Two Israelis were wounded by gunfire while attempting to approach Kever Yosef in Shechem early this morning, according to the Israeli military.
The victims, both charedi men, were taken to Rabin Medical Center in Petach Tikva for treatment, and were in moderate condition.
The men had “arrived at an unmanned checkpoint at one of the entrances to Shechem, broke through it, and entered the city,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement. A short time later, they arrived at another checkpoint with gunshot wounds, the statement continued.
The men claimed they had been trying to reach the tomb to repair the damage caused by Palestinian rioters on Shabbos. Some 100 rioters entered the site, smashing the tombstone and setting multiple fires.
While the circumstances of the incident remain unclear, the IDF detained a senior Palestinian security forces official in the city following the shooting, according to Palestinian reports.
In a separate security incident in the Bais Lechem area, Israeli security forces shot and killed a Palestinian who had been throwing firebombs at vehicles on Highway 60.
Kever Yosef is a common target of Palestinian rioters. In September 2021, dozens of Palestinians attacked a convoy of buses carrying Jewish worshippers to the site. Two soldiers sustained minor injuries in the clash. In 2015, the tomb was torched by Palestinian rioters as tensions escalated amid near-daily terror attacks.
In October 2000, terrorists attacked the tomb, which had a small military presence, killing one Israeli soldier. That same month, Israel evacuated the complex in an attempt to decrease violence in the area, and the Palestinian Authority vowed to return the tomb to its original state after the evacuation, and after the tensions had settled down. JNS
I think I know what all the Imans spoke about at their Shabbos Gadol Drasha.
Two chassidiots broke through a checkpoint, illegally, and entered at night a city known for antisemitic violence. The local Arabs are thirsty for their blood, yet these morons chose to go in, unprotected. It should also be remembered that the identification of that particular site as Kever Yosef comes from a most reliable Samaritan “mesorah”, and it has only known as such since the Middle Ages.
For that, they were risking their very lives? They are extremely lucky to have made it out with minor wounds, and will speedily recover. Refuas hanefesh, on the other hand, will be very difficult to achieve, for someone who is that stupid.
Whence comes some groups’ obsession with kevorim?