Israel’s military said about 100 people converged on the tomb of the biblical patriarch Joseph, which is located in the Palestinian city of Nablus. Thirty-one Palestinians have been killed, including 14 identified by Israel as attackers, and the others in clashes between stone-throwers and Israeli troops.
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The latest violence comes amid heightened tensions between Israel and the Palestinians.
This has left many Palestinians frustrated because all paths to independence appear blocked.
A few were being treated for exposure to tear gas, he added.
At one point, shouts were heard, followed by several gunshots. “We also recommend that members exercise caution in unfamiliar areas and travel with a Palestinian fixer or colleague when entering Palestinian areas”, the association said.
It called on Israel “to guarantee the safety and protection of the Palestinian civilians throughout the occupied territory” including by “a temporary worldwide or foreign presence”.
“These kinds of acts, or any other acts that violate the law and order… offend our culture, religion and morals”, Abbas said, according to WAFA, the official Palestinian news agency. Three young Palestinian men were killed today by Israeli live fire on demonstrators.
With hundreds of Gazans injured, and almost a dozen killed, this is the first time since last year’s war between Israel and Hamas that violence has reached these levels.
A Palestinian posing as a journalist stabs an Israeli soldier with a knife before being shot dead near the West Bank city of Hebron. The recent attacks have largely been carried out by individuals with no known ties to militant groups.
A 19-year-old man, who was near the Palestinian town of Bethlehem, had been attacking the local Israeli checkpoint when the ABC was there.
Hard-line Jewish activists have begun demanding greater access to the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism, in Jerusalem’s Old City, and right-wing politicians have called for the rights of Jews to pray there.
Many Jews believe it to be the final resting place of the biblical Joseph, while Muslims believe that an Islamic cleric, Sheikh Yussef (Joseph) Dawiqat was buried there two centuries ago.
Danny Danon accused Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of leading “the unsafe incitement” with his “hate-filled speech” and claims that Israel is trying to change the status quo at Jerusalem’s holiest site, which has been at the root of recent tensions.
Abbas has tried to lower the temperature, telling his security commanders that armed attacks on Israelis counter Palestinian interests.
Palestinian rioters set fire to the compound of Joseph’s Tomb near Nablus. The soldier was lightly wounded and the assailant, who was disguised as a news photographer, was shot on site, the IDF said.
Israeli officials harshly condemned the arson, which the Israeli foreign ministry’s director, Dore Gold, said was “reminiscent of the actions of radical Islamists from Afghanistan to Libya”.
“The burning and desecration of Joseph’s Tomb…is a blatant violation and contradiction of the basic value of freedom of worship”, Lt Col Peter Lerner said.
Last week, seven Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire during protests on the Gaza border, and an eight man – 37-year-old Shawqi Jabr Obeid – succumbed to his wounds early Friday morning.
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Daraghmeh reported from Ramallah, West Bank.
