Ramallah, March 20 (RHC)-- Israeli forces have shot dead a Palestinian man during another round of anti-settlement protests in the occupied West Bank.  According to a statement by the Palestinian Health Ministry, the deadly incident occurred on Friday when Israeli soldiers opened live fire on the Palestinians who were holding a protest rally in the village of Beit Dajan, east of Nablus City.

"A citizen who was shot in the head with live ammunition died," the ministry said.  Abdelrahman Hanani, the mayor of Beit Dajan, said the 42-year-old victim, identified as Atef Yussef Hanaysheh, was killed when clashes erupted between Israeli soldiers and Palestinians who were demonstrating against Israeli settlement construction activities.  "The soldiers fired when we approached a wildcat settlement near the village," he told AFP news agency.

Last Friday, Israeli forces opened live fire on anti-settlement protesters in the same village, leaving three people injured. Two others were hit with rubber bullets fired by the Israeli troops, who also used tear gas against the demonstrators, leaving tens of them suffering breathing difficulties.

A settlement outpost has recently been established in the village.  Every Friday, Palestinians organize anti-settlement protests in a number of villages and towns in the occupied West Bank.

More than 600,000 Israelis live in over 230 settlements built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East Jerusalem al-Quds.

Emboldened by the anti-Palestine policies of former US president Donald Trump, Israel stepped up its settlement expansion in defiance of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334, which pronounces settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem al-Quds a flagrant violation under international law.

All Israeli settlements are illegal under international law as they are built on occupied land.  Palestinians want the West Bank as part of a future independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem al-Quds as its capital.