Palestinians have clashed with Israeli troops after settlers stormed Joseph’s Tomb on the outskirts of the occupied West Bank city of Nablus, desecrating the site venerated by Jews, Christians and Muslims.
Hundreds of settlers arrived at the site on board a number of buses early on Thursday, and broke into the tomb amid protection by Israeli troopers, Arabic-language Safa news agency reported.
Israeli forces had deployed several military vehicles on the streets leading to Joseph's Tomb shortly after midnight, and snipers were positioned on rooftops overlooking the area.
Violence erupted when young Palestinian men engaged in clashes with Israeli troopers at the northern entrance to the nearby Balata refugee camp, with Palestinians throwing stones and empty bottles at Israeli forces.
Israeli soldiers, in return, fired rubber-coated steel bullets, stun grenades and tear gas canisters to disperse the crowd. At least one Israeli soldier sustained moderate injuries.
The occupied territories have witnessed new tensions ever since Israeli forces introduced restrictions on the entry of Palestinian worshipers into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem al-Quds in August 2015.
At least 236 Palestinians have lost their lives at the hands of Israeli forces in the tensions since the beginning of last October. The violence has also killed at least 32 Israelis, two Americans, an Eritrean and a Sudanese.
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