By Awad Rjoub
RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) – Four Palestinians were injured on Wednesday evening by Israeli army fire in the occupied West Bank, according to a local activist.
Mohammad Ayad Awad said Israeli forces staged three military raids into the town of Beit Ummar, north of Hebron in the southern West Bank.
“Israeli forces fired rubber bullets and tear gas canisters, injuring three people, while dozens suffered temporary asphyxiation,” he added.
Another Palestinian was injured in the back by a rubber bullet by army forces, he added.
Palestinian Red Crescent Society said its crews transported a 16-year-old minor with a gunshot wound to his thigh.
Tensions have been running high across the occupied West Bank due to Israel’s brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 43,100 Palestinians, mostly women and children, since Oct. 7, 2023.
At least 763 Palestinians have since been killed and nearly 6,300 others injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied territory, according to the Health Ministry.
The escalation follows a landmark opinion in July by the International Court of Justice that declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land “illegal” and demanded the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala