Palestinian shot, wounded after firing at IDF soldiers in Nablus
Palestinians riot as hundreds of Jewish worshipers visit Joseph's Tomb; Suspect opens fire at IDF troops escorting worshipers.
By JPOST.COM STAFFPA police guard Joseph's Tomb in Nablus 311(photo credit: REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman)
IDF soldiers securing some 1,400 Israeli worshipers visiting Joseph’s Tomb in Nablus came under fire overnight Thursday before shooting back and striking a suspected Palestinian gunman.Army and police forces who accompanied the Israelis were confronted with a riot by Palestinians at the entrance to the holy site, and initially responded with non-lethal crowd control means.“Later, shots were fired at the soldiers, who returned fire,” the IDF said.A Palestinian man suspected of shooting at soldiers was hit in the return fire. The injured man fled, but was captured soon afterwards and evacuated to the Beilinson Medical Center in Petah Tikva for treatment.Also on Thursday, Palestinians hurled rocks at Israeli vehicles near Tekoa, south of Bethlehem.The car sustained damages, but its occupants escaped the attack unharmed. Soldiers launched a search of the area.Later in the day, Palestinians hurled a firebomb at an Israeli bus near Tapuah junction, south of Nablus. The IDF said no one was injured in the attack.Earlier, in the morning, soldiers arrested five Palestinian security suspects in the West Bank. The raids occurred in the village of Beitunya, southwest of Ramallah, where one suspect was taken into custody; in Bethlehem, where an additional suspect was arrested; in Al-Fawer, southwest of Hebron; and in Beit Fajar, southwest of Bethlehem, where two suspects were nabbed.
