Two Palestinians shot by settlers in West Bank village

Israeli  settlers shot two Palestinian on Saturday  in the northern village of Kusra, Palestinian residents said.

The event  reflected mounting tensions in the West Bank, where Palestinians have faced off against Israeli troops in recent weeks in a series of large demonstrations protesting Israel’s control of the territory.

Helmi Abdul-Aziz, 24, was shot in the stomach bu the  settlers, Palestinian demonstrators said. They said settlers also shot 14-year-old Mustafa Hilal in the foot,according to the Vancouver Sun.

An Israeli occupation forces  confirmed that two Palestinians were shot.

A Palestinian hospital official said Abdul-Aziz was in serious condition. The medic requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Villagers said the clashes began when a group of settlers encroached on their village lands and fired guns. They said settlers chased a Palestinian farmer and his family off land, prompting the farmer to call on residents to confront the settlers.

Two Palestinian residents watching the clashes, Basem Nazal and Abdul-Azim Wadi, said Israeli occupation forces fired tear gas, stun grenades and rubber bullets on demonstrators, and that a rubber bullet hit a 15-year-old Palestinian demonstrator in the eye.

Nazal, a resident of Kusra, said groups of settlers were also uprooting their olive trees and vandalizing Palestinian homes ..

There are some 300,000 Israeli settlers living in the West Bank, which the international community condemns. Palestinians seek the West Bank, a hilly territory which Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war, for part of their future state. A hardline minority of settlers frequently attack nearby Palestinian villagers and their property.

The incident  come a day after widespread demonstrations took place throughout the West Bank in support of four Palestinian prisoners who are on hunger strikes in Israeli detention.

R.S