Ramallah, July 20 (RHC)-- In Palestine, the Red Crescent Society says it has begun equipping first responders with helmets and bulletproof vests amid a surge in attacks on medical workers by Israeli forces and settlers in occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank. 

The Red Crescent says there have been nearly 200 incidents targeting staff and ambulances so far in 2023 — more than triple the rate seen over the same period last year. 

Meanwhile, the Israeli human rights group Peace Now reports Israel’s far-right government has approved 13,000 new housing units in illegal settlements in the West Bank — the highest rate of construction since Peace Now began tracking settlements over a decade ago.