Extremist settlers storm Nablus to perform prayers in Joseph’s Tomb

NABLUS, A large group of extremist settlers escorted by troops provocatively entered the Palestinian city of Nablus at the pretext of visiting Joseph’s Tomb near Balata refugee camp in the early hours of Monday morning.

Local sources said that more than 600 guarded Israeli settlers from the settlements surrounding Nablus stormed the city to perform prayers at Joseph’s Tomb before they left the area about five o’clock in the morning without any reported confrontations with the Palestinian citizens.

Meanwhile, a large number of Israeli troops during the visit stormed the northern side of Balata refugee camp and climbed the roofs of the Palestinian houses.

Israeli settlers and the occupation forces use religious visits as pretexts to provoke the feelings of the Palestinians and to entrench the Israeli presence in W. Bank cities under the alleged control of the Palestinian authority.

In a separate incident, a gang of savage Israeli settlers stormed Monday morning the village of Burin, east of Nablus and attacked the Palestinian passersby and burned agricultural land near Hawara checkpoint.

Eyewitness said that large numbers of settlers attacked the citizens in the villages of Hawara and Burin and smashed the windows of the Palestinian vehicles traveling on the main road of Hawara and Yizhar street.

Yesterday, Israeli troops physically assaulted two Palestinian citizens from Nablus and Al-Khalil during their presence in the city of Bethlehem, south of the West Bank.

According to local sources, the troops attacked with batons and rifle butts two young men as they were en route to their jobs in the town of Wad Fukin, northwest of the city. The young men sustained bruises all over their bodies and were transferred to Beit Jala hospital.

Other Israeli soldiers also rounded up a 25-year old young man from Al-Khalil traveling on a public vehicle at the Container checkpoint and embarked on hitting him before releasing him later.