RAMALLAH, Palestine / ISTANBUL

Illegal Israeli settlers, backed by army forces, injured at least 15 Palestinians and stormed a mosque in attacks in the occupied West Bank on Friday, according to medics and officials.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said its teams treated 13 people for tear gas inhalation, including six children, while two others were beaten in an attack in the Khallayel al-Loz area, east of Bethlehem in the southern West Bank.

The organization added that Israeli forces obstructed ambulances and medics as they attempted to provide treatment at the scene.

Witnesses told Anadolu that illegal settlers threw stones at Palestinian homes and besieged the area, while Israeli troops fired stun grenades and tear gas toward the houses before sealing off the area.

Khallayel al-Loz has faced repeated illegal settler attacks, including land incursions, tree cutting and preventing farmers from accessing their land in efforts to seize territory for nearby settlements.

In a separate incident, the Palestinian Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs said illegal settlers stormed Al-Salam Mosque in the town of Deir Ballut in the central city of Salfit, walking inside with their shoes on and posing for photos.

It described the act as “a deliberate violation of the sanctity of Muslim holy sites.”

The ministry said the incident reflects a broader escalation in violations against Islamic sites in the West Bank and called on international and human rights organizations to intervene to protect places of worship and halt repeated attacks.

Israeli forces and illegal settlers have killed at least 1,105 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, injured nearly 11,000, and detained around 21,000 since October 2023, according to Palestinian figures.

In a landmark opinion last July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.