Israeli forces shut down protests in West Bank villages

Israeli forces on Friday fired tear gas at protesters marking Land Day in villages across the West Bank. On Land Day, Palestinians commemorate the killing of six protesters by Israeli forces in 1976 during demonstrations against land theft in the Galilee. In Nabi Saleh, near Ramallah, 8-year-old Muhammad Tamimi was hit in the face by rubber bullet, activists said. He was taken to the Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah, they said. Israeli forces detained 10 protesters, activists said. An army spokesman said four people were arrested in Nabi Saleh. The Popular Resistance Committee in Beit Ummar, near Hebron, said Israeli forces fired rubber bullets injuring four protesters. The committee said Israeli forces closed the entrance to the village and stopped cars from entering. An Israeli military spokesman told Ma'an that border police used riot dispersal means against protesters who were hurling rocks. He said soldiers also used riot dispersal means in Bilin and Nilin, near Ramallah and in Iraq Burin near Nablus. Protesters ignited fires in Nilin and Iraq Burin, he added. Palestinian Authority official Ghassan Doughlas told Ma'an that hundreds of residents of Iraq Burin marched toward the Bracha settlement after Friday prayers. Locals said Israeli troops fired tear gas and sound grenades, and that two villagers fainted from gas inhalation. A photojournalist for Palestine TV was injured in Bilin, activists said.