medics darted in all directions.

Beit Ummar, an agricultural mainstay in the West Bank has been enduring and resisting Israeli military incursions and settler violence for decades. Nightly clashes broke out following the murder of Mohammed Abu Khdeir and intensified with the Israeli attack on Gaza. It has one of the highest arrest rates for children and minors in West Bank and its often weekly demonstrations are suppressed unfailingly by Israeli soldiers as nearby settlement blocs continue to seize land.

52-year-old activist Ibrahim Breigheth, relative of deceased Abed Breigheth speculated on the nature of the killings.

“Shooting and killing this number within an hour in a normal demonstration protesting the occupation just reflects the reality that there is a decision to kill some people,” said Breigheth.

“All of the shots were onthe upper part of the body with live bullets with no real face to face confrontation or clashes and as everyone is aware, Palestinians only have stones to throw.”

Six Palestinians in total were killed by Israeli forces within twenty-four hours across the West Bank on Friday with live ammunition increasingly becoming a normal means of crowd dispersal by the Israeli military. Demonstrations in cities and villages alike only show signs of further escalation.

Electronic Intifada reports approximately thirty Palestinians killed by Israeli live fire in the West Bank in 2014, nearly three times more than were killed during the same period in 2013 according to data from UN’s OCHA.