W. Bank Palestinians join ‘Return’ rallies; 7 injured

RAMALLAH, Palestine

At least seven Palestinian protesters were injured by Israeli forces on Friday in clashes that erupted in different parts of the occupied West Bank, according to a Palestinian NGO.

According to witnesses, Israeli forces used teargas, rubber bullets and live ammunition to disperse Palestinians taking part in mass Friday demonstrations against the occupation.

"Outside the Jewish-only Beit El settlement near the West Bank city of Ramallah, two Palestinians were injured by rubber bullets while seven others suffered from excessive teargas,” the Palestinian Red Crescent (PRC) said in a statement.

“In Hebron's old city, meanwhile, fierce clashes erupted between Palestinian youths and Israeli troops in which at least two Palestinians were hurt by rubber bullets,” the statement read.

Near the northern West Bank cities of Nablus, Tulkarm and Qalqiliya, another three Palestinians were injured by rubber bullets, while 30 others suffered the effects of excessive teargas, according to the PRC.

Earlier Friday, thousands of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip converged on the strip’s eastern border with Israel, where they are holding mass rallies reaffirming their right to return to their ancestral homes in historical Palestine.

At least six Palestinian demonstrators were killed Friday by Israeli troops deployed near the Gaza border.

Dubbed the “Great Return March”, Friday’s mass demonstrations also included rallies across the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

The rallies have been endorsed by virtually all Palestinian political factions, which have repeatedly stressed the event’s peaceful nature.

Friday’s demonstrations also coincide with Land Day, which commemorates the murder of six Palestinians by Israeli forces in 1976.