Jewish worshippers enter Joseph's Tomb in Shechem. (Elyashiv Rakowsky/TPS)
MK among the Jewish worshippers caught in the crossfire while en route to holy site.
By World Israel News Staff
Terrorists opened fire on a convoy of Jewish worshippers en route to Joseph’s Tomb near Nablus (Shechem) overnight Wednesday, leading to a firefight which left one of the perpetrators dead.
Jews wishing to pray at the holy site are accompanied by Israeli security forces, as the tomb has been the site of numerous terrorist attacks in the past.
Late Wednesday evening, when the Israeli military and civilian vehicles entered the Palestinian Authority-controlled city, local armed groups opened fire.
The IDF responded by returning fire, and according to the Palestinian Health Ministry, an 18-year-old man was killed in the exchange. Another 31 people were said to be wounded, including three reported to be hospitalized in critical condition.
No Israeli troops or civilians were wounded during the firefight.
Among the Jewish worshippers who traveled to Joseph’s Tomb on Wednesday evening were a number of Israeli politicians, including Religious Zionism MK Ofir Sofer.
“Following the recent shooting incidents, I arrived tonight, together with hundreds of worshipers, with a clear statement that Joseph’s Tomb is ours forever and terrorism will not deter us,” Sofer wrote on Twitter shortly after the attack.
“Those who don’t want us here, don’t want us in the Galilee, the Negev and the center either. Only a persistent fight and belief in our right to our land will lead to a situation where Jews will be able to pray safely and in daylight at Joseph’s Tomb.”
Palestinians have repeatedly claimed that Joseph’s Tomb is an Islamic shrine and that visiting Jews are attempting to “Judaize” and lay false claim to the site.
But despite the historically incorrect assertion that the site is holy to Muslims, locals have repeatedly vandalized and set fire to the tomb.
Earlier this year, Jewish worshippers were shot and wounded while traveling to the site.
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