Israeli army wounds 3 Palestinians while escorting settlers' storming of Joseph's Tomb in Nablus

Israeli forces wounded at least three Palestinians in a military raid into the occupied northern West Bank city of Nablus after Wednesday midnight, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said in a statement to the press.

The raid aimed at escorting Israeli settlers who stormed the religious site of 'Joseph Tomb', located in the middle of a densely populated area in the eastern part of the city.

"Occupation forces entered the eastern part of Nablus around midnight in large numbers of armored vehicles firing tear gas along the street," Jamal Rayan, a resident of eastern Nablus, told The New Arab.

lsraeli occupation forces directly target Palestinian young men with sound grenades during a military raid in Nablus city last night. pic.twitter.com/y0dMgSGcAH

— TIMES OF GAZA (@Timesofgaza) March 16, 2023

"Shortly after entering the area, dozens of the occupation's foot soldiers took over several houses located and placed snipers on the rooftops," said Rayan. "They forced each family into one room and confiscated cell phones, until the end of the raid at around 4:30 am."

"Local fighters engaged the raiding forces with gun fire and locally-made explosives, and there were reports of soldiers wounded, while the soldiers shot live fire in every direction, wounding three youngsters, all civilians," he added.

Settlers hadn't stormed the 'Joseph Tomb' site in more than a month. Since the early 2000s, Israeli settlers have claimed that the site is the tomb of the biblical Joseph, a holy figure for Jews, Muslims and Christians. Palestinians say that it is the tomb of a local holy man from the late Ottoman era named Yousef Dweikat, visited by Palestinians as part of the local popular tradition of holy shrines.

Israeli forces have increased their braids on Nablus in recent weeks. In late February, Israeli forces killed 11 Palestinians in a raid on the city, including a 73-year-old man and three Palestinian fighters from the local armed group 'The Lions' Den'.

The 'Lions' Den' said in a statement following the massacre that dozens of Palestinians signed up to join the group following the massacre.

Last Sunday, Israeli forces raided Nablus again and killed three Palestinians it claimed to be part of the local Palestinian armed group 'The Lions' Den'.

Nablus has been at the center of an ongoing Israeli escalation of raids into West Bank cities since last year. The Israeli violence killed 230 Palestinians last year and killed 78 Palestinians since the beginning of 2023, according to the Palestinian health ministry.