At least two Palestinians have sustained injuries after Israeli military forces opened fire to disperse a group of young Palestinian protesters in the central part of the occupied West Bank.
Local sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the clashes erupted on Monday morning at Atarah military checkpoint north of Ramallah, located 10 kilometers north of Jerusalem al-Quds, where Israeli forces fired rubber-coated steel bullets to break up the demonstration.
Two young Palestinian men suffered gunshot wounds during the skirmishes, and had to be transferred to Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah to receive treatment.
Earlier, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS) reported that Israeli troopers had detained at least 18 Palestinians in a series of raids carried out across the West Bank.
Israeli forces raided the town of Bethlehem, detaining six Palestinians there. Four people were detained in the city of Tulkarm, three in Ramallah, and two more in Jerusalem al-Quds.
A journalist, identified as Ayoub Hassan, was also arrested in Qalqilyah city. Two more people, including a woman from al-Khalil (Hebron) and a man from the northern West Bank city of Jenin, were also detained.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military claimed they had thwarted a stabbing attempt at Huwwarah military checkpoint south of Nablus in the northern West Bank.
An unnamed Israeli army spokesperson said the suspect sought to knife Israeli forces at the checkpoint, but troopers were able to “subdue" the Palestinian without using force.
The occupied Palestinian territories have been witnessing tensions ever since Israel imposed restrictions on the entry of Palestinian worshipers into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem al-Quds in August 2015.
Nearly 290 Palestinians have lost their lives at the hands of Israeli forces in the tensions since the beginning of October that year.