NABLUS, Palestine

A Palestinian was seriously injured on Friday when the Israeli army used live and rubber bullets to disperse a weekly protest against settlements in the northern West Bank.

Clashes erupted between Palestinian protesters and Israeli soldiers in the town of Beit Dajan in the eastern Nablus province after the forces fired live and rubber bullets as well as tear gas canisters.

An Anadolu Agency correspondent said the injured man, who was hit in the face, was hospitalized in "serious" condition.

Palestinians usually stage weekly protests in the occupied West Bank against illegal Israeli settlements.

The West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is regarded as occupied territory under international law, making all Jewish settlements there illegal.

*Writing by Mahmoud Barakat