JERUSALEM (JTA) — Two Palestinians were killed in Nablus in the West Bank after they threw explosives at Israeli soldiers who were guarding Jewish pilgrims praying at Joseph’s Tomb.
The explosives were thrown at IDF soldiers from a car late Tuesday night. The soldiers fired toward the vehicle, which also was hit by an IDF engineering vehicle, killing the driver and his passenger, according to the IDF.
No soldiers or worshipers were injured in the incident, according to the IDF.
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 are coordinated with the Israeli army.
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 military, make monthly nocturnal pilgrimages to the refurbished site.
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