3 Israelis lightly hurt as gunmen open fire during uncoordinated visit to Nablus tomb

Three Israelis who visited Joseph’s Tomb in the Palestinian city of Nablus overnight without coordination with the military were lightly injured when gunmen opened fire at their vehicle, Hebrew-language media reported Wednesday.

The three fled and received medical treatment at a Jerusalem hospital, reports said.

The Israel Defense Forces said the men “breached a checkpoint” and were being held for questioning by police. There was no comment on whether the gunmen had been detained.

According to the Kan public broadcaster, the Israeli men are members of the ultra-Orthodox Shuvu Bonim cult led by convicted sex offender Rabbi Eliezer Berland.

In June, a number of members of the sect entered Nablus in an attempt to visit the tomb on an uncoordinated visit, leading the army to send a large number of forces into the area to retrieve them.

Before the war, busloads of Orthodox Jews visited Joseph’s Tomb under IDF protection on a nearly monthly basis, and the pilgrimages almost always sparked violent clashes with Palestinian locals.

אירוע חריג בשכם: בצה"ל התקבל דיווח על כך שבמהלך הלילה שלושה ישראלים, ככל הנראה חסידי ברלנד, נורו בידי פלסטינים בזמן שנסעו עצמאית וללא תיאום לקבר יוסף בשכם. השלושה הצליחו לברוח ופינו את עצמם עצמאית לבית חולים בירושלים pic.twitter.com/n0bo63Yqhn

— איתי בלומנטל ???????? Itay Blumental (@ItayBlumental) December 11, 2024

The IDF bars Israeli citizens from entering Palestinian cities without prior authorization and protection, and some criticize the monthly incursions as an unnecessary provocation that additionally places Israeli soldiers at risk.

The shrine, regarded by some as the final resting place of the biblical patriarch Joseph, is located inside Area A of the West Bank, which is officially under complete Palestinian Authority control, though the Israeli military regularly enters, despite Palestinian opposition.

Berland, 86, has served separate prison sentences in the past for sex offenses and fraud. He had previously spent years on the lam from Israeli authorities and was also detained in connection with murders allegedly carried out by members of his cult, before being released.