Rachel’s Tomb bombing injures border policeman

An improvised explosive device was thrown at security forces near Rachel’s Tomb on the outskirts of Bethlehem on Tuesday, wounding a border policeman at the site.

The policeman suffered light injuries to his leg.

Some 40 Palestinians began rioting during the afternoon, throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails at an army position near the tomb, which is revered by Jews as the traditional resting place of the Biblical matriarch Rachel, wife of Jacob.

Border Police forces arrived to disperse the riot and during the clashes the homemade bomb was thrown at security personnel.

Forces responded with crowd dispersal methods against the rioters in an effort to bring the clash to an end.

In January, one person was lightly injured when a pipe-bomb was thrown into the parking lot at Rachel’s Tomb.

The heavily fortified tomb is located between Bethlehem and Jerusalem.