Mob sets ablaze parts of tomb of the biblical patriarch Joseph in Nablus
Palestinians set fire to a Jewish shrine in the occupied West Bank and an attacker disguised as a journalist stabbed an Israeli soldier on Friday as tensions ran high after more than two weeks of violence.
Israel’s military said about 100 people converged on the tomb of the biblical patriarch Joseph in the Palestinian city of Nablus and set parts of it ablaze before Palestinian security forces arrived and pushed them back.
Hours later, a Palestinian posing as a journalist wounded an Israeli soldier with a knife before being shot dead near the town of Hebron, the Israeli military added.
Reuters television footage showed the Palestinian rolling on the ground and surrounded by Israeli troops after the attack. He was holding a knife and wearing a fluorescent yellow vest over a t-shirt marked “PRESS”.
The foreign press association in Israel and the Palestinian territories said it deplored the attack and called on Palestinian media organizations to verify all staff credentials.
A military statement about the shrine attack said: “We view this incident with gravity and strongly condemn any attack on holy sites. We will find and arrest those who set the fire.”
Joseph’s tomb has been venerated for centuries by Jews, Samaritans, Christians and Muslims.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the attack. He ordered the damage to be repaired and opened an investigation into the arson.
A statement from his office said Abbas “stressed his rejection of these actions and all actions that violate law and order, and which distort our culture, our morals and our religion”.
Violence also broke out in the Gaza Strip when Palestinians approached the border fence with Israel. They threw stones at soldiers, who opened fire, killing a Palestinian and wounding 27 others, Palestinian medical officials said.
The Israeli military said hundreds of people gathered along the border, some hurling rocks and burning tires at the fence. A military spokeswoman said troops “are operating to prevent further escalation of violence using riot dispersal means and firing towards main instigators.”