Jewish Worshipers Return to Joseph’s Tomb in Nablus Under Palestinian Gunfire, One Palestinian Killed

Algemeiner Staff

A general view of Joseph’s Tomb in the West Bank city of Nablus. Photo: Nasser Ishtayeh / SOPA Images/Sipa USA via Reuters

Israeli forces were working Wednesday evening to secure the entry of worshipers to Joseph’s Tomb near the West Bank city of Nablus amidst gun-battles with Palestinian militants.

Armed Palestinians targeted both the hundreds of Jewish worshipers coming to the religious site and the Israeli forces protecting them, the military’s Army Radio reported. It is the first time Jewish worshipers have been allowed back to the compound since June 30, when Palestinian gunmen opened fire on Israeli forces and worshipers in a separate attack, injuring three.

There were no immediate reports of damage to the Tomb.

The latest clashes began with the entry of Israeli forces into the city, according to Army Radio. Israeli forces have responded to militant fire, with one Palestinian killed and several wounded. No Israeli injuries have been reported.

Israeli forces arrested two wanted individuals in Nablus overnight Tuesday, as part of a broader counter-terrorism operation in the West Bank, the military said hours earlier.

Last week, Ibrahim al-Nabulsi — believed to have been a commander in the US-designated terrorist group al-Aqsa Martyr’s Brigade — was killed in a shootout with Israeli forces in Nablus. He was suspected of carrying out shooting attacks against civilians and soldiers around Nablus, the military said.

Joseph’s Tomb and the city of Nablus have both been hot-spots for militant activity in recent months, as Israel has accelerated operations in the Palestinian territories following a string of deadly terrorist attacks that began earlier in the summer, with more than 60 Israelis killed or injured

Last month, Israeli forces thwarted a suspected stabbing attack at Tapuah Junction, a major intersection located south of Nablus in the West Bank. The attempted attack came hours after violent clashes broke out between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants. Two members of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades were killed, while at least six others were injured.

In April, Palestinian extremists vandalized the Tomb. That incident came on the second night that IDF special forces were engaged in counterterrorism operations in the West Bank, apprehending suspects involved in terrorist activities and confiscating illegal weapons.

Islamic Jihad wanted to infiltrate Israel through tunnels in Breaking Dawn

WALLA

The IDF learned that Islamic Jihad commanders wanted the terrorists to use the tunnel, but the terrorists in the field were too scared.
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(TOP) A fighter from the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ armed wing, is seen inside an underground tunnel, in Gaza, August 18, 2014.
(photo credit: MOHAMMED SALEM/REUTERS)

The Islamic Jihad was preparing to carry out operations that included infiltrating into Israeli territory during Operation Breaking Dawn which led to a high level of preparedness in the south and intelligence communities.

During the operation, the IDF marked Islamic Jihad activity around one of its known tunnels, and the security forces expected that it was being prepared for use.

According to Walla, while the commanders of the Islamic Jihad intended for an operation to be carried out, the terrorists in the field refused to enter the tunnels.

Why are terrorists scared of the tunnels?

The IDF presumes that the terrorist organizations in Gaza are wary of using the tunnels because of Operation Guardian of the Walls in May last year when the IDF showed that it was able to directly hit tunnels that were dug at a depth of 20-30 meters while there are terrorists in them. During the operation, two tunnels in Gaza were hit while there were Hamas terrorists inside.

Hamas tunnel that stretched several meters into Israel and was discovered by the IDF near Kissufim forest. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON’S UNIT)

According to a senior defense official, the damage done in regards to the tunnels during Guardian of the Walls was mainly psychological. The terrorist organizations are now scared of the IDF’s ability to target them in the tunnels. 

Was the tunnel destroyed?

On the last day of the operation, the decision was made to attack the tunnel in order to cause as much damage to it as possible because the IDF doesn’t have the means to entirely destroy underground tunnels.

Following the approval to attack the tunnel, the task was carried out under the commandant of the Southern Command’s Maj.-Gen. Eliezer Toledano.

Sources from the IDF clarified that the tunnel did not cross all the way into Israeli territory but ended next to the border where an underground wall has been installed to stand against the tunnels.

News From Israel- August 16, 2022

ILTV Israel News

IDF soldier killed by friendly fire in incident near Tulkarm

BJERUSALEM POST STAFF

The incident had originally been reported as a shooting attack but was later confirmed not to have been a terrorist act.

