Israeli soldiers fire tear gas, live rounds at Palestinians workers near Ramallah
Israeli soldiers chased and attacked dozens of Palestinian workers on Sunday as they tried to enter their workplaces inside of Israel, the Palestinian Authority's news agency Wafa reported.
The workers were attempting to access their workplaces inside Israel through a crossing point near the village of Ni’lin, to the west of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank when they were charged at by the soldiers.
Mayor of Ni’lin, Emad Khawaja, said Israeli soldiers fired live shots and teargas at the workers, causing many cases of suffocation from teargas inhalation.
No serious injuries were reported among the workers.
Last week, the Israeli army announced at least a week-long shutdown of the border crossings between Israel and the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip for the Rosh Hashanah holidays.
Israel has occupied the West Bank illegally since 1967, and commits various abuses against Palestinian civilians, human rights groups say.
More than 700,000 Jewish Israelis live in settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, in constructions considered illegal under international law.