The Israel Defense Forces said Israeli citizens – Jewish believers – failed to coordinate their pilgrimage to the site with the military. After being shot at, they were kidnapped by Israeli soldiers. One of the civilians, a 17-year-old boy, was flown by military helicopter to the Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan. The second injured person, a man, was taken to Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva, according to Rescuers Without Borders, a Jewish emergency agency operating in the West Bank. Joseph’s tomb is located in Area A of the West Bank, which is officially under the full control of the Palestinian Authority, although the Israeli military conducts operations there. The IDF prohibits Israeli citizens from entering Area A without prior permission. Get The Times of Israel Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories By signing up, you agree to the terms According to the Samaria Regional Council, five Israelis were in the car when Palestinian gunmen opened fire on them. The car was set on fire after a military expulsion of Israeli citizens. A video shared on social media showed a trail of blood and what appeared to be flames in the car. Palestinians burn the car of settlers, injured by resistance bullets, during their invasion of Joseph’s tomb, east of Nablus pic.twitter.com/hoXcpU0nO5 — Qudsfeed Network (@qudsfeed) August 30, 2022 The regional council said the injured were not local residents, but from Jerusalem and Modi’in Illit. A security official quoted by Kan news said the men had been stopped by police at one point, but lied and said they were heading to a spring near the Har Bracha settlement. A view of Joseph’s tomb complex in the West Bank city of Nablus, April 10, 2022. (Nasser Ishtayeh/Flash90) Joseph’s Tomb is revered by some as the final resting place of the biblical Joseph, and clashes between the Israeli military and Palestinians are common during visits and pilgrimages. Palestinians regularly throw stones at the troops and often attack them with Molotov cocktails and gunfire. In June, three Israelis, including a senior IDF officer, were slightly wounded when Palestinian gunmen opened fire on the compound during a coordinated pilgrimage to the site. Two weeks ago, a Palestinian teenager was killed during heavy clashes that broke out in the area, also during a visit coordinated with the Israeli army. Tensions have been high since April, when about 100 Palestinian rioters stormed the shrine and vandalized it. Press sources: Armed clashes broke out with the occupation forces during the siege of a house in the town of Rojib, east of Nablus. pic.twitter.com/5tDqYUhrnq — Gaza Press (@Gazapres) August 30, 2022 In a separate incident, the IDF said Tuesday’s troops engaged in gunfire with armed Palestinians during an arrest operation in Nablus. Heavy gunfire was heard in the area according to footage posted on social media. The footage also showed Israeli forces firing a small rocket at a building where several suspects are said to be hiding. Videos released on social media later in the morning apparently showed the suspects surrendering to Israeli forces. #Watch the moment the occupation army bombarded the besieged house in the Rojib area, east of #Nablus, where the ongoing clashes pic.twitter.com/KaM0V9HogX — Newpress | New Press (@NewpressPs) August 30, 2022 According to an unsourced report by public broadcaster Kan, at least one of the suspects is believed to have been involved in an attack on Friday in which an Israeli security vehicle came under fire near the Shavei Shomron settlement in the northern West Bank. No one was injured in the attack, although the car belonging to the settlement’s security team was damaged. Nablus also saw a violent firefight on August 9, when Israeli forces killed a wanted Palestinian gunman, Ibrahim Nabulsi, and two other members of the terrorist group. Nabulsi had carried out several shooting attacks against soldiers and civilians in the West Bank earlier this year, according to the Shin Bet. The IDF reported that it included shooting at the Joseph’s tomb complex. You are a devoted reader We are really glad that you read X Times of Israel articles last month. That’s why we started the Times of Israel ten years ago – to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world. So now we have a request. Unlike other media, we have not set up a paywall. But because the journalism we do is expensive, we invite readers to whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community. For just $6 a month you can support our quality journalism by enjoying Times of Israel ADS-FREE, as well as access to exclusive content available only to members of the Times of Israel Community. Thank you, David Horowitz, founding editor of the Times of Israel Join our community Join our community Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
