BETHLEHEM, May 15, 2017 (WAFA) – Israeli forces Monday violently suppressed a Bethlehem rally commemorating the 69th anniversary of the Palestinian catastrophe, the Nakba, causing several injuries among protesters, said medical sources.

Red Crescent sources said a rally, which started from Bethlehem, was quelled by Israeli soldiers when the protesters reached the northern entrance of the West Bank biblical city.

Soldiers used stun grenades, tear gas canisters, and rubber-coated metal bullets against the protesters to disperse them, shooting and injuring at least three people in their extremities. They were transferred to hospital for medical treatment.

Several others reportedly suffocated due to tear gas inhalation.

T.R./M.K.