An Arab fired at IDF soldiers who were providing security for Jews who came to pray at Joseph’s Tomb Monday night. No one was hurt.
The shot apparently came from an Arab who was among a group of about 15 Arabs who were seen in the Balata neighborhood at the time. It is not clear whether the IDF chased after the shooter.
About 1,200 Jews entered Joseph’s Tomb to pray at the holy site Monday night.
Last week, the IDF cancelled a plan to allow the family of murdered yeshiva student Ben-Yosef Livnat to pray in his memory at the Tomb. Livnat was gunned down by Palestinian Authority police when he tried to pray at the Tomb one year ago.
Initially, the IDF said it would allow a large memorial yarzeit ceremony to take place last week. It then changed its mind and said only Livnat’s family would be allowed into the Tomb, because of security considerations, and in the end it cancelled the yarzeit memorial event altogether.
Instead, the IDF said, only the previously scheduled entry into the Tomb – the one that took place Monday – would be allowed.