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IDF operating in the West Bank to arrest terror suspects, August 11, 2022. / (photo credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON’S UNIT)

An IDF soldier was killed, most likely by friendly fire, near the city of Tulkarm in the Menasha regional division, West Bank, on Monday night according to the IDF spokesperson unit.

The soldier’s family was notified of his passing later on Monday night.

According to IDF Spokesman Ran Kochav in an interview with Army Radio, the soldier left his guard post, but when he came back, his fellow soldier didn’t recognize him and carried out the procedure for approaching suspicious individuals and ultimately shot him.

It was initially reported the incident was a shooting attack that was carried out from a passing vehicle and that security forces were on the hunt for the shooters – but later the IDF updated that this wasn’t an attack but a case of friendly fire.

The wounded soldier was taken to Meir Hospital in Kfar Saba – where he was later pronounced dead. The IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kohavi is expected to visit the site of the incident on Tuesday as part of the investigation conducted by the IDF.

“Unfortunately, the fighter died of his wounds in the hospital.”

Senior IDF official
“Unfortunately, the fighter died of his wounds in the hospital,” A senior military official told Walla! “As far as I understand, the soldier was hit by two bullets and one of them was fatal. At first they thought it was fired from the Palestinian side, but later we ruled out the suspicion of an attack and the direction we are investigating is that there was a shooting between the soldiers.”

Two officers were killed in a friendly fire incident earlier this year
In January, two IDF officers were killed in what the military called a “serious” friendly fire accident in the Jordan Valley.

“The officers were killed after a mistaken identification led to a friendly fire incident,” the military said.

The two officers were identified as 28-year-old Maj. Ofek Aharon and 26-year-old Maj. Itamar Elharar, platoon commanders in the Oz Brigade’s Egoz Unit.

Later in January, two Israeli Border Police officers were lightly wounded by IDF fire during an attempt to thwart smuggling along the Egyptian border.

Anna Ahronheim contributed to this report.

Who is the taxi driver who drove Jerusalem terrorist to police?

SHLOMI HELLER/WALLA!, YIFAT ROSENBERG/WALLA

“They took the weapon and the taxi along with me. Wasn’t it enough that I lost three hours in the morning?” said the driver.

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A taxi driver collects a passenger near the Jerusalem Bus Station / (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)

Shalom Harush, the taxi driver who drove the terrorist who carried out the attack in Jerusalem to the police station on Sunday morning, told Walla about the trip, which in retrospect turned out to be particularly scary.

So what happened?

According to Harush, the terrorist Amir Sidawi, a 26-year-old from east Jerusalem, got into the taxi on Bait Street in Jerusalem, near Sha’are Zedek Medical Center.

“I picked him up at 7:20 a.m. and dropped him off at 7:32 with a receipt,” he explained. “He wanted to get to the police station. I dropped him off at the police station. He told them, and they must have seen the cameras – police cars came out after me and searched and found the killer’s gun.”

“I received encouragement from all over the State of Israel,” said Harush, adding that, in spite of that, “the feeling is not good.

“They took the weapon and the taxi along with me. Wasn’t it enough that I lost three hours in the morning? A gun and a knife. I wanted to take pictures before that, but the police didn’t agree. They said it would ruin the investigation.”

Israeli security forces at the scene of a shooting attack outside Jerusalem Old City, August 14,2022. (credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90)

Sidawi’s detention has been extended by 12 days. He is suspected with the charges of planning a terrorist act, attempted murder and causing injury in an attempt to cause the death of another. Sidawi has denied all charges.

At the same time, police have launched a ballistics test to verify that the shooting was carried out with the gun seized in the taxi. According to an investigation conducted on the terrorist, who worked in welding, he has a criminal record. His Facebook account shows that yesterday he was still interested in a gym in a Jewish neighborhood in the city.

In the attack carried out by Sidawi, eight people were injured, two of them in serious condition.

According to security officials, “he felt the pressure on him and his immediate environment” following the intensifying manhunt by the security forces.

“We raided the house of his brother and sister, we closed all the places he could think of escaping to, including outside the Jerusalem area. The pressure on him resulted in him turning himself in.” Three members of his family were arrested, including his mother.