Bethlehem/ Qais Abu Samra / Anadolu

The Israeli army on Friday suppressed a protest organized by Palestinians in the Abu Injim area east of Bethlehem in the southern occupied West Bank, in rejection of establishing an outpost in the area, and injured and arrested several citizens.

An Anadolu reporter said that Israeli settlers pitched a tent on the residents' land in the area, a step Palestinians considered an attempt to establish a new settlement outpost.

He added that dozens of Palestinians organized a protest in response, before Israeli army forces intervened to disperse them.

He explained that Israeli soldiers fired live ammunition and sound grenades, causing injuries among the Palestinians, with no immediate exact tally.

He noted that Israeli army forces arrested a Palestinian during the suppression of the protest.

The eastern area of Bethlehem is witnessing an increase in attempts to establish new settlement outposts, coinciding with rising settler attacks on Bedouin communities and rural areas in the West Bank, according to Palestinian sources.

The Israeli left-wing movement Peace Now estimates the number of settlers in the West Bank at about half a million, in addition to about 250,000 in settlements built in occupied East Jerusalem.

Since October 8, 2023, the West Bank has witnessed an Israeli escalation by the army and settlers, resulting in the killing of 1,175 Palestinians, injury of 12,919, arrest of about 24,000, and displacement of 33,000, according to official Palestinian data.