Ramallah, Aug 22 : Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Ishtaye has accused Israel of imposing collective punishment against the Palestinians in the West Bank. He made the remarks on Monday following a series of attacks carried out by Israeli settlers against the Palestinians and their properties in several areas in the West Bank, Xinhua news agency reported. "The town of Huwara and the villages south of Nablus in the northern West Bank and several other areas have once again been subjected, during the past two days, to terrorist acts by the settler gangs," Ishtaye said in a statement. He added that "the collective punishments and all the repeated aggression against the Palestinian people in the West Bank will increase their strength and determination for freedom and independence". Ishtaye condemned the demand of some settlers and Jewish extremists for the erasure of the Huwara, which came after a shooting attack in the town on Saturday afternoon that killed two Israelis. On Monday, fierce clashes erupted in Huwara and several villages south of Nablus between dozens of Palestinians and Israeli soldiers. Dozens suffocated after inhaling teargas fired by the soldiers, according to Palestinian medics. The clashes came when Israeli soldiers stormed several houses and shops and tightened their military measures near Nablus, claiming they were searching for the perpetrator of the shooting attack. Since January, 33 people, most of them Israelis, have been killed in attacks carried out by Palestinians, and more than 200 Palestinians were killed by Israeli soldiers and settlers, according to official figures. /IANS