JERUSALEM ( Associated Press) – Palestinian gunmen opened fire on Jewish worshipers at a holy site in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, wounding an Israeli military officer and two civilians, the Israeli military said.
The Palestinian official news agency Wafa said a Palestinian teenager survived fire and 16 others were wounded by rubber bullets in clashes with Israeli forces at the site near the northern West Bank city of Nablus, sparking conflict between Israel and Palestinians. was a constant point.
Some Jews believe that the biblical Joseph is buried at the site, while Palestinians say it is the tomb of a sheikh. Jewish worshipers escorted by the Israeli military often visit the temple to pray.
The Israeli military said Palestinian gunmen opened fire on hundreds of Jewish worshipers who visited the site on Thursday night. The army said the commanding officer of the unit suffered minor injuries and two civilians were injured.
According to Wafa, last month, a Palestinian teenager was killed and at least 15 Palestinians were injured in clashes with the military near the shrine.
In April, Palestinians set fire to the shrine before it was dispersed by Palestinian security forces, an incident that drew condemnation from Israeli leaders.
Thursday’s clashes were the latest in a wave of violence that has persisted for months following deadly attacks inside Israel, Israeli arrest raids in the West Bank, and the killing of a Palestinian-American Al Jazeera reporter.
Israel occupied the West Bank in the 1967 Middle East war, and Palestinians are looking to the region as a future state stronghold. About 500,000 Israeli settlers live in more than 130 settlements in the West Bank, along with about 3 million Palestinians living under Israeli military rule.
