Violent clashes erupted on Friday in Kafr Qaddum village east of Qalqilya after Israeli occupation forces (IOF) used violence to quell the weekly march.

Three young Palestinians were wounded by rubber-coated metal bullets and others suffered breathing difficulty.

Local sources said that clashes broke out in the village after the beginning of the weekly peaceful march.

IOF soldiers fired rubber-coated metal bullets tear gas and sound bombs at the marchers. Three young men were injured by rubber-coated metal bullets while dozens of Palestinians suffered breathing problems.

Every Friday and Saturday Kafr Qaddum witnesses peaceful marches at its northern entrance rejecting the settlements and demanding the opening of the road that was closed by the IOF in 2003.

Dozens of Palestinian citizens suffered from their exposure to tear gas fumes on Saturday when the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) attacked the weekly march in Kafr Qaddum village east of Qalqilya.

Local official Murad Shetaiwi said that clashes broke out with Israeli soldiers a few minutes after the weekly march started adding that the soldiers showered the participants with tear gas and stun grenades and fired rubber bullets at them.

Dozens of protesters suffered from inhaling tear gas during the events.

Residents of Kafr Qaddum started staging weekly marches in 2011 to protest Israeli settlement activities and land grabs and to demand in particular the reopening of their village’s southern road which has been blocked by the IOF for 14 years. This road is the main route to the nearby city of Nablus the nearest economic center.

The Israeli army blocked off the road after expanding the illegal settlement of Kedumim in 2003 forcing village residents to take a bypass road in order to travel to Nablus which has extended the travel time to Nablus from 15 minutes to 40 minutes according to Israeli rights group B’Tselem.