JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israeli security forces discovered and destroyed in a controlled detonation a bomb planted at Joseph’s Tomb in Nablus.
The bomb hidden in a cellphone was discovered during a security check late Monday night ahead of a visit by 1,000 Jewish worshippers.
Following the destruction of the bomb, the early Tuesday morning pilgrimage took place as planned.
As the group was leaving the site, Palestinian protesters threw rocks at the buses as well as the soldiers guarding them. No injuries were reported, though the buses were damaged.
Joseph’s Tomb is holy to Jews, Muslims, and Christians. Israeli Jews must receive permission to visit the purported burial place of the Jewish patriarch; the visits must be coordinated with the Israel Defense Forces.
Under the 1993 Oslo Accords, the site was to remain under Israeli control, but the Israeli army evacuated the premises in October 2000 during the second intifada and the tomb was burnt down by Palestinians. It was renovated and restored, but then torched and vandalized again in October 2015.
Jewish worshippers, in coordination with the IDF, make monthly nocturnal pilgrimages to the refurbished site.
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