NABLUS, Friday, September 22, 2023 (WAFA) - A Palestinian was shot and injured and several others suffocated today during confrontations with Israeli forces in Khirbet Tana, a locale east of Nablus in the northern occupied West Bank, and in the village of Qarout to the south, said security sources.

Sources informed WAFA that Palestinian residents attempted to fend off an attack carried out against the outskirts of the Khirbet Tana locale by a number of settlers, under Israeli army protection, leading to confrontations.

Israeli forces did nothing to stop the settlers’ attack but rather joined in on the attack, firing tear gas canisters and stun grenades toward residents.

Forces attacked residents with rubber-coated metal bullets stun grenades, and tear gas canisters toward residents, shooting and injuring a resident in the shoulder.

Similar confrontations broke out with Israeli forces and settlers in the village of Qarout to the south of Nablus.

Settlers, backed by military soldiers, reportedly broke into a water spring in the said village, leading to confrontations with the village residents who attempted to fend off the settler's raid.

Forces fired stun grenades and tear gas canisters toward residents, causing several people to suffocate. A tear gas bomb also shattered the window of a resident’s house.

"Settler violence has long since become part of Palestinians’ daily life under occupation. Israeli security forces enable these actions, which result in Palestinians casualties – injuries and fatalities – as well as damage to land and property. In some cases, they even serve as an armed escort, or even join in the attacks," said the Israeli information center for human rights in occupied territories, B’Tselem.

"Investigations, if even opened, are usually closed with no action taken against perpetrators as part of an undeclared policy of leniency. The long-term effect of this violence is the dispossession of Palestinians from increasing parts of the West Bank, making it easier for Israel to take over land and resources," said B'Tselem.

T.R.