Three Israelis, including an IDF commander, sustained minor injuries early Thursday after Palestinian gunmen opened fire at Jewish worshippers at Joseph's Tomb in Nablus.
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The IDF said in a statement that hundreds of Jewish worshippers had arrived at the sacred site to pray, when armed Palestinians directed "massive gunfire" at the compound, leading to an exchange of fire with IDF forces.
Two civilians were hurt in the incident, as well as Col. Roy Zweig, who heads the Samaria Regional Brigade.
All worshippers were evacuated from the area, the military said, and the injured received medical attention.
Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan condemned the attack, saying, "We, the people of Israel, deal with the barbarism of the Palestinian Authority, and we will defeat it … We will return to Joseph's Tomb in full, only the IDF can protect this place. The attacks are only happening because the government does not let the IDF return to Joseph's Tomb as is moral and required."
A flashpoint sight, Joseph's Tomb is often targeted by rioters.
On April 10, Palestinians vandalized the site by torching the tomb revered as that of the biblical figure Joseph.
Earlier in April, two ultra-Orthodox men were shot in the knee and the hand by a Palestinian shooter while on their way to worship at the compound.
In September 2021, dozens of Palestinians attacked a convoy of busses carrying Jewish worshippers to Joseph's Tomb. Two soldiers were lightly injured in the clash.
In 2015, the tomb was torched by Palestinian rioters as tensions escalated amid near-daily stabbings of Israelis by terrorists.
In October 2000, terrorists attacked the tomb which had a small military presence, killing one Israeli soldier in the process. That same month, Israel evacuated the complex in an attempt to decrease violence in the area, and the Palestinian Authority vowed to return the tomb to its original state after the evacuation, and after the tensions had settled down.
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