Mohammed Mar'i Saudi Gazette RAMALLAH – Hundreds of rightist Jewish occupiers on early Monday broke into Joseph's Tomb in the West Bank city of Nablus, Palestinian and Israeli security forces said. The Palestinian sources said that at least fourteen Israeli military jeeps escorted seven busses carrying the Jewish occupiers to perform their religious rituals at the tomb, located in the eastern part of the city. The sources said that another ten military jeeps arrived earlier and closed the area for fear from clashes with Palestinian youths. The sources said that clashes erupted between Palestinian youths and the Israeli troops who supervised the visit. The sources said that the youths threw stones at the soldiers who responded with by firing rubber bullets and tear gas canisters. The sources said that at least thirteen Palestinians suffered from gas inhalation during the clashes. They received medical treatment at the site by Palestinian paramedics, the sources said. For his part, the Israeli army spokesman's office said in a statement that the soldiers used means of crowd control to disperse the protesters. The spokesman added that the occupiers left the scene after performing their prayers. The Joseph Tomb was handed over to the PA on October 9, 2000, where the Nablus Municipality renovated the site and recovered the niche (Mihrab of the mosque indicating the Qibla). The tomb is a tiny half-derelict stone compound in the heart of Nablus that many Jews believe is the final burial place of the son of Jacob, the biblical patriarch. Palestinians believe that the compound is actually the tomb of a Muslim sheikh also called Yousef. Since October, 1984, the Israeli settlers started celebrating their festivities inside the tomb. Many Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in the site in defense and in an attempt to force the settlers out of it. During the second Intifada, groups of the Palestinian activists destroyed parts of the site assuming that the Israeli military turned the site into a military base. Nablus, an area of frequent clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces, is under the full control of the PA and Israeli civilians and vehicles require a permit from the Israeli army to enter. On April 2011, Palestinian security forces opened fire on three cars full of occupiers who entered the tomb for prayers without permission and then tried to break through a local checkpoint. The 25-year-old Ben-Joseph Livnat was killed and four others suffered light to serious injuries.
