Israeli troops have targeted Palestinian protesters in the occupied West Bank province of Nablus injuring more than 135 of the demonstrators with rubber bullets on Friday.

The Palestinian Information Center cited the Palestine Red Crescent Society as saying that 19 Palestinians, including journalists, were hit by rubber bullets fired by Israeli forces to disperse an anti-settlement protest on Sobeih Mountain in Beita, south of Nablus City, on Friday.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society said that 97 Palestinians had also suffered breathing difficulties due to inhaling tear gas used by the Israeli troops against the protesters in Beita. Two other Palestinians sustained different injuries during the clashes.

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.

Also on Friday, the Israeli troops used live ammunition, rubber bullets, and tear gas to disperse a weekly anti-settlement protest in the village of Beit Dajan, east of Nablus City. The official Palestinian news agency WAFA said 17 Palestinians suffered breathing difficulties during the attack in Beit Dajan.

Meanwhile, six Palestinians were hit by rubber bullets, while dozens of others suffered breathing difficulties as Israeli forces attacked an anti-settlement rally in Kafr Qaddum, east of the West Bank city of Qalqilya, on Friday, according to WAFA.

Israeli forces usually use force to disperse weekly protests against settlements in the occupied West Bank.

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.