washington is supportive of the Israeli move, although media reports spoke of the possibility that Trump’s Administration may have requested that Tel Aviv delay its plans for an unspecified period of time.
(Palestine Chronicle, WAFA, Social Media)
