Israeli Forces Injure Dozens of Palestinians Protesting Land Grabs in West Bank

Dozens of Palestinians were injured in a standoff with security forces on Thursday as they protested Israeli land grabs in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian media reported.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Hundreds of protesters were confronted by Israeli troops as they marched toward land that Israeli authorities seized in 1976 to build a Yitzhar settlement, the Maan news agency said.

Fifty protesters were injured by rubber bullets and dozens more suffered from inhaling tear gas, including a local deputy governor, the outlet cited the Palestinian Red Crescent as saying.

But an Israeli army spokesperson accused demonstrators of throwing rocks at security forces and Israeli settlers, promoting the troops to disperse the crowd, in a comment to the outlet.

Palestinians marked the Land Day on Thursday, commemorating 41 years since the death of six Palestinians in a general strike that was triggered by Israel’s decision to expropriate large swaths of their land.

The UN Security Council regards Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem as illegal. It passed a resolution last December telling Israel to stop and prompting an angry response from Tel Aviv.