RAMALLAH: Two Palestinians were killed by Israeli military forces in the occupied West Bank since Sunday. As Israel's military offensive in the Gaza Strip intensifies, solidarity demonstrations continue to spread to cities, villages, and refugee camps across the West Bank. On Monday protests were reportedly staged in Ramallah, Bethlehem, Abu-Deis, Bet Furik, Hebron, Nabi Saleh, Atara, as well as near the separation wall in the Rafat area, at the Huwwara checkpoint near Nablus, at Ofer Military Prison in Beitunia, off Road 60, off Road 443, and at Qalandia checkpoint, among others. Around 500 gathered in Ramallah and expressed their unconditional support for Palestinians under fire in Gaza. “Oh resistance fighter, my dear, hit, hit Tel Aviv," many chanted, referring to rockets fired on Israel's cultural and economic capital by Hamas and Islamic Jihad. On Monday night, Rushdi Tamimi, a 31-year-old Palestinian shot by an Israeli soldier on Saturday in Nabi Saleh, died from bullet wounds in a Ramallah hospital. After around a dozen Palestinian youth threw rocks at Israeli soldiers during the demonstration, one soldier shot Tamimi in the stomach with live ammunition as he sat on a hillside. A military spokesperson stated around 80 Palestinians had attacked Israeli soldiers during a “violent illegal protest," but Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem released a video that same day which reveals the number of protesters was closer to a dozen. Hours later, another Palestinian died in Hebron after sustaining gunshot injuries by the Israeli military on Monday afternoon, reports Ma'an News Agency. Hamdi Al-Falah was shot four times: twice in the chest, once in the face, and once in the knee. An Israeli spokesperson defended shooting Al-Falah and said that soldiers “were assaulted by a masked man at the demonstration" and “felt imminent and present danger for their lives," Ma'an added. Witnesses reported that he was shot at point blank. Demonstrations have begun in several places in the West Bank, and they are expected to continuing to grow. Several hundred are presently gathered in Ramallah in a show of solidarity for Gaza for the 7th consecutive day. Last night around a hundred Palestinian youth held a candle light vigil at the Friends Boys School in Ramallah, mourning Palestinians who died since the onset of Israel's Gaza offensive. As the 7th day of Israel's Operation Pillar of Defense gets underway, the Palestinian death toll reached 115 on Tuesday morning, Al-Jazeera reports, all of which were the result of Israeli airstrikes on densely populated areas. The number of injured exceeded 900 as medical sources reported a critical shortage of basic supplies and medicine. Numerous media sources have reported that ceasefire talks are underway in Egypt, but Israeli military forces continue to mobilize around the border with Gaza and airstrikes have increased in frequency, AJ also added. The forceful responses of Israeli military forces in the occupied West Bank could galvanize Palestinians behind a new uprising.
