1,500 settlers storm Muslim site in Nablus

Some 1,500 settlers stormed the Joseph’s Tomb, east of the occupied city of Nablus, early this morning, under Israeli army protection.

Clashes broke out between Palestinian youths and the occupation forces at dawn in the eastern part of Nablus after settlers stormed the holy site and performed Talmudic rituals there.

A Quds Press correspondent said occupation forces raided the area and closed its perimeter, preventing the movement of citizens to protect the settlers who stormed Joseph’s Tomb.

He reported that Israeli buses carried hundreds of settlers to the area, amid heavy protection by military personnel and vehicles.

Israeli occupation forces used live rounds, rubber-coated steel bullets and tear gas to disperse Palestinian demonstrators who had come out in opposition.

Read: Israel military raids Joseph’s Tomb in Nablus

The Hebrew site 0404 reported that 1,500 settlers raided the religious site.

Joseph’s Tomb was a flashpoint in Nablus with scores of Palestinians killed and wounded during clashes in the area in 1995. In 1996 nine Israeli soldiers were killed and after another was targeted in 2000 the army left the area.

Jews in Israel claim the site contains the tomb of a rabbi, however the site is part of an old mosque where Muslim scholar Yousef Dweekat was buried.

An Israeli military brigade raided the site in December last year for the first time in 17 years.