RAMALLAH, Palestine

Three Palestinians were injured Tuesday in separate incidents involving Israeli army gunfire and attacks by illegal settlers across the occupied West Bank, according to official Palestinian media.

The Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that a young man was injured by Israeli forces in the town of Al-Khader, south of Bethlehem. According to the report, Israeli forces chased two youths on a motorcycle in the al-Baloa' area and fired rubber-coated metal bullets at them, injuring one in the leg.

In another incident in the southern West Bank, a young man sustained bruises during an attack by illegal Israeli settlers who were protected by Israeli forces in the village of Susya in the Masafer Yatta area south of Hebron, the agency added.

WAFA said settlers attacked the home of Mohammed Nasser Al-Nawajaa, beating him with batons, which resulted in bruises to his hand. He was taken to a local medical center for treatment.

State-run Palestine TV reported that a young man was injured after Israeli forces fired at a vehicle that overturned during a chase on Route 60, a road connecting Ramallah to southern West Bank governorates, without providing further details.

Tensions have been running high across the West Bank since Israel launched a deadly military offensive against the Gaza Strip that has killed more than 40,170 people since Oct. 7, 2023, following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas.

At least 635 Palestinians have since been killed and nearly 5,400 others injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied territory, according to the Health Ministry.

In a landmark advisory opinion on July 19, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land "illegal" and demanded the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio