RAMALLAH, Friday, December 4, 2020 (WAFA) – Israeli forces today cracked down on an anti-settlement protest in al-Mughayyir village, northeast of Ramallah, causing a number of protestors to suffocate, according to local source.

Head of the Committee against Settlement and the Apartheid Wall Walid Assaf said that Israeli soldiers violently dispersed the participants of the rally called for to defend Ras al-Tin area against being seized to make room for the construction of a new Israeli colonial settlement outpost.

Soldiers opened fire towards the participants as the latter were reached the village entrance on their way to Ras al-Tin area, which is part of the nearby village of Kafr Malik, causing a number of participants to suffocate from tear gas inhalation.

Assaf pointed that the rally was also held to commemorate 15-year-old Ali Abu Alia, who was shot and killed by Israeli forces after receiving a live bullet in the abdomen as he participated in the weekly demonstration in al-Mughayyer village last Friday.

He was standing among the crowds when an Israeli soldier shot him in the abdomen, killing him on his 15th birthday.

Israeli settlers have recently commenced the construction of the new colonial settlement outpost in Ras al-Tin area, and prevented the villagers and shepherds from reaching the area.

Settlers are also attempting to demolish the school in the area, constructed with funding from the European Union, in preparation to force the Palestinian Bedouin community from this area.

K.F.