US Citizen Injured By Israeli Forces After Friday Prayers Protest In West Bank

NABLUS (Palestine), August 10 (Bernama-WAFA) -- Amado Sison, an American citizen, was shot by Israeli occupation forces on Friday after the dispersal of a demonstration that followed Friday prayers in Beita village, south of the occupied West Bank city of Nablus, according to the Palestine Solidarity Movement (PSM).

PSM said in a news release that “the incident, which marks the sixth consecutive week of persistent violence and repression by the Israeli occupation forces in Beita, saw Sison struck in the back of his right thigh. A significant exit wound indicated he was walking away from the soldiers, Palestine News and Information Agency (WAFA) reported.

“Beitans once again showed immense courage in their ongoing struggle against theft of their land by the settler colony. They aided international and anti-Zionist Israeli volunteers in carrying Sison over 500 metres to safety because Israeli occupation forces continued their attack, preventing an ambulance from reaching Sison.

“Sison was driven on the back of a Palestinian truck to an emergency medical clinic. Despite his grave injury, he was seen smiling with his thumbs up while being transferred into an ambulance.

“En route to Rafidia Surgical Hospital in Nablus, the army blocked the route of the ambulance, forcing it through two checkpoints where soldiers insisted on seeing Sison each time, significantly delaying further care,” it added.

PSM said the violence in Beita and neighbouring villages is part of a broader pattern of aggressive tactics employed by Israeli forces and illegal colonists against the town's residents.

“Since June, when the Israeli cabinet approved the "legalisation" of the Evyatar outpost on Sabih Mountain, Beita has been the epicenter of weekly demonstrations. These protests aim to resist the further appropriation of their land by Israeli colonists. The Israeli response to these peaceful demonstrations has been marked by increasing brutality, including the use of tear gas, rubber-coated steel bullets, and live ammunition.

“Residents of Beita have a long history of resisting colonisation attempts and remain steadfast. Despite repeated efforts by colonists to seize land—first in 2013, then in 2018, and most recently in 2021—Beita’s steadfast resistance has guarded its people. The current establishment of the Evyatar outpost and the ensuing violence represent a significant escalation in the ongoing violence by Israel, the occupation state,” it elaborated.

It was noted that Beita has mourned 17 people since 2020 alone, with thousands more suffering injuries. The strategic location of Jabel Sabih, the site of the current clashes, is crucial for maintaining a contiguous path between Israeli settlements, thereby facilitating apartheid and severely impacting the ability of native Palestinian villages to thrive.

The PSM stated that it stands in unwavering solidarity with the Palestinian resistance and the popular resistance in Beita. It called on the international community to condemn this brutal violence and to support the rights of indigenous Palestinians to resist land theft by illegal colonists backed by the settler-colonial state of Israel.

“The shooting of Amado Sison and the broader repression of Beita’s residents reflect a grave violation of international law that demands urgent attention and action,” it concluded.

--BERNAMA-WAFA