Dozens of Israeli soldiers, accompanying several buses of colonialist settlers, invaded Joseph’s Tomb area, east of the northern West Bank city of Nablus, before the army fired gas bombs and rubber-coated steel bullets at Palestinian protesters, wounding two.
Media sources in Nablus said the army accompanied many buses filled with Israeli colonialist settlers, and sealed the entire area, preventing the Palestinians from entering it.
They added that many Palestinian youngsters hurled stones at the invading vehicles, while the army fired many rubber-coated steel bullets and gas bombs.
Media sources said one Palestinian was shot with a rubber-coated steel bullet in his face, and another young man was shot with a similar round in his right thigh.
Both were rushed to hospitals in Nablus city, while medics provided treatment to several Palestinians who suffered the effects of teargas inhalation.
Joseph the patriarch is revered by Jews, Muslims, Christians, and Samaritans alike. The Israeli military allows Jews to visit as part of organized pilgrimages, although the site is in Area A where the PA has full control, however, the Palestinians aren’t allowed to enter it.
Ultra-orthodox and nationalist Jews regularly try to visit the shrine without approval, as many Jews believe the tomb to be the final resting place of the biblical figure in the Old Testament.
Palestinians believe that Joseph’s Tomb is the funerary monument to Sheikh Yousif Dweikat, a local religious figure.
