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BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- A Palestinian was injured in the face with a rubber-coated steel bullet while dozens suffered from tear gas inhalation during clashes with Israeli forces at the western entrance of the village of Tuqu, southwest of Bethlehem in the southern occupied West Bank.

The Palestinian Red Crescent told Ma’an "our crews transported one injured man from Tuqu near Bethlehem, who was injured with a rubber-coated steel bullet in the mouth, which entered from one side and exited from the other.”

The injured man was taken to the Beit Jala Governmental hospital for treatment.

An Israeli army spokesperson said they were looking into reports.

Israeli police and soldiers have come under heavy criticism over the past year by rights groups for excessive use of force against Palestinians -- against youth and children in particular -- who did not pose an immediate threat or who could have been detained through non-violent means.

An August report released by the Palestinian NGO BADIL, the Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights, warned of an intensification of the “systematic targeting” of Palestinian youth in the occupied Palestinian territory since the beginning of 2016.

“This targeting has taken the form of injuries and arbitrary killings by the use of live ammunition by the Israeli army in the context of arrest campaigns, military raids, and random wide searches which usually trigger clashes,” the statement said.

According to UN documentation, Israeli forces have injured a biweekly average of 74 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since the beginning of the year, recording a total of 2,679 injuries over the same period.