Israeli forces injure six Palestinians, including medics, in West Bank

Six Palestinians, including two paramedics, were injured in separate attacks by Israeli forces and settlers across the occupied West Bank on Friday, according to local authorities.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society reported that its crews treated a man who was beaten by Israeli troops in Beit Furik, east of Nablus. After the assault, the man was arrested and the PRCS said it was working with the International Committee of the Red Cross to secure his access to medical care. Settlers also damaged a Palestinian-owned vehicle in the same town, the organisation added.

In Bethlehem, three Palestinians were wounded when settlers attacked vehicles in the Abu Njeim area. Meanwhile, two PRCS paramedics were struck by stones while responding to calls in the nearby Khalayel al-Louz area. The attack damaged their ambulance and left both medics injured.

The Friday violence follows a week of Israeli military raids across the West Bank, including a two-day operation in Qalandiya refugee camp that injured 48 people.

Since January, Palestinian monitors have recorded more than 11,000 attacks in the territory. Since Israel began its war in Gaza last October, Israeli forces and settlers have killed at least 1,182 Palestinians in the West Bank, injured about 13,000 and arrested nearly 25,000, according to Palestinian officials.

Rights groups say the surge in violence is part of a strategy to tighten Israeli control over Palestinian towns and villages. The UN Human Rights Office has accused settlers and Israeli forces of burning mosques, destroying property and imposing tighter movement restrictions. In late July, the UN called on countries to end the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, warning that settler attacks and settlement expansion were reaching record levels.