Mohammed Mar'i Saudi Gazette RAMALLAH – Dozens of Palestinian youths Thursday clashed with Israeli forces in the West Bank city of Nablus refugee camp of Balata, Palestinian and Israeli security forces said. The Palestinian sources said that the clashes broke out as hundreds of Jewish settlers arrived at the Joseph's Tomb in the eastern part of e city to perform prayers. The sources said that the youths threw stones at the Israeli soldiers who supervised the visit. The soldiers responded by firing tear gas canisters. The sources said that at least 10 Palestinians suffered from gas inhalation during the clashes. They received medical treatment at the site by Palestinian paramedics, the sources said. According to the sources, the settlers left the scene after performing their prayers. The Israeli army spokesman's office said in a statement that the soldiers used means of crowd control to disperse the protesters. The development comes two day after representatives of the ultra-Orthodox Breslov Hasidic sect met with Palestinian Authority (PA) officials in Ramallah, in an attempt to coordinate the Jewish group's visits to the tomb. The representatives claimed that the Israeli army was unresponsive to the group's requests to set up visits to the tomb. “All of our attempts to coordinate private visits with the army have failed. That is why we appealed to the Palestinians directly,” Haim Reicher of the Yesod Olam group told the Hebrew daily Ma'ariv. Anan Al-Ateireh, Nablus deputy governor, told Ma'ariv “We understand that Joseph's Tomb is a historical site with significance for Jews and we have no problem with people entering the site in accordance with security officials.” The Joseph Tomb was handed over to the PA on Oct. 9, 2000, where the Nablus Municipality renovated the site and recovered the niche (Mihrab of the mosque indicating the Qibla).
