Israeli forces injured a Palestinian with a rubber-coated steel bullet on Friday after suppressing a weekly march in the village of Kafr Qaddum, in the northern occupied West Bank district of Qalqilia.
Coordinator for the village’s popular resistance, Murad Shteiwi, said that a Palestinian “youth” was struck in the chest after Israeli forces opened rubber bullets on the crowd of protesters.
His injuries were reported as moderate and he was treated by a Palestinian Red Crescent crew on the scene, Shteiwi said, according to Ma’an.
He added that Israeli forces have begun using two drones in the village in order to take photos of protesters during the marches.
An Israeli army spokesperson said she would look into reports.
Residents of Kafr Qaddum began staging weekly protests in 2011, against Israeli land confiscations, as well as the closure of the village’s southern road by Israeli forces. The road, which has been closed for 14 years, is the main route to the nearby city of Nablus, the nearest economic center.
The Israeli army blocked off the road after expanding the illegal Israeli settlement of Kedumim in 2003, forcing village residents to take a bypass road in order to travel to Nablus, which has extended the travel time to Nablus from 15 minutes to 40 minutes, according to Israeli rights group B’Tselem.
Hundreds of Palestinians have been detained during the demonstrations since their start in 2011, and at least one protester was killed, while dozens have been injured by live fire, including 12 children, Shteiwi said, during a similar protest last year.
