3 Israelis and 64 Palestinians were injured by live and rubber bullets during clashes that erupted in the city of Nablus on Thursday, in the northern West Bank, Wafa News Agency reported.
The clashes erupted at dawn on Thursday when hundreds of Jewish worshipers arrived under military escort to pray in the “Joseph’s Tomb” on the outskirts of the city of Nablus.
The Palestinian youths set rubber tires on fire, threw stones and burning bottles at Israeli army vehicles, and tried to close the street in front of military vehicles. The Israeli army fired live and rubber bullets, tear gas and sound bombs.
In turn, the Palestinian Red Crescent stated that its crews dealt with 64 wounded, including one with live bullets, 16 with rubber bullets, and 47 with suffocation and burns.
He pointed out that 5 of the injured were taken to the hospital for treatment, and the rest were treated in the field.
The Red Crescent indicated that its crews evacuated two families living in the area, after they suffocated as a result of the heavy liquefied gas canisters fired by the army.
Injury of a senior officer and settlers
On the other hand, the Israeli Defense Forces announced, at dawn on Thursday, that a high-ranking officer and settlers were wounded in a shooting in the city of Nablus in the northern West Bank.
The army stated in a tweet posted on its Twitter account that the commander of a brigade in the northern West Bank was slightly wounded in the shooting, and other settlers were wounded.
“Overnight, IDF soldiers escorted 100s of worshipers into Joseph’s Tomb. Palestinian gunmen fired heavily at the worshippers, injuring 2 Israeli civilians & the “Shomron” Regional Brigade commander. IDF soldiers responded toward the sources of gunfire & escorted civilians out,” IDF tweeted.
Jewish pilgrims are usually allowed to visit Joseph’s tomb only once a month under heavy security. During these visits, Palestinians usually throw stones at the forces, often attacking them with Molotov cocktails and gunfire.
In April, the site underwent a heavily guarded renovation after Palestinians stormed and damaged it twice. Zweig, the commander who was wounded Thursday morning, made headlines at the time after he ignored Central Command commander Yehuda Fox’s orders not to invite reporters to accompany soldiers and settlers who repaired the site.
