Israeli settler shoots Palestinian man in West Bank

The clashes began on Saturday when settlers from the hardline Yitzhar settlement in the northern West Bank, some of them carrying guns, set fire to wheat fields and olive trees in the Palestinian village of Orif, near the northern West Bank city of Nablus.

Some Palestinian villagers who went out to extinguish the fires clashed with the settlers.

Israeli occupation forces rushed to help the settlers and fired rubber-coated bullets and tear gas at the Palestinians.

At least 15 villagers suffered from smoke inhalation.

The Palestinian man, who sustained grave abdominal injuries, has been taken to a hospital.

Last week, a video distributed by an anti-settlement group showed a settler shooting and wounding a Palestinian during a confrontation as Israeli soldiers stood by.

On May 19, Israel announced plans to expand its settlement projects in the occupied West Bank, despite international calls to halt illegal constructions.

The international community regards all the Israeli settlements across the West Bank as illegal under international law.

Nearly 500,000 Israelis live in more than 100 settlements built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the West Bank and East al-Quds (Jerusalem).