The file photo shows Jamil Abu Ayash, a Palestinian man who was killed during anti-settlement protests 

Ramallah, December 10 (RHC)-- Israeli forces have shot dead a Palestinian young man during anti-settlement protests in the occupied West Bank province of Nablus.   The Palestinian Health Ministry said the young man succumbed to injuries he sustained on Sobeih Mountain in Beita, south of Nablus City, on Friday.

The victim was identified as Jamil Abu Ayash, 31 years of age.  He was shot in the head by Israeli forces.

According to the Palestine Red Crescent ambulance service, four other Palestinians were hit by rubber bullets, while over 50 others suffered breathing difficulties due to inhaling tear gas used by the troops against the protesters.

Since May, Beita has seen intensified clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinians protesting against a settlement outpost that has been established on Sobeih Mountain by settlers under the protection of Israeli forces.

Israeli troops also attacked a weekly anti-settlement protest in Kafr Qaddum, east of Qalqilya City, in the West Bank on Friday.   Israel occupied the West Bank and the Gaza Strip — territories the Palestinians want for a future state — during the Six-Day Arab-Israeli War in 1967. It later had to withdraw from Gaza.

More than 600,000 Israelis live in over 230 settlements built since the 1967 occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank. All the settlements are illegal under international law. The United Nations Security Council has condemned the settlement activities in several resolutions.

Separately, tens of thousands of Palestinians took part in mass rallies in the Gaza Strip to mark the 34th anniversary of the establishment of Hamas resistance movement on Friday.  Carrying flags of Hamas and its armed wing, Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the participants in the rallies chanted slogans in support of the movement.