Israel troops shoot, injure 20 Palestinians in West Bank

At least 19 Palestinians have reportedly sustained gunshot wounds during fresh clashes in the West Bank as tensions continue unabated in the occupied lands.

Palestinian medical officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said three Palestinian youths were shot by live rounds, while 16 others were hit by rubber-coated steel bullets in the central West Bank city of al-Bireh, located 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) north of al-Quds (Jerusalem), on Saturday evening.

Dozens of Palestinians also suffered excessive tear gas inhalation.

Locals said university students had organized a peaceful march at the northern entrance of al-Bireh, but violence erupted when Israeli soldiers approached the demonstrators and opened fire.

Elsewhere in the northern West Bank town of Kafr Qaddum, located 13 kilometers (8 miles) west of Nablus, Israeli forces shot and injured a 17-year-old Palestinian teenage boy in the thigh.

The teenager was identified as Raed Hussam, who was transferred to the Rafidia Surgery Hospital to receive medical treatment.

Tensions in the occupied territories have dramatically escalated since the Israeli regime’s imposition of restrictions in August on the entry of Palestinian worshipers to the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East al-Quds.

Palestinians are angry at increasing violence by Israeli settlers at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound and their attacks on Palestinian properties, saying that the Tel Aviv regime seeks to change the status quo of the compound.

More than 120 Palestinians have been killed in the recent escalation of violence since the start of October.