Hundreds of Israeli Jews again toured the site of Joseph’s Tomb, in Nablus, under guard of Israeli troops, leading to clashes with Palestinian protesters.Witnesses told Ma’an News Agency that more than 30 military vehicles escorted eight buses carrying Israelis.
Israeli troops attacked angry residents using tear gas and rubber-coated bullets, local youth responded by threwing stones and Molotov cocktails at the military vehicles as they drove near Balata and Askar refugees camps in Nablus.
Local legend holds Joseph’s Tomb to be the funerary monument to Sheikh Yusef Dweikat, a local religious figure. Others believe that the tomb belongs to the Biblical patriarch Joseph. However, the area is sacred to Jews, Samaritans, Christians and Muslims alike.
Despite the fact that the tomb is in an area which is officially considered to be under Palestinian authority, Israeli forces maintain control at the site and prohibit Palestinians from praying at Joseph’s Tomb.
Jewish groups frequently visit the site under the protection of Israeli forces, who deploy heavily in the area, often sparking clashes with local youth.
See also: Settlers Storm Al-Aqsa Mosque and Joseph’s Tomb
