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Arabs hurl firebombs, burn tires as Jews pray at Joseph’s Tomb before Yom Kippur

Palestinian media reports seven wounded as Israeli security forces disperse rioters during pilgrimage of 1,000 Jews to the tomb.

A Palestinian demonstrator burns tires near Joseph's Tomb in the West Bank city of Nablus on July 2, 2019, as thousands of Jews make their way to visit the grave. Photo by Nasser Ishtayeh/Flash90.
A Palestinian demonstrator burns tires near Joseph’s Tomb in the West Bank city of Nablus on July 2, 2019, as thousands of Jews make their way to visit the grave. Photo by Nasser Ishtayeh/Flash90.

Dozens of Palestinians rioted on Sunday night following the pilgrimage of some 1,000 Jews, under Israeli security escort, to the Tomb of Joseph in Shechem/Nablus to pray. The rioters threw firebombs and burning tires at security personnel.

Israeli security forces responded with riot dispersal methods.

There were no Israeli reports of casualties during the incident, however the P.A.’s Wafa news agency reported that seven rioters had been wounded after “Israeli forces escorted a convoy of buses packed with over a thousand fanatic Jewish settlers to the site, located in the Palestinian-controlled area, sparking confrontations with Palestinian residents.”

Wafa stated that the injured Palestinians had been “protesting the raid” and “attempting to block settlers’ access to the site.”

“Among settlers who raided the site were Israeli Minister of Economy and Industry Eli Cohen; leader of the council of settlers in the occupied West Bank Yossi Dagan; and Knesset member Moshe Arbel,” reported Wafa.

“If Michigan Hillel wants to remain the center of Jewish life on campus, it cannot retreat from one of the central and challenging parts of being Jewish there,” Seth Mendel, of CAMERA, told JNS.
“Your ability to find the strength to rise above the pain, to combat the immediate threat to your life, and to operate sound judgment demonstrates the strength of your character,” Israel’s president wrote.
“We tried to make it clear to them that this is a memorial that was built for those who died in a horrible terrorist attack,” Lawrence Puccini told JNS.
Israel assailed the decision as a “grotesque weaponization of an award to legitimize anti-Israel hatred and prejudice.”