AL-KHALIL, (PIC)-- Groups of settlers stormed, on Friday, the alleys of the Old City of al-Khalil under the protection of the Israeli occupation forces (IOF).

Eyewitnesses told the PIC that the settlers provocatively roamed the neighborhoods and alleys in the Old City and Shuhada street and threatened residents in their homes.

The settlers were escorted by scores of IOF soldiers who have been imposing tight security measures on the residents of al-Khalil and preventing them from entering the Ibrahimi Mosque under the pretext of "Jewish holidays."

Meanwhile, IOF forces stormed on Friday evening the regions of Kharsa and Tabka south of Dura, southern al-Khalil, which led to confrontations between dozens of youths and those forces, said local sources.

The soldiers fired tear gas at the citizens and vehicles which resulted in cases of suffocation.

The Israeli occupation forces also erected a military checkpoint on the main street leading to the Dhahiriya town in the south of al-Khalil, where soldiers searched the vehicles and checked the identities of passers-by.