Illegal Israeli settlers’ raid on tomb site in Nablus triggers backlash

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) – Illegal Israeli settlers stormed the tomb site of Sheikh Yussef Dawiqat, in the West Bank city of Nablus, according to witnesses.

The illegal Jewish settlers entered the sacred site under police protection and forcibly performed Jewish religious rituals there, the witnesses said.

Provoked Palestinian residents hurled stones at Israeli police, who responded by using live fire against civilians and tear gas canisters to disperse them, they added.

Venerated by Muslims worldwide, the tomb of Yussef Dawiqat has long been a flashpoint for clashes between the Palestinians and Israeli settlers.

Jews believe the site to be the burial place of the biblical patriarch Joseph, who is also deeply revered by Muslims as Prophet Yusuf Peace Be Upon Him. Muslims, however, challenge this claim, saying that the famed Islamic scholar – Sheikh Yussef Dawiqat – was buried at the site two centuries ago.

Tension has been high across the occupied West Bank due to Israel’s brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 42,700 people, mostly women and children, since last year.

At least 760 Palestinians have since been killed and over 6,250 others injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied territory, according to the Health Ministry.

The escalation follows a landmark opinion last July by the International Court of Justice that declared Israel’s decades-long occupation of Palestinian land “illegal” and demanded the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